Produced by Level-5 as their new IP following on from the wonderful ‘Dark Chronicle’ (known as ‘Dark Cloud 2’ in America), and their last game for the aging PlayStation 2 hardware before making the switch to the next console generation, Rogue Galaxy is a strange beast that showcases the very best and at times the worst of Level-5’s unique style. Continue reading
Once upon a time there was an amazing game called ‘Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes’ that showed the world that match-3 RPGs could not only be good, but they could be exceptional. After seeing an original release on the DS it was given the HD makeover treatment in a lush edition for PlayStation 3 and was subsequently ported to iOS, Android and Steam. Sadly, despite being a paragon of the genre, a sequel was never made. Enter King . . . Continue reading
An enjoyable shift in Social RPGs in recent months has been a growing trend in putting the focus on storytelling. Earlier this year we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of inter-character sequences in Dissidia’s mobile outing from Square Enix, Nintendo has managed to finally give ‘Fire Emblem: Heroes’ a compelling arc with its second chapter, and now we have Sdorica Sunset to add to the list of genuinely interesting narratives.
Phantasy Star III is often viewed as the black sheep of the series, and it’s a fair standpoint. In terms of world setting, gameplay and characterisation there’s a definite disconnect from the other titles in the series and many of the further-reaching or impactful elements are tied in retrospectively by the games successor instead of directly in the game at hand. Still, does that necessarily make it a bad game? Continue reading
It’s taken a surprising amount of time to get a game that exemplifies what most people would have expected from a Harry Potter title. The pitch practically writes itself in fact; take the setting of Hogwarts school for Witchcraft and Wizardry and allow players to create their own avatar and enjoy a mixture of school sim and original adventure. Set it within a period where enough recognisable faces from the popular novel series are around but not while Harry, Ron or Hermione are in attendance to avoid breaking canon.
Known in some regions as ‘Dark Cloud 2’, Dark Chronicle is a follow-up to the PlayStation 2 launch title that put Level-5 on the map. A sequel in the loosest terms (the game carries over none of the characters, story or world trappings, but does incorporate and build upon systems first seen in Dark Cloud), it’s an Action RPG that many consider to be the hidden peak of the genre on Sony’s black box, eclipsing even the far more prominent ‘Kingdom Hearts’. Continue reading
Famously the last game to be translated and released for the Sega Saturn, the CLAMP property ‘Magic Knights Rayearth’ also saw release on the SNES in the form of a more traditional JRPG.
