In a time when Final Fantasy VII introduced the world to a “cinematic” JRPG experience, Suikoden II maintained an old-school 2D approach. For that reason, the latter was mostly overlooked until its re-release on the PlayStation Network over a decade later. The story picks up from the original Suikoden, with…
Read MoreGust’s conclusion to its Dusk trilogy is certainly as downbeat as it starts. The world is slowly dying as an encroaching ‘dusk’ expands, takes over and corrupts everything. Oceans have replaced water for sand, the ground is littered with bleached bone, vegetation is scarce and communities are shrinking as they…
Read MoreNippon Ichi’s The Guided Fate Paradox was a truly lovely surprise when it launched back in 2013. A new IP for the developer/ publisher, it was a roguelike that managed to do a couple of creative things with its combat system and bring innovation to a genre more traditionally associated…
Read MoreOreshika: Tainted Bloodlines combines some old JRPG sensibilities with a good number of interesting twists that make this title fresh yet familiar at the same time. This creates a comfortable mix that sometimes lacks the depth of narrative we have come to expect from the JRPG genre, while still giving…
Read MoreWhen a console approaches the end of its life, the kinds of games that you see on it are stuff like Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters. However, where many of these kinds of budget productions are quick cash-ins on an increasingly starved audience, desperate to play anything new on their fading…
Read MoreAny long term fan of JRPGs will attest to something along the lines of a ten-percent rule, which states that the first ten percent of any JRPG will also be its worst segment. It makes perfect sense, since the genre is all about building up your characters and you can’t…
Read MoreThe Hyperdimension Neptunia series has been kicking for several years now and, despite its polarising otaku-centric qualities, has impressively reached a point where demand is sufficient that western fans are getting at least six releases in a year’s time. That release schedule would make Mario blush; poor protagonist Neptune must…
Read MoreHyperdimension Neptunia is clearly an important and commercially successful franchise for Compile Heart and Idea Factory. After three “main” JRPG releases on the PlayStation 3, ports of all three to the PlayStation Vita, and the first PC release in the franchise, we’ve also seen the publisher experiment with bringing the…
Read MoreDark Souls II was a difficult game for me. I certainly enjoyed it (as you can see from my review), but by the same token I found myself challenged by the progression of the franchise. As a hardcore fan of From Software’s King’s Field franchise, I enjoyed the way Demon’s…
Read MoreKemco is one of the oldest game publishers in the industry, having been around since the 80s. Recently it has been targeting fans of JRPGs on both the iOS and the Android platforms with a very rapid series of classic-style JRPGs on mobile. I’ve played more than a few of…
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