The Tales series has a long history; 14 main games and a handful of side quests. Through that time there has been a remarkably consistent approach to game design and though there’s been general improvements and tweaks to the spreadsheets operating the game, for the player, there’s a familiarity about…
Read MoreI had never had the opportunity to play Earthbound before. That’s not from lack of desire to experience it, but being Australian means that I miss out on all kinds of classic RPGs (and a bunch of modern ones as well) that people rave about. However, Earthbound was an especially…
Read MoreIf I think carefully about what attracts me to the RPG genre and keeps me coming back for more, I can come up with a fairly definitive list of features. It’s a genre that has been my personal favourite since I discovered Dungeons & Dragons when I was about seven…
Read MoreTime and Eternity is one of the most unique JRPGs I have ever played. Given that I’ve played a lot of JRPGs that’s a pretty impressive feat. As a disclaimer up-front, this is a game that has been getting shocking reviews from many corners, and if you’re keen to read that…
Read MoreWhat do you get when you mix in a little bit of everything to a tactics strategy game? In the case of Project X Zone, what you get is moments of humorous dialogue sprinkled into a ridiculously thrown together story. And that makes for a fun game that is definitely…
Read MoreWhen it rains, it pours. Just last week I was praising the release of one classic JRPG on the 3DS Virtual Console after ruing the lack of its peers on the service. Not one week later another classic Game Gear JRPG has hit the service. Defenders of Oasis might be…
Read MoreEver since the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console started rolling out I have been waiting (and waiting) for the classic RPGs that I loved to play on the go to start hitting the store. Specifically of course I’m referring to the Game Boy’s Final Fantasy Legends games, but there were others,…
Read MoreThe original Denpa Men game was a charming, if somewhat shallow dungeon crawler with a cute AR gimmick for acquiring the weird men-things that would do the fighting and adventuring on your behalf. Ultimately it was charming, but lacked the all-important sensation of context to make the adventuring really stand…
Read MoreThere is an intensity to Soul Sacrifice that makes its minimalist plot and single-note theme feel more compelling than it has any right to be. I’m not sure if that intensity was a consequence of the developers being clever with a limited budget (Vita games don’t justify AAA-grade budgets, even…
Read MoreLet’s talk about why Code of Princess exists for a moment. Here is a game that is close to a first for the Nintendo 3DS; a full-priced retail game that was sold exclusively over the eShop in some parts of the world. Why not release it at retail? That’s easy,…
Read More