RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

It’s the early 21st century, and Atlus has finally deemed the time right to roll out a sequel to their cult classic RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne– Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Is it worth the six year wait? Short answer: yes. Long answer: read on…

Continue reading ‘Import Review – Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey’ »

Final Fantasy XIII has been a long time coming, and there’s little doubt that some people are going in with certain expectations. The fact that it’s also the first main series Final Fantasy game for the current generation likely only adds to this. To the extent that it’s possible, one has to put that aside and focus on the game for what it is rather than thinking about the rest of the series. Final Fantasy XIII is rather unlike anything else in the series anyway. Of course, it certainly has its fair share of staples such as chocobos, cactuars, and tonberries in the game, but the gameplay emphasis is very different. Exploration is all but ignored for the most part, and dungeons are the game’s clear focus. Towns are almost non-existent and functionally replaced by shops that can be accessed from save points while inns are rendered obsolete by auto-healing. Bits of story are delivered at very specific intervals, and the pace is carefully controlled to a large degree by a number of design decisions such as most dungeons being purposely linear. Continue reading ‘Final Fantasy XIII – Staff Import Review’ »

Fourteen years ago, developer tri-Ace released Star Ocean for the Super Famicom. Touting “Space is an ocean of stars” as a tagline, it achieved a cult following among RPG fans and put the dev on the map. Many years, several releases and ports later, we arrive at a re-release of the fourth installment, Star Ocean: The Last Hope International, which delivers an experience largely in line with the rest of the series. Continue reading ‘Star Ocean: The Last Hope International – Staff Review’ »

Over the course of the last decade or so, North America has seen a remarkable influx of games and series which, in the past, had been exclusive to the east. From Shin Megami Tensei to Fire Emblem, the widening acceptance of gaming in general has allowed for a much broader cross-section of Japanese gaming to be seen on our shores. However, there still remain a number of long running series which have yet to make the jump across the pond. Glory of Heracles, whose first game was released in 1987, is one of these, and although the game contains many elements that are carried over from earlier entries in the series, the fact that this is the series’s first international release works strongly in its favor. Continue reading ‘Glory of Heracles – Staff Review’ »

Half Baldur’s Gate, half Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins hits too many of the right notes for fans of either to ignore. It’s big, it’s epic, it has tight production values, and it does a superb job of creating a unique set of mythos for its world, staple fantasy elements notwithstanding. Unfortunately, a score of small issues drag down much of the game’s interaction and controls, and some aspects of the story aren’t as clever as they think they are. Still, if you can get into the complex, well-written story, Dragon Age will grab you and not let go. Continue reading ‘Dragon Age: Origins – Staff Review’ »

The early PSOne game Revelations: Persona is widely considered to be the victim of one of the biggest localization hack jobs of all time. Besides a lackluster translation filled with poorly conceived attempts at mythological nomenclature, the localization team saw fit to fiddle with the game’s balance, alter character art in order to make the cast appear more western, and even remove whole sections of the game for no readily apparent reason. And so when a PSP port-slash-remake was announced, there was a great sigh of relief in the Western Hemisphere. And, thankfully, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona does indeed improve vastly on the localization of the original game. Unfortunately, with a poorly executed plot, badly balanced combat system, and a mishmash of aesthetic elements, the game lying hidden underneath the piles of meddling heaped on Revelations: Persona isn’t exactly a diamond in the rough. Continue reading ‘Shin Megami Tensei: Persona – Staff Review’ »

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. Continue reading ‘Atelier Annie – Staff Review’ »

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.

Continue reading ‘A Witch’s Tale – Staff Review’ »

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.

Continue reading ‘Mana Khemia 2 ~ Fall of Alchemy ~ – Staff Review’ »

Nostalgia is powerful. It can help keep memories of games long gone, but also color those memories one way or another. Maybe that old game really was as good as you remember, or maybe when you pick it back up again it’s just not going to do it for you. With the PSP release of Star Ocean: Second Evolution, fans, foes, and newcomers alike will get the chance to test one of Tri-Ace’s older titles and see which way they really roll. Calling Second Evolution a remake is a bit of a stretch, but several convenience tweaks, quality voice acting, and a vastly improved script make it a far more accessible and enjoyable title than its Playstation predecessor. Continue reading ‘Star Ocean: Second Evolution – Staff Review’ »

Sometimes you have to take a step back to keep going forward, or so Tri-Ace would have players believe with Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The latest entry in one of their signature series, Last Hope is a precursor to the first Star Ocean and deals with mankind’s first forays into uncharted space in search of a world capable of sustaining human life. While the overall gameplay has taken clear strides for the better, the package is underscored by a series of minor to major nuisances — not the least of which being a story prone to ridiculous plot twists — leaving it less a series reboot and more one missed opportunity after another. Continue reading ‘Star Ocean: The Last Hope – Staff Review’ »

It’s as predictable as the incoming tide; whenever there is a Pokemon game in the main series with two versions, there will inevitably be a third version. A remix of sorts which takes elements of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and combines them to create a more completely fleshed-out game, Pokemon Platinum feels less radical than Pokemon Emerald and Yellow before it, but a lot of that is due to the restrictions the game itself places on its most outlandish and unusual features. On the whole, Pokemon Platinum is a solid title, and does a number of things which are unexpected for a Pokemon game, but it hardly qualifies as an essential purchase for anyone beyond the dedicated Pokemon fan. Continue reading ‘Pokemon Platinum – Staff Review’ »

The Shin Megami Tensei series has been around since 1992 and Persona since its 1996 debut on the PlayStation, but it never really took off in North America until the third game. Persona 4 takes up the mantle to build on Persona 3’s momentum — and does so successfully. Persona 4’s graphical style and gameplay engine are carry-overs from its predecessor, but the designers have made a number of tweaks and balance changes allowing for less level grinding, better battles, and an enjoyable experience overall that even surpasses Persona 3. Continue reading ‘Persona 4 – Staff Review #2’ »

The immense popularity of the DS has allowed North American gamers to get their hands on several games that previously never saw release on this side of the world. Like so many other games of the 8-bit and 16-bit era, Dragon Quest V has been completely remade as Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Continue reading ‘Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – Staff Review’ »

Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica is set a year and a half after the events of Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia. It’s a true sequel, though that does not become apparent until later in the game when references to Melody of Elemia start cropping up. The story centers on Croix, a knight of the Church of Pastalia, and a baffling epidemic that has been crippling many Reyvateils, the world’s magical songstresses. As these things go, he has the choice of pursuing one of two lovely Reyvateils — with a third option opening up later — in a quest to help the goddess or overthrow her.

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Several years ago, a company called Nippon Ichi Soft decided to deliver a game called Rhapsody to North American shores. While the company would later be responsible for such successful titles as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Rhapsody was not met with much fanfare. In fact, the PlayStation game was regarded by many to be glitchy, lazily built, and not all that much fun. An important question arises: Has anything changed after almost a decade of time with the DS remake of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure?

Continue reading ‘Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure – Staff Review #2’ »

Over the years, Pokemon has made constant changes to its basic combat system, eventually resulting in a system that is wonderfully balanced and provides a wealth of customization options to advanced players without making things too terribly complicated for beginners. Where Pokemon Battle Revolution goes horribly awry is where it decides to completely shuck all of the secondary aspects of the Pokemon series, such as the plot, the capture-and-train theme, and the sense of growth as a Trainer, in favor of a laser-sharp focus on the combat system. The game becomes dull quickly mainly due to the fact that without anything to support the combat or provide it with any sort of context, it’s just a series of challenges without purpose or direction. To put it simply, Pokemon Battle Revolution is a stripped-down title whose only real saving grace is the inclusion of a handful of systems which really should have been included in the DS titles in the first place. Continue reading ‘Pokemon Battle Revolution – Staff Review #2’ »

A remnant is something that is left over, like scraps of food after dinner or relics from a civilization lost in history. The Last Remnant is about the latter, but it contains a little of the former — that is, warmed-over notions that we’ve seen before. There are some standard-issue RPG tropes along with concepts taken from SRPGs, Final Fantasy VIII and XII, and Dynasty Warriors, but there’s enough fresh material to make the game somewhat appealing. However, the quirks of the game’s highly complex battle system mire the game down until it just might become worthy of one word…
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Square Enix has long shown a penchant for re-releases and ports, but Chrono Trigger is one game whose long absence from circulation has always been a bit of a mystery. This long-awaited re-release of Chrono Trigger adds in a fair amount of new content while polishing up much of the old with a new translation, new dungeons, and even a new ending. Chrono Trigger DS isn’t a particularly mind-blowing affair, and the new additions will probably cause some die-hard purists to scream a bit, but on the whole, it’s a remarkably solid and entertaining game with a lot to offer both old fans and a new generation of gamers. Continue reading ‘Chrono Trigger DS – Staff Review’ »

There are some games out there that are appreciated for wild adventures full of excitement, intrigue, and surprise. Some other games are appreciated for their elegantly and meticulously crafted presentation. Some, still, grab players by sucking them in with an addictively interesting battle system and fantastic gameplay. Summon Night: Twin Age is not one of these games. At most, it could provide a lighthearted, quick, and rather mindless experience for only the thirstiest of RPG players.

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