(s) Archive
2024-01-26
Winner: Octopath Traveler II It’s no small task to improve on Octopath Traveler‘s combat. Every skill is so carefully chosen to make the Break/Boost system work together with the visible turn order to create a thoughtful, strategic experience in the original. Somehow, though, Octopath Traveler II improved on the best in the business to createā¦ Read More »
2024-01-17
Do you want to play Baldurās Gate III but donāt have a PC that can run it? Are you agonizing over whether to wait until you do or play it on your PS5 or Xbox Series Something? Maybe youāre even considering buying a next-gen console due to the FOMO of being unable to play thisā¦ Read More »
2024-01-16
Hands-on with Persona 3 Reload, exploring the new Tartarus, welcome social link updates, and more!
2024-01-13
Earlier this year, I wrote my first feature for RPGFan: A Parentās List of the Best Introductory RPGs for Kids. That article allowed me to share my experiences as an RPG enthusiast and parent. It also inspired me to consider further which RPGs are the best fit for kids. While my previous work focused onā¦ Read More »
2024-01-12
What do the following games have in common? Besides the fact that we’re here at RPGFan and can assume they are RPGs or within RPGFan coverage. One straightforward answer is that these are all relatively well-known, successful games. They are from a range of platforms and drastically different time periods, but they are likely toā¦ Read More »
2024-01-02
If youāve played Omori, you know how its oft-abstracted ruminations on coping with trauma cut emotionally deep. If you havenāt played it, youāve likely heard people rave about exactly that. Or, a cursory glance may lead you to pin it as an Undertale-ian jaunt packed with subversive genre flips. While youād be right to some degreeāitās indeedā¦ Read More »
2023-12-31
Soundtrack review: Genso Suikoden II Original Game Soundtrack Complete 18. Suikoden II āThe heart has its secret currents: deep, and without guide.ā The above lyric comes from the song āCurrents,ā found on the Suikoden II arrange album Orrizonte, with an upbeat rearrange utilized for the Visual Novel Genso Suikogaiden Volume 1ās opening movie. However, thisā¦ Read More »
Soundtrack review: A Realm Reborn: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack 9. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn I had a much more difficult time ranking the modern Final Fantasy music compared to the original nine Uematsu solo efforts. Seriously, this was a stressful choice. I love the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, especially the XIII-2 soundtrack.ā¦ Read More »
I joined RPGFan when it was still a fledgling site, when the term āWeb 1.0ā wouldnāt have made sense because thatās the only web there was. In the 25 years since, many other English-language publications have seen fit to give attention to game music, from our friends at VGM Online to the likes of NPRā¦ Read More »
2023-12-24
Michael Sollosi Why do nearly all RPGs, even the ones with elaborate character creation systems, always start the same way? There are many sensible reasons for this, but I appreciate how Dragon Age: Origins rejects that idea outright. Just after character creation, the player chooses one of six different Chapter 1’s to begin the story,ā¦ Read More »
2023-12-23
2023 sure has been a year in video games, hasn’t it? We’ve had a brand new mainline Final Fantasy game, an iteration on arguably the most popular Zelda game, and a game that quickly ascended to conversations about the best games ever. Let’s not forget the mound of other excellent games that came out thisā¦ Read More »
Below, you’ll find not one, but two Final Fantasy games, along with some long awaited releases and localizations of franchises that are almost as popular. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth We’ve arrived at last. With Midgar in the rearview, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looks to bring Final Fantasy VII to life like never before.ā¦ Read More »
Here you’ll find remakes of some of our staff’s all-time favorite games, a number of new entries in long-running series (including a newly announced bonus game), and plenty of others! Persona 3 Reload Persona 3 marked a new style for the venerable series, opening the more niche title to a broader audience. Persona 3 Reloadā¦ Read More »
2023-12-05
Michael Sollosi Bloodborne is a revelation. An intense action RPG with incredible freedom and drama, draped in a blood-soaked Gothic aesthetic that’s brutal and beautiful, Bloodborne‘s environments, boss fights, and hidden secrets get more fascinating by the minute. Bloodborne is the game that gave us the term “Soulsbourne,” as it has all the hallmarks ofā¦ Read More »
2023-11-21
Campaign Ends: November 24Platform: Windows, Game Boy Color (including emulators). Hello RPG friends, and welcome to another installment of Catfunding Chronicles! Today’s cat-tastic gaming choice is Inspector Waffles: Early Days, a prequel to 2021’s Inspector Waffles, a point-and-click game. In an unexpected (yet exciting) departure from the original, this new installment takes the form ofā¦ Read More »
2023-10-31
There is no more immediate symbol of fear and death than the skeleton. Worldwide depictions of skeletons range from commonplace to a cultural taboo, but every society knows that someone whoās all bones is no longer among the living. Perhaps sensibly, undead skeletons are an unnatural abomination that have haunted the folklore of living humansā¦ Read More »
2023-10-25
In the RPG discourse, Sony and Nintendo’s consoles garner the most affection, while Microsoft tends to be overlooked. But why? I think this is due mainly to a couple of factors. First, PlayStation and Nintendo were already established juggernauts when Microsoft released their first console. Secondly, two of these three companies are based in Japanā¦ Read More »
2023-10-24
Michael Sollosi This is my first time playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, and, well, the highest compliment I can give is that it goes down smoothly. Rhapsody is fast-paced, easy to understand, and so breezy that I wonder if it was a little too easy? Rhapsody has a cute premise (a village girl falls inā¦ Read More »
2023-10-14
“Lacrimosa” is a beautiful term for something tragic and sad. It’s a perfectly fitting term for Dana Iclucia’s unfolding backstory in Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, the eighth installment of Falcom’s venerable action RPG series. This game novelization explores this backstory to incredible effect, creating a compelling fantasy tale with some minute alterations that only thoseā¦ Read More »
2023-10-13
As part of a recent Square Enix event where I played a demo of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (don’t miss my hands-on impressions), I also had the honor to conduct an interview with Rebirthās director, Naoki Hamaguchi. For those unfamiliar with Hamaguchiās work, he contributed to several Final Fantasy titles, including Final Fantasy XII andā¦ Read More »
2023-10-05
If Tim Burton were to combine The Lighthouse and Oxenfree, the result might be something like The Heirloom.
2023-10-01
Aleks Franiczek Breath of Fire: Dragon QuarterĀ is a rare RPGs that dares to look outside of its genre for inspiration and hammers it down with a distinct vision. From that standpoint, itās really the opposite of the rest of theĀ Breath of FireĀ series, which was content to play within the common JRPG standards of the 1990sāwithā¦ Read More »
2023-09-22
Ever wanted to know what it would look like to see Gaston get murdered by ten brooms? Well, I have good news for you: Disney Sorcerer’s Arena is a Sean Fletcher-developed strategy RPG/Smash Bros.-style hybrid board game that allows you to do just that. Bet you never knew you needed this kind of game, butā¦ Read More »
2023-09-20
If youāre like me and are drawn in by the beautiful vistas of Krat, youāre probably playing Lies of P this weekend. Like many games in its self-proclaimed Souls-like genre, Lies of P can be very rewarding, but it can also be pretty difficult. So, try the following tips to make your stay in Kratā¦ Read More »
2023-09-19
Fate/Samurai Remnant is just around the corner, and it’s already shaping up to be a fresh and exciting depiction of the Holy Grail War set in the relatively peaceful Edo period of Japanese History. We recently had a chance to interview Ryota Matsushita, director at Koei Tecmo games and known for his extensive history withā¦ Read More »
