(s) Archive

I’ve never been one for 100% completion runs, but the closest I got to considering it for anything released somewhat recently was with one of my all-time favourites — the enduringly revered Yakuza 0. Although I dabbled with its side content throughout my first playthrough, I often found myself far too enamoured with the game’s… Read More »

From the guiding omniscient voice that describes the effects of your character’s actions in Divinity: Original Sin to the embellished plot recaps that Dandelion delivers in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the games we love are often linked to the ancient storytelling art of narration. Although works of literature and cinema extensively probe the use… Read More »

Here is part three of RPGFan’s 30 Most Anticipated Games of 2022! This batch contains space-faring games, open-world monster collecting, farming, and of course, Chaos. Be sure to check out the other two parts of our feature as well! Pokémon Legends: Arceus Platforms: Nintendo Switch – Release: January 28 I think when you have some… Read More »

And we’re back with Part 2 of our 30 most anticipated games of 2022! This time we see sequels to two of the most beloved games of this generation, a long-awaited localization, and some promising indie titles. Forspoken Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation 5 – Release: May 24 Forspoken caught my eye back when it… Read More »

Welcome to RPGFan’s Most Anticipated Games of 2022! And let me tell you, there are more than a few games that we’re excited about this time around. The staff has come together and looked at every game that is releasing in 2022 (and some that we hope will) and, though it was tough, we’ve whittled… Read More »

The seaside town of White Ash harbor was once a bustling tourist attraction, with the town’s star restaurant, Le Sequoia, drawing crowds of hungry visitors from far off lands. Sadly, those days are now a fading memory…unless a plucky traveling chef with big dreams happens to be waiting right around the corner. And behold; there you are!

Audra Bowling Ys Origin was my first exposure to the Ys series, as I became extremely curious about the action RPG games after a friend couldn’t stop exuding the praises of Ys: The Oath in Felghana to me. Unfortunately, although not a reflection of my enjoyment of the game, things happened around the first time… Read More »

Everyone invests a different amount in their Warrior of Light, from glamouring to roleplaying to just levelling every single job. Regardless, by the time you reach Shadowbringers and the First, one of the Source’s thirteen reflections, you’ve already been through a lot with your Warrior of Light.

Making its way from Finland to your home computer is GRUNND, a new sidescrolling point-and-click game mixing Twin Peaks with American Gods.

One of the most common questions we get here at RPGFan is why we cover the games we do. After all, isn’t our name RPGFan? Why are we covering things that aren’t RPGs? What is a review for a visual novel doing on your front page? The answer is complicated, of course, but really what… Read More »

Our list of essential visual novels continues here! We take a look at more mind-bending plots, fantastic characters, and beautiful visuals. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Written by Peter Triezenberg The game that spawned a thousand internet memes, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is one of my go-to recommendations whenever someone expresses interest in visual novels or… Read More »

Before any digital ink is spilled, allow me to clarify. This essay marks RPGFan’s first coverage of a Third Editions published book. I would prefer it not to be our last. Whatever quibbles I might have over particular volumes, I believe RPGFan and Third Editions to be of a like mind. We love games, RPGs… Read More »

Until late September of this year, UNSIGHTED wasn’t on our radar. Luckily, when we were offered an opportunity to check it out, Bob Richardson picked it up and loved it. Studio Pixel Punk put together a Metroidvania with beautiful pixel art, a solid story, and a remarkable level of freedom to explore the world. So,… Read More »

Glamour is the true endgame’ is a phrase you have likely heard if you’ve been part of the Final Fantasy XIV community for any period of time. In principle, it refers to the idea that many players get really into the style and fashion of their avatar once they’re up to date with the story content, sitting at maximum level and waiting. In practice, I think it points more abstractly towards the value Final Fantasy XIV players see in the glamour system — as a tool for making their characters who they want them to be and strengthening the link between character and player.

Michael Sollosi Cosmic Star Heroine is game of admirable ambition, clearly inspired by many of the most acclaimed 16-bit Japanese RPGs, striving to hit those highs in a brisk runtime with gameplay concepts from a time beyond that golden age of JRPGs. The game looks like a brilliant lost Super Nintendo RPG and feels like… Read More »

I don’t know about you fine folks, but the RPGs I grew up with were chock full of dungeons to explore — whether they were caves filled to the brim with bats and other nasty critters or traditional elemental dungeons (think lava caves, water temples, and dark forests) filled with traps and puzzles. Dungeon navigation… Read More »

Music is fabulous, and I would say at least 98% of us would be incredibly unhappy if it were to be outlawed. This is the unfortunate reality we face in today’s game of choice, Keylocker; the next pixelated quest from the creator of Virgo Versus the Zodiac and skeleton RPG Osteoblasts.

Monster Hunter is a series of multiplayer action RPGs starring player-created hunters challenging hosts of dinosaurs, dragons, and all manner of other monsters in protracted boss fights. “MonHun” has become one of Capcom’s biggest series, with sixteen main-series games and expansions over the past seventeen years, the latest of which, Monster Hunter Rise, sold over… Read More »

Alana Hagues There was no way I wasn’t going to play Eternal Punishment just over a year after beating Innocent Sin. The cliffhanger ending, the exhilarating stakes, and wild events left me desperate to see what would happen to Tatsuya Suou and Maya Amano in this alternate world. And while I leave Eternal Punishment a bit shy of my glowing… Read More »

Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu (Genealogy of the Holy War) is one of the easiest Fire Emblem games to recommend, which makes it baffling that this pivotal turn-based tactics RPG never officially made it to the West. While it is brutally difficult and features all the obsessive grid-counting paranoia ubiquitous to the series, it’s also… Read More »

Other Entry Points to the Tales Series As we noted, there are plenty of other entry points to the Tales Series. Read on to learn a bit more about everything else the series has to offer from multiple members of our staff. Tales of Phantasia Where to Play: GBA (Review) | iOS (Defunct) (Review) |… Read More »

The Tales series is the unsung hero of the JRPG genre. Less successful than Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest but with no less fervent a fandom, the Tales series represents the top of the B-tier and sets the bar for truly successful JRPGs. It represents technical excellence, fine polish, and resonant characters that, on the… Read More »

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC is an experience that excels in many important aspects of RPG design, from its elegant characterisation to its uniquely satisfying battle system. Although it’s a series that has been dissected from many different angles, the game’s most significant quality — its commitment to creating a clear… Read More »

From the developers of Shadows of Adam comes Quartet, a turn-based RPG featuring four interconnected storylines that converge in a grand finale involving the fate of the world. Fans of SNES and SquareSoft classics, read on!

Dynamic duo ROZEN + REVEN initially entered the world of NieR: Automata on NieR: Glory to Mankind, a cover album that viewed the instant-classic soundtrack through the lens of a distinct orchestra-pop sound. Four years and multiple collaborative projects later, they’ve returned to the critically acclaimed game on NieR: Become As Gods.  Much like the… Read More »