(s) Archive
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
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
2022-02-26
The developers of 2019’s Tales of the Neon Sea have unveiled Mercury Abbey, a new sidescrolling narrative adventure set in a gorgeous pixel art world filled with dreadful conspiracies, gloomy architecture, and many, many furries.
2022-02-24
Yakuza: Like a Dragon deals with a multitude of real-world issues, all of which are particularly relevant to Japan but also easily understood by Western audiences. Homelessness, sex work, the tightrope illegal immigrants walk to survive without being deported — you’d almost be forgiven for forgetting that you’re playing a work of fiction. But there’s… Read More »
2022-02-18
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance While Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance bears the name of the beloved series by BioWare, the PS2 classic has more in common with Diablo than anything in the infinity engine. Trading in conversations for action, Dark Alliance and its sequel have stayed in fans’ minds since the original release. With a recent… Read More »
RPGs are often a solitary activity. While some subcategories flourish with friends, your standard story-driven fare mostly caters to solo play. But it’s exciting to find an experience you can share with a friend, doubly so when you can do it in the same room. Some RPGs broadcast their multiplayer modes, but there are plenty… Read More »
2022-02-11
In May 2022, the Atelier series will celebrate its 25th anniversary. For 25 years, fans have been crafting bombs, bashing punis, and excitedly identifying barrels. Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream was revealed in early October 2021 as the 25th Anniversary title to celebrate this milestone. While the release is still a… Read More »
2022-02-06
Audra Bowling Skies of Arcadia was a title I’d heard a lot about over the years, but like some of those pesky discoveries you search for throughout the game, it always eluded me. That changed with an incredibly kind gesture from our very own Michael Sollosi. While it took me far longer than I care to… Read More »
2022-02-05
It’s no big secret that I’m an admirer of pretty anime art, even prettier anime men, and precious little kitty cats. Enter The Silent Kingdom, a blend of Otome visual novel and turn-based RPG by solo developer Lucky Cat.
2022-02-02
Welcome to the second entry in Dungeon Crawlers, a series of features all about RPG dungeon design. This time we’re taking a deep dive into the localized versions of Pokémon Red & Blue. While Yellow is also part of the first generation of Pokémon games, it does not add anything of substance where dungeon design… Read More »
2022-01-30
Ring of Red, a tactical mecha-themed RPG released in 2000, arguably trod similar territory more elegantly than its famous successor, if with less spectacle.
2022-01-22
Today, we’re finally ready to reveal our winners for our Game of the Year voting! For the most part, our awards are organized in the same manner they have in the past. You’ll find three different parts to our Game of the Year feature. First, we will look at revealing overall favorites, along with the… Read More »
