(s) Archive
2011-04-29
We went a little beyond the original scope of this feature with two additional short lists, featuring our picks for some non-RPG honorable mentions, and our Hall of Shame, with characters we wish were given better roles to play. If you somehow landed here first, check out part one, featuring our favorite female RPG characters!… Read More »
Our top ten ladies listed below are part of a celebration — one of femininity, positivity, and strength. Females are becoming increasingly significant and prevalent in modern video game storytelling, and we cherish those who are presented in the most positive light with this list. Still, for every light side, there is a dark side,… Read More »
2011-01-01
Part 2 of our Further Exploration feature includes high-flying adventures, dreams of a complete space epic, and more! Like with page 1, several plot elements of these writeups fall into spoiler territory, so keep that in mind as you read through! Intro by Mike Salbato Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator Writeup by Neal Chandran… Read More »
We’ve all played RPGs that we didn’t want to end. Or perhaps one that we wanted to know more about what happened before the story we were playing through. This got us thinking, not to simply make a list of games that we liked, but to talk about not only why we liked them, but… Read More »
Just for fun, Bryan Grosnick wrote up a fun counterpoint of a list to this feature — RPG Sequels We DON’T Want To See. We found it too entertaining not to include it here for you all. Enjoy! Intro by Mike Salbato RPG Sequels We DON’T Want To See Writeups by Bryan Grosnick The Legend… Read More »
2010-07-25
It is all too common to find stories and articles about the negative impacts of gaming and the adverse effects it has on peoples’ lives, especially regarding interpersonal communication. How many people have angrily shouted at children or partners so engrossed in a game that they tuned out the world? Well, I am here to… Read More »
2009-03-08
Even though there are still a few RPGs being released on the PlayStation 2, a lot of RPG fans have now moved on to the next-generation consoles like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii… okay, maybe not the Wii but that’s another story altogether. In any case, we thought this would be a… Read More »
2008-11-29
Recently I took on the monumental task of reviewing the entire backlog of Dragon Quest soundtracks to fill out our soundtracks section. I’d reviewed over a dozen Dragon Quest albums in past years, but this was like take an intense month-long music appreciation course where the sole subject was Koichi Sugiyama. It was a marvelous… Read More »
2003-03-02
Akihiro Hino is not only the producer, director and main programmer of Level 5’s second title Dark Chronicle (known as Dark Cloud 2 in the US), but also the company’s president. Dark Cloud, Level 5’s first title, sold 800,000 copies worldwide and its sequel Dark Chronicle managed to sell more than 250,000 copies in Japan… Read More »
We will start off this feature series with Square executive director and producer Akitoshi Kawazu. Joining Square 18 years ago, he has been responsible for Final Fantasy I and II‘s game design and served as director and producer of the 1999 RPG racing hybrid Racing Lagoon. Most importantly, however, is his involvement in Square’s second most successful… Read More »
Last November, Sony Computer Entertainment announced a spectacular sweepstakes campaign to promote the five biggest RPG releases of the holiday seasons. The lucky winners were supposed to go on trips to various destinations across North America and Europe. And while the trips fell victim to recent global tensions, the campaign at least led to the… Read More »
This feature series’ last interview will focus on Namco’s hit title Tales of Destiny 2. Its producer Akira Yoshizumi joined Namco in 1988, and after amounting a lot of experience in both sales and promotion, he was appointed Tales of producer last year. Despite boasting sales exceeding 800,000 copies in Japan, a stateside release of… Read More »
Daisuke Uchiyama entered Bandai in 1994 and since then has worked on Dragonball Z, Dragonball Final Bout, and First of the North Star. As producer of the .hack series, he has been coordinating the work of a team including character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame), scenario writer Kazunori Itou (Ghost in the… Read More »
Serving as planner and designer of the recently released fifth installment of the long-running Breath of Fire series, Makoto Ikehara and Tatsuya Yoshikawa have been integral parts of the game’s development team. Both joined Capcom more than ten years ago in 1992. Breath of Fire V – Dragon Quarter has sold 200,000 copies in Japan… Read More »
2002-12-02
Inon Zur is a game, television, and movie composer. Recently, Mr. Zur has composed the scores for Icewind Dale II and Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. We spoke with Mr. Zur and had a few questions to ask him regarding his work on Icewind Dale II. RPGFan: So how are you doing today, Mr. Zur? Inon Zur: I’m… Read More »
2002-11-18
Noriyuki Iwadare is best known by most game fans in the U.S. for the musical work he’s done on the now classic Lunar, and classic in the making, Grandia series. However, his resume is much more extensive and encompasses roughly thirty different game soundtrack scores and arrangments, along with music for TV, stage musicals, amusement park attractions, and… Read More »
Noriyuki Iwadare is best known by most game fans in the U.S. for the musical work he’s done on the now classic Lunar, and classic in the making, Grandia series. However, his resume is much more extensive and encompasses roughly thirty different game soundtrack scores and arrangments, along with music for TV, stage musicals, amusement park attractions, and… Read More »
2000-01-21
Final Fantasy: Project Majestic Mix is a CD being released by a man named Stephen Kennedy. So far, tons of hard work has been poured into it. This enlightening interview tells a bit more about what this whole thing is all about. Patrick: So Stephen, how did you first get the idea to cover songs… Read More »
1999-11-24
During the recent unveiling of the Sakura Project 2000, Famitsu had the chance to interview two of the producers that are working on Sakura Taisen 3, Hiroi Ouji and Mr.Ooba. Hiroi Ouji is the head of Red Company, as well as the game’s General Producer, while Mr. Ooba is the Game Producer. Translation by WooJin… Read More »
1999-10-20
The following is a translation from the 10/8/99 Issue of Famitsu, in which they interview Yamagishi Yoshinorishi, the Producer of Valkyrie Profile, who also produced Star Ocean 2. Before the Interview, here is the translation of the text on the Valkyrie Profile Ad, which summarizes the main plot of the game. I Am Valkyrie. Commanded… Read More »
1999-05-23
This interview is with Working Designs’ President Victor Ireland from E3 1999. In this interview, you’ll find a lot of information about the various Lunar games, the mystery RPG, Detonator Gauntlet [Editor’s Note: Detonator Gauntlet would be renamed Vanguard Bandits after this interview] and much more. Lunar 2 and the Mystery RPG Rudo: Okay, I… Read More »
1998-06-04
This is an extremely awesome interview Rudo and Webber had at E3 with Victor Ireland of Working Designs. He covers a wide range of subjects; this first part mainly covers the slow death of the Saturn and the upcoming Sega Saturn RPG Magic Knight Rayearth. Webber: You don’t like to have your picture up anywhere, we’ve… Read More »
