Sometimes I think I played a different game when people talk about the original Dragon Quest VII. What do you mean it's too long? You want fewer islands? Okay, sure, I could do with things going a little faster in the beginning, but that's part of the beauty of Dragon Quest VII: it takes its time. It delights in the small moments where you help the fallen leader of a town, where you protect a child from a Slime, where you discover yet another piece that lets you (literally) put the puzzle together. It's still pure in its storytelling, but it doesn't shy away from darkness, either. Put simply, in the words of my friend Mike Sollosi, it's the most Dragon Quest game, both in hours of content, but also thematically, and that's why I love it so much. 

Much of the joy I derive from playing indie RPGs comes from seeing how independent developers remix familiar mechanics and classic presentation towards a singular purpose that a larger studio or publisher would never touch. Many big productions are so focused on appealing to everyone that they lack a cohesive vision or clear thematic message… Read More »

While our RPGs coming this week column technically includes anything coming out between February 1st through the 7th, it seems most publishers have their eyes firmly set on Thursday, as three of our four titles this week all launch on February 5th! With a new entry in a small-but-popular Souls-like series, an expanded release of… Read More »

2023’s Lies of P, a dark, Souls-like twist on Carlo Collodi’s classic 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, is all about exploring what it takes to turn a cold, mechanical heart into something human. Sure, some of that involves slaying giant, demented puppets and zombified beasts to an epic, dread-inducing score. But a bigger part… Read More »

As a teenager, I pilgrimaged to the Nintendo Store in New York City with my parents as part of a family vacation. My most distinctive memory of that visit is of “Terra’s Theme” blaring inside, and of my father, a gamer but certainly no RPGFan, whistling the iconic melody. That’s the compositional power of Nobuo… Read More »

On this week's episode of Retro Encounter, we discuss something that has only been awarded once at RPGFan: a perfect score. So, each panelist brings on one game they think deserves a perfect score and defend it against the panel. But there can be only one! Who will be our winner? Listen in to find out!

One of my favorite things about smaller games is their willingness to embrace off-the-wall mechanics and take quirky concepts as far as they will go. While big and even mid-budget games are so focused on appealing to the largest number of players possible by iterating on proven ideas, small development teams embrace experimentation and creativity… Read More »

I love indies because they can do almost anything, any way. Triple-A titles can break from the pack, but most of their qualities are time-tested and safe; after all, there is investors’ money on the line. Indies come with dreams, vision, and minimal worries about risk. That’s how we get titles like Steel Century Groove,… Read More »

Hello, fellow RPG fans! This week we have a pair of offbeat indie titles you may want to keep an eye on, plus a decidedly larger title with vampires or something. So whether you’re into open world anime soulslikes, British comedy adventure, or dancing robots, the RPGs coming this week don’t lack in variety! Be… Read More »

After hearing about publisher Boss Fight Books from podcasts and reviews (like Alana Hagues’ review of BFB title Final Fantasy VI) over the years, yet somehow never picking up one of their titles, I jumped at the opportunity to review their newest addition to their vast library of documentary-style writing on games. Boss Fight Books… Read More »

Aleks Franiczek It’s been over 6 years since Vanillaware released 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and in that time the game has garnered a reputation as one of the great videogame narrative masterpieces of the modern era. Obviously, I had lofty expectations going in. Cue the first scene: a schoolgirl is erotically posed naked in a… Read More »

In summer 2000, at the young age of 16, I wrote an embarrassingly terse review of the Final Fantasy V soundtrack. Granted, everything about this entry in the acclaimed series seemed novel at the time, given its lack of official localization until around the same time as Final Fantasy VIII. But there was, and is,… Read More »