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CultureKotaku Game DiaryFire Emblem: Three Houses Captures The Challenge Of Fostering Your Students’ Passions
In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you split your time between fighting battles and teaching students at a monastery. As you teach, there are key moments where you can encourage students down different paths toward new jobs. While the mechanic mostly exists for you to grind stats and try new battle combinations, these small moments realistically…
By Heather Alexandra Published August 7, 2019 -
CultureLatest Pokémon Sword And Shield Trailer Reveals Villain Team And New Galarian Forms
Fresh information about Pokémon Sword and Shield, shown this morning on the official Pokémon YouTube channel, tells more about the game’s cast. Alongside new monsters—including new Pikachu-adjacent creatures—there’s a quick look at some of the game’s rivals and villains. The trailer outlines a handful of monsters and characters coming to Sword and Shield. Among these…
By Heather Alexandra Published August 7, 2019 -
CultureIt’s Been A Spectacular Few Days For Mario Speedrunning
The Super Mario games are among some of the most popular in all of speedrunning. From console to console, Mario has been pushed to his breaking point. The last few days have formed a watershed moment for Mario speedrunning as new records in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 move into uncharted territory and…
By Heather Alexandra Published August 5, 2019 -
Every Big Game Coming Out In Summer 2019
Summer used to be pretty sleepy in the world of video games. It was mostly convenient: School is out, beaches are open, and there are dozens of reasons to venture out and get some time in the sun. You know what’s also great? Not going out, because it is, like Cole Porter said, too darn…
By Joshua Rivera Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureFire Emblem: Three Houses Made Claude’s Voice Actor Reminisce About Military Academy
Joe Zieja’s path to voicing the English-language version of Fire Emblem: Three Houses lead Claude von Reigan was a circuitous one. Zieja said over the phone that he only realized what a huge role Claude was while he was recording. He told me that the director for the English voice actors, Patrick Seitz, broke the…
By Gita Jackson Published August 5, 2019 -
Man Finds Rare NES Game In Attic, Sells It For $9000
Reno man Scott Amos was going through some possessions from the attic of his childhood home the other day when he came across something: an unopened copy of Kid Icarus for the Nintendo Entertainment System, complete with receipt from 1988. As theReno Gazette Journal reports, nobody from Amos’ family can exactly remember why the game…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 4, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI Couldn’t Help Snooping On A Stranger’s Fire Emblem House On The Subway
Fire Emblem: Three Houses offers the agonizing decision over which group of students you want to teach and lead in battle. It’s a tricky choice that greatly affects the story you experience and the characters at your command. But it’s also a bit of a personality test, and I’m fascinated to know what house people…
By Heather Alexandra Published August 2, 2019 -
ReviewsMultiplatformWolfenstein: Youngblood: The Kotaku Review
I am generally suspicious of games that people say are “better with friends,” simply because most things are. Manual labor, paying taxes, repeatedly hitting your thumb with a hammer—these are all things that are “better with friends.” Humans are social creatures, and company can make both miserable and pleasant things a whole lot better. “Better…
By Joshua Rivera Published August 1, 2019 -
The Nintendo Live Gaming Expo Will Be This October In Kyoto
This October, Nintendo will once again hold a dedicated game expo in Kyoto, Japan. It’s called Nintendo Live 2019 Kyoto Last year’s event was called Nintendo Live 2018 Tokyo and was held in, wait for it, Tokyo. The expo will have game tournaments, stage events and playable demos of new games. Included in the stage…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 1, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsTrying To Please Everyone In Fire Emblem Is Turning Me Into A Sociopath
I knew I had a problem when I saw a timer appear and my first reaction was to immediately hammer my Nintendo Switch’s power button until it fell into a merciful slumber. Fire Emblem: Three Houses has a feature called an “advice box” in which characters write you letters asking for aid. You’ve got to…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 31, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsFire Emblem Is Slowly Improving Its Same-Sex Romance Options
The newer Fire Emblem games have placed an emphasis on romance and dating, though the series has been slow to make same-sex romance a viable option. Fire Emblem: Three Houses does allow you to experience same-sex romance—and it is explicitly romantic, and accessible for both male and female main characters. However, the female main character…
By Gita Jackson Published July 30, 2019 -
CultureNintendo 64 Super Smash Bros. Challenge Record Broken After 14 Years
The original Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros. has a few challenge modes for players to test their skills. These include a mini-game to break small targets and a movement challenge to touch special platforms in a stage. The world record time for completing Pikachu’s platform challenge has stood since 2005—but after over a decade, it’s…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 30, 2019 -
CultureThe Internet Reacts To Hero In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Earlier this morning, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai took some time to show off the game’s latest character, the Hero from the popular Dragon Quest roleplaying series. The presentation detailed what Hero will bring to the table once he is added to the game, and so far, several top competitive Smash players seem…
By Ian Walker Published July 30, 2019 -
The Text In Fire Emblem: Three Houses Is Too Damn Small
Fire Emblem: Three Houses has some of the most rewarding tactics action and Hogwarts-simulating that you can get. There aren’t many flaws in the game, but there is something that badly needs to be fixed: For a game focused on navigating menus, that text size sure is tiny. Text size in modern games has been…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 30, 2019 -
Tips & GuidesWhat To Know Before Choosing A House In Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses released last week, and if you haven’t joined one of the game’s three houses, it’s time to make a choice. Want to know which group has the most mages? Which is the most chill? Which will give you the most heartbreaking narrative experience? We have you covered with this nifty guide.…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 29, 2019 -
Android Is Now Unofficially On Nintendo Switch, And It Looks Great
Back in 2018, an exploit was found in the Nintendo Switch that would allow users to run outside code. While that’s of course led to some piracy, it’s also let modders and coders have some fun with the console, up to and including getting Android running on the system, with all the features and tricks…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 28, 2019 -
CultureYou Can Beat GoldenEye On N64 With Only One Bullet
GoldenEye is a first-person shooter released for the N64 back in the 90s. You might notice a keyword in that previous sentence. “Shooter.” This means the player is equipped with various guns and then shoots them at enemies. But is it possible to beat this classic shooter without actually shooting? No. But you can beat…
By Zack Zwiezen Published July 28, 2019 -
Mario Maker Contest: Short And Sweet, Winners!
Last week I asked the readers of Kotaku to fire up their Nintendo Switch consoles and make some Mario levels. But keep them short and sweet. I got a bunch of entries and had a (mostly) great time playing them all. But some of you seem to think I’m a much better Mario player than…
By Zack Zwiezen Published July 27, 2019