Phantasy Star II’s recruitment process actually made sense

By Jenni Lada // 12.7.1712.3.17

Think about how you have made friends in your daily life. Or how you have found new coworkers at your company. Bonds develop over time. Sometimes, because of applications. Things proceed quite differently in real life than they do in games, as a JRPG can suddenly pair you with partners willing to die for your avatar moments after meeting. There are exceptions to this, with Phantasy Star II being among the most notable. This game handles recruitment in a different way, one which makes a lot more sense.

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What should people know about Suikoden?

By Jenni Lada // 8.7.1710.2.17

Whenever people talk about RPG series they would like to see make a comeback, Suikoden is often among the titles named. This Konami turn-based series is known for its massive character rosters, underdog stories where a newly form army challenges and triumphs against an established, opposing force and overarching storylines and concepts. It might be a little daunting, attempting to determine how to get into such a series. Well, we’re here to help you get into Suikoden!

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A beginner’s guide to Bokujou Monogatari: the best Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons games to play

By Jenni Lada // 7.17.172.25.19

The Story of Seasons series has reached quite a hallmark in regions outside of Japan this year. It has celebrated its 20th birthday! With the Bokujou Monogatari split happening in 2014, with Marvelous deciding to have XSEED work on localizations of future entries while Natsume retained the “Harvest Moon” name and began using it on a line of original games, it may be difficult to follow the course of the series. We’re here to help you figure out which farming simulations might be right for you.

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The bit Generations series is an import treasure

By Graham Russell // 11.3.1611.2.16

Western players are likely at least somewhat familiar with Nintendo’s Art Style games, downloadable WiiWare and DSiWare titles with a shared stark aesthetic and simple-but-addictive gameplay. They’re almost all worth checking out (though the names themselves are a nightmare to keep straight across regions), but did you know that they weren’t the first of their kind? Indeed, they were preceded by a seven-game lineup for the Game Boy Advance called bit Generations.

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A beginner’s guide to the wide world of Kunio-kun

By Graham Russell // 9.26.161.18.17

Want to get into the Kunio-kun series? Great! With a new English release, River City: Tokyo Rumble, releasing this week for 3DS, it’s a great time. But… here’s the thing. It’s really basically four series. Read on and we’ll help you get started!

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Advance Wars’ commanding officers create connections

By Jenni Lada // 6.10.166.16.21

The Wars didn’t always have commanders. Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars sent Red Star and Blue Moon against one another, and that was that. You were some faceless commander, with no noteworthy backstory or specific skills. It’s only with Super Famicom Wars that distinct commanding officers made their debut, and it changed the series for the better forever.

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The troubled history of Famicom Wars

By Graham Russell // 6.8.166.16.21

It’s weird to think of Advance Wars as some sort of series for importers. After all, we’ve seen the last four entries in the West, in some cases several years before they’re released in their original Japanese form. The last title, Days of Ruin, was released in the U.S. and Europe in 2008, after a breakneck localization process that saw completely different English names and conversations in the two regions. Japanese players could buy it… in October 2013. As a digital-only Club Nintendo reward. This is just the latest in the Famicom Wars franchise’s rocky, questionable release history, one sometimes affected by real-life conflict.

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An introduction to Summon Night

By Jenni Lada // 3.7.1610.24.16

North America and Europe’s Summon Night track record is an odd one. Our first exposure to the main series only happened last year, with Gaijinworks’ localization of Summon Night 5. Prior to that, the strategy-RPG never made an official appearance outside of Japan. Instead, Atlus picked up three of the spin-offs.