Keeping the energy from our first Let’s Play project, Nakaichi is currently playing through Mirror’s Edge, which was released by EA and DICE in 2008 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. 18 years after it’s release, Nakaichi goes down memory lane, revisiting a game that sadly was not very well received despite it’s cool mix of parkour and high-adrenaline action.

Part 1 launched on April 10th, with new episodes planned every Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1 PM EDT. The entirety of our Mirror’s Edge Let’s Play will be posted to the playlist above.

Here is the summary of Mirror’s Edge:

In a city where information is heavily monitored, agile couriers called Runners transport sensitive data away from prying eyes. In this seemingly utopian paradise, a crime has been committed, your sister has been framed and now you are being hunted. You are a Runner called Faith and this innovative first-person action-adventure is your story.

Mirror’s Edge delivers you straight into the shoes of this unique heroine as she traverses the vertigo-inducing cityscape, engaging in intense combat and fast paced chases. With a never before seen sense of movement and perspective, you will be drawn into Faith’s world. A world that is visceral, immediate, and very dangerous.

Live or die? Soar or plummet? One thing is certain, in this city you will learn how to run. From the makers of the groundbreaking Battlefield franchise, Mirror’s Edge is an action-adventure experience unlike any other.

Be sure to follow Centaku Media on Twitch and make sure notifications are turned on! ICYMI, subscribe to the VOD channel on YouTube for our gameplay archives of past streams. Join our Discord server and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for stream and content updates. Subscribe to our main YouTube channel for stream highlights and original, exclusive videos.

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Those who prefer to binge all available episodes can do so now, thanks to the playlist I made of all 8 parts of our playthrough:

If you’re curious of the next LP project that our VTuber, Nakaichi is working on, here are a few hints:

• The game was released in 2008
• The game has a sequel released 8 years later that even Nakaichi has yet to play!
• The attached picture is from the game cover featuring the main character

Stay tuned this Friday at 1 PM for the launch of the next Let’s Play series on the Centaku Media channel on YouTube!

Additionally, I’m starting a longer LP series, which will be the first for the channel. The only hint I can provide is that it’s a PS1 entry of a long-running J-RPG franchise that I haven’t played in at least 20+ years. Lastly, there might be a tweak at the end of the month depending on how productive I am with working on episodes. But as of April 8th, all LP uploads will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 1 PM ET.

The post Blurb: Centaku Media Let’s Play Project: Series 2 Teaser appeared first on Centaku Media.

After a winter hiatus from making content, Nakaichi has been excited to launch their first Let’s Play series as a VTuber of the Dark Ties route of Yakuza Kiwami 3!

Part 1 launched on March 23rd, with new episodes planned every Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1 PM EDT. The entire Let’s Play series for Dark Ties will be posted to the playlist above until the final episode.

Here is the summary of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties:

A LEGEND IS REBORN AND A NEW LEGACY BEGINS:

Two men will walk different paths that converge to shake the very foundations of fate.

Yakuza Kiwami 3: Continue the story of ex-yakuza Kazuma Kiryu as he fights to protect those he loves in an extreme remake of Yakuza 3 that evolves every aspect of the beloved game. The bustling streets of Okinawa and Tokyo come to life in stunning detail with reimagined combat taking brutal brawling action to the next level. Added scenes deliver more depth and emotion to the beloved story with new and enhanced side experiences that immerse you in the world like never before, and more.

Dark Ties: Experience the brand-new tale of Yoshitaka Mine from Yakuza 3 in an included separate game. Having once led a successful startup company, he plunged himself into the dark world of the yakuza by choice after losing everything. Left with an empty heart, the pursuit to find true bonds drives him forward once again in a dramatic journey colored by exhilarating boxing-based combat, and a variety of engaging side experiences.

Be sure to follow Centaku Media on Twitch and make sure notifications are turned on! ICYMI, subscribe to the VOD channel on YouTube for our gameplay archives of past streams. Join our Discord server and follow us on Instagram and TikTok for stream and content updates. Subscribe to our main YouTube channel for stream highlights and original, exclusive videos.

The post New on Centaku Media: Yakuza Kiwami 3 Gaiden: Dark Ties (Let’s Play) appeared first on Centaku Media.

For those not in the know, we’ve started a journey playing through Sega’s long-running game series, Yakuza—now known as Like A Dragon—from its prequel Yakuza 0, to the most recent Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, where we spent a few years from 2022 to 2025, with our recent wrap-up up of the latter game.

We were excited for the then-upcoming announcement of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, following a leak on their official website, when Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced their RGG Summit in late September during Tokyo Game Show 2025. In the weeks following the announcement—and even with its release this week—fan reactions have been mixed—and for valid reasons… one that we will discuss as to how we’re approaching a potential stream, video, or even just a written review of Yakuza Kiwami 3.

Highlighting the Characters That Matter

Many of you who have followed the Yakuza Kiwami 3 coverage may know already what we’re going to talk about. To start, I will say that, despite them being fictional, I have a lot of respect for the main characters that have been with us from the start: Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, and Daigo Dojima to name a few. The included Dark Ties game features Yoshitaka Mine, the antagonist of Yakuza 3; it is the third game in the line of “Gaiden” games, with the first being released in late 2023 “The Man Who Erased His Name” that follows Kiryu in the story surrounding the events of Yakuza: Like A Dragon released in early 2020, with the second Gaiden game released in early 2025, the above mentioned Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii featuring Majima following the conclusion of events of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

With us being given the opportunity to know more about a major character through a supplemental title such as Dark Ties, I would love to highlight the ups and downs of what makes Mine who he is, especially if there’s the possibility to give existing characters positive developments that we never knew could happen over a decade in a half ago in the future with other Gaiden entries.

However, there are characters where we do not have the space or energy to give, especially in certain situations where their respective actor, voice-over or in likeness, have caused issues: that means even minor characters such as Goh Hamazaki will NOT be given the spotlight on Centaku Media.

The issue in question is of the new actor portraying Goh Hamazaki, Teruyuki Kagawa, who has been in serious legal and moral matters that have caused a lot of distress to not only the people he hurt, but to those around him as well: the fans. The situation in question dates back to 2019, where he was involved in an incident with an employee of a hostess club—the following video covers everything needed to know of the situation featuring Like A Dragon news translator 04tenno. (Warning: contains mentions of S#x##l Assault)

While there has been little to no intervention involving law enforcement or other legal means, the situation leaves a bad taste for many, even to the fans of the Yakuza franchise. It has been a disappointing cycle of promotions following the signal boost, with a questionable response from RGG Studio other than comments being filtered or removed that include #RemoveKagawa in every post on RGG-related post on Sega and RGG West’s social media accounts. A #RemoveKagawa petition was launched in protest of RGG’s casting of Hamazaki, with over 9,900 signatures as of writing.

Previously, there have been actors in RGG titles who were later recast due to scandals, such as Pierre Taki, whose appearance in Judgement that resulted in the game’s slight release delay following his arrest on charges relating to illegal substances. Most recently, long-time voice actor of Amuro Ray from Mobile Suit Gundam and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon, Toru Furuya, having voiced Bryce in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, was replaced in several anime and gaming projects following his infidelity scandal in 2024, roughly a few months after the release of Infinite Wealth.

Alternate Opportunities for Kiwami 3 Coverage

With the above discussed, I have been thinking carefully on how I want to proceed in covering the post-release of Yakuza Kiwami 3. Having already played Yakuza 3 Remastered semi-recently during our franchise playthrough, Kiwami 3 is an easy skip. However, I do have a strong interest in the story of the included Dark Ties, where it seems that it’s unlikely to ever be released as a separate title due to potential implications of the story of Like A Dragon in the future, based on feedback from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio director, Yokoyama Masayoshi.

If I had to livestream any part of Kiwami 3, it would be Dark Ties only. However, it would probably be best to just include the best parts of Dark Ties in a highlight video released at a later date. Unless RGG goes a different direction with Goh Hamazaki for a future title or an update to replace his character—which is unfortunately unlikely following the above interview with Ryu Ga Gotoku’s Ryosuke Horii on RockPaperShotgun—this is the better option; this way, I can control who I want to give attention to in the event of of an appearance of Goh Hamazaki, with the unchanged likeness of Teruyuki Kagawa.

Summary & Conclusion

Yakuza Kiwami 3 will be featured in the future, just not in the capacity that I normally approach. Additionally, if there are to be releases of Yakuza 4 and 5 in the Kiwami format, there will a period of vetting as to how they will be included based on appeal factors such as the current situation.

Slowly coming out of my content creating hiatus over the holidays, I am easing back into making content altogether. Having caught up playing the main Yakuza games, my next focus is on other games in my backlog until the next new RGG game drops… hopefully free of controversy and actors with questionable pasts. But it is important for it to be known that any kind of disrespect, verbally and physically, to anyone is not tolerated, and those who cause such pain will not be given any space here on Centaku Media.

The post Centaku Media’s Regards of Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties appeared first on Centaku Media.

On August 10th, 2025, it was announced on Chattacon’s official website that they are ending their yearly convention, usually held in late-January, that has been running since 1976. The convention has been held in various venues throughout the years in Downtown Chattanooga, such as The Read House, the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo, and in recent years at the DoubleTree Hotel.

Chattacon 2026 was to be held January 16-18 at the DoubleTree Hotel, their home venue for the past six years. Due to upcoming renovations at the DoubleTree and limited venues in the area for smaller events, Chattacon made the heartbreaking announcement:

Dear Fans,

After fifty incredible years of celebrating Science Fiction and the literary community of the Southeast in Chattanooga, it is with both deep gratitude and heavy hearts that we announce that Chattacon will not be continuing beyond 2025.

This decision was not made lightly. The board of Chattacon, together with Chattanooga Science Fiction Fans, Inc., (CSFF, Inc) has spent considerable time and reflection exploring every possible path forward. Unfortunately, the Doubletree Hotel that has served as our home for the past six years will be undergoing significant renovations and will not be available for our 2026 event.

Despite our best efforts to secure a new venue, we were unable to find an alternative location that met both our logistical and financial conditions. While we could have chosen a smaller venue, we did not want to present to you anything less than what you have come to expect from Chattacon.

More of their closing statement can be read on their website. Refunds of tickets and Dealer’s Room table purchases for their 2026 event was also detailed to be processed in the weeks following the closure announcement.

[Source: Chattacon]

The post Chattacon Closes Convention After 50 Years appeared first on Centaku Media.

With a little over a week since we rang in the new year, I can finally share a summarized version of my plans for the first quarter of 2026:

• New Video Card! The last livestream of 2025 was during Halloween. However, I decided to unlist the video because it lagged terribly during a run of my new Minecraft series, after having to upgrade my PC to Windows 11. I am now excited to share that a lot of the problems seem to be fixed after swapping out my video card of 6 years for a shiny new one I received as a gift over the holidays that works within my system specs! However, I am also looking into upgrading the CPU that would improve rendering to make up for the extra resources needed in Windows 11…
  
  For those who missed the first part of our Minecraft series, check it out from our YouTube channel below!

• Weekend Streams Returning: I am also excited to share that my work schedule now allows me to be free on weekends again! Very soon, I will be streaming on Friday and Saturday nights like in the old days; of course, it all depends on availability as I have a cons and concerts lined up this year!
• Video and Blog Drafts in Progress (for now): Prior to November, I had a backlog of shorts from my adventures from the second half of 2025. Another reason for my absence is that I had absolutely no free time during December–as expected as I’ve struggled in past Decembers the past five years with a stream schedule that’s even limited to one night. So with my time freed up again, I am looking to resume uploading shorts, as well as freeing up drafts of longer form videos (which includes a potential Let’s Play project of a game coming out in February that I will discuss here on the blog soon). Additionally, I will be returning with new blog posts and catching up on drafts that have been sitting for a while.

TL;DR: expect more content soon after dealing with a dying video card and working overtime for a whole month, getting my weekends back this year for more media content from the Centaku!

I hope everyone had a holiday season and have many good things planned for 2026! Here’s to a start another year! I missed you all and I can’t wait to see you all again!

The post Centaku Check-In for 2026 appeared first on Centaku Media.

A music show that aired on one of the major broadcasting networks in Korea, MBC, called Music Camp would premiere the performance of an underground rock band called Rux. The segment lead to a lot of conversations leading up to the soon-to-be-infamous performance, as the band—with a punk rock concept—was one of the very few, if not only acts of its kind to air on South Korean television.

Rux, a 4-member band, was started by Won Jong Hee in 1996; the band would release their first mini-album in 1999 with “I Gatta Go”. It was also around the release of their first EP the band’s frontrunner launched an indie record label called Skunk Label. The creation of the label also spurred the opening of the Skunk Hell nightclub, operating in locations around Sinchon, Hongdae, and Mullae.

Being only in the mid-2000s, rock music was gaining momentum in South Korea despite being dominated in a field of pop music in a post-Seo Taiji and Boys, pre-BTS era Korea. Despite being two years away from the debut of FT Island, being a K-Pop group with a rock band concept; punk rock, on the other hand, was—and still 20 years later in 2025—very, very niche in the country. Rux, however, to the literal surprise of millions, made punk rock’s visibility much worse.

July 30th, 2005, would be the biggest day in K-Pop history, when Rux performed for the first—and last—time on Music Camp, and on TV. This performance would also be the last time Music Camp ever aired on MBC. The reason: two supporters who were on stage supporting Rux’s performance would do something no one expected them to do, even during rehearsals: pulling their pants down, exposing themselves to the horrors of everyone in the audience, and on national television.

Following the performance, the hosts Shinji of the co-ed group Koyotae and rapper MC Mong would appear to close out the episode with an apology to the viewers and to see them the next week; but there would not be a “next week” as it would be Music Camp’s unexpected final episode following Rux’s stunt.

Following the event, the two men on stage were arrested and questioned if they were under the influence of drugs that spurred the incident, in which test results returned negative. Following the investigation, the men were charged for indecency and business interference. Additionally, Won Jong Hee was arrested for the involvement of the two men.

The unfortunate events on Music Camp would slowly change the landscape of how music performances are broadcast on all three of the major networks including MBC: KBS and SBS. To fill in the void left by Music Camp, October 29th, 2005 would see the premiere of Show! Music Core, which airs to this very day.

Rux is still active as of 2025, with the frontrunner Won Jong Hee uploading periodically on his self-titled YouTube channel of vlogs, covers, and MVs.

[Source: Dong-a Ilbo, UCLA Asia Institute (via WaybackMachine)]

The post Idol Unfiltered: The Band That Disrupted K-Pop on TV (Rux) appeared first on Centaku Media.