The 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 for that platform. And that seemed like the end of…
I 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…
Xenoblade Chronicles X was arguably the most ambitious game to land on…
Back in 2019, Koei Tecmo hit it big with Atelier Ryza, and…
If you’re a fan of Square Enix, you’ll probably know the company’s current line-up of upcoming JRPGs, and amongst your Dragon Quests and Final Fantasies is Valkyrie Elysium, releasing as early as September 29 for PS4 and PS5, and on Steam on November 11! But there’s a lot more to…
Read More
There are a couple of different ways that you can approach an apocalypse in art. In most cases, artists depict desperately grim stuff, and that approach makes sense given that in these stories humanity is close to (or experiencing) extinction and mere survival in a harsh, traumatic world is a…
Read More
Square Enix continues on its drive to remake, remaster, or re-release just about every game from its classic library. The next title to get a makeover is Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song. A game that many fans would say is one of the best of the publisher’s best B-tier JRPG property.…
Read More
We’ve seen China grow rapidly as an international game development hub, and one of the most exciting things about that nations’ game development scene is that they seem to be every bit as enamoured with the RPG format as their neighbours in Japan. Codename: Wandering Sword is basically “what if…
Read More
The release of a The Legend of Heroes game is always an exciting event. This series has, over quite some time now, bubbled along as the JRPG for the most committed JRPG fans, with rich worldbuilding, character writing, and classical JRPG combat coming together to produce something that isn’t necessarily…
Read More
I love Fairy Fencer F, and not just because one of the characters, Tiara, has a short skirt that bounces around nicely as she runs around, and some lovely blue panties underneath. I mean, that doesn’t hurt matters, but it’s not the reason I love the game. In all sincerity,…
Read More
Seven Pirates H has hit my limit. I am more than happy to whip out Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, Gal*Gun, Hyperdimesnion Neptunia, Nekopara, or any other fanservicey Switch game that you can think of on the train or any other public space. I just don’t care if people look…
Read More
Nippon Ichi is at its best when it is at its most inscrutable and inaccessible. The more heavily a NIS game’s humour leans into a surrealistic anime-style over-the-top tone (whether for comic effect or otherwise), and the more numbers the game can throw at players, the more they tend to…
Read More
Sword and Fairy might not have the same prestige attached to it worldwide as Final Fantasy, but it’s no exaggeration to say that it is the Final Fantasy of China. The series has been around since 1995, and has been so popular in its homeland that it has spawned everything…
Read More
This week, an absolutely fascinating story landed on my feet. Someone had spent 1,600 hours plugging away at RPG Maker MV on the Nintendo Switch to produce a JRPG, which they released this week. To emphasise: I’m not talking about the PC RPG Maker MV – we get plenty of…
Read More