Highlight Archives | Page 40 of 43

Lamplight City

Posted by Audra Bowling on June 2, 2023

The larger the light, the greater the shadow it casts. Such is the case for the “Lamplight City” in the indie graphic adventure of the same name. The Nintendo Switch port of Lamplight City by developer Grundislav Games and publisher Application Systems Heidelberg takes place in New Bretagn… Read More »

Retro Encounter 375 – Lost Odyssey Part II

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on June 1, 2023

Its gifts were mixed with good and evil both. This week we bring our panelists back together to discuss to discuss the second half of Lost Odyssey. While were were all pretty positive on the first half, some of us really like the latter portions, and some of us really don’t. Did we do all the sidequ… Read More »

Kartia: The Word of Fate

Posted by Noah Leiter on May 31, 2023

I keep a copy of The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy front and center on my bookshelf. This is because the revolutionary character designs of Yoshitaka Amano fill me with wonder and inspiration; I even like to use his drawings as templates when I occasionally get the urge to draw. Imagine my pleasant… Read More »

Star Trek: Resurgence

Posted by Audra Bowling on May 30, 2023

Let me start this Star Trek: Resurgence review by saying I am familiar with the Star Trek universe. Since my mother is an avid fan of the sci-fi series, I’d catch episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager growing up. My favorite… Read More »

Random Encounter 270 – The First Stirrings of Not-E3

Posted by Jonathan Logan on May 29, 2023

On this week’s Random Encounter, we’re seeing the beginnings of the Not-E3 season! If you’re a video game fan, it’s getting close to the most wonderful time of the year! There are slightly under two weeks until Summer Game Fest, but we still have a ton of news to discuss from Wednesday’s PlayStation… Read More »

Final Fantasy II (Pixel Remaster)

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 28, 2023

Final Fantasy is one of those untouchable series. Score a game too low, and meet the rage of the masses. A 7.8 would be unthinkable. The most acceptable departure from this precept is Final Fantasy II. By reputation alone, I have avoided this game, deciding to spend my time elsewhere; I knew, at som… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/28/23

Posted by Gio Castillo on May 28, 2023

This edition of RPGs coming this week is for the cult fans, the real ones who kept their favorite niche franchises alive long after their makers had moved on. Today, System Shock and Etrian Odyssey diehards are rewarded with signs of life. Will we see new entries in these series one day? Who can say… Read More »

LIVE A LIVE

Posted by Des Miller on May 25, 2023

To this day, the SNES era is considered the golden era of RPGs. Beloved fan favorites such as Secret of Mana and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars stand side-by-side with “Best RPG” chart-toppers such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. That said, some of the system’s most beloved RPGs… Read More »

Ib (Remake)

Posted by Des Miller on May 25, 2023

When it comes to indie horror adventure games, Ib is a cult classic. With clear inspirations from 2004’s bizarre horror-adventure game Yume Nikki, Ib helped usher in a golden era of RPG Maker horror games — including some of my favorites such as The Witch’s House and Mad Father. Originally, Ib relea… Read More »

Parental Guidance: A Parent’s Guide to Kingdom Hearts

Posted by Monica Rose on May 24, 2023

The Kingdom Hearts games have been around for over twenty years now. Odds are pretty good that you’ve at least heard of them, or your kids have pointed one out at the store because they want the game with Mickey Mouse on the cover. Seems like a no-brainer purchase, right? If it has Mickey on it, it’… Read More »

Dungeon Drafters

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 23, 2023

A roguelike deck builder strategy RPG hybrid? It must be my birthday. My favorite genres all rolled up into one with a charming, colorful cartoon aesthetic and tile-based movement glory. Dungeon Drafters makes a powerful case for genre melding with its highly customizable gameplay, minigame variety,… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 109 – Character World: RPG Character Themes II

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 23, 2023

Welcome to our long-awaited followup to 2014’s Theme Park episode! Episode 21 of Rhythm Encounter was all about character themes, and we knew it was time to do this topic again, because there has been no shortage of characters with their own themes in RPGs since then. We’ve got Dragon Quest, Dragon… Read More »

Final Fantasy XVI Preview: The First 5 Hours

Posted by Scott Clay on May 22, 2023

Disclaimer: This is a special version of the game made for media to experience, and content may differ from the final version. FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved. Thanks to the amazing people over at Square Enix, I got another chance to play Final Fantasy XVI. This ti… Read More »

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord

Posted by Neal Chandran on May 22, 2023

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord, a new RPG from Idea Factory, is the sequel to Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force — an expanded remaster of the original Fairy Fencer F. Fairy Fencer F was a mediocre RPG with great music but Advent Dark Force was a tenfold improvement and the definitive version of Fairy… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/21/23

Posted by Gio Castillo on May 21, 2023

All right, we’ve had our monthly lull week. It’s back to regularly scheduled programming on RPGs Coming This Week. We’re taking a look at a diverse set of titles, including some on the adventure side of things and some on the tactics side. Without any further ado, let’s begin! Miasma Chronicles – Ma… Read More »

Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo

Posted by Audra Bowling on May 21, 2023

Otome visual novels that dive into various Japanese historical periods aren’t anything new. Nightshade and Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei are examples of this type of VN, although the prolific Hakuoki series is the most well-known. Set in a feudal shogunate-run Japan back when the city of Tokyo… Read More »

Random Encounter 269 – Ain’t Nobody Crying in This Kingdom!

Posted by Jonathan Logan on May 20, 2023

On this Saturday’s emergency Random Encounter, we’re discussing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! We’ve assembled a panel of three people who loved Breath of the Wild, one who liked it, and one who just wasn’t a fan. The plan was to meet up to talk about the entirety of TOTK, beginning to e… Read More »

Ranking the Mainline Final Fantasy Games

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on May 19, 2023

Final Fantasy XVI is just around the corner, and it’s the first mainline Final Fantasy release in almost seven(!) years. That’s the longest wait between mainline entries in the series yet. Like many of us, I’ve been inclined to reflect on the legacy of these games, and the little ranking demon in my… Read More »

Retro Encounter 374 – Lost Odyssey Part I

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on May 18, 2023

Okay it might not be called Final Fantasy XIII, but… This week on Retro Encounter, three first-timers get together to discuss Mistwalker’s Xbox 360 cult classic Lost Odyssey. It certainly has some big names behind it, and we want to find out if it lives up to the previous works of the masters. How… Read More »

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Posted by Joshua Lindquist on May 16, 2023

From the day it was announced, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds has been weighed down by nearly insurmountable expectations. It is a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the game that defined most of what we expect from a Zelda game. Now, almost ten years after its rel… Read More »

Random Encounter 268 – A Latte to the Past

Posted by Jonathan Logan on May 15, 2023

On this week’s Random Encounter, we’re talking about two highly anticipated sequels (although one is slightly more anticipated than the other). First up, Jono and Mike share their initial impressions of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the long-awaited direct sequel to 2017’s Breath of the… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/14/23

Posted by Gio Castillo on May 14, 2023

Folks, I know it might be physically impossible to remove your Nintendo Switch from your clutches right now, but we absolutely need to talk about this week’s lineup. See, there’s a new RPG in the PlayStation Plus catalog, and it’s probably not one you expected. It’s a deep cut, and, well, it’s cool.… Read More »

Citizen Sleeper

Posted by Aleks Franiczek on May 14, 2023

Citizen Sleeper was one of last year’s most memorable sleeper hits. Now, it’s recently finished a run of three free DLC episodes that expand on the core game in a narratively interesting and fulfilling way. Citizen Sleeper is the second game from indie studio Jump Over the Age, which is (for the mos… Read More »

Final Fantasy (Pixel Remaster)

Posted by Wes Iliff on May 13, 2023

Final Fantasy has one of the greatest first entries in RPG history. It’s robust, iconic, and endlessly replayable thanks to a flexible class system. So many words have been written about it, you almost have to wonder what more could be said. Well, thanks to a few wonderful quality of life tweaks fro… Read More »

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 11, 2023

A well-written story is timeless. In RPGs, we’re typically weighing writing and characters to some degree against presentation and gameplay, but in adventure titles, the story is almost everything. In Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, we’re essentially playing an occult-themed visual nov… Read More »

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