RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

Star Ocean The Last Hope International is heading towards 8/10 territory. Continue reading ‘Not So Mass Media 02/14/10’ »

Natsume announced over the weekend that Harvest Moon: Leaf Valley will be released for the PlayStation Portable this April. In Leaf Valley, players are charged with helping the townspeople stop the Funland Corporation from bulldozing the title village and replacing it with an amusement park. Basically, it’s “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” but with farming instead of Ice-T.

Leaf Valley is set to retail for $29.99. An exact release date has not been announced.

Although not likely to feature singing man-eating plants, Harvest Moon: My Little Shop is available today on WiiWare. Selling for 1200 WiiBucks, the game centers around a shop and farm the player inherits from their grandparents, using what they grow at the farm to sell at the shop. Clearly, a game for those interested in seizing the means of production without involving antique political theory or those pesky Bolsheviks.

La Pucelle Ragnarok needs an English release date. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 11/20/09’ »

How come when it’s us, it’s an abortion, and when it’s a chicken, it’s an omelet? Continue reading ‘Mass Media 11/11/09’ »

Natsume’s upcoming Harvest Moon: Animal Parade now has a release date of November 10, retailing at $49.99 US. Players who preorder through Gamestop will receive a bonus “limited edition” plush duck.

My opinion on balloon boy. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 10/17/09’ »

XeroZohar: Delicious Cactuar
CactuarJoe: No eating! Not allowed!
XeroZohar: Awwwwwww. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 10/09/09’ »

Natsume has announced that Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming will be released in the next few weeks, likely hitting North American shelves in the last week of August. The Nintendo DS title shares some characters with the previous Harvest Moon installment Island of Happiness, and will spearhead the upcoming release of several further entries: Sunshine Islands, Animal Parade, Sugar Town, and Littlest Shop.

Natsume has made no comment as to whether Myron Reducto, of the law firms of Freezoid, Zarog & Skon, had a hand in creating Littlest Shop by way of shrink gun.

Source: Siliconera

These days it’s not altogether uncommon to see strange genre mashups. In 2007 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords managed to successfully combine RPG elements and puzzle games in what is perhaps the most unusual combination out there. However, it was by no means the first. As early as the SNES era you could find games that defied genre boundaries, with Harvest Moon being not the earliest, but the most successful example. Continue reading ‘Game Changers: Volume 17 – Harvest Moon’ »

Natsume has announced a North American release of Harvest Moon: Magic Melody for the Wii, in an exclusive deal with Gamestop for the US and Canada. Although an exact date is not yet known, a late August launch is expected according to Gamestop’s release schedule.

Source: Siliconera

That girl in the veil from Rune Factory 3 is totally adorable. Just pointing that out. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/23/09’ »

This is not the greatest media update in the world. No, this is just a tribute. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/09/09’ »

The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed that yet another Rune Factory title is in the works, this time for the Nintendo DS. Entitled Rune Factory 3, it has a couple of new special features. The first is an item called the Transformation Belt. By donning this piece of gear in battle or in town, the main character, Maisu, will be able to turn into a monster. Townspeople will react differently to him while he’s a monster, and he’ll also gain special combat abilities.

Another new addition will be special seeds called active seeds. These seeds, once planted, start growing immediately and will mature into a plant monster that will fight along side the main character.

Source: Famitsu, IGN

Translation: Adrienne Beck

You’re better off not knowing the lengths it took me to get these up. Continue reading ‘Mass Media 07/02/09’ »

Hiya, folks! If you didn’t get enough Final Fantasy XIII from J_Sensei’s preview yesterday, we’ve got a whole heap of screenshots for you. Along for the ride are more shots of Harvest Moon: Makiba no Omise and Dungeons and Dam. Got a minute? Give a click or two or twenty: Continue reading ‘Mass Media 05/07/09’ »

Heya guys! Don’t mind me, just dropping off some media. Gotta do something to take my mind off the fact that Liberty-Effing-Prime returns in Broken Steel. Gotta go through the motions of posting pictures trying not to squeal with girlish glee over the fact that Fallout 3’s post-ending content will have a giant American robot tearing the Enclave a new one.

May has never seemed so far away. Anyway, we got us some A Witch’s Tale, Fallout 3: Broken Steel, Harvest Moon: Makiba no Omise, Harvest Moon: Welcome to the Wind Bazaar, Magna Carta 2, Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, and Ys Online: Call of Solum. Care for a gander? Continue reading ‘Mass Media 04/21/09’ »

Brand new media for you all, hot off the presses and straight from the Game Developer’s Conference, get it all here folks! Gather ’round for some Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Phantasy Star Zero Mini, Harvest Moon: Makiba no Omise, and My World, My Way PSP. At no extra charge we’re throwing in Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2, Little King’s Story, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, Disgaea 2 PSP, and – in a move sure to put fanfic authors out of business (or back to work) – Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. Oh, who am I kidding? I… I mean, they are still busy with VII. Anyway… Continue reading ‘Mass Screenshots, Artwork – 03/26/09’ »

Recession? What recession? If you’re looking for ways to stimulate the economy, there are three new ways to do it. Square Enix is shipping Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume for the Nintendo DS with a MSRP of $39.99. Konami is bringing Suikoden Teirkreis to the DS for $34.99, and XSEED is giving people a reason to actually turn on their Wii by releasing Rune Factory Frontier for $49.99.

How’s it going, everybody? Got some fresh new screens and arts for you fine folks. Take a gander, won’t you? This time around: Muramasa, Blue Dragon Plus 2, 7th Dragon, Harvest Moon: Makiba no Omise, Dragon Quest IX, White Knight Chronicles, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Continue reading ‘Mass Screenshots, Artwork 03/14/09’ »