RPG Backtrack – Episode 120: “You Could Wake Up Dead Tomorrow”
Blizzard once had an idea to send players through the realms of the afterlife, beating up the locals and grabbing whatever desirable things they happened...
Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl Review
It takes an intrepid group of explorers to delve deep into an unexplored labyrinth, especially when they have to haul away freshly severed creature parts to craft better gear. The cast of this game might look young, but clearly has had great practice stifling the gag reflex. Fresh body parts for your backpack, yay!
RPG Backtrack – Episode 119: “We Can Be Heroes”
Falcom has a storied development history, and one of its larger series saw multiple versions before ending up on the PSP for a few installments....
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness Retroview
Some series are able to flit between genres successfully. Arc the Lad did not prove to be one of them, and this game helps explain why the series hasn’t been seen in a long time.
Agarest: Generations of War Review
If simply tossing many hours at a game is all that is necessary to deem it worthwhile, Agarest certainly qualifies.
RPG Backtrack – Episode 118: “Can’t We Get Beyond Thunderdome?”
The ruins of the central Atlantic region of the US are open to in-depth exploration, as Bethesda takes a crack at the post-apocalyptic future. Thinking...
Boot Hill Heroes Review
Cowgirls and Indians, mixed up with despicable outlaws gunning for every law-abiding citizen. The Western is an uncommon setting for an RPG, but this game shows it can work with a little effort.
The lawman is on his way.
RPG Backtrack – Episode 117: “The Shadow Knows”
Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu, and Akira Toriyama got together again to inaugurate Mistwalker as a studio. The results were unfortunately not up to the standard...
Arc the Lad III Retroview
In a world rent asunder and struggling to recapture its former glory, Hunters are needed to keep things from getting too bad. Welcome to the life of one, and get ready to do a lot of jobs in the name of public order – along with sillier reasons.
RPG Backtrack – Episode 116: “The Secret Ingredient”
Gust makes a long-running, plentiful series that doesn’t adhere to many of the usual RPG stereotypes. Here’s a trilogy of them on the PS3, sporting...
Fallout 2 Retroview
The nuclear apocalypse ended centuries ago, but that means humanity had plenty of time to get back into a fighting mood. This is despite all the radioactively-adapted wildlife running around, which illustrates how short-sighted people can be. Those giant scorpions were living naturally, when I came along and filled their exoskeletons full of holes.
RPG Backtrack – Episode 115: “Dust in the Wind”
After the first Fallout, eight decades passed before a new hero had to undertake a quest. That quest involved meeting a number of strange new...
Arc the Lad II Retroview
Most lads aren’t wanted by dangerous megalomaniacs seeking world conquest, but Arc is unique. His second game is a much more varied experience than the first, and worth seeking out by the tactical audience.
RPG Backtrack – Episode 114: “Ogres in My Pocket”
It’s Yasumi Matsuno’s vast Ogre world, but the game format for this bunch is rather different than March of the Black Queen. Just because things...
RPG Backtrack – Episode 113: “Over Level 9000!”
Nippon Ichi has made a number of other titles over the years, but a certain series took off in the public imagination and continues to...
Arc the Lad Retroview
Plenty of young men get called lads at some point in their early years, but most of them aren’t named Arc. Exactly why he’s a lad is open to question, since his deeds are not childlike in stature.
Bravely Default Review
Applying financial terminology to fantasy worlds could produce other fascinating titles in the future. Is it possible to Cautiously Mortgage, Lazily Foreclose, Furiously Equitize, or Nobly Deficit? These questions are not answered by this game.
Eek! Don’t make an ‘O’ with the mouth, characters!
RPG Backtrack – Episode 112: “You’re a Real Ogre”
An early Yasumi Matsuno title on the SNES remains a complex and rewarding experience, while its direct sequel provides one of the few opportunities we...
RPG Backtrack – Episode 111: “After the Apocalypse”
The world would have been a different place had World War III happened, and the early Fallout titles showed a number of ways that the...
RPG Backtrack – Episode 110: “Marvel’s Civil War”
No longer able to contain its use of Marvel characters to just the X-Men, Raven Software went all-out for a grand spectacle with the license....
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