I can only imagine what it is like to be a developer at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. It seems like every year, RGG releases a brand-new Like a Dragon game (and some years, two of them). While they’ve mastered the art of asset recycling, that still has to be a strain and probably why they started making gai… Read More »
From the team behind Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2 comes Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, the first part of a new narrative-driven series. If you’re a fan of DON’T NOD’s previous work, there’s a good chance you’ll find the story here intriguing enough to stick around. That said, the game is h… Read More »
Imagine if Skyrim was good. Now imagine if Skyrim was set in the world of Eora, which Pillars of Eternity introduced us to with its rich, dark history, high fantasy politics, and focus on unique gods. While comparing titles can feel reductive because creative works are much more than their ilk, one… Read More »
It’s time for more of 2024’s best RPG music! In the last episode, we featured nine excellent songs from last year, and today we return with Part II, bringing nine more tracks! Look for some Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Flowstone Saga, a double dose of Stellar Blade, and more! Scarlet Moon’s Jays… Read More »
Hey, it’s Gio again, and I’m so, so excited to be back for this week in particular! We will, of course, be tackling the latest from powerhouse studios like Obsidian and RGG Studio, but that’s far from all of it. From a science-fiction ADV throwback to an immersive sim inspired by the likes of Deus E… Read More »
Those who forget the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II takes this notion and runs with it, offering several chances for players to experience “do-overs” of significant plot events that can open up markedly different outcomes. Ultimat… Read More »
Afterlove EP comes to us as the final project of Mohammad Fahmi, creator of the much-loved visual novel Coffee Talk, who passed away in March of 2022. In a recent interview with Nintendo Life, Ivor Dwitomo of game studio Pikselnesia (set up by Fahmi specifically for this project) explained how the t… Read More »
This is his story. This week on Retro Encounter, we take a deep dive into the themes, obsessions, and gameplay quirks of the “father” of Final Fantasy: Hironobu Sakaguchi. How much did he really matter to the series? Does his work after leaving Final Fantasy hold up? Who can’t stop talking about the… Read More »
I tried playing Final Fantasy XVI two times, but, as the saying goes, the third time’s the charm. Time constraints largely hindered my first two attempted playthroughs, though I admit that beyond the jaw-dropping war intro that Clive navigates, the game’s early stages didn’t enthrall me. But that in… Read More »
In an interview with Game*Spark News, Shujinkou director Julian Rice expressed his desire to create a first-person dungeon crawler (DRPG) in the vein of Etrian Odyssey. With so few games like this in the current landscape, I was eager to try it before release. From the outset, Shujinkou wears its Et… Read More »
While YIIK: A Postmodern RPG launched over six years ago, developers Ackk Studios have been offering updates since then, though none as substantial as December’s YIIK I.V update, which brought a brand new battle mode to the game alongside a new playable character, new areas, and “So many surprises t… Read More »
It’s time for Music of the Year! 2024 was absolutely stacked with game releases. Some even felt it was one of the all-time best years in gaming. And the side effect of a year filled with excellent games means a year of excellent soundtracks. For this annual special, we let each panelist bring on thr… Read More »
UPDATE February 12th: Slime Heroes, originally scheduled for release this week, has been delayed until March 6th. Details below. It’s a new week and RPGs are happening! This week, Gio is taking a well-deserved break, so I’m here to introduce some cool RPGs coming this week, from the massive adventur… Read More »
And we’re back with our “Overall” picks for Game of the Year! We’ve been on a streak of excellent years for RPGs, and 2024 is no exception. Whether you’re looking at AAA titles or games made on a shoestring budget, there’s been something for everyone. Sure, there are a few games that will dominate o… Read More »
Welcome to RPGFan’s Games of the Year 2024! We realize this is coming a bit after the end of the year, but with many excellent releases in November and December, we wanted to give our staff the time to play and consider all games that came out last year. Today we present the first part of our Game o… Read More »
In roleplaying games, the most popular roles are the usual suspects: warriors, rogues, wizards, or clerics. Most playable characters are a variant of the typical RPG trinity of tank, DPS, and healers. Unfortunately, adventuring isn’t free. For a character or party to advance, they need not just expe… Read More »
Rob White Final Fantasy IX is definitely up there as one of the entries of the series I’ve played the most. Everything about this game says comfort, nostalgia and adventure to me, and I can’t see myself ever tiring of it. Gaia (and Terra) is a land unlike any other in Final Fantasy, an aesthetic I d… Read More »
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has rekindled my love for this card slinger without entirely preying on childhood nostalgia, and that’s the strongest compliment I can give it. The early days of the Pokémon Trading Card Game hold a special place in my heart. I fondly recall playing the base set… Read More »
Storied developer Falcom is best known for its two longest-running RPG series: The real-time action RPG Ys series and the turn-based Legend of Heroes series. However, within the company’s vast catalog of games, there is another lesser-known series with just as much longevity: Xanadu. While Ys and Le… Read More »
On this episode of Random Encounter, it’s a double dose of sci-fi and fantasy! First, Aleks joins us to talk about Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector, a sci-fi RPG with a strong tabletop influence. As a sequel to 2022’s Citizen Sleeper, Starward Vector expands its universe with multiple settings and… Read More »
Passing decades are not kind to games, and if developers and publishers do not continually maintain and update the classics, they become lost to all but those few players willing to do their video game homework. While playing Tokyo-based developer Media.Vision’s JRPG classic Wild ARMs sometimes felt… Read More »
In this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we tackle the sequel to a much talked about CRPG, plus a small selection of indie game goodness. Trust me, folks, February’s going to get a lot busier very soon. You’d better strap in. Kick things off? Let’s. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II – February 4th (PS5,… Read More »
Love can be a magical thing, a conceit that the otome visual novel Genso Manège leans into right at the start, with its bright yet soft pastel-colored visuals hiding a darker story about overcoming hardship and trauma. Even more than its enchanting visuals, the narrative contrast of darker aspects b… Read More »
What if Mass Effect’s gameplay focused on surviving and inciting change in an interplanetary, corporately wrought dystopia instead of shooting things in the face? I imagine Jump Over the Age’s solo developer, Gareth Damian Martin, asked a question along these lines when planning the development of C… Read More »
Bring my beloved Retro Encounter to me. This week we dive into the second half of Final Fantasy IX, chatting about the emotional story beats, rooster men, and terrible card games that some of us somehow enjoy. Does it still hold up all these years later? Listen in to find out! Featuring: Zach Wilker… Read More »
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