Pundits argue that the medium of anime is teeming in trope. Yet that allegation could be leveled at the creative efforts of any culture; entertainment acts as a transmitter of social norms and practices. Certainly, ...

For the last decade or so space games have been on a steady decline. Whether you crave an on-rails experience similar to Starfox or a more complex space simulator provided by the X series, one ...

Robert’s Take: Successful puzzle games allow the seemingly impossible to be accomplished, leading players down a path of nearly imperceptible path of breadcrumbs. The genre’s most prestigious titles are able to perform this feat with ...

One of the distressing deficiencies of the E3 pressers was the complete lack of Japanese role-playing games. Fortunately, a visit to the Namco-Bandai meeting room helped to cure this shortcoming. After viewing Dragon Ball Xenoverse, ...

Pundits who claim that the plotlines of Japanese role-playing games have atrophied into a puddle of tired tropes likely overlooked 2010’s Hyperdimension Neptunia and its two sequels- subtitled Mk2 and Victory. Throughout the imaginative franchise, ...

One of the more fascinating elements of modern anime is the existence of fan service- material that is specifically included to gratify or titillate an audience. From manga drawn to reveal a sliver of shimapan ...

Look past Retro Game Challenge’s collection of faux-Famicom titles, and the title divulges an implicit takeaway: despite cultural and geographical differences, the medium of gaming created an undeniable similarity across Eastern and Western childhoods. Much ...

It’s hardly surprising that 2009’s Little King’s Story was a critical darling. As a clever amalgam of kingdom simulation, real-time strategy, and light role-playing elements, the game stands as one of the better third party ...

As an aficionado of the air combat genre, I’ve sunk entire summers into staunch simulations such as IL-2 Sturmovik and DCS A-10C Warthog, as well as weeks on less fastidious fare like Heroes Over Europe ...

There’s a running joke which states role-playing aficionados can be intimately familiar with the Dragon Quest series without having to play a single entry. From random ambushes by unseen monsters, amnesic protagonists, turn-based battles managed ...