Feature Sub-Page Archives | Page 8 of 14

Top 7 Wii U RPGs + 20 Vital Virtual Console Titles (Part 2)

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on April 20, 2022

There are many notable games that were released on the Wii U Virtual Console, and while many have since been re-released on the Switch Online service or the likes of Konami’s Castlevania Advance Collection, there are some notable titles whose most current availability is the Wii U or 3DS eShop. Thes… Read More »

Secrets, Legends, and Brownies: An Interview With Shinichi Kameoka (日本語 / Japanese)

Posted by Sam-James Gordon on March 12, 2022

Shinichi Kameoka is a character designer, producer, and director whose art style is as recognisable as the names of the games he’s worked on are revered. His work on the Mana series helped make the games so memorable, and since producing Mother 3, he’s been a vocal advocate of its localisation for W… Read More »

From Chrono Trigger to Shadow Hearts: An Interview With Yoshitaka Hirota (日本語 / Japanese)

Posted by Sam-James Gordon on March 5, 2022

Yoshitaka Hirota is a composer, sound designer, and musician whose work you may be most familiar with from the Shadow Hearts series. The games became cult favourites, and anyone who’s played them will know how memorable their soundtracks are: a testament to the lasting power of music in video games.… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021: Part 2

Posted by Alana Hagues on February 27, 2022

Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV by Steven Mattern Final Fantasy XIV has a long history with its music. Each expansion brings new compositions, adaptations of previous songs from the game, and callbacks to prior entries in the Final Fantasy series. Endwalker’s music does all of these things in spectacul… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Audra Bowling

Posted by Audra Bowling on February 27, 2022

Three soundtracks I heard and fell in love with in 2021 that weren’t the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker soundtrack! Boyfriend Dungeon Original Soundtrack Boyfriend Dungeon is a fun, thoughtful, and extremely clever game that enjoyably combines several genres. No small part of that enjoyment is the tit… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Des Miller

Posted by Des Miller on February 27, 2022

Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy Original Soundtrack Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is a gorgeous showcase of Gust Sound Team at their finest. While many Atelier games have had standout tracks in their OSTs, Atelier Ryza 2’s soundtrack in particular is rife wi… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Sam-James Gordon

Posted by Sam-James Gordon on February 27, 2022

Bravely Default II Original Soundtrack As a fan of the Bravely series since the first entry, the soundtrack of its officially numbered sequel is one I highly anticipated. I was not disappointed (far from it), and Bravely Default II’s OST has become my favourite of 2021. Revo returns with all the fla… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Hilary Andreff

Posted by Hilary Andreff on February 27, 2022

The “Quintet Vibes” Award: Actraiser Original Soundtrack and Symphonic Suite and the Actraiser Renaissance soundtrack Quintet soundtracks have always captured my imagination with their moody vibes and surprising versatility–or not so surprising given Quintet’s penchant for playing with genre and inc… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Mike Salbato

Posted by Mike Salbato on February 27, 2022

Across the Worlds ~ Chrono Cross Wayô Piano Collection At this point, I think I am physically incapable of NOT mentioning a Chrono series album in Music of the Year when possible. Sure, Chrono Trigger came out in 1995, followed by Chrono Cross in 2000, but if fan musicians (and even Square Enix) wan… Read More »

RPGFan Music of the Year 2021 ~ Editors’ Favorites: Patrick Gann

Posted by Patrick Gann on February 27, 2022

It’s been an incredible year for the SaGa franchise, especially with a bevy of arranged albums. So this year, I’ll be categorizing my favorites into two simple categories: best SaGa and best non-SaGa. I’ll give a winner and two runners-up for each category. Let’s go! Best SaGa: DESTINY 8 – SaGa Band… Read More »

A Co-op Look at Co-op RPGs (Part 2)

Posted by Wes Iliff on February 18, 2022

Back to Part 1! Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2001 – Played on PlayStation 4 While Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance bears the name of the beloved series by BioWare, the PS2 classic has more in common with Diablo than anything in the infinity engine. Trading in conversations for action, Dark Alliance and… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Visuals

Posted by Steven Mattern on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode INTERmission Final Fantasy VII Remake certainly piqued many fans’ interests with its new take on the 1997 classic by using Unreal Engine 4 to the fullest. Even though the game is largely defined by the 2020 release, the visual benchmark set was still enhanced… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Music or Sound Design

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Masayoshi Soken’s music in Final Fantasy XIV is so iconic that it’s practically a character itself, and this is perhaps no truer than in Endwalker. From “Footfalls,” with its callbacks to leitmotifs from previous expansions, to the theme of Sharlayan and its beau… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Story

Posted by Alana Hagues on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Few other games have led me to tears just by asking a simple question such as “Has your journey been good? Has it been worthwhile?” But Endwalker’s deeply human and hopeful story reaches out from the screen and touches your heart in ways other video games have tr… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Localization

Posted by Izzy Parsons on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Final Fantasy XIV has always dazzled with the written and spoken word, so it is no surprise that Endwalker has an incredibly rich and powerful localization. However, that doesn’t make what it does any less impressive. The sheer depth of emotion the localization t… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Traditional RPG

Posted by Adam Luhrs on January 22, 2022

Winner: Shin Megami Tensei V The long, quiet wait for Shin Megami Tensei V has been maddening, but now that it’s finally here, it’s clear that the wait was worth it. This is easily the most beautiful series entry to date — a sumptuous production that does full justice to its otherworldly setting and… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Protagonist

Posted by Wes Iliff on January 22, 2022

Winner: Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode INTERmission) Episode INTERmission is fascinating because it’s focused on edges of the Final Fantasy VII world that have never hit the mainstream. Sure, all the surprise extended universe appearances are wonderful, but none add depth to the w… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Action RPG

Posted by Wes Iliff on January 22, 2022

Winner: Tales of Arise Tales of Arise is the biggest rejuvenation and reinvention the Tales series has seen since its inception. It’s hard to understate the impact this newest entry has had, taking a series that had strong niche appeal into the relative mainstream. It goes back to the core concepts… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Antagonist

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 22, 2022

Winner: Fandaniel (Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker) It takes skill to turn an antagonist who at first seems incredibly one note into a much deeper and more intriguing villain. Final Fantasy XIV has a habit of doing this, but Fandaniel is a particularly noteworthy case. He is hardly compelling in the le… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Graphic Adventure or Visual Novel

Posted by Jonathan Logan on January 22, 2022

Winner: The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Trying to get into a long-running series can be daunting. With Ace Attorney, for example, you’ve got six mainline entries, three spin-offs, and two seasons of anime. That’s why I am so excited to tell you about The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a collection… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Supporting Character

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 22, 2022

Winner: Venat (Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker) Note: Light spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker follow. At its best, faith pushes people to be better, kinder, and aspire to something higher, even if it’s based on something we can’t see. Venat, Hydaelyn, Azem, or whatever you want to call her, de… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Strategy RPG

Posted by Neal Chandran on January 22, 2022

Winner: Super Robot Wars 30 The venerable Super Robot Wars series of crossover strategy RPGs featuring giant robots from popular mecha anime has enjoyed immense popularity for the past 30 years. Sadly, none of the mainline games ever made it outside of Japan until Super Robot Wars 30. Gargantuan gat… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Animal or Mascot Character

Posted by Tyler Trosper on January 22, 2022

Winner (tie): Hootle (Tales of Arise) Mascot characters: you either love them or hate them. If done wrong, they can break the mood of a game (hi, Bienfu from Tales of Berseria). However, the great ones melt your heart every time they are on screen, and that’s exactly what Hootle does in Tales of Ari… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Indie Game

Posted by Anthony Fowler on January 22, 2022

Winner: Eastward Eastward weaves a collage of homages so large that it forms its own beautiful image. Some see the spirit of Quintet in its combat and world-trekking scope, so call it a Zelda killer. Others take note of the in-game Earth Born arcade game that links disparate folks, even in the post-… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best RPG (or Adventure Game) of 2021

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker I’m going to start out simply here: Endwalker is one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of gaming. I’m not saying that because of the “epic comeback” from 1.0. Endwalker has to stand on its own, and it fires on all cylinders at all times. I’m not… Read More »

Feature Sub-Page(s) Archive