Portable

Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires (Vita) review

There’s a good reason why interactive interpretations of Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms have been largely confined to consoles: portables struggle to deliver Dynasty Warriors’ frenzied action. While sedentary systems have the power ...

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Superbeat: Xonic review

Lately, portables have received a steady stream of rhythm games, between Hatsune Miku’s trio of titles and Rise Kujikawa’s return to the entertainment world in Persona 4: Dancing All Night. PS Vita owners can add ...

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Norn9: Var Commons review

If the otome emerges as a successful sub-genre in Western media, at least some credit must be given to Aksys Games. From a trio of releases in the Hakuoki series across the PSP, PlayStation, and ...

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Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax review

Skepticism toward a fighting game with characters culled from other genres and mediums is perfectly natural. For every praiseworthy effort like Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, there seems to be an equal number of mediocre cash-ins ...

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Japanese Rail Sim 3D review

As a habitual rail commuter, I’ve grown accustomed to setbacks. Regularly, the morning train is at least ten minutes behind schedule. Other times, the locomotive careens past its designated stopping point, forcing the train to ...

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XBlaze Lost: Memories review

A hero’s journey to the underworld is ubiquitous in narrative tradition. As far back as the third century B.C., the Argonautica detailed Orpheus’ decent to rescue Eurydice, returning his beloved wife to the world of ...

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Lost Dimension review

For decades, role-playing games have drilled a very specific decree into our heads: our fellow adventurers are devoted, dependable friends. Allies are routinely our most valuable resource, endowed with traits such as a capacity for ...

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Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star review

Although Japanese role-playing games are habitually criticized for having derivative battle mechanics, verbose dialog, and trope-filled plots, the genre flaunts one prodigious advantage; no other type of game routinely offers such a rich depiction of ...

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