Search found 97 matches for jrpg

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Manga Quester Too!

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Developed by Thousand Games and published by KEMCO, Metro Quester: Osaka is a sequel to the original Metro Quester title that was a truly fantastic experience in our books! But does Metro Quester: Osaka live up to its predecessor? We think so, so be sure to continue reading our review to find out why:



The gameplay is quite unique in this dungeon crawling JRPG series, with incredibly unique visuals and game mechanics that culminate into an absolute masterpiece with a truly incredible atmosphere that will hook gamers of all kinds and rightly so!

The game's a bit challenging, but mostly well-balanced, and there's a decent amount of content that'll take players 30+ hours to fully beat which is well worth its asking price. The controls are also intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing in our opinions!



The soundtrack is highly atmospheric and fits the mood of the game perfectly. The character and enemy designs are gorgeous as are the highly unique visuals which doesn't fail to impress!



Bottom-Line: With unique gameplay, excellent audiovisual-presentation, and fantastic controls, Metro Quester: Osaka is a top-notch dungeon-crawler that is well worth adding to any JRPG fan's library of games and as such we give the game a great level of recommendation!

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#Review #KEMCO #ThousandGames #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN #JRPG #DungeonCrawler

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A Hidden Treasure Ahoy!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, Ys X: Nordics is the tenth mainline game in the long-running Ys series, and changes up the way you explore and battle in many ways compared to previous entries in the series, but does this title live up to its predecessors or does it fall a bit short? Continue reading our review to find out!



The story of Ys X: Nordics is great as expected with plenty of adventure and intrigue as is always the case in this series, and this entry does not disappoint in the slightest! The gameplay adds a lot to the formula this time around with ocean exploration, and a unique battle system that allows both main party members to fight as one in a unique twist to the  formula that links both protagonists in battle allowing for joint attacks, dual skills, united defense, and other nuances such as bosses with armored HP bars that can't be damaged until you break their armor gauge among other new gameplay mechanics!

The game is pretty long as well clocking in at 60+ hours in length so expect to set aside quite a few sessions for this title! The controls are easy to learn, but can take time to fully master since the battle system has been revamped and feels like a wholly new series as a result. As for the difficulty, the game's got a bit of a learning curve, but in-general it's not too difficult even at the higher difficulty settings, so expect a bit of a challenge at times, but nothing that'll bar your ability to progress further into the game!



The audiovisual-presentation in Ys X: Nordics is as fantastic as expected from a Falcom game with a soundtrack that fits the game's mood to a tee, as well as top-notch voice acting, and gorgeous character and enemy models that look absolutely incredible and the game's world looks just as good aesthetically in our opinions! Overall the game's audiovisual-presentation is flawless in our opinions!



Bottom-Line: With a superb story, excellent gameplay, great controls, a decent amount of content, and a flawless audiovisual-presentation, Ys X: Nordics is a fantastic RPG that is well worth adding to your game library and as such we award the game a perfect level of recommendation to all PS5 JRPG fans!

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#Review #NihonFalcom #NISA #PS5 #Retail #PSN #YS #JRPG #Action #Switch #eShop

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A Megaton Splashing Onto The Nintendo Switch!

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Megaton Musashi W: Wired for the Nintendo Switch is one of the best mecha-themed JRPG's that we've ever experienced! It's well up there with the legendary PS2 Gundam JRPG MS Saga: A New Dawn which is some high praise for sure! The gameplay feels akin to the musou sub-genre with twitchy hack and slash battles just with a lot more actions and skills, as well as first person skills that add some TPS genre elements in as well, however there's a lot more to the game than just the combat side of things, though the combat is a blast to play!

There's a load of customization options, between parts, weapons, hoverboards, boosters, decals, paint, and more, you can create your dream mecha and pilot it in battle! The game has tons of in-game achievements that unlock a plethora of rewards. Most of your important functions can be accessed from your in-game phone via apps or by visiting the appropriate shops and other establishments!



The story is pretty amazing though some of the themes are quite dark or downright bizarre as one of the characters loves cats maybe a little bit too much, but we digress! There are also side stories that showcase character growth or a new side of characters you seldom see in the main story! These can be quite fun to watch at times for sure!

The game's missions are where the main meat of the game resides, and it honestly has a good bit of variety. There are sub-missions, free missions "letting you replay key story missions", Dreadnaught Missions which are harder and usually beefier missions, shelter missions, and more offering tons of replayability! There's a point in the game where you gain access to a second main protagonist for a split story that you can switch back and forth between, however that second route is only available temporarily so be sure to finish that before you progress too far in the main story, otherwise you'll miss a good chunk of the story permanently!



The online modes allow you to take part in online matches and ranked matches in the coliseum as well as taking on quests together with other players! All of this is indeed a blast to take part in, however there are very few active players online meaning that it may take 30+ minutes to get a full party together, which is certainly unfortunate, but there's also another issue, which is that online coliseum matches can only be tackled with coliseum exclusive parts and weapons many of which can only be obtained in the coliseum mode making it hard to be competitive against already established players. Luckily however, you won't really miss much content wise if you completely blow-off playing online multiplayer, so it's not something we'd dock points for.



The audiovisual-presentation of Megaton Musashi W: Wired is quite impressive with a great art style during story sequences and the locations you can travel to on foot, and gorgeous yet sad apocalyptic battlefields to blast away the alien menaces in the game! The UI is extremely fluid and looks fantastic and the battles themselves rarely ever suffer framertate issues, however once in a blue moon you might encounter a brief dip in frames followed by the game crashing. While this only happened to us twice in over 200 hours of gameplay, it was quite annoying having to restart a story chapter over again because we forgot to save for a couple hours.

And lastly the audio side of things was fantastic! With full Japanese voice acting, and a wide-array of fantastic music, especially the collaboration tracks from Getter Robo and more, this is easily our GoTY so far and is well-deserving of a near-perfect score only hampered by a very rare, albeit annoying crash that can occasionally occur randomly...



Bottom-Line: With flawless gameplay, a superb yet sometimes quirky story, great online functionality that could use more active players, and an absolutely amazing audiovisual-presentation, Megaton Musashi W: Wired for the Nintendo Switch is well-deserving of a perfect score, however a rare crash in the game drops its score just a tad, but is nonetheless our current top contender for GoTY 2024 as we give this game a near-perfect level of recommendation!

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#Review #Level5 #JRPG #Mecha #Switch #Retail #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN

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Taste Sweet Vengeance On The Switch This Summer!

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Atlus announced that a new updated version of Shin Megami Tensei V will be releasing on Switch, PS4, and PS5 on June 21st 2024 during this morning's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase! This is essentially the "Golden or Royal" equivalent of the game and will have new characters, locations, and story scenes throughout the game as well as an entirely new epilogue chapter. Unfortunately it likely means that the new content will only be available if you purchase this version of the game rather than as DLC for the original Shin Megami Tensei V. You can watch the announcement trailer below!



What do you think of this exciting announcement? Would you prefer this to be offered as traditional DLC instead of a separate release? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comments section below!

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#NintendoDirect #Atlus #SMTV #Nintendo #Switch #Retail #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN #JRPG

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Death Game Daydream!

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Bandai Namco announced during today's Nintendo Direct that a new Sword Art Online game will be dropping onto the Nintendo Switch later this year! You can watch the announcement trailer below to find out a bit about the game, not much else is known except that this game will heavily focus on dungeon raids.



What do you think about this upcoming title? Be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#NintendoDirect #BandaiNamco #SAO #JRPG? #Switch #Retail #eShop

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Time Piracy!

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Level 5 has announced during this morning's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase that Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time will be releasing on Nintendo Switch on October 10th 2024! You can watch the new trailer below!



What do you think of the October release of this title? As always, be sure to let us know in our comments below!

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#NintendoDirect #Level5 #Switch #Retail #eShop #JRPG #Simulation #Casual

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Ride-On...To Nintendo Switch!

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It was announced in today's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase that Capcom will be releasing the original Monster Hunter Stories on the Nintendo Switch this Summer! The game will have revamped graphics, full English and Japanese voice acting, and will include the previously Japan exclusive title updates from the 3DS version of the game! You can watch the announcement trailer below:



What do you think of this announcement? Will you be getting this title when it drops on Switch this Summer? As always, be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#NintendoDirect #MHS #Switch #Port #Remaster #JRPG #eShop #Retail

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Eight Paths One Exciting Journey!

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Developed by Acquire Corp on behalf of Square Enix and published in the Western hemisphere by Nintendo, Octopath Traveller is an open-ended sandbox JRPG with 2D-HD visuals that has you play as one of eight protagonists and experience the game's world through their point of view with all eight stories intersecting at various points in the game in any order you desire! Is this enough to make this title a timeless classic? No, but it's a very fun game in its own right and here's why:



The story in Octopath Traveler may not be the most thrilling as a game like Final Fantasy, but the interconnected storylines of all 8 main cast members is still quite enjoyable to watch unfold and will definitely make you love each and every one of the protagonists! The gameplay is excellent with a similar battle system to Bravely Default's except a bit more simplistic.

Octopath Traveler's open-endedness is one of its greatest strengths though seeing the prologue and ending of every story requires 8 playthroughs which is a bit much and left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, but otherwise the 100+ hours we spent with this game was an absolute blast! The controls are unsurprisingly intuitive and easy to learn, and the game's difficulty is fairly balanced, but does see a difficulty spike in the final chapter of each protagonist's story.



The audiovisual-presentation in Octopath Traveler is absolutely breathtaking with gorgeous character and enemy designs, beautiful backgrounds in the world's many locations that pop in HD, and superb weather, lighting, and spell effects that look simply amazing on an HDTV!

The voice acting is also pretty enjoyable and the sound effects are quite nicely done as well, while the music is quite varied and fits the mood of the game like a glove! Overall we think this is by FAR the game's strongest point!



Bottom-Line: With an enjoyable interwoven story, excellent gameplay, intuitive controls, and a top-notch audiovisual-presentation, Octopath Traveler for the Nintendo Switch is an amazing JRPG that is not to be missed, however having to play the game 8 times to experience everything is a bit too much work and as such we did dock the score a tiny bit, but overall we highly recommend the game to all fans of the genre!

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#Review #SquareEnix #AcquireCorp #Nintendo #Switch #Retail #eShop #XBOne #JRPG

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Knights of Grayfang...ENGAGE!!!

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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Knights of Grayfang is yet another rock-solid retro-style JRPG by the prolific games publisher KEMCO! Does this game hold up well against its predecessors already available on the Nintendo Switch console? We think so and here's why:



The story in Knights of Grayfang is the game's strong-point with excellent storytelling, superb character development, and a very interesting plot which is always a good thing! The gameplay should feel quite familiar if you've played a lot of KEMCO's previous titles, but everything is improved upon from the o0lder titles.

The game has much more intricate puzzles than we've seen in previous KEMCO JRPG's which is enjoyable. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn as expected from a KEMCO title. The game's difficulty is pretty easy for the most part, but gets a bit challenging in the later part of the story. The game is also fairly lengthy clocking in at around 35 hours in length.



As for the audiovisual presentation? Well the pixel graphics are done exceedingly well in this KEMCO release and look like something straight out of the SNES or GBA. The world is has quite a few details as do the character and enemy sprites which is nice! And as for the audio-presentation, the sound effects are handled quite well and the soundtrack fits the game perfectly, there's really not much else to say here.



Bottom-Line: With a unique story, good gameplay, flawless controls, and a great retro-style audiovisual-presentation, Knights of Grayfang for the Nintendo Switch is great JRPG in its own right and as such we highly recommend adding it to your library of games if you're a fan of the genre!

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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN #JRPG

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A Tanky Wolf!

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Developed by MAGITEC and published by KEMCO Chrome Wolf is a unique JRPG featuring tank-based battles which is definitely a departure from their more traditional retro-rpg's, but is it a worthwhile game? We think so and here's why:



The story in Chrome Wolf is riveting and super interesting and will leave you on the edge of your seat more often than not making it one of the strongest points of the game! While the gameplay is good, with a robust class system, unique tank-based battles that are a blast to play!

There are some issues, however as the controls are a bit cumbersome, the random encounters happen WAY too frequently, and some of the dungeons are a little confusing to navigate which is unfortunate since the rest of the game was a solid 9/10, but the game as a whole is still decent-to-solid and worth a purchase if you're a fan of the genre! The game clocks in at around 20-25 hours in-length which while short is typical of old-school JRPG's, the only negative here is that there isn't any post-game content, sadly.



The audiovisual-presentation in Chrome Wolf is quite good and will make you feel like you're playing an old-school JRPG on an SNES console which is exactly what you'd hope for when playing a retro-style title on a modern console! The soundtrack is also really good with catchy tunes that fit the game quite nicely!



Bottom-Line: With good gameplay, an excellent and compelling story, and a superb audiovisual-presentation, Chrome Wolf is a fun game for sure, but also has its share of flaws such as somewhat cumbersome controls, random encounters that were too frequent for our liking, and somewhat confusing dungeon layouts, but overall our experience was a positive one and as such we give Chrome Wolf for the Nintendo Switch a solid-level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #KEMCO #MAGITEC #Switch #eShop #JRPG #Retro #16BIT

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A Perfect Feeling of Reverie!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie is the continuation and ending point for the main plot from the Sky trilogy, Crossbell dualogy, and Cold Steel quadralogy, and boy does it live up to its hype! Continue reading our review to find out why we think Reverie is by far the best game in the entire series thus-far!



The story in Trails Into Reverie is peak fiction in so many ways, but without spoiling things or going into crazy details about the insanity that is this game's crazy-good plot, but we can tell you the way that it's handled is radically different from previously released titles in the series in the most interesting ways possible in our opinions!

The game's story is split into three split paths that converge at points which leads to some extremely stellar plot-twists and storytelling unlike anything we've seen before in the Trails series! The gameplay has several new nuances as well including a roguelike dungeon called The True Reverie Corridor as well as a new group skill feature that allows all party, reserve, and guest characters attack, use arts, or heal all at once! These new features add a new layer of complexity to the series' already brilliant combat which is fantastic to say the least!



The game also has self-contained minigames and fully voiced side-stories in the form of Daydreams, these mysterious tales must be unlocked later on in the game's story, but to detail how, where, and why would be delving into spoiler territory so we'll leave it up to you to find out!

The controls in the game are pretty snappy and easy to use which is always a good thing, of course and the game's difficulty is much more challenging than previous games in the series "especially at higher difficulty levels" so expect to struggle at times if you try to play on Nightmare or Abyss difficulty! The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie is also a fair bit shorter than other Trails games, clocking in at around 60 hours in length, however doing all of the side content, minigames, and post-game as well, will likely take 150-200 hours to complete making this a rather beefy game to say the least!



The visuals in Reverie are a HUGE step-up from the previous games in the series, with a better frame-rate, better lighting and shadow effects, vastly superior special effects, a decent jump in texture quality from Trails of Cold Steel IV. There's also a cutscene in the game that showcases Kuro No Kiseki's graphics engine which looks insanely good and pushes the PS4's capabilities much further than any previous game in the series that has been localized so far!

As for the soundtrack? It's filled to the brim with banger after banger of absolute ear candy and each and every track fits the game's mood perfectly! The voice acting is also superb as usual and most of the VA's from Trails of Cold Steel IV have returned with the exception a two. Both of the new VA's did a spectacular job as well, so we give the voice acting a perfect grade!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, flawless gameplay, superb controls, and a top-tier audiovisual-presentation, The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie will leave players in a state of reverie as it's easily the best game so far in the series and that's saying a lot! As such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation on the PS4!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NISAmerica #NihonFalcom #Trails #Kiseki #Hajimari #JRPG #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Switch

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A Raging Good Time!

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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO, Raging Bytes is a huge departure from KEMCO's more traditional fantasy-based retro-styled JRPG's they are best-known for, but it's a welcome breath of fresh air for sure! Continue reading our review to find out why we enjoyed this game so much!



Raging bytes at its core is a hybrid combination of the JRPG and survival horror genres and does a fantastic job at blending the two genres together harmoniously! The story is dark with many interesting characters and a stylish presentation that looks amazing and sets the atmosphere for the game's horror setting.

The gameplay loop has you finding items and survivors to help you survive the apocalypse while battles are conducted in more traditional JRPG flair. This works better than we ever would have imagined and was executed flawlessly in this game! The game is fairly short clocking in at under 20 hours in length and the controls are intuitive and easy to use!



The soundtrack in Raging Bytes is fantastic and every single song fits the game's mood like a glove.



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, great gameplay, intuitive controls, a stylish visual presentation, and superb soundtrack, Raging Bytes is an unforgettable experience that no survival horror or JRPG fan should miss out on, as such, we give the game a nearly-perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: 9.5/10 ★★★★★★★★★½

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#Review #HitPoint #KEMCO #RagingBytes #Switch #eShop #PS5 #PS4 #PSN #JRPG #SurvivalHorror

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Geno Makes A Cannonball Splash During Today's Direct!

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Nintendo has announced that a full-blown Super Mario RPG Remake for the Nintendo Switch is in the works and will be released on November 17th 2023! You can watch the announcement trailer below:



Our very own @Amufungal predicted that this would be announced in our Staff Viewpoint Feature here. What do you think of this announcement? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#NintendoDirect #SuperMarioRPG #Remake #Switch #Retail #eShop #JRPG #Nintendo @SquareEnix

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The Blades That Bind Us!

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Nintendo has announced that Fire Emblem also known as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade in Japan will be releasing on June 22nd which is Thursday, but given how NSO releases happen at the same time globally chances are the game will drop in North America at 6:00 PM PDT / 9:00 PM EDT on Wednesday! Here is the official description of the game from Nintendo's PR announcement!

Official Description: wrote:Featuring all the fierce tactical combat and rich, intrigue-filled storytelling the series is known for, Fire Emblem was the first installment in the series to launch outside of Japan. Plus, it also marked the debut of the hero Lyn, who you may know as the Emblem of Blazing from Fire Emblem Engage!

In Fire Emblem, the nation of Lycia stands on the precipice of war after centuries of peace. Turmoil grows as noble houses plot treason, allies become enemies and armies stand poised for combat … all while a mysterious figure manipulates empires from the shadows. Now Lyn, along with Eliwood and Hector, must amass their own army to fight back against the forces that would destroy everything they hold dear – and before the world is burned to ash.

Over the course of the story, you’ll gather heroes to your side, train them to excel with a wide array of weapons and classes, and further hone their skills on the battlefield. In battle, strategize your course of action around a variety of terrain and conditions. Then take command of the field and lead your units to victory by fulfilling specific objectives. But be warned: In this Fire Emblem game, if your soldiers meet their end, they’re gone forever.

You can view the official trailer below:



As a bonus for Japanese players, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade is also releasing in Japan only this week. You can, however play the game with a North American or European NSO + Expansion Pack subscription if you have a Japanese Switch account, but obviously the game will be in Japanese and is text-heavy so some understanding of the Japanese language might be necessary to enjoy a game like this. We've also included the official Japanese trailer below:



What do you think of this upcoming update to the NSO + Expansion Pack service? Are you going to also play Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade on the Japanese GBA app? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#News #NintendoSwitchOnlinePlusExpansionPack #Nintendo #NSO #FireEmblem #GBA #Retro #Subscription #SRPG #JRPG

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Skies of Arcadia, Is That You?

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PQube and Octeto Studios has announced a new Skies of Arcadia inspired JRPG, appropriately titled, Sky Oceans: Wings For Hire will be coming to the Nintendo Switch in the future! The game will have you recruiting fellow sky pirates to strengthen your crew and you'll surely take on epic missions to gain notoriety.

Here's The Official Description of The Game:

Sky Oceans: Wings For Hire is a homage to JRPG classics! Set in the open skies, experience adrenaline-filled turn-based dogfights as you take the role of captain and unite a party of rag-tag sky pirates setting upon an unforgettable, touching journey.

Relive the charm of classic RPGs with a touching story about the search for purpose. Take the role of Glenn Windwalker as you assemble your team of sky pirates and fight against the ‘Alliance’.

Fight adversaries within the open skies in strategic turn-based dog fights. Tactically plan attacks and adapt your strategy to the ever-changing scenarios! Unlock new special moves & equipped your team with the best possible chance of victory!

Assemble a party of rag tag air pirates and upgrade airships with new special abilities as you progress through a winding narrative! Manage resources and expand your airship departments strategically. Do you have what it takes to be captain?

Stunning Studio Ghibli-inspired visuals make for diverse environments and memorable character design. Discover new towns, cultures and help solve local problems to gain their support and loyalty.

What do you think of this upcoming Nintendo Switch JRPG and will you be purchasing it when it launches? As always, be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#News #SkyOceansWingsForHire #PQube #OctetoStudios #Switch #Retail #eShop #JRPG

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Heirs To A Great Adventure!

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Developed by EXE CREATE and published by KEMCO, Heirs of The Kings is another superb retro-style JRPG by the long running publisher. How much did we enjoy our playthrough of the game? Continue reading our review to find out!



The gameplay of Heirs of The Kings is great fun with a riveting story that's a step above most of KEMCO's previous releases which were fantastic in their own right. The game also features great gameplay that will be familiar, but also adds new elements such as a Final Fantasy X style skill board, and many new quality of life features that make this game a joy to play! The game is decent in-terms of length too, clocking-in at around 30-35 hours to beat, and though a tad easy, the game's difficult is pretty balanced and fair.



As for the audiovisual-presentation of Heirs of The Kings, it's easily one of KEMCO's finest works yet, with highly detailed and gorgeos pixel art, amazing character and enemy designs, and a very snazzy UI. While on the audio side of things, the music fits the mood as always in a KEMCO game, however the sound quality of said tracks and sound effects is a step-up and sounds like pure ear candy!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, great gameplay, and a top-notch audiovisual-presentation, Heirs of The Kings is a top-notch retro-inspired JRPG that is a blast to play, and with no negatives to speak of, there's just no reason not to add this fantastic game to your Switch JRPG library and as such, we give Heirs of The Kings a nearly perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10

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#Review #KEMCO #EXECREATE #JRPG #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN

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Monstrous Cries In The Jaws of Adventure!

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Developed and published by Odencat and public relations by PR Hound, Meg's Monster is a fantastic JRPG, with an extremely unique premise and gameplay mechanics that heavily piqued our interest in the game, but did the game's uniqueness translate into it being an instant classic? We think so, and here's why:



Meg's Monster is something of an enigma, on one hand it's a very traditional turn-based JRPG, but on the other it feels like if Mario & Luigi RPG and One Punch Man were put in a blender and fused together. The battles are where this comes into full-effect as your Monster is able to basically one-hit everything, but the real battle is preventing Meg, the child who's protected by the Monster, from crying. If she cries it's an instant game over so it adds a massive layer of strategy to otherwise EXTREMELY easy battles.

The game itself is quite short clocking in at 8-15 hours in-length, but we thoroughly enjoyed every last second of our playthrough. Meg's Monster is also quite difficult in-regards to the crying mechanic we previously mentioned so expect quite a few game overs in your playthrough of the game. The controls are pretty straightforward and work well, which is pretty much a given for a turn-based RPG, but still much appreciated.



The visuals in Meg's Monster are vibrant, detailed, and utterly gorgeous with unique characters and enemies, gorgeous locales, and stylish special effects that look amazing. As for the audio side of things, the game has a very catchy soundtrack, and everything else is quite enjoyable as well, albeit not being as noteworthy as the tunes.



Bottom-Line: With unique and exceptionally enjoyable gameplay, flawless controls, and a fantastic audiovisual presentation, Meg's Monster will draw players in with its quirkiness and charm, and though the game is quite short most players will love every minute of the game! As such we give Meg's Monster for the Nintendo Switch a great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #OdenCat #PRHound #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PSN #JRPG

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Soaring High In The Azure Sky!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails To Azure is the thrilling conclusion of the Crossbell story arc in the long-running Trails series, and it might be one of the best on a storytelling standpoint! Continue reading the rest of our review to get the full scoop regarding our thoughts and opinions of this game and how it stacks up to its predecessor, The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero!



The story in The Legend of Heroes: Trails To Azure picks up a few months after the events in The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero, and is a substantial step-up in relevance to the Trails of Cold Steel series which most of you are likely more familiar with. This game will likely fill in a lot of the blanks that were caused due to the Crossbell games not being localized till now, and the new members of the SSS, Noel Seeker and Wazy Hemisphere really add a lot to the game with their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. This game ties up most of the loose ends and will set players up to be fully informed of the lore for when The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie releases in July in the Western Wazysphere, bad puns aside Azure has some of the finest storytelling in the history of the series and has enough twists and turns to keep players on the edge of their seats!

The gameplay in Trails To Azure is absolutely amazing and adds a ton of new nuances such as decking out and riding the new Orbal car. The origin of Master Quartz is revealed as the feature from The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel made its debut in this title, giving characters a much higher degree of customization which is always a good thing! In-terms of content, the game is loaded, taking 50-60 hours to beat, while completionists can expect around 100+ hours to see everything The Legend of Heroes: Trails To Azure has to offer! The controls in the game are intuitive and just as easy to use as they were in Trails From Zero.



As for the visual presentation of the game? The visual novel cutscenes look a bit more vibrant this time and the characters have a few extra expressions which is a nice touch. The rest of the game has a bit more polish in the visual department with extra details in the character sprites and textures, as well as a bit flashier special effects which add some extra flare to the overall nice looking game!

As for the audio presentation, Trails To Azure has one of the best soundtracks in the entire series, especially the battle and boss themes which are REAL bangers and set the mood for the entire game! The voice acting again is in Japanese with no English option which is a bit disappointing, but expected from a budget standpoint to make localizing these older games a bit more cost effective. The sound effects are quite good as well, adding to the overall audio presentation!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, excellent gameplay, and a flawless audiovisual-presentation, The Legend of Heroes: Trails To Azure is a masterpiece in every conceivable way and will draw in any player willing to give the game a shot and as such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation for all PS4 and Switch owners!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NISAmerica #NISA #NihonFalcom #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #JRPG #Kiseki

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Lost, But Now Found, Solid Attempt, Or "Lost" On The Masses?

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Developed by City Connection, published by ININ Games, and public relations by PR Hound, Ninja Jajamaru: The Lost RPG's are a duo of Famicom RPG's localized in the West for the first time and are definitely similar to earlier Dragon Quest games, but does this equate to a good duo of games? We think so, but you'll need to continue reading the remainder of our review to find out why!



The gameplay of both included games is decidedly old-school and feels like a throwback of the older Dragon Quest games in many ways. Both games are a tad on the shorter side clocking in at 20-30 hours each, but with the blessings, rewind feature, and cheats it's not too challenging to beat. What IS challenging, however is how abstract and convoluted the instructions on where to go next are and with literally no guides to help you out with the game, suddenly these 20-30 hour games can balloon into 60 hour games as is what happened to us during the reviewing process and is why our review took so long "apologies to PR Hound  for the wait".

Despite all of this though, the games are extremely enjoyable with fun mechanics and challenging battles "if you don't use blessings, cheats, or abuse the rewind feature anyway". There are some bonuses in the menu as well, such as shaders, and ample screen options, a gallery, and more which is what we've come to expect from the masterminds at City Connection and ININ Games! The controls are straightforward and easy to learn as expected since the games were originally released on the Famicom exclusively in Japan.



The audiovisual presentation is kind of mixed, the first RPG in this collection was a somewhat earlier Famicom title, so it obviously doesn't match some of the late-life RPG's that the console got in-terms of the graphics as it looks similar to Dragon Quest 1, but definitely not as polished visually. The audio in the first game in the collection is what you'd expect from a Famicom RPG in the 80's, very pitchy and loud, though the battle and boss BGM's were catchy a fun to listen to.

The second of the two RPG's in the collection looks really good for a Famicom game with vibrant visuals, interesting character and enemy designs, and some great special effects for that era. The soundtrack is also vastly improved over the first game, with not a single bad song in the entire game! Overall between both games this compilation has a good to great audiovisual presentation!



Bottom-Line: [With fun gameplay that can be confusing at times, flawless controls, and tons of options and content for both games in this collection, we had a favorable experience overall, while the catchy soundtrack "in both games" and amazing visuals in the second game we do recommend this to fans of the genre! Overall we give Ninja Jajamaru: The Lost RPG's for the Nintendo Switch a solid level of recommendation!

https://www.iningames.com/games/ninja-jajamaru

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #CityConnection #ININGames #PRHound #JRPG #NinjaJajamaru #Switch #Retail #eShop #PS4 #PSN

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Forging Solid Bonds!

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Developed by EXE-CREATE and published by KEMCO, Sword of Elpisia is solid JRPG with an incredibly unique story even compared to other KEMCO titles we've reviewed. Does this game live up to its predecessors? We think so, but you'll need to read the rest of the review to find out why!



Sword of Elpisia tells a gripping story of a girl who loses everything to protect the people she cares about and her quest to regain what she's lost. As far as KEMCO games go, Sword of Elpesia's story is one of the better ones with some heavy-hitting moments that will make you feel for the characters on a level few other KEMCO games accomplish. That said the gameplay in SoE takes a huge step back from recent KEMCO titles with much more simplistic mechanics that feel quite dated and lackluster at times, but despite this there's nothing inherently wrong with it and the game is still fun if you don't mind extremely old-school gameplay.

The game has a few minor nuances such as skills being tied to your weapons for a bit of customization for your characters and the game has some decent side content such as optional recruitable animal familiars, an optional dungeon that can be unlocked in the premium shop with a small amount of premium points that can be obtained in-game, as well as post-game content, including an extra story scenario, bonus dungeon, and a battle arena to name a few of the post-game goodies.



The game is actually pretty difficult at the higher difficulty settings so expect a challenge if you try to tackle the game on hard difficulty. The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn which is always nice. Now something that isn't so nice is the frequent minor frame-rate drops in the Switch version of the game, which while not a major issue did hamper our enjoyment of the game slightly at times.

As for the audiovisual-presentation, SoE is a HUGE step-up from the previous KEMCO games we've previously reviewed, visually speaking. It's not going to blow players minds or anything like that, but in-general is detailed and is quite pleasing to look at. And lastly the music fits the game's atmosphere quite well and is a bit more varied than in previous KEMCO titles, but is definitely one of the game's weak points. Still we'd say the soundtrack is still pretty good!



Bottom-Line: With solid gameplay, a fantastic story, intuitive controls, and excellent retro visuals, Sword of Elpisia is a good JRPG that most fans of the genre will likely enjoy, however some performance issues do hold the game back a bit. Overall, however we believe the game is still well worth its price and therefore we give the game a good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #KEMCO #EXECREATE #JRPG #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PS5 #PSN #Gaming

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English Not Included...

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Bandai Namco has given some new details regarding the remasters of Baten Kaitos I & II, including 30 FPS frame-rate, 2K resolution, no cut content for the Western release this time, and 30 save slots for each of the two games. That's not all, however...as they also confirmed that the English voice acting has been omitted from the collection as Japanese is the only language listed for the spoken dialog. What do you think about the omission of English voice acting in this otherwise fantastic collection? Be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#News: #Localization #Changes #Japanese #Nintendo #Monolithsoft #BandaiNamco #Switch #eShop #Remaster #JRPG #Collection #Gaming

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Passing The Bat...en To A New Generation of Gamers!

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Nintendo Announced a Remaster collection of both Baten Kaitos games releasing on Switch this Summer. Even though the series never had the same following or success as Xenoblade Chronicles has, it was wonderful for what it brought to the table, especially its card-based battle system, similar to that of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which released on the Gameboy Advance. What do you think of this upcoming remastered collection of Gamecube JRPG's from Monolithsoft? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#News #NintendoDirect #Monolithsoft #Nintendo #BandaiNamco #Switch #eShop #Gamecube #Remaster #Collection #JRPG #Gaming

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Chains of Entertainment!

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Developed by Matthias Linda, published by DECK13 Spotlight, and public relations by PR Hound, Chained Echoes is a love letter to JRPG's of yesteryear and not only lives up to the games it was inspired by, but in some ways actually surpasses them! Why do we hold this game in such high regard? Continue reading our review to find out why!



The story in Chained Echoes is pretty dark with plenty of humor splashed throughout, it's a tale of horrific mistakes, atonement, religion, and stopping atrocities such as human experimentation, and weapons of mass destruction, just to name a few, and it's mostly done with clear story arcs as to tell each part of the story in clear detail which is something many AAA studios have forgotten how to do. Now we normally talk about characters, but they are such an amazing ensemble crew that we'd be writing a full-on novel if we delved into them, which we know you guys and gals prefer us to stick to the point and not ramble, so that as they say is that.

The game has a really unique skill system which adds a skill point for every boss you beat with the characters in your group at the time, some grant you skills, others passive abilities, while others grant a small stat boost. Then there's hero statues that can grant new classes in exchange for the relatively rare item, Holy Water. These classes can boost stats, effect certain stats growth when learning new skills "sometimes stats will increase when you learn skills, and your class can effect which skills are boosted permanently and by how much", and grant a couple of class exclusive skills and passive skills which can be extremely helpful in a pinch!





Another huge part of the game later on are the mechas that you'll obtain. There's actually quite a few customization options including frames, short and long-range weapons, and a plethora of paint design options for your frames, you can buy most parts, but some of the best require other things such as defeating super bosses, or expanding your adventurer clan. This is where some of the inspiration for certain aspects of game become clearer. The clan that you can build-up by recruiting members and hunting named monsters around the world is clearly heavily inspired by the adventurer clans in Final Fantasy XII, but this game does so much more with the system allowing you to be the clan leader of your very own adventurers clan and build it up from scratch. There's a ton more to the clan system than we've mentioned, but we don't want to spoil too much about this mid-late game mechanic.

The clan system isn't the only homage to FF XII in Chained Echoes, as two of the in-game demi-human races are clearly inspired by the Bangaa and Seeq races in that game. But none of these homages feel disrespectful or are blatant rip-offs as the developer does an amazing job at making them unique in the developer's own way which is something that only truly talented developers could accomplish!




As for the controls, they are pretty self explanatory and work flawlessly. As for the length of the game, that's actually pretty tricky to estimate, but if you try to power through the main story skipping all side content, the game is around 35-40 hours in length, however if you do all of the side content as well we'd estimate a play-time of around 80-100 hours which is absolutely mind-boggling considering the game's developer is a one-man team!

The graphics in the game are 2-D, but are definitely 32-bit inspired rather than 16-bits and boy does the game look gorgeous, it looks better than most AAA releases did during the 32-bit era and what's more, the game doesn't even experience the slightest bit of slowdown or frame-rate drops. It's clear that the developer made sure that even the Nintendo Switch version of the game was perfectly optimized for the console! The music is exceptional as well with some real bangers, and all of the music fits the game like a glove!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, superb gameplay, flawless controls, and a ton of content, Chained Echoes will draw players in from the start, and the gorgeous visuals and top-notch soundtrack will make them feel like they are being drawn into the game's immersive world. Overall we give Chained Echoes for the Nintendo Switch, not only a perfect level of recommendation, but also our choice for January 2023's Game of The Month!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #ChainedEchoes #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PSN #JRPG #DECK13 #MatthiasLinda #PRHound

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Pixel Extravaganza!

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Square Enix has finally announced Switch and PS4 ports for their Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster titles and they are releasing in a physical collection in both a Standard Edition ($74.99 / £64.99) and Collector's Edition ($259.99 / £244.99). Below is what comes with Collector's Edition of the game.



Both versions of the physical release will be exclusive to the Square Enix Store. The Standard Edition is already sold out as of the time this article was written. We'll let you know if or when it's back in-stock! The games will also be made available digitally together or individually on both the eShop and PSN.

As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comments section below!

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#News #SquareEnix #FinalFantasy #Retail #eShop #PSN #PS4 #Switch #JRPG

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Feel The Power of The Monado!

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Developed by Monolithsoft and published by Nintendo, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the epic conclusion of the first story arc of the Xenoblade franchise and is easily the darkest game in the entire series so far. Does Xenoblade Chronicles 3 hold-up against its predecessors? We think so, but you'll need to continue reading the rest of our review to find out why!



So going in we knew this game was going to have a massive world and dark story, but we honestly weren't expecting the story to be as dark as it is. There's a lot of British swearing compared to previous games, but the world the game is set in is literally worse than hell on earth, without going into huge spoilers everyone in the whole world basically has to kill to live and the level of brutality you see on a number of occasions left us wondering how the game didn't receive an M rating. Honestly I would not recommend this game for kids under 16, that said the story-telling is brilliant and without being held back by trying to aim for a T rating, which it still managed but barely.

The game is huge spanning 6-8 different regions each with multiple cities and or colonies and vast wildlands filled with dangerous monsters, enemy soldiers, and much more. It took us upwards of 200 hours to complete and we still wanted more, which certainly isn't a bad thing and has us hyped for the story expansion that is scheduled to release sometime next year!



The battles use a refined version of the system seen in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but with several twists such as transformations and a much more in-depth chain attack system that allows you to use exclusive moves and finishers only available during chain attacks to rack-up huge amounts of damage on unsuspecting enemies. The hero system allows you to unlock new classes for your characters as well as fight alongside the master during combat which is a great feature with a lot of flexibility in customization which is fantastic! Also unlike in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 each class has 8-12 arts so you aren't stuck using 4 preset moves on your pallet, which was something we really didn't like in XBC2.

The world is filled with quests including missable Hero Quests so be diligent if you want to unlock everything on your playthrough. The only negative aspect of XBC2 that has returned in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the lack of weapons and armor to equip so your strength and defense are mostly tied to your class and level, but can be slightly boosted with accessories and the returning gem system from XBC1 which allows you to boost stats or add effects to your characters which is certainly better than the pouch items in XBC2 for sure!



The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always good, of course and as for the audiovisual-presentation? This game looks absolutely amazing with detailed environments chock full of life and breathtaking landmarks this game might have the best graphics of any game currently on Switch and looks like something even the PS4 would have difficulty topping. As for the music, it is unique and really quite charming, but isn't quite as good as 1 & 2 in this regard mainly because we weren't digging the wind instruments as much as the guitars, violins, and drums that were more prevalent in the other games in the series. It still was amazing overall.



Bottom-Line: With amazing gameplay, a dark and intriguing story, tons of content, great controls, and graphics that truly push the Nintendo Switch to its absolute limits, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is one of the best JRPG's of the generation and as such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation for all fans of JRPG's and open world games in-general!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #MonolithSoft #Nintendo #Switch #Retail #Exclusive #JRPG #XenobladeChronicles

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Echo of A Splash!

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PR Hound has announced that the highly anticipated JRPG, Chained Echoes will be releasing on the Nintendo Switch on December 8th! The game is by Deck13 the same team that brought us CrossCode and Lunastice so you know the game will be top-notch!

As always be sure to leave us a comment in our comments section below!

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#News #PRHound #Deck13 #Switch #eShop #Retail #JRPG

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Trails From Tio-Tot!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published in the West by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero is the first game in the long-awaited and previously skipped story arc in the series "at least outside of Japan" starring Lloyd Bannings, Elie MacDowel, Randy Orlando, and Tio Plato formally known as the Special Support Section A.K.A. the SSS. Their job is to restore the Crossbell PD's broken reputation and help civilians in need, but things aren't always so simple. There's a HUGE reason why the Crossbell games are so well-loved and are necessary to understand the series' overarching story in both Cold Steel III & IV as well as in Reverie, and Kuro I & II. Singularly Crossbell's storyline might be the most important one to the series' story as whole. While we obviously can't spoil major story content, we can at least give context as to why. As always continue reading our review to find out why and we hope you enjoy it!



The story in Trails from Zero is absolutely amazing, taking the storytelling of the Sky games and upping the bar several fold. It's an extremely important chapter for giving context in future installments of the series as well such as Trails of Cold Steel III & IV and it is recommended you play this and Azure first if you haven't played anything past Trails of Cold Steel II yet. The gameplay is quite interesting and differs quite a bit from the Cold Steel arc, but is also a bit different from the formula seen in the Sky arc as well.

The battles are also much improved over the Sky Trilogy's, but uses the same engine with grid based movement. There are a bunch of new nuances, but the UI and targeting are far better in Zero. It's really just a ton of small changes that culminate into a much better experience overall. The game even features a trophy system that pops a notification when you earn a trophy and is a nice touch for sure, something we'd like to see used more often in Switch games. The game also features a speed mode to increase gameplay speed from 2-8x normal speed which is a HUGE time-saver for sure, especially when the game itself clocks in at around 100 hours in length give or take 40 hours depending on your pacing.



The audiovisual presentation is really good in this remaster with sharp high quality HD textures, character models, and enemies, gorgeous special effects with equally good lighting and shadowing effects. It is honestly hard to imagine at its core it ever was a PSP title. And the music is exceptional as well with loads of bangers that fit the game like a glove! Overall the game's presentation is a HUGE step-up from the Sky games and looks gorgeous in this remaster!



Bottom-Line: With great gameplay and a ton of content, an amazing story, and a masterpiece of an audiovisual presentation, The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero is a nearly flawless game from start to finish, and just barely fails to reach the heights of the Cold Steel games "with the exception of Trails of Cold Steel I which we gave a 7/10 for being a SUPER slow burner in-terms of how quickly or lack thereof the story pacing was in the game". Overall we give this game a nearly perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10

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#Review #NihonFalcom #NISA #Kiseki #Trails #JRPG #Switch #Retail #eShop #PS4 #PSN #SpecialSupportSection #Geofront

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A Classic Masterpiece Roars Onto The Nintendo Switch!

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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, Prinny Presents Volume 3 is a collection of two amazing strategy RPG's from NIS's back catalog of classic titles that really have withstood the test of time and are still excellent games today! How excellent you ask? Continue reading our review to find out!



The UI in the main menu of the collection is pretty basic, but sleek, however there's no bonus materials such as artwork or anything else of the sort whic is a tad disappointing, but no real biggie. The actual games are where the real draw lies, especially the never-before-released in the West PSP version of La-Pucelle Tactics, A.K.A La-Pucelle Ragnarok which has loads of bonus content including all DLC released in the PSP game and newly voiced lines from the original VA's from the English release of the PS2 version of the game "or at least VA's that pull off sounding exactly like the original VA's" either way the voice acting is pretty good and the new voiced lines add to the already enjoyable audio presentation. The controls are smooth and work well as expected while the isotopic 3-D camera works remarkably well compared to other games in the genre.

The gameplay plays almost exactly like Disgaea including an item world and geo panels which are called something else, but work similarly, with the caveat of being able to be purified. Purifying these panels actually plays a HUGE role in getting not only a good ending in a chapter, but also the good ending of the entire game. Which is important because failing to get the good will be terrible for the protagonists and the world while the worst ending makes the world of Disgaea look warm and fuzzy in comparison. You'll have to play the game if you want to know what happens in the bad endings, but it's bad in a good way! Overall La-Pucelle Ragnarok is a worthwhile game that fans of Disgaea fans and fans of tactical RPG's is general should thoroughly enjoy and as such receives a score of 9.5/10



The gameplay in Rhapsody A Musical Adventure is fun, with dungeon exploration, fun tactical battles, and a unique puppet mechanic that allows you to speak to and bring puppets to life. The main mechanic of the game is its musical scenes which are pretty well-done even if you play the game with the English voice overs.

The battles are more simplistic than La-Pucelle Ragnarok's was, but still is fun enough to keep most players engaged. The audio-visual presentation of Rhapsody A Musical Adventure is amazing, with great voice overs, top-notch retro visuals, and amazing music! Overall we give Rhapsody A Musical Adventure a good to great level of recommendation. The game receives a score of 8.5/10!



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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #Switch #Retail #eShop #JRPG #SRPG #LaPucelleRagnarok #RhapsodyAMA #Collection #NISAmerica

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Gotta Gigantamax Em' All!

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Article Originally Written By: @Unrealgamergirl



Pokemon sword/shield is full of adventure as you travel through the Galarian Region discovering the mythicals and Pokemon this area has to offer! Your adventures will include trainer battles, gym battles, new enemies, Gigantamax Pokemon and more! Your journey starts off like all the others meeting your newest professor and picking your starter Pokemon. The three wonderful pokemon you may choose from this time include: Scorbunny (Fire type) that some people say looks like a fire Trix Rabbit, Sobble (Water type) which seems to have varying moods, and then Grokey (Grass type) a cute little monkey that’s ready for adventure! Once you choose your Pokemon you head into the focus of the Galarian Region where you can explore the different areas containing all the different types of Pokemon from ice to steel, to dark, and more! Be careful though as some of these Pokemon are too high level for you to fight or capture first so pay attention to what you do!

Also a new feature you are introduced in this game is Gigantamax Raids, this is found in the town center also. If you choose you can ride your bike or walk up to one of the wishing wells that have red lights coming from them. Once you enter the well you began a Gigantamax battle, but not to worry your friends can help! A time counts down to where other trainers or friends can join you, if successful you get the chance to catch an oversized and overpowered version of the said Pokemon using a special Gigantamax version of the pokeball!



Story mode wise your journey is to pursue the different paths and areas to earn gym badges to become a Pokemon master and impress Chairman Rose so that you may enter the ultimate Pokemon tournament! Along your journey you may uncover some new mysterious Pokemon from this region so keep your eyes open and have plenty of pokeballs ready at all times! There is a twist to the story mode end, but that I will leave for you to unfold! Your overall goal is to capture the legendary for the game, these include: Zacian (sword) and Zamazenta (shield) and then head into the tournament to prove your worth! The story mode is overall pretty fun, and depending on which version of the game is what will determine the path and Pokemon you will come across so choose wisely and make sure to work with friends to trade towards a full Pokedex!

The last feature of this game that we’d like to highlight is that Nintendo has also released DLC that will unlock two new regions onto your Galarian map! Again this will depend on what version you have, but either way this brings two new regions to life for you and lots of new local Pokemon! Along with new gyms to battle and badges to claim! This is exciting as these are the first ever Pokemon games to get DLC so make sure to take full advantage of these awesome add ons trainers!

One negative side to this game that trainers around found was that there was no regional Pokedex, but trainers around the world have come together to find ways to work around this! So keep your eyes posted and connections sharp!



Overall I’d give these games a great level of recommendation as the graphics are amazing, the story play is well thought out and fun, and overall this is a great addition the Pokemon collection I do feel!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #Switch #Retail #eShop #JRPG #Pokemon #TPC #GameFreak #Nintendo

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Monstrous Fun!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, YS IX: Monstrum Nox is the ninth main installment in the long-running YS series, ten if you count Ys Origins, but is this darker brother of the series worth a purchase? We think so and here's why:



The game has all the typical action-rpg goodness you've come to expect from the series with fast-paced battles, interesting and unique bosses, and a diverse cast of likeable characters. The formula is mostly intact including the raid battles from Ys VIII, but the puzzle-solving has been watered down quite a bit which isn't a good thing, but doesn't hurt the game that much either, much to our surprise. The story is incredibly dark this time around so expect some really sad moments during the game's 8 lengthy chapters!

The game is also a fair bit shorter than its predecessor clocking in at around 30 hours in length if you know what you're doing. The controls are quite responsive and easy to learn which is always a good thing, and the difficulty is fairly challenging even on the normal setting.



The audiovisual-presentation in YS IX is quite good with lush open-world regions, and fantastic special effects and character designs. The only downside visually is that the game doesn't quite look as impressive as its predecessor, YS VIII, but overall it's a really nice looking game. On the audio side of things, the voice acting is superb and the soundtrack is as good as you'd expect from a Nihon Falcom game, which is nothing short of perfection!

The Switch Difference:

There are two big things to take note about the Switch version of the game, and neither are particularly positive. First the frame-rate is quite bad on Switch, sometimes dropping to sub 20 FPS, but aside from those there are frequent smaller dips the cause the game to frequently stutter which is not great to be honest. The other issus is battery life in handheld mode which is quite bad. We only managed to get a paltry 1 hour and 35 minutes of play-time off of a full charge. These two issues definitely hurt the game's overall score, but it's still a worthwhile purchase if you don't own a PS4 or PS5.



Bottom-Line: With a dark and amazing story, excellent gameplay, solid controls and a top-notch audiovisual-presentation, YS IX: Monstrum Nox is a nearly flawless action-rpg that is an absolute blast to play, however the Switch version has frame-rate issues and drains the battery quickly in handheld mode and as such We give the Switch version a good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #YS #NihonFalcom #NISAmerica #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Switch #eShop #ActionRPG #JRPG

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The End of A Saga!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the final game in the Erabonian storyline in the long-running series and has been highly anticipated by fans, but does the game deliver the quality that fans have come to expect? We think so and here's why:



In-terms of story and gameplay, Trails of Cold Steel IV picks up where the third game left off, and while it doesn't immediately get you into the meat of the gameplay, it does quickly recap what happened at the end of ToCS III, just in more detail. Once you do gain control you'll quickly notice that the battles are a good deal more challenging this time around with orders taking a massive drop in efficacy, but aside from that most of the changes in gameplay are pretty minimal outside of the new minigames and few new features that were added in this game.



The game is quite the beast in-terms of length as well, clocking in at between 100 and 150 hours to beat even on the easiest difficulty. The game has a host of missables as usual which can make earning the platinum trophy quite difficult to obtain without some sort of assistance, such as a guide or walkthrough. The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn if you're a newcomer, though we highly recommend playing the games in order to avoid spoilers.



The audiovisual presentation is absolutely breathtaking as the visuals have seen a increase in detail and the cutscenes in particular look amazing with higher quality special effects than the previous game possessed. The new locations are quite enjoyable and look a good deal better than the returning locations, which still look great and the characters new looks are quite fantastic!



The soundtrack also is one of the best in video game history in our honest opinions, it easily has the best soundtrack we've heard since ToCS II and possibly even eclipses the soundtrack of the original Xenoblade Chronicles!

The Switch Difference:



There are a few noteworthy differences between the PS4 and Switch versions of Trails of Cold Steel IV. The first is obviously the portability allowing players to play on the go which is always a great feature no-doubt, however that's the only positive difference. The game is surprisingly harsh on the analog sticks on the Switch Lite so we'd imagine it might spell doom for any Joycon controlers on a standard Switch Model. The second issue is a significant downgrade in the graphics which felt much closer to those seen in the first two Trails of Cold Steel games, which while not terrible, feels like a big step backwards. And the last issue are frame-rates that occasionally drop below 20 FPS with more frequent drops to around 25 FPS which REALLY hurts the game's audiovisual rating.

Bottom-Line: With challenging yet amazing gameplay with a ton of content, excellent story, and a fully portable experience if desired, JRPG fans and fans of RPG's in-general will certainly fall in love with this charming and epic role-playing game. The only downside is that the audiovisual presentation has taken a HUGE hit on the limited power of the Switch hardware. Overall we give the game a good to great recommendation to all Switch owners who love a great JRPG!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10

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#Review #NihonFalcomGames #NISAmerica #TheLegendOfHeroes #Kiseki #Switch #eShop #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #RPG #SRPG

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Wild XenoArms!

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Developed by Hit Point Co. Ltd. and published by KEMCO, Armed Emeth is a wild west themed steampunk JRPG that takes cues from popular series such as Xenogears and Wild Arms and is quite good in its own right. Continue reading our article to learn more:



The story in Armed Emeth is great as expected from a KEMCO game, but what's not always a given is the gameplay which is so different from other KEMCO games or JRGP's in general I feel the need to give it extra points just for its fresh take on the genre. The game itself is quite short at less than 20 hours from start to finish and can be a bit easy at times, but I enjoyed every minute of my playthrough.

The controls are serviceable and would be rather concerned if they weren't since we're talking about a turn based JRPG.



The graphics in the game while not technically impressive are good enough to earn a passing grade with a good art direction. The soundtrack and retro sfx on the other hand are sublime and worthy of high praise! We can't stress how nostalgic the audio presentation is!



Bottom-Line: With a great story, fresh and enjoyable gameplay, decent graphics, and sublime soundtrack, Armed Emeth for the Switch is a highly enjoyable JRPG that we can't recommend enough to fans of the genre! We give the game an excellent level of recommendation!

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Score: 9.5/10

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#Review #KEMCO #HitPoint #Switch #eShop #JRPG

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Seasonal Fun!

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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Chroma Quaternion is another colorful and cheery JRPG from the prolific developer, and it is a REALLY good one this time! Continue reading our review to find out just how much we recommend this amazing JRPG!



The story in Chroma Quaternion is one of the best that KEMCO and Exe-Create has ever created from the selection of games that they have developed and published on dedicated gaming devices, the characters are extremely likeable, there are hilarious jokes abounding within the more serious overarching story, and possibly our favorite aspect are the guest characters Elimi and Extermi, who happen to be loveable idols in the game. The story is at least 25 hours in length, but to complete it will take most players 40+ hours.

The gameplay in Chroma Quaternion is quite refined with elements from many previous KEMCO titles including a job class system, 3x3 grid battle system, and plenty other mechanics that all blend together harmoniously. The difficulty is relatively easy, though a few difficulty spikes might require short level grinding, but nothing that detracts from the enjoyment factor of the game. As for the controls there's nothing negative to report as expected from a turn-based JRPG.



The audiovisual presentation in Chroma Quaternion is a real treat with colorful visuals, vibrant and detailed characters, and varied environments and the 2-D anime style story scenes are more vibrant than in other KEMCO titles which gives the game even more character. The soundtrack is extremely good and sets the tone for the entire game while the music tracks are varied and catchy and will leave players humming the tunes long after they have finished the game!



Bottom-Line: With a great story, excellent gameplay, and a nearly perfect audiovisual presentation, Chroma Quaternion is one JRPG we cannot recommend enough! We give the game an great level of recommendation to all fans of RPG's!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #JRPG #ChromaQuaternion #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop

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Monstrous Fun!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, YS IX: Monstrum Nox is the ninth main installment in the long-running YS series, ten if you count Ys Origins, but is this darker brother of the series worth a purchase? We think so and here's why:



The game has all the typical action-rpg goodness you've come to expect from the series with fast-paced battles, interesting and unique bosses, and a diverse cast of likeable characters. The formula is mostly intact including the raid battles from Ys VIII, but the puzzle-solving has been watered down quite a bit which isn't a good thing, but doesn't hurt the game that much either, much to our surprise. The story is incredibly dark this time around so expect some really sad moments during the game's 8 lengthy chapters!

The game is also a fair bit shorter than its predecessor clocking in at around 30 hours in length if you know what you're doing. The controls are quite responsive and easy to learn which is always a good thing, and the difficulty is fairly challenging even on the normal setting.



The audiovisual-presentation in YS IX is quite good with lush open-world regions, and fantastic special effects and character designs. The only downside visually is that the game doesn't quite look as impressive as its predecessor, YS VIII, but overall it's a really nice looking game. On the audio side of things, the voice acting is superb and the soundtrack is as good as you'd expect from a Nihon Falcom game, which is nothing short of perfection!



Bottom-Line: With a dark and amazing story, excellent gameplay, solid controls and a top-notch audiovisual-presentation, YS IX: Monstrum Nox is a nearly flawless action-rpg that is an absolute blast to play and as such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #YS #NihonFalcom #NISAmerica #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Switch #eShop #ActionRPG #JRPG

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Crystal Amazing!

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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO Crystal Ortha is a love-letter to retro RPG's of the 90's and does a great job emulating the games that it's inspired by, but does it live up to those legendary titles? Not quite, but it is still an amazing game in its own right, and here's why:



The story in Crystal Ortha is quite enjoyable with several twists and turns that you won't be expecting and the pacing of the story is perfect. The characters are likable and grow as the story progresses and the setting of the world is rather interesting! The gameplay is like a blend of Final Fantasy IV, Secret of Mana, Romancing Saga, and Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, with a whole bevy of interesting features and gameplay elements that will draw players into the game's enjoyable world.

The game is also exceptionally challenging as there are no healing items to restore your characters which forces you to carefully plan your next move as skills and inns are the only ways to heal. As for the controls, they are intuitive and easy to master, which is always a good thing.



The audiovisual presentation is decidedly old-school and we enjoyed every bit of it between the gorgeous pixel-art and absolutely amazing soundtrack. Overall the game has this old-school feel and sound, but with a superb modern touch which makes it look and sound amazing!



Bottom-Line: With amazing retro-style gameplay, a superb story, and excellent audio-visual presentation, Crystal Ortha for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch is a highly enjoyable experience that any and all fans of the genre should purchase and as such we give the game a great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #KEMCO #HitPoint #JRPG #Retro #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop

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The End of A Saga!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the final game in the Erabonian storyline in the long-running series and has been highly anticipated by fans, but does the game deliver the quality that fans have come to expect? We think so and here's why:



In-terms of story and gameplay, Trails of Cold Steel IV picks up where the third game left off, and while it doesn't immediately get you into the meat of the gameplay, it does quickly recap what happened at the end of ToCS III, just in more detail. Once you do gain control you'll quickly notice that the battles are a good deal more challenging this time around with orders taking a massive drop in efficacy, but aside from that most of the changes in gameplay are pretty minimal outside of the new minigames and few new features that were added in this game.



The game is quite the beast in-terms of length as well, clocking in at between 100 and 150 hours to beat even on the easiest difficulty. The game has a host of missables as usual which can make earning the platinum trophy quite difficult to obtain without some sort of assistance, such as a guide or walkthrough. The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn if you're a newcomer, though we highly recommend playing the games in order to avoid spoilers.



The audiovisual presentation is absolutely breathtaking as the visuals have seen a increase in detail and the cutscenes in particular look amazing with higher quality special effects than the previous game possessed. The new locations are quite enjoyable and look a good deal better than the returning locations, which still look great and the characters new looks are quite fantastic!



The soundtrack also is one of the best in video game history in our honest opinions, it easily has the best soundtrack we've heard since ToCS II and possibly even eclipses the soundtrack of the original Xenoblade Chronicles!

Bottom-Line: With challenging yet amazing gameplay with a ton of content, excellent story, and a top-notch audiovisual presentation, JRPG fans and fans of RPG's in-general will certainly fall in love with this charming and epic role-playing game, and we'd even argue it's the best game in the past 4 or 5 years at the very least. As such, we give The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV for the PS4 a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NihonFalcomGames #NISAmerica #TheLegendOfHeroes #Kiseki #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #RPG #SRPG

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The End of A Saga!

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NIS America recently announced that the fourth title in their Trails of Cold Steel sub-series will be releasing in North America and Europe on October 27th on PS4 and in 2021 on the Nintendo Switch! You can watch the latest English trailer above! Will you be purchasing this Japanese Role-Playing Gem? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comments section below!

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#Trailer #NISAmerica #NihonFalcom #TheLegendOfHeroes #TrailsOfColdSteel4 #ReleaseDate #News #JRPG

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An Off-The-Rails Epic Adventure With Class VII!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games, the developer best-known in the western hemisphere for its Ys series. We have recently fallen in absolute love with the Trails series which is one of the most well thought out series we've ever experienced! Does the third entry in the Trails of Cold Steel arc of the series live up to the previous two games? We think so and here's why!

After a nearly three year wait, Class VII is finally back in session, but this time you, as Rean Shwarzer take on the role of instructor of the class in the newly built Thors Branch Campus. The game starts off quite similarly to the first Trails of Cold Steel title, and there are tons of nods and parallels to the first game between the storytelling and the structure of the game's chapters.



the game is a whopper in length as it can easily take well over 150 hours to do a 100% run and nearly 250 hours minimum to earn the platinum trophy. Divine Knight battles return, but the system has been streamlined and is much more fun this time around!

Battles have also been revamped with new turn bonuses as well as the new order command system that allows you to use BP to issue orders that grant beneficial buffs and effects for a set number of turns which adds another strategic layer to the series' already deceptively deep battles! The menues have been streamlined as well both in and outside of battles and visually look much tidier which is a nice touch!



The controls are flawless in this game and the game's difficulty is well-balanced regardless of which level of difficulty you select, though Nightmare is not recommended during your first playthrough. The visuals in this game are by far more detailed and gorgeous than the first two Cold Steel titles, with excellent lighting, and amazingly detailed textures and character models! The music is amazing as well, though a few of the best tracks are missing from previous games which is a shame, but otherwise the audio-visual presentation is simply flawless!



The Nintendo Switch Difference: The Switch version of the game brings with it a slight visual downgrade, but this pales in comparison to the improvement of the frame-rate when compared to the PS4 version. Gone are the slight frequent dips in frames and jerky movement, but even better is that you can play the game on the go with almost no drop in resolution or graphical quality compared to playing in docked mode. Overall we'd say the Switch version is the superior port of this game, the only downside is parts I & II still aren't available on Nintendo's hardware which needs to be rectified at some point.



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, excellent gameplay, flawless controls, and an absolutely fantastic audio-visual presentation, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is one of the best JRPG's of the generation and there's really no reason not to add it to your Nintendo Switch collection of games. better frame-rate and almost no drop in graphical quality in handheld mode make this version the definitive port of the game! We do highly recommend playing the first two Cold Steel games first, however. Overall we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NISA #NihonFalcom #Switch #eShop #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #PerfectScore

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Sci-Fi Zelda Meets MMORPG In This Thrilling Epic You Can't Miss!

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CrossCode is a retro-inspired 2D action JRPG that is said to "combine a captivating storyline, with realistic physics and worlds that offer a fast paced combat system and lots of puzzle mechanics. Putting it simply, it's a game not to miss!"

Deck13 , ININ, Radical Fish Games, and PR Hound have stated in a press release that "CrossCode for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 will be available in all major retail stores in Europe and North America starting from August 28th 2020. Furthermore, the exclusive and limited SteelBook Edition and Collector's Edition are available only at Strictly Limited Games starting today. The digital editions can soon be ordered in the Nintendo eShop and the PlayStation Store and will be released on July 9th 2020."

Here's what was said regarding the game in the press release.



"CrossCode is a retro-inspired 2D game that comes with a captivating sci-fi storyline and silky smooth physics. Magnificent worlds and a fast-paced combat system are combined with outstanding puzzle mechanics and lots of options for character growth. A strong main story and lots of side content allow you to spend up to 80 hours in the detailed, nostalgic pixel world.

CrossCode is set in the distant future, where you follow a player named Lea. Lea logs into a fictional MMO called CrossWorlds. Lea suffers from memory loss and is mute. The path to regain Lea’s memory is to play CrossWorlds, discover all the game locations and meet other players. Bit by bit as Lea’s memory returns, the mystery surrounding CrossWorlds will unravel - and you will discover why a mute player is stuck in this game in the first place.

CrossCode had seven years of community-driven development behind its creation and was hugely anticipated by a strong fanbase before its successful release on Steam.


CrossCode features:

* Abundant main story and side content

* Outstanding Retro-style music

* Great variety of puzzles

* Fast-paced combat system

* Combining the best of JRPG and action adventure games in a modern retro-styled look

* Discover a large SciFi world with 7 unique realms

* Fight more than 120 enemy types including 30+ boss fights

* Explore 7 vast dungeons with unique themes and puzzle mechanics"

As for the special editions of the game, they include the following.



CrossCode SteelBook Edition
The limited CrossCode SteelBook Edition for PC, Nintendo Switch and PS4 features:

Game

Instruction Card

Manual

Variant reversible Cover

Original SteelBook

Individually numbered limited Edition

The SteelBook Edition is exclusively available at the Strictly Limited Games Partner Shop for €39.99. The PlayStation 4 SteelBook edition is limited to only 2,000 copies worldwide. The Nintendo Switch SteelBook edition is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide. The PC SteelBook edition is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide.

CrossCode Collector’s Edition



The limited CrossCode Collector’s Edition for PC, Nintendo Switch and PS4 features:

Game

Instruction Card

Manual

Variant reversible Cover

Original SteelBook

Hardcover CE Box with magnetic lock

Original 2-Disc Soundtrack

Hardcover Book - CrossCode Compendium

18 Stickers

Large Poster

Lea 'Hi' Keychain

Individually numbered limited Edition


The Collector’s Edition is exclusively available at the Strictly Limited Games Partner Shop for €59.99. The PlayStation 4 Collector’s Edition is limited to 1,500 copies worldwide. The Nintendo Switch Collector’s Edition is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide. The PC Collector’s Edition is limited to 2,000 copies worldwide.

What do you think of this news? Will you be picking up this excellent action RPG next month when it lands on the eShop and PlayStation Store? As always be sure to leave us a comment below!

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#News #ININ #Deck13 #RadicalFishGames #PRHound #CrossCode #Switch #Retail #eShop #PS4 #PSN #JRPGPS4

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A Demonic Adventure To Restore The World!

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Developed by  Cattle Call Games and published by NIS America, Alliance Alive HD is a remaster of the 3DS JRPG of the same name which was met with a somewhat mixed reception from critics, but we rather enjoyed the game and this version is a great game as well in our opinions! Continue reading our review to find out why we think this game is worth a purchase!



The story in Alliance Alive is pretty good, but is decidedly retro with very simplistic story-telling as well as no voice acting. It all ties together with the old-school look and feel of the game. The game is pretty short only clocking in at around 20 hours in length. As for the gameplay the battles are done in simplistic turn-based fashion with a slight twist to the skill learning formula which is actually quite advanced as you learn skills based on the way you battle, but the algorithm is extremely complex and thus is difficult to figure out what actions trigger certain skills to "spark" and be learned.

The game has a ton of side-quests as well so completionists can expect to add an additional 15-20 or so hours into the game just for the side-quests and if you want to unlock every skill for every character chances are you'll need to sink 80+ hours into this game. As short as the game is, it truly shines in its replayability which is fantastic news! Now for the downsides, the dungeons are too simplistic and can be boring at times, the story is very predictable and uses many overused tropes, there isn't enough variety in enemies, there are a few glitches here and there, though none we experienced were game-breaking, and in-general Alliance Alive is simply solid to good in its best aspects, luckily there isn't a whole lot wrong with the game so it's still a fun game for JRPG fans.



The audio-visual presentation of the game is quite nice, but of course it won't wow gamers though that's sort of expected from a game that was designed from the ground up to be a love-letter to the classic 32-bit era classics in the genre. The world map feels like it was ripped straight out of a PSOne era JRPG and that's a good thing in our opinions! The character models are gorgeous however thanks to the unique art direction the game uses, and some locales look breathtaking as well, but again it's a result of the amazing art direction rather than the actual graphics engine the game's assets utilize. LUL

The soundtrack is pretty enjoyable as well with some catchy tunes here and there that fit the game quite well, but there are other tracks that feel out of place or are rather forgettable which is a shame, but overall the audio-visual presentation is good!



Bottom-Line: With a good, but cliched story, solid gameplay, and good audio-visual presentation Alliance Alive HD Remaster is an enjoyable experience for all fans of the JRPG genre, but a few issues do hold the game back a bit. Overall, however we give the game a solid to good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10

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#Review #NISAmerica #CattleCallGames #JRPG #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Switch #eShop

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We're Getting Fired Up Now!

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The release date of the upcoming PS4 and Switch JRPG Fairy Tail has been announced by PlayStation's European YouTube channel! The game will be releasing in the already packed month of March which seems like very bad timing with the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake releasing less than three weeks before Fairy Tail's March 19th release date, but we're thoroughly looking forward to playing the game next year!

For those of you who don't know, this RPG is being developed by Gust, the masterminds behind the Atelier series and is based off the anime series of the same name! Are you looking forward to this upcoming JRPG? Let us know in our comments section below!

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#News #Gust #KoeiTecmo #FairyTail #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #JRPG #Anime

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The Greatest Manwitch?

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Developed by Galapagos RPG and published by Idea Factory International, Dragon Star Varnir is a fun RPG that has quite a few unique gameplay features and elements, but is this enough to cement the game as a standout title? We think so and here's why!



The story is actually quite unique and drew us in really quickly with an excellent cast of characters that bring the world to life. Dragon Star Varnir has a unique "layered" battle system that not only adds vertical movement rarely seen in JRPG's. The game also uses an advanced weakness system that makes you have to use your head and carefully choose what type or elemental attack to use and even which character should attack which enemy! This might sound overly complex, but the game does a good job with on-screen displays and tutorials so it should be easy for most players to learn the ropes of the game. Also every character also has a field skill that can help you get past obstacles or even earn items and equipment so it's a smart idea to frequently switch between characters!

Another unique thing about the game is the skill system where you must devour dragons to unlock skill trees to unlock abilities, passive skills, and stat upgrades. This forces players to really explore the world and try to devour every type of dragon to bolster each of their characters! The game also allows you to bond with the older witches by gifting them to see events or feed the younger witches dragon meat to keep them from permanently disappearing from the witches den.



Dragon Star Varnir is fairly lengthy at over 50 hours in length, but the game can easily take longer due to its difficulty. The controls in the game are easy to learn which is always a good thing. The audio-visual presentation is quite nice with great character and enemy models, and reasonably nice looking dungeons, and the music and voice acting are superb! The game brings back the ecchi transformations from Death End Re;Quest so it's definitely not something we'd recommend playing around younger audiences. Overall the audio-visual presentation is very solid in our opinions.



Bottom-Line:With an excellent story with great character development, great gameplay that's both enjoyable and extremely challenging at times, flawless controls, and a very solid audio-visual presentation, Dragon Star Varnier is an excellent game through and through and we highly recommend picking up the game if you're an adult gamer who's a fan of Idea Factory or RPG's in general! We give the game a great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #IdeaFactory #GalapagosRPG #JRPG #DragonStarVarnir #PS4 #Retail #PSN

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An Off-The-Rails Epic Adventure With Class VII!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games, the developer best-known in the western hemisphere for its Ys series. We have recently fallen in absolute love with the Trails series which is one of the most well thought out series we've ever experienced! Does the third entry in the Trails of Cold Steel arc of the series live up to the previous two games? We think so and here's why!

After a nearly three year wait, Class VII is finally back in session, but this time you, as Rean Shwarzer take on the role of instructor of the class in the newly built Thors Branch Campus. The game starts off quite similarly to the first Trails of Cold Steel title, and there are tons of nods and parallels to the first game between the storytelling and the structure of the game's chapters.



the game is a whopper in length as it can easily take well over 150 hours to do a 100% run and nearly 250 hours minimum to earn the platinum trophy. Divine Knight battles return, but the system has been streamlined and is much more fun this time around!

Battles have also been revamped with new turn bonuses as well as the new order command system that allows you to use BP to issue orders that grant beneficial buffs and effects for a set number of turns which adds another strategic layer to the series' already deceptively deep battles! The menues have been streamlined as well both in and outside of battles and visually look much tidier which is a nice touch!



The controls are flawless in this game and the game's difficulty is well-balanced regardless of which level of difficulty you select, though Nightmare is not recommended during your first playthrough. The visuals in this game are by far more detailed and gorgeous than the first two Cold Steel titles, with excellent lighting, and amazingly detailed textures and character models! The music is amazing as well, though a few of the best tracks are missing from previous games which is a shame, but otherwise the audio-visual presentation is simply flawless!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, excellent gameplay, flawless controls, and an absolutely fantastic audio-visual presentation, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is one of the best JRPG's of the generation and there's really no reason not to add it to your PS4 collection of games. We do highly recommend playing the first two Cold Steel games first, however. Overall we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NISA #NihonFalcom #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #PerfectScore

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Time for the NEP NEP Review of SUPER NEPTUNIA RPG!

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 All righty then let’s have some fun with this, first things first, the art style backgrounds of this game are just beautiful; I truly like how everything looks. Now then on we go, Super Neptunia RPG is a side scroller platform type of game but the battles are still turn-based just a little different from the usual. Instead of the usual, those with high speed can attack faster.

This game battle system is set with a circle that fills up and as it does, you can attack depending on how many points of charge it has and how many points each attack does, I haven’t quite figured out what attack uses how many points other than the effect being larger like higher hit damage or higher healing. The story begins as usual in Neptunia game universe, some being going against the goddesses for whatever reason, usually hates them or think goddesses should no longer rule, but after Neptune and the gang lose they lose their memories and powers and wonder about in this new world were goddesses no longer exist.

Slowly they experience living in a 2d world and thanks to a woman named Chrom and Histoire reunite with one another learning of the true nature of this world with its 2d games and how anything of higher quality has been lost or its against the law of a group named Bombyx Morri, so the group has to regain their memories and their power in order to stop them.



Now the battle system isn’t as simple as it sounds since all four characters share the same circle. It means not all of them can attack at once unless you charge enough points to make them all attack. Also, each character has only one attack depending on their position, once you get the other team members they can change positing mid-battle and depending on what position they are in, you press the button for the character you want to take action.

You learn the skill by buying gear and equipping it and learning their skills by gaining skill exp instead of the usual unlock skills by certain levels. There are attack skills, passive skills and skills that add status like regen or blocking certain type of attacks or elements. Also, you need to take into consideration your attacks as well, because if you attack an enemy that has absorb lightning, for example, your meter that charges goes into negative, making you wait even longer to be able to attack. Also, the enemies work the same way.

They have to charge their meter in order to attack, and also, while these fights are technically turn-based, they still run in real time, meaning that if you just leave the meter charging you’re going to get attacked only opening the menu stops the fights. There is also the break skill which is a bar that charges as you attack, it charges faster if you hit an enemy with a weakness.



Once you get the goddess power back you can transform like previous games and they have their own unique break skill when they transform as well. Also you should know that due to the meter charging slow these fights usually take very long but you don’t have to worry because the game offers the feature to press L2 to speed up the fight and depending how hard you press it’s how fast it goes, so if you only want to move the fight a bit faster you only have to slightly press the L2 button or if you in a hurry and just want to end the fight fast then press the whole L2 button to make it go really fast.

Right now there are some audio glitches with the game, which can also be caused by pressing L2, whenever a character attacks, they usually say something but if all enemies die and she’s not done, she will say victory line and then finish saying the line when she was attacking for example Neptune has an ice skill that at the end she says “ice cold”  so if I were to speed up fight it would go something like this “get some, (victory line) you can’t defeat a protagonist duh!, (attack line) ice cold!" so yea that can be a little annoying for some and at the moment it hasn’t been patched yet, same with when everyone levels up at the same time they talk together so you most likely won’t understand what they are saying. Sometimes the background music does glitch up but it’s rare it hasn’t occurred to me that much

Now something I find personally annoying it’s that the npcs in this game are extremely limited in what they have to say, as in you can talk to those who have a quest and they will repeat a little of what they want but most other npcs just say this “…” same with the ones you finish a quest once quest done all they say is “….”, which is weird because npcs have voice acting and they say hello or something of the sort but speech bubble just says “…” and it’s very unusual for an RPG game that has interactable npcs and they say literally nothing.

Something I don’t like is that once you pick up a quest while some do give you enough detail to know what to do, some do not, like where you can find said enemy or item. Same with the story. You get a reminder on top of the screen on what you need to do, but it’s very limited and if you were not paying attention to the story, you might get a little confused because unlike previous games where they give you like a quick summary of what you last did, this game doesn’t. Still, this game is super fun and as usual it’s got the making fun of other series or games thing, I won’t tell you which to not spoil it.



Something that might bother players and honestly it’s really minor, it’s that on occasion the game skips a frame which is strange for the type of game this is but it’s really not a big deal. Sometimes the victory screen kind of glitches out but its only recently starting to happen. I don’t know if it's because of the map, but it’s really minor. Also on some parts of the story, the screen stays black, but it’s not because the game froze it’s just that your suppose to press the x button like if it was continuing a dialogue, but since transition is black you can’t tell.

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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10

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#Review #IdeaFactory #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #Sidescroller

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Labyrinthian Platforming At Its Finest!

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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, Lapis x Labyrinth is platformer with RPG elements, great aesthetics, and unique gameplay, but is it worth diving into? We think so and here's why:



The gameplay in Lapis x Labyrinth is absolutely bonkers, but in an ingenious and highly enjoyable way. There are tons of genres crammed into this title ranging anywhere from puzzle to platforming and even JRPG elements and the gameplay elements meld together seamlessly. The story is hilarious and fun as expected from a game developed by Nippon Ichi Software so expect to have an enjoyable romp!



There are a ton different enemies in the game and the bosses are creative and a blast to take down! The controls are intuitive and easy to learn and the game's difficulty is nicely balanced! There are tons of skills and a balanced leveling system that adds a JRPG feel to the game as well.

The audio-visual presentation is superb with gorgeous character and enemy models, gorgeous level designs, and a fantastic soundtrack it's hard to not love this game!



Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, intuitive controls, and a fantastic audio-visual presentation it's hard to not immediately be immersed in Lapis x Labyrinth's amazing world and there's no real negative aspects to the game! Overall we give the game a good to great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10

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#Review #NipponIchiSoftware #NISA #PS4 #Retail #PSN #Platformer #Puzzler #Action #JRPG

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Another KEMCO Masterpiece?

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Developed by Exe-Create and published by KEMCO, Sephirothic Stories is an adventure RPG with some interesting mechanics and a great story! Best of all it's the first fully 3D game that KEMCO has released on home consoles. Is it the best KEMCO game we've reviewed? No, but it's still a top-notch game in many aspects and here's why:



The game's story is pretty good even if it's cliche and plays things safe for the most part. The gameplay feels quite interesting despite being very rudimentary. You won't be wowed, but you should enjoy it nonetheless. The game is fairly short, clocking in at under 20 hours in length. The controls are easy to learn which is always a plus.



The audio-visual presentation is where the game struggles alot. The 3D visuals are quite clunky and while I wouldn't call them ugly, Exe-Create needs to put more focus in detail for their next 3D game. The soundtrack is hit and miss, but mostly miss and while the songs are rather unimpressive they aren't bad either which is good at least.



Bottom-Line: With a good story, unique and fun gameplay, and flawless controls, Sephirothic Stories is a worthwhile purchase for any JRPG fan, but a somewhat lackluster audio-visual presentation holds the game back. The jump to 3D is the most noteworthy addition to this KEMCO RPG and is a fun change of pace. In any case we give Sephirothic Stories for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #KEMCO #ExeCreate #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #JRPG

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Solid Bonds!

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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO, Bonds of the Skies is a fantastic budget JRPG that will keep fans of the genre entertained for many hours! Is this KEMCO's best game yet? Nope, but it's still a blast to play and here's why:



Bonds of The Skies has solid gameplay that is unique in various aspects, of course random encounters are in which we rather enjoy every now and then, battles are relatively straightforward, but there are some nuances such as being able to move characters around in your formation mid-battle without using a turn to increase damage given or save yourself if you're low on health by retreating to the back of your formation.

Elements play a HUGE role in the game and quite frankly make the enemies far too challenging for even intermediately skilled players in many instances, especially later in the game. Luckily we previously reviewed the 3DS version so we knew how to tackle the game this time around! Still if you like a serious challenge you should enjoy Bonds of The Skies.



The story is pretty unique as expected from KEMCO so be prepared for a fun romp through the world of Eil, but don't expect any major plot-twists to catch you off guard this time around. Bonds of The Skies is rather short clocking in at around 30 hours in length so don't expect a 100 hour epic adventure.

The controls are easy to learn as expected from a throwback 16-bit JRPG titles which is nice. We also liked the character and enemy designs in Bonds of The Skies. The soundtrack is quite enjoyable as well and really sets the mood for the game!



The Playstation Difference:

The gameplay is more-or-less the same as the 3DS version, however most of the bugs are gone in this port. The game is also crossbuy with the Vita version which also happens to be PSTV compatible which is always great in our opinions!

Bottom-Line: With solid gameplay, excellent controls, and a great audio-visual presentation, Bonds of The Skies for the 3DS is a great game that most fans of the RPG genre should thoroughly enjoy, however the difficulty and short length of the game might be off-putting for some. Regardless we give Bonds of The Skies for the 3DS a good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10

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#Review #HitPoint #KEMCO #JRPG #PS4 #Vita #PSTV #PSN #Switch #3DS #eShop

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Gotta Catch 'Em All!

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We hope you guys and gals have been enjoying your weekend so far and we've got a special treat for you all as we recently interviewed Thylacine Studios about the then upcoming Siralim 3 and are now publishing the feature, which is our first developer's interview in more than two years. We plan to publish more developer's interviews in the upcoming months as well. Without further ado here's our interview:

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[WWW]: Hello! Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!

[Thylacine Studios]: Thanks for the interview!

[WWW]: What games were your biggest inspirations for creating the Siralim series?

[Thylacine Studios]: Siralim was primarily inspired by an old Gameboy Color game called Dragon Warrior Monsters. DWM is all about capturing and breeding monsters and using them to fight in randomly generated dungeons, which is the core of Siralim's gameplay as well. Additionally, ARPGs like Diablo, Path of Exile, and Grim Dawn inspired Siralim's depth of gameplay and itemization.

[WWW]: What's new in your third installment in the Siralim series?

[Thylacine Studios]: More than I can realistically list here, but I'll try to name just some of the new features:

- New story featuring a set of 15 new boss fights.
- Over 100 new creatures to collect, for a total of nearly 800 creatures. All creatures now have rare "Singular" versions as well, which have unique color palettes.
- New type of end-game content called Itherian Realms. These are randomly generated dungeons that have randomized properties which affect the enemies you'll find there. If you defeat the boss of an Itherian Realm, you can upgrade a new type of item called "Talismans" which grant you passive effects. This is the richest end-game content the series has ever had, and it's where players spend most of their time in the game.  
- Nether Crucibles, which is sort of a "boss rush mode" in which you can unlock exclusive abilities for your creatures.
- Asynchronous player-versus player battles.
- There's a new Knowledge System in which you will gain an increasing amount of knowledge about each creature over time. As you gain more knowledge, you'll unlock creature-specific perks such as being able to view an enemy's health bar in battle or increase that creature's chance to drop rare items when you kill it.
- Detailed lore has been written for all ~800 creatures in the game, totaling over 60,000 words. That's roughly the size of an average novel.
- Breeding has been overhauled and is a lot more accessible than it was in Siralim 2.  
- Major quality of life improvements, including a revamped user interface and faster battle system.

[WWW]: Just how long do you think a typical playthrough of Siralim 3 will take most players?

[Thylacine Studios]: The game is intended to last players for as long as they wish to continue playing. There's no true endpoint in the game, which is why so many of our players are still enjoying the game past the 1000 hour mark. Some people stop playing after 40 hours, while others will probably continue to play indefinitely. There's no level cap, and there's no limit to how difficult the content can become.

[WWW]: Can you tell us more about your studio?

[Thylacine Studios]: Technically, Thylacine Studios is a one-man operation. I'm the designer and programmer for all our games, but I hire freelancers to create things like graphics, music, sound effects, and more. Recently, I've been hiring people who are avid Siralim players. For example, the two people who wrote the creature lore for the game (Mario and Sergio) have been playing the Siralim series for several years now. My ultimate goal is to work with people who are passionate about the game rather than someone who is merely looking to treat their work as a routine job.

[WWW]: When you're done with the Siralim series is there a dream project that you folks would like to work on?

[Thylacine Studios]: I have several dream projects, and I'm working on one of them right now! It's called "The Negative". The Negative has the monster catching gameplay and complexity of the Siralim series mixed with the environment and feeling of hopelessness that you might feel in games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne. It's a much higher-budget game than Siralim, and I think some of its features are going to blow people away. I'm excited to reveal more about the game soon!

Also, I've always wanted to work on a game similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. There aren't many games out there with FFT-style gameplay, and I have several exciting ideas to deliver a fresh experience to this genre. 

There's definitely a lot more to come for the Siralim series as well.

[WWW]: Thanks for allowing us to interview you! Hopefully we can do this again sometime!

[Thylacine Studios]: Thanks for the interview, and thanks to everyone who reads it!

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#Exclusive #Feature #DevelopersInterview #ThylacineStudios #Siralim3 #JRPG #MonsterCollection #PS4 #Vita #PSN

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A Guiding Lighthearted Adventure To Enjoy!

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Developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, The Princess Guide is a strategic beat 'em up with RPG elements and is similar to Penny Punching Princess in many ways, but very different in others. How does this game stack-up in comparison to Penny Punching Princess? Continue reading our review to find out the answer!



First off the story in the game, while somewhat basic is quite charming and sets the mood for the mostly enjoyable adventure. The characters are charming and lovable, the plot in borderline genius at times with clever plot-twists in a few of the four character's stories. Overall in this aspect the game is absolutely amazing.

The gameplay is good too, however several issues do hold the game back, which we'll explain a bit later on, but first let's talk about the positives! The zany beat 'em up formula from Penny Punching Princess is mostly intact here, but is more refined with a Full-fledged skill and stat building system for your princesses. With four princesses and four stories between them the game is quite substantially longer than Penny Punching Princess which is great as we felt that the aforementioned game was a tad on the short side.

The mechanics and enemies attack patterns also add almost a bit of a shoot 'em up feel to the game unlike the mostly hand-to-hand combat in PPP. There are even heavy tactical RPG elements thrown into the mix, further adding to the game's depth especially in the overworld area. Another HUGE difference between the two games is the added depth in the character building aspect of the game where you can really power-up your princesses. The main character "you" a.k.a. The Guide is able to be customized with whatever gender you want, and your choice  between different voices, character portraits, and name. Overall this does add a nice personal touch to the game and is much appreciated!



The downsides are basically bugs or technical issues. While rare, it is possible to accomplish every goal during a stage and still lose thanks to a rather unfortunate bug. There are a handful of visual bugs as well as semi-frequent crashes that we also encountered which hurts the game's overall score. Essentially without these bugs the game would have received a near-perfect score.

The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn yet can take a few days to fully master. The audio-visual presentation is vibrant and cheerful while absolutely ludicrous in some ways "We're looking at you boob jiggle". Otherwise it's quite good with excellent visual novel style storytelling with gorgeous character designs and backgrounds and a superb soundtrack. The character's voice acting did get on our nerves a bit however which is unfortunate, but only a minor gripe.



Bottom-Line: With an amazing story, good, but flawed gameplay, a mostly great audio-visual presentation, and solid controls, The Princess Guide is a great game in many ways and is well worth diving into, however some technical issues hold the game back quite a bit and as such we give The Princess Guide for the PS4 a solid level of recommendation.

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #NISAmerica #DeveloperPlaceholder #JRPG #Action #Strategy #BeatEmUp #PS4 #Retail #PSN

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Legendary Voyage!

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Developed and published by Shiro Games, Evoland: Legendary Edition is a series of two retro-style action-RPG's that are heavily inspired by classics such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Metroid, Mario, Diablo, and many, many more series. But does this live up to the series that are the source inspirations for the game? Not quite, but it's still an amazing set of games nonetheless. Continue reading our review to find out why we enjoyed the game so much!



The story of the Evoland games are actually quite good and have tons of references from classic characters, to anime and western cartoons, and even non-animated programs. The characters in the games are quite lovable, but the one's in Evoland II are by and far more complex and relatable. The gameplay is pretty interesting as well. In the first game you basically start off in a world reminiscent to an original Gameboy title, but as you progress your game will evolve to become more and more modern, mostly by finding the upgrades through treasure chests.

The second game handles this differently, the game has a time-travelling theme with each era in time representing a different era in gaming. Both games also have different gameplay styles and elements that represent different classic series such as The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and more and at times you'll face turn-based battles, platforming segments, and more in this short, but sweet duo of quests!



The first Evoland is extremely short clocking in at around five to six hours in length while the second Evoland title is far longer clocking in at just under fifteen hours in length. It'll likely take around forty hours to earn the platinum trophy for the game. The game can be quite brutal on the hardest difficulty setting as well, but on the easy setting it is an absolute cakewalk so the standard difficulty is recommended for most first-time players of the game.

The controls are also superb which is always a good thing. The audio-visual presentation is absolutely incredible in Evoland as not only do the visuals and soundtrack perfectly reflect every era of gaming, and look AAA quality for each era save for a few exceptions. Speaking of the soundtrack it is quite catchy and enjoyable and fits the game perfectly.



Bottom-Line: With an enjoyable story, excellent gameplay and controls, and an incredible audio-visual presentation with only a few minor exceptions in the visual department. The only other complaint we have with the games are the fact that they are extremely short, especially the first Evoland title, but otherwise the game is amazing! We give Evoland: Legendary Edition a great level of recommendation.

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #ShiroGames #JRPG #Action #Adventure #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop

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