Knights of Pen and Paper is a game oozing with tabletop RPG-inspired nostalgia. Those that love customizing and building their own teams while blasting through a ton of turn-based battles will immediately fall in love with this game. You will gravely disappointed if you’re looking for anything beyond that though (ie. a story with depth, or varied forms of content). All in all, it does a pretty good job simulating a night around a game table with friends, minus the pile of Cheeto crumbs and half-consumed mountain dew cans.
Ultimately, Little Dragon’s Cafe is worth pushing through its overly-lengthy tutorial because once it completely opens up to you, it is genuinely a joy to play. Is it for everyone? Maybe not, especially when you consider the performance issues and the price. Little Dragon’s Cafe is a $60 game, and may not be worth the cost of admission to those that are simply “interested” in it. A game like Stardew Valley can scratch a similar simulation experience itch for a much lower entry fee, albeit in a different way (2D farming and combat vs 3D dragons and cooking). It’s really going to boil down to what you favor gameplay/aesthetic-wise as to whether the game should be a “buy now” or “wait for sale” kind of thing.
Cattails is surprisingly fun and full of depth despite suffering from some design and mechanical setbacks.
An RPG that teaches us that more than just obesity can come out of consuming an excessive amount of food.
While not a perfect game, nor will it be for everyone, Atelier Rorona can easily provide hours of entertainment for those that dig time management, intricate crafting mechanics, and especially multiple endings/playthroughs. Resource management is a must in order to get the most out of the experience, and your familiarity with the franchise may end up affecting the overall opinion you form of the title when it stands on its own. As I’ve come to experience first hand, growing pains might detract some from fully appreciating the game, especially if you aren’t interesting in playing through it more than once. That said, the core mechanics have certainly piqued my interest, and I’m genuinely looking forward to my next outing in Arland, and there will be another soon!
The Arland series thus far – especially Meruru – has taught me that going out of my comfort zone with RPGs can be quite a rewarding endeavor.
The Atelier Arland series continues to amaze me in ways I never expected from the outset. Atelier Totori, like Rorona before it, features deep, engaging gameplay systems which demand thinking and strategy despite people frolicking around in what is to be considered the alchemical equivalent of “tutus.” The story isn’t going to be the driving force of the whole experience, but it does have the potential to wrap up neatly enough in the end. The pacing here is so much smoother than that of Rorona, to the point that I wish that this would have been my first foray into Arland. Alas, you really should play Rorona before diving into this one, unless you don’t care about the story and characters whatsoever. That said, if you enjoyed Rorona, definitely give this one a go. It won’t blow your socks off, but it is still worth your time.
If you can get past its graphical and technical shortcomings, My Time At Portia is a lot of fun. There are many things to do, sights to see, products to craft, and relationships to cultivate – really, there are hours upon hours of content for those that enjoy multi-layered, but easygoing grinds. You have to be in it for the long haul though – nothing in Portia comes without an equal amount of effort put in first.
Evoland Legendary Edition successfully throws back to many scenarios along the adventure / RPG timeline, and is something that I think everyone should experience.
Some interesting development decisions and job balance woes rough up the experience a bit, but it is still a solid choice for rogue-like and Final Fantasy fans alike.
While not perfect by any means, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa is an excellent visual and storytelling piece thats journey – and conclusion – might very well stick with you for a long time to come.
The enhancements fitted to Atelier Lulua easily make it the most approachable game in the subseries, despite it not being completely free of faults.
This love letter to Kunio-kun fans combines the best of classic beat’em-up action and RPG progression with all the charming trappings the series is known for.
If you’re not deterred by its unsightly graphics and obvious budget constraints, Ambition Record is a bite-sized adventure worth your time.
Despite a few oddities, Mary Skelter: Nightmares is easily one of the better DRPGs on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s only half of the Mary Skelter 2 package.
While not the de facto budget-friendly tactical RPG, Legend of Ixtona does enough to be worth your consideration.
Atelier Sophie has never been better.
Atelier Shallie may not be the pinnacle of the Dusk subseries, but it helped pave the way for the modern Atelier experience many know and love today.
Mercenaries Rebirth is a clear step in the right direction for the budget-friendly tactical RPG series, but it will need to continue to improve to be exceptional.
All things considered, Dying Light: Platinum Edition is one of the better open-world RPGs currently available on the Nintendo Switch.