- Feature
How to Fix Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Bombastic Ending
SPOILER WARNING: This feature discusses the ending of Rebirth specifically and contains details. It also mentions details from Remake’s ending. Iāll make it clear upfront: I love the ending ofĀ Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While playing through it for the first time, it evoked significant emotional durā¦ Read More »- Review
Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition
If youāve followed my coverage here since 2009, you know Iām 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 andā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Team NieR is Working on a New Project
Another day, another tease of a new project from the creative minds behind theĀ NieRĀ series. The latest issue ofĀ Weekly Famitsu featured a conversation between Yosuke Saito, Square Enix executive officerĀ andĀ NieRĀ series producer, and Hiroyuki Kobayashi, GPTRACK50 Studio president and former Capcom prā¦ Read More »- Article
- Retro Encounter
- Podcast
Retro Encounter 417 – RPG Obsessions with David Vinc
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 doā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Alzara: Radiant Echoes Launches Kickstarter With a Launch in 2026
Crowdfunding allows developers to create games without interference from outside entities like committees and shareholders. It lets their own creativity and talent take center stage. Kickstarter is one way for developers to access crowdfunding support, and it’s seen its fair share of interesting RPGā¦ Read More »- Music Review
Prescription for Sleep: Heavenly Avatar
One of my favorite arrange albums from last year was the third volume in the Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies series. The evergreen duo of soft jazz that is GENTLE LOVE (Norihiko Hibino on sax, AYAKI on piano) are back with a fantastic new arrange album specific to the game ActRaiser. Thā¦ Read More »- Review
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER
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 paā¦ Read More »- Review
Paper Mario
Whenever fans discuss the Paper Mario series, it seems inevitable that the discussion will quickly shift to how moving away from the seriesā 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 nevā¦ Read More »Article
Charity Speedrun Event RPG Limit Break Starts May 19th
RPG Limit Break is back in 2024! The annual RPG speedrun event will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, between May 19th and 25th. Donations received during the event will benefit long-time event partner the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Organizers are hoping to raise $110,000 USD in donations tā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Monster Hunter Series Sells Over 100 Million Globally
Capcom has announced that worldwide sales of the Monster Hunter games have exceeded 100 million copies as of the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Monster Hunter Rise, the latest installment, contributed more than 15 million units to this significant achievement, whileā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus to Launch October 1st
Spike Chunsoft will release Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus in western regions on October 1st. Japan is still getting the game on July 18th as previously announced. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. According to Gematsu, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Pā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Reveal Trailer Drops Wednesday
We have an official name for Ubisoft’s new Assassin’s Creed game in Japan now. Goodbye, Assassin’s Creed Codename Red, and hello, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The gaming giant announced that a reveal trailer will drop on May 15th (Wednesday) at 9 AM PT/12 PM ET. https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/17900ā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Designated Demigod Announced for PC
Publisher Armor Games Studios and developer AN Productions have announced a turn-based combo RPG named Designated Demigod. While there was no release date announced, Designated Demigod will be available for PC via Steam. The reveal trailer, as well as details about the game from its Steam page, areā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Dragon Age: Dreadwolf to Launch This Financial Year, New Report Says
“A threat looms in Thedas” These five words, set against a murky purple background, are what greet those who visit EA’s home page for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. Although a recent Eurogamer report has the next installment of this beloved Western RPG series due out by the end of the financial year endingā¦ Read More »- Article
- Random Encounter
- Podcast
Random Encounter 296 – Indie Game Dev: Lil’ Guardsman
On this episode of Random Encounter, Jono invites twoĀ of theĀ folks behind the recent indie gameĀ Lil’ GuardsmanĀ onto the show to chat about its development. Back inĀ the early days of the pandemic, Toronto-based composer Scott Christian and his business partner Artiom Komarov made the remarkable decisā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
RPGs Coming This Week, 5/12/24
So continues the golden age of roguelikes… (technically “roguelites”, if the distinction matters to you). Hot off the heels of Hades IIāwhich dropped the day after our last columnāthree more ultra-hard, procedurally generated affairs will soon hit storefronts. Also on the way are a long-anticipateā¦ Read More »- Review
Sand Land
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 āfun in the sun,ā even if parts of it might leave you feeling burned. Sand Lanā¦ Read More »- Music Review
Wargroove 2 Original Soundtrack
The expectations put on a sequel are always great. The next movie has to be better, the next game has to improve the mechanics, the next book has to have even more suspense and tie up loose ends, and so on and so forth. Soundtracks, however, have a lot more freedom than most other elements in a sequā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Reynatis Launches September 27th; TWEWY Crossover Announced
Publisher NIS America and developers FuRyu and Natsume Atari have announced a September 27th release date for Reynatis. They also confirmed a special collaboration with another action RPG that takes place in the streets of Shibuya:Ā NEO: The World Ends With You.Ā What was once anĀ April Fool’s jokeĀ hasā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Welsh Myth-Inspired The Land Beneath Us Launches May 13th
The Land Beneath Us developer FairPlay Studios and publisher Dear Villagers have shared a May 13th release date and new gameplay video (below) for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Taking inspiration from Welsh myth, The Land Beneath Us sends players to the depths ofā¦ Read More »- Article
- Retro Encounter
- Podcast
Retro Encounter 416 – Persona 3 Reload
Are you courageous enough to try Retro Encounter yet? Back in February,Ā PersonaĀ 3 Reload released, much to the delight of many on staff, So, this week, two veterans ofĀ PersonaĀ 3 and one newbie get together to chat aboutĀ PersonaĀ 3 Reload. How does this one compare to the rest of the series?ā¦ Read More »- Review
Cryptmaster
Iāve never played an RPG quite like Cryptmaster. Thatās thirty points (ā¢) right there. Yet, while simple and unique in its execution, Iād 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 wouldnāt say verbosity andā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Charming RPG WitchSpring R to Launch on Consoles This August
Developer KiwiWalks has announced that, a year after its PC release,Ā WitchSpring RĀ will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on August 29th.Ā If theĀ AtelierĀ series is something you’re into, keep an eye out for physical pre-orders soon from your local retailer of choice. PS5 owners can alsā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
New SteamWorld Heist II Trailer Showcases Gunplay, Jobs, and More
Thunderful Games and developer Image & Form Games have released a new gameplay trailer for SteamWorld Heist II, bringing players a deep dive into its gameplay and features. It focuses on its turn-based gunplay, new job system, and a coterie of hand-crafted foes to face. Check it out below! Steamā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Realm of Ink Spills Into Early Access May 17th
Developers Leap Studio and Maple Leaf Studio are ready to spill some ink early! The studios have announced that Realm of Ink is hitting Early Access for PC via Steam on May 17th. This initial version will give players plenty of content to chew on before the full release later this year. It’s also exā¦ Read More »- Feature
Retro Encounter Final Thoughts: Arc the Lad
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 serā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code to Get ‘Plus’ Release on PS5, Xbox, and PC
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is getting released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on July 18th as Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+. It originally came out on June 30th, 2023, as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. According to a May 7th post on the game’s Twitter/X page (beā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Hades II Hits Early Access, Smashes Player Records
Hades II, the follow-up to the hit action RPG slash roguelite by Supergiant Games, dropped into Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store on Monday. It’s since leapfrogged the original game’s chart records, notching more than 103,000 concurrent players as of May 7th, according to SteamDB. It’sā¦ Read More »- Article
- Preview
Prescription for Sleep: Heavenly Avatar Exclusive Video Preview
Why, it feels like not even a year ago we were talking about Scarlet Moon’s Prescription for Sleep series. Probably because it was on May 9th, 2023 that we talked about Volume III! Today we have another exclusive video preview for the latest album in the series – Prescription for Sleep: Heavenly Avaā¦ Read More »- Review
Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide
After finishing The Rising Tide’s main story, I was ready to write that it’s basically as essential as Echoes of the Fallen: it’s not, but it’s a fun diversion for fans of Final Fantasy XVI.Ā But then something important happened: more side quests opened up. More hunts, more story, and ā most importā¦ Read More »- Article
- Rhythm Encounter
- Podcast
Rhythm Encounter 134 – Masashi Hamauzu Spotlight
Whether or not you need an introduction to Masashi Hamauzu’s music, we’ve got something for you. From some well-known to lesser-known Final Fantasy pieces to some classic Square Enix games, our panel dug in to ensure we covered a lot of ground in Hamauzu’s history as a composer and arranger. So joinā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
RPGs Coming This Week, 5/5/24
On this edition of RPGs Coming This Week: cute and spoopy, sometimes even both in the same game. Seriously, developers are really starting to get creative with their concepts, and the three new releases this week exemplify that perfectly. Let’s dive in, shall we? Plushie from the Sky ā May 6th (Windā¦ Read More »- Article
- Retro Encounter
- Podcast
Retro Encounter 415 – Arc the Lad II
Elc the Kid Arc the Lad II is an improvement over the first in nearly every way, as a more dramatic, dynamic, and lengthy PS1 RPG only held back by some technical limitations, a lack of save points, and an excess of towers. Four Retro Encounter panelists played Arc the Lad II last month, and this gaā¦ Read More »- Music Review
The 7th Saga Soundtrack Composer’s Edition
Of all the soundtracks to go without publication and finally see the light of day 30 years later, I never would have guessed The 7th Saga. The mere fact that this album exists is noteworthy. In this review, I devote equal attention to this soundtrack’s unlikely existence and the quality of the musicā¦ Read More »Feature
Crowdfunding Chronicles: Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy
I’ve always had a soft spot for the detailed isometric graphics of 90’s CRPGs, and it’s nice to see their influence still taking hold in our modern year of 2024. Introducing Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy, the next exciting adventure by the developers of Atom RPG.- Music Review
Slay the Princess Live
Prior to the release of Slay the Princess’ upcoming Pristine Cut, the developers at Black Tabby Games released a content update patch that offers an extended “true ending” and some other small scenario additions/changes to the game. Alongside this update, they integrated some music that had been inā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Times & Galaxy Set for Takeoff This June
Developer Copychase Games and publisher Fellow Traveller have announced a June release for point-and-click adventure game Times & Galaxy, which is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Humble Store. If you’re like some of us at RPGFanā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
Sci-Fi ARPG GALIX: New Horizons to Hit PS5, PC
Developer MagicFish Games has announced a new action RPG project titled GALIX: New Horizons. A release date has not been announced as of this writing, but the game’s Steam page has a bevy of details to relay. There’s also a trailer that you can view below. GALIX: New Horizons Overview Setting out onā¦ Read More »- Article
- News
The Detective Reaper Invites Players to Impose Judgment May 25th
Developer Shizu Kano Umi and publisher PLAYISM have announced that roguelite adventure game The Detective Reaper Invites will be available for PC via Steam starting May 25th. Here’s a trailer that quickly goes over gameplay. Looking for details? We’ve got details from PLAYISM below. The Detective Reā¦ Read More »- Article
- News