Do we at RPGFan like Final Fantasy VII? Off course! That’s why we’re ready forā¦a reunion of tracks from across the expansive (and still growing) FFVII universe. The timing here is intentional to celebrate the fantastic music associated with FFVII as we all get ready to enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirtā¦ Read More »
I love it when villagers rhyme / it makes me as glad as a slime Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age was hailed as an instant classic when it launched worldwide in 2018, and with more than five years of perspective our panel agrees. They discuss Dragon Quest XI’s charming characters, rock-solidā¦ Read More »
On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re “cranking” up our game to chat about a farming-centric piece of DLC for a pixel-art action RPG and a rogue-like on a tiny, black-and-white screen. First, Nick is here to share his thoughts about the farming DLC for 2021’s Eastward, Eastward: Octopā¦ Read More »
Rock the Dragon. Kazuma Kiryu starred in at least a dozen video games in the last eighteen years and experienced a remarkable fictional life. In todayās podcast, two of RPGFanās most enthusiastic Like a Dragon advocates examine the life and times of the Dragon of Dojima, as part of Retro Encounterāsā¦ Read More »
Opinions are like cats. The internet is full of them. We mostly fall into conventional wisdom here on Retro Encounter when it comes to what games deserve celebration and which games do not (there will not be an episode onĀ Beyond the BeyondĀ anytime soon), but we donāt always go with the grain.ā¦ Read More »
On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re looking at a remake of an 18-year-old game and the release of a game that felt like it took 18 years to come out. Since its announcement in 2016, Granblue Fantasy: Relink has been on many RPG fans’ most anticipated lists (it was on ours in 2020, 2022, 2023,ā¦ Read More »
It’s finally time to celebrate the music of the (last) year! As you know by now, a great deal of incredible games released in 2023, and with them, many notable soundtracks. Our panel today brought some of their favorite songs of 2023, featuring music from some Square Enix heavy hitters to some lovelā¦ Read More »
Should we double check the envelope? Weāre in the middle of entertainment awards show season, and itās high time Retro Encounter decides a worthy ballot for the RPGs with the best characters, music, visuals, gameplay, and story. But to make things interesting, weāre drafting four games for each cateā¦ Read More »
Fill my heart with Retro / And let me play RPGs forevermore We’re back this week to discuss the second half of Moon, a game that parodies RPGs so much it almost becomes an Adventure game. How does the second half of the game compare with the first? Did we get all the love? Just how many frustratingā¦ Read More »
On this episode of Random Encounter, we’re chatting about the latest installment in the Yakuza franchise,Ā Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the indie point-and-click adventure game,Ā Lil’ Guardsman. First, Jono dives intoĀ Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the direct sequel to 2020’sĀ Yakuza: Like a Drā¦ Read More »
FOUR HUNDRED BABIES If youāve listened to a Retro Encounter multiple of 50 before, you know that the panel is going to come up with a public poll for a future Retro Encounter episode. This time around, weāre having a shark party! The panel will āinvestā in pitches from twelve Retro Encounter panelisā¦ Read More »
We’re kicking off the new year on Rhythm Encounter with a brand-new kind of episode: Building a soundtrack from pieces of other games. We distilled our imaginary RPG down to eight core musical moments ā title, overworld, town, dungeon, battle, emotional, final boss, and ending, to be specific ā andā¦ Read More »
Bubby, if you ain’t got Retro Encounter, you’ll stop breathing and pass the heck out. After waiting over two decades, we finally got a localization of this quirky gem, Moon: Remix RPG Adventure. So, we got three of our panelists to discuss the first half of the game. We talk about the odd gameplay mā¦ Read More »
Welcome to 2024! This year at Random Encounter, we’re on the road to episode 300, so let’s start the new year right by chatting about some games! First up, Jerry is here to talk about the experimental visual novel, Slay the Princess. In complete opposition to just about every video game plot ever, hā¦ Read More »
Movinā to the country / Iām gonna eat a lot of Toadstools Super Mario RPG turned 27 in 2023 (!), and to celebrate, Nintendo and ArtePiazza released a snazzy new remake. Three Retro Encounter enthusiasts discuss the new remakeās new look, gameplay adjustments, and breezy difficulty, as well as Marioā¦ Read More »
To celebrate the new year, we put together a special episode before we return to our regularly scheduled topics, with a short episode full of music dedications. We were inspired by the idea of radio DJs who take listener calls and offer up dedications on air, so we polled the RPGFan staff, asking thā¦ Read More »
2023 and Me In true RPGFan podcast fashion, Retro Encounter always looks back. In an annual tradition since 2015, a Retro Encounter panel examines the previous year of RPGs and highlights a few favorites. What RPG is labeled a platonic ideal? What two 2023 downloads might be among the best DLCā¦ Read More »
On the final 2023 episode of Random Encounter, we’re chatting about all the games we’re excited about that are coming in 2024! At the end of December, RPGFan publishes one of the year’s biggest features: our most anticipated games expected to come out next year. And that means a chance to get togethā¦ Read More »
I’m a sucker for a good podcast! 25 years ago, RPGFan started life as LunarNET, and five years before that, Lunar: The Silver Star released in the West. So, in honor of that, we got four of our resident Lunar fans together to chat about the various versions of Lunar: The Silver Star. Are we fans ofā¦ Read More »
In farming games, typically the slowest part of the year is winter. So why did we record our farming music episode when it’s winter for many of our listeners? Hey, I don’t have all the answers… unless it’s about work/life balance and the best Stardew Valley partner. But I digress. Today’s panel isā¦ Read More »
Quest Like A Dragon! One Warrior, one Rogue, and one Mage separately traveled across Ferelden to recruit allies in order to stop a Darkspawn Blight, but how did it go for them? Our panelists explored the diverse societies presented in BioWareās dark fantasy RPG this month, but to what ends? Liā¦ Read More »
On this episode of Random Encounter, we chat all of the news from the 2024 Game Awards, and delve into two recent indie RPGs. First, The Game Awards came and went faster than the music playing off the winners!Ā Baldur’s Gate 3Ā was the champion of the evening with Best Game, butĀ Alan Wake 2Ā walked awaā¦ Read More »
Dungeons and Darkspawn Dragon Age, a standout mini series from BioWare’s golden age of RPGs, is a blend of high fantasy, dark fantasy, politics, and dating sim that made a big splash in 2009. Two Grey Warden veterans and one Dragon Age neophyte form a Retro Encounter panel to take on the Darkspawn Bā¦ Read More »
I think I heard a shot. We finished Bloodborne! Four very enthusiastic hunters suffered through hunters, Great Ones, Street Sharks, and many other horrors to conquer this PS4 classic. So what are our favorite bosses? What the hell does Insight do? How many times do we mix up “Great Ones” with “Old Bā¦ Read More »
It’s time for another composer spotlight on Rhythm Encounter, and this time we’re celebrating the works of Hiroki Kikuta. Many RPG fans know his work on the Mana series ā particularly Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana ā but there’s much more to Kikuta than many people know. From a PSone game that neā¦ Read More »
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