Our Nostalgic Games: King of Fighters 2000

Famitsu Translations

Publish Date: 07/26/2018

Our Nostalgic Games ~Retro Gamer Round-table~ #191

Editors passionately discussing games playable on modern hardware that are just as good as they've ever been!

Arcade Archives Neo Geo (PS4) - The King of Fighters 2000

The 7th installment in the King of Fighters series. It allows for more fierce battles than before, with the introduction of Active Striker characters that can be called into battle at any time. Original Release Year: 2000 Hardware: Arcade Date of Digital Release: 06/21/2018 Maker: Hamster Continue Reading

Our Nostalgic Games: King of Fighters ’98

Famitsu Translations

Publish Date: 06/14/2018

Our Nostalgic Games ~Retro Gamer Round-table~ #185

Editors passionately discussing games playable on modern hardware that are just as good as they've ever been!

Arcade Archives Neo Geo (PS4) - The King of Fighters '98

SNK's masterpiece fighting game. With the Orochi Saga concluded in KOF 97, this game is a culmination of the series so far, featuring a ton of characters. Original Release Year: 1998 Hardware: Arcade Date of Digital Release: 1/11/2018 Maker: Hamster Continue Reading

Famitsu Feature: The Present State of Shooting Games

Famitsu Translations

A big multi-article feature entitled "The Present State of Shooting Games" which published in the 07/12/2018 issue of Famitsu magazine, centered around the recent release of famed shooter Ikaruga to the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 stores. Ikaruga got its own set of articles that I won't be translating, however there were three key articles in the bigger feature that interested me quite a bit as a fan of the shooter (Shmups, whatever you want to call it, just as long as you understand I'm not talking about First-Person Shooters) genre:

- Famitsu's 2D Shooting Family Tree 2018
  - Famitu put together a basic family tree (no it won't have EVERYTHING on it) on the evolution of the 2D shooter as of 2018, which gave me a chance to break out my draw.io flowchart skills for the translation once again!
- Talking with ZUN from the Touhou Series! A Conversation Hell
  - A very interesting conversation between old-school shooter fans, featuring various writers and editors, as well as Touhou Project creator ZUN. They discuss their memories of classic shooters, as well as how the genre led up to Bullet Hell and the formation of Touhou. All of this comes with pictures of them having a lot of fun in a dark izakaya with very delicious looking beer!
- Talking With Minoru Ikeda, Owner Of Takadanobaba Arcade Mikado: The Allure And Future of Shooting Games
  - In perhaps my favorite of the three articles, Famitsu talks to owner/operator of famed arcade Mikado in Tokyo's Takadanobaba area Minoru Ikeda about his history with shooting games and as an arcade operator. It's very interesting to hear about this sort of thing from the standpoint of someone who runs an arcade, and how what he feels it will take for shooters and arcades to revitalize themselves. I'll definitely be stopping into Mikado on my next trip to Japan!

Talking With Minoru Ikeda, Owner Of Takadanobaba Arcade Mikado: The Allure And Future of Shooting Games

Famitsu Translations

Publish Date: 07/12/2018

Now it's time to speak with Minoru Ikeda, the owner of the arcade "Mikado" located in Tokyo's Takadanobaba area. Ikeda was first attracted to arcade shooting games by Xevious. He talked with us about the history of shooting games and arcades from the dark days of shooters to the present, and the allure and future of shooting games from the perspective of the arcade. Continue Reading

Talking with ZUN from the Touhou Series! A Conversation Hell

Famitsu Translations

Publish Date: 07/12/2018

(Note: The Bullet Hell shooter genre is typically called 弾幕 (danmaku) or "Bullet Curtain". For the very cute pun made in the title of this feature, the "dan" kanji typically used for "danmaku" was substituted with another "dan" kanji (談), meaning "conversation") This features was decided upon right around the time that the editorial department established the "Famitsu Shooting Friends Party": A gathering for no other purpose than to discuss shooting games. When we get together, we have but one purpose! So we called in ZUN, the creator of Touhou Project, as a special guest to talk with us until morning at a bar. What are the origins of the Bullet Hell shooter? What significance do the bosses have? What are the revolutionary titles in the world of shooting games? We're bringing you these in-depth conversations, and more. Continue Reading