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May 05, 2024
 

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Brian Ashcraft

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Brian Ashcraft
Brian Ashcraft is a senior contributing editor at Kotaku and has been writing about video games for The Japan Times since 2007. He is also the author of two books, "Arcade Mania!" and "Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential." A graduate of Cornell University, Ashcraft has called Osaka home for over a decade.
For Brian Ashcraft's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Dec 26, 2015
Nintendo's Mother never disappoints; a dream collaboration; and the keyboard to up your game
'Mother 3' is back
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 28, 2015
Dance with yokai, go to a monster gym, then entrench yourself on the Star Wars' battlefront
Time to get into the groove with 'Yokai Watch Dance'
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 24, 2015
Welcome resurrections for 'Halo,' 'God Eater' and the bonkers 'Project X Zone'
Kotaku.com's Brian Ashcraft casts an eye over 'Halo 5: Guardians,' 'Project X Zone 2' and 'God Eater Resurrection.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Sep 26, 2015
Good things come in threes
Veni, vidi — Vita!
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Aug 22, 2015
Newest "Super Mario," Forza Motorsport" and Metal Gear Solid" games set to impress
"Super Mario" takes you to a whole new level
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jul 25, 2015
Yoshi gets knitted in his new woolly world
Yoshi gets knitted in his new woolly world
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 27, 2015
Releases that will make you re-think your gameplay
Here comes a devlish re-release
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 23, 2015
Dystopian futures, ink-gun battles and rhythmic beats
An Xbox One exclusive not to pass on
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Apr 25, 2015
Welcome to a “Bravely” new world; Future awaits for giant mecha; Shooting with your own Type-A fighter plane
Welcome to a "Bravely" new world, it's as good as the "Default"
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 27, 2015
This month's latest games — from play dough to gangsters
Nintendo molds a new Kirby
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jan 23, 2015
Five things to keep you ahead of the game
Last year's monster hits "Pokemon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire" are the theme to a new pop-up cafe in Shibuya. As Nintendo 3DS remakes of the 2002 Game Boy Advance titles "Pokemon Ruby" and "Sapphire," the new versions, with beefed-up graphics and new content, sold more than two million copies in Japan last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Dec 26, 2014
Sony marks 20 years of the PlayStation with a stylish new console
Monster transformer
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 24, 2014
This month's newest game and hardware updates
PS Vita is in the pink
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 18, 2014
Plan your attack before you hit the gamefloor at Tokyo Game Show
It's time to press the start button for Tokyo Game Show (TGS), and while last year's edition smashed attendance records with more than 270,000 gamers showing up over the course of the event. This year's TGS hopes to be even bigger. The number of exhibitors has reached a record 421, a significant hike from last year's tally of 342.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 23, 2014
Gaming that looks good inside and out
Xbox keeps its cool for the summer
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 26, 2014
PS4 x FIFA kicks off, while "Idolm@ster," "Pokemon" and "Persona" get cute
Check out 'The Idolm@ster'
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Apr 21, 2014
Mario returns on wheels and in plastic, and the gun of a giant "Macross" robot fits in your hand
Start your Mario Karts
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Mar 24, 2014
Your turn to shoot AKB47, alongside your BFFAKB
Zombie girls in uniform
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 24, 2014
Japan finally gets the PS4, "Ryu ga Gotoku" goes back in time and "Assassin's Creed III" has a killer box set
At last, PS4 in Japan
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jan 27, 2014
This week: Kirby's now triple the fun and brands release some monster collectibles
Dealing out some monsters
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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