Latest Reviews of Japan Studio Games
Mini Review LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival (PSP) - A Frustrating Yet Jubilant Jamboree
Bouncing back
LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival, a spin-off entry in the series from Japan Studio, released on the PSP in 2009 to mixed reviews. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to see it revitalised for PS5 and PS4 in the form of an enhanced emulation, with up-rendering, rewind, quick-save, Trophies (including a Platinum) and custom video filters. For...
Review Ape Escape (PS1) - Monkeying Around in 3D Platforming Pioneer Is Still a Blast
You're good
Video games went through a super exciting period in the late 90s. The introduction of a third dimension, championed by the PS1, presented a broad new challenge for designers. How can you comfortably control a character in 3D? It's widely recognised that Super Mario 64 pretty much nailed it first try, but there are other games from that...
Review Hot Shots Golf (PS1) - Utterly Iconic Arcade Golf
Our cup of tee
Japanese studio Clap Hanz may be the developer best associated with the Hot Shots Golf series, which is also known as Everybody’s Golf in Europe. However, it was Camelot Software Planning that teed off the original entry on PS1 back in 1997. That team – having helmed the Shining Force series for SEGA throughout early 90s under the...
Old-school platformer, new-school technology
Republished on Wednesday 31st January 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of February's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows. Way back in February of this year, millions of viewers around the world witnessed the reveal of...
Knack strikes back
It’s fair to say that Knack divided opinion upon its release alongside the PlayStation 4 in November 2013. Some concluded it to be an abomination that failed to live up to the promise of being a Crash Bandicoot successor, while others deemed it to be not so bad. Either way you look at it, it's now clear to see that the divisive...
Bot's your lot
The Playroom VR is a collection of asymmetrical multiplayer minigames that show off the PlayStation VR headset's capabilities in many different ways. It's free and comes with a total of five mini-games to enjoy with your pals: Cat and Mouse, Monster Escape, Wanted, Ghost House, and Robots Rescue. Let's break them all down...
Review Freedom Wars (PlayStation Vita)
Grind and punishment
Easily one of the PlayStation Vita's most anticipated titles, Freedom Wars plops you into a dystopian future that's full of typically stylish teens and giant mechanical beasts, and tasks you with whittling down a one million year sentence of service to your not-so-lovely community. For many owners of Sony's portable console, a...
Dry your eyes
Rain has the same ethereal quality as ICO. Much like Fumito Ueda’s masterpiece, this is a muted experience, orchestrated only by the sound of running water and composer Yugo Kanno’s twinkly score. It’s also a tale of boy meets girl, where two kindred spirits connect under the starlight of a sodden dream world. The parallels are...
Review Puppeteer (PlayStation 3)
Ahead of the game
Within minutes of starting Puppeteer, it's clear that it's an absolutely stunning game. The art style, the animation and the sheer amount of detail packed into each and every visual asset make the title a joy to behold. Trailers and screenshots simply don't do the product justice – this is something that you need to see in motion...
Review Tokyo Jungle Mobile (PlayStation Mobile)
Beast wars
You might be kidded into thinking that there'd be some modicum of peace on Earth if the human race, along with its wide range of squabbles and skirmishes, evaporated one day. The Tokyo Jungle series disagrees. After society collapses, humans go bye-bye and cities become overgrown concrete jungles, the conflicts of the animal kingdom rage...
Latest Japan Studio Articles
Interview How Astro's Playroom Composer Kenny Young Built a Soundtrack on PlayStation's Legacy
I'm your GPU
Shortly after PlayStation 5’s launch, we had the amazing opportunity to talk with Kenny Young, composer on the absolutely brilliant Astro’s Playroom (as well as Astro’s previous adventure, Astro Bot Rescue Mission). Join us as we talk about navigating the legacy of PlayStation and its music, the design process behind the catchiest...
PSX 2017 Get Up Close and Personal with Trico in The Last Guardian VR
Where the wild things are
Bonding with Trico is a magical, emotional experience throughout The Last Guardian. The story-driven and mechanical themes of teamwork are spread throughout Fumito Ueda's projects whether you're playing alongside Agro or Yorda, but it's even more intimate with Trico since you're immensely dependent on each other. Wondering...
E3 2017 Shadow of the Colossus Remake On The Horizon
Kind of a colossal deal
We reported earlier today that several trademarks were filed by Sony, including a curious renewal for Shadow of the Colossus. Well, it seems as though this giant rumour has turned into a giant reality, since the masters of remastering, Bluepoint Games, are authoring a remake of the beloved 3D platforming adventure by...
Feature The 10 Best PS4 Soundtracks of 2016
Hitting the right notes
Another year gone. Times flies, doesn't it? 2016 may have been, erm, less than stellar in a lot of respects, but the games industry was by no means one of the problems. Quality reigned supreme across so many titles it's hard to keep track. Not to be left behind, though, was the music from these games, which delivered some top...
PSX 2016 Knack 2 Announced on PS4 to Everyone's Complete Surprise
Knack on wood
Knack was a fine 3D platformer. It stumbled with its story, struggled with repetition, and lacked challenge with its level design, but we think it had a lot of potential to improve. So, it was hard to believe that Mark Cerny's, err, most important legacy would ever receive a sequel, but against all odds, Knack 2 will be building its...
E3 2016 PS4's Long Overdue Exclusive The Last Guardian Has a Release Date
Praise the colossi
We had no doubt that The Last Guardian would be making an appearance at Sony's E3 2016 conference, but we remained skeptical as to whether we'd get a release date or not. Thankfully, Sony hasn't let us down, finally unveiling that the continually delayed title will grace the PlayStation 4 on 25th October. The date was revealed in...
News Vita JRPG Freedom Wars Will Revolutionise Western Shelves This October
Not long now
Freedom Wars is one of a dying breed of AAA exclusives for the PlayStation Vita. The jaunty JRPG has been on our radar for quite some time, but it was only recently confirmed to be coming to Western shores. However, Sony had originally planned to only release a digital version of the game in Europe, but
News Hurrah, Vita JRPG Freedom Wars Will Be Getting a Full Physical Release in Europe
For the players
In the words of William Wallace: "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our Freedom Wars physical copies!" Indeed, after a few weeks of petitioning, Sony has finally decided that PlayStation Vita JRPG Freedom Wars will be getting a full retail release in Europe. The title was unpopularly planned to be a digital only title,...
News Neat, Japan Is Getting a Limited Edition Retail Version of rain
Please don't go away
Did you enjoy Japan Studio's melancholy masterpiece rain, but felt that the experience was entirely too digital? Then you'll be excited to hear that the game will be getting a limited edition boxed version. The previously download-only title will also come packed with a slew of extras, including four PlayStation 3 themes and...
News PS Vita Exclusive Freedom Wars Breaks Free with New Screenshots
The usual suspects
Sony may have lost the Monster Hunter franchise to another manufacturer, but it's desperately trying to claw back the deficit with titles such as Freedom Wars. The multiplayer battle game is set to release exclusively on the PlayStation Vita this summer in Japan, and a batch of new screenshots have left us itching for our fix...
News Hideo Kojima Took a Break from Metal Gear Solid 5 to Give Knack a Try
Don't Knack it till you try it
When he's not busy reminding us that he gets to play Metal Gear Solid 5 and we don't, it seems that Hideo Kojima, the director of the acclaimed stealth series, spends his precious spare moments testing out the competition. The professional provocateur recently took critical
News Ape Escape Makes Its Escape From Japan
The Ape Escapes this Summer
The time for Ape Escape to finally make its debut on the PlayStation 3 outside of Japan is finally approaching. Ape Escape Fury! Fury! released a few months ago in Japan, but an official release outside of Japan has yet to be heard. Today that changed when the PlayStation Blog announced that PlayStation Move Ape Escape is...
First Impressions Ape Escape Fury! Fury!
The Ape's for the Kids
Ape Escape fans have been craving a new console entry in the series for years, and it’s finally close to being upon us. Ape Escape Fury! Fury! brings a unique style of gameplay to the franchise that can only be possible with the power of Move, and we recently got to catch a few Apes for ourselves. Ape Escape became a fan...
Interview How Astro's Playroom Composer Kenny Young Built a Soundtrack on PlayStation's Legacy
I'm your GPU
Shortly after PlayStation 5’s launch, we had the amazing opportunity to talk with Kenny Young, composer on the absolutely brilliant Astro’s Playroom (as well as Astro’s previous adventure, Astro Bot Rescue Mission). Join us as we talk about navigating the legacy of PlayStation and its music, the design process behind the catchiest...
PSX 2017 Get Up Close and Personal with Trico in The Last Guardian VR
Where the wild things are
Bonding with Trico is a magical, emotional experience throughout The Last Guardian. The story-driven and mechanical themes of teamwork are spread throughout Fumito Ueda's projects whether you're playing alongside Agro or Yorda, but it's even more intimate with Trico since you're immensely dependent on each other. Wondering...
E3 2017 Shadow of the Colossus Remake On The Horizon
Kind of a colossal deal
We reported earlier today that several trademarks were filed by Sony, including a curious renewal for Shadow of the Colossus. Well, it seems as though this giant rumour has turned into a giant reality, since the masters of remastering, Bluepoint Games, are authoring a remake of the beloved 3D platforming adventure by...
Feature The 10 Best PS4 Soundtracks of 2016
Hitting the right notes
Another year gone. Times flies, doesn't it? 2016 may have been, erm, less than stellar in a lot of respects, but the games industry was by no means one of the problems. Quality reigned supreme across so many titles it's hard to keep track. Not to be left behind, though, was the music from these games, which delivered some top...
PSX 2016 Knack 2 Announced on PS4 to Everyone's Complete Surprise
Knack on wood
Knack was a fine 3D platformer. It stumbled with its story, struggled with repetition, and lacked challenge with its level design, but we think it had a lot of potential to improve. So, it was hard to believe that Mark Cerny's, err, most important legacy would ever receive a sequel, but against all odds, Knack 2 will be building its...
E3 2016 PS4's Long Overdue Exclusive The Last Guardian Has a Release Date
Praise the colossi
We had no doubt that The Last Guardian would be making an appearance at Sony's E3 2016 conference, but we remained skeptical as to whether we'd get a release date or not. Thankfully, Sony hasn't let us down, finally unveiling that the continually delayed title will grace the PlayStation 4 on 25th October. The date was revealed in...
News Vita JRPG Freedom Wars Will Revolutionise Western Shelves This October
Not long now
Freedom Wars is one of a dying breed of AAA exclusives for the PlayStation Vita. The jaunty JRPG has been on our radar for quite some time, but it was only recently confirmed to be coming to Western shores. However, Sony had originally planned to only release a digital version of the game in Europe, but
News Hurrah, Vita JRPG Freedom Wars Will Be Getting a Full Physical Release in Europe
For the players
In the words of William Wallace: "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our Freedom Wars physical copies!" Indeed, after a few weeks of petitioning, Sony has finally decided that PlayStation Vita JRPG Freedom Wars will be getting a full retail release in Europe. The title was unpopularly planned to be a digital only title,...
News Neat, Japan Is Getting a Limited Edition Retail Version of rain
Please don't go away
Did you enjoy Japan Studio's melancholy masterpiece rain, but felt that the experience was entirely too digital? Then you'll be excited to hear that the game will be getting a limited edition boxed version. The previously download-only title will also come packed with a slew of extras, including four PlayStation 3 themes and...
News PS Vita Exclusive Freedom Wars Breaks Free with New Screenshots
The usual suspects
Sony may have lost the Monster Hunter franchise to another manufacturer, but it's desperately trying to claw back the deficit with titles such as Freedom Wars. The multiplayer battle game is set to release exclusively on the PlayStation Vita this summer in Japan, and a batch of new screenshots have left us itching for our fix...
News Hideo Kojima Took a Break from Metal Gear Solid 5 to Give Knack a Try
Don't Knack it till you try it
When he's not busy reminding us that he gets to play Metal Gear Solid 5 and we don't, it seems that Hideo Kojima, the director of the acclaimed stealth series, spends his precious spare moments testing out the competition. The professional provocateur recently took critical
News Ape Escape Makes Its Escape From Japan
The Ape Escapes this Summer
The time for Ape Escape to finally make its debut on the PlayStation 3 outside of Japan is finally approaching. Ape Escape Fury! Fury! released a few months ago in Japan, but an official release outside of Japan has yet to be heard. Today that changed when the PlayStation Blog announced that PlayStation Move Ape Escape is...
First Impressions Ape Escape Fury! Fury!
The Ape's for the Kids
Ape Escape fans have been craving a new console entry in the series for years, and it’s finally close to being upon us. Ape Escape Fury! Fury! brings a unique style of gameplay to the franchise that can only be possible with the power of Move, and we recently got to catch a few Apes for ourselves. Ape Escape became a fan...