Tag Archives: RPG

The (Tidy) Return of the Old RPGs

Lately, I have really begun to lose my affection for RPGs, a genre I used to love after discovering how amazing they could be thanks to my first playthroughs of Square’s Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X.  Those games were truly special and introduced me to some complex and deep stories and characters I could really fall in love with (but not in that way, you silly people!).  For this reason, I came to look to Square Enix for good RPGs, I found myself, nevertheless, underwhelmed with the release of FFXII and FFXIII.  While I did have a lot of fun checking out some of the old RPGs, like FFVI and FFIX, I still had quite a bit of trouble finding any good new games of the genre, and as my schedule became busier, I also had less desire to spend such a huge quantity of time on a whole category of games that, in general, felt slow-paced and tedious.

That all changed when I was first introduced to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch on the gaming blog, RPG Square.  Something about it caught my interest, and I ended up finding it at Wal-Mart when I was in possession of a gift card.  And yet, at the same time, I must admit that my initial impression of the game was a bit reluctant.  I didn’t know about the cartoony style of graphics (I know, I’m a snob sometimes), and when I saw the creature on the cover (who turned out to be Mr. Drippy), I thought, oh, no, not another cutesy sidekick. Continue reading The (Tidy) Return of the Old RPGs

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

From flickr user Danny K1m
From flickr user Danny K1m

*Our scene opens with the writer, a tall bearded 20-something with glasses, sitting in a booth at a local diner.  He appears nervous, checking his watch, obviously waiting for someone.  A copy of the handheld hit Bravely Default walks through the door and takes a seat across from the writer.*

Hey BD, thanks for meeting me here.  I know it’s not one of our usual places, but we shared a cup of coffee here once while killing time, so I thought it would be a neutral zone for us both.  I think you know why I wanted to get together today, so let me cut to the chase.  No, please don’t interrupt; this is hard enough for me as it is.  I… think we should stop seeing each other. Continue reading Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Know Your Developer: Harebrained Schemes

Image from Harebrained Schemes' web site
Image from Harebrained Schemes’ web site

Shadowrun is a franchise that many gamers hold near and dear to their hearts. Last year, Shadowrun Returns marked a comeback for the dormant series and released to stellar reviews coming from Harebrained Schemes, a studio made up of industry veterans such as Jordan Weisman, Joe DiNunzio, and Mitch Gitelman to name a few.

Recently, I was extremely fortunate to speak with Harebrained Schemes co-founder, Mitch Gitelman to talk all things Shadowrun and the daunting task of bringing this classic franchise back into the spotlight for a new generation. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes over at Harebrained Schemes, what it was like to bring a classic franchise back, or want to know just who these guys are, this is an interview you can’t afford to miss.

Big thanks to Mitch for taking the time to speak with me and to Robin for setting this all up.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to tell each and every one of you to go grab a copy of Shadowrun Dragonfall when it releases on Windows, OSX, and Linux this Thursday, Feb 27 for $14.99. So make sure to run, not walk, to the nearest computer and grab it once it’s available.

Full interview after the jump..

Continue reading Know Your Developer: Harebrained Schemes