Nintendo Switch first-person dungeon crawlers people can’t miss

By Jenni Lada // 11.12.1911.10.19

There have been jokes that the Nintendo Switch is the successor to the PlayStation Vita. Plenty of visual novels are making their way to the console, and it also has become a haven for RPGs. In fact, it’s even starting to find itself the home for a certain specific sort of RPG, the first-person, party-based dungeon-crawler. There were loads of them on Sony’s handheld and now Nintendo’s system is starting to build up its own library.

3DS DS Guide PC PS3 PS4 PSP Switch Vita

Appreciating distinctive Monster Hunter-likes

By Jenni Lada // 10.22.1910.21.19

Thanks to Monster Hunter World, the series has exploded in popularity. People might experience it, go through its Iceborne expansion, then wonder what’s next. While moving on to another entry in that series is a possibility, it isn’t the only option. The series is so popular, it has inspired a whole collection of contemporaries who do similar things. Best of all, some of them explore the space to try and improve on areas Monster Hunter doesn’t touch.

Guide PC PS4 Switch Vita Xbox One

What do you need to know about Phantasy Star Online 2?

By Jenni Lada // 6.11.198.3.20

E3 2019 kicked off with some rather unexpected news. After years of never getting any sort of official English release, Phantasy Star Online 2 was revealed. It actually will be appearing outside of Japan, and there will be some changes that really shake things up. Like, you know, it being exclusive to a console on which this game has never appeared before. To help people prepare for the sudden arrival of this beloved MMORPG, Michibiku is here to take you through everything you need to know!

Switch

Sega Ages Phantasy Star changes the game

By Jenni Lada // 12.17.1812.16.18

The concept of Nintendo Hard is tossed around when comes to more classic video games. Some titles, back in the day, were a bit more demanding. This did not just apply to Nintendo games, though. Some Sega games fit the bill, and the original Phantasy Star was one of them. The game had had no maps for its frustrating, first-person dungeon, no information on the items and equipment found around you and was filled with hazardous enemies which would appear frequently. While the classic mode that keeps all of that intact remains in Sega Ages Phantasy Star, it also has the improved M2 Ages variation that lets you adjust appearances, choose from the FM soundtrack and, most importantly, fix all of those nagging issues that might have turned people away before.

GBA PC PS2 PS3

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.

Genesis

Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom explores characters’ humanity

By Jenni Lada // 11.28.1711.28.17

The Phantasy Star series has done its best to take us to new worlds. Each one involves different planets, filled with people of different races. In some cases, these creatures may defy our expectations of what we would consider human. With Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, Sega presents a situation where players are able to consider the nature of many different characters with various backgrounds and see how human each one can be.

DC DS Game Gear Genesis Guide PC PS2 PS4 PSP SMS Vita

What do you need to know about Phantasy Star?

By Jenni Lada // 11.20.1711.28.17

Man, Phantasy Star can be confusing. There are so many different kinds of games in this series, but they all get tossed under the same umbrella. The oldest games are turn-based RPGs. The newer ones vary between MMOs and action-RPGs. Wouldn’t it be nice if things were simplified, so you could better understand what’s going on? Hey! Look! It is a Phantasy Star guide! How convenient.