Sporadically, a team of renowned developers unite, and the results are splendidly synergistic. Largely, that’s the case with Dark Rose Valkyrie, a game was released last June on the PlayStation 4, and has now made ...
Read More »Atelier Lydie & Suelle ~The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings~ review
Japanese role-playing games are often criticized for following formula too closely. But all too often, the person making this claim hasn’t played an entry in Gust’s Atelier series. After nineteen iterations across a twenty-year span, ...
Read More »The Alliance Alive review
The twilight era for gaming systems routinely brings about a software schism. On one side, there’s an abundance of shoddy shovelware that has curiously eluted quality control standards. Prompting by the size of the install ...
Read More »The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 review
While many games might suffer a misfortune or two, 2014’s The Witch and the Hundred Knight faced a perilous number of tribulations. Development of the title was anticipated to take a year and a half. ...
Read More »The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II (PC) review
Media sequels can fall victim to their own version of middle-child syndrome. Whereas inaugural efforts revel in world-building as well as character backstory, and concluding episodes are elevated by contributing a sense of closure, middle ...
Read More »The Longest Five Minutes review
To combat stagnancy in the crime, thriller, and romance genres, the directors of Pulp Fiction, Memento, and (500) Days of Summer shirked chronology. Each film ditched the traditional, linear approach to storytelling, inviting innovation by ...
Read More »Zwei: The Arges Adventure review
Steadily, Nihon Falcom’s body of work has been transported stateside, cultivating a legion of fans with expertly crafted franchises like Ys and Legend of Heroes. In turn, critical and commercial success has prompted publishers to ...
Read More »Fallen Legion+ review
Like many otaku-Americans, my upbringing had a strong Japanese influence- with video games, manga, and tokusatsu occupying the bulk of my recreational hours amidst the 80’s and 90’s. Moments along the way pointed to a ...
Read More »Tokyo Xanadu eX+ review
In the West, Nihon Falcom’s output is tarnished with the rare blemish. Notably, The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion and Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch– the first two entries in the Gagharv Trilogy. Released out of order, both ...
Read More »Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection review
Gamers didn’t always have it so good. For years, only a fraction of Japanese titles made the journey West, leaving first-rate efforts like Secret of Mana 2, Mother 3, and Valkyria Chronicles III accessible only ...
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