Highlight Archives | Page 4 of 40

Sword and Fairy: Together Forever

Posted by Audra Bowling on August 13, 2025

When western audiences think of grand, epic fantasy journeys, there’s no doubt that an RPG powerhouse series such as Final Fantasy comes to mind, or, when thinking of action RPGs, their thoughts might drift to Ys. With that in mind, the wuxia action RPG Sword and Fairy: Together Forever is a phenome… Read More »

Random Encounter 328 – The Phantom X Menace

Posted by Jonathan Logan on August 11, 2025

On this week’s Random Encounter, we’re discussing a mobile-based gacha spinoff of a beloved JRPG and a Wii U classic that has finally made its way to a modern console! Persona 5 has more than its share of spinoffs, including Persona 5 Royal, Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, and P… Read More »

Shining Force CD

Posted by Scott MacDonald on August 10, 2025

Believe it or not, Shining Force CD was one of my white whales of gaming. It’s trapped on the SEGA CD with a divisive library that largely doesn’t interest me, giving me few reasons to buy the system. SEGA released Shining Force CD late in the system’s lifecycle, and the SEGA CD isn’t known for its… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 8/10/25

Posted by Adem Yilmaz on August 10, 2025

This edition of RPGs Coming This Week brings a good mix of gameplay and narrative-focused titles. If you’re looking to get immersed in a compelling narrative, we’ve got that, and if you’re looking for some deep turn-based action, well, we’ve got even more of that. Let’s dive in! Mythscroll – August… Read More »

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster

Posted by Paul Skevington on August 9, 2025

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster comes over 12 years since the publication of the original iteration. Bravely Default itself is something of a touchstone for the JRPG community, frequently working its way into conversations surrounding the genre. Despite this, I never quite got around to en… Read More »

RPGFan in Japan: Tokyo Tourism in Games

Posted by Matt Wardell on August 8, 2025

As a kid, I was surprised and overjoyed to learn that so many of my favourite geeky things spawned from the same small island nation, far across the globe from small-town Canada. Seriously, Donkey Kong and Dragon Ball came from the same place?! Now, it’s mind-boggling to think I’ve lived here for ov… Read More »

Retro Encounter Final Thoughts: Breath of Fire II

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on August 7, 2025

Matt Wardell For years, the Schwarzenegger-esque barbarian on the North American SNES boxart of Breath of Fire II called out to me, begging me to dive into Capcom’s once-illustrious JRPG series. I answered that call, and as it turns out, that roided warrior is but a sixteen-year-old boy, searching f… Read More »

Chained Echoes: Ashes of Elrant

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on August 7, 2025

Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers for the base game of Chained Echoes. Chained Echoes felt like a game creator Matthias Linda needed to make. Without a doubt, Linda knows and loves the classics, but Chained Echoes’ cohesion and vision make it stand out from the “retro-inspired” pack. It j… Read More »

Interview with Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta

Posted by Matt Wardell on August 6, 2025

Few video game composers leave such an indelible mark on their audience as Japanese composer Hiroki Kikuta has. His three decades-plus of soundtrack work includes Soukaigi (1998), Koudelka (1999), Indivisible (2019), and, oh yeah, he sired the music for Secret of Mana (1993) and many subsequent Mana… Read More »

The Red Bell’s Lament

Posted by Audra Bowling on August 5, 2025

Once bitten, twice shy is a sentiment that can easily apply to video games, especially when those games involve vampires and extremely depressing time loops. It can be a struggle even to keep going after that first bite, a description fitting for otome visual novel The Red Bell’s Lament. This VN wea… Read More »

Sam Dillard Launches Mana Cinematica Kickstarter

Posted by Hilary Andreff on August 5, 2025

Sam Dillard is a self-described “creator of animation & albums based on my favorite game soundtracks” and fan of RPGs. Remarkably, he’s also self-taught and continues music projects out of pure love and passion from a corner of his home. His Kickstarter history began in 2013 and boasts multiple… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 163 – Princes, Expeditions, Dating, the 1980s, and More

Posted by Mike Salbato on August 4, 2025

Call it spring, some spring and some summer, or the most accurate but boring moniker, “Q2 2025,” but the second quarter of this year saw the release of some VERY musically important titles in RPGFan’s coverage. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looms over everything in the RPG space for this time pe… Read More »

Crowdfunding Chronicles: Spill the Beans

Posted by Tina Olah on August 3, 2025

Hello RPGFriends! If you’ve ever wanted to see your boss or least favorite co-worker arrested for a crime that you yourself pulled off, Spill the Beans is the game for you; and in this case, your boss is a cat, your co-workers are monsters (of the supernatural kind), and the crime is stealing a pric… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 8/3/25

Posted by Gio Castillo on August 3, 2025

I am detecting a high concentration of pixel art in this edition of RPGs Coming This Week. Lots of crunchy, blocky goodness for fans of this visual style. Even if you aren’t the biggest blockhead in the world, you might be surprised at the quality of the pixel work here. Let’s get started, shall we?… Read More »

Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber

Posted by Pete Leavitt on August 2, 2025

On the Nintendo 64, a mighty system nonetheless nearly bereft of RPGs, there stands one that strives to be as sweeping, sprawling, and important as any of its greatest peers on PlayStation and Saturn. Without the seemingly unlimited capacity offered by the CD-ROM format, how could a game fulfill amb… Read More »

Neon Hearts City

Posted by Mark Roddison on August 1, 2025

Like greasy rain running down the window of a mega-city ‘scraper, caught in the illuminated neon hues of blocks-wide advertisement billboards, Neon Hearts City settles comfortably into a cyberpunk setting inspired by Dick, Pondsmith, and Gibson, with a healthy dose of LucasArts point-and-click adven… Read More »

Octopath Traveler 0 Debuts December 4th

Posted by Tin Manuel on July 31, 2025

At the tail end of the latest Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, we saw the reveal of Octopath Traveler 0, set to release on PlayStation 5 and 4; Xbox Series X|S; Nintendo Switch and Switch 2; and PC on December 4th. Octopath Traveler 0 is said to build on the story of mobile entry Octopath Traveler… Read More »

Square Enix Unveils The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales

Posted by Gio Castillo on July 31, 2025

Square Enix has announced The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, an action RPG coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store in 2026. As you might have already surmised, this new game comes to us from the creators of Octopath Traveler… Read More »

Retro Encounter 465 – Breath of Fire II Part II

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on July 31, 2025

You’ve got to jump into the podcast! This week on Retro Encounter, the panel is back to dig into the story-heavy second half of Breath of Fire II. Who can’t stand the solo sections? Just how long can a final dungeon be? Is this the first time we killed God? Listen in to find out! Featuring: Zach Wil… Read More »

Kid-Friendly Alternatives to Mature RPGs

Posted by Jimmy Turner on July 30, 2025

Being a parent of children interested in RPGs can be a challenge. There are more role-playing adventures available now than ever before. What was a niche genre during my childhood is now fully mainstream. The challenge lies in discerning which popular RPG titles are appropriate for kids today. Many… Read More »

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar First Month Hands-On – A Promising Remake After 17 Years

Posted by Ben Love on July 30, 2025

When Marvelous announced the next Story of Seasons title would be a remake of Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar, I was pretty surprised. Previous remakes Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life revisited beloved classics that the fan community holds up as pinnacles o… Read More »

Despera Drops

Posted by Audra Bowling on July 29, 2025

In many respects, otome visual novel Despera Drops is a tale of two VN subgenres. The first is more of a high-stakes mystery involving over-the-top heists and getaways, and the second is straight-up romance. It is within the intermingling of these two narrative presentations that the game falters, w… Read More »

Edens Zero

Posted by Matt Wardell on July 29, 2025

I came to Edens Zero completely fresh-faced, only knowing the source manga from glimpses of Weekly Shōnen Jump covers at 7-Eleven. Starting the game, the vibrant, fantastical, and goofy sci-fi setting immediately appealed to my longing for lighthearted adventure and seemed a perfect counterbalance t… Read More »

Mato Fragments Impressions: Investigate Neo City in Mato Anomalies’ Prequel VN

Posted by Audra Bowling on July 28, 2025

In 2023, I tried my hand at Mato Anomalies, a cyberpunk dystopian noir RPG. While I didn’t feel it ended as strongly as it could have, I enjoyed the game well enough. I became invested in its story and characters, to the point where I opted to play the DLC side story, Digital Shadows, afterwards, an… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 7/27/25

Posted by Audra Bowling on July 27, 2025

In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we’re serving up the Western debut of an old series of dungeon crawlers, an adventure game with a distinctive art style, and two sophisticated tactics games — three, if you count an upcoming mobile port. No blockbusters in sight, but I think most will be mor… Read More »

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