[Editor’s note: Dagerr takes a look back atRomance of the Three Kingdomsfor the original NES for his Monthly Musing. — CTZ] When I was around 10-years-old, I sold the bulk of my baseball collection for a NES. I gotCastlevania,Duck Hunt, andSuper Mario Bros.and I came to know that life was grand. I played many other games on other systems, but the NES is where I found the game that I consider to be the main influence to my views on gaming today....

Last Thursday, our own Brad Nicholson broke the rumor that a new Castlevania fighting game titledCastlevania Judgmentwas announced in the latest issue of Nintendo Power, with pics to prove it courtesy ofJeuxFrance. This morning, I managed to track down said issue of Nintendo Power, and I can confirm that this new Castlevania game, as well asMega Man 9, are, in fact, the real deal. I can also confirm that there is more to “WUT” about over the game’s announcement than just the fact that it’s a fighting game....

Did you game of sword playing? I’m bery excite! Localization is an underappreciated aspect of game development. There is a lot that goes into localization such asredesigning cover-art,censoring parts of gamesfor cultural sensitivity, andrecording new voice-oversin the target language. The most important job, however, is translation of the in-game text and especially the dialogue. A good translation will be transparent with natural language, puns, and jokes that work in context, and lack any unfamiliar cultural aspects....

Sunshine and hayfever? I dunno… Sega Shop in the UK have the perfect gift for anySonic the Hedgehogfan who wishes to add a further dimension to their gameplay. The “OfficialSonic the HedgehogCandle Holder with Scented Candle” is on sale for those with lots of money to burn, literally. The candle comes encased in a (pretty nifty) holder shaped like theSonicseries famous item boxes. The candle itself is held in a glass cube which can be rotated to display the ring logo, a “1up”, the speed shoes or the invincibility symbol....

Yoink! Not all Mother Bases are created equal. Yours could be wildly different than another player’s, as you’ve both decided to focus on different aspects to upgrade. It’s a nice little touch that will make your base feel like home. It’s also the reason that you’ll feel compelled to loot, loot, loot other people’s Mother Bases. I mean, that cargo crate would really pull your base together, so go ahead and swiftly swipe it after disposing of some pesky guards....

Good thing we’re here to report Wouldn’t it be great to run a site that focuses on video game characters as if they were out doing celebrity stuff? Marcus Fenix got out of a limo wearing no underwear! Exclusive photos! Nathan Drake’s unflattering day at the beach! The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s latest cinematic trailer would make the cut, with the ever-so-popular “nip slip” tag. That’s right,partial areola for your (presumably) of-age eyes!...

Supergiant Games’ next title will use the light bar I’ve yet to get my hands on either of the controllers for the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One but I was lucky enough to get my hands-on time withTransistorat PAX East this year. Ina blog post, Supergiant Games head Greg Kasavin outlines a neat feature of the PS4’s DualShock 4 controller thatTransistorwill be using,namely the customizable light bar. I hadn’t realized Sony’s controller had such a thing, but Kasavin confirms that the light bar has helped solve a small mechanical problem....

MMOs are like needy ex-lovers. Not content to fondly remember the good times and simply move on, they always want you to come back. In this case the ex isRift. Trion are inviting old players, who have at least one level 20 character, back to Telara. Through July 29 lapsed players can rejoin the war and experience all new mechanics, PvP, and Instant Adventure zones. “Storm Legion“, the game’s impending expansion, comes out later this year....

UK retailer GAME has had to cancel every single pre-order forThe Last Storyahead of its European release on Friday, revealing that it won’t be the stocking the game at all. Anybody who dropped a deposit on the upcoming Wii RPG is entitled to a refund. This news is the latest in a string of stories concerning GAME’s inability to stock the latest releases. Recently, the chain has been unable to stockTekken 3D Prime Edition, and just this week it emerged that Ubisoft’s entire PS Vita launch lineup, includingLuminesandRayman: Origins, would not be seen on a GAME store shelf....

And now I’m sad I’m not gonna lie, I had pretty big expectations forUnravel Twoafter reviewing the first onea few years back.Unravelhad such a beautifully-built natural world with warm, glowing graphics that really made me feel at peace. Unfortunately,Unravel Twohas a bit of a darker, industrial setting — and placed on a system that isn’t really known for its graphics power, it becomes an even sadder, confusing world that is difficult to navigate....

Le Ballet of Death Showdown Effectis ready to launch this week, and in celebration, Paradox has provided us with a new trailer titled “Le Ballet of Death.” Odds are you’ve never heard ofShowdown Effect,and since it hasn’t gotten any publicity or buzz, I don’t blame you. Basically, it’s a PC game that lets you relive glorious cheesy ’90s area action in a 2D arena based setting with up to eight players....

More zombies than you can stuff in a bathtub Microsoft has returned yet again with another assortment of deals to part the unwashed masses from their hard-earned moonbucks. Today, five titles in Capcom’sResident Evilseries are on sale via Xbox Live. Unlike the offers fromyesterdayandthe day before, these deals will only be around for one day. So, if you see something that catches your eye make sure to act quickly before you miss out....

We would like to clay How could you possibly make Jibanyan cosplayingIndiana Joneseven more cute? Make it into a clay animation (or claymation) of course. These short but sweet TV spots kind of make me wish the whole game was a 3D clay-animated adventure. I’ll accept a spin-off title as well. The last major game to be done completely in this style wasKirby and the Rainbow Curse, where they purposely gimped the frame-rate to make it look like clay animation....