Retro Encounter Archives | Page 7 of 13

Retro Encounter 242 – Yakuza 0 Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on June 26, 2020

Our panel has reached the end of Yakuza 0, and with it comes new beginnings for the Dragon of Dojima and the Mad Dog of Shimano. Four panelists discuss Yakuza 0 for another full episode, and there is enough drama for two games and foreshadowing for six more in the crime story’s dramatic conclusion.… Read More »

Retro Encounter 241 – Yakuza 0 Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on June 18, 2020

Yakuza 0 is a game about violence. And honor. And… real estate? Yakuza 0 tells a compelling crime drama about the intertwining tales of series hero Kazuma Kiryu and fan favorite villain Goro Majima in 1988, 17 years before the story of the first Yakuza game, but you’re forgiven if you can’t be bot… Read More »

Retro Encounter 240 – Best Console for RPGs Tournament Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on June 13, 2020

Retro Encounter’s Tournament of Consoles continues, whittling down a list of eight to a single champion. Three PlayStations, three Nintendo handhelds, one Super 90s machine, and whatever the hell you’re supposed to call the Switch are our final eight gladiators in our console colosseum, but only one… Read More »

Retro Encounter 239 – Best Console for RPGs Tournament Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on June 4, 2020

Retro Encounter’s host misses being able to watch sporting events while playing RPGs on a 3DS or Vita, so he gathered a panel of five panelists to hold a replacement tournament. Seventeen video game consoles are considered for the title of Retro Encounter’s Favorite Console On Which to Play RPGs, bu… Read More »

Retro Encounter 238 – Mother 3 Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 28, 2020

Our panelists experienced Mother 3 to its dramatic conclusion, and in doing so dug an egg out of the trash, frolicked through a field of sunflowers, and located seven golden needles. It’s Earthbound callbacks, theories about razors and bananas, and a lot of shed tears in part 2 of our Mother 3 episo… Read More »

Retro Encounter 237 – Mother 3 Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 21, 2020

Mother 3, a Japan-only Game Boy Advance RPG, the final game in Shigesato Itoi’s trilogy, the subject of many direct questions to Reggie Fils-Aime. We won’t say exactly how, but four Retro Encounter panelists played Mother 3 over the month of May and have a lot to talk about, including (but not limit… Read More »

Retro Encounter 236 – Game Boy Advance Encounter

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 14, 2020

The Game Boy Advance was a huge success for Nintendo in the early 2000s, giving the world five Pokemon games, three Fire Emblem games, the first Mario & Luigi RPG, and so much more. Four Retro Encounter panelists gab GBA on today’s episode of Retro Encounter! Listen to us discuss all the Game Bo… Read More »

Retro Encounter 235 – Final Fantasy VII Remake Spoilercast

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 11, 2020

Is Final Fantasy VII Remake the most-anticipated RPG in history? Are the character portrayals up to high fan expectations? Was the combat too opaque? Why is it called Final Fantasy VII Remake without clarifying that the game is releasing in multiple parts? All of these questions and more, asked and… Read More »

Retro Encounter 234 – Castlevania The Animated Series

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on April 30, 2020

The panelists of Retro Encounter are stuck at home, and at least four of them decided to watch the Castlevania animated series available on Netflix. The cartoon is loosely based on the events of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, and our podcast is loosely based on… Read More »

Retro Encounter 233 – Soul Blazer Part II

Posted by Hilary Andreff on April 23, 2020

Aurora borealis? At this time of day? Localized entirely in the Freil Empire? Yes! But all our panelists had to wait until the World of Evil near the end of the game to see it. And in many ways, it is a riveting, yet quickly escalating conclusion as we make our way through the second half of this ol… Read More »

Retro Encounter 232 – Soul Blazer Part I

Posted by Hilary Andreff on April 16, 2020

The group hunts out monster lairs around the globe to some amazing slap-bass tunes as they discuss the very well-received early Quintet RPG Soul Blazer…and discover the importance of waiting at the title screen for game intros on some of those old titles. This segment of our divinely inspired adve… Read More »

Retro Encounter 231 – Mental Health, Self-Care, and Gaming

Posted by Hilary Andreff on April 9, 2020

Retro Encounter is a little more serious than usual this week, as five panelists discuss video games as escapism, video game characters with whom we identify, and specific emotional attachments to video games, in the context of mental health and self-care. It’s an episode full of personal stories an… Read More »

Retro Encounter 230 – Tokyo Mirage Sessions Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on April 3, 2020

Retro Encounter wraps on Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE with a discussion on the game’s second half, including standoffish new co-workers, tokusatsu superheroes, and whatever the heck The Opera of Light is supposed to be. Give! Me! A new episode of Retro Encounter! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nathan Lee

Retro Encounter 229 – Tokyo Mirage Sessions Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 26, 2020

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE sounds like a fever dream. Atlus makes another RPG about teens saving the world from extra-dimensional shadows by teaming up with spirits, except all of the shadows and spirits are Fire Emblem characters and all of the teens are pop stars? Two Retro Encounter panelists diss… Read More »

Retro Encounter 228 – RPG Adaptations Part II

Posted by Peter Triezenberg on March 19, 2020

The spice must flow! Retro Encounter once again muses on the hypothetical and the unlikely in our second Adaptations episode! What movies, books, and TV shows would Peter, Tina, and Audra like to see turned into video games, and how would we go about it? All I know is that I’m kicking myself for not… Read More »

Retro Encounter 227 – Dragon Quest: Your Story

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 13, 2020

Dragon Quest V is a video game near and dear to the hearts of many Dragon Quest fans, but how about its animated adaptation? Three Retro Encounter panelists tackle Dragon Quest: Your Story, a cartoon that makes some very strange decisions in retelling the story of Dragon Quest V. Sort of. Watch the… Read More »

Retro Encounter 226 – NieR: Automata Part II

Posted by Michael Sollosi on March 6, 2020

NieR: Automata ramps up the drama in its second half, with 2B, 9S, A2, and other androids with alphanumeric designations exploring post-apocalyptic earth. Our panelists talk about the philosophy, fashion, hard decisions, and even the end credits of NieR: Automata, and how all of the above hurt their… Read More »

Retro Encounter 225 – NieR: Automata Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 20, 2020

Retro Encounter discusses the 2017 RPG superhit NieR: Automata, in which the panelists discuss the philosophy, action, music, colors, and more of Yoko Taro’s magnum opus. Nothing can stop us from getting to the end of A-Route, except for aggressive moose. Do androids dream of electric sheep? We don’… Read More »

Retro Encounter 224 – The RPG Dating Game

Posted by Michael Sollosi on February 13, 2020

Retro Encounter thought that a game of “Wed, Bed, Behead?” was too disturbring for a G-rated program, so we added an explicit tag and removed murder. Three RPGFan panelists put forth sets of hypothetical bachelors and bachelorettes and play a 1970s Dating Game remade for the 2020s. Which Final Fanta… Read More »

Retro Encounter 223 – Suikoden V Part II

Posted by Leona McCallum on January 30, 2020

Our three Stars of Destiny return for Part 2 of our Suikoden V game journal episode! Come listen to our panellists dissect every inch of this Playstation 2 gem and maybe the rest of the Suikoden series while they are at it. Warning: this episode contains betrayal, romance, pirates and copious amount… Read More »

Retro Encounter 222 – AI: The Somnium Files Spoilercast

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 23, 2020

AI: The Somnium Files was one of the understated hit visual novels of 2019, except that the game’s tone and story is anything but. Five Retro Encounter panelists break down Kotaro Uchikoshi’s wild dream-dropping murder mystery, discussing its characters, themes, moments, and abundance of porno mags.… Read More »

Retro Encounter 221 – Suikoden V Part I

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on January 16, 2020

Almost two years since our first Suikoden game journal, we return to the series with three dedicated fans of the series. Our three panelists all agree Suikoden V is a return to form after the fourth entry, with arguably the finest cast in the whole series. Join us as we discuss the first half of the… Read More »

Retro Encounter 220 – Cthulhu Saves Christmas with Zeboyd Games

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 9, 2020

Retro Encounter welcomes a special guest for the first time in its brief history, with Robert Boyd and Bill Stiernberg of Zeboyd Games visiting to discuss their latest RPG, Cthulhu Saves Christmas. The Zeboyd duo discuss their ten-year careers in indie game development alongside pricing strategies,… Read More »

Retro Encounter 219 – Top Ten PSone RPGs

Posted by Michael Sollosi on January 2, 2020

Retro Encounter recorded podcasts on over a dozen PlayStation games over the past five years, so naturally we have some ideas about which are the best and worst. On the first Retro Encounter episode of 2020 four panelists rank their favorite PlayStation One games, and discuss the list of ten. Which… Read More »

Retro Encounter 218 – 2019 Year in Review

Posted by Michael Sollosi on December 27, 2019

The final Retro Encounter episode of 2019 is a celebration of the year that was, in which five panelists detail over a dozen new RPGs they played in the preceding twelve months. Afterwards, the panel shares role-playing game regrets and resolutions for 2020, for auld lang syne. Join us as we shut th… Read More »

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