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16-bit Final Fantasy XIII story recap will make you weep big fat nerd tears

Mike
Jan 31, 2014
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Put on your nostalgia glasses, people: Square Enix has seen fit to grace us with one of its greatest non-playable endeavors of all time with a Final Fantasy XIII story recap done up in Super Nintendo-era graphics a la Final Fantasy VI – otherwise known as Final Fantasy III or The Best JRPG Ever.

Because this video compresses hundreds of hours of gameplay and hard-earned story revelations into a little under eight minutes, we must issue the most urgent spoiler warning we’ve ever issued, so JRPG fans who have for some reason not yet played the latest Final Fantasy be warned.

Contest in Japan gives you the chance to be held like a princess by a sumo wrestler

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 29, 2014

In commemoration of reaching 30,000 followers on Twitter, the Japan Sumo Association announced a special contest that will give winners the chance to be “carried like a princess” by a real sumo wrestler. If the picture is anything to go by, the wrestlers will be fully clothed instead of appearing in their traditional loincloths used during matches…darn.

Do we have time for three hours of classic NES start screens? Yes we do

Casey Baseel
Jan 28, 2014

In the last 15 months, every major video game console maker has released a new piece of hardware. Each has titles with phenomenal, sometimes photo-realistic visuals, and soundtracks that make it seem like there’s a full orchestra hiding behind the TV providing musical accompaniment.

And yet, none of them stir any stronger emotions than the openings to the original games in the Final Fantasy and Legend of Zelda series, exactly as they appeared in their NES/Famicom forms. There’s something perfect about those 8-bit intros, even if they can’t match the technical heights of current games. If anything, the fact that their designers struggled against those restraints, but still managed to create something moving, helps to convey their emotion all the better.

That direct transmission of effort and personal passion, which can never be completely duplicated with more complex titles and the larger staff such endeavors require, is exactly what’s on display in this three-hour compilation of NES start screens.

This man’s account of single-handedly digging his own well is oddly moving

Krista Rogers
Jan 28, 2014

Have you got what it takes to dig your own private well? Well, to be honest, the thought has never really crossed our minds before, but after watching this video we’ve sure been inspired to try (sounds like a good summer project for Mr. Sato). We’ve also learned that well-digging is not for the faint of heart. Here’s the video journal of one man’s long journey to create a well in his backyard over the course of a summer. His adventure was full of ups and downs and many frustrating moments, but the end result was worth all of the trouble, not to mention making surprisingly interesting watching. Join us after the jump for a slideshow of this strenuous undertaking!

Perfectly timed photo at sumo match captures moment of surprising beauty, sumo super powers

Philip Kendall
Jan 28, 2014

Its popularity may be dwindling in today’s world of ultra-rich football and baseball teams and their players, but there’s something wonderfully dignified, almost majestic, about sumo. And as one photograph shared last weekend by the Japan Sumo Association shows, there is perhaps even more magic to be seen if only we could all just slow down and open our eyes a little more often.

Our anime dreams come true as we operate a robot suit from Appleseed

Casey Baseel
Jan 27, 2014

For years, science fiction movies have been teasing us with visions of high-tech wonders that remain frustratingly just out of reach. Where are our flying cars? Shouldn’t we at least have those hovering skateboards by now? How is it we can put a man on the moon, but we haven’t perfected an automated kitchen that can read our thoughts and cook what we want for dinner?

But today, the waiting ends for one of our technology-based dreams, as we operate a powered robot suit from anime and manga hit Appleseed.

Special photo booths let you pose with sumo wrestlers without having to strap on a loincloth

Casey Baseel
Jan 25, 2014

Should your visit to Tokyo coincide with a sumo tournament being held in the city, you really owe it to yourself to see the sport in person. Tickets are reasonably priced, the matches are fast-paced and showcase a surprisingly large variety of techniques (many similar to those of offensive linemen in football), and there’s really no way to properly convey the amazing controlled ferocity through a television screen. Best of all, the arena is compact enough that even the cheap seats provide a good view of the action.

And in case you need an added incentive, the venue is now home to two special sticker picture booths, where a little digital photo manipulation allows you to take a snapshot with your favorite sumo wrestler.

Epic win for live-action Attack on Titan video made by German fans【Video】

Krista Rogers
Jan 21, 2014

Live-action adaptations of your favorite anime series are sometimes painful to watch. On rare occasions, they’re actually pretty decent, even though stories with supernatural or sci-fi elements tend to be especially difficult to reproduce faithfully in real life…or so we thought until now. Before now, many people have commented that a live-action version of the insanely popular Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) would be impossible to execute well. But a group of enthusiastic German fans have proven everyone wrong with their amazing video which runs like a movie trailer! This production has truly raised the bar for fans around the world. One more important detail: they have real horses!

Talented artist imagines what Game of Thrones would look like in feudal Japan

Philip Kendall
Jan 21, 2014

Having learned the hard way that some TV series exist simply to keep viewers hanging for years (yes, Lost, I am looking at you), I have to admit that I gave the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones a wide berth for quite some time after it first aired. A few months and the contraction of a very nasty cold later, I found myself in bed with a heap of medication, a DVD box-set and little else to do. By the time I was back on my feet, I was a huge fan of the series (and may have run “Game of Thrones blonde girl” through Google a couple of times) and swallowed, along with the last of the medicine, my usual stubborn pride by telling friends that I was ready to join in their nerdy conversations and even read the books that they had all finished with years ago.

Little did I know, though, that the TV show could be made all the more awesome by recreating some of its more memorable scenes in the style of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, with all of my favourite characters looking like they reside in feudal Japan rather than Westeros.

Pokemon radish discovered in Japan, just as cute as the original

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 21, 2014

Daikon radishes have been really stepping up their game lately and upping the cuteness to a solid 11. First, we saw these adorable mounds of grated daikon capybaras swimming in soup. Now, a little old lady has grown a daikon that bears a striking resemblance to a Pokemon character. More on where the little guy was found and how it came to be after the break!

Professional cosplayer turns talents on 54-year-old mother, awesomeness ensues

Mike
Jan 20, 2014

Since you’re reading our kinda geeky site about Japanese and Asian news and pop culture, we think it’s safe to assume you agree with us that cosplay is pretty cool and fun to look at, but it’s also natural to be slightly dubious that cosplaying could ever amount to anything more than an extremely expensive hobby or very crappy contract work.

Well, it turns out we were all wrong, and we were jerks to underestimate cosplay in the first place. The more time you spend in the cosplay world, the more you end up developing talents in a range of fields, including fashion design, cosmetics, lighting engineering and even photography, as the Internet learned when a Japanese cosplayer with just four years’ experience in the hobby gave her 54-year-old mom a full cosplay makeover and photo shoot.

Hollywood blacksmith forges Sephiroth’s massive sword from Final Fantasy VII【Video】

Casey Baseel
Jan 18, 2014

When Final Fantasy VII hit PlayStations around the globe in 1997, featuring some of the most gorgeous graphics and CG cut-scenes gamers had ever seen, it single-handedly opened up the Western market to Japanese console RPGs. In years since, though, there’s been some contention over just how deserving developer Square’s biggest hit ever is of its exalted place in video game lore. Does it have a gripping story, or does the narrative become a confused mess after its midgame plot twist? Do the title’s numerous mini games flesh out its world, or is spending hours breeding giant flightless birds to race for sport both silly and boring?

But no matter which side of the debate you fall on, there’s one thing gamers everywhere can agree on: Final Fantasy VII’s antagonist, Sephiroth, is a stone-cold badass. Now, Hollywood blacksmith Tony Swatton has brought the villain’s iconic weapon, the gigantic blade named Masamune, to life.

Turn any anime character into a glasses gal with this awesome photo frame

Casey Baseel
Jan 16, 2014

In our modern world of contact lenses and laser eye surgery, no one really needs to wear glasses. Nevertheless, there are some people who choose to do so, as well as another set of not entirely overlapping glasses fans who simply feel the object of their affection looks all the cuter with a set of corrective lenses.

Now, a new glasses stand from anime merchandise producer Funny Trick lets you instantly transform your favorite characters, even those with 20-20 vision, into bespectacled beauties.

Super cool photo of someone using Twitter… on a Nintendo Game Boy?!

Krista Rogers
Jan 15, 2014

If you’re a 90s kid, chances are you spent hours of your life glued to the monochrome screen of Nintendo’s original 8-bit Game Boy handheld console (feel the nostalgia?). In those days, we were content guiding a tiny Mario around and striving to collect all 50 Pokémon. But little did we know the unforseen capabilities of the Game Boy. Last week, Twitter user Kinako uploaded a picture of herself using Twitter on a Game Boy screen. What sorcery is this??

Create 8-bit melodies by turning your old Nintendo cartridges into harmonicas 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Jan 15, 2014

Like many people who started playing video games in the 1980s, when titles were still put on cartridges, I often had to deal with faulty connections when playing with my Nintendo Entertainment System. And while every video game shop would sell you a fancy cleaning kit with solvents and swabs for 15 bucks and Nintendo would advise against doing so, any kid knew the best way to clean out dusty connection ports was to simply blow into the cartridge.

Recently, I heard the sobering theory that blowing into the cartridge didn’t really accomplish anything, and that simply reinserting it into the system is what dislodged the connection-blocking dirt. But with so many hours of my youth spent forcing air into 8-bit game packs, I can’t bring myself to accept that it was all meaningless. Surely, there must be something that can be accomplished by caressing Nintendo classics with a puff of breath?

It turns out there is, as with a little bit of engineering you can turn a classic game cartridge into a harmonica, complete with old school video game sounds.

Godzilla is finally discovered in the ocean’s depths!

Krista Rogers
Jan 15, 2014

Well, sort of. OK, so that title is a bit misleading. But an article on Yomiuri Online the other day confirmed that researchers have discovered a new underwater geological formation, the largest of its kind in the world, south of the Japanese mainland. Furthermore, they have named it after everyone’s favorite King of the Monsters! This “new Godzilla” could even shed light on some secrets about the inside of the earth. Keep reading to find out more about this amazing scientific discovery.

This cool freeze-dried food shop lets you customize your own unique miso soup

Krista Rogers
Jan 12, 2014

At the end of a long, cold winter day, have you ever found yourself craving a bowl of steaming hot miso soup to go? If you live in Tokyo, then you happen to be in luck. There’s a shop selling freeze-dried products that lets you customize your own miso soup, and even down it on site. Furthermore, you can try different varieties of miso soup from around Japan. Read on to learn more about this awesome jewel right outside Tokyo Station.

Lights! Shadows! Action!! 3 awesome videos from Japanese performance troupe Shiro-A

Philip Kendall
Jan 10, 2014

Shiro-A have been around for over 10 years now, but it’s surprising how few people have actually heard of them. Combining technology, music, dance and comedy to create visually spectacular shows, they continue to wow audiences all over the world, and the snippets we have for you today are bound to leave you wanting more.

The group members perform in front of (or was it behind!?) a series of screens, onto which numerous graphics are projected while live DJs create an accompanying soundtrack. The performances always begin relatively simply, but soon explode into what we can only describe as perfectly choreographed visual chaos, with pumping beats accompanying splashes of colour as group members appear to be physically manipulating the digitally mapped images in real-time.

Be sure to check these guys out!

A better use for your smartphone than Angry Birds: Remotely driving your car!

Preston Phro
Jan 9, 2014

It’s only a matter of time until we’re all riding around in self-driving cars, texting our hearts out without having to worry about running anyone over. With all the companies working on the technology, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before you can slip into your automated automobile and say, “Carrie, take me to the bar!”

Unfortunately, “a matter of time” could very well be a few decades for all we know. So maybe we need to limit our dreams a bit. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could, at the very least, get our cars to pick us up outside the mall with an app on our phones? Yeah, that’ll probably never happen.

Or will it??

The top 10 things cool guys do on the trains of Japan

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Jan 8, 2014

Have you ever looked over while riding the Yamanote Line and saw the coolest guy you’ve ever seen? Sure he was probably wearing fashionable clothes and had great hair, but what was he doing? A poll conducted by Japanese mobile phone provider, NTT Docomo, reveals the top 10 things cool guys do on the train.