Nintendo

Mario & Luigi RPG Developer AlphaDream Has Gone Bankrupt

Founded in 2000, AlphaDream was originally known as Alpha Star and was staffed with people who had formerly been at Square, including former Square President Tetsuo Mizuno. The studio is best known for the Mario & Luigi RPG series. It was announced today that AlphaDream has gone bankrupt. According to Yahoo! Japan, revenue was sluggish…

Playing Ori And The Blind Forest On Switch Is A Little Strange But Brings Back Great Memories

It’s weird seeing the Microsoft Studios logo appear on the screen as I load a game on a Nintendo console. It’s also odd to have see my Xbox Live avatar and Gamertag displayed on my Switch screen. Everything else about about playing Ori and the Blind Forest on the Switch is pretty much perfect. Moon…

Everything You Need To Know About Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3‘s Big Update

Today’s massive update to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 adds the first four paid downloadable characters to the game, but it’s not just that. The free update that accompanies the Curse of the Vampire expansion also adds a new game mode, ups the level cap to 150, and gives players the ability to spend in-game cash…

Mario Maker Level Lets You Compose Music And Play It Back

Some of the best creations in Super Mario Maker 2 often have extremely little to do with the experience of playing a Mario level. Consider the level “Music Maker – write a tune” by user knil (ID: 4MW-PJW-3JF). It isn’t a Mario course at all, but a really clever player piano of sorts that you…

New Brain Age Announced For Nintendo Switch In Japan

In 2005, Brain Age first went on sale in Japan for the Nintendo DS. The game, which had players solve math problems and more to judge the age of their brain, became a national sensation in Japan. Brain Age was one reason why the DS became a must-have handheld. Now, in 2019, it’s back. The…

Maybe Don’t Put The Goose In Smash?

I’ve seen a lot of people asking over the past week for the Goose from Untitled Goose Game to be put in Smash Bros. I don’t know if that’s a very good idea. I mean, I admire the passion! But you’re not thinking this through, for a number of reasons: 1) Pump your brakes. The internet…

Mario Kart Tour’s Microtransactions Feel Gross In A Post-Apple Arcade World

Mario Kart Tour is a fine racing game. The graphics are lovely. The simple touch controls are fine once you get used to them. It’s overflowing with colorful Nintendo brand polish. Mario Kart Tour is also a free-to-play game with a microtransaction-fueled gacha collection mechanic and game options and rewards locked behind a paid monthly…

Official Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament Bans Hero, Then Unbans Him

The controversy surrounding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character Hero and his place in serious competition intensified recently when it was revealed that an official, Nintendo-sanctioned tournament in France had chosen to ban him from play. But now, just two days later, Nintendo has reversed that decision. Originally announced back in January, the European Team Cup…

Using One Nintendo Account On 2 Switches Is Tricky, So Here’s The Best Way To Do It

Since last week’s release of the portable-only Switch Lite, I’ve been trying to set up my account on both the Lite and my original Switch so my wife and kids can play games like Super Mario Odyssey and Yoshi’s Crafted World on one without erasing my save data or interrupting my playing Puzzle Quest on…

Mario Kart Tour Locks The Fastest Race Mode Behind A Paid Subscription

Mario Kart Tour is available today on iOS and Android, bringing some portable kart action to phones and other devices. If you want to enjoy tough races with a faster pace, though, it turns out you’ll need to shell out some money. Mario Kart games have always had different racing tiers. This usually means starting…

During its first three days on sale, the Nintendo Switch Lite sold 177,936 units in Japan. Combined with the regular Switch units, nearly 250,000 Switch consoles were sold that same week. In case you missed it, here is Kotaku’s Switch Lite review. 

Link’s Awakening‘s Big ‘Twist’ Is Mind-Blowing When You’re Eight

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a mystery. Link, the hero of the Zelda games, wakes up after getting shipwrecked on Koholint Island. He meets a mysterious owl who tells him that in order to return home, he must wake the Wind Fish, the guardian of the island, who is currently asleep in a…

Mario Kart Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow In New York City

Nintendo’s latest free-to-play mobile game, Mario Kart Tour, launches tomorrow on iOS and Android. Every two weeks the nickley, dimey racer will test players in tours, special races inspired by real-world locations. The first destination is New York, New York, where players can earn Musician Mario and Super Mario Odyssey Pauline as playable racers. New…

Nintendo Was Founded 130 Years Ago Today

On September 23, 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo Koppai (koppai means “cards”) in Kyoto, Japan. Originally a playing card company, the company would go on to revolutionize video games forever. When the company was first founded, Nintendo made hanafuda playing cards. It was only three years earlier that the Japanese government legalized the cards, which…

Fans Found An Assault Rifle Texture Hidden In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Princess Peach is powerful and not to be messed with in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. But I never expected that she was secretly carrying an assault rifle. Yet that’s what fans found when they dug around the files of Brawl. YouTuber Oddheader recently released a video showcasing some secrets in video games that players and…

Tips For Playing The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Link’s Awakening is not a challenging game, but it can be a little abstruse. Originally released for the Game Boy in 1993 and overhauled for Switch in a delightful remake that’s out this week, the fourth Zelda is full of secrets, mysteries, and weird quirks to discover. Here are some tips to help you leave…

Nintendo Switch Lite: The Kotaku Review

The Nintendo Switch Lite is one of the finest handheld gaming devices I’ve ever used. It’s sturdy, stylish, and comfortable. It launches with a library that’s already over 2,500 games strong. If all you’re looking for from the Nintendo Switch is personal, portable play, it’s perfect. But is that all you’re looking for? From its…

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: The Kotaku Review

The best feeling you can possibly feel while playing a video game is the act of swinging a sword in Zelda. I came to this conclusion recently, while playing the new remake of Link’s Awakening and trying to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes me love Zelda games so much. The answer, I think,…

The Internet Reacts To Sirfetch’d, Pokémon Sword‘s New Farfetch’d Evolution

Farfetch’d, the leek-carrying bird pal that’s been around since the original Pokémon games, is finally getting an evolution of his own. His buff new form, appearing exclusively in Pokémon Sword, is called Sirfetch’d, and the internet has some thoughts about this smug bird knight. According to the official Sword and Shield website, Sirfetch’d is incredibly…

I’ve Finally Gotten Tired Of Making My Video Game Characters Look Like Boring Slobs

I recently got my hands on Daemon X Machina, the new mech action game for the Nintendo Switch, and I was immediately dazzled—not by the power and might of my giant robot armor, or the weighty action of sci-fi combat—but by how much fun it was to style my mech and its pilot in some…