How is it that nobody can make a good JRPG for the DS? Some remakes have been all right, and a strategy RPG or two have been good. But every original RPG for the system seems somehow tainted by the platform. Black Sigil, Nostalgia, Beyond the Yellow Brick Road – hell, even …
Author Archive
Review – Sands of Destruction
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 by chrisReview – Vandal Hearts: Flame of Judgment
Friday, February 19th, 2010 by chrisWatching a beloved series re-emerge after years of lying dormant is always disconcerting. On the one hand, it’s nice to see developers expand on a world already well-fleshed out and attempt to recapture something that was thought lost forever. On the other hand, it may be worse to have a crappy sequel than …
Review – Shadow Hearts
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 by chrisContinuing my trend of catching up on PS2 RPGs, I picked up the Shadow Hearts series a few months ago. Since a recent spate of games (including Demon’s Souls, which seems to be a videolamer favorite) has kept me busy, I’m just now making my way through the series. The PS2 may have …
Review – Persona
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 by chrisNothing but Playstation remakes. The PSP seems to be relegated to the unusual role of a “Remake system”. Nearly all the RPGs (which are, of course, the only real games out there) on the system are remakes, or generally reputed to be bad. And Persona is falls neatly in the first category, …
Review – Digital Devil Saga 2
Monday, October 5th, 2009 by chrisI have heard it said that the second Digital Devil Saga was rushed. The four hour long final dungeon might be evidence of this, given that the whole game is still only about 25 hours long total. This makes DDS2 only a bit longer than the first one. While DDS2 maintains the …
Review – Digital Devil Saga
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 by chrisAtlus has a reputation for releasing games that appreciate in value. They print a bunch of copies, but they sell slowly at first but eventually you’ll need to trade in a console or two to have enough credit to pick them up.
Recently, they have been trying to curb that reputation – partly by printing …
A Farewell to (Wild) Arms
Thursday, August 20th, 2009 by chrisOne of the first RPGs to land on the Playstation in 1997 was an unassuming, Old West-inspired game by the name of Wild Arms. Though it never managed to compete with more mainstream series, it has a greatness all its own; with a solid difficulty balance, a variety of puzzles, and a plot that …
Review – Black Sigil
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 by chrisBlack Sigil screamed promise. After being impressed and occasionally a bit burned with indie games, a DS game by a small but dedicated team of RPG fans sounded really good. Graphically inspired by Chrono Trigger, its visuals are both nostalgic and fresh on a system that needs more sprite-based games. Even after …
Review – Rune Factory Frontier
Thursday, July 16th, 2009 by chrisFarmer’s Diary, Day 1
I have no knowledge of my past. I found myself in a town I had never heard of with only a half-dozen denizens. They told me I could have the farm. How kind of them to take me in for a while.
Now I just need to get some seeds, …
Review – Dark Souls
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 by chrisIndie games aren’t always incredible. I’ve had great experiences with Mount & Blade, The Spirit Engine 2, and World of Goo. After these outstanding games, my expectations were high coming into Warfare Studios’ Dark Souls, which is a classic-style RPG with a darker-than-usual plot… perhaps a bit too high.
The first thing that should …
