Retrospective – Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

what is super mario rpg

The Super Nintendo era is considered to be a golden age for JRPGs. Final Fantasy VI (known as Final Fantasy III in the US) is considered by many to be the apex of the series. Chrono Trigger is lauded as an engaging time travel story made by a development dream team of genre veterans. EarthBound is that quirky pastiche of a modern-day JRPG … Read more

Retrospective – The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)

a link to the past snes

Following up on the previous Zelda title was going to be a difficult task for Nintendo. The first game, Legend of Zelda, was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System to great fanfare, sporting an attractive top-down perspective and simple yet deceptively difficult dungeon designs. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which was released as a direct sequel … Read more

Chrono Trigger (SNES): A Sneak Peek Back at a JRPG Icon

chrono quest game

The entire concept of Chrono Trigger might seem odd at first glance. Composed of the developmental “dream team” of Hironobu Sakaguchi (the Final Fantasy creator), Akira Toriyama (popular manga artist), and Yuji Horii (the Dragon Quest creator), you have to wonder how in the world these three even got together to propose such a crazy … Read more

Another Country – Ni No Kuni: New Information for Mobile MMO

ni no kuni meaning

When I was first asked to write an article on Ni No Kuni and its possible theological connection, I immediately went with the low-hanging fruit:  vengeance and the lies we tell ourselves.  Spoiler alert:  the entire motivation of the antagonists in this game is based on that.  You come up against a bad guy, and I’m talking about the … Read more

Retrospective – Earthbound (snes): Recognizing One of Nintendo’s Finest Games

retrospective-earthbound-snes

A cult classic with a deeply devoted fanbase that continually campaigns for localizations and releases in the series. An eccentric JRPG aiming a culturally Eastern eye at the quirkiness and offbeat nature of stereotypical American life. But does it hold up to modern scrutiny? Is it worthy of being a beloved classic or is it … Read more

Persona 5 Scramble Demo Impressions

persona 5 scramble gameplay

On February 6th, Atlus released a Japanese-only demo for Persona 5 Scramble on the Switch and PlayStation 4.  At the time of this writing, it is unknown when (or if) Persona 5 Scramble will make it to Western shores. Although I have yet to finish Persona 5 properly, I decided to try out both versions … Read more

How the Nintendo 3DS Turned Into a Breakthrough Device

when did the nintendo 3ds come out

Nintendo has just unveiled their successor to the Nintendo DS, appropriately titled, “Nintendo 3DS.” What are we to think of this bizarre handheld, boasting a glasses-free 3D experience? Wasn’t Nintendo’s previous experiences with 3D gaming pretty terrible? Why is the price point just as high as the Wii when it was first released? The Life … Read more

5 Ways To Make Online Trophies Better

online trophies

One of my goals in 2020 is to obtain 20 Platinum Trophies. 20 Plats in 2020 just rolls off the tongue nicely. But if there’s one thing that will stop a completionist in their tracks, it’s online trophies. I’ve Platinumed several games that had some truly painful online trophies (I’m looking at you, Tomb Raider … Read more