Nintendo

Actually, Mario Is Missing Was Awesome

Praising Mario is Missing is no way to impress someone with your gaming acumen. But it’s true; I thoroughly enjoyed Mario Is Missing as a young kid. My father didn’t know much about video games, but he did know that ‘Mario’ was a signifier of quality (or, at least, it should have been). So he…

Nintendo’s Big Splatoon Gamble Has Paid Off

Splatoon came out in May. It is now August. I am still talking about Splatoon with my friends. I am still delightfully tweeting pictures of outfits and hilarious Miiverse posts, even the ones with bad meme jokes. And along with all of that, I’m still playing. Not only is Splatoon is one of my most…

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest: The Kotaku Import Preview

When picking up Fire Emblem Fates, I had two choices: the stereotypical “good guy” story in Birthright, or the far darker “good people forced to do bad things” story in Conquest. Even as I slaughtered the would-be Birthright heroes, I was glad with the choice I made. Fire Emblem Fates is three games, not one—though…

Nintendo Fires Employee For Speaking On Podcast

Last week, Nintendo localization editor Chris Pranger made an appearance on a small podcast called Part-Time Gamers. This week, Nintendo fired him. “Hello friends and family,” Pranger wrote in a heartbreaking public Facebook message this morning. “As many of you have probably seen, I am no longer at Nintendo. I was terminated this week due…

Nintendo’s Virtual Console Choices Sure Are Strange

Today, Nintendo released the fifth downloadable Wii game for Wii U in North America. It’s not what you might expect—the new release isn’t Mario, nor is it Zelda. It’s Pandora’s Tower, a niche action game published by XSEED and released here for the Wii in 2013, way toward the end of the console’s lifespan. Now,…

Japan’s Official Mario and Luigi Cosplay Costumes

Here we go! These are the first officially licensed Mario and Luigi costumes for Japan. I believe that officially licensed Halloween costumes are available outside the country, but until now, that wasn’t the case in Japan. Below, you can check out the Luigi costume (via Inside): Both outfits go on sale in Japan on September…

Few video games look as insanely joyful as Super Mario Maker, the upcoming level-maker that’s out September 11 for Wii U. Check out this new overview video for a look at customizable sound effects, Amiibo support, and other features in Nintendo’s latest.

The Nintendo Games Hidden In Seinfeld’s Apartment

All those years watching Seinfeld, and I never noticed this, sothanks to Tim Rogersfor the pic: turns out the media shelf in the background of Jerry’s apartment, which is mostly full of his old VHS tapes (like Navy Seals!), is also home to a few NES games. You can clearly see SimCity there (which is…

More Than the Story Changes in Fire Emblem Fates

There are three versions of the newest Fire Emblem title: Fire Emblem Fates. Yet, it’s not just the plot that changes between each version, but the gameplay as well. To start, let’s take a look at the differences between Conquest and Birthright—and leave the DLC version of the game, Invisible Kingdom, for later. Of course,…

A Defense Of Mario Kart 8’s Unpopular Battle Mode

In video game years, Mario Kart 8 is already middle-aged yet remains virile. It maintains a healthy population of online racers over fourteen months past its May 2014 launch. By most accounts, the Wii U version of the seminal kart racer is the series’ high watermark, resplendent in its HD gloss and detail-rich course design,…

Watch Me Try Splatoon’s New Stuff, Live [Done!]

The big August update is here! Hell, Splatfest is (almost) here! Let’s experience it together, shall we? I’ll be livestreaming some matches of Splatoon for your viewing pleasure starting around 5:35 PST. If you’ll join me on Twitch, I’d love to chat about pretty much anything—be it Splatoon, other games, or life in general. And…

The Children of Fire Emblem Fates

As I’ve already talked about at length, breeding the characters in your army is a big part of Fire Emblem Fates. But which parents create which children, you may wonder. To answer that, let’s first look at the ground rules of breeding in Fire Emblem Fates. It is the father—not the mother—that determines which child…

“My personal favourite change is Fox getting his jab weakened because I have zero experience in that matchup. But now I’m not scared of getting jabbed at 50 and dying.” Red Bull interviewed Smash Bros. pros about the new patch, and they make some good points about what the character buffs mean for the game.

Splatoon’s Best New Weapon Is Literally Just A Bucket

Yesterday, Splatoon got its big August update. With it came oft-requested features, like private matches and the ability to squad up. It also included a new weapon that is as amazing as it is completely, and utterly, ridiculous. Introducing: the bucket. Yes, just a bucket. Splatoon’s hottest new gear is about as humble as it…

A History Of Bad Nintendo Phone Ideas

What is it with Nintendo and phones? There are a ton companies out there making really nice phones, but no matter the number (and how many of them, *cough*, can already play Nintendo games), folks are always dreaming up ideas for Nintendo to go and make a phone of their own. I have no idea…

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Nintendo’s co-op dungeon crawler, designed to be played by a party of three got a release date. It is coming out on October 23rd for the 3DS.

Skylanders Is Getting Online Multiplayer

Activision revealed today that they’re adding online multiplayer to Skylanders: Superchargers. The game’s getting online land, sea and air races for up to four players, along with an online co-op story mode. Skylanders never had any sort of online multiplayer and fans have been really clamoring for it for a while now. So it’s good…

Mighty No. 9 Confirms Rumors of Delay

Since late July, there have been rumors circulating of an impending release date change for the Mega Man-like Mighty No. 9. Today, developer Comcept has confirmed a delay in an update sent out to the game’s Kickstarter backers. The update, which cites “bugs and issues [with] a direct effect on [the] enjoyment of the game”…

$1,000 Bounty Offered For Mario 64 Glitch

Mario fan and glitch hunter extraordinaire Pannenkoek2012 has a contract for you, Witcher: if you can recreate and record a weird hiccup he recently saw on Twitch, he’ll give you $1000. Streamer DOTA_TeaBag caught the glitch, seemingly by accident, in a video taken during a run of Super Mario 64’s Tick Tock Clock stage. As…

The Xbox One Just Made a Mockery Out Of Nintendo’s Virtual Console

Thanks to the release of Rare Replay today, Xbox One owners will now be able to play seven Nintendo 64 classics on Microsoft’s console. Nintendo’s current console, the Wii U, only sells people the chance to play six. While there is an asterisk to this—Wii U owners can buy and play 15 more N64 games…