(s) Archive
2018-12-16
As we near the end of RPGFan’s 20th Anniversary year — even though we are ten days away from the exact inception date — we figured, who better to look back on our history with than the original founders? It took a lot of planning, scheduling, re-scheduling… and re-scheduling on everyone’s part, but I managed… Read More »
2018-11-18
When we decided to compile a list of the best games for the PlayStation Vita, we didn’t intend it to be a farewell to the much beloved handheld console, yet not mentioning its actual discontinuation next year (when Sony will cease manufacturing the handheld) would be thoughtless. We’ll miss it a lot. Many of us… Read More »
2018-09-18
Finally, we arrive at today’s logo and where the RPGFan identity (and logo) is going in the near future. Now you know more than you ever needed to know about RPGFan’s storied history of logos! Thank you for taking this journey with me, and for supporting RPGFan for however long you’ve been a reader.
Our journey continues with the biggest shift in the look of our logo since the beginning, when we introduced a new font and shield in 2007–2008. Next, we visit the present day logo and give you a peek at what’s in store for the future. Forward!
Even if you haven’t been a visitor to RPGFan for our whole 20+ year history, there’s a good chance you’ve seen at least some variant of our logo over the years. If you have been visiting us for the entire time… then I still promise you that you’ll see something new. Not only did 1999… Read More »
2018-09-09
Bloodborne: The Card Game – The Hunter’s Nightmare is an essential expansion to this already engrossing game. I reviewed the base game last year and gave it high praise but noted some weaknesses in the lack of gameplay variety. After multiple playthroughs, the game felt repetitive, which is all right in that the group has more experience… Read More »
2018-09-03
One Deck Dungeon: Forest of Shadows is a standalone expansion to the first iteration, simply named: One Deck Dungeon (ODD). Although the game is substantively the same, a few alterations add some meat without overcomplicating a game that is intended to be fast, easy to play, and portable. Fans of the first game will find… Read More »
2018-08-08
We aren’t done yet! Here are even more of who we consider the best RPG dogs. Mabari Hound/”Dog” (Dragon Age: Origins) by Tina Olah The Mabari War Hound. A mighty battle dog of ferocious appearance (somewhat resembling a very large pit bull), rumored to have descended from wolves…in addition to being a lovable campsite companion.… Read More »
Dogs are man’s best friend, and that’s been the case for hundreds of years. They enjoy long walks, plenty of scruffles and most importantly being with their favourite humans. There are plenty of good boys and girls in our real lives, but that sentiment extends to RPGs too, and we’re always ready to champion our… Read More »
2018-07-05
During E3, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Masayoshi Soken, sound director and composer for Final Fantasy XIV. That introduction is probably insufficient for the man who helped the FFXIV team to win one of its three Guinness World Records, with its (then) 384 pieces of music setting a record for “Most original pieces… Read More »
2018-05-20
When we put out the call for stories last month, we weren’t sure what we were going to get. We know how dear RPGFan has been to us, as a labor of love for 20 years. And through comments over the years, from our forums, to email, to our 2017 Reader Survey, we know it’s… Read More »
2018-04-29
No Zelda is complete without both simple and elaborate sidequests. There are plenty of small ones: little things Link can do that can lead the way to new discoveries or fun rewards. But then there are the really in-depth ones, like some of Majora’s Mask‘s questlines, or the world-scouring collect-a-thons in Link’s Awakening, Breath of… Read More »
Look, we can say we love Link all we want, but with the exception of a cartoon and CD-i series of games we don’t discuss, Link is intentionally a blank slate for us to define as a hero. As such, characterization and narrative in Zelda comes from the rest of the cast. Often that can… Read More »
We debated whether these were really “secrets” or “easter eggs,” but whatever you call these things, they’re but a handful of examples of the Zelda series’ wonderful attention to detail and things you sometimes have to really go out of your way to find. Sometimes your curiosity leads to reward in the form of an… Read More »
2018-04-25
We had this great idea: Let’s discuss games that were milestones for the industry. Things that, in ways, changed what we thought of RPGs, or crazy crossovers. Games that caused a shift in the market to a drastic degree, like how Final Fantasy VII changed everything. Of course, we have intentionally set our 20th Anniversary… Read More »
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s (OoT) iconic status is rooted in what it meant for both the franchise and the industry as a whole. Link’s transition into the 3D era on the Nintendo 64 presented an opportunity — really a necessity — for Nintendo to… Read More »
2018-04-22
Zelda‘s many games don’t always take place in Hyrule. Especially in the games that don’t feature the Link-Zelda-Ganon trinity, our green-clad hero ventures somewhere different, like in Majora’s Mask, Link’s Awakening, and the excellent Oracle games. It’s also nice that even if most of the games are set in Hyrule, each game presents the familiar land in… Read More »
As we’ve talked about in other sections, the Zelda series is big on tradition: It’s why Gohma appears in more games in the series than most bosses. But there’s great and inventive boss encounters, whether you’re fighting Ganon again or some of these big baddies below that we’ve only seen once. Like the dungeons they reside in,… Read More »
2018-04-15
You know your series has winning compositions when you can rearrange, remix, reorchestrate, and re-release themes composed 30 years ago, and still make them sound fresh and exciting. We don’t need to introduce anyone to the main theme song of Zelda, but from the NES titles to Breath of the Wild, there’s plenty of other… Read More »
What’s a Zelda game without labyrinthian dungeons? Well, okay, it’s Breath of the Wild. But until the Switch game came and turned convention on its head (in a good way), every game in the series was home to usually eight or nine dungeons, usually built around a theme — there’s often “the fire one,” “the… Read More »
2018-04-08
It’s not just clever items that provide the Zelda series with some of its innovation and charm, but also clever use of gameplay mechanics. Some of these are very much Zelda traits, like the transformational masks in Majora’s Mask. Breath of the Wild‘s gear and stats are to be expected in many RPGs, but were very new… Read More »
The Zelda series is one built on tradition: Even Breath of the Wild features some classic ones in new wrappers. The inventive items that return in each entry are dear to many of us. And while we appreciate the classics like the bow and arrow, boomerang, and magical rods, we mostly wanted to focus on… Read More »
2018-03-28
We’re big music buffs at RPGFan. One look at the thousands of reviews and features that make up RPGFan Music is proof enough. There are other music review sites out there, but none quite as extensive when it comes to RPGs. So, when it came time to plan our 20th Anniversary features, we knew at least one… Read More »
Welcome to Part 2! Below you’ll find our selections for the last decade, and believe me when I say some of these choices made it in by only one or two staff votes: There were some really close calls, but all that means is that we’re fortunate enough to have a ton of great music… Read More »
2018-02-28
Part 2 of our Still-Wanted Localizations feature includes “The Big One,” and likely some games you may be surprised to see! The Love-de-Lic Trilogy: Moon, UFO: A Day in the Life, Lack of Love Writeup by Robert Fenner Love-de-Lic may have only released three games over the course of four years before disbanding, but their… Read More »
