For people who enjoyed the vibes of Monster Hunter, but found the challenging, highly technical action combat to be overwhelming, Capcom came up with the Monster Hunter Stories series. The first two were enjoyable, but with Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, Capcom has landed on something really special indeed. It also feels like Capcom’s response to criticism that has…
Late last year, Square Enix released Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Remakes are normal, but remaking a game without remaking its prequels? That’s strange. Narratively, though, it makes sense: Dragon Quest III is a prequel to Dragon Quest I and II. Today, Square Enix announced that Dragon Quest I &…
Read MoreLike its predecessors, Death end re;Quest: Code Z looks like it should be a pretty standard Idea Factory JRPG. You’ve got cute anime girls, most of them with very large assets, and magical girl-style transformation screens that make full use of those assets for maximum impact. Then you have long…
Read MoreOne of my first observations about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, was that it was very, very French. Having no idea about the developer prior to playing it, I immediately said to myself, “This is a French game.” Then I saw all the jokes about it being a “J’RPG” and realised…
Read MoreEven if you don’t know the name FuRyu, you may be familiar with some of its titles, including The Legend of Legacy and Reynatis. Today, the Japanese developer/publisher announced Varlet, an immersive, story-driven high school RPG that challenges players to explore the duality of their own nature. (If you want…
Read MoreWe, long-suffering SaGa fans, have been utterly inundated with the franchise over the past 12 months or so. First, there was SaGa: Emerald Beyond. Then there was the remake of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven (and arguably the finest SaGa game of all). And now we have the…
Read MoreFollowing their cancellation for Nintendo Switch, Idea Factory International surprised its Western fans when it announced that the classic canonical Hyperdimension Re;Birth trilogy will be coming to PlayStation 4 players sometime this year. Today, the publisher released each game’s opening movie that showcases their casts.…
Read MoreIt’s been quite the year for fans of niche JRPG properties. First, there was the Suikoden collection a month ago, and now it’s Lunar’s turn. Originally released for the Sega Mega CD, the first two titles in the series were pioneering and beloved titles that somehow never converted into something…
Read MoreThe release of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth trilogy in the West didn’t go to plan; the three games were supposed to launch for Western Nintendo Switch consoles last May to coincide with their Japanese release, but Nintendo decided that games did not comply with its guidelines and all were cancelled…
Read MoreI remain very impressed with any developer that takes a swing at a Soulslike. In fact, post-Elden Ring, I’m possibly even more impressed by the gonads it takes to try and develop one. This is a genre that is so overwhelmingly dominated by one company’s creative vision, and any other…
Read MoreXenoblade Chronicles X was arguably the most ambitious game to land on the Nintendo Wii U (you could argue that Breath of the Wild was, but then most people see that as a Switch game and forget that there was a Wii U version as well… and all this is…
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