In recent years the release of new entries in the Dragon Quest series hasn’t been very frequent. Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest IX have nevertheless been around long enough to warrant a Backtrack, and here it is.
It was a time when relatively few RPGs crossed the Pacific, and not all of those that did were memorable. For our 200th episode, talking about the most operatic Final Fantasy on the Super Nintendo just seemed like a great idea — and it was.
Nintendo keeps putting Mario into the RPG realm, so it’s time to catch up with the 3DS installments that aren’t remakes. It’s also time to reflect a bit on the very first time Mario entered an RPG.
A little title about exploring a large swathe of the galaxy, originally released on the PC and later on the Genesis, hasn’t seen a new installment in decades but still inspires fond memories. This is the story of Starflight and its sequel.
After over 77,000 Kickstarter backers contributed to Obsidian’s campaign, a new title named Pillars of Eternity came to pass. We have quite a bit to say about this title that deliberately evokes the PC RPGs of a now-bygone era.
The 3DS saw some later Etrian Odyssey games that changed the core principles a bit. Two of them added significant narratives, and another mixed in...
Developers were once consumed by the need to push technological prowess as much as possible, but in recent years a smorgasbord of titles that evoke earlier generations has been created. We here tackle a hefty helping of this sort of RPG, using a lineup that varies wildly in style and quality.
Just when it seemed safe to talk about the seventh Dragon Quest, it was remade for the 3DS. Now that a little time has passed and the official Backtrack Statute of Limitations has expired, we can discuss this sizable title.
The time has come to delve further into the twisty world of Pokémon in its fifth and sixth generations. Unexpectedly, since he never played a game in the series, we also pay tribute to Macstorm with this episode.
The Saturn received a number of exclusive titles that have yet to be ported elsewhere, and among them were several Working Designs gems. One that...
Three-dimensional visuals are used by most developers now. Vanillaware is an important exception to that trend, and its Dragon’s Crown, Odin Sphere and Muramasa demonstrate just how nice two-dimensional things can look.
Arc Rise Fantasia is a game that received something of a bad deal when it was localized, and even now hasn’t been experienced by many. ...
Previous Fire Emblem titles were self-contained, but Fates is a different experience in its structure. Nintendo and Intelligent Systems made some interesting decisions here, and we delve into them at length.
Once upon a time we managed to sustain an episode of the Backtrack that talked about Disgaea for an astoundingly long time. Even more games...
The Langrisser series has only come across the Pacific legitimately on two occasions in different centuries, and neither is the high point of a venerable...
Radiant Historia was a fairly late release for the DS, and garnered quite a devoted following from those who were able to obtain it. Now...
A massive series from Capcom called Monster Hunter involves exactly what the title implies. Once the thrill of Monster Hunter gets into someone’s blood it...
In a world with little life left and lots of clues about what went wrong, a young man must puzzle a way to survive. This...
Completing the localization of Trails in the Sky’s Second Chapter was not a task for the lighthearted, but XSEED eventually persevered. This episode details why...
Tales games just keep coming, and a couple of more recent ones come under the microscope today. One was embraced by almost everyone while the...
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