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Top 25 RPG Dragons (Part 2)

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on April 27, 2024

Page 1 Page 3 Flammie (Secret of Mana) Writeup by Patrick Gann Lifting the spin drum into the sky and giving it a sharp turn, the Mana Beast, Flammie, descends to sweep up you and your two companions. Goodness gracious, I always loved calling upon this lovable cutie as the ideal mode of transportati… Read More »

Top 25 RPG Dragons (Part 3)

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on April 27, 2024

Page 1 Page 2 Nidhogg (Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward) Writeup by Zach Wilkerson We had a hard time deciding on the best dragon from Final Fantasy XIV. There’s certainly no shortage of excellent dragons, but even amongst them, Nidhogg soars above the rest. In many ways, Nidhogg becomes the tem… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Izzy Parsons

Posted by Izzy Parsons on February 2, 2024

2023 was an incredible year for video game releases (and a disgusting one for video game company layoffs. Let’s hope 2024 makes huge improvements there). Still, I always manage to play far more “old” games than games from the current year, so I split my selection into two categories — games first re… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Mike Salbato

Posted by Mike Salbato on February 2, 2024

Favorite Game of 2023: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom If you ask most people what seasons 2023 had, you’ll get, well, a funny look but also an answer of the expected four. But for me, I missed summer. My 2023 was late winter, spring, Zelda, autumn, and winter again. Tears of the Kingdom w… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Ben Love

Posted by Ben Love on February 2, 2024

Best Gateway Into Chinese RPGs: Wandering Sword I had no idea what I was missing out on by not playing Chinese RPGs until I played Wandering Sword. The unique Wuxia-inspired setting, deep character building mechanics informed by martial arts fantasy, and ingenious mix of CRPG and JRPG influences com… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Jonathan Logan

Posted by Jonathan Logan on February 2, 2024

Best Game of 2023 (That I Played): The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released in 2017, it was heralded as one of the greatest Zelda games of all time, if not one of the greatest GOATs, period. Knowing everyone was eagerly awaiting word of the… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on February 2, 2024

My Top 5 RPGs: 5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie Trails into Reverie reignited my passion for The Legend of Heroes: Trails series, making me extremely excited for what’s next. I adore its characters and story resolutions, and give special kudos to protagonist C for phenomenal character de… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Des Miller

Posted by Des Miller on February 2, 2024

Proof That Giving Gust Time and Money Is a Great Idea of the Year: Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key Ever since 2019’s Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout reignited the Atelier series, the Secret (Ryza) sub-series saw drastic improvements from one entry to th… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Neal Chandran

Posted by Neal Chandran on February 2, 2024

In 2023, I found myself most inspired by games with excellent writing. That is how I arrived at my top three picks for the year: Top 3 Games of 2023 Hush Hush – Only Your Love Can Save Them On its surface, Hush Hush appears to be a “fanservicey anime schlock” visual novel based on characters from an… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Zach Wilkerson

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on February 2, 2024

I’ve played so many stone-cold classics for Retro Encounter over the years (Mother 3, NieR: Automata, and even Disco Elysium) that it’s hard to pick a favorite. But I can confidently say that Bloodborne belongs in the same conversation. It’s been a bit of an odd year for me with many life changes —… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Michael Sollosi

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 2, 2024

I had a difficult 2023 for several personal reasons, but finding excellent new RPGs to play was never a challenge. I’d love to talk about a few of them; first a few honorable mentions, then my six favorite 2023 RPGs. Missed Connections: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate III, D… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Tina Olah

Posted by Tina Olah on February 2, 2024

Hello, RPG friends! This year, I continued my grand tradition of playing short, 5 to 20-hour games, mostly on Steam and Xbox Game Pass. Below are some of my top choices from 2023, featuring new games and backlog classics! Best Fairytale World: Ravenlok In the ninth month of 2023, I wandered through… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Tyler Trosper

Posted by Tyler Trosper on February 2, 2024

Every year, I find myself behind in gaming. Not to say I haven’t played any games released in 2023, but I’ve found progress slowed by the number of amazing games over the past several years. TOO MANY GAMES! Unfortunately, several 2023 games will also spill over into my 2024 backlog. I will try my be… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Jimmy Turner

Posted by Jimmy Turner on February 2, 2024

Game I Can’t Believe Released in the Last 12 Months: Fire Emblem Engage The latest entry in the Fire Emblem franchise, Engage, released January 20th, 2023, but it feels much longer, likely due to the overshadowing influence of its predecessor. The megahit Fire Emblem: Three Houses may well be my fav… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Aleks Franiczek

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on February 2, 2024

Best RPG of 2023 that I Finished: Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty I’ve already said enough about how impressed I was with Cyberpunk 2077’s first and only expansion, so I’ll give a quick summary here. Phantom Liberty condenses the base game’s greatest storytelling strengths into a refreshingly tight… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Patrick Gann

Posted by Patrick Gann on February 2, 2024

I played far fewer new games this year than typical. My backlog is enormous, and I didn’t get to three very important remakes that I wanted to play before declaring the best remake of 2023 (Super Mario RPG, Front Mission 2, Star Ocean: The Second Story R). However, there were a handful of stand-out… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Scott Clay

Posted by Scott Clay on February 2, 2024

The Go Away Rean Schwarzers Award I’m seeing double here: four winners! Congrats, Rean Schwarzer, you somehow won this award again for the fourth time. So yes, notice the plural. There are two of them now. Yep, two of them. I can see the developer meeting now. Falcom: Everyone loves Rean, so w… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023 ~ Editors’ Awards: Tim Rattray

Posted by Tim Rattray on February 2, 2024

New Guy Walks in With an Obvious Game of the Year Pick: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom What can I even add to the conversation here that hasn’t already been said? Tears of the Kingdom is just that awe-inspiring. It’s the perfect balance of sandbox freedom, bespoke puzzles shrouded in a de… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Strategy RPG

Posted by Jimmy Turner on January 26, 2024

Winner: Fire Emblem Engage Fire Emblem Engage had a lot to live up to after the enormous success of its predecessor, Three Houses. While Engage was not exactly the “Three Houses 2” many may have wanted, it is a terrific entry in Nintendo’s tactical RPG franchise. Where Three Houses’ success stemmed… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Supporting Character

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on January 26, 2024

Winner: Cidolfus Telamon (Final Fantasy XVI) The Final Fantasy series has its fair share of lovable characters named Cid, so it’s no trivial statement to say that Final Fantasy XVI’s Cidolfus Telamon might be the best yet. Powered by a snarky, gravelly-voiced performance from Ralph Ineson, Cid steal… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Indie Game

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 26, 2024

Winner: Sea of Stars It was clear from the first trailer that Sea of Stars had the potential to be something special, and the final product did not disappoint. Wearing its retro inspiration on its sleeve, the game has gorgeous pixel art, snappy combat with timed mechanics, a fun adventure story, and… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Animal or Mascot Character

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 26, 2024

Winner: Torgal (Final Fantasy XVI) Torgal is the goodest of boys. He’s cute as a button as a puppy and handsome (but still adorable) as an adult. He is fiercely loyal to his people and nigh inseparable with Clive in particular. When the two are separated, Torgal spends over a decade searching for Cl… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Ongoing Game

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 26, 2024

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker It’s telling that, even in a year that most would agree was on the weaker side for Final Fantasy XIV, this game still sits at the top of this category. Really, it’s a testament to Final Fantasy XIV that we even think this year is weak; we still got so much good c… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Game of the Year

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on January 26, 2024

Winner: Baldur’s Gate III Though it had been floating around in early access for a couple years, Baldur’s Gate III still felt like it snuck up on us, partly because we didn’t expect it’d be this great. BGIII caught the essence of Dungeons & Dragons at an opportune time, coinciding with a new har… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Mobile Game

Posted by Ben Love on January 26, 2024

Winner: Honkai: Star Rail Honkai: Star Rail’s launch proved that HoYoverse could capture lightning in a bottle twice. Combining traditional turn-based RPG combat with their signature gacha character acquisition was a recipe for success, rocketing the game to the top of the mobile charts. The game is… Read More »

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