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November 24, 2024
 

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Steven L. Kent
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Sep 9, 2004
Return of the plant people
"Pikmin 2" may be old news around Japan, but it's fresh out in English.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 26, 2004
Shedding light on Doom 3
There's a slight glitch in the instantaneous transport system that Union Aerospace Corp. (UAC) is developing in its Mars labs -- it opens the portals of Hell.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Aug 12, 2004
Managing to make droids dull
"Front Mission 4" for PlayStation 2 is a turn-based combat-strategy game in which players pilot robots. All of these elements, except maybe the giant robots, are central to understanding the latest offering from Square Enix.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jul 29, 2004
Old-school fun and honor
OK, I'll admit it again, I am a sucker for well-made old-style games. The "Metal Slug" series is not especially old, but I love the way it has refused to adapt to the brave new world of 3-D gaming.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jul 15, 2004
A hero's work is never done
In "Spider-Man 2" the movie, Peter Parker is constantly late for work, science class and get-togethers. In "Spider-Man 2" the game, we find out why.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 30, 2004
Into you like a diesel truck
Richard B. Riddick, a savage killer with see-in-the-dark eyes and ice water running through his veins, wants out of the futuristic penitentiary known as Butcher Bay -- the setting of "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay," a new offering for the Xbox from Vivendi Universal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 17, 2004
Puzzle-solving grudge match
Feeling rather bored with life, Donkey Kong, Nintendo's 900-pound gorilla, breaks into a toy factory and steals a shipment of mechanical Mario dolls. To return the dolls, players must help Mario chase the big ape through 40 single-screen levels of chutes and ladders.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jun 3, 2004
Sims creator: always unique
Will Wright, the creator of "The Sims," may be most accurately described as a cross between Stephen Hawking and Willy Wonka. He has a quirky and ironic sense of humor and a large and loyal following in the gaming world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 20, 2004
Bigger isn't always better
When I visited the Pokemon Center near Tokyo Station recently, the line into the store wrapped all the way around the block. There was a one-hour wait to get in. When I asked if the store was always this packed, a clerk said, "It's usually much more crowded."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Apr 22, 2004
Drive-in kitsch delivers big
What do American's know about monsters and monster movies?
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Apr 8, 2004
Namco has a hit on its hands
It's not often that I review games that I can't pronounce; but on a recent visit to Namco's corporate offices in Tokyo, I could not get my lips around the name "Katamari Damashii."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 25, 2004
A legend returns better than ever
Ryu Hayabusa, last hope of the Hayabusa Clan, is one of the video game world's most famous ninja. Last seen in 1995, in Tecmo's "Ninja Gaiden Trilogy" for Super Famicom, Hayabusa is one of the few old-school game characters who remains vivid in many gamers minds despite a long hiatus.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Mar 11, 2004
This Cat falls flat on the mat
Don't look for traces of Dr. Seuss in "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" coming out from Vivendi Universal Games for Xbox on March 25. He's not there.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 26, 2004
Spacecraft takes us back to future
Between the early niche years of "Pong" and the release of "Pac-Man," video gaming became where people went to play science fiction.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Feb 12, 2004
Classic game builds on game classic
Nintendo's Metroid has always been more popular in the United States and Europe than in Japan, but I'm really not sure why. The series follows the adventures of Samus, a female microbe-massacring bounty-hunter/astronaut, in some truly incredible space armor.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 29, 2004
Zip and zap -- Sonic's back
"Sonic Heroes," a very entertaining new arcade adventure from Sega for GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2, has four background stories -- and not one of them make sense.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Jan 15, 2004
Green man hulks his weight about
"Hulk," a game based on the new Universal Studios movie, has an element that is missing from most games based on superheroes -- fun.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 25, 2003
Egypt game brought to life
Sphinx is an ancient but not unathletic Egyptian hero with gangly arms and a lion's tail. Tut, short for Tutankhamen, is a goofy prince turned into a mummy before his time by an evil brother -- but being a mummy has certain advantages.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Dec 11, 2003
Mortality vs. morality
James Cash is the death row inmate and protagonist of "Manhunt" -- an ultra-violent new game for PlayStation2 from Rockstar Games -- and is given a new lease of life when his lethal injection turns out to be a sedative.
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Nov 27, 2003
Hobbit's-eye view of world
You cannot put yourself in Frodo's shoes as Hobbits walk barefoot. You can, however, walk in Frodo's virtual footsteps.
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Woman dies after train collides with car in Tochigi
A Moka Railway train car
Japan will spend ¥325 million in government funds on Princess Yuriko's funeral
Princess Yuriko waves during the New Year's public greeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in January 2019.
133-year-old Kyushu railway station remains to be partially preserved
The remains of the original Moji Station in Kitakyushu
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Kaito Kikuchi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of his company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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