Review by Matt S. In some ways, the success of NieR: Automata has cursed Yoko Taro. Following the profound success of that game, people now expect him to be subversive and deep, sharply funny and wildly creative with everything that he touches. Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars is not…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Dungeon Encounters is quirky and different enough that it’s easy to overlook or put to the side. Square Enix almost forgot it was even making it, announcing it at TGS about a month from release. I joke (I’m sure the timing of the announcement was deliberate),…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. Over on YouTube, we try and fit in at least a couple of streams each week, mostly to give you the first hour or so of various interesting, quirky or different games. We’re still figuring out the exact schedule for these, but in the meantime, don’t…
Read MoreReview by Alex Kidman. One of the biggest surprises of the most recent Nintendo Direct was the announcement of Actraiser Renaissance. Long-held as one of the early jewels of the SNES library, it was an utterly dormant IP, right up until the moment it was revealed for a quick release…
Read MoreRetro reflections by Matt S. I don’t think that Final Fantasy – the pioneering original on the NES – is the best game in the series. I don’t even think that Final Fantasy on the NES is the best version of Final Fantasy. However, I have this almost ritualistic need…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Like most people, I wasn’t sure how a sequel to The World Ends With You would work. Like most, I wanted one, but the original game was so noteworthy because of the integral way that it used two screens on the Nintendo DS. That is something…
Read MoreArticle by Matt S. There’s no point in reviewing the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, right? We’re talking about a bunch of classics that have been written about to death over decades now, and you absolutely know whether you like them or not by now. However, Square Enix has done these…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. One of the nicer (if smaller-scale) announcements that came out of E3 this year was that Square Enix was going to do new re-releases of the first six Final Fantasy games. This “Final Fantasy Pixel” remaster series was going to be closer in tone and aesthetic…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. As I was playing Legend of Mana, I found myself constantly wondering at just how innovative and beautiful this game must have seemed back on the PlayStation, where it originally released in 1999 (2000 in North America). On its art and aesthetics alone, this is one…
Read MoreOpinion by Matt S. Square Enix announced a bevvy of new Dragon Quest remakes and new projects today. Most of them are good, exciting announcements, suggesting that the series might be hitting a new purple patch. Rather than summarise them all, I’ll just link you to the various Gematsu stories,…
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