(s) Archive
2022-05-06
Warning: Spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Before even starting my Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker MSQ experience, I had to cope with some disappointments about patch 6.0. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to like the new changes to my main job, Monk. As you can probably tell from the headline… Read More »
2022-04-27
There must be something about fighting evil that instills a deep, dark desire in those doing the good deed to…become landlords. Owning property in a fantasy world is such an odd concept to begin with—there’s so much unused space on those overworlds! Who’s the tunnel-visioning nomad who walked past forty acres of free land and… Read More »
2022-04-22
I’ve never been a fan of silent protagonists. Even in my early video game days, I was always a little bit disappointed when an RPG hero was mute. There was rarely an in-game explanation for why a character didn’t talk, and the frequent developer rationale of facilitating better immersion for players always felt like an… Read More »
2022-04-20
We often see the Wii U as primarily a disappointment and wasted opportunity. And sure, in many ways, it didn’t live up to either its predecessor or its successor for Nintendo. Nonetheless, when we heard that Nintendo is closing its eShop next March, we couldn’t help but reminisce about all the great Wii U RPGs… Read More »
There are many notable games that were released on the Wii U Virtual Console, and while many have since been re-released on the Switch Online service or the likes of Konami’s Castlevania Advance Collection, there are some notable titles whose most current availability is the Wii U or 3DS eShop. These include games originally released… Read More »
2022-04-14
During the February 9th Nintendo Direct, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition was officially announced for an April 7th release. While a high-resolution remaster of Chrono Cross is reason enough to celebrate, the real surprise was that the package would include an official translation of Radical Dreamers – Le Trésor Interdit, the 1996 Japan-only follow-up… Read More »
2022-04-07
A strong contender for 2022’s most adorable game, Aka has you exploring a bite-sized open world filled with dozens of adorable animal characters.
2022-03-30
Video game adaptations usually suck. You know it. I know it. But you know what isn’t common enough? Other media being turned into a full-blown RPG. So, as a group, we decided to take a look at some of our favorite art in other mediums and talk about what our dream adaptations would be. What… Read More »
2022-03-18
A new turn-based RPG draws near! Inspired by the Final Fantasy series, Rising Spire invites you to a lush new pixel graphic realm shaped by an ancient war between entities both divine and…otherwise.
2022-03-16
“This is my story. This … may be our last chance.” The ever-adored “Zanarkand” accompanies the first words we hear from Tidus, setting the tone for one of the greatest stories ever told in video game history. Final Fantasy X is a tale of family, love, history, and forgiveness. A theme that recurs throughout Final… Read More »
2022-03-12
Shinichi Kameoka is a character designer, producer, and director whose art style is as recognisable as the names of the games he’s worked on are revered. His work on the Mana series helped make the games so memorable, and since producing Mother 3, he’s been a vocal advocate of its localisation for Western audiences. He’s… Read More »
Shinichi Kameoka is a character designer, producer, and director whose art style is as recognisable as the names of the games he’s worked on are revered. His work on the Mana series helped make the games so memorable, and since producing Mother 3, he’s been a vocal advocate of its localisation for Western audiences. He’s… Read More »
2022-03-09
Prologue Long, long ago, there was an idea for an RPGFan feature series that centered around books. Absolute cheese novel adaptations of games, game/novel pairings…basically the intersection of interactive fiction and print fiction. Multiple writers expressed interest and the idea grew. What you see before you is the latest installment in that venture, and what… Read More »
2022-03-05
Yoshitaka Hirota is a composer, sound designer, and musician whose work you may be most familiar with from the Shadow Hearts series. The games became cult favourites, and anyone who’s played them will know how memorable their soundtracks are: a testament to the lasting power of music in video games. Today, he joins us to… Read More »
Yoshitaka Hirota is a composer, sound designer, and musician whose work you may be most familiar with from the Shadow Hearts series. The games became cult favourites, and anyone who’s played them will know how memorable their soundtracks are: a testament to the lasting power of music in video games. Today, he joins us to… Read More »
2022-03-02
Lordran is a land full of death, decay, and despair. The Dark Souls series (or Soulsborne games as a collective) are well-known by now for their unforgiving difficulty and YOU DIED screens. While it’s been over ten years since FromSoftware’s first entry in the franchise, Demon’s Souls, I have spent all that time actively avoiding playing any of the games.… Read More »
2022-03-01
Jono Logan Going back to the early era of the industry, games based on movies generally had the feeling of cynical cash grabs. The one big exception to this was always Star Wars, which had the full backing of George Lucas’ own video game developer, LucasArts. Though they turned out dozens of legendary licensed games,… Read More »
2022-02-27
As one year ends and another begins, it’s a natural time for reflection—looking back over the year so we can take what we want to keep from the previous year into the new. And, honestly, as fun as it can be to discuss the best or most anticipated games, what leaves more of an emotional… Read More »
Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV by Steven Mattern Final Fantasy XIV has a long history with its music. Each expansion brings new compositions, adaptations of previous songs from the game, and callbacks to prior entries in the Final Fantasy series. Endwalker’s music does all of these things in spectacular fashion. This soundtrack has it all, from… Read More »
Three soundtracks I heard and fell in love with in 2021 that weren’t the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker soundtrack! Boyfriend Dungeon Original Soundtrack Boyfriend Dungeon is a fun, thoughtful, and extremely clever game that enjoyably combines several genres. No small part of that enjoyment is the title’s stellar soundtrack, which features wonderful instrumental pieces alongside… Read More »
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy Original Soundtrack Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is a gorgeous showcase of Gust Sound Team at their finest. While many Atelier games have had standout tracks in their OSTs, Atelier Ryza 2‘s soundtrack in particular is rife with fantastic themes. The greatest… Read More »
Bravely Default II Original Soundtrack As a fan of the Bravely series since the first entry, the soundtrack of its officially numbered sequel is one I highly anticipated. I was not disappointed (far from it), and Bravely Default II’s OST has become my favourite of 2021. Revo returns with all the flair and melodrama that… Read More »
The “Quintet Vibes” Award: Actraiser Original Soundtrack and Symphonic Suite and the Actraiser Renaissance soundtrack Quintet soundtracks have always captured my imagination with their moody vibes and surprising versatility–or not so surprising given Quintet’s penchant for playing with genre and including multiple game styles within a single game. You need a musical range to match… Read More »
Across the Worlds ~ Chrono Cross Wayô Piano Collection At this point, I think I am physically incapable of NOT mentioning a Chrono series album in Music of the Year when possible. Sure, Chrono Trigger came out in 1995, followed by Chrono Cross in 2000, but if fan musicians (and even Square Enix) want to… Read More »
It’s been an incredible year for the SaGa franchise, especially with a bevy of arranged albums. So this year, I’ll be categorizing my favorites into two simple categories: best SaGa and best non-SaGa. I’ll give a winner and two runners-up for each category. Let’s go! Best SaGa: DESTINY 8 – SaGa Band Arrangement Album Vol.2… Read More »
