(s) Archive

Up here in Canada, we used to have a department store chain called “Simpson’s.” No, it wasn’t related to the then-unborn animated sitcom of the same name. It was more akin to Sears or Hudson’s Bay. Downtown Toronto is home to the Eaton’s Centre, an absolutely enormous mall complex that spans several city blocks and throbs at the heart of the city’s shopping districts. It’s dominated by H&M and Uniqlo these days, but when I was a wee lad, Simpson’s made up a decent block of its sprawl.

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter isn’t the “Dark Souls of JRPGs,” though there are quite a few comparisons that can be made to From Software’s recent work. It is an incredibly ambitious title a decade or more ahead of its time in numerous ways. While many of its elements can be found in modern games… Read More »

On its surface, Quintet’s 1992 action RPG Soul Blazer appears similar to any other Zelda-inspired game of the early ’90s. Originally titled Soul Blader in Japan, the game sits apart from its contemporaries thanks to its focus on life, death, and human nature, along with the religious overtones accompanying such themes. While Blazer’s follow-ups (Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma) have richer character development and symbolism, as well as more refined gameplay concepts, this title is no less important to the mythos of the loosely connected trilogy.

Halloween is upon us, and parts of the world celebrate the darker days with costumes, candy, superstition, and scares.  Alongside skeletons, pumpkins, and other monsters, one iconic piece of the Halloween mythos is the vampire.   “Vampire” is a catch-all term for dozens of folkloric monsters from all over the world, with the unifying factor being… Read More »

Flashback Friday is a weekly column that focuses on fond memories in RPGs. Please be advised that spoilers about the series in question may be present and will not necessarily be marked. The Saturn is a criminally overlooked system, all of which is SEGA’s own fault. Despite having an incredible library—much of which has never… Read More »

From Italian studio Sezhes comes Evolution : Versicorae Domlion, a gothic horror RPG mixing classic 90’s style gameplay with visual novel elements. Pack a stylish hat and travel back to May of 1938; specifically, to the fictional town of Gris, a place brimming with classic architecture, stylish attire, and grotesque Lovecraftian monstrosities. Fun times!

Historians are folklorists, repositories for tales of continental turtles and apocryphal victories alike. Over time, our stories naturally become mutated, transfigured into forms they were never meant to take. When strangled by tradition, history becomes the patron saint of orthodoxy, standing in opposition to growth and necessary change. And it is within Ishgard, a towering, gothic city-state in Final Fantasy XIV’s first expansion, Heavensward, where history is brought to trial with superb detail and dynamism.

Alana Hagues Being a SEGA kid growing up, I was always disappointed that I never got a chance, or made the time, to play any of the Phantasy Star games. Picking up Phantasy Star IV 27 years after it first came out, it struck me just how fresh it felt, even today. The End of the Millennium is a breezy… Read More »

Flashback Friday is a weekly column that focuses on fond memories in RPGs. Please be advised that spoilers about the series in question may be present and will not necessarily be marked. A fair note: This one deals with some heavy material regarding depression and family. If you’re okay with that, proceed. In 1999, I… Read More »

Every October, I spend approximately 16 hours trying to decide which spooky games to play; next year, I hope to add Scarlet Hollow to my list. A horror-themed visual novel from comic creator Abby Howard, Scarlet Hollow takes you to a gloomy Appalachian town featuring exquisitely detailed hand-drawn backgrounds, a diverse selection of love interests, and perhaps even an alpaca or two.

Flashback Friday is a weekly column that focuses on fond memories in RPGs. Please be advised that spoilers about the series in question may be present and will not necessarily be marked. “I’ll use it later.” “I’ve got to save it for the boss.” “There might not be another, so I’ll keep this until I… Read More »

The Last Remnant respectfully disagrees with convention. Released in 2008 and directed by Hiroshi Takai (Final Fantasy XVI), The Last Remnant sees the player as general of their own army. Each individual in your army possesses their respective stats, equipment, and skills with progression and growth for all three. Although Rush, the game’s protagonist searching for his kidnapped sibling, can be personalized as you please, the hundreds of other potential members of your army retain control over their load-outs.

Welcome back for our final selections, this time leading all the way up to last year! While many of us have affection for the classics in our first list, there’s no doubt that RPGs are alive and well looking at all the modern masterpieces on today’s list. Thanks so much for reading everyone! What do… Read More »

Welcome to day two of our Defending Champions feature. The 2000s was an interesting time of transition from more traditional RPGs to the often experimental, and everything in between. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see the results for 2010-2019!

Dragon Quest was first released in 1986 in Japan. Although it never took off in the United States and wasn’t the first RPG ever released, there’s no question that DQ helped define what JRPGs are today.  So in honor of Dragon Quest, we decided to look back at our favorite RPGs of each year since… Read More »

There’s a scene early on in Sega’s cult classic RPG, Skies of Arcadia, that’s always stuck with me. After rescuing the mysterious girl Fina from the clutches of the Valuan Armada, an empire that’s looking to rule the world with an iron fist, the two plucky heroes, Vyse and Aika, join their newly rescued friend at the highest point of their home, Pirate Isle. Together, the three of them look out at the endless sea of clouds, tinged with a warm glow as the sun sets. Fina, a sheltered descendent of an ancient civilisation called Silvites, is mesmerised by its beauty. Vyse agrees with her, and starts an impassioned speech with these words as he stares out towards the sky:

A little something different this week: We look at 5 PlayStation RPGs which are unique and interesting in ways that may be off-beat, but are hard to find elsewhere.

Leona McCallum I first played Persona 2: Innocent Sin back in 2009-ish when the game wasn’t even available in English. I relied on a fan translation to see me through, which I’m sure only added to the enigmatic allure the game held over me. I didn’t always fully understand it—especially not that first playthrough—but I… Read More »

Flashback Friday is a weekly column that focuses on fond memories in RPGs. Please be advised that spoilers about the series in question may be present and will not necessarily be marked. Back in the late 90s, there weren’t a lot of ways to play Japanese games and know what you were doing. Fan patches… Read More »

If sophisticated strategy RPGs and Machiavellian political tales are relevant to your interests, you may want to keep an eye on Scarlet Republics; a grid-based tactical RPG inspired by Japanese favorites, classic WRPGs, and grim fantasy novels.

Ten years ago, the national discourse about video games was pretty negative. Every time something terrible happened, politicians were quick to point to video games as a key cause. Gaming was blamed for everything from school shootings to a decline in teen attention spans. Back then, few were pointing to the positives of our beloved… Read More »

Inspired by classic Zelda titles, Dwerve is a top-down action RPG featuring strategic tower defense combat and copious amounts of dwarves, trolls, and violent gadgets. Travel through a charming pixel graphic world, descend into puzzle-filled dungeons, and operate a range of peculiar traps and turrets in intense subterranean warfare!

Flashback Friday is a weekly column that focuses on fond memories in RPGs. Please be advised that spoilers about the series in question may be present and will not necessarily be marked. Wild ARMs is a beloved but fairly defunct series these days. Published in the early days of the original PlayStation, it was one… Read More »

The first vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria in the 1st century CE, using a counterweight system to dispense holy water to temple visitors who deposit a coin, to prevent visitors from taking too much holy water from the fountains unsupervised. Today, vending machines are devices of convenience, made so there are fewer… Read More »

Peter Triezenberg Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a very influential game from my childhood that helped bridge the gap between the world of Super Mario I was already familiar with and my future obsession with role-playing games. There’s a reason my old forum handle was IhaveFURY! While I’ve since gone back and played some… Read More »