Konami has announced the launch of an NFT collection to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Castlevania.

The "KONAMI MEMORIAL NFT" collection features 14 unique artworks from the Castlevania series in celebration of the iconic franchise's 35th anniversary, though it actually comes a few months on from the milestone date in September. The complete collection will be available for the worldwide auction on OpenSea (a popular online marketplace for NFTs) from January 12.

Konami's official website offers a preview of the digital items that are going up for sale at the Castlevania 35th anniversary auction, including NFTs (non-fungible tokens) consisting of "game scenes, background music (BGM), and newly drawn visuals" from the series' rich history, which spans back to 1986 when the franchise's first console title was released.

NFTs are on the rise, with more and more people wanting to gain ownership of digital assets. A JPG file made by the digital artist known as Beeple sold for a record $69.3 million last year, while the viral Charlie Bit My Finger YouTube video was taken offline to become an NFT. Mike Judge also got in on the action, jokingly offering fans an NFT of the King of the Hill crew.

According to Konami, the Castlevania collection is just the beginning as it marks the very first project in "a new initiative to share content that has been loved by players all over the world, for many years," with the company planning to further "explore new developments and listen to player feedback following this initial collection."

All three Castlevania GBA games scored at least a 9/10 in IGN's original reviews, with Aria of Sorrow our pick of the bunch. "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was a fantastic intro to the series on the Game Boy Advance, and an excellent launch title," we wrote in 2003. "Harmony of Dissonance was, and still is fantastic. Aria of Sorrow is better."

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

In perhaps one of the more absurd stories to kick off the beginning of 2022, the Pope has just watched a circus perform, set to music from Undertale.

As spotted by fans on Twitter (and reported by The Gamer), the Pope appears to have started the new year the right way by watching a group of circus performers put on a display to the sound of Undertale's 'Megalovania'.

For context, each week Pope Francis holds a General Audience. Often attended by groups of pilgrims, the Pope uses the event to impart his benedictions to those present in a number of different languages before sometimes also hosting performers to entertain his guests. While these performances vary and come in a range of varieties, the most recent featured a sllightly bemusing display by a group of circus performers who executed a routine to the backing of Sans' theme from Undertale.

This year just started and we already have the insanity of Megalovania being performed in front of the Pope. pic.twitter.com/QBxGtl9v1c

— Ultima | #вʟм (@UltimaShadowX) January 6, 2022

As can be seen in the tweet above, the whole thing comes off a little jarring. Between performers juggling objects in a multitude of ways, a short trip out by a red-dressed unicyclist, and a member of the group positioned upside down on a chair twirling a large baton between their feet, it's not like there wasn't plenty to keep the audiences attention held.

However, between the large gathering of circus performers who stood awkwardly out of place in the background, a pretty lifeless-looking audience, and the Pope's stern-looking Swiss guard positioned nearby, the whole thing pulls together in a rather unusual way.

While it's pretty unlikely that he has ever got around to finishing Undertale, technically the idea of the Pope booting up the game isn't actually as absurd as it sounds. In 2016, the YouTuber MatPat met His Holiness and gifted him a copy of the game during their interaction. So, while it's still pretty likely not actually the case, who knows, perhaps the backing music was chosen by Pope Francis himself.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: No Way Home! Be sure to check out IGN's review of the new Spider-Man movie.

Spider-Man star Willem Dafoe thinks that criticism of the Green Goblin’s original mask was behind his character's change of look in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

During an interview with The New York Times, the 66-year-old Spider-Man villain revealed why he thinks the Green Goblin’s classic costume was changed, with the charcater smashing his once-controversial mask shortly after his first appearance in the new movie.

“I must be honest, I am aware that there was some criticism of that [Green Goblin] mask in the original [Sam Raimi Spider-Man],” he said. “We heard it enough that it was probably a consideration, to change it up a little bit. I don’t think about that because I don’t think about emoting with my face. My face follows my heart. It’s just an expression of what you’re feeling.”

Dafoe originally took the mantle of Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man back in 2002. And with his character set to return, Dafoe previously hinted that the Green Goblin would get a bit of an upgrade in No Way Home.

That new look saw the Green Goblin losing his mask entirely, instead making a (slightly) more realistic representation of Norman Osborn as the hooded Marvel villain. But Dafoe said he also ensured that his appearance wouldn't be a mere cameo.

“When [producer] Amy Pascal and [director] Jon Watts called me up and said we’d like to pitch you this idea, I thought, ‘This is crazy. But let’s see what they have to say,’” recalled Dafoe. “I really didn’t want to do a cameo. I wanted to make sure there was something substantial enough to do that wasn’t just a tip of the hat. And the other thing was, I said I really want there to be action — I want to take part in action scenes. Because that’s really fun for me. It’s the only way to root the character.”

Dafoe stars alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home, joined by former Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It also sees the return of other iconic villains such as Electro (Jamie Foxx), Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church). But while the final act became a memorable showstopper, it was originally planned to be a post-credit scene.

Spider-Man: No Way Home has since become Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time, with a staggering $257 million opening weekend.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

High-profile FIFA Ultimate Team traders are being targeted by hackers who are draining their accounts of FIFA points and in-game currency.

A number of the most prolific FIFA Ultimate Team traders have taken to Twitter to not only reveal that they have been hacked, but also complain about EA’s handling of the issue.

Woke up this morning to see my account has also been hacked :) what a lovely start to 2022

— FG (@fut_fg) January 2, 2022

It appears many of the top 100 traders have been targeted, including current top Ultimate Team trader on PlayStation, FUT Donkey. The hackers are seemingly taking player gamertags from the in-game FIFA leader boards, and using this to file a support ticket with EA in an effort to gain access to the account. By pretending to be the account holder, hackers have been able to successfully persuade EA to hand over the associated email address and a reset password link, enabling the hacker to then rinse the trader’s account of currency.

People spam the livechat asking to change my account details until some incompetent advisor finally gave them the account pic.twitter.com/jqOoKKcv6s

— FUT Donkey (@FUTDonkey) January 5, 2022

FUT Donkey showed off the number of EA Customer Experience emails in his inbox, generated by numerous attempts to change the password. “People spam the livechat asking to change my account details until some incompetent advisor finally gave them the account,” they said on Twitter.

While traders such as Fut FG, FutGameBreakerZ, Bateson, and NickRTFM have all reported that they have been hacked, FUT Donkey has posted numerous tweets expressing their disappointment in EA’s security.

"I told EA live chat two times to add notes to my account to put that my account was being targeted by hackers and to not change any details, and they still did it," they said. "Nothing more I could have done and tbh I shouldn't have to do anything. It is basic security, disgusting stuff."

In addition, hackers who obtained FUT Donkey’s email address have also used it to sign up to a number of websites, including pornography, blockchain, and movie sites. Essentially, not only have they stolen items from their account, but are also harassing them with email spam.

“These guys are breaking GDPR laws and they don't care,” FUT Donkey said of EA.

In the wake of this, a change.org petition has been set up by Bobble Trading in an attempt to make concerns about security heard by EA.

For more from FIFA check out our FIFA 22 review and our story on the 30,000 players temporarily banned for an exploit.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Charles Martinet, the voice actor behind a whole host of characters from the Super Mario franchise including the likes of Luigi, Wario, and of course Mario himself, says that he falls asleep and dreams as the series' signature character.

During an interview with Retro Gamer, the voice actor spoke about a number of topics, including how he came to land the role, his experiences as a voice actor, and his time working on the Netflix documentary High Score. However, when asked how he prepares for a recording session with Nintendo, Martinet's answer seemed to perfectly capture his love and dedication to the characters that he has so successfully brought to life.

"These characters for me are always there," explains Martinet. "I mean, I dream as Mario, flying over these lakes or over the ocean, in the moonlight, a little bit Galaxy-esque. And I sometimes dream in 2D. If I wake up in the morning and I'm having a lousy day, I'm like [Wario growl]. These voices are just alive in me, along with [sings the Super Mario Bros start jingle] [Mario] Go! So, there's not a lot of preparation [for Nintendo]."

In addition to speaking about how he prepares for each session, Martinet also explained that his roles across different games for Nintendo would vary in terms of the time commitment and the approach to scheduling that the company would take.

"I've recorded two weeks... actually, one week before a game came out, and I've recorded three years before a game came out," Martinet said, before going on to explain that the time spent on recording voice lines for the characters tends to vary drastically between projects. "It really depends on the game, and what's coming next," he says adding that Super Mario Odyssey was one of his favorite projects due to the fact that the characters "change and switch."

While Martinet's most recent comments once again reflect the actor's passion and commitment to his iconic roles within the franchise, it isn't the first time of late that he's spoken about his love for the job. Last year, Martinet explained during a Q&A session at Fan Expo Canada: Limited Edition that he would like to continue voicing the role of Mario until he dies.

When asked by a fan how long he could see himself continuing as Mario, Martinet told the audience, "I want to voice Mario until I drop dead," though he then further added: ‘‘If someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else.’’

For more news from Nintendo's iconic franchise, make sure to check out this article detailing how actor Chris Pratt won't be doing an Italian accent when voicing Mario in the upcoming Illumination Entertainment animated movie about the character.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

AMC is joining the race for anime content after announcing it has acquired the anime distributor Sentai and its anime streaming service HIDIVE.

Variety reports that Sentai and its anime service will be a part of AMC’s growing streaming service offerings which include AMC Plus, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, and ALLBLK. Sentai Filmworks is an anime licensing company based in Houston Texas and has published such titles as Haikyu!!, Made in Abyss, and Shirobako in western markets.

HIDIVE, Sentai’s anime streaming service, costs $4.99 a month for access to a library of exclusive anime titles. HIDIVE offers simulcasts, meaning they premiere on the service soon after the episode airs in Japan, and HIDIVE also offers dubs of its shows for fans who prefer the option.

The popularity of anime can be seen with how rivals in the streaming space are bulking up their anime offerings. Netflix has been funding and promoting anime and animated content to critical acclaim, and Sony-owned Funimation acquired Crunchyroll for $1.145 billion last August.

AMC is primarily known for its prestige dramas like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Walking Dead, though the latter crosses over into genre territory. Alongside horror-focused streaming platform Shudder, AMC is amassing a varied collection of services, which anime will fit into.

Sentai founder John Ledford says the AMC acquisition “Will not change Sentai’s mission to deliver the most exciting anime content to our audiences around the world — it will expand it greatly and will give our content business more distribution, more partnerships, more scale and more reach.”

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Mike Judge has revealed a glimpse of middle-aged versions of Beavis and Butt-Head ahead of an upcoming film reboot.

Taking to Twitter, the Beavis and Butt-Head creator unveiled images of the pair as they would be now, and it looks as though they’ve seen better days.

“Beavis and Butt-Head will be returning this year with a brand new movie and more on Paramount+,” he said. “No exact date yet, but soon. They need some time to get back in shape.”

Beavis and Butt-Head will be returning this year with a brand new movie and more on Paramount+. No exact date yet, but soon. They need some time to get back in shape. pic.twitter.com/tN5rePP9Kn

— Mike Judge (@MikeJudge) January 5, 2022

The images depict the duo in later years, with Butt-Head sporting a potbelly and severely receding hairline, while Beavis now sports a pair of spectacles to compliment his missing teeth.

Whether or not this middle-aged reimagining is how they will appear in the upcoming movie or TV show remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a distinctive look. And it could prove to be a creative way to continue the franchise.

Of course, the series was previously pegged to continue on Comedy Central after the channel ordered two seasons of an all-new series that placed Beavis and Butt-Head in 2020.

It’s unclear whether this is the same direction Judge’s new Paramount+ projects will take, but either way it’s good news for Beavis and Butt-Head fans.

Beavis and Butt-Head originally debuted in Judge's 1992 short film Frog Baseball before getting their own series on MTV in 1993. A combination of edgy humor and social satire, the show gained a massive following and is often said to be the voice of Generation X.

The show was previously revived for an eighth season back in 2011 and is now set to return once again.

As Judge points out, there’s no word yet on when the movie or TV show will appear on Paramount+ but it will apparently be soon.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

When Tom Holland wasn't swinging around the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, he was swinging around Madagascar with Nathan Drake's grappling hook. Speaking on-stage at CES 2022, Holland described his first experience with Naughty Dog's iconic video game franchise, which eventually led him to take the role of Nathan Drake in the new movie series.

It seems that Sony, producer of both the Spider-Man and Uncharted franchises, provided Holland with a PlayStation in his trailer while filming Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016. It was here that Holland first jumped into Drake's shoes and the world of Uncharted.

“I'm a huge fan of the games. I hadn’t discovered the games until I started making Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Holland said. “And one of the luxuries of making these Spider-Man movies is they’re made by Sony, and one of the luxuries of working for Sony is PlayStation. So all the actors’ trailers were outfitted with the best TVs and the newest PlayStation, and one of the games they'd given me was Uncharted."

Holland got hooked on the franchise after starting it, to the point that the Spider-Man crew apparently struggled to get Holland out of his trailer and back to work.

“So my best friend and I while we were making Spider-Man 1 started playing the Uncharted series," Holland said. "As soon as we started we didn’t stop. I remember them trying to drag me out of my trailer to come back to set, I was like ‘No no no, we’re about to complete this mission, leave me alone!’”

Holland says it was after he started playing the games that he and Sony began discussing his part in the Uncharted movie.

The Uncharted movie is just a few weeks away, coming to theaters on February 11 in the UK, and February 18 in the US. The movie endured an extremely rough production process that included multiple directors departing the project.

Check out the latest trailer for Uncharted, which shows Nate and Sully (with a moustache) in action. You can also watch a new extended look at the cargo plane scene that has been heavily featured in the trailers.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Nicolas Cage has revealed he has hung up his karaoke mic for good after a clip of him singing a punk rendition of Purple Rain went viral.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter as part of its annual Actor Roundtable, the 57-year-old karaoke star (and actor) explained why he gave up his favourite hobby.

“Well, yeah, for me, karaoke was like therapy until someone videotaped my punk-rock version of Prince's ‘Purple Rain’ and it went everywhere and I said, ‘I'm not going to karaoke anymore,’” said Cage.

“Don't steal the gift from the world,” replied Andrew Garfield. “You need to keep giving.”

Cage had been filmed performing a punk-rock version of Prince’s Purple Rain back in 2019 – a clip which found its way online and took the internet by storm.

Unfortunately, it looks as though his viral karaoke experience caused Cage to write off singing, despite his obvious love of the art. Thankfully, he says he’ll never give up acting.

"Well, singing is therapy, I think. Absolutely,” explained Cage. “Karaoke's supposed to be private. It's like a prayer.”

After swearing off karaoke, Cage also commented on the casting process.

“[It’s] terrifying,” he said. “It really is the worst.”

“In a casting office, how would they really know if something was great?” he added. “If it was truly great, it would be unlike anything they'd seen before, it would be original, and that would probably terrify them. They're not going to know greatness when they see it. They don't know better than we know. They don't. We know. We know what we can bring. We know what our instrument is.”

“They either, very rarely, have that eye where they can go, 'Oh, wow, I felt it,' or they're by and large going to be terrified of it, which is what my experience was,” added Cage.

Nicolas Cage will next star in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a weird thriller where the actor plays himself, enlisted by the CIA in the strangest of undercover missions. He’s also set to play iconic screen monster Dracula in the upcoming film, Renfield.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Around this time last year, Razer wowed the world when it showed off a concept called Project Hazel — a face mask with RGB lighting. While that product would see the light of day in the form of the Razer Zephyr, the company has once again announced that it is making another RGB face mask, and this time, it will include voice amplification.

As part of its CES 2022 announcements, the Razer Zephyr Pro bares resembles the non-pro variant, but the most significant change is that the Razer Zephyr Pro will offer voice amplification. Razer claims that its patent-pending voice amplification tech will ensure that your speech does not come off as muffled when wearing the mask.

The announcement of the Razer Zephyr Pro with the promise of voice amplification is no surprise. When Razer initially showed off the Project Hazel concept at last year's CES. Though Razer would ultimately scrap the feature.

Interestingly, enough, Razer Zephyr Pro weighs the same as its predecessor in addition to offering the same battery life of five to six hours on a single charge, the company told The Verge.

Razer is aiming to release the Zephyr Pro sometime this year. The Pro model will retail for $149.99 — $50 more than the non-pro model. Razer will also sell a starter pack for $199.99, which bundles the Razer Zephyr Pro and 99 days' worth of replaceable N95-grade filters. Razer also confirmed to IGN that the masks it sells for the Zephyr will also work on the Zephyr Pro model with no issue.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.