RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

In Japan, crossover games have been around for a long time, and in the case of Super Robot Wars, some have spawned an entire successful series. But on this side of the Pacific, these games almost never make an appearance, primarily due to licensing issues and western gamers not being exposed to the source material. Cross Edge is one of the first games in the crossover genre to make it to North America so fans on this side of the planet can see what they’ve been missing.

(more…)

These days, most people just take it for granted that RPGs will make it to North America roughly six to twelve months after hitting shelves in Japan.  But despite a devoted fanbase and several petitions for its release, one game stands as one of the most-wanted games that we never got.  That game is Mother 3. (more…)

Square Enix has shed some light a previously unnamed character in Final Fantasy XIII.  Hope Estheim is the boy with whitish silver hair that is seen in the demo.  His mother fights in the resistance army with Snow, but despite Snow’s efforts to save her, Hope’s mother dies.  For this reason, Hope holds a grudge against Snow.  Other than that, all we know is that he fights with a boomerang and has some sort of attraction to Oerba Dia Vanille, the pigtailed girl seen in the demo and many other trailers.

Source: Final Fantasy Wiki

We recently sat down with Graham Markay, Vice President of Operations at Natsume and all around awesome guy about the upcoming PSP TRPG Adventures to Go. We had plenty of questions, and he had answers for all of them. Check it out after the jump. (more…)

It should shock absolutely no one that the recently released Dragon Quest IX sold more than a few copies.  In fact, it sold 2,139,000 copies in its opening week, a fact bolstered by a few factors.  Primarily, it’s Dragon Quest.  Also, it’s on the DS, which has the largest installed user base of any current piece of hardware, and last but not least, it also garnered a perfect score from Famitsu, surpassing the 39 Dragon Quest VIII earned in its day. (more…)

These days, everyone loves countdown pages, and Square Enix has caught the bug. But more often than not, the pages of Shounen Jump spoil the secret before the timer hits zero, and this week’s reveal of Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden renders this page kind of moot. (more…)

Cross Edge, the crossover game developed by Compile Heart that features characters from Capcom, Nippon Ichi, Gust, and others was previously a PS3 exclusive. But these days, exclusivity is a tough thing to keep, and the game will be heading to the 360 in Japan under the new moniker Cross Edge Dash. So far, there are no announcements regarding new material or a North American release for 360, but the details will undoubtedly follow soon.

Source: Famitsu

PSP owners looking for an JRPG fix need look no further than Crimson Gem Saga, the newest release from Atlus. The game features hand-drawn visuals and turn-based combat. It is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $29.99

Even though Final Fantasy IV: The After Years was playable on the E3 show floor, that demo revealed very little, especially for someone that has played Final Fantasy IV more times than I can count and on five different systems. Playing as a highly leveled Kain one-shotting monsters on Mt. Ordeals wasn’t enough to satisfy me. So I did what any fan of the game would do. I downloaded the real game. (more…)

Demon’s Souls is a hard game to describe. On paper, it sounds completely different than it does in person, and that’s a good thing. Until I had my hands on the game, I wasn’t sure whether or not it was something I wanted to play, but after trying it, it’s on my must-have list. (more…)

Hidden behind the line of eager players waiting their turn to play Zelda was a playable demo of Mario and Luigi 3: Bowser’s Inside Story. Like the Zelda demo, it had several smaller segments, but I only opted for the Bowser one. (more…)

For those that braved the line, Nintendo showed off three demos of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. They were a dungeon scenario, a train, demo, and a boss fight. And if you happened to still be on the show floor at the end of the day on Thursday, you could knock out all three in one fell swoop. Luckily, I planned on taking the red eye out of town, so I can tell you about all of them. (more…)

Sega had a big booth, full of shiny games, and among them was Alpha Protocol. While I didn’t get to see much of the plot, I definitely saw the battle system. It plays much like a mixture of Mass Effect and Metal Gear Solid, with stealth playing a major role in combat. Players can also utilize a number of special abilities, including offensive, defensive, and passive skills. Two were highlighted on the show floor. One cloaked your player, and the other allowed for multiple enemies to be killed in rapid succession. (more…)

Every year, people ask the same question. “Who won E3?” This is, of course, the hardest question to answer. Winning is very subjective. If you are a fan of shooters, you will think Microsoft won. Casual gamers will think Nintendo took top honors. To decide the winner, one must look at the announcements. (more…)

Cross Edge, the PS3 cross over game with franchises like Disgaea and Darkstalkers, is now available at North American retailers for $49.99. Look for our review sometime after E3.

Square Enix is partnering with Intelligent Systems, the makers of the Fire Emblem series, to create Dragon Quest Wars, a DSiWare team-based strategy game where squads of four face off against one another. Players will be able to battle friends’ teams or go for a round with the CPU with up to four players playing simultaneously.

The game will cost 500 DSiWare points ($5.00) and is currently only announced for Japan, though it should be noted that Square Enix has filed a trademark for Dragon Quest Wars in North America. That is by no means confirmation of anything, but it certainly gives rise to the possibility of the game seeing release outside of Japan.

Source: Siliconera

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years will hit WiiWare on June 1. Though original game was broken up into twelve chapters, the remake has been formatted into only nine. At this point, no pricing has been announced, and it is unclear if the game will need to be downloaded in episodes. Hit the jump to see the trailer for yourself. (more…)

In this day and age, “exclusive” rarely means what it used to. Fallout 3 on Xbox 360 and PC touted exclusive downloadable content that will soon be coming to a PlayStation 3 near you. After a patch that will allow PS3 owners to download the DLC, Operation: Anchorage will hit the PS3 in late June with The Pitt and Broken Steel following four to six weeks apart. Hit the jump to find out what’s to come. (more…)

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete has finally been given a release date in North America. It will hit shelves on June 2 for $38.96. Instead of a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII, gamers on this side of the world will be treated to a new trailer instead.

The movie features 26 minutes of new scenes and several bonus features. There is a 25-minute animated feature detailing Denzel’s past called “On the Way to a Smile – Episode: Denzel.”

If you’re still on the fence, look for our upcoming review of the movie.

If you’re on the fence about the upcoming Atlus game Knights in the NIghtmare, own a Wii connected to the internet, and have a DS, you can get an early look via a new downloadable demo. It will walk players through the game’s systems. The demo is only available for a limited time, but the full game will be available everyone June 2nd with an MSRP of $34.99.