Alana Hagues Avatar Image

Alana Hagues


Favorite Games:
  • Skies of Arcadia
  • Final Fantasy IX
  • Xenogears

75 games reviewed
77.4 average score
80 median score
61.1% of games recommended

Alana Hagues's Reviews

Born in England, and living near Brighton, Alana has been writing about video games professionally since 2015. Her love of RPGs knows no bounds, she is particularly interested in Japanese RPGs, both old and new, but is always ready to try out the next big thing. A quick way to her heart is to mention Sega's classic Dreamcast RPG, Skies of Arcadia. As well as writing about video games, she runs RPGFan's Reviews and Previews department, and has been in charge there since 2016. You might also recognise her from Random and Retro Encounter - if you hear the British voice, you've found her. Outside of reviews, Alana loves to do nothing more than stay at home with her two dogs, read a book, maybe drink some coffee, and go on long, lonely walks along the beach no matter the weather. She also likes to make a lot of noise on Twitter, usually about her current non-review game.

It's impossible to talk about everything that makes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom so incredible, and making many of those discoveries yourselves is part of the magic. It's also impossible to overstate just how much there is to do in Hyrule this time around. Much like its predecessor, this is your playground for the next however many years to come, with a little sprinkling of that older Zelda fairy dust mixed into Breath of the Wild's formula. It's a glorious, triumphant sequel to one of the best video games of all time; absolute unfiltered bliss to lose yourself in for hundreds of hours. We can't wait to see what the world will do with the game.

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Mar 28, 2017

NieR: Automata improves on its predecessor in almost every way. It's thoughtful, inventive, subversive, and an absolute joy to play.

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In a series renowned for its stellar writing, twisting plots, and wonderful characters, The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a stand-out RPG. Narrowing the focus of its story to one state, and honing in on a smaller cast of characters, makes for a fantastic and engrossing adventure that is about both intimate relationships and huge, secretive scandals. The fact that this is just one half of a duology means that, while the story wraps up nicely here, we have tons of questions that we're itching to get answers to in Trails to Azure. If you haven't played Trails, it's time to overcome that barrier, because there's no better place to zero in on this fantastic series than in Crossbell.

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Feb 14, 2023

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is an utterly addictive, perfectly tuned celebration of all things Final Fantasy. It's a deceptively simple-looking game that, once you get under the hood, you'll discover it has teeth and demands practice and patience if you want to unlock everything. It gives back what you put into it, and we're struggling to put it down even now. We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the series' 35th anniversary, and this makes it a must-buy for Final Fantasy fans and rhythm game enthusiasts. How other storied, sprawling game series' haven't followed suit with their own rhythm games is baffling when the results can be this magical.

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Azure takes everything that's excellent about Zero and runs a marathon with it. It's one of the best-paced games in the series, with some of the best characters, best music, and easily the best setting. The Crossbell Arc is a hugely compelling two-parter that captures everything that makes the Trails series what it is perfectly, and Azure in particular deftly balances high-stakes drama, political intrigue, and poignant character moments. This is one Switch RPG we won't be feeling blue about anytime soon.

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Nov 15, 2023

Super Mario RPG is here in all of its weird, wonderful glory for a new generation to experience, and sets a new standard for how to do a faithful remake right. Delivering a beautifully preserved, pure experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry-point for genre newcomers, the game's infectious charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what might have been merely a simple RPG starring Mario.

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Mar 7, 2024

Even amidst a huge strategy RPG boom, Unicorn Overlord stands out. It's a smorgasbord of visual delights, intricate systems, and addictive gameplay loops that all come together to create a delightfully thrilling and deep tactical RPG. It's so easy to get absorbed into everything the game offers, and we lapped it all up. Vanillaware has long been known for creating beautiful-looking games with unique twists on genres, but with 13 Sentinels and now Unicorn Overlord, this developer should be on absolutely everyone's radar.

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For 20 years, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been held as the best Mario RPG of all time, and the Switch remake proves it has earned that title. This is a fantastic RPG adventure, whether you're a Mario fan or not, with some best-in-class combat, brilliant writing, and a few little creases ironed out to make this the definitive way to play Thousand-Year Door. We wish there was a little more to do post-credits, but there's no doubt about it, this is a beautiful-looking Switch remake and a must-play RPG.

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom should be the new standard for top-down Zelda going forward. Rather than abandoning the classic formula, Zelda has shown that the old and the new can come together and produce wonderful results that reward experimentation and reinforce the joy of play. This is easily in contention with A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds as one of the best top-down adventures in the series, and we hope we don't need to wait another 35 years for Zelda to take a starring role again.

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That doesn’t change the fact that if you own Vampire Survivors, Ode to Castlevania is utterly essential. It’s easily the best DLC for the game, which acts as an incredible tribute to one of our favourite franchises while retaining and expanding on Vampire Survivors' endlessly addictive loop. The pile of secrets waiting for you is anything but miserable, and we guarantee you'll be gobsmacked.

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90% - Undertale
Aug 15, 2017

If you haven't played Undertale, now is the time to pick up this modern classic.

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Valkyria Chronicles Remastered polishes up one of the best strategy games in recent memory and brings it to a new console. Buy it now.

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Jul 4, 2019

This is the Mana series as it should always be remembered.

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Apr 6, 2020

A refreshing re-imagining of the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, Remake is at times wonderful but at others audacious, and I'm here for the ride.

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You better bee-lieve how good this is.

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90% - Florence
Apr 3, 2019

For something that you can fit into a long lunch break, Florence is a beautiful and memorable story that has stuck with me ever since I finished it. I laughed and cried along with Florence as she made her way through life, and it helped me get through some particularly tough times. The developers at Mountains have done a phenomenal job at elevating an everyday story to a beautiful, whimsical and sometimes sad adventure, and they’ve reminded me that if things don’t work out, there’s always something else to look forward to.

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Final Fantasy V truly is the definition of a fiesta—a feast, a celebration, and a whole lot of fun.

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Feb 12, 2017

Tales of Berseria still has that same old Tales of feel, but it brings some much needed revitalisation to the series.

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Jun 21, 2020

Essential and powerful, but perhaps seek out the mobile version first.

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Feb 19, 2016

An extremely personal game which confronts cancer head on, it shines brightest when telling its story and examining the effects of grief.

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