Highlight(s) Archive

Retro Encounter 419 – Hard to Love RPGs

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 30, 2024
Accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. No one of sound mind plays an RPG out of spite. Players want to enjoy the games they play, sometimes with a fair amount of hype and anticipation beforehand. Today, we walk in between joy and despair, and discuss ten games that the panel wan… Read More »

First Look at The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak + Demo Release Date

Posted by Scott Clay on May 30, 2024
In just over a month, it will be time to return to Zemuria with another installment of the Trails series. The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak kicks off the Calvard arc, the fourth arc in the greater Trails series. If you are new to the Trails series or generally curious about it, you can r… Read More »

Crowdfunding Chronicles: Food Devils

Posted by Tina Olah on May 29, 2024
I strongly believe that post-apocalyptic meal choices would make a cold Big Mac found between couch cushions seem like the pinnacle of both nutrition and taste, but this game might just prove me wrong.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

Posted by Scott MacDonald on May 28, 2024
I know what you’re thinking, dear reader: “This is RPGFan. Why am I reading about some dumb Tom Clancy shooter?” That’s a fair question, and I’m prepared to answer it. First, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is not a shooter! It’s a turn-based tactics game. Second, at its most basic l… Read More »

Random Encounter 297 – A Return to the Underworld with Hades II

Posted by Jonathan Logan on May 27, 2024
On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re chatting about the early access release of one of the most anticipated games in recent memory: Hades II. In October 2020, Supergiant Games’ roguelike masterpiece Hades finally exited early access and entered the Steam and Epic libraries of countless ga… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/26/24

Posted by Audra Bowling on May 26, 2024
On this edition of RPGs Coming This Week: a CRPG throwback, a superhero tactics game, and a new Trails game! Let’s wrap May — low-key the strongest month of the year so far — with a bang! Also, in case you missed it, here’s a quick note about last week’s column. A few games we covered got delayed, s… Read More »

SaGa Emerald Beyond Interview with Lead Developers Akitoshi Kawazu and Tomokazu Shibata

Posted by Patrick Gann on May 25, 2024
Square Enix recently published the long-awaited newest entry in the SaGa franchise, SaGa Emerald Beyond. Alongside our SaGa Emerald Beyond review, which noted the game’s strengths in combat design and unique flavor in story presentation, we had the opportunity to interact with two key staff for this… Read More »

So you want to get into The Like a Dragon Series: Primer & Cast

Posted by Giancarlo Vazquez on May 25, 2024
Quick question: What’s your tolerance for operatic melodrama? You know what? Better question: Can you play riichi mahjong? Not enough people know how… Actually, nevermind, we’ve got an even better question: Have you heard of the Yakuza (AKA, Like a Dragon) series? Known as Ryu Ga Gotoku (translated… Read More »

Join Us All Summer for Summer Megami Tensei – Now Through October!

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 24, 2024
Summer is upon us, and if you’re a regular viewer (or lurker, we welcome all!) on the RPGFan Twitch channel, you know that means a new marathon is imminent. Scott and our audience had a blast with last year’s Summer of Cold Steel II, so this year we’re upping the ante. With Atlus releasing two major… Read More »

Retro Encounter 418 – Omori Part I

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 23, 2024
But my dreams, they aren’t as empty / As my headspace seems to be Content Warning: this podcast episode addresses many sensitive topics, including mental health issues and self-harm.  Omori is an indie game that takes on dark themes such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and loss in a thoughtful,… Read More »

Hades II Hands-On Preview

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 21, 2024
You don’t need me to tell you the vast majority of players already loves Hades II. After all, Supergiant Games just needs to copy the first Hades to create a potential Game of the Year title. Of course, folks wouldn’t really be satisfied with that; Supergiant Games must innovate, carefully making su… Read More »

Monster Hunter Stories Hands-On Preview

Posted by Abraham Kobylanski on May 20, 2024
With the end of the 3DS eShop and the handheld console receiving its last rites from Nintendo, many excellent games were left without a home. Thankfully, Capcom wasn’t content to leave Monster Hunter Stories stranded, and next month, we’ll see it return on modern platforms with a few… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 135 – Super Mario RPGs

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 20, 2024
It’s-a-us, the Rhythm Encounter crew! With the impending launch of the remaster for the beloved sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, we decided it was high time to talk about Mario’s illustrious RPG career. Starting with 1996’s Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and extending through… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/19/24 [UPDATE]

Posted by Gio Castillo on May 19, 2024
UPDATE: Be advised that Gestalt: Steam & Cinder and the Hyperdimension Neptunia Trilogy on Switch were delayed at the last minute. Gestalt: Steam & Cinder is now expected to come out on July 16th, while the Hyperdimension Neptunia Trilogy is delayed indefinitely. Our write-ups will stay here… Read More »

How to Fix Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Bombastic Ending

Posted by Tim Rattray on May 18, 2024
SPOILER WARNING: This feature discusses the ending of Rebirth specifically and contains details. It also mentions details from Remake’s ending. I’ll make it clear upfront: I love the ending of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While playing through it for the first time, it evoked significant emotional dur… Read More »

Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 17, 2024
If you’ve followed my coverage here since 2009, you know I’m a huge fan of indies. I dabble with AAA titles from time to time, like FromSoftware and Square Enix releases, but I typically gravitate toward indies because of their ingenuity and evident passion. Many AAA titles, including the large and… Read More »

Retro Encounter 417 – RPG Obsessions with David Vinc

Posted by Michael Sollosi on May 16, 2024
To love is to suffer Three RPGFan panelists are joined by RPG enthusiast YouTuber David Vinc to discuss the favorites and frustrations about the world of RPGs. Does our guest prefer the predictable comfort of Dragon Quest or the unstable beauty of Final Fantasy? Which panelist has played Lufia II do… Read More »

Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER

Posted by Neal Chandran on May 15, 2024
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER is the long-awaited sequel to 2015’s indie darling 2064: Read Only Memories (which itself is a director’s cut edition of 2014’s Read Only Memories). NEURODIVER takes place six years after the first game and is both a sequel to 2064 and, according to the game’s Steam pa… Read More »

Paper Mario

Posted by Joshua Lindquist on May 14, 2024
Whenever fans discuss the Paper Mario series, it seems inevitable that the discussion will quickly shift to how moving away from the series’ RPG roots following the release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door ruined it. Many other game series have changed over time, and while the changes will nev… Read More »

Random Encounter 296 – Indie Game Dev: Lil’ Guardsman

Posted by Jonathan Logan on May 13, 2024
On this episode of Random Encounter, Jono invites two of the folks behind the recent indie game Lil’ Guardsman onto the show to chat about its development. Back in the early days of the pandemic, Toronto-based composer Scott Christian and his business partner Artiom Komarov made the remarkable decis… Read More »

RPGs Coming This Week, 5/12/24

Posted by Gio Castillo on May 12, 2024
So continues the golden age of roguelikes… (technically “roguelites”, if the distinction matters to you). Hot off the heels of Hades II—which dropped the day after our last column—three more ultra-hard, procedurally generated affairs will soon hit storefronts. Also on the way are a long-anticipate… Read More »

Sand Land

Posted by Noah Leiter on May 11, 2024
May the eight-year-old nephews of the world rest easy tonight knowing there is an imminent uncle-gift-worthy videogame perfect for their summer gaming needs. Come along as we dip our toes in the sands of a game that gives “fun in the sun,” even if parts of it might leave you feeling burned. Sand Lan… Read More »

Retro Encounter 416 – Persona 3 Reload

Posted by Zach Wilkerson on May 9, 2024
Are you courageous enough to try Retro Encounter yet? Back in February, Persona 3 Reload released, much to the delight of many on staff, So, this week, two veterans of Persona 3 and one newbie get together to chat about Persona 3 Reload. How does this one compare to the rest of the series?… Read More »

Cryptmaster

Posted by Jerry Williams on May 9, 2024
I’ve never played an RPG quite like Cryptmaster. That’s thirty points (™) right there. Yet, while simple and unique in its execution, I’d venture to say this is a niche title because it definitely leans towards those with a love of language and depth of vocabulary. While I wouldn’t say verbosity and… Read More »

Retro Encounter Final Thoughts: Arc the Lad

Posted by Wes Iliff on May 8, 2024
Audra Bowling The first Arc the Lad game was a brief, enjoyable foray into an interesting video game world that could only do so much with its limitations. While playing it, I felt both enjoyment and underwhelmed in equal measure. But then I tried its sequel, and I fell in love with another SRPG ser… Read More »