Highlight Archives | Page 23 of 43

Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis -The Answer-

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on September 14, 2024

Persona 3 FES was a formative gaming experience for me, and I absolutely loved the treatment Atlus gave it in the recent Persona 3 Reload. The remake did an exemplary job preserving the core experience of the original while refreshing it with a slick coat of paint that provided a new sheen for its o… Read More »

Monster Sanctuary

Posted by Mark Roddison on September 13, 2024

Over the years, the monster-collecting RPG genre hasn’t interested me in the same way single-character RPGs or CRPGs have. I’ve dabbled in Pokémon/Nexomon and briefly toyed with the newer Palworld, but none stuck. Although it’s been out for four years, Monster Sanctuary not only had me wanting to co… Read More »

Retro Encounter 434 – Firewatch

Posted by Michael Sollosi on September 12, 2024

We didn’t start the fire Firewatch is the only release of indie game studio Campo Santo, but made quite an impact when it came out in 2016. Four Retro Encounter panelists played Firewatch recently, and today discuss everything from Firewatch’s quotidian gameplay, clever use of anticlimax, and fabulo… Read More »

Celestia: Chain of Fate

Posted by Audra Bowling on September 11, 2024

Arguably, Celestia: Chain of Fate is a lighthearted fantasy visual novel with some otome undertones. With twenty relatively sizable chapters telling its tale, the game takes time to find its footing, but a decent, character-driven tale exists here for those with patience. I became attached to the wo… Read More »

Veritus

Posted by Jerry Williams on September 10, 2024

For a long while now, indie devs have tried to capture that nostalgia energy in a bottle. Few accomplish this, as nostalgia is less a visual or musical style and more a feeling—a feeling frequently attributed to a person’s situation, developmental age, and artistic needs at that time. Still, a game’… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 143 – Lo-fi for RPG Fans (Only)

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 9, 2024

With fall (or autumn, if you prefer) around the corner for many of us, it feels like a good time for relaxing music. While we did a pair of episodes focused on relaxing RPG music about four years ago (see Episode 54 and Episode 55), this time, RPGFan’s biggest lo-fi fans got together to listen and c… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 9/8/24

Posted by Gio Castillo on September 8, 2024

In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, another mega-hit gets a much-ballyhooed expansion, plus a few solid indie titles debut. And also Dragon Quest! It’s a solid mix of games, so let’s get our metaphorical hands in this metaphorical grab bag, shall we? Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis – September… Read More »

Retro Encounter 433 – Draft Souls

Posted by Michael Sollosi on September 7, 2024

The Dark Souls of Retro Encounter fantasy drafts FromSoftware has produced an excellent run of fantasy RPGs since 2009’s Demon’s Souls, to which point its extended family of action RPGs comprises a genre all its own. And of course, if you can organize RPGs into a series, then Retro Encounter w… Read More »

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War

Posted by Audra Bowling on September 7, 2024

I’ve been fortunate enough to have played a few above-average free-to-play gacha RPGs and the long-running and extensive The Legend of Heroes: Trails series (the latest title of which, Trails through Daybreak, I enjoyed immensely). I was also pleasantly surprised by the anime series The Legend of He… Read More »

Retro Encounter Final Thoughts – Dragon Age: Inquisition

Posted by Michael Sollosi on September 6, 2024

Audra Bowling I still have fond memories of my first Dragon Age: Inquisition playthrough, so I was thrilled when the opportunity to revisit the game right before the looming release date for Dragon Age: The Veilguard presented itself. I’ll always have a nostalgic soft spot for BioWare games, and I a… Read More »

What Remains of Edith Finch

Posted by Paul Skevington on September 6, 2024

You may have heard of What Remains of Edith Finch, and if so, you likely have a good idea of the sort of experience it provides. Sometimes, games rely on complex mechanics to draw the player in. I, like many of us, enjoy getting to grips with shiny new systems, opening them up like magical puzzle bo… Read More »

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection

Posted by Jonathan Logan on September 5, 2024

To paraphrase the famous preamble of Law and Order, “In the Japanifornia justice system, NPCs are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police and prosecutors, who investigate and prosecute the crime; and the defense attorneys, who defend the obviously innocent suspects.”… Read More »

Date A Live: Ren Dystopia

Posted by Neal Chandran on September 5, 2024

Date A Live is a light novel series that has since been adapted into an anime series, video games, and other multimedia. In fact, the anime just aired its fifth season earlier this year. The popular series, written by Kōshi Tachibana and illustrated by Tsunako (who illustrated many Idea Factory game… Read More »

Journeying through the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, Part 1: Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II

Posted by Rob White on September 4, 2024

I may likely qualify as a Final Fantasy fanboy. The first console games I played are from the series, and I’d list a couple as my favourite games of all time. I must admit, somewhat controversially, that I haven’t ever completed (or in some cases played at all) Final Fantasy I through VI. I know it’… Read More »

Ranma ½: Treasure of the Red Cat Gang

Posted by Sean Cabot on September 3, 2024

It’s hard to believe, but once upon a time, Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma ½ was one of the most popular series to grace the emerging Western anime fandom of the ’90s. Ranma’s popularity is important to understand, because otherwise the rationale behind a fan translating the series’ main foray into the RP… Read More »

Random Encounter 304 – Czar of Mana

Posted by Jonathan Logan on September 2, 2024

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re talking politics! Well, no, not really, but there are some jokes about politics in here… First up, Izzy has played the first new Mana game since 2020’s Trials of Mana remake, Visions of Mana! With spiky hair, lush landscapes, and real-time RPG action, it’… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 9/1/24

Posted by Gio Castillo on September 1, 2024

In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we kick off September with a trio of adventure titles! If you’re someone who enjoys intricate stories in games, you may scratch that itch with these games. Let’s dive in! Date A Live: Ren Dystopia – September 5th (Windows) There’s a light novel and anime ser… Read More »

Wasteland Remastered

Posted by Patrick Gann on August 31, 2024

After watching the fantastic first season of the Fallout television series, I decided to get back into the franchise by digging deep into its roots. And by that, I mean playing Wasteland Remastered. The connection between Wasteland and Fallout is well-documented. If you’re unfamiliar, Brian Fargo—th… Read More »

Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Posted by Jerry Williams on August 31, 2024

Irreverent, crude, lewd, inappropriate, crass, and even gross, Thank Goodness You’re Here! is not for the prim and proper among us. If you are prim and proper but let your hair down when the curtains are closed and enjoy a bit of cheeky, immature humor from time to time, you have a friend here. Than… Read More »

Nobody Wants to Die

Posted by Jerry Williams on August 30, 2024

A niche genre of storytelling I can’t get enough of is detective noir. Nobody Wants to Die screams—sometimes literally—with detective noir essence. Everything about it, from the dark, rainy visuals to the long, somber horns to the professional voice acting, creates the atmosphere one expects. That a… Read More »

Golden Sun

Posted by Joshua Lindquist on August 30, 2024

Sometimes, it is difficult to describe why a game is fun or what makes it worth playing. You can enjoy your time with it, but putting the game features into words makes it sound like the most basic and boring game ever designed. Teenagers with magic powers who set out to save the world? Yeah, I’ve d… Read More »

Retro Encounter 432 – Dragon Age: Inquisition Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on August 29, 2024

Trespassers will be contemplated Retro Encounter concludes its eight-month-long playthrough of the Dragon Age trilogy, with a discussion of what’s wrong with the Grey Wardens, what’s worse in the Winter Palace, and much more. Dragon Age: Inquisition was a phenomenon in 2014, and the panel is excited… Read More »

Metaphor: ReFantazio Preview – The First Four Hours

Posted by Scott Clay on August 28, 2024

So what if Atlus took their two flagship series, Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, and smashed them together? Well, you would end up with the game Atlus has been developing for the last six years, the fantastic Metaphor: ReFantazio. And that, my friends, is about to pay off big time as Metaphor: ReFan… Read More »

Metaphor: ReFantazio Developer Q&A

Posted by Scott Clay on August 28, 2024

As part of the Atlus event where we got to play a large portion of Metaphor: ReFantazio (don’t miss my preview of the first four hours with the game!), we also got to participate in a question-and-answer session with a few of the developers. Producer Junichi Yoshizawa, Lead Scenario Planner Yuichiro… Read More »

Atelier Yumia Unveiled, Due Early 2025

Posted by Gio Castillo on August 27, 2024

The recent Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase revealed the newest installment in the Atelier series: Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land. Expected to launch in early 2025, this new game isn’t just coming out for Nintendo Switch—it’s also making its way to PlayStation 5 a… Read More »

Highlight(s) Archive