Podcast Archives | Page 5 of 25

Retro Encounter 371 – Like A Dragon: Ishin! Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 30, 2023

More brutal murders than John Wick and more mistaken identities than Twelfth Night. Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin! plays fast and loose with the events of Bakumatsu Japan, with multiple historical figures assuming second personas, a legendary alliance forged through a drunken brawl instead of care… Read More »

Random Encounter 264 – Parental Guidance is Advised

Posted by Jonathan Logan on March 27, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re talking about how to introduce your children to video games, specifically RPGs. We’re far away from the 1980s, back when most parents saw video games as a “fad” or “waste of time.” Instead, parents nowadays see games as a legitimate form of entertainment at… Read More »

Retro Encounter 370 – Like A Dragon: Ishin! Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 23, 2023

Kamurocho has nothing on the mean streets of 1860s Kyo. Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin! was probably a lost cause to most fans of the Like A Dragon / Yakuza series, but SEGA shocked everyone last year with the announcement of a full remake of the 2014 historical fiction samurai drama to arrive in Februa… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 105 – Chained Echoes with Composer Eddie Marianukroh

Posted by Patrick Gann on March 20, 2023

There is nothing quite as exciting as having a composer as a guest on Rhythm Encounter. After offering much praise for Chained Echoes and its soundtrack, we wanted to get to know up-and-comer Eddie Marianukroh, the composer of said game. In today’s episode of Rhythm Encounter, we talk to Eddie regar… Read More »

Retro Encounter 369 – Our Off-Brand Obsessions

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 16, 2023

All RPGs and no fighting games makes Jack a dull boy. We don’t *solely* play RPGs here at RPGFan, and today is exactly the podcast to express that. Four RPGFan panelists discuss a few of their favorite games that can’t be classified as RPGs with even the most liberal interpretation of the term… Read More »

Random Encounter 263 – We’re Feeling the Theatrhythm!

Posted by Jonathan Logan on March 13, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re diving into some recent non-RPG Final Fantasy spin-offs! First up, we have the first console entry in the long-running Final Fantasy rhythm game series, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. Offering over 380 songs from every Final Fantasy game (with m… Read More »

Retro Encounter 368 – Most Wanted Remakes

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 9, 2023

Today we enter the realm of video game fantasies, but not Final Fantasies. Remakes are a regular part of the video game release schedule in the 2020s, and here at Retro Encounter we have a few ideas on a few that should come soon. A PS2 rogue-like, a Squaresoft RPG never released in Japan, and some… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 104 – Like a Dragon: Rhythm!

Posted by Jonathan Logan on March 6, 2023

With eight mainline entries, six side stories, and an entire spin-off series, Yakuza/Like a Dragon has an incredible history behind it. And what’s even more incredible is the stunning quality of music that comes with each new title. Since 2005, Yakuza has been gifting us pulse-pounding boss tracks,… Read More »

Retro Encounter 367 – RPGFan Had a Farm

Posted by Mike Salbato on March 4, 2023

E-I-E-I-oh boy I almost went to bed without watering the corn. Oh, hello. On today’s Retro Encounter, we’re breaking out the farm equipment and digging into the ever-growing farm simulation genre. Many of them overlap with RPGs, especially as modern games have expanded their systems beyond crops, an… Read More »

Random Encounter 262 – We Walk Many Paths (At Least 8)

Posted by Jonathan Logan on February 27, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re talking about two big recent RPGs, Octopath Traveler II and Like a Dragon: Ishin! When the original Octopath Traveler came out in 2018, we’d never seen anything like its HD-2D art style. Now, Square Enix is back with a sequel, … Read More »

Retro Encounter 366 – Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II

Posted by Jonathan Logan on February 23, 2023

You would expect that first-party game releases for a system would dry up three years after its successor is released. But that certainly wasn’t the case with Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II! Released in 1994 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, StarTropics II was a bit of an anomaly. Dev… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 103 – Xeno Series Music Spotlight

Posted by Mike Salbato on February 20, 2023

The Xeno games do not make up a traditional series, with multiple sub-series and some games connected loosely and some more directly. But whether you favor Xenogears, Xenosaga, or Xenoblade, there’s no denying the games’ popularity in the RPG crowd. And for us on Rhythm Encounter, we have been enjoy… Read More »

Retro Encounter 365 – StarTropics

Posted by Jonathan Logan on February 16, 2023

There are some first-party Nintendo games that became legendary franchises. This… is not one of those games. Released in 1990 for the NES, StarTropics was specifically designed by Nintendo R&D3 with Western audiences in mind. In fact, it was never even released in Japan until 2008 on the Wi… Read More »

Random Encounter 261 – Nintendo Direct, Engage!

Posted by Jonathan Logan on February 13, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re digging into all the news from the Feb 2023 Nintendo Direct! Here at RPGFan, we look forward to Nintendo Directs like children look forward to Santa Claus. The only difference is that we KNOW when the man in red is supposed to arrive, but Nintendo always ke… Read More »

Retro Encounter 363 – Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 7, 2023

Did this Ogre need a decoder? Ogre Battle 64 occupies a curious part of RPG history, as a Quest game made after Yasumi Matsuno’s departure from Quest, as a hybrid real-time strategy game and traditional JRPG, and as an RPG for the N64, a system conspicuously lacking them. Today’s episode of Retro En… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 102 – Airships, Buses, and Cannons

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 6, 2023

Released in 2015, episode 27 of Rhythm Encounter was all about RPG transportation themes, like chocobos, airships, mechas, and boats. Because of the variety of creative vehicles and travel in our favorite genre — and because it’s been nearly eight years — it’s high time for another take on this topi… Read More »

Random Encounter 260 – Is Forspoken Really All That Bad?

Posted by Jonathan Logan on January 30, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re talking about two games: one controversial, one not! Square Enix’s recent release, Forspoken, had a rough ride during its development, and it doesn’t look like that ended with its release. While many think it’s a perfectly fine action RPG, others feel… Read More »

Retro Encounter 362 – RPGs on Repeat

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 26, 2023

“Do you think games are silly little things?” Most RPGs aren’t designed to be played multiple times. You take in the story, see a few numbers increase incrementally, fight a boss, and roll some credits. But that doesn’t stop a huge number of RPG fans from replaying their favorites multiple times, an… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 101 – Recent RPG Music 101

Posted by Mike Salbato on January 23, 2023

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Rhythm broadcast to bring you some exciting new music that is worth listening to with some urgency! While the transportation episode is making its journey here and the Xeno episode is leveling up to handle its high-level composers effectively, we decided to brin… Read More »

Retro Encounter 361 – Xeno Series Fantasy Draft

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 19, 2023

Hey, at least there’s no gacha in today’s episode. While we might not love gacha mechanics in RPGs, we sure do love the characters in the Xeno series, and for today’s episodes we gathered four of our biggest Xeno fans on staff to draft our very own fantasy teams. Which protagonis… Read More »

Random Encounter 259 – Marvel Talk

Posted by Jonathan Logan on January 16, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, the panel REALLY gets into talking about Marvel Comics and music! A surprise hit of 2022 was Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Audra recently reviewed the supernatural-tinged strategy RPG, giving both Audra and Jono an opportunity to nerd the heck out about Marvel! Then, M… Read More »

Retro Encounter 360 – Year of the Pokémon

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 12, 2023

Wild PODCAST appeared! The 12 months from November 19th, 2021 to November 18th, 2022 were monumental for the most popular RPG franchise in the world. The Pokémon Company had three major releases in that timespan, with a set of remakes, a groundbreaking prequel, and a new pair of flagship games. In t… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 100 – Return of the Kings

Posted by Mike Salbato on January 9, 2023

Rhythm Encounter launched its first episode in February 2013. Nearly ten years later and after some changes in leadership and a multi-year break, we have hit a milestone with our 100th episode! We decided early last year that we wanted to celebrate this occasion by inviting back our show’s founders,… Read More »

Retro Encounter 359 – RPGFan’s Guide to Style

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 5, 2023

“If fashion were easy, wouldn’t everybody look great?” Today, Retro Encounter channels their inner Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn and discusses a few of the best and worst clothing choices made by RPG characters. What Persona character wore it best? Who has the best Mass Effect space suit? What oldschool a… Read More »

Random Encounter 258 – Front Echoes

Posted by Jonathan Logan on January 2, 2023

On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re talking about two awesome RPGs released at the tail end of 2022. First up, Caitlin talks about her experience with the retro-indie JRPG, Chained Echoes. Primarily developed by a single person for the last seven years, this incredible JRPG evokes all those f… Read More »

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