Tag: Japan - Page 10
News Disco Elysium To Be Released In Japanese On Nintendo Switch Later This Year
With Spike Chunsoft as publisher
It's quite the task to localise a game. It's even more of a task to localise a narrative game. But a game like Disco Elysium, which contains around 1.2 million words, many of them complex political, psychological, and fictional concepts, it's probably near-impossible. Nevertheless, it has been done. Developer ZA/UM...
Japanese Charts Mario Strikers Is Pipped At The Post By Demon Slayer
Nintendo Switch Sports slips to third
This week's Japanese charts (as reported by Famitsu) have seen a bit of a shake-up! We thought that maybe the newly released Mario Strikers: Battle League would score the number one spot, but it's been sliced away by the Switch port of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles. In the week of 6th...
News The Switch Has Now Sold Over 25 Million Units In Japan
And Animal Crossing is still the best-selling game
In just over five years since it launched, the Switch has now sold 25 million units in Japan according to Famitsu. Just last month, the hybrid console overtook the 3DS to become the third best-selling console of all time in the country, and now it's smashed another milestone target. Shared on...
Random This Cosy Rowlet Armchair Is The Perfect Cuddling Seat
A place to Roost
We've likely said that Pokémon gets the best merchandise before, but today, we want to hammer home that point a little bit more. Japanese company Cellutane has revealed a brand new Pokémon chair based on the Grass-type starter from generation 7, Rowlet. The armchair features all of the adorable owl Pokémon's key features, from...
News Nintendo Switch Dominates The Month Of May In Japan
Is anyone surprised?
We've got the full sales data for the month of May in Japan and it was another strong performance for the Nintendo Switch, surprising absolutely no one. Nintendo Switch Sports took the top spot in terms of game sales, shifting almost 420,000 units after its launch on April 29th. This performance puts the game just behind its...
News Metal Max Xeno: Reborn Sequel Has Been Cancelled
Lost in the Wild West
Metal Max Xeno: Reborn has finally reached us in the West. The RPG series has never been a huge hit outside of Japan, and this latest entry changed up the formula by making it a more open-world adventure. Developer Kadokawa Games has been working on a direct sequel called Metal Max: Wild West, first announced in 2019 (as Metal...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Sports Continues To Lead The Charge
Another strong week for the Switch
Nintendo Switch Sports is still the king of the Japanese charts this week. The sports simulation game racked up another 28,259 sales in the week of 30th May to 5th June. It's fast approaching 500,000! But it faced some stiff competition from a brand new release this week. MAGES' visual novel, The Quintessential...
News Hidekazu Yukawa, Former Managing Director Of Sega, Has Passed Away
The face of the Dreamcast in Japan
Hidekazu Yukawa, former managing director of SEGA at the time of the Dreamcast's release and dubbed by fans as 'Mr. Sega', has passed away, it has been revealed. Famitsu shared the news that Yukawa, 78, passed due to complications from pneumonia last June. His family chose to keep this news private until today...
Video Mario Strikers: Battle League Scores Another Overview Trailer Ahead Of Next Week's Kick-Off
The match begins June 10th
Mario Strikers: Battle League is out next week, and ahead of its release on the Switch, Nintendo has uploaded a new trailer. This is another lengthy overview - going through character moves, stats and upgrade customisation. The catch is that it's all in Japanese. Nintendo may localise this 7-minute clip in the near...
Japanese Charts The Nintendo Switch Continues To Dominate The Top Ten
Led by Nintendo Switch Sports and Kirby
Getting comfy? Our weekly Japanese charts update certainly is. For the second week in a row, it's an all-Switch Top Ten with Nintendo Switch Sports still comfortably at the top of the charts during the week of 23rd May - 29th May. It's going to be a sticker, this one, and Switch Sports now surpassed the...
News Kirby's 30th Anniversary Music Festival Will Be Getting Two Performances
Update: Say happy birthday, twice!
Update [Thu 2nd June, 2022 09:30 BST] Well it seems like everyone wants a piece of Kirby's 30th birthday celebrations! HAL Laboratory shared an update on Twitter today that will please many Kirby fans who are desperate to attend the show in person. A second daytime performance, which will open at 11am JST and...
Random Nintendo's Mario Strikers Email Typo Accidentally Creates Rocket League Rival
Battle League Deluxe
We all make typos from time to time — this writer should definitely know that! But when a big company makes one, it can be a source of confusion or a source of amusement. And in a rare instance, Nintendo (specifically the Japanese branch of the company) made a slight mistake that brought a smile to many people's faces. Last...
Soapbox Help, I Can't Stop Buying Japanese Games I Don't Understand And Will Never Play
Nintendo sixty-moarrr
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've got on their minds. Today, Gavin ponders why he's spending time and money importing Nintendo curios from the East that he's not even sure he'll play... It all started with Morita Shogi 64. If you're...
The game is apparently 70% done
Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu recently sat down with four of the developers behind upcoming RPG, Trinity Trigger — which was leaked earlier this week for a Japan release later this year. They spoke about their goals in creating a "traditional RPG" in the vein of Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and
Random Pokémon Sweet Store In Japan Announces Adorable Pikachu Waffles
A Sweet Kiss of sugar
So there are various reasons we at Nintendo Life would like to go to Japan. One of the biggest is all the fancy video game-themed cafés dotted around Tokyo. Capcom, Square Enix — Dragon Quest even gets its own — there are tons of places to eat and drink that are inspired by your favourite video games, from eating moogle...
Japanese Charts An All-Switch Top Ten Is Led By Nintendo Switch Sports
A swathe of Switch games!
The weekly Japanese charts are painting a familiar picture week-on-week. In a week dominated by Switch game sales, Nintendo Switch Sports is once again sitting at the top of the pile, selling another 35,088 units in the week of 16th May to 22nd May. All ten games in the top ten are Nintendo Switch releases this week, which...
News New Action RPG Trinity Trigger Scores A Nintendo Switch Demo, Out Now (Japan)
A new game by Xenoblade, Mana and Pokémon alumni
Following on from the accidental leak earlier this week, a demo for the new action RPG Trinity Trigger has now been released on the Nintendo Switch eShop in Japan. Although it's mostly in Japanese, you can still get an idea of how it plays. This new game published by FuRyu and developed by Three...
News Masahiro Sakurai Recently Had A Meeting With HAL Laboratory
New game when?
Although Masahiro Sakurai is now done with Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems like he may not be slowing down any time soon. In a bit of an update on social media, the director of Nintendo's all-star Smash Bros. series revealed how he recently had an online meeting with his former employer, HAL Laboratory. He had no need to necessarily...
News 'Sonic Speed Q&A' Airing Next Month In Japan, Ask Sonic Anything
What questions have you got for the blue blur?
It's a busy year for Sonic the Hedgehog, but somehow the blue blur still has time to take questions from his loyal fanbase. In fact, between 25th May and 2nd June, Sega Japan will be taking questions on his behalf (via social media) - allowing fans to ask the VTuber version of him anything they want for...
News Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection II Launches On Switch This September
Japan only, for now...
Remember back in March when Edia announced it had plans to release a second collection of Valis titles on the Nintendo Switch? Well, it's now locked in a release date...at least for Japan, confirming this three-in-one classic collection will be released on 22nd September. This second collection, known officially as Valis: The...
Random The Final Zelda Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book Has Been Uncovered
And it looks stunning
History of Hyrule has been doing some fantastic work in archiving The Legend of Zelda series history. And they've been at it once again with another fantastic find. In January, we reported that the archivist had uploaded a 1986 choose-your-own-adventure book that contained tons of quirky lost Zelda lore. That book was based on...
Random An Animal Crossing Nature Encyclopedia Is Releasing In Japan
Hoo-HOO!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' ripe and varied ecology is one of its most lovely assets. From the bugs and fish changing every month, season, and even time of day, to the fossils you can uncover. In Japan, the game has often been used as an educational tool, with a tie-in stamp rally event running at an aquarium in Japan. Now, you don't...
News Suda51 Teases New Grasshopper Manufacture Game Reveal, Possibly Before The End Of 2022
"I want to hurry up and show everyone"
Towards the end of 2021, the famous video game creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda announced his development studio had joined the Chinese video game group NetEase. With No More Heroes 3 now complete, Suda 51's team is focused on creating new and original IP projects over the next decade. In a recent interview...
News Live A Live Remake Stream Unleashes Four New Trailers And Gameplay Footage
The Wild West, the Middle Ages, the Near Future, and Edo Japan
We've got a bounty of new Live A Live news! Square Enix's upcoming remake of the Super Famicom RPG received a livestream today, featuring the director of the original and producer of the remake, Takashi Tokita, and the now-legendary composer of the original, Yoko Shimomura. And in that...
News The Switch Has Now Outsold The 3DS In Japan
Is now the third bestselling system in the region
It's no secret that the Switch has proven to be a roaring success worldwide. Just recently, we reported on the system's remarkable achievement in overtaking PS4 sales in North America, and now it's just hit another major milestone in its native Japan. As reported by Game Data Library on Twitter, the...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Sports And Kirby Still Reign Supreme
Square Enix's The Centennial Case charts
We're back to our regularly scheduled weekly Japanese charts after last week's report gave us two weeks' worth of sales. But there are no real surprises as Nintendo Switch Sports continues to dominate. It sold over three times as many copies over the period of 9th to 15th May as its closest competitor,...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Sports Dominates As Kirby Holds Strong
Sports, yeah!
The latest Japanese charts are in and thanks to 'Golden Week', today's figures cover two weeks' worth of sales, from April 25th to May 8th. This means, of course, that's it's the debut entry of Nintendo Switch Sports, which storms to the top of the pile with 304,588 units sold. Kirby and the Forgotten Land continues to sell well,...
News Psychological Horror RPG 'Omori' Gets A June Release Date On Switch
Japan's Indie World confirms
OMOCAT's highly-anticipated Switch port of its horror RPG, Omori, was one of the featured games during Japan's Indie World showcase. And the presentation also confirmed an official release date for the game — 17th June! While we initially reported that the game's physical edition would be shipping out on the same day,...
News A New Pokémon X Converse Range Is Coming To Stores In Japan
We want all of them
The Pokémon franchise has seen its fair share of merchandise across the years. From trading cards to cuddly toys and even themed cars, there's something for every fan to enjoy. Over in Japan, footwear company Converse is launching a new collaboration with Pokémon, launching ranges for both children and adults. The children's...
News Nintendo Reveals Opening Cinematic For Mario Strikers: Battle League
Out on Switch this June
While Nintendo's western branches are seemingly focused on promoting Nintendo Switch Sports and certain upcoming releases, its homeland (Japan) appears to be really excited about the release of Mario Strikers: Battle League next month. Last week, Nintendo's Japanese YouTube channel shared an introductory overview trailer -...
News Ace Attorney's 20th Anniversary Concert Takes Place Later This Week
Here's the full tracklist
As you might recall, the Ace Attorney series is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. Yep, it's been a whole 20 years since the series originally made its Japanese debut on the Game Boy Advance in 2001. It's still going strong 20 years later, and to pay respect to the series, a special 20th anniversary orchestral...
Send in the Toaplanes
M2’s ShotTriggers series has been an ongoing pilgrimage of preservation for some of the greatest shoot-em-up’s in arcade history. Hishou Same! Same! Same! combines an early Toaplan series of two: Hishouzame and Same! Same! Same!, known in the West as Flying Shark and Fire Shark, respectively. Both original arcade titles are...
News Capcom Fighting Collection Is Getting A Global Physical Release, Pre-Orders Now Live
Update: Pre-orders appear at US retailers
Update: If you were wanting to get your hands on a copy of the standard physical edition, you're in luck! Pre-orders for the game have now appeared across a number of popular US retailers – we've added all the links you need in our original article below. Original Article (Wed 23rd Feb, 2022 12:45 GMT):...
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons To Get A Lovely Second Soundtrack This June
Update: Available to pre-order now!
Update: Both the 'Original Soundtrack 2' collection and the K.K. Slider vinyl release are now available to pre-order at PlayAsia with worldwide shipping available. Here are the links you need (more info in our original article below): <products id="18687,18688"> Original Article (Thu 28th Apr, 2022 11:00...
Video 7 Nintendo Switch Games Exclusive To Japan That We Really Want Localised
Yo-Kai Watch 4, Dragon Quest X and more!
As much as we love the Nintendo Switch, one downside is the fact so many great games still are still exclusive to Japan. With this in mind, our American-based video producer Zion Grassl has rounded up a bunch of games that we would love to see localised. There are all sorts of games from Yo-Kai Watch 4,...
News River City Saga: Three Kingdoms For Switch Launches This July In The West
Celebrating 35 years of Kunio-kun
Update [Fri 29th Apr, 2022 04:00 BST]: Arc System Works and APlus Games have now confirmed River City Saga: Three Kingdoms will be released here in the west on Switch on 21st July for $29.99 USD (or your regional equivalent). Japan is also receiving a physical version. You can check out the announcement trailer...
News It's Official, Knuckles Is Now A VTuber
Amy has also been teased
One of the ways Sega celebrated 30 years of Sonic the Hedgehog last year was by transforming the blue blur into a VTuber. This was followed by his lovable sidekick Tails receiving the same treatment and now it's Knuckles' time to shine. Yes, that's right - in another official Sonic livestream in Japan, Knuckles has made
Japanese Charts eBaseball Powerful Pro 2022 Is A Home Run As Kirby Slips To Third
The Switch family closes in on 25 million
We've got the sales figures from the latest Famitsu Japanese charts, and during the week of 18th - 24th April, Kirby and the Forgotten Land was dethroned by a double-assault from eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2022. The latest entry in the hugely popular eBaseball series smashed the competition to sell a...
News Hulu Video Streaming Is Now Available On Nintendo Switch In Japan
Download it today
There have been calls for more streaming services to be made available on the Nintendo Switch, and it seems Japan has got a new one today. It's the American subscription platform Hulu and can be downloaded for free right now if you're located in this region. It was previously released in North America on the Switch eShop back in...
News Legend Of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal Anime Launches This Year, Here's A First Look
Celebrating 30 years of Seiken Densetsu
Square Enix is teaming up with Warner Bros. Japan to release Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal - a new television anime based on Square Enix's Legend of Mana action RPG video game. The show will air at some point in 2022. As part of this announcement, Square Enix and WB have released the key visual for the...
News Masahiro Sakurai Celebrates Kirby's 30th Birthday On Social Media
It's been 30 years since Dream Land
Today is a very important day in the history of the Kirby series. 30 years ago in Japan on 27th April 1992, the pink puff started out in his very first adventure - Kirby's Dream Land on the original Game Boy. The creator of Kirby was actually Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai, who at the time, worked at...
News Super Nintendo World Visitors In Japan Can Now Rent Switch Docks In Their Hotels
Hotel Mario
Holidays are great and all, but when you have to go back to the hotel at the end of the day, it's a bit of a bummer to not be able to boot up a nice game of Mario Party Superstars on the bedroom TV — unless you've brought your Nintendo Switch dock with you, but why would you waste precious luggage space on a dock when you can fill it...
Japanese Charts Kirby And The Forgotten Land Continues To Dominate
There's just no stopping it
The latest Famitsu Japanese charts are in for the period from 11th April - 17th April. It's yet another triumph for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, with the latest entry to the Kirby franchise coming in at number one. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim enters into the charts in a strong position, coming in at number two with a total...
News Japan's Next Trial For Nintendo Switch Online Has Been Revealed
Go on a mission with Team Bond
Following on from the news that Dragon Quest Builders 2 would be the next free trial for Switch Online users in North America and Europe, Nintendo has now revealed what Japan will be getting. This time around, it's Koei Tecmo's visual novel-style adventure game Buddy Mission:
News Coca-Cola Releases 'Super Nintendo World' Anniversary Bottle Design
It won't give you a 1-UP, though
Coca-Cola Japan has released a limited bottle design to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the grand opening of Super Nintendo World. The theme park opened in Osaka, Japan on March 18th, 2021 after a relatively short delay thanks to the reintroduction of COVID-19 restrictions in the city. Universal Parks &...
News Pokémon Variety Show To Share "Latest Information On The Pokémon Games" Next Week
Catch this broadcast
Trainers got a lot of details about Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet when the new generation was first revealed in February. So when is the next update? Well, there might be something planned for next week. According to the Pocketmonsters.net Twitter account, the Japanese Pokémon Variety show called 'PokéDoko 4' will...
News Atlus Mobile RPG 'Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible' Announced For Switch eShop
Will be another 'G-Mode Archives+' release
G-Mode has announced it will release the Atlus-made RPG Megami Tensei Gaiden: Shinyaku Last Bible as a 'G-MODE Archives+' title for Switch eShop in Japan. As you might already know, this is a spin-off of the Megami Tensei series, and was originally released on mobile devices in Japan in 2007. There's no...
Random Classic Kirby Goes Supersize With This Irresistible 30th Anniversary Plush
More to squeeze and more to love
Did you know Kirby's 30th birthday is coming up soon? The pink puffball's 30th anniversary is on 27th April, which is when Kirby's Dream Land first came out in Japan in 1992. He wasn't pink here then, due to a misunderstanding and the Game Boy's lack of colour, but we know the truth, Nintendo. There are already a...
Random These Pokémon Nail Polishes Will Ensure You Can Win Any Beauty Contest
There's a type for everyone
The Pokémon series pretty much has the market in the palm of its hand when it comes to the amount and variety of merchandise that it has. So no one is going to bat an eyelid at Pokémon nail polish, right? Japanese beauty brand uka has created a line of Pokémon-inspired nail lacquers. This is the latest in the brand's...
Japanese Charts Kirby And The Forgotten Land Is On Top For Another Week
A familiar story this Spring
The Famitsu Japanese charts for the first full week of April are in, and, well, it's a pretty similar story to last week. Kirby and the Forgotten Land continues to crush the competition. While sales numbers have almost halved compared to last week, Kirby still sold nearly four times more than the next best-selling game,...