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This Week in Games - Pure Platinum
Detective Pikachu is nigh, but before Heidi gets to that, we've got the return of Platinum Games, Tekken news and much more!
― Man, so much of this week's gaming news is a downer. There's the Riot Games walkout to protest the company's awful policies on reporting harassment in the workplace, there's the allegations of human refuse pile Randy Pitchford stiffing money and getting physically abusive wit...
This Week in Games - Gotta Nope Fast
The internet loses its mind over the Sonic the Hedgehog movie again, plus all of this week's big news!
― Welcome back to This Week in Games, and – let's be real here, you're all reading this because you know we're going to talk a lot about that. Yes, it was looking like an unfathomably slow news week, and then Paramount decided to drop a huge steaming turd upon the internet for everyone to gape in ho...
This Week in Games - Revenge of the Phantom Thieves
Persona 5 comes back in a big way with a seriously improved rerelease AND a musou game for the Switch! PLUS:
― Hey there, game folks! I made it back safely from Sakura-con, and I had a lovely time! Thanks to everyone who came out to the panel, or just dropped by to say hi! As most folks who go to conventions know, there's an odd phenomena where you're so engaged with what's going on that weekend that...
This Week in Games - Home Arcade Hell
Persona 5's Joker gets Smashed, Capcom's alarming home arcade system, the future of home consoles and this week's big releases!
― Know what I love writing about? Bad ideas and trainwrecks! And boooooy howdy, do we have a spectacularly hot mess to talk about this week… along with other interesting news. But first, a few things! For starters, I'm going to be at Seattle's Sakura-Con this weekend helping...
This Week in Games - Royale Rumbles
Sega's Judgement gets recast, a few familiar faces bail on Square-Enix, and in the wake of Tetris 99, Heidi imagines other classic franchises reborn as battle royales!
― Hey everyone. How's it going? Playing anything good? Me, I'm prepping for Sakura-Con next week while putting up with miserable Portland weather and the headaches (figurative and literal) that accompany it. It's a slow news week, so t...
This Week in Games - No Foolin'
It's a smorgasbord of resurrections! Sakura Wars rises from the grave, along with the miraculous return of R-Type and the original Sega Genesis. PLUS: Samurai Showdown, a Dragon Quest movie and much more!
― Ah, it's that time of year again when we engage with copious yuks and tomfoolery upon the internet from our favorite Brands™! Increasingly, it seems like April Fools Day is when companies toss out...
This Week in Games - Persona Royal with Cheese
Persona 5 gets the royal treatment while Google announces an enormous and potentially scary new platform - plus fighting game news, Senran Kagura and much more!
― I thought I was going to have an easy week by foisting last week's column onto Todd while I was at GDC. My dastardly plot to mesmerize you all with alt tags on images and stories about forgotten Dream Factory games while also reporting the ...
This Week in Games - Totaled Recalls
Todd hosts this week and gets to talk about the latest Valkyrie Profile game! Plus a new Zelda, some old Konami classics, Sega memories, and the surprise return of Blaster Master!
― Hello, and welcome to another edition of Todd Guest Hosts His Old Column. This week's edition comes on the heels of Sega halting sales of Judgment, a spin-off of the popular Yakuza series, due to Japan's bizarrely draconi...
This Week in Games - Just Say No
A Japanese actor's drug arrest yanks a Yakuza spinoff off the market while NIS America announces a ton of new stuff, and hey, Vanillaware is back with more fantasy - plus much more!
― Life comes at you fast sometimes. You might be mentally preparing a fun featurette for your weekly column since it's looking like it'll be a slow news week, when suddenly, BAM! A celebrity involved with a highly anticip...
This Week in Games - Sega-palooza
The internet explodes once more over Sonic the Hedgehog, plus an interview all about the wild new mobile game from Jet Set Radio's Masayoshi Kikuchi and Castlevania's Koji Igarashi!
― Hey everyone! What have you all been playing recently? I'm going through Death End Re;Quest, but I'm finding myself distracted by… Final Fantasy VI. But not the Final Fantasy VI everyone knows and loves – this is Final ...
This Week in Games - Pokemon Sword and Shield
Heidi explores Nintendo's avalanche of news items this week, from Reggie's departure to Detective Pikachu to a new generation of Pokemon!
― This has certainly been an interesting week! I feel like diving right into all of the big news that's landed, so let's go! SO LONG, REGGIE Nintendo has a habit of dropping big news almost immediately after this column gets set to publish. Just a few hours after l...
This Week in Games - Reanimated
Nintendo might be resurrecting a long-dead game - plus some fighting game news straight out of EVO Japan, Steins;Gate and more!
― Why, hello again! I'm back from Europe, I'm still kinda tired, and I missed a lot of gaming news that happened last week when it happened. No, I'm not going back on Twitter to catch up on The Discourse, because that never ends well. ANYWAY. This week brings us no big bombs...
This Week in Games - Parting Ways
It's a slow week for game news, but that can't stop Heidi from giving us the full update on PlatinumGames, Final Fantasy XIV, Etrian Odyssey, Senran Kagura and much more!
― Huh, I wonder what's going on in the great kingdom of nerdery toda- *opens twitter, sees unending trashfire* Yeah, this is gonna be one of those weeks. WHAT IN THE FRESH HELL IS UP WITH PLATINUMGAMES AND CYGAMES? It feels like few...
This Week in Games - Kingdom Hearts III
Metroid Prime 4 is starting over from scratch and there are more Dragon Ball games coming, but most importantly, Callum May has been reunited with his pals Sora, Donald and Goofy and he's here to tell you all about it.
― Whoa nelly, is it ever a monumental week! Yes, I know that a huge chunk of North America is currently experiencing weather where you turn into a popsicle the moment you step outdoors...
This Week in Games - Biohazard Battle
Heidi breaks down the week, from a Trails of Cold Steel III controversy to the Street Fighter League's bizarre decisions, plus the return of Leon Kennedy and pals in Resident Evil 2!
― Hi! It's another week… in games. I've been busy trying to impress visiting relatives, but when I'm not engaged in familial obligations, I've been poking away at Travis Strikes Again on Switch, which is… definitely inte...
This Week in Games - Unfinished Business
Heidi takes a slow week in stride with Star Wars, Destiny, a new Dragon Ball game, No More Heroes and much more!
― Well, howdy everyone! Hope you're having an okay week. I'm currently running on far less sleep than usual because I tend to work (read: game) pretty late into the night, and for the past three days, my apartment has been having new roofing installed. Always fun waking up at 9 A.M. to THU...
This Week in Games - Demo Mode
Heidi's back from MAGFest with a pile of news about Dead or Alive 6, Resident Evil 2, the latest from Vanillaware, Epic vs. Steam and much more!
― Hey everyone! I just flew back all the way from the East Coast from MAGfest, and boy, are my arms… legs…. back… uh, well, everything tired. I had a great time, though, and I wanted to thank everyone who came out to our panels or said hi. Meanwhile… how abo...
This Week in Games - The Return of Persona 5
The smash hit JRPG gets an upgrade with more news on the way in this bite-sized weekly update!
― Hey all! Gonna be a bit of a short one this week, as I'm in the midst of preparing for MAGfest, which starts… today! Eep! Well, fortunately, it's a week of newsbits and a few big stories. Right now, Japan is in the midst of a New Year's celebratory period, and while that means a lot of things are closed a...
This Week in Games - Onward to 2019
Heidi predicts a few things for the year in video games 2019 - plus this week's big news, fighting game updates and much more!
― What all did you guys do for Christmas? Me, I watched awful things with my significant other, including the MST3K riffing of Santa Claus, a bit of the old DiC early 80s Japan/America live-action coproduction Photon (with mechanical designs by Shinji Aramaki!), and – to top ...
This Week in Games - Granblue Goodness
Granblue Fantasy explores uncharted territory with some big new announcements, plus the EVO Japan 2019 roster and a new Jojo's Bizarre Adventure arcade battle royale!
― Hey everyone! I'm back from my surgery and I'm feeling… well, maybe not one hundred percent yet, but better. Thanks for all the well-wishes, and thanks to Todd for filling in for me last week. As we draw ever-closer to Christmas and N...
This Week in Games - Retrogame Roundups Rated
Todd guest-hosts and roots through this year's retro-game compilations! Plus Panzer Dragoon, Doraemon, and Smash Bros. speculation!
― Well, here I am, guest-hosting again and just in time for the holidays. Winter and Christmas are upon us, and that's relevant because this the only season with which I associate certain games. I'll go through spring, summer, and fall without much thought, but when wint...
This Week in Games - Winter Shooting Wonderland
The exciting future of SNK is revealed, Ancient unveils two new games, and Heidi straps in for a look at some of this winter's new arcade shooters, starting with M2 and Cave's Ketsui: Kizuna Jigokutachi ~Deathtiny~.
― Hey everyone! It's getting colder, the holidays are getting closer, and we're still enjoying an extremely fruitful time for games. Everything is just so good right now! Just as a heads-...
This Week in Games - Sony's Not-So-Pleasant Surprises
It's a sizzling week for news as Sony bounces out of E3 and drops a hot steaming Playstation Classic on the world - plus Super Robot Wars, Smash Bros. leaks, fighting game news and a whole lot more!
― Hey all! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. Last week, Zac basically came up to me, pat me on the shoulder, and said “You've been working hard, Heidi, take the week off and enjoy Thanksgiving!” Which I d...
This Week in Games - Pokemon Fever!
It's a big week for everyone's favorite pocket monsters as both Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! hit shelves and the trailer for Detective Pikachu lit the internet aflame. PLUS: this week's new releases and more!
― Hi again, everyone! I'm back at home and comfortably setting back into my normal routine. I also played through Deltarune part 1 last night. That game was very, very fun an...
This Week in Games - The End of Final Fantasy XV
It's an unceremonious end for Noctis and the boys as Square-Enix uses the 2nd anniversary of Final Fantasy XV to basically put the whole thing to bed. PLUS: Dragon Ball Fighterz is out of Dreamhack, this week's new releases and more!
― Hey again all! I'm on my way back from Japan as I write this. The doujin event was great, and it was an amazing experience overall. I have a whole lot to write about i...
This Week in Games - The Last Remaining Secrets of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Heidi's in Japan, but she still has all the details from the latest Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct - along with this week's news, including Nier Automata's 2B in Soul Calibur and much more!
― Hey again, folks! It's another This Week In Games, comin’ atcha straight from Japan! ...Wait, I'm in Japan again? Yes I am, though it's a rather short trip with only one major event for me. But it's still something...
This Week in Games - The Uncomfortable Crunch
Heidi considers the long shadow of terrible crunch looming over this week's inescapable Rockstar release - plus Smash Bros. rumors, Yakuza 4 news, and Dead or Alive 6 producer Yohei Shimbori stops by for a little more Q&A!
― Hey folks! It's another beautiful week of games for everyone! It's a bit of a slow news week as hype for Red Dead Redemption 2 reaches a fever pitch. I'm still plugging away at m...
This Week in Games - SoulCalibur VI
Welcome back to the stage of history! It's been six years since the last Soul Calibur game - does the new one hold up? PLUS: all of this week's big news and new releases!
― The thing about writing a weekly column is that you can plan a bunch of stuff to write about far in advance… only to have all of your planning get completely scuttled by news that drops. I mean, I was going to publish my follow-up...
This Week in Games - Flipping the Switch
There might be a new version of the Nintendo Switch coming sooner than we think - plus: Sword Art Online Arcade, the resurrection of Suikoden, Soul Calibur VI character news and much more!
― Hello again, readers! I'm back from my brief hiatus to once again deliver my fresh takes on the gaming news that's been cooking over the last week. The reason I didn't handle last week's column was that I was att...
This Week in Games: Paradise Tossed
Todd guest-hosts this week, and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise has him thinking about other anime that could use the Yakuza treatment. Plus Last Labyrinth, Mega Man, and more Bowsette!
― Yes, it's me again! Heidi's off this week, so Anime News Network turned on the Todd Signal and tilted it to the sky. Instead of a Batman logo, it showed the words TALK ABOUT GRAVITY RUSH. And I came running. I...
This Week in Games - Bowsette Bows In
Lady Bowser has stolen the Internet's heart - could Nintendo make her part of the official canon? Heidi explores the angles. PLUS: the sad tale of TellTale, fighting game news and much more!
― Heya folks! TGS sure was a fun time, huh? Rather than spent too much time chattering on about it, I think I'll just point you over to the TGS coverage that Kim Morrisy has been doing for us. It doesn't make muc...
This Week in Games: A Tiny Little Playstation
Heidi steels herself for Senran Kagura on Switch, Yu-Gi-Oh showing up in Jump Force, the resurrection of Resonance of Fate, a tiny little Playstation with 20 games from your 90s childhood, and much more!
― Hey hey folks, it's Tokyo Game Show week! Yeehaw! I wanted to supplement this week's column with a mini-review of Senran Kagura Reflexions on Switch, but, uh, I'm not sure it even really deserves t...
This Week in Games - Judgment Day
An avalanche of news has come in before Tokyo Game Show, not the least of which was today's Nintendo Direct, which brought with it Luigi's Mansion, Katamari Damacy, NES controllers for the Switch and yes, new Animal Crossing!
― So you know how 90% of the coolest E3 announcements happen in the days and weeks before E3? Well, right now, it feels like the same thing is happening with next week's Tokyo G...
This Week in Games - Delays All Around
Today's Nintendo Direct was delayed, but Heidi has the rest of this week's biggest news, including Square-Enix and Tencent, new characters for Soul Calibur and Tekken 7, the return of Umihara Kawase and a whole bunch more!
― Sometimes you get a wrench thrown in your plans not once, but twice. See, this week I'd planned to delay the column a bit, because Nintendo announced a Nintendo Direct that would...
Interview: Dead or Alive 6 director Yohei Shimbori
There are a whole lot of big changes coming to the venerable Dead or Alive fighting game franchise in the upcoming sixth installment! Game director Yohei Shimbori gets into all the fun details.
― 2018 has seen a wave of new fighting game announcements, many of which are new installments in long-running, beloved series. One such game is Dead or Alive 6, the latest in the long-running 3D fighting game ...
This Week in Games - The Resurrection of Onimusha
Heidi wraps up a big week in gaming news with everything from the Onimusha HD remaster to Streets of Rage 4! PLUS: Langrisser updates, more fighting game news,
― It's been an interesting week, that's for sure! We've seen a steady flow of interesting news tidbits and surprise announcements… and that's all before CRX and PAX West hit this weekend! So let's not waste too much time – we've got a lot to t...
This Week in Games - All The News From Gamescom
It's a mountain of enormous gaming news! Bloodstained 2 is delayed, Devil May Cry 5 has a release date, Grandia is back and much more! PLUS: learn the wild, anime-laden history of Super Real Mahjong!
― Gamescom is happening as we speak in fabulous Cologne, Germany. It's the biggest public gaming show in the world, and there's plenty of interesting news flowing out of Deutschland as we speak. There's ...
This Week in Games - What's up with Sekai Project?
There's some unsettling news coming out of visual novel publisher Sekai Project right now - Heidi files some editorial commentary on what we might expect. PLUS: Zelda-flavored Diablo on Switch, Fist of the North Star and more!
― Hey, you know what makes any day more exciting? A whole lot of exploding Fist of the North Star heads. Thanks, Sega! Now that we've had our dose of Kenshiro, let's move on to...
This Week in Games - EVO Extravaganza
Heidi returns from the biggest fighting game championship in the world with an enormous mountain of fighting game news and updates! Smash Bros, Tekken 7, Soul Calibur VI and much more!
― Well, EVO was sure a big ol’ thing, wasn't it? There's a lot that can be said about the EVO Grand Finals, but I think I can sum it up succinctly by pointing out that the real winner of EVO was Norio Wakamoto and all ...
This Week in Games - Crossing Over
It's a smashing week of game news as Taiko Drum Master finally returns to the West, Earth Defense Force revives once more and Yakuza 0 hits the PC. Get caught up on this week's big gaming news, all in one place!
― It's EVO week! It's EVO week! And I still have to pack for my trip to Vegas! Crap! Forgive me if this week's column seems a bit shorter than usual, since I'm writing this on the day before ...
This Week in Games: Classic Compilations
The Megaman X Legacy Collections inspire Heidi to dream about the classic game compilations that could one day come our way, from Bubble Bobble to Castlevania. PLUS: more fighting game news, Phantasy Star returns (sorta) and much more!
― It sure is summer, alright. I'm going to Las Vegas late next week for EVO, but it feels like I'm already there, as it's been in the high 90s all week. A lot of apart...
This Week in Games - In Memoriam: Hiroshi Kajiyama
Heidi memorializes the distinct and uniquely evocative designs of Hiroshi Kajiyama, illustrator for Shining Force, Dragon Quest and more. PLUS: Dragon Ball FighterZ, Sonic Mania Plus, Granblue Fantasy and much more!
― I hate to start this week's column out on a downer note, but I feel like I need to make the most of an opportunity to eulogize a creator I really admired who suddenly passed on this wee...
This Week in Games - Anime Expo Extravaganza
For Japanese game enthusiasts, Anime Expo 2018 served as an afterparty for this year's E3, overflowing with new games from Japan! Heidi goes through everything at the show, from Tokyo Ghoul to Kill la Kill to Soul Calibur VI!
― For niche Japanese game loving folks like me, Anime Expo may as well be the E3 afterparty: there's just as many announcements from AX that I'm super-excited for than there was...
This Week in Games - Summer Holiday Chill
Heidi makes do with a slow July 4th week for gaming, knowing big things are right around the corner. Bleach characters head to Jump Force, the return of Taito, and more!
― Hey all! It's the 4th of July week, there's jack squat for new releases, and most of the big gaming announcements this week are going to come from publishers at Anime Expo. I've gotten wind of a few of these announcements, but sinc...
This Week in Games - Denials of (fan)Service
Heidi investigates the strange case of Omega Labyrinth Z, a racy anime RPG once approved by Sony for release - and then suddenly yanked. PLUS: PUBG vs. Fortnite, Fighting Exlayer and this week's biggest gaming news and new releases!
― Hey folks! It's another relatively quiet week in terms of game news, so I'll take this opportunity to do my civic duty and remind you all that annual speedrunning marat...
This Week in Games - Kill la Kill on Consoles and Super Smash Bros. Speculation
Trigger's Kill la Kill is going to be a videogame! Heidi has all the details, for better and worse. PLUS: Street Fighter V lootboxes, Mario Tennis and wild speculation about who will be in the next Smash!
― Well, it's that post-E3 lull time. There are a couple of new releases and a smattering of news bits, but it's kind of a recovery period for players and media folks alike. That doesn't mean that no...
This Week in Games - E3 Part 2: Game Announcements Ahoy!
This special sunday edition of This Week in Games collects E3's most exciting game announcements, plus the rest of this week's gaming news. If you feel like you missed anything at E3, catch up here!
― And we're back with the second part of our E3 news extravaganza! Except that, as I write this, the internet is losing its mind over something totally unrelated to E3: a tease by Studio Trigger that it's...
This Week in Games: E3 Press Conference Roundup
Heidi has all the best and most exciting trailers from this year's E3 press conferences, from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to Devil May Cry 5 and - of course - plenty of Kingdom Hearts III! Check it out all in one place.
― Hello, folks! Welcome to part one of a special two-part This Week in Games focusing on E3. For the first time in 15 years, I'm not actually at E3… but I've been glued to Twitch and T...
This Week in Games - The Unseen World of Pokemon
Heidi counts down the final moments before this year's E3 with the thrilling reveal of history's unseen Pokemon. Plus: Tales of Vesperia might be coming back, Tetris Effect, fighting game news and much more!
― We're getting close, folks. E3 is just around the corner. In fact, the official E3 Twitter account thinks it's already here. Can you feel the excitement in the air? Are you eagerly anticipating...
This Week in Games: Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu!
It's a huge week for game news - including Pokemon finally coming to your Switch, in a whole bunch of exciting ways. PLUS: Fallout 76, Heidi's review of the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and much much more!
― You can tell we're close to E3 season because the pre-announcement announcements are already coming in strong. I don't really understand why people watched hours upon hours of a dul...
This Week in Games - Steam Giveth and Steam Taketh Away
Steam unceremoniously yanked a bunch of sexy anime games, and the community exploded. PLUS: Kingdom Hearts III, a whole lotta Yakuza and much more!
― Hey folks! I'm back after taking a week off. I'm fresh and ready to write about all the hot gaming news going on. Nothing on the Internet blew up in a huge cloud of controversy while I was away, did it? … Oh, goddammit. THE WHOLE HORNY GAMES ON STEAM DE...
This Week in Games - Crossed-Over and Painless
Todd guest-hosts this week with a look at the history of crazy (and crazy obscure) video-game crossovers! Plus Bloodstained goes retro, Guilty Gear returns, and a Famicom full of Shonen Jump!
― Hey, remember me? I used to write this column back when it was called The X Button, when Nintendo's big system was the chronically underfed Wii U, and when all of this was just trees. I'm filling in for Heidi ...
This Week in Games - A New Robotech Game?!
Inexplicably, there's a new retro-style Robotech game coming - Heidi has the details. PLUS: Smash Bros. at E3, classic Nintendo games on Switch and much more!
― Hello again, folks! What have you been playing lately? I'm still working my way through Super Robot Wars X. Here I was thinking I might be done with it by now… well, that illusion was dispelled fast. It's another week that's a bit sparse on n...
This Week in Games - Nintendo's Monkey Business
It might be kind of a slow week for games news, but there's some brand-new Nintendo news and releases, plus Soul Calibur VI, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Super Robot Wars and much more!
― Hey all! Hope you're enjoying May so far. It's been another slow-ish week, which is good, because I've been busy with a bunch of personal stuff. I've also been playing some Super Robot Wars X, so look forward to a review o...
This Week in Games: World of Demons
DeNA producer Andrew Szymanski spills the details on Platinum's upcoming mobile action game World of Demons. PLUS: Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ news and a whole mountain of new releases!
― Hey all! This week, I want to write a bunch about a mobile game that looks super cool and promising… but before that, let's take a moment to fully grasp the harsh reality of the free-to-play, games-as-a-ser...
This Week in Games: Kirby Star Allies
Amidst an absolutely punishing amount of Sega news, Heidi finds time to finally catch up with Kirby's latest adventure. The verdict, plus all of this week's explosive game news!
― Here I was thinking this was going to be another pretty lazy week for gaming news. Then everything happened. Where do we even start? Well, let's look at a company near and dear to my heart: SEGA ANNOUNCES SO, SO MUCH This w...
This Week in Games - VR Kanojo
Virtual reality girlfriends finally arrive on Steam thanks to Illusion - what does it mean for the industry? PLUS: Blazblue, Witcher Nendoroids, Yo-Kai Watch and so much more!
― Stop the presses, everyone – as I write this, the most important gaming-related announcement of this week has just been unveiled. I'm talking, of course, about the Geralt of Rivia Nendoroid. If there's any collectible company...
This Week in Games - Dragon Quest XI
The latest expansive installment in the Dragon Quest series is finally getting an English release! Everything we know, plus Kirito and Asuna on your phone, next week's big releases and much more!
― Happy Easter weekend/spring break, everyone! After a deluge of news and work from GDC week, it's nice to enter a relatively calm period of releases and announcements. I'm keeping busy on my end, however: I...
This Week in Games GDC Edition: Spike Chunsoft Powers Up
It's a mountain of news and exciting new games from GDC, including the localization of Steins;Gate Elite, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Geralt in Soul Calibur VI and so much more!
― Oh jeez, this week has been exhausting. I've got a whole mess of news to report and and some interesting new releases to discuss, but I've actually spent most of this week running around Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. I ...
This Week in Games: Apply Nintendo Directly to the Forehead
It's a bursting pipe of Nintendo news, plus Dark Souls Amiibo, Broly arrives in Dragon Ball Fighterz, plus an interview with Viz Media's Eric Eberhardt on their indie games publishing initiative!
― Sorry folks, no time for a witty intro sequence, we got a whole bucketful of news to get to from Nintendo Direct! Oh BABY. Let's start with the big stuff first: SMASH BROS IS HEADED TO SWITCH Well, what do...
This Week in Games: UFOs, Valkyries, and Dream Diaries
Creepy classic Yume Nikki makes a triumphant return to Steam, plus the resurrection of Valkyrie Profile, a new original game from HAL Labs and much more!
― Nintendo is doing it again. They've got a Nintendo Direct ready to go precisely the day after this column goes live, which means everything I write here is going to seem horribly outdated within mere hours as everyone goes wild for Mother 3 or Sup...
This Week in Games - Technical Failures
We've got some bad news for Yakuza 6 and Chrono Trigger, but the clouds part for an interview with the developers behind SNK Heroines!
― Another fairly low-key week here at TWIG, so I'm going to use this opportunity to talk about old games. And by old games, I mean really old games. Like, Donkey Kong 3 level old. Donkey Kong 3 is a pretty radical gameplay departure from the first two games: it has a ...
This Week in Games: Secret of Mana
Heidi takes the Secret of Mana remake for a spin, plus Namco's Catalog IP project, Metal Gear Survive, Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC and a whole lot more!
― It's another one of those slow news weeks, which means I can take a bit of space in this column to babble about something I'm particularly interested in. This week, I've got the perfect excuse to talk about two things I really like: the mobile game Go...
This Week in Games: Dynasty Warriors 9 Interview
The unkillable musou franchise is back once more! Producer Akihiro Suzuki goes in-depth on the series' legacy and how Dynasty Warriors 9 changes things - plus news and new releases!
― Good lord, it's like a never-ending deluge of news and releases this week! All kinds of big news and important happenings in the business have been dropping lately, to the point where I have to pick and choose carefully...
This Week in Games - Marvel vs. Capcom's Infinite Problems
The fighting game community was shocked to learn this week that Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite was snubbed by EVO 2018. Heidi has a few ideas why. PLUS: Yakuza delays, Blazblue RWBY and much more!
― Well, I'm finally back from my EVO Japan trip, and jetlag's hitting me like a pound of bricks. Or maybe it's just residue from the nasty cold I got that knocked me out for a while. Much fun was had pre-, duri...
This Week in Games: Mario on the Big and Small Screen
There's a bunch of piping hot news from Nintendo this week, plus EVO Japan, Monster Hunter's monster success, and Mario Kart on your phone, just like you always wanted.
― Since I'm overseas right now, my submission schedule for This Week in Games is a bit off. This week I'm coming in just under the wire, mainly because Nintendo decided to, well, pull a Nintendo and drop a whole mess of news in my lap...
This Week in Games: Nintendo Gone Wild
There's a mountain of brand-new Nintendo news, from Detective Pikachu to craft cardboard. PLUS: SNK Heroines, Final Fantasy XV returns and much more!
― THIS WEEK IN GAMES: NINTENDO GONE WILD! When I write this column, I usually begin by writing an outline on Tuesday morning, working on it Tuesday and Wednesday, and then submitting it Wednesday evening for publication early Thursday morning. This usua...
This Week in Games: The Sonic Adventure Music Experience
Celebrate a great week in gaming with record sales for the Nintendo Switch, the Awesome Games Done Quick marathon, and our coverage of composer Jun Senoue's Sonic music concert at MAGFest!
― Welp, we are officially a week and a half into 2018. Everyone been making progress on their backlogs? … yeah, that's what I thought. Anyway, did you all watch Pop Team Epic? I think that even fans of the manga ha...
This Week in Games: Persona gets Funky and Shots get Fired
Kenshiro gets delayed and the Persona gang are ready to once again take the dance floor - plus the rest of this week's major gaming news!
― Happy New Year, everyone! 2017 was a banner year for videogames, and 2018's already looking promising. Hell, January's already pretty stacked for fans of Japanese gaming – particularly competitive games, as we've got both Dragonball FighterZ and Dissidia Final Fa...
This Week in Games: The First Final Fantasy Rides Again
The original FF adventure makes an unexpected return thanks to the efforts of the Final Fantasy Record Keeper team. Plus, big news for Catherine, Dragonball FighterZ, and more!
― THIS WEEK IN GAMES: The First Final Fantasy Rides Again December 25th is just around the corner, but Christmas has come early for fans of certain franchises, it seems! If last week was a smorgasbord of news relating to big, ...
This Week in Games: Bayonetta 3, Death Stranding, and More!
Heidi breaks down this week's explosion of news following The Game Awards: Street Fighter EX, new Soul Calibur, and Norman Reedus's fantastic fetus!
― THIS WEEK IN GAMES: IT'S A NEWZAPALOOZA Jeez, I expected to have a whole ton of news to write about this week, but somehow news kept on flooding in even after the Game Awards and the PSX keynote! (Which, by the way, I was totally wrong about – the Game...
This Week in Games: You Should Be Playing Better Fanservice Games
School Girl/Zombie Hunter prompts Heidi to wonder, "why don't people play GOOD fanservice games?" PLUS: The return of Megaman, My Hero Academia and more!
― It's going to be an interesting weekend for game announcements. The Game Awards will be broadcasting tonight, and amongst all the cringe-inducing advertising there should be some big game announcements and trailers -- including, most likely, some...
This Week in Games: Apollo Justice and Animal Crossing Return
This Week in Games returns with a brand new host, plus hands-on with Apollo Justice on the 3DS and Animal Crossing on your phone!
― Hi everyone! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Heidi Kemps, and I'm a career games writer. I manage a little site called gaming.moe where I write about all kinds of weird gaming (and occasional non-gaming) topics, mostly related to niche and retro games. I also do freela...
This Week in Games - .hack//G.U. Last Recode
Dustin closes out his tenure on This Week in Games with a look at this nostalgic RPG trilogy, remastered and rereleased for the first time on PS4 and PC!
― Well, this is it. My final installment of This Week in Games. The column should be continuing shortly under new management, so this is goodbye—er, well, actually, I guess I'll save that for the end. In the meantime, you can catch me on Twitter, wh...
This Week in Games - Super Mario Odyssey
Dustin digs into the fastest-selling Mario game in history, along with this week's other big news from Nintendo and Sony.
― Folks, I've some sad news to share. The next edition of This Week In Games will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, but I don't have the time I once did to bring you my entirely unimpeachable views on video games every single week. I know, I know, it'll be tough—but let's be...
This Week in Games - Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon
Dustin take a look at the last game in Gust's "Beautiful Girl Festival" project, along with this week's big Animal Crossing news and other upcoming Japanese game releases.
― The new Switch firmware added support for Gamecube controllers through the Wii U adapter. Yes, obviously this means that a Smash Bros. announcement is incoming. But I have to wonder if this is also a step toward putting Gamecube ...
This Week in Games - Bad Apple Wars
This edgy otome game makes its way to English-speaking players on the PS Vita, along with more news on The Good Life and Fire Emblem Warriors.
― Yoko Taro said he hopes to someday make an adult video. Should this be surprising? I don't know. For all its existential despair, Nier: Automata kept things pretty sexy, with 2B's finely-sculpted robo-booty ready to peek out from under her skirt at any momen...
This Week in Games - Seven Months With Nintendo Switch
Dustin runs down the highs and lows of Nintendo's newest console over the past year, along with this week's Japanese gaming news and new releases.
― The focus of this column is definitely not the SNES Mini. That's both because Todd already did an excellent write-up, and because the past week has seen me playing games on the Switch pretty obsessively—so much so that exploring the classics has been lef...
This Week in Games - Gundam Versus
The entire Gundam franchise gets crammed into an arena combat blender in Gundam Versus, plus Nioh on PC, Breath of the Wild production secrets and more!
― As if 2017's nonstop parade of excellent video games wasn't already enough, the past few weeks have seen the Switch's indie line-up upgrade from “good” to “positively bonkers.” Most of these games are out on other platforms, but the option of porta...
This Week in Games - Blue Reflection
What if the Persona games had magical girls in them? Dustin Bailey seeks to answer this question in his first look at Blue Reflection on the PS4.
― I'm finally filling in the holes in my Yakuza series knowledge, largely thanks to that reprint earlier this year that finally made the second game affordable again. I finished Yakuza 2 this week, and it deserves its fan-favorite position in the series. De...
This Week in Games - Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash
Dustin gets wet and wild with the girls of Senran Kagura on the PS4, along with this week's biggest news and other new game releases!
― You may have heard that homebrew developers—hackers, if you're feeling nasty—found a fully emulated version of NES Golf on board every shipping Nintendo Switch. After seemingly endless mystery surrounding why the ROM was there, they eventually discovered how to activ...
This Week in Games - Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light
An MMO-themed J-drama comes to Netflix, and Nintendo Direct unleashes a slough of new announcements like Project Octopath Traveler. All this and your new game releases with Dustin Bailey!
― I finished up Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle a few days ago, and it was a rad bit of tactical adventure throughout. In the column a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that its relative lack of randomness makes it fe...
This Week in Games - Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth
Dustin checks out the third installment in the Utawarerumono trilogy to see if it can improve on the second's shortcomings. Plus, this week's biggest Japanese gaming news and releases!
― The world as we know it is falling apart. Humble Bundle is running a special on trashy softcore VNs, and while I'm totally willing to admit that HuniePop is some okay smut, the presence of those infinitely-reproducin...
This Week in Games - Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Dustin falls in love with the X-Com style strategy combat that apparently comes about when you smash two cuddly mascots together. PLUS: it's a Yakuza-palooza!
― Partly inspired by the upcoming release of Samus Returns, I've played a lot of Metroid this week. I finally played through AM2R, and that thing is good even if it lacks the polish and variety of the games it's building off of. That point only...
This Week in Games - Eight Great Things Yet to Come in 2017
It's been an incredible year for gaming so far, but it still feels like we're just getting started! Dustin Bailey runs down all the things he's most excited for in 2017's last quarter.
― 2017 has already been an embarrassment of gaming riches, and that's especially true for fans of Japanese development. The best Yakuza yet made it to the West, Team Ninja put together perhaps the best Souls derivative...
This Week in Games - Sonic Mania
Sonic returns in a revved-up revival of his glory days on the Sega Genesis, but how well does it recreate the past? PLUS: Kirby's 25th anniversary, Okami HD and more!
― Kirby, likely Nintendo's most versatile mascot, turned 25 this month. Kirby's Dream Land, the original Game Boy game, is in hindsight kind of a bizarre little thing—an experiment in casual games for children, something with cute chara...
This Week in Games - Mega Man Legacy Collection 2
It's the one-year anniversary of This Week in Games, and what better way to celebrate than with the legacy of Mega Man. Is this second collection as nostalgic as the first?
― This week marks a full year since I took over ANN's weekly gaming column, and I hope that despite the loss of the X Button's trademark image alt-text, you've all enjoyed that time as much as I have. Things might be a little weir...
This Week in Games - Miitopia
Dustin dives in to the wild world of Miitopia, a sort-of sequel to the quirky Tomodachi Life. PLUS: Persona 5 spinoff-a-rama, Dragon Quest XI and much more!
― The New Nintendo 2DS XL—a name which remains a downright upsetting configuration of bizarre branding—released in North America this past Friday, and while there's still life in the 3DS line it seems very likely that this console will mark its f...
This Week in Games - Remember That Ghost in the Shell Shooter?
Dustin straps in for a look at the recently-relaunched Ghost in the Shell online shooter to find out if it's still worth joining Section 9. PLUS: Pokemon GO, Dragon Ball FighterZ and much more!
― Splatoon 2 is out, and it's great. It's been dominating game time for me since the weekend, and that's been across every single mode—casual, ranked, single-player, and Salmon Rush. But just because there's a...
This Week in Games - Accel World vs. Sword Art Online
The unimaginably popular worlds of light novel author Reki Kawahara collide in a new RPG. Dustin takes it for a spin. PLUS: Toy Story Kingdom Hearts and much more!
― Last column, I mentioned that Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator would be out this week, and that's still true despite a very last-minute delay. The developers put out a statement explaining that there were further bug fixes that needed...
This Week in Games - Don't Dig Up Your SNES
Dustin examines the curious case of Unholy Night, a Super Nintendo game released on a cartridge in the year 2017. PLUS: Splatoon 2, Fire Pro Wrestling and much more!
― The Netflix Castlevania has some real problems—chief among them its over-reliance on 90s-approved gruesome edginess—but gosh darn if I didn't end up being super into it. It's an adaptation that both respects the source material and cre...
This Week in Games - Breath of the Wild: The Master Trials
The first DLC pack for Breath of the Wild is out - is it just filler material, or is it worth the price of admission? PLUS: Code Vein, Gundam and much more!
― Fun personal fact about me, the guy who runs a column about Japanese games: last week's coverage of Tokyo Xanadu was my very first experience with a Nihon Falcom game. Given its regard as one of the weaker games in their catalog and how much I ...
This Week in Games - Arms
Dustin goes a few rounds with Nintendo's noodle-armed fighting game for the Switch just in time for the summer. PLUS: Konami controversy, Rap Rabbit's demise, Sega Forever and more!
― Even covering it from the comfort of a home office, the sheer volume of E3 was positively exhausting. My heart goes out to the poor writers in the trenches, and even more to the poor fans who paid money for the mostly u...
This Week in Games - Seven E3 Takeaways
Dustin has seven major takeaways from this year's E3, and we promise they aren't all about Dragonball FighterZ. PLUS: next week's new releases, including Nintendo's ARMS!
― E3 sure did happen. As always, it was a rough combination of the celebratory creativity of an entire medium and the cynicism its marketing and business has cultivated over the years. But look: video games are cool, the people who ...
This Week in Games - The Modest Life of Virtual Console
In the calm before the E3 storm, Dustin considers the legacy and future of Nintendo's Virtual Console service. PLUS: Pokemon, Final Fantasy Dissidia, more old Mega Man games and much more!
― Good god, E3 starts next week. Though I'm fortunate enough to not be going to LA, there's still a hint of dread mixed in with all the excitement for what's coming. It's a flood a-coming, one which comes in the af...
This Week in Games - Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni
Dustin takes a preview copy of Valkyrie Drive for the PC out for a spin and somehow manages to keep his clothing intact. PLUS: Nier: Automata sells like existentially nihilist hotcakes and more!
― The ARMS Global Testpunch happened over the weekend, and I played it. A lot of it, actually, and I ended up hitting nearly every single time slot, even getting up early a couple of days to play through the ...
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