Tag Archives: Action RPG

Another look at Granblue Fantasy: Relink after finishing its main scenario

I rolled credits on Granblue Fantasy: Relink after about 20 hours of play. That might sound short for an RPG — and it is, by modern standards — but reaching the end of that main story is also potentially far from the end of your time with the game.

We’ll explore that side of things in more detail another day (mostly because I haven’t really delved into the “endgame” as yet) so today we’re taking a look at the gameplay experience while you’re playing through the main scenario.

Without wishing to spoil things too much, I had a great deal of fun playing through Granblue Fantasy: Relink. So let’s take a closer look at exactly why this game works so well.

Continue reading Another look at Granblue Fantasy: Relink after finishing its main scenario

A first look at Granblue Fantasy: Relink

I’ve been looking forward to Granblue Fantasy: Relink for a while, despite its seemingly troubled development cycle.

Ever since I spent some time playing the original mobile version of Granblue Fantasy, I’ve been hungry for the setting and characters to be adapted into a full-scale, not-free-to-play, not-mobile game. Because of all the mobile games I’ve spent some time with over the years, Granblue Fantasy is still one of the best in terms of the effort that has gone into its presentation and setting.

Ultimately, though, it was still a mobile game, and as such its appeal to me waned as the grind — or the temptation to spend money — ramped up. So does Granblue Fantasy: Relink provide what I wanted from a “proper game” adaptation of the franchise? Let’s take a closer look, based on a few hours of play.

Continue reading A first look at Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Retro Select: Nox

Westwood Studios put out some great games in their prime, including their most well-known titles such as Command & Conquer and the Eye of the Beholder series — but also some lesser-known little gems too.

Nox definitely falls into the latter category. Sadly written off as something of a Diablo II clone on its original release, it’s actually a rather distinct sort of experience featuring three separate, self-contained narratives, a great sense of structure and pacing and an excellent control scheme. Well worth your time if you like your action RPGs!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

short;Play: Dungeons and Dragons Heroes

Brenda Romero’s gonna make you her bitch! Well, probably not, but she did design this game — and a very solid, enjoyable action RPG it is, too. She made several Wizardry games, don’tcha know.

Dungeons and Dragons Heroes was an exclusive title for the original Xbox, and offers hack-and-slash action loosely based on the then-new Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition ruleset for up to four players. There’s drop-in, drop-out local multiplayer, multiple difficulty modes and hordes of enemies to fight. Sounds good to me!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Warriors Orochi 3: First Steps in a Ruined World

I, if it has not already been made abundantly clear, love the Warriors series as a whole. And I’ve found myself particularly enjoying the Warriors Orochi branch.

Warriors Orochi’s core appeal is that it successfully divorces both the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors casts from their original contexts, allowing them to break free from the stories they’ve been telling since the PlayStation 2 days. Instead, they get the chance to have a bit of fun.

Well, “fun” might not be quite the right word, given that Warriors Orochi 3 starts off with all of them (except for three, conveniently) dying horribly. But it’s certainly fun for us.

Continue reading Warriors Orochi 3: First Steps in a Ruined World

The Tower of Druaga: Persevere, Sir Knight

The Tower of Druaga is an important part of gaming history — yet it’s also a game that has somewhat divided opinion over the years.

Back in its native Japan, it was widely loved and appreciated for its revolutionary nature at the time of its original release; in the West, however, it was lambasted for its slow pace, obtuse mechanics and monstrous level of difficulty.

Regardless of your feelings on it, you can now play the Famicom version as part of the Namco Museum Collection 2 cartridge on the Evercade retro gaming system. So let’s take a closer look, and see why this game is so important.

Continue reading The Tower of Druaga: Persevere, Sir Knight

short;Play: Demon’s Souls

I’ve held off on exploring the Souls series for quite some time, because I know you need to invest a bit of time and effort to “git gud”, as the kids say.

Well, just recently I started to make that effort. And wouldn’t you know it — I’m having a good time! So much so that, having been enjoying Demon’s Souls on PS3, I went and picked up the whole Dark Souls trilogy for PS4 in a nice box set ready for some indeterminate point in the near future.

In the meantime, enjoy my experiences as a relative newcomer to the Souls series in the video below — and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Waifu Wednesday: Maiden in Black

I’ve been playing a bit of Demon’s Souls recently. I’ll talk more about my experiences specifically very soon, but I thought I’d devote today’s Waifu Wednesday to one of the most striking figures in the game: the Maiden in Black.

If you’ve never played Demon’s Souls, the tutorial will almost certainly kill you, at which point you will encounter the Maiden in Black for the first time. She will helpfully inform you that it’s now your job to ensure that the “world be mended” and that she can help you get stronger — but not until you’ve gone and beaten a big slobbering horrible demon in the game’s first stage.

Well, I guess there’s nothing like a woman who sticks to her principles, huh?

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Maiden in Black

Dark Chambers: What a Dandy Dungeon This Is

The history of how a lot of old games came to be is deeply fascinating.

One such tale that I’ve found rather interesting is how Atari’s Dark Chambers found its way to release. This is a game that has its roots in John Palevich’s Dandywhich is the reason the all-time classic cooperative top-down dungeon crawler Gauntlet exists, but then there’s also several versions of Dark Chambers out there to enjoy, too.

The Evercade retro gaming handheld allows us to experience the Atari 2600 version for ourselves as part of its Atari Collection 2 cartridge. So let’s take a closer look!

Continue reading Dark Chambers: What a Dandy Dungeon This Is

Phantasy Star Online 2: Day 1 As an ARKS Operative

Well, after an inordinately long wait — about eight years, to be exact — Phantasy Star Online 2 has finally arrived, for both Xbox One and PC players… and possibly with other platforms to follow.

To say that English speakers have been eagerly awaiting this game is something of an understatement. The Dreamcast original, being one of the original breakout successes in online gaming — and many players’ first experience with cooperative, social online gaming — is a widely beloved game, so in the eight years since Phantasy Star Online 2 released in Japan, people have been finding increasingly creative ways to get their fix, with particularly dedicated fans even going so far as to provide translation patches.

Now, none of those workarounds and fiddly tweaks are needed; everyone can just play Phantasy Star Online 2 as they please. So I thought it would probably be a good idea to jump in on the PC launch day and have a go. Read on to find out how that all went.

Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2: Day 1 As an ARKS Operative