Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture

As the creative lead for a game, directors are responsible for everything that’s included and purposefully omitted. As such, they often get the bulk of media attention. But the producer serves an equally important role, ...

Mirroring the moniker of their parent company, Idea Factory, developer Compile Heart has been consistently proficient when it comes to conceptualization. Record of Agarest War introduced an intriguing “Soul Breed” system into the SRPG genre, ...

With the release of Bandai Namco’s Lost Reavers and Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge, it seems Nintendo is committing to a ride on the free-to-play train. While the strategy might not save the Wii ...

Intellectual properties are vigilantly defended in the United States. Try to make your own Star Wars fighting game and you’ll likely receive a cease and desist letter as soon as Disney discovers your aspirations. But ...

Few countries feature as rich a gaming heritage as Japan. Known for crafting unique experiences, several genres as we know them today was either created or inspired by titles hailing from the rising sun. Yet, ...

Anime centered around pop idolatry is hardly novel, with series such as AKB0048, Aikatsu!, Show by Rock!! and The Idolm@ster, each extending their own portrayal of the lives of teenaged songstresses. But with the exceptional ...

While Western gamers were able to enjoy the aesthetic grandeur and engrossing gameplay of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, they weren’t able to appreciate Tomohiko Deguchi’s directorial effort. Regrettably, both the Stateside and European releases of ...

Not long ago, being a Japanese role-playing enthusiast in the West meant dealing with uncertainty.  After all, it was common for exceptional experiences to never see a stateside release. If you wanted to enjoy games ...

From the reappearance of Star Fox’s Fox McCloud, Corpse Party’s Satoshi Mochida, and nine classic SEGA titles in the SEGA 3D Classics Collection (sadly, an unlockable version of Fantasy Zone was lost in the jump ...

While Western players might not recognize the Kunio-kun series by name, they’re likely to have appreciated some of the long-running franchise’s localized iterations. From Renegade, River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball, Crash ‘n’ the Boys: ...