RPG Site's Reviews
Fantasian is a wonderful JRPG, and now it's even better and accessible to all platforms.
Dragon Quest III returns with it's first new remake in years, recapturing the spirit of what made the original so special.
Slay the Princess was a brilliant experience last year on PC, and one I considered on par in many ways with Disco Elysium narratively. With Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut, Black Tabby Games and Serenity Forge have improved upon, added to, and enhanced the core experience enough to have among my favorite games of the year, and one I recommend to anyone interested in unique visual novels and horror games.
Mario & Luigi Brothership is the biggest and boldest the series has ever been, with some novel battle mechanics and colorful presentation. However, an overstuffed runtime and exhausting pacing severely dilute the experience in both narrative and gameplay. Had Brothership been a snappier, more compact entry, it could have been one of the best in the series, but as it is, we're left with an enjoyable game that overstays its welcome once again.
Astlibra's DLC is an excellent addition to the fantastic title, however, it's hard to recommend as a standalone title for players who have never played the original.
Yakuza Kiwami on Switch offers a competent handheld experience despite visual cutbacks, and the addition of licensed music in the West is welcome.
But though it's ultimately held back its shortcomings, the other highs of Dragon Age: The Veilguard - its characters, its storytelling, and its sense of personality - make the game easy to like despite the flaws. The issues may be harder to look past for some, but others will find joy in the things it does do well.
The unique approach to genre staples may not be for everyone, but for anyone looking to check out one of Square's legacy franchises, I’d recommend Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven in a heartbeat, or at the very least check out the free demo that’s out and see for your self. Regardless, it’s great to see new life being breathed into the franchise, and I hope Romancing SaGa 3 receives a similar remake treatment one day as well.
While individually Card-en-Ciel's decks offer a fun and engaging time as you learn to play around them, if anything Grand Battle dungeons seem emblematic of the game's own worst flaws. Inti-Creates had a great idea for a gameplay system, and it's charming to see them use their own IPs as fodder for the cards to populate these systems - but at the end of the day, it feels like they simply didn't know how to design a full game around the system they'd envisioned. Card-en-Ciel isn't a bad game by any means, but you can very much feel the limits of what the team could deliver; maybe the gameplay will be enough to make it worth your while, but it's hard to give a strong recommendation when so much of the experience feels disjointed and threadbare.
I come away from Ys X: Nordics more than satisfied with its renewed battle mechanics, but unfulfilled with most of the rest of the game that surrounds it. Ship navigation and island exploration never manage to become compelling, and the narrative largely falls flat. If you come to the Ys series primarily for entertaining combat, you'll have a blast - I just wish it was a little less lopsided.
Enotria: The Last Song, is ultimately another serviceable entry in the genre that can be embraced by Soulslike fans with a colorful aesthetic and original storyline. The clunky combat should annoy me more, but the game’s commitment to the bit won me over by the end. It may not always sing, but Enotria: The Last Song deserves credit for at least being able to carry a tune.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is an amazing game. I fully completed it in 75 hours and enjoyed it the entire way through. Though it may suffer from a few blemishes, such as its lackluster graphical fidelity in some areas and performance optimization issues, what it brings to the table is utterly compelling. It is a huge RPG adventure that celebrates Atlus’ history as it combines some of the best ideas from many of its previous titles into a lovely fantasy setting. The amount of detail put into Metaphor: ReFantazio’s worldbuilding and characters is captivating. Plus, the flow of its combat system’s interactions with the extensive Archetype job classes is a ton of fun. I’m always a big fan of when developers decide to tackle a brand-new IP, and Atlus knocked it out of the park with Metaphor: ReFantazio.
The result is a game that is the definition of a truly mixed experience - but if you take the rough and under-developed with the smooth and innovative, there’s a lot of fun to be had. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is perhaps a victim of being part of a series that has one of the highest batting averages of any franchise out there - what is ‘good’ by Zelda standards is great to many other franchises and publishers. This is by no means the earth-shaker that some Zelda games are - but it sits up there with many other classic 2D Zeldas just fine. I just wish Zelda herself felt a bit more defined and present throughout, given this is her first true playable debut.
Reynatis is, unfortunately like many other titles in FuRyu's catalog, an underwhelming RPG. In fact, FuRyu has continued to provide a good case study on why we probably shouldn't solely deify individual creators without acknowledging the full ensembles required to make beloved games. But as it is, we're left with an RPG that is average at best, messy & forgettable at worst. I've played most of FuRyu's output, continuing to look for a game that I can easily recommend to fans of the genre. While some games have been better than others, Reynatis doesn't break through the mediocrity. Maybe next time.
Capcom's done right by Ace Attorney in recent years, bringing it to modern platforms with a few convenient enhancements and in the doing, adding dozens of hours more of some of gaming's best storytelling to enjoy.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Isekai Chronicles strives to retell a chunk of Rimuru’s story, but does so through this medium to limited success. A relatively static presentation and repetitive combat system make this a difficult entry point for series newcomers, while fans of the series may question some of the design choices as missed opportunities to fully translate Rimuru’s adventure from page to screen.
More than just a blast from the past, Emio fully revitalizes the Famicom Detective Club series, making it better than ever before.
Visions of Mana is the first mainline Mana game in nearly two decades and, despite some issues, is a great step forward for the series.
Gundam Breaker 4 is like watching an old friend rebound from tough times. It may not be as great as its mainline predecessors in some regards, but it is a solid course correction from the last few dire entries. The repetitive stages and diluted weapon options are a noticeable step back, yet so many quality-of-life improvements to this new entry in the gunpla action RPG series make it much a smoother experience to play. While completing the main story took me roughly around 17 hours, I'm just about to reach the 60 hour mark because I keep making entire new gunpla builds to take on the highest difficulty stages on their own. It takes virtual model kit building to the next level and the potential of crafting something truly masterful, or horrific, is only limited by a person’s imagination.
Despite my unearned misgivings at the game's initial announcement, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader somehow became likely my favorite title so far from Owlcat Games. Likely due to a combination of well-designed turned-based gameplay, a better focus of gameplay systems that don't needlessly detract from the core experience, and simply waiting for a few additional layers of polish to give the title a chance to be represented in the best manner possible. While still a little uneven in terms of gameplay progression and technical proficiency, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an engaging game that's brimming with things to discover and a uniquely compelling narrative that is at times both hopeful and poignant.