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RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Patrick Gann

Posted by Patrick Gann on September 5, 2025

Wow… 2024 has come and gone. The sheer quantity of game music released continues to grow with each passing year. But I’m not just looking for quantity, I’m looking for the highest quality! Here are my top five (combined OST and arrange) I found in the last year! 5. Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024: Top 5 Arrange/Remix Albums

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 5, 2025

For Music of the Year 2024, instead of having all music releases in a single pool, we opted to spin off arrangement and remix albums as well as vinyl releases, to let us highlight an even larger variety of music from throughout the year. See five of our favorites below and check out the rest of the… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024: Top 5 Vinyl Releases

Posted by Patrick Gann on September 5, 2025

Continuing our new categories for Music of the Year 2024, we have a selection of notable vinyl releases. There’s constantly so much going on in the world of vinyl, both inside and outside of the video game music space. Many vinyl releases do not cover new releases, as we routinely see new vinyl edit… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on September 5, 2025

There were some amazing RPG and visual novel music releases in 2024. Here are six that I particularly enjoyed! The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak OST This mini-soundtrack released with the Limited Edition copy of The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak was only available through the… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Gio Castillo

Posted by Gio Castillo on September 5, 2025

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Original Soundtrack In terms of scale, it’s difficult to top the seven-disc (eight, if you count the limited edition) behemoth that is the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth soundtrack. The top-to-bottom quality is undeniable, even if the orchestral tracks do less for me than when t… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Rob White

Posted by Rob White on September 5, 2025

2024 was a year absolutely stacked with great new RPG releases, many of which contained music that I enjoyed. Persona 3 Reload and Granblue Fantasy: Relink were two early 2024 releases that came packed with strong gameplay and OSTs to match. I revisit music from both of these now, even when I’m not… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2024 Editors’ Favorites: Mark Roddison

Posted by Mark Roddison on September 5, 2025

Favorite Soundtrack of 2024: SKALD: Against the Black Priory Original Soundtrack Vol. I Retro, synthwave soundtracks have made a comeback in recent games, such is the appetite for retro-gaming and nostalgia, but SKALD’s score really does take it to another level. There’s a real earnestness and since… Read More »

「聖剣伝説２」作曲家菊田裕樹インタビュー

Posted by Matt Wardell on August 6, 2025

日本人作曲家菊田裕樹さんほど、人々の記憶に消えない痕跡を残したゲーム作曲家はいないでしょう。菊田さんは、30 年以上にわたり、『双界儀』 (1998 年)、『クーデルカ』 (1999 年)、『インディヴィジブル闇を祓う魂たち』 (2019 年) などの作品を手掛けてこられました。また、『聖剣伝説２』 (1993 年) から『聖剣伝説VISIONS OF MANA』（2024年）に至るまでの『聖剣伝説』シリーズの大半の音楽をご担当されています。『聖剣伝説２』の象徴的なオープニングテーマが深く脳裏に刻まれている JRPG ファンを探すのに、さほど労力は必要ないでしょう。過去 10 年にわ… Read More »

So you want to get into The Legend of Zelda Series… (3D Zelda Games)

Posted by Noah Leiter on July 23, 2025

Welcome to part two of RPGFan’s “So you want to get into the Legend of Zelda series…” primer, where we go through the three-dimensional Legend of Zelda titles available on home consoles. Check out part one for a deep dive into the 2D entries, and part three for the Top 5 Places to Start… Read More »

So you want to get into The Legend of Zelda Series… (Top 5 Places to Start)

Posted by Noah Leiter on July 23, 2025

Thanks for popping in on this list of top Legend of Zelda games. If you’re here for a consolidated recommendation of where to start, you’ve come to the right place. If you want detailed rundowns of all the games, check out part one for 2D Zelda titles and part two for 3D Zelda games. Below are five… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Jerry Williams

Posted by Jerry Williams on April 25, 2025

1. Shining Force II I visited my friend’s house and Shining Force II was blaring through the CRT TV speakers with its exquisite battle music as my compadre walked up to orcs and gargoyles in top-down strategic glory. Until then, I had only played traditional RPGs, so this blew my elementary school m… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Stephanie Sybydlo

Posted by Stephanie Sybydlo on April 25, 2025

1. Star Ocean: The Second Story It was summer 2001, my two BFFs went on vacation with their families, and I was left at home with a small TV in my room to watch DVDs and play videogames. A little isolated, but entertained, I devoted myself to the first major RPG I’d play (nay, CONQUER) multiple time… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Tim Rattray

Posted by Tim Rattray on April 25, 2025

1. Chrono Trigger Chrono Trigger earns instant inclusion on my list as it’s my favorite game, but more importantly, it’s the game that made gaming my hobby and cemented my enduring love for JRPGs. I was entranced when my step-cousin showed me Chrono Trigger on an emulator in the mid-2000s. My unders… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Tom Cox

Posted by Tom Cox on April 25, 2025

1. Pokémon Pokémon has been a defining factor in my life. It got me into anime, it got me into RPGs, it introduced me to new people and, most importantly, it got me through one of the hardest points of my life. Being the video game franchise that means the most to me, I can’t choose just one game fr… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Wes Iliff

Posted by Wes Iliff on April 25, 2025

1. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen Dragon Quest as a series is what drove me to RPGs in the heady days before school, before even knowing to read. The original Dragon Warrior release on NES drove me to learn to read. And it was my continued history with the series that caused me to branch ou… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Ben Love

Posted by Ben Love on April 25, 2025

1. Fire Emblem If I owe my love of RPGs (and video games in general) to a single game, it’s Fire Emblem. The combination of fantasy setting and in-depth tactical gameplay was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and I fell in love with the robust cast of characters and well-developed setting of E… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Des Miller

Posted by Des Miller on April 25, 2025

1. Valkyrie Profile When I discovered RPGs as a child, I experienced simplistic and slow-paced battles with teenage boy protagonists rescuing damsels in distress. I wanted something different and exciting, dark and mature, and wholly unique. Valkyrie Profile granted this in spades and shattered my e… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Abraham Kobylanski

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on April 25, 2025

1. Final Fantasy VI There was a time when Final Fantasy VI was on the shortlist of the greatest games ever, so how could this one from my formative years not influence my tastes? Several of the 14 party members have more development and personality than most solo protagonists. In a way, I feel like… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Aleks Franiczek

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on April 25, 2025

1. Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy VI came out the year I was born, so suffice to say I didn’t play it on release. I did, however, grow up in a house with two older brothers where the game was heavily in rotation. Before they even trusted me to handle their precious games and pick up the controller m… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Jimmy Turner

Posted by Jimmy Turner on April 25, 2025

1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic When I met my future wife in 2005, the only RPGs I had played up to that point were JRPGs. Furthermore, she did not even know what the term RPG meant (at the time). Both these things changed when we discovered Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Being th… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on April 25, 2025

1. Suikoden II If FFVII holds a special place in my heart as my first ever RPG, Suikoden II holds one for being the first I bought with my own money. My sister and I pooled our saved allowance to buy it solely based on its gorgeous cover art and premise. We weren’t disappointed, immediately sucked i… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Mark Roddison

Posted by Mark Roddison on April 25, 2025

1. Final Fantasy VII Purchasing a copy of this landmark RPG from my local HMV store in 1997 was a shot in the dark for me. I hadn’t been that aware of JRPGs, or much of the broader Japanese entertainment culture, prior to this act. But the cover looked stylish, and the screenshots on the back seemed… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Michael Sollosi

Posted by Michael Sollosi on April 25, 2025

1. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride Dragon Quest games always have simple core mechanics serving as vehicles for tightly-written fantasy stories, given life by the late Akira Toriyama’s vibrant character and monster designs. I love that every Dragon Quest game has combat and menus from the… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Mike Salbato

Posted by Mike Salbato on April 25, 2025

1. Chrono Trigger Even if I didn’t have a love for time travel tales, Chrono Trigger is always on my list. It is, for me, old-school JRPG perfection, with timeless and gorgeous artwork and music, a cast I overwhelmingly love, and one interesting and innovative gameplay idea after another. Battles ta… Read More »

The RPGs That Made Us: Nick Mangiaracina

Posted by Nick Mangiaracina on April 25, 2025

1. EarthBound I don’t think EarthBound was the first RPG I played, but it was definitely one of the first I owned and the first one I remember sinking my teeth into. I saved up a considerable amount of money to buy it and pored over the strategy guide whenever I wasn’t near my SNES. I try not to hol… Read More »

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