Doesn’t it feel nice to listen to Retro Encounter under the stars? This week, the new host and a few huge fans dive into the first half of Final Fantasy IX. How does this classic hold up? Do we like the combat? Which monster doesn’t like Vivi very much? Listen in to find out! Featuring: Zach Wilkers… Read More »
I had a great time with the Demonschool demo over the summer, so it was a pleasure to interview the school’s principal game’s creative director (and founder of Necrosoft Games) Brandon Sheffield. We conducted the Q&A over email, where Sheffield revealed some fun and intriguing insights into the… Read More »
Even before Tales of Graces f Remastered, approaching the Tales series in 2025 feels like a monumental task. Now in its thirtieth year, it spans multiple titles with some gated behind older, potentially less accessible hardware. Tale of Graces f Remastered forms part of Bandai Namco’s ongoing effort… Read More »
Publisher GungHo has announced that Lunar Remastered Collection will be released on April 18th for PlayStation 4 (with PS5 compatibility), Xbox One (with X|S compatibility), Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. In addition to the digital version, series illustrator Toshiyuki Kubooka’s new cover art fo… Read More »
Between our recent milestone of 150 episodes and the start of a new year, we will have some fun changes coming to Rhythm Encounter, starting with this episode. New games and music release all the time that don’t always fit with our episode themes. Starting today, we will release a “new music” episod… Read More »
It’s a weird experience when one of your favorite series is the industry’s favorite punching bag. Dynasty Warriors endures all manner of accusations of laziness and thoughtlessness that boil down to a belief that the series was born stagnant. Some of that reputation has been earned. Still, fans will… Read More »
In this action-packed edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we get the first in a promising series of Tales remasters, plus a new entry in the preeminent musou series. Also, two standout indie releases that are varying degrees of roguelike! Let’s go ahead and dive in, shall we? Final Knight (Entering Ea… Read More »
At first glance, Rise of the Ronin may seem like Japan’s answer to 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, and while there are definitely numerous comparisons to draw between the two, Team Ninja’s odyssey through mid-19th-century Japan stands firm as its own beast, overdelivering on its promise of the first open-… Read More »
Did you know that hotels used to provide a newspaper at your door every morning? The practice started in the first half of the 19th century and technically still exists, though you won’t find a newspaper at your door anymore. Instead, you most likely have to ask for a newspaper at the front desk. In… Read More »
Xuan Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament is the latest entry in the long-running Xuan Yuan Sword series from Softstar Entertainment, with the first game appearing in 1990. Until this point, I have never given it a try. Our very own Audra Bowling reported a positive experience with the most recent titl… Read More »
The Ys series keeps on rolling, as Nihon Falcom delves into its back catalog to bring us Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana on consoles for the first time. Memoire’s key differentiator is offering an upscaled version for modern TVs, but it also provides a few new features from the remake released 20 y… Read More »
On this first episode of Random Encounter for 2025, Jono is missing, and it’s up to the panel to find him! Just kidding; we aren’t a semi-educational game from the 1990s. Jono has bronchitis this week, so it’s up to the brand-new full-time host of Retro Encounter, Zach Wilkerson, to fill in for him!… Read More »
In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we hit the ground running in 2025 with a strong mix of old favorites and new concepts. Expect this to be a recurring theme throughout the year — tons of remasters and remakes are coming, but fresh titles will never be in short supply. It’s good to be back, d… Read More »
Mario & Luigi: Brothership, what to do about you? I love Mario RPGs. I was elated to close out 2023 with a remake of one of my most-replayed games in Super Mario RPG, finally got to play the classic Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door with its Switch release, and have a fondness for early Mario… Read More »
2024 has been my year of playing remakes, remasters, and re-releases of games I never played or never finished for various reasons. The latest entry on that list is Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated, ShadowLayer Games’ full remake of Zeboyd Games’ indie darling that I never played the f… Read More »
“Saying goodbye doesn’t mean anything. It’s the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it.” In a reminiscence-heavy episode of Retro Encounter, four panelists discuss the podcast’s origin story, recording process, and favorite episodes and memories of nearly ten years of podcasting. Lo… Read More »
Life can be cruel, and the world is often unfair. These sentiments can break us, or we can try to power through and find the good amidst the turmoil and despair, clinging to it as best we can. Doing so with those we trust who can look out for us and vice versa makes all the difference. Such is the p… Read More »
It’s a well-known fact that colorful alien worlds are one of my weak points; bring me all the games with glowing plants, crystal deserts, and Roger Dean-inspired rock formations! Thankfully, this month, I’ve found a neat little indie title that fulfills this particular checklist—introducing The Dawn… Read More »
WARNING: This episode contains major spoilers for Slay the Princess, so listen at your own risk if you have not yet played the game! Every now and again at Rhythm Encounter, we have the chance to bring on a special musical guest. For today’s episode, RPGFan Music editor Patrick Gann sits down with B… Read More »
Aleks Franiczek The original NES/Famicom version of Dragon Quest III is such a legendary game that I decided it’s the version I would spin for this podcast. To ground myself in historical context, I also dabbled in the original versions of its two predecessors beforehand. This turned out to be a goo… Read More »
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. 2024 is (finally) behind us, and there is plenty to talk about. In one of the strongest years for RPGs in recent memory, five Retro Encounter panelists bring ten games to show and tell in discussing a few of their favorite RPGs of the calendar year. F… Read More »
I was hesitant to revisit Harvest Moon 64 after playing and reviewing the original Harvest Moon last year. Harvest Moon had been a mostly new experience for me, but I spent dozens of hours playing Harvest Moon 64 as a kid. Thankfully, Harvest Moon 64 has aged much better than its predecessor, and I… Read More »
In our final Random Encounter of 2024, we’re diving into the games we’re most excited to play in 2025! Every December, RPGFan unveils one of our biggest features: a list of the most anticipated games for the year ahead. What better way to close out 2024 than by joining our panel on Random Encounter… Read More »
RPGs are winning big at game award shows in 2024. Let’s first take a second to bask in this. The first major showing was the Golden Joystick Awards, hosted by the ever-charismatic Ben Starr (you know him as Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI). These fan-voted winners included multiple nods for Fi… Read More »
Jono Logan Do you remember the experience that solidified your love of video games? For me, it was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo. When released in the early days of the SNES, it exemplified everything this new generation of 16-bit gaming could be. Building on everythi… Read More »
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