It’s been a difficult few years for Level-5, from the highs of the likes of Professor Layton, Ni No Kuni and Yo-Kai Watch a decade ago to the lows of… well, everything that it’s done with those properties in recent years. Level-5 just hasn’t been the same company since the 3DS days. Thankfully, it seems it has just been a…
Dragon Quest Treasures is a very chill, very laid-back game. It doesn’t ask too much of the player, but gives them a wonderful, vibrant world to explore, filled with sparkly treasure to loot. It would never work as a numbered Dragon Quest – it’s too limited for that – but…
Read MoreCrisis Core is one of the better efforts to take a beloved classic video game (in this case, Final Fantasy VII) and build on it. In this case, it’s a prequel. It’s a depiction of the leadup to the legendary events that feature Cloud and his team, and is so…
Read MoreThere was a statement floating around social media on the weekend stating “JRPGs were made during an era that didn’t have the tools to create action RPGs. Nowadays the average gamer doesn’t want random turn-based combats that don’t make any sense.” I don’t know who said that (I saw a…
Read MoreLabyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk was one of those lesser-known dungeon crawlers that was actually very good. Now there’s a successor on the way courtesy of NISA, called Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society, and it too is looking very good. The plot, as we know it so far,…
Read MoreI have had the opportunity to get some good hands-on time with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion, the remake of a PSP classic and one of the very few Final Fantasy games that I hadn’t played previously. I absolutely love this thing. From my preview of the first…
Read MoreI’ve had the chance to settle down and get stuck into a substantial chunk of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion, and I am so impressed with this game. It’s the first time I’ve played it (I missed it on PSP for years), and yeah, it’s really, really enjoyable.…
Read MoreParenting is never easy in real life, and the same can often be said of video games. Sure, sometimes the kids just raise themselves – but other times, the player needs to take on an active role in their child’s (or children’s) life. I’m relatively new to games about raising…
Read MoreWith Pokémon Violet and Scarlet, it feels like Game Freak has come full circle. What the company set out to achieve with the original Red and Blue, way back on the Game Boy, is effectively exactly the same as what the team has looked to do with this game. It’s…
Read MoreThere has been a deluge of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory-likes in recent years. Square Enix, bringing the resources of a large publisher to bear, has made the best of them. Harvestella is the new benchmark for the genre, combining breathtaking aesthetics, superb characterisation, and – the first time I’ve…
Read MoreIt might be a remake of a remake, but Tactics Ogre Reborn is one of the greatest games of its genre. It effectively established the genre, many years ago, and has barely lost anything in the years since. I have to hope that Square Enix has prepared this release to…
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