It feels antiquated, but give it a chance, and you're likely to enjoy it. Plus, more support for the series means more likelihood that the rest will somehow, someday reach our Falcom-starved fingers.

Mato Anamolies is an appropriate name, as the game is something of an anomaly itself. I want to rate it higher than I have here regarding its overall presentation and solid first and middle narrative portions. Yet the final segments and how they contrast everything that happened beforehand hold me back. It’s frustrating, as I genuinely enjoyed my time with the game in its first two-thirds and could easily see it being a good fit for those looking for a compelling cyberpunk plot or an RPG with a similar tone to Persona. I wouldn’t mind revisiting Mato one day. I hope the next visit’s outcome isn’t so bizarre an unraveled experience.

Cyanide obviously care very much for the source material, and their earnest desire to do right by the Sisyphean task of a celebratory Lovecraft adaptation is hard to fault. I may have struggled with the poor stealth segments, but I did feel compelled by its campy cast and cosmic intrigue to see the game through to completion — something that can't be said of Infogrames' or Bethesda's attempts. Cyanide's take on Call of Cthulhu is undoubtedly the best yet, for better or worse.

A lovingly-crafted though flawed adventure in the Sierra mold.

Innocent Life would be more of a game for a casual gamer or, because of the ease of difficulty, maybe someone just starting out in the series.

Being a budget eShop title, Knights of Justice clocks in between 3-6 hours, but I'd had more than enough of it long before I completed its (incredibly frustrating) final battle. And that's a shame: I adore River City's cartoonish sprites and unique action RPG spin on the beat 'em up genre, and I genuinely enjoyed much of Knights of Justice's combat when I wasn't battling its inventory system or making up for lost time from unfair deaths. What could've been a breezy send-up is instead hampered by multiple terrible systems. Skip this one and wait for River City: Rival Showdown instead.

Hero's Saga has some good points such as actual, strategic challenge and some pretty visuals, but the game as a whole is weak.

The isometric grid muddies the waters instead of providing meaningful depth, the companion and charm systems feel several iterations short of being finished, and the core deck mechanics lack the consistency and design work that make its inspirations so enduring. Shuffle Tactics is brimming with things to unlock but starved for meaningful ways to enjoy them, leaving it less a cohesive “greatest hits album” of roguelite elements and more of a confused compilation of good ideas played out of tune.

The Mystery Dungeon games are definitely different than most Pokémon games, and there's fun to be had with them, but there are still a lot of better games available on the DS (including the second Pokémon Mystery Dungeon), which makes Blue Rescue Team difficult to recommend.

As a dungeon crawler, The Lost Child really doesn't do anything wrong, but it also clearly never strays too much out of its comfort zone either. El Shaddai fans in particular will no doubt find something to enjoy in The Lost Child, and even diehard dungeon-crawling fans might have a good time. Those without nostalgic fondness for El Shaddai or who aren't quite sold on the genre might be best served giving a series like Shin Megami Tensei a try as their first take on a story-driven dungeon crawler instead.

The long answer is that Chantelise is a fun indie RPG that just needs a good polish.

Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2, and the Path of the Ninja series as a whole, is proof that an RPG based on a popular license can be good.

If there’s entertainment to be found in the schadenfreude of watching your characters retch as they eat the disgusting food you serve them, it wears off quickly, leaving a solid — if frustrating — roguelike as the bulk of Monster Menu. While there are some great ideas at play, those ideas don’t automatically coalesce into a fun or enjoyable experience. Some may appreciate the challenge, but that’s the only hook beyond the thin main gimmick. Like a plate of grubs, Monster Menu may fill you up, but there’s no guarantee it will make you happy.

Legend of Dungeon is fun to play, but it's a game that you're unlikely to actually finish without trying a great number of times. And since you can't save your game, each attempt is a fresh start. The question is whether you'll continue to enjoy the game's randomness long enough to attempt it that many times.

I enjoyed my time in Rainy Woods, but I wish The Good Life would have given me more reasons to stick around longer. It’s a refreshing experience that encourages you to slow down for a minute and take the time to smell whatever it is that grows out there. And for SWERY fans, The Good Life feels like his most polished effort to date and probably a greater realization of what he had attempted to do with Deadly Premonition, at least in terms of free, exploratory gameplay.

It's no secret that I thoroughly enjoyed Analogue: A Hate Story. The writing is stellar, the music and graphics are stylish, and the interactive gameplay elements are immersive. I also appreciate its unapologetic attitude toward mass appeal, instead opting to please a very specific kind of gamer. Those who want to see a fine example of elevated video game storytelling would do best to check this game out. It may not be a long ride (5-7 hours for a single playthrough), but it is a satisfying one.

I appreciate Infinite Guitars ambitiously shooting for the moon, even though it missed by a mile. The game’s aesthetics are spectacular, and I loved the dynamically adjustable difficulty levels, but the iffy controls and poorly put-together plot crippled my overall enjoyment. Another round of copy editing to peruse the script and tighten up the writing would have elevated the game into “you gotta check this out!” territory. Infinite Guitars has also been extremely buggy and glitchy since its release. Though multiple patches have been released and continue to come through (Nikko Nikko has been exceptionally responsive to player feedback regarding bugs), Infinite Guitars could have used more development and QC time before its stage debut. Should Nikko Nikko expand the Infinite Guitars concept into future games, I expect more polish, improved storytelling, and would like to see the evolution of Infinite Guitars into “Infinite Rock Band” featuring additional characters who play instruments other than guitar.

I don’t ever want to be frustrated or overwhelmed with a game like Alchemic Cutie, and I applaud the amount of content that’s available here, but it feels like this jar is jam-packed to the point where the glass is cracking. While other contemporaries offer a variety of activities that benefit your progression, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to carry on in Alchemic Cutie once you’ve beaten the story. Unless you really like that pink-coloured jelly with the bear ears and you want to keep them forever.

A short adventure worthy of the breezy gamer's attention — once multiplayer is fixed.

Conception II overrelies on eccentricity to mask its unexciting game mechanics.

All-in-all Trinity Universe swims the seas of mediocrity. Whilst it's not a bad game, it doesn't try very hard to appeal to a large audience.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North is far from perfect, but it's an incredibly well-balanced beat-em-up.

I had some skepticism on how this RPG/board game hybrid would work out, but it turned out to be better than the sum of its parts.

Fans of this archaic throwback to Wizardry dungeon crawling of old may enjoy the nostalgia captured here, but those craving story and more engaging gameplay best look elsewhere.

If you know what you're getting into, Unchained Blades is an enjoyable game that doles out pain and pleasure in equal capacity.

Demonicon is ugly, awkward, and unknown, but it's still an average action RPG.

Metal Max Xeno lacks just about all of the characteristics that made the series interesting to begin with.

Class of Heroes manages to complete the job of being an introductory RPG, and it does a couple of things right, but it wasn't much fun.

Sacred Citadel should best be treated as a light romp while waiting for friends to log on to play something multiplayer.

However, if you want a Phoenix Wright style visual novel that's set in a hospital where surgeries are there to accent the character interaction, then definitely check out Lifesigns: Surgical Unit.

The plot is compelling, the combat is exciting, and the aesthetics are excellent as always.

Overall, the ways Broken Roads challenged me were fascinating and frustrating, sometimes simultaneously. It definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, though I suspect some will adore it. If you’re the reflective type, it’s sure to get the gears turning. If nothing else, it’s much cheaper than taking Philosophy 101 at a university.

Katana Kami is the worst game I've ever reviewed at RPGFan. While it works from a technical standpoint, the design is as flat and disgusting as a glass of soda that's been sitting out on the dining room table all night and into the morning. The ideas are there. I can almost hear the exciting discussions during the beginning stages of development. On paper, this game sounds tenacious and engrossing, but everything done after those initial meetings was clearly a disaster. I never got a sense of import or consequence. Katana Kami is a black hole that sucks in time and gives nothing back.

Perhaps Ar tonelico Qoga will quench the thirst of many wanting to play a console JRPG, but the game is filled with debilitating flaws. Almost everything that Ar tonelico Qoga provides has been done before in a JRPG; the lack of original content and presence of overused content doesn't leave much to praise.

While Venetica is completely playable, I never would have beaten it without a review assignment. Gamers deserve a little more incentive than the bare pleasure of leveling up and hoarding loot to no real end. Even if that's your only ambition, there are much more attractive and fun venues for it. The developers seem to have infused Venetica with at least a portion of their hearts, and I hate to see passion so wasted. Then again, I could be wrong, and Venetica is the dreary result of pure industry.

There's very little to love here, and I'd struggle to recommend the game even to fans of the original. Nippon Ichi is capable of much better than what they've cooked up here.

Dead Island Riptide is essentially what the original should have been. It's lighter on bugs, it's more playable, and it's got prettier graphics. If you were a fan of the original game, have at the sequel, but know that it's not much more than "more Dead Island."

Evoland has to be appreciated for what it is, which is less "game" and more "journey traveled." Nostalgia's a hot selling piece these past few years.

Overall, Redemption Reapers has a sound combat system that isn’t strategically interesting in the early game and a story that never grabbed me. Things start to pick up by the mid-game, but many players won’t be willing to give the game time to redeem itself.

An extremely strange game that begs to be played despite its litany of glaring flaws.

Overall, Dokapon Journey is a refreshing game.

This is a disturbingly conservative action RPG that functions as a museum of bad game design.

The gameplay can be cheap, but it does have a good degree of challenge. Technical aspects are weak, but there is some style going for it.

Overall, Jikandia: The Timeless Land is a rather disappointing game that pales in comparison to similar titles like Half Minute Hero.

While it is the strongest version of The Caligula Effect, it is hard to recommend Overdose to anyone but the most hardcore of fans given its flaws.

Due to the unique events that take place in this volume, as well as the great post-endgame quests, I do consider Vol.3 the best in the series, though I also enjoyed Vol.2 a great deal.

Dusk Diver 2 isn’t a flawless game, nor the most original. However, it wears its heart on its sleeve and provides a lot of enjoyment if you’re willing to give it a chance. It feels like a homecoming in many respects, even if it’s a series you’re only just now experiencing for the first time. That’s rather special in a way. For action RPG fans looking for a colorfully fun time, Dusk Diver 2 might be worth a look.

The Dwarves is a game that came out of a Kickstarter campaign, and it's absolutely the type of success you'd hope for as a gamer. It's a fun game with a really good story, thanks to a solid adaptation of good source material. It looks good and it sounds good, and my few frustrations with menu controls and a couple of battles I had a hard time surviving really don't diminish my appreciation for the game as a whole.

There’s no denying that Edge of Eternity certainly has a rough quality about it, and I could easily see people viewing its slow beginning as being too much of an obstacle to continue with it. But its robust, tactical-minded nexus battle system, wealth of content, and the eventual pick up of its story gradually warmed me to it. This was clearly a labor of love by the developers, even if it isn’t a perfect product. I enjoyed Edge of Eternity enough that I can only hope that there will be some kind of continuation to Daryon and Selene’s tale in the future… With plenty of Ysoris, of course!

While I can’t say I’m invested in Coop’s tired journey through his senior year in high school, I may be enticed enough to take the next episodes for a spin. But that would only be the case if the second half of Freakpocalypse maintains its quality in my memory. For all I know, I was lulled into a stupor or a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. One of the costs of reviewing for a site like RPGFan is that we try to finish every single game we review, and this one put me to the test.

At the end of each character’s storyline is an “Inevitable Dialogue” between the character and someone involved in their traumatic past. As you select the right answers to the questions asked, the characters talk through their experiences and steel their newfound resolve to move forward. The importance placed here on communication only serves to drive the point home: it’s not just what you say but how you say it that determines if the message lands or not. Unfortunately, not all of Type-NOISE: Shonen Shojo‘s interesting ideas always land.

A unique little adventure game with loads of style, fun characters, and plenty of charm.

Flint: Treasure of Oblivion has many sound strategic ideas, and its commitment to pirate themes runs deep. The combat revolves around using the terrain and ganging up on folk in all the underhanded manner you’d expect from a rag-tag bunch of criminals. The comic strip storyboards work really well, and Flint and the main characters become real personalities throughout the journey, which is a credit to the story design and artists. It’s a shame the game combat and crew systems are not well-explained and that its difficulty and progression systems can be frustrating as they currently stand. For those who like a challenge and don’t mind taking the time to learn some obtuse systems, hoist the mainsail and raise the Jolly Roger: it’s a pirate’s life for you.

If you didn't play the first and you don't mind grinding, you can have fun with White Knight Chronicles 2, but I'd strongly advise that you play its predecessor if you're interested in knowing what's going on.

I went into Best Friend Forever expecting to pet a bunch of dogs and date some cool humans, and in that respect, I was not disappointed. The dogs are good boys and girls who deserve all the love in the world, even when they poop. The humans are a fun and varied bunch whose stories may be on the short side but still have a lot of heart. Sadly, the gameplay did not live up to my expectations, but I would love to see what improvements could be made if Starcolt one day decides to create a sequel. If your love of dogs is stronger than the issues I’ve laid out in this review, then you might want to check out Best Friend Forever. Just do yourself a favor, though, and play it on PC.

Super Neptunia RPG feels like a game that's stuck in limbo, not knowing where it wants to go. There is certainly potential here, but it falls flat of what it wanted to accomplish. I do like the return to a simpler, light-hearted story but I wish the rest of the game didn't have to suffer for it. I always wish the best for Neptunia, but this is one spin-off I'm afraid I must leave in the past.

Whether or not it was intentional, The Technomancer has the charm of a thoroughly enjoyable SyFy Channel original series; it’s pretty cheesy, but it’s also entertaining.

Save your money (or spend it on "Persona 3," Atlus fans!) and skip this mediocre mess. [Import]

Those who liked the first installment will enjoy this one as well, and will appreciate the improvements brought about by the second screen, but weighing in at only 30-40 hours of mediocrity, it's probably a better rental than purchase.

Granted, Dungeon Explorer lacks some of that proper execution, particularly with the graphics and the storytelling, but overall, it's not a bad game.

Given a little time to handle the learning curve, I found the greatest enjoyment in actually playing the game instead of pondering the prose, and isn’t that the point of a handheld title?

It's enjoyable through and through, and the introspective nature of the storyline will leave you thinking about what effect a more positive attitude could have on your own life. It's easy for me to recommend this game to any Pokéfan, regardless of whether they've played prior Mystery Dungeon entries.

A fun strategy RPG that offers something for everyone but lacks an enjoyable story, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics assumes players are fans of the original movie, which is absolutely required viewing to get the most out of this game.

Crippled by poor gameplay, redeemed at times by enjoyable dialogue and decent aesthetic qualities, Arc the Lad: End of Darkness ends up being a mediocre game.

If you really enjoy SRPGs and don't have anything on your plate at the moment, Spectral Force 3 is a decent buy.

It’s too bad the journey can feel so aimless and disjointed at times with the mixed storytelling and the cumbersome mechanics that stick each component of gameplay together. It can be occasionally exhausting to navigate through the menus, swapping in different spells and items constantly as you beat on your foe for a good 30 minutes. I really wish Square Enix would give it the fair shake it deserves with modern conveniences, instead of dredging up dated gameplay mechanics that overshadow a wonderful, mystical little world. Still, getting to play a family-friendly tale with my daughter does make up for a lot of this, and if you can get some friends together, it could be the same for you.

Even though this game was trash, if it gets enough support, then there may be hope for a <I>real</I> Lunar 3 in the future.

Mars: War Logs is derivative, underdeveloped, and features one of the briefest, most rushed final chapters I've seen, but it's also completely playable and even charming in a B-movie kind of way.

Despite the faults, From the Abyss is a solid dungeon crawler. It does what it does well for the genre, and it is very easy to pick up and play. In the long run however, it's not going to be memorable game.

Face Noir is a game I can easily recommend. It executes well on every level (save the voice acting), and offers great puzzles, enjoyable characters, fabulous art design, and a fun (if pulpy) noir plotline. If you're interested in the Depression-era setting and enjoy a solid point-and-click adventure, you should absolutely check this one out.

If you've never played Lost in Blue 3 or any game like it, you ought to give it a try.

Those who liked the first installment will enjoy this one as well, and will appreciate the improvements brought about by the second screen, but weighing in at only 30-40 hours of mediocrity, it's probably a better rental than purchase.

I’m just glad that most of what Dragonborne has to offer at least put a smile on my face. The world is perfectly pocket-sized, and it’s easy to navigate and progress, and there’s a real charm about its humour and simplicity. Yet, the combat and the repetitive dungeons stop me from fully embracing the game. I played Final Fantasy Adventure for the first time in 2019; even though it was nearly 30 years old, I saw the ambitious spark that ignited the Mana series and how it inspired many kids growing up (even if that tree puzzle is ridiculous). Dragonborne isn’t far off from replicating that kind of nostalgia — and it succeeds in some ways — but it falls short in others and remains a sleeping dragon.

Aside from the bears, there’s little to recommend here on the game’s own merits. Great strategy RPGs aren’t hard to come by these days, but it’s generally a time-consuming subgenre, and Crown Wars comes across worse in their shadow. Bearing that in mind, even if you’ve exhausted all other options, you may be better off firing up another run of XCOM, Jagged Alliance, or Fire Emblem.

Episode 2 is a short, disappointing excursion into what's shaping up to be an arduous five-episode series. I can't decide if Episode 2 is worse than Episode 1, or if the formula is wearing on me already.

Overall, The 3rd Phantom isn't exactly terrible, it's just devoid of much real gameplay to satisfy gamers looking for more meat than just a bit of fanservice and origin stories.

So many things don't fit, so many things work against each other, and everything just reeks of half finished game ideas.

Anthem is a painfully average RPG from a developer that is capable of so much more.

However, the game never really delivers much of anything. It feels more like an experiment in narrative presentation than an actual video game, and while I think there is no inherent problem with the design philosophy of The Starship Damrey, the reality is that it just isn't very exciting to play.

This field trip to Luna Nova is more frustrating than fun, though fans of Little Witch Academia will likely find more enjoyment than others.

This is definitely not a game for the impatient or easily frustrated, and if you can look at the game's foibles as endearing "retro-chic" quirks, then there is joy to be found in Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled.

As the developers rightly suggested in the Space Invaders side story, the day will come when the servers are turned off and this game is forgotten. It will not be remembered or celebrated nearly as much as Yoko Taro’s masterpieces NieR and NieR Automata. But for those who want in on a strange, wonderful, and limited-time experience, SINoALICE is the perfect pastime for you. Prepare to be shocked by some of the strangest short stories you’ve ever read, and hopefully you’ll have fun bashing baddies along the way.

Death end re;Quest Code Z is a game that had me constantly questioning who it was for. As a fan of the series, I wasn’t particularly interested in a mystery dungeon roguelike and found myself barely engaging with the combat. I also don’t see mystery dungeon fans being starved enough to pick up Code Z. If they were to stumble across the game, I can’t imagine they’d stick with it due to impenetrable story that is little more than a “What If?” scenario laden with references, hints, and nods galore. As a Death end re;Quest game, Code Z offers the bare minimum of what I expect from the series. While it may not have the lows of its predecessors, it also lacks the emotional highs and rewarding gameplay elements. As Death end re;Quest 3 has been in development for a while now, Code Z serves as little more than a detour. While not particularly bad by any means, Code Z is simply the least interesting entry.

Between its endless backtracking, lengthy, unskippable cutscenes and space battles in which nothing happens, this feels like a five hour game that was padded out to five-times its length, with some ridiculous cleavage grafted onto it in an attempt to distract. Integrity and Faithlessness is not a game that respects or deserves your time, and perhaps Star Ocean is a series that's ready to be jettisoned from the airlock.

Even putting the awful rhetoric aside, Shattered Space is a tone-deaf, regressive, poorly blueprinted, and poorly executed sorry excuse for a story expansion, favoring looks over substance and regression over progression.

Some hardcore D&D fans will be disappointed by the things left out of the 3.5 ruleset, but any tactical RPG fan who doesn't know about what's been left out or doesn't care will enjoy Dungeons & Dragons Tactics.

The Council continues to be unabashedly unpredictable in its twists and turns, but Episode Four's character developments leave much to be desired. Its Social Influence system remains a fun mechanic, but an overpowered Louis renders the skill tree mostly moot.

As with its handheld predecessors, Dark Kingdom is a game that can be enjoyable to hardcore fans of the genre who are willing to overlook its flaws, but probably not to anyone else.

It's too bad, because Drakengard 2 could have been, and could have done, a lot more than it did.

If you're into RPGs for that rush of fun and adventure, avoid this game. Heck, avoid the whole Legend of Heroes series. But, if you've stuck it out so far and have enjoyed the storyline created by Falcom, a company respected by many a J-RPG fan, know that this game has a plot that enriches the others even as it proves its own value to the gamers' imagination.

New unique minigames and a gigantic island to explore makes Lost in Blue 2 an engaging purchase for anyone who can get past the daunting first few hours of extreme survival. However, the one-two combo of a companion who lacks any sort of survival competency and the required precise micromanagement of each character's vital stats can tempt even the most hardened survival buffs to snap their DS clean in half.

There are better visual novels and better RPGs out there than Fate/Extra, and with similar themes to boot, so skip this title and play The World Ends With You; Chaos Rings; or 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors instead.

While its queer twist on a usually heteronormative story deserves to be recognised, the game is let down by not letting the new ideas come to fruition. It feels like I received a bouquet of violets, but instead of them being fresh and in-bloom, they are already wilting. With just a few tweaks, the bouquet could revitalise into a fun roguelike, and while it’s overall a serviceable experience, there’s really no reason to go back once you have the true ending, if you don’t feel tired out before then.

Holiday Star is possibly the only game that contains a pheasant weaponizing the delusional fervor of otaku. Established birdie lovers will find a lot to love in Holiday Star, but fledglings should start with the prequel.

I’ll continue to keep plugging away at Tales of Crestoria as it’s updated, because I’m genuinely enjoying my time with the game, and love seeing characters like Arche, Farah, Presea, Leon, and all of my other favourites take to the stage once again. I just hope Bandai Namco can manage the bugs a little better and increase the frequency of materials and drops just a bit so people who are less willing to drop lots of money on a gacha can enjoy the story and the additional content at a reasonable pace.

I went into Reynatis with many expectations formed by the previously mentioned Crymachina and The Caligula Effect 2. I expected a jankfest that would narratively punch skyward, seeking to shatter the heavens with razor-sharp words like its predecessors. Instead, the result was middling, and I feel this is due to the dual protagonists having to split the story—and thus split the focus. Reynatis has a bit of an identity crisis, and rather than it feeling like clean cuts on where one ends and the other begins, it’s all blended up into a mess that is both fun and taxing to play, both narratively intriguing and vapid, and both exciting and mundane. My one consolation is that if The Caligula Effect 2 and Crymachina are anything to go off of, a sequel to Reynatis could be one of my favorite games of the year. With that hope in mind, I eagerly look forward to the next strange FuRyu collaboration.

Ultimately, to say that I didn't enjoy The Caligula Effect would be an understatement. I actively disliked this game the longer I played it. Its uninteresting cast, repetitive music, poor dungeon design, and tedious battle system created an experience that I sincerely detested. There's no doubt that some will enjoy the game, but I doubt most will. The Caligula Effect may not be unplayable, but that doesn't mean that it should be played. The dozens and dozens of hours that I sunk into the game weren't enjoyable at all. After reading this review, you may fall victim to the titular Caligula Effect and want to see just how bad it is for yourself—just don't say that I didn't warn you.

At this point, it should be obvious that if you're considering purchasing this game, I'd advise you not to. There are so many other, better games you could be playing.