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Rhythm Encounter 168 – Dear me, I was… Not Born Yet in 1995

Posted by Mike Salbato on October 13, 2025

With another quarter come and gone, we reflect on the games and music released in the last three months to showcase some of our favorite discoveries! From new takes on classics, to brand new music IN classics, alongside straight up new games, there have been several notable happenings in RPG music.… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 10/12/25 [UPDATE]

Posted by Adem Yilmaz on October 12, 2025

This week, I fully expect a certain game to dominate everything else in terms of attention, mind share, revenue — name any business metric you can think of. That’s the reality of Pokémon being the juggernaut franchise that it is. But here we try to give every release a fair shake, and try we will ri… Read More »

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Posted by Audra Bowling on October 10, 2025

I’m something of a newcomer to Fire Emblem, having heard of Nintendo’s flagship SRPG series but only discovering its tactical intricacies for myself with Fire Emblem Awakening on the Nintendo 3DS. Since then, I’ve been enamored with the franchise’s more recent titles, but hesitant to try out its ear… Read More »

Absolum

Posted by Jerry Williams on October 9, 2025

Dotemu, game developer and publisher of some repute, has proven its design acumen with Streets of Rage 4, a game that breathed life into a beloved series thought dead and the beat ’em up genre as a whole. Fast forward to today, and we are staring at what is assuredly another hit: Absolum. While not… Read More »

Retro Encounter 470 – Star Ocean: The Second Story Part I

Posted by Ben Love on October 9, 2025

The Second Story, but first in our hearts! On this week’s episode of Retro Encounter, we got marooned on an underdeveloped planet called Expel and discussed Tri-Ace’s western debut title Star Ocean: The Second Story. We compared the finer points of the PSX original with Second Evolution and Second S… Read More »

Illusion of Itehari

Posted by Audra Bowling on October 8, 2025

An illusion is imagery that appears, for all intents and purposes, to be real. But what if, beneath the facade you’ve known your entire life, buried truths could fundamentally reshape and break all that you know and hold dear? Otome visual novel Illusion of Itehari explores its themes in an altogeth… Read More »

Lucy Dreaming

Posted by Paul Skevington on October 7, 2025

There’s no shyness in Lucy Dreaming regarding its influences. When I’d wake from slumber as a teen in the nineties, my remembered nighttime gaming visions looked like this. Back then, the quality of video game storytelling drove many of us away from action titles and towards more accommodating forms… Read More »

Random Encounter 332 – Tactical Fantasies

Posted by Jonathan Logan on October 6, 2025

On this week’s Random Encounter, we have a remaster of one of the greatest strategy RPGs of all time! When Final Fantasy Tactics was released on the PSX in 1997, it marked the entry point for countless RPG fans into the world of SRPGs (aka TRPGs), and what an entry point it was. By piggybacking off… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 10/5/25

Posted by Adem Yilmaz on October 5, 2025

In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, October immediately gets in full swing. From timely spooky and spooky-adjacent games to homages to old titles of times past, this week has seemingly everything you could ever ask for (or realistically play). So let’s dive in! House of Necrosis – October 6th… Read More »

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless

Posted by Ben Love on October 4, 2025

Disgaea has had a bit of an odd journey as a franchise over the last few years. After the monumental success of Disgaea 5 Complete on Nintendo Switch, developer Nippon Ichi Software made some pretty significant changes to the series with Disgaea 6, much to the chagrin of the series’ fanbase. Perform… Read More »

The Indie Side of Tokyo Game Show 2025

Posted by Matt Wardell on October 4, 2025

Tokyo Game Show 2025 has concluded, and a few days out I still find myself sorting through the many goodies I received, photos I took, and notes I wrote. Beyond the pomp and spectacle of giant stage displays and events from companies like SEGA, Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, Level-5, and Koei Tecmo, I… Read More »

Wander Stars

Posted by Audra Bowling on October 3, 2025

No matter how far apart they become, wandering stars will always seek each other out. Indie RPG Wander Stars tasks players with embarking on their own sci-fi action anime adventure using the power of words to battle opposing forces encountered along the way. A delightful homage to classic anime, man… Read More »

Golden Oldies: Our 25 Favorite “Old” Characters in RPGs

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on October 2, 2025

I just turned 40 this year. In JRPG terms, I died at least five years ago. But alas, I live! All joking aside, as a staff we make fun of what constitutes an “old” character in RPGs, so we decided to get together and write about some of our favorites! Who did we miss? Are we all just impossibly old?… Read More »

Digimon Story: Time Stranger

Posted by Audra Bowling on October 1, 2025

The Digimon anime franchise will always hold a special place in my heart: I grew up watching the shows and found their stories about the importance of bonds and connections to be genuinely heartfelt. While the plots lean towards a younger audience, there’s also a universal and timeless quality. My e… Read More »

International Podcast Day 2025: Twelve Months of Podcast Highlights

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 30, 2025

There are a lot of odd “holidays” now — no offense to anyone celebrating Extra Virgin Olive Oil Day — we sure are a fan of International Podcast Day! Like I did last year, I wanted to highlight some highlights from our three podcasts over the last twelve months for International Podcast Day 2025. Th… Read More »

Random Encounter 331 – Silksong Will Be Released When Hades Freezes Over!

Posted by Jonathan Logan on September 29, 2025

On this week’s Random Encounter, we’re chatting about one of the biggest indie releases of the year! Boy, between Silksong and Hades II, September has been quite a month for indie games. Everyone here at RPGFan has been eagerly awaiting the full release of Hades II since its Early Access release las… Read More »

Crowdfunding Chronicles: Pink Noise

Posted by Tina Olah on September 28, 2025

Back in the glory days of Blockbuster Video, I absolutely rented some tapes that turned out to be real stinkers. Thankfully, I never watched anything that made me fear for my life, unlike the cast of this upcoming episodic visual novel.

RPGs Coming This Week, 9/28/25

Posted by Adem Yilmaz on September 28, 2025

In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we stand at a crossroads. One path leads to the magical, politically dense world of Ivalice, while the other disappears into the concrete jungle that is Tokyo. And then there is yet another road, one likely far less trodden, that leads to the castle of a cou… Read More »

TGS 2025 – Nioh 3 Hands-On Preview: Going the Distance With the Takeda Shingen

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 27, 2025

Koei Tecmo has a lot of swords in their arsenal. Amongst their massive zone at Tokyo Game Show 2025, they featured demos of the soon-to-be-released Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, developed by KT’s AAA Games Studio, and Ninja Gaiden 4, developed by Team Ninja. But what drew me was Team Ninja’s… Read More »

TGS 2025 – Professor Layton and The New World of Steam Hands-On Preview: Elementary, My Dear Luke…

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 27, 2025

It’s hard to believe the last Professor Layton game, Layton’s Mystery Journey, released in 2017. It feels like we’ve been waiting ages for his return, and at TGS 2025 I was getting some déjà vu seeing another demo for the 2026-slated Professor Layton and The New World of Steam. Unlike the TGS 2024 d… Read More »

TGS 2025 – Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Hands-On Preview: Mine Gaiden

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 27, 2025

Does the name Yoshitaka Mine mean anything to you? Longtime players of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series will no doubt recognize Mine as the businessman-turned-steely yakuza antagonist of Yakuza 3 from way back in 2009. However, when SEGA and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios announced Yakuza Kiwami 3,… Read More »

TGS 2025 – Monster Hunter Stories 3 Hands-On Preview: Soaring to New Heights

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 27, 2025

Like many of you, I’ve been hunting monsters in Capcom’s beloved action series for several generations—but I’ll admit I’ve skimped on riding those monsters. The turn-based, more cutesy Monster Hunter subseries, Monster Hunter Stories, recently expanded its audience beyond the 3DS with the enhanced r… Read More »

TGS 2025 – People of Note Hands-On Preview: A Rock’Em Sock’Em Roleplay

Posted by Matt Wardell on September 26, 2025

Courtesy of the fine folk at Annapurna Interactive, I got to sit down for the Tokyo Game Show demo of the recently announced People of Note, developer Iridium Studios’ upcoming music-centric RPG. It’s not just a punny title—People of Note follows Cadence, a floundering popstar on a journey across th… Read More »

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Posted by Sean Cabot on September 26, 2025

For years, I’ve felt a palpable sense of FOMO regarding Nihon Falcom’s Trails / Kiseki series. Many of my peers are avid fans of it, and their praise inevitably left me with a voice inside my head yelling to stop dawdling and see what all the hype is about. As a longtime sucker for a good JRPG and a… Read More »

Retro Encounter 469 – Yoko Taro Encounter

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on September 25, 2025

Women, children, the elderly…doesn’t matter. If you listen to Retro Encounter, you’re going to have a good time. On this week’s episode of Retro Encounter, we dive into the wild and wacky world of Yoko Taro, best known for his work on the NieR and Drakengard franchises. We discuss game design, the… Read More »

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