- Feature
Folklore: A Forgotten Game About Forgotten Memories
Playing Folklore reminded me of many mundane memories. A regular Monday afternoon in the middle of a chilly Alabama winter, only about 50°. Cold to most people in the south, but not to me. I’m in history class, or maybe English? I can’t quite remember. It’s mostly background noise, like someone leav… Read More »- Article
PAX East 2026 Roundup & 9 More Games to Watch
Here we are, the last ever PAX (East) (2026) article! I’ve shared all of my biggest highlights from this year’s show already, and if you’ve missed any, I encourage you to check them out: Disgaea Mayhem Hands-On Brigandine Abyss Hands-On Spirit Rancher Hands-On High Times Hands-On Terra Nova: Legend… Read More »- Review
Arcadia Fallen II
In recent years, there’s been an influx of stories across media set in magic academies, where those gifted with magical talent hone their skills. Role-playing visual novel Arcadia Fallen II has players step into the academic shoes of a student in their final year at the fantastical Seven Winds Acade… Read More »- Article
- Preview
Neverway Prologue Demo – From Farm to Nightmare
Farming RPGs have never been more en vogue, with an entire new wave of indie farming life-sims cresting off the success of Stardew Valley and the revitalization of the Story of Seasons series. While many of these titles iterate on that standard farming RPG formula first established by Harvest Moon a… Read More »- Article
- Retro Encounter
- Podcast
Retro Encounter 483 – Persona 5 Part I
Looking cool, Retro Encounter. This week on Retro Encounter, we dive into the first half of Persona 5. We discuss the dazzling style, combat, and the sometimes less than dazzling structure. Who do we want to romance? Does the game still hold up? Does Morgana ever let us do anything but sleep? Listen… Read More »- Music Review
Aether & Iron Soundtrack
I recently learned about Aether & Iron after reading my colleague Jerry’s review of the game. The game itself looks cool. But when I read that the Aether & Iron Soundtrack was co-composed by *the* Christopher Tin and another formidable orchestral guru, Alex Williamson, I had to check it out… Read More »- Article
- Preview
PAX East 2026 – Terra Nova: Legend of the Runes is a Retro JRPG to Watch
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t tell you what you want out of an RPG. I don’t know you, person reading this. But if you’re here on RPGFan, I have at least an idea, and I’m telling you that Terra Nova: Legend of the Runes is one to keep both eyes on. I was able to try it out at PAX and talked to developer An… Read More »- Review
People of Note
A popstar, a rocker, a DJ, and a rapper walk into a random encounter… No, this is not the start to a terrible joke, but rather the start of the incredible combat system in developer Iridium Studios’ cross-genre RPG musical People of Note. When I demoed the game and met its director, Jason Wishnov, a… Read More »- Article
- News
Village in the Shade To Bring Seeds & Spookiness This Fall for Consoles & PC
NIS America and developer Nippon Ichi Software have announced that Village in the Shade is headed westward this fall, with a release in Japan on July 30th. The stylised farming simulator — known in Japan as Honogurashi no Niwa — will launch for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and PC via St… Read More »Music Review
Guitar Cover Collection from Square Enix Music Channel
If you haven’t been following their work over on YouTube, Square Enix has been championing the VGM community with their aptly named SQUARE ENIX MUSIC Channel (no, you don’t need to shout that). There are two thousand-plus videos with everything from mood playlists to orchestra concerts to “Video Sou… Read More »- Article
- Preview
PAX East 2026 – Spirit Rancher’s Spirit-Fueled Farming is a Refreshing Change of Pace
Farming sims are only getting more popular as time goes on, across the indie space and with larger developers. After spending some time with Yangyang Mobile’s Spirit Rancher at PAX East, I think the devs are onto something good. Like any other expanding genre, it’s important for newcomers to offer s… Read More »- Article
- Preview
PAX East 2026 – Brigandine Abyss Hands-On: Hexagonal Strategy
Don’t play strategy RPGs at a convention. That’s not a slight against Brigandine Abyss or NISA’s booth — I’m glad and surprised the semi-recently announced title was on hand and in English. But in a show floor filled with people either passing by or waiting to play, probablyjudgingmyeverymoveovermys… Read More »- Article
- News
RPGs Coming This Week, 4/5/26 – Popplio of Note
Look, I don’t always have to include a Pokémon reference in these titles, but if they’re gonna keep releasing new or updated games in the series lately, I have no problem going back to the well. Beyond a new kind of Pokémon title, our lineup of RPGs Coming This Week include a musical-themed turn-bas… Read More »- Article
- News
Stranger Than Heaven Brings History & Haymakers Together in New Trailer
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has unveiled a new trailer for Stranger Than Heaven, their upcoming standalone (aka non-Like a Dragon) game. The trailer was shown at the latest Xbox Partner Preview, revealing that the game would span five historical periods. Check it out below! Stranger Than Heaven Five Eras R… Read More »- Article
- News
Pokemon Champions Brings Battles To Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 on April 8th; Mobile Devices Later This Year
The Pokémon Company has announced that spin-off battler Pokémon Champions will launch on April 8th for Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, with confirmation that it will release on mobile devices later this year. The announcement was accompanied by a lengthy overview trailer showcasing how and where players… Read More »- Feature
Aether & Iron Dev Interview – PAX East 2026
The first thing we did at PAX East 2026 was chat with some of the devs from Seismic Squirrel about their debut title, the just-released Aether & Iron. We came in loaded with questions from Jerry Williams, based on his time with the game, and thanks to Narrative Director Tyler Whitney and Product… Read More »- Article
- Preview
PAX East 2026 – High Times: Crafting Donuts & Moods
I have a soft spot for the fascinating intersection of food/drink service and visual novel (thanks, Since Coffee Talk and VA-11 HALL-A). After spending half an hour with High Times at PAX East, I continue to enjoy this particular setting/gameplay blend. A donut shop sim mixed with a dating sim may h… Read More »- Review
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is something of an odd duck in the Kingdom Hearts series. Taking place directly after Kingdom Hearts and running parallel to Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days instead focuses on Roxas, the briefly encountered protagonist of Kingdom Hearts II’s opening hours. 358/2 Days stands o… Read More »- Article
- Preview
Solasta II Early Access Review
After roughly fifteen hours with its Early Access build, it’s safe to say Solasta II is shaping up to be a better version of its predecessor. The developers have clearly invested time in refining the graphical fidelity with a shift to Unreal Engine 5, expanding the range of roleplaying systems, and… Read More »- Feature
Is Drakengard “Good”? (An Anti-Review)
I was thinking of writing a retro review of Drakengard. Then I realized I would have to assign a final score. Multiple scores, in fact: Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Story, Controls… you know, the tried-and-true review measurements. I’ll be honest. If I approached this scoring with the mindset that I… Read More »- Article
- Preview
PAX East 2026 – Disgaea Mayhem Hands-On: Frenetic Fan Service
One of my highlights at PAX East 2026 was stopping by the NIS America booth and getting some hands-on time with Disgaea Mayhem and Brigandine Abyss. More on the latter in another article, but if you’re curious how Disgaea’s first foray into action RPG territory fares, you’re in the right place! Disg… Read More »- Review
Gnosia
Ever since playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney in 2005, I’ve been hooked on adventure games and visual novels. Whether it’s Ace Attorney, Monkey Island, or Broken Sword, I can never get enough of them. The best way to make me fall in love with one of these games is by combining a strong cast of cha… Read More »- Review
Felvidek
Sometimes, all a game needs to work is confidence in its scope and vision. That’s the highest praise I’d shower on “15th-century Slovakia JRPG” Felvidek. Sure, it’s another turn-based RPG made with RPG Maker. It’s fairly short and doesn’t bring anything new to the genre mechanically. But what it doe… Read More »- Review
Life is Strange: Reunion
The journey that the Life is Strange series provides its fans has been a long and winding one, filled with storms both in-game and out. With the IP belonging to publisher Square Enix, we’ve seen development shift from French team Dontnod Entertainment (Life is Strange 1 and 2) to American devs Deck… Read More »- Article
- Random Encounter
- Podcast
Random Encounter 344 – Life is Strange: Carmageddon
On this episode of Random Encounter, we talk about cars ramming one another and time travel. And no, for once, this isn’t a Back to the Future reference (although it could be)! First up is Matt chatting about the big grand finale of the Life is Strange franchise, Life Is Strange: Reunion (although w… Read More »Twitch
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Trails Beyond The Horizon
Friday, April 10
1:00 pm PT
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Trails Beyond The Horizon
Saturday, April 11
1:00 pm PT
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Dragon Quest VII Reimagined
Sunday, April 12
1:00 pm PT
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Dragon Quest VII Reimagined
Wednesday, April 15
5:30 pm PT
Tune in on Twitch
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