Retro Encounter Final Thoughts(s) Archive
2026-03-05
While Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones holds a special place in my heart as the first of the “older” FE games I’ve tried, I was also charmed by my play-through of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. Both the supports you can uncover and the characters you recruit are great, and I liked the plot twist regarding the dragons even though a part of me feels sad for poor, lonely Nils. Major shoutouts to my MVP characters of Hector, Rath, and Canas!
2026-01-23
Aleks Franiczek It’s been over 6 years since Vanillaware released 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and in that time the game has garnered a reputation as one of the great videogame narrative masterpieces of the modern era. Obviously, I had lofty expectations going in. Cue the first scene: a schoolgirl is erotically posed naked in a… Read More »
2025-10-29
Rob White Star Ocean: The Second Story is, at least in my opinion, up there as one of the PlayStation-era’s best RPGs. The game just has so many brilliant qualities—the action-oriented combat, the cast of unique and compelling party members which you have to chose between, the fascinating blend of fantasy and hard sci-fi storytelling.… Read More »
2025-09-18
Aleks Franiczek I knew going into Drakengard that I was in for a ride. A pretty much singular ride fueled by an indulgently morbid tone, ambitious genre-crossing design, clever subversions of RPG tropes, an OST from hell, and heaps of jank. What I didn’t expect was that I’d find this ride as enjoyable as I… Read More »
2025-08-07
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 for his papa and little sister.… Read More »
2025-07-10
Audra Bowling Fallout: New Vegas was my first foray into the Fallout series, and it is one heck of a great starting point. I’m not always a huge fan of some of the dated gameplay mechanics: why can’t I lug around as many jugs of purified water as I want and still fast travel, darn… Read More »
2025-05-15
Rob White I’ve loved having the opportunity to replay Suikoden II and play Suikoden for the first time with the recent remaster. It has confirmed to me that Suikoden II is still a fantastic game that holds its own even by modern standards. The first game very much feels like a prototype for Suikoden II… Read More »
2025-03-20
Michael Sollosi Tales titles are typically reliable RPG comfort food. You go on a journey for a few dozen hours, get to know a group of quirky anime teenagers, and save the world while navigating a world full of color and made-up nonsense words that explain the setting’s unification of technology and magic. Tales of… Read More »
2025-02-06
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… Read More »
2024-12-29
Aleks Franiczek The original NES/Famicom version of Dragon Quest III is such a legendary game that I decided it’s the version I would spin for this podcast. To ground myself in historical context, I also dabbled in the original versions of its two predecessors beforehand. This turned out to be a good move for appreciating… Read More »
2024-12-22
Jono Logan Do you remember the experience that solidified your love of video games? For me, it was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo. When released in the early days of the SNES, it exemplified everything this new generation of 16-bit gaming could be. Building on everything found… Read More »
2024-10-29
Michael Sollosi This is awkward. I’ve been a vocal disdainer of Kingdom Hearts video games for over 20 years, and my feelings on the series didn’t change much when I finally finished the first one in early 2019. But now I’ve played a second Kingdom Hearts game, and it’s good. I approached Kingdom Hearts II… Read More »
2024-09-06
Audra Bowling I still have fond memories of my first Dragon Age: Inquisition playthrough, so I was thrilled when the opportunity to revisit the game right before the looming release date for Dragon Age: The Veilguard presented itself. I’ll always have a nostalgic soft spot for BioWare games, and I am pleasantly surprised to find… Read More »
2024-07-31
Dom Kim I must confess that I feared how this playthrough for Retro Encounter would turn out. It had been years since I last booted up Dark Souls, and having recently gone on a month-long Elden Ring spree both preparing for and playing through the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC I couldn’t help but wonder… Read More »
2024-07-03
Claton Stevenson My first impressions of Grandia II was initially to cringe, particularly at the abrasive and often misogynistic sass coming out of main protagonist Ryudo’s mouth. Thankfully, though, Ryudo is quickly given opportunities to soften and grow, as the narrative reveals more about his life and relationship to the conflict between Valmar and Granas.… Read More »
2024-06-12
Michael Sollosi Before starting Omori, I knew it by reputation. This is an RPG about trauma and depression, and it handles those two topics earnestly in the form of a retro-styled RPG. But Omori is also considerably more. Sadness, joy, and anger are status effects-slash-status buffs that are employed both positively and negatively. The world… Read More »
2024-05-08
Audra Bowling The first Arc the Lad game was a brief, enjoyable foray into an interesting video game world that could only do so much with its limitations. While playing it, I felt both enjoyment and underwhelmed in equal measure. But then I tried its sequel, and I fell in love with another SRPG series… Read More »
2024-04-03
Michael Sollosi Final Fantasy IV was my first RPG; I played at a sleepover with two other friends in 1993 or 1994. It was my gateway into all RPGs, and as a result feels like a genre staple. But Final Fantasy IV is so obviously influential to Square(soft)’s future output and to RPGs in general, that those feelings… Read More »
2024-03-03
Michael Sollosi When I played Dragon Quest XI in 2018 I was awestruck. Everything from the game’s expressive monster animations to the snappy turn-based combat to the fairy tale story was pure, distilled Dragon Quest, but in a modern presentation so gorgeous I could scarcely believe it. But would my favorite RPG of the 2010s… Read More »
2024-01-28
Aleks Franiczek As someone who loves to play videogames that try something different narratively, mechanically, and thematically, my exposure to Love-de-Lic and their oddball development legacy across multiple studios has been long overdue. I’m glad I finally got around moon: Remix RPG Adventure, the game that started it all, and was able to have such a thoughtful discussion about it… Read More »
2023-12-24
Michael Sollosi Why do nearly all RPGs, even the ones with elaborate character creation systems, always start the same way? There are many sensible reasons for this, but I appreciate how Dragon Age: Origins rejects that idea outright. Just after character creation, the player chooses one of six different Chapter 1’s to begin the story,… Read More »
2023-12-05
Michael Sollosi Bloodborne is a revelation. An intense action RPG with incredible freedom and drama, draped in a blood-soaked Gothic aesthetic that’s brutal and beautiful, Bloodborne‘s environments, boss fights, and hidden secrets get more fascinating by the minute. Bloodborne is the game that gave us the term “Soulsbourne,” as it has all the hallmarks of… Read More »
2023-10-24
Michael Sollosi This is my first time playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, and, well, the highest compliment I can give is that it goes down smoothly. Rhapsody is fast-paced, easy to understand, and so breezy that I wonder if it was a little too easy? Rhapsody has a cute premise (a village girl falls in… Read More »
2023-10-01
Aleks Franiczek Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is a rare RPGs that dares to look outside of its genre for inspiration and hammers it down with a distinct vision. From that standpoint, it’s really the opposite of the rest of the Breath of Fire series, which was content to play within the common JRPG standards of the 1990s—with… Read More »
2023-08-27
Hilary Andreff Disco Elysium is a game you play when you feel like reading a book. I’ve been reflecting on this comment significantly since we convened and podcasted, and it’s true in many ways. This game requires attention, patience, reflection and promises a range of responses and feelings that match even well-written fiction. Disco Elysium… Read More »
