Nintendo

Why Some Zelda Speedruns Use German And Others Use Japanese

There’s a reason Breath of the Wild is played in German. It’s just a heck of a lot faster. Speedruns use different languages and versions to cut down on time. Here’s how that works for The Legend of Zelda. This post originally appeared 3/24/17. Making sure you get the best times is mostly a matter…

The First Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Global Mission Was A Failure

Just as the first global mission for Pokémon Sun and Moon was a failure, the first mission for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was also, well, a bust. From November 16 to 11:59pm on November 27, players had to catch a total of 10 million Pocket Monsters. They came up way short, and the…

One of Ultra Sun and Moon’s Pokémon Encounters Is Some Creepypasta Shit

Guzzlord the Ultra Beast may have appeared in the original Sun and Moon, but the latest games introduce this monster in one of the creepiest scenes in modern Pokémon games. Guzzlord, as many of you know, is a creature famed for devouring everything. To wit, here are his Pokedex entries in Sun and Moon: Sun:…

Getting A ‘Haircut’ In Splatoon 2 Seems Like It Would Hurt

One moment my Squid Girl is sporting the same side tentacle she’s been rocking since Splatoon 2 launched, the next her gorgeous glistening appendage is sliced, chopped and tied off into a pair of wriggling pigtails. Sounds painful, doesn’t it? At first I was excited about the four new hairstyles added to Splatoon 2 in…

People Are Making Cults And Prisons In Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has a couple weird rules about furniture, and players are using those to make some really creepy camps. There’s a couple quirks to how furniture works in Pocket Camp. If you place a lamp down, villagers will stand in front of it and turn it on and off. If you put…

Ultra Sun and Moon Shouts Out The Time Iwata Helped Save Pokémon

Last week, fans discovered that the latest Pokémon games reference beloved Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who died in 2015. The easter egg is touching, but it’s also kind of brief. Here’s the full story behind how Iwata saved Pokémon—and a closer look at why the man became so legendary. Joe Merrick, proprietor of Pokémon site Serebii,…

What Did Black Friday Make You Buy? 2017 Edition

Black Friday and its numerous extensions (Cyber Monday, Just Buy Our Damn Stuff Thursday) are a magical time in retail, when the veil between wallet and willpower is at its thinnest. Which games, gadgets and gear made it past your defenses this year? I’ll start. First up we have the special Poké Ball version of…

Chrissy Teigen Reviews Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Supermodel Chrissy Teigen, who is excellent at Twitter, is playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and has some thoughts about it. They are: And this has been Chrissy Teigen’s review of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Breath Of The Wild‘s Horses Do The Darndest Things 

It’s been a good year for games. Trying to arrive at a shortlist for the best ones to come out in 2017 is going be tough. But every time I think I’ve finally started to cool on The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild, it finds a new way to warm my heart.…

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Is Charming But Sleazy

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is a perfectly serviceable entry into the series, until the new mobile game reminds you that could be spending money on it. When you open up Pocket Camp it’s unsettling how much it looks and feels like the other Animal Crossing games. You’re first greeted by K.K. Slider, then Isabelle, two…

A Small, Disturbing Side Story In Ultra Pokémon Sun and Moon

The original Sun and Moon are famed for having surprisingly dark story elements that redefined how we understood beloved monsters, along with core features such as Mega Evolution. Ultra Sun and Moon take that ball and run with it. One of the best examples of this actually happens early on in the new games. Not…

Splatoon 2‘s Big Winter Update Adds A Ton Of New Stuff

Here’s something for Splatoon 2 players to be thankful for this week. The game’s next big update drops on November 23, adding four battle stages, a new Salmon Run stage, four hairstyles, an increased level cap, fresh tunes and more. Four new stages begin rolling out on November 24, starting with the Black Friday-appropriate MakoMart,…

Legendary Nintendo composer Hip Tanaka has released his first full solo album, DjangoIt’s really good You can listen to it below. Via Thumbsticks

Ultra Pokémon Sun and Moon Make Hunting Shiny Pokémon Way Easier

Pokémon fans know just how rare finding a “shiny” is: you can play multiple games across generations and never encounter monsters in a special coloring. Typically, you have a 1 in 4,000 chance of finding a shiny, which is pretty low. Ultra Sun and Moon change the odds by giving you another sure-fire way to…

Mother 4, a fan-made sequel for Nintendo’s series that’s been in the works since 2010, isn’t out yet. Its soundtrack, however, is, and you can listen to it here

Streamer Suspended From Twitch For Playing Pokémon Game That Came Out Early In Australia

Australian streamer Mark “Werster” McKenzie received a temporary ban from Twitch last week, because the service said the Pokémon game he was playing was “unauthorised pre-release content”. Even though he’d bought the game from Nintendo’s own store. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released in the US on November 17, but because of time…

Metroid Prime: The Kotaku Review

When she shoots, Samus Aran doesn’t miss. That’s one of the fundamental truths of the original Metroid Prime, the first-person sci-fi game that came out on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002. You lock her gun onto a target and fire. She hits it every time. (This post originally ran on March 10, 2016. We’re bumping…

14 Things That Are New In Ultra Pokémon Sun and Moon

A third version of 2016’s Pokémon Sun and Moon drops today for the 3DS, so you may be wondering what, exactly, has been changed this time around. Should you play Ultra Sun and Moon if you already enjoyed the original games? If you’ve never played any version before, is this the best game to get?…

A Hot New Strategy For Speedrunning Ocarina Of Time: Don’t Press The A Button

The world record for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is 17 minutes and 9 seconds… but what if you pressed the A button as little as possible? Limiting Link’s ability to jump, talk, and open chests creates a new challenge for speedrunners to race through. The “A Button Challenge” restricts speedrunners into completing…

It’s Fall And The Nintendo Switch Is Still Selling Out In Japan

When will the Nintendo Switch sellouts end in Japan? Who knows. It’s autumn, and the console is still hard to get in many places. Last week, the Nintendo Switch topped the Japanese sales charts, moving 84,593 units (in comparison, the PS4 was the second-best seller at 23,613 units).  This was earlier today at the Yodobashi…