Hamster Paradise Advanchu is a surprisingly accurate assessment of hamster ownership

By Jenni Lada // 4.23.194.14.19

There can be a certain expectation from pet simulation games. People might think there needs to be an opportunity for constant activity from such games. Titles like Nintendogs spoiled people, since the dogs were always in motion, ready to accept attention, eat, go for walks and participate in activities. But certain games get that actual pet ownership isn’t like it. Namely, Atlus’ Hamster Paradise series tend to understand that it can be a spectator sport and realize that is okay. In particular, Hamster Paradise Advanchu gets what these little critters are like.

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Video: Hatena Satena’s stylish, thoughtful puzzling

By Graham Russell // 4.17.191.13.21

Like Picross? How about Minesweeper? Hudson Soft’s obscure Japan-only GBA release, Hatena Satena, combines the two into one colorful, addictive puzzler. Watch!

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What do you need to know about Ace Attorney?

By Jenni Lada // 4.8.193.25.19

It is a good time to be an Ace Attorney fan. Capcom’s series of courtroom simulations has a whole new audience, as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is bringing the first three games in HD to the PS4, Switch, Xbox One and PC. But, what if someone isn’t familiar with Phoenix Wright? What if people don’t know the first thing about being a virtual attorney? Let’s go through a debriefing before heading to court.

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A beginner’s guide to Kirby platformers

By Graham Russell // 3.12.193.12.19

Kirby’s been on a lot of extracurricular outings, but at heart, the pink puffball is still most at home in the side-scrolling world of running and jumping. So which should you play? Read on for our recommendations!

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Which Kingdom Hearts games should you play?

By Jenni Lada // 1.14.194.25.19

Kingdom Hearts has exploded. While Kingdom Hearts III is only the third game in the trilogy, it is one of many titles that rounds out the series’ lore. It is a lot to take in, and people might not have time to go through all of it. Fortunately, our guide is here to help!

To help better illustrate what is going on and what you should be playing, here is the full timeline going through when every game happens and if you should watch or play through each one.

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Let’s look at Fire Emblem’s transforming races

By Jenni Lada // 12.3.1812.3.18

There are a lot of animal-people in the Fire Emblem series! These are different races who transform into actual animals in battle, while occasionally maintaining some of these features while in their humanoid forms. Hearing about laguz or taguel can be confusing, especially since these races are not universal and may only be present in a few select entries.

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What do you need to know about Jake Hunter Detective Story?

By Jenni Lada // 9.17.1810.26.18

Adventure games and visual novels have been gradually gaining popularity outside of Japan. Thanks to series like Ace Attorney and visual novels like Hakuoki, people seem to be more comfortable with doing a lot of reading while sitting in front of their favorite console. It also means now might finally be a good time for Jake Hunter Detective Story to make its mark. This established adventure series is well established in Japan, and it might just be poised to find a place for itself in other regions after 2018.

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Video: Dropping blocks and breaking hearts in Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzle Dama

By Graham Russell // 9.12.189.11.18

The enormous popularity of Puyo Puyo in Japan caused many, many competitors to try their hand at creating a falling-block puzzle franchise, and there weren’t many to find as much success in gameplay and domestic longevity as Taisen Puzzle Dama, Konami’s attempt in the genre. Let’s take a look at a signature entry — one tied to another Konami franchise that found a lot of fans in its home country!

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How early Hamtaro games were secretly awesome

By Jenni Lada // 8.22.188.20.18

What do you know about Hamtaro? There is a very good chance that the response could be, “Not a whole lot.” But, if you owned a Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance in 2002 and 2003, you might be one of the few who knows a surprising secret. That is, there were two Hamtaro games that were absolutely awesome. Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak were both adventure games that actually required you to learn a new language and explore towns to help hamster-kind. Both of these games are surprisingly good, and that’s before Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream took over the series with Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue.