RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Part of the joy of writing for an RPG-centric website is that I can draw comparisons to some rather eclectic, obscure, and niche material, knowing that the reader will be able to follow my gist. It’s an amazing power, and one that I try to wield judiciously and in the name of good. However, Atelier Annie makes me wish that, rather than your standard RPG fare, my readers were versed in the equally insular world of German boardgames, particularly resource-management-centric, action-limited strategy titles such as Agricola, Stone Age, and Settlers of Catan. I’d probably have a much easier time of describing the cost/reward analyses, transportation efficiency concerns, and development strategies intrinsic to this Gust-developed JRPG. In lieu of such assumption, though, just take my word for it: Atelier Annie is an awesome, horizon-expanding game. (more…)

Ok. I’ll level with you. I’ve just scrapped my fifth attempt at an opening to this review. I’ve tried food analogies, tomato discussion, references to Halloween (the holiday and the movie), Tim Burton films, Okami, Phantasy Star… So, nuts to that. Settle in, kiddies. It’s story time.

Once upon a time, there was a little DS RPG called A Witch’s Tale. Her parents, Nippon-Ichi and HitMaker, were very famous in their own rights; one was a premier name in RPGs and the other was once a member of the famous Sega family. Though her pedigree shone, she was scorned from birth, partially due to the failings of her elder brother, Dragoneer’s Aria. As the young girl of the family, no one wanted to mention her in the same breath as her half-siblings Disgaea and Crazy Taxi. Realizing that she would have to seek her own fortune, she set out to prove her detractors wrong.

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We Meet Again, Phantom Brave. It’s been a few years, hasn’t it? You sucked up a healthy portion of my time back on the PS2, you slick little TRPG. I had a blast with your free-and-open gridless maps, your extensive and esoteric concepts of what constituted a “weapon,” and your down-again-up-again story. Yes, we had good times. So how’s that intervening half-decade treated you?

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One year, four months, and thirteen days ago I gave my opinion on Mana Khemia ~Alchemists of Al-Revis~, a title I described as “the union of several good ideas other games had but never put together before.” It was a strangely-worded explanation of a strangely attractive game; none of what I played then was all that new or unique, but so many elements came together into a deceptively entertaining gestalt that, frankly, I didn’t care. Mana Khemia was not unique, and I was fine with that.

Mana Khemia 2 isn’t unique, either. And I’m fine with that, too.

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While trying to decide how best to open a review of Star Ocean: First Departure, I came to the painful realization that I couldn’t possibly do so without taking you back in time. Just wasn’t gong to happen. So generate 1.21 gigawatts, strap yourself in, and set your coordinates to Akihabara, July 19, 1996.

(insert Huey Lewis interlude and “Great Scott!” exclamation here)

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Nerdboy is here to ease you into comprehension of Ys Books I & II, now available on your very own Virtual Console! The liveblog will be getting started at 2PM EDT, but feel free to check in early and get comfy in your own digital ringside seat!

Hit this link to get it started!

Alchemy \’al-kə-mē\ – A power or process of transforming something common into something special

-Merriam-Webster.com

One of the toughest challenges for a game in this day and age is the concept of “unique.” It’s a very nebulous term; you can take it to mean “going where no man has gone before,” or perhaps “something kinda familiar, but twisted beyond recognition.” Perhaps Mana Khemia is not a truly “unique” game. Every element of its gameplay feels like it’s been done before… but can a patchwork not be beautiful of its own right? The contrast of many fabrics may come together to create a beautiful work, just as the union of many existing concepts in game mechanics can join to create an excellent experience.

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There comes a time in each… erm, week… when… (more…)

I spent last night screaming at big-screens, small-screens, wide-screens, and flat-screens with a restaurant full of Steelers Nation. We were echoing the emotions of our bretheren on-site at Heinz Field up the river; we were echoing the emotions of similar clusters of fans all over the city; we were echoing the emotions of every native son and daughter of the ‘Burgh. At the end of the night, after a nail-biting conclusion, screams and cries of despair, and speculations of next year’s prospects, I knew the meaning of the word “tune.” I was in harmony with this unruly mob. And that made me think.

(Honestly, this has relevance to RPGs. Just not yet. Hold on…) (more…)

That’s, like, so 1996…

I’m T.J. “Nerdboy Himself” Condon, and I’m insane. Or so I’m lead to believe.

But first, an introduction. I’ve been gaming for about 20 years now (Or roughly 83% of my time on this moist rock), and tend to do a bit of writing on the topic. I hold a degree in Film Studies, which I primarily use to dissect video games on an artistic level, just to action a personal vendetta against Roger Ebert. (Besides, anyone who gives Borat four stars can’t have his head on straight.) Also, upon receiving a copy of Star Ocean for the Super Famicom from a friend who had recently visited Japan, I proceeded to import-mod my Super NES with a $.25 paring knife and a pair of hedge clippers. I call it “devotion.” (more…)