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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 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 »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Ongoing Game

Posted by Izzy Parsons on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker It took a miracle team to save Final Fantasy XIV, but eight years ago a realm was reborn. The MMORPG remained remarkably consistent in the following years, allowing it to grow its player base exponentially and build a critically acclaimed story. This year’s expan… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Mobile Game

Posted by Caitlin Argyros on January 22, 2022

Winner: Fantasian Fantasian quickly captured the attention of longtime RPG fans with its gorgeous diorama backgrounds and impressive developer pedigree. The game brings together Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, and Nobuo Uematsu, whose iconic music has defined that same series over t… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Unconventional or Hybrid RPG

Posted by Des Miller on January 22, 2022

Winner: New Pokémon Snap Over twenty years ago, Pokémon Snap launched on the N64. For many of us kids, this was the first time we got to see many of these creatures in 3D. At the time, it was a sight to behold — Pokémon living in their natural habitats, frolicking around as you throw apples at them… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Remake or Re-Release

Posted by Adam Arter on January 22, 2022

Winner: NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is an impressive new version of Yoko Taro’s classic, a game that proves that you can uplift even the most basic game design through beautiful aesthetics and writing, concepts, and characters that touch upon complex universal… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best New IP

Posted by Des Miller on January 22, 2022

Winner: Scarlet Nexus When Scarlet Nexus was announced, my expectations were subterranean. Even as I popped the game into my system, I figured it wouldn’t hold my attention for more than a couple of hours. Yet, with each scene, battle, and conversation, I found myself getting attached to the charact… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best DLC

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 22, 2022

Winner: Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode INTERmission Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode INTERmission is what all DLC should aspire to be. It expands on the base story without feeling like it’s a missing piece of the main game. It introduces new combat mechanics that help the brief adventure feel fres… Read More »

RPGFan Games of the Year 2021: Best Combat

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 22, 2022

Winner: Tales of Arise Tales games institute a new combination of adjectives into their fighting system with every new entry. For Tales of Arise, they’ve gone back to their roots with the name “Linear Motion Battle System.” Limiting martial artes (not a typo) and spells with MP, SP, TP, or anything… 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 »

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