Dragon's Crown is an amazing co-op experienced slightly hampered by a rather nasty UI and baffling obfuscation of its best feature.

It has a huge learning curve and might stymie even the most stalwart players early on, but once you climb that mountain, I promise you'll have a great time.

Shiny Shoe, the developers, have done it again with innovative game design and atmosphere. While Inkbound is by no means a perfect game, it’s certainly addictive and rewarding. What’s more, it plays phenomenally in solo or multiplayer. I applaud the devs for their unique ability to create an authentic experience unlike what others—AAA or indie—are capable of doing. Hat’s off to you folks, and thank you for pushing entertainment forward with your awesome ideas and execution. Your work will undoubtedly be written into gaming lore to inspire others.

Fortunately, Square Enix hasn't merely cashed in on the nostalgia, and has fired on all cylinders to provide these games with a loving upgrade at a outstanding price point.

While part of the fun is in exploration, I just found it very difficult to figure anything out. Add to that a translation that is at times pretty bad and, at points, incomplete (parts of text are just cut off and missing), and you have a game not worth a purchase.

While I think The Rising Tide has a lot to offer, my statement for the previous DLC applies: if you didn’t like Final Fantasy XVI, this isn’t going to change your mind. But this time, I think anyone who enjoyed Final Fantasy XVI even a little should give The Rising Tide a shot. It offers an excellent fight, new Eikonic abilities, and side quests that lean into the strengths of the best ones in the base game. Granted, nothing is going to match up to the base game for me, but it comes closer than I dared hope, and, for me, that’s the best I could ask for.

It’s clear that AdHoc plans to continue telling stories in this universe, and the end of this game sets up a potential future season or two, so despite the occasional questionable narrative choices, when and where it counts, Dispatch does not disappoint, standing proudly amongst Telltale’s titans with good storytelling, an excellent cast of characters (propped up by equally excellent performances from the cast) and a truly fantastic soundtrack, both from the licensed songs in-between each episode, as well as the original score by Andrew Arcadi & Skyler Barto.

Experience Inc. are on to something exciting with Death Mark; it's a quiet, slow-burning horror the likes of which we rarely see in favor of unrelenting, high octane scarefests. Playing it alone in the dark with headphones on is incredibly affecting, and yet its misguided swerves into fetish territory make me hesitant to casually recommend it. A follow-up to Death Mark that focuses on the scares without getting bogged down with tacked-on titillation could be really special. Hopefully spiritual sequel NG, which recently released in Japan, will be just that.

With engaging and believable protagonists, whimsical landscapes, and delightful voice acting to complement the shrewd writing, there's little left to nitpick but the mediocre puzzles, predictable plot, and occasional graphical hiccups.

For first-time players, Tales of Xillia Remastered is still a great way to experience this Tales of classic, as there’s currently no other official way to play it on current-generation consoles, and no system is backward-compatible with PS3. While the original may not be the absolute brightest in the series, Tales of Xillia Remastered is a solid way to play a solid Tales of title that hasn’t had a chance to shine in a while.

Funny, accessible but deep, awesome soundtrack.

It's difficult to recommend this game, because it is aimed at a very specific niche. But I will say that if you dislike shooters or aren't very skilled at them, definitely try before you buy.

Bravely Second redeems the worst sins of Bravely Default and is an entertaining homage to the classic turn-based RPGs of yesteryear.

My final score would have been considerably higher had the game ended when it was first given the opportunity.

Soul Sacrifice is what you'd get if you smashed Phantom Dust and Monster Hunter together and added a meaningful plot, and it does what it sets out to do with aplomb.

If you like traditional JRPGs but Trails in the Sky was a little too dated for you, Cold Steel is exactly what you've been looking for.

With simple, yet strategic gameplay, excellent voice acting, cute graphics, and decent dialogue, all improved from its GBA counterpart, it's definitely worth the pickup.

Whether you’re a series buff like me or a newcomer that wants to see what SaGa is all about, Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe is an encyclopedic phenomenon that’s so good, I cannot believe it’s free. And I will never stop being grateful that it actually got localized. Please, for the love of all that is good in JRPG-dom, check this game out.

If you’re a fan of SRPGs and Arco flew under your radar, you owe it to yourself to correct that. It’s one of the better games I’ve played in that category in recent years, with a combat system that successfully tries something new, a setting that hasn’t been explored in any RPG I’m aware of, and a journey that leaves an impact in no small part thanks to the developers’ handling of its subject matter. There are some flaws here that the developers could fix to make this game even better, but don’t let those dissuade you from trying out this singular RPG experience.

One of the best video game prequels ever made and one of the best entries in the Yakuza series, along with some of the best gameplay.

An excellently written story with excitingly deep characters and themes.

The unique setting and duality of madness that Shivering Isles possesses provides an excellent backdrop for more Elder Scrolls adventuring.

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani doesn’t take each opportunity it gives itself for unique worldbuilding based on rich Japanese folklore, but it’s at its best when presenting feel-good resolutions, which it does on every route. It’s not lore-heavy like Olympia Soirée nor is it a grand spectacle like Code: Realize; rather, it’s a simple but charming palate cleanser of an otome game, and that makes it unique enough to add its own kind of variety to the genre’s lineup.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse shows just how good a remaster can be if handled with love by the original people who made it (along with the previous two remasters). At first glance, the game seems exactly as I remembered it, but in reality, it’s way better. It plays smoother with a much-improved control scheme. The graphics are sharper and prettier, with markedly better lighting. The result is the most playable version of The Devil’s Playhouse imaginable and one I was delighted to experience.

Indivisible takes three different genres and melds them together expertly to create something wholly unique.

Rune Factory 4 Special is a game that throws the kitchen sink of RPG mechanics at the player. Almost every RPG player will find elements they like and elements they don’t like or find tedious. Fortunately, Rune Factory 4 Special lets you play the way you want and makes sure you never spend long doing something you don’t like. Despite being a game where I didn’t love any particular element, by the time I was finished I had loved almost every minute of my time with Rune Factory 4 Special.

The writing is fantastic. Unlike some titles, the writing paints a beautiful picture of the world without droning on and on. Each event is sufficiently described with good detail but never overstays its welcome. For the whole fifteen hours! For this reason, the pacing makes for an addicting experience. Not only is it tight and succinct, but the characters come to life with each dynamic interaction. Everyone has a distinct voice, the world is appropriately harrowing and, as Sir Brante does, players learn how the world works as we become more exposed to it.

Overall, Ever Crisis is an easy recommendation for fans of Final Fantasy VII — in any form — if you go into it knowing what to expect with its mobile caveats. So long as you aren’t vulnerable to excessive spending to your detriment, it brings three Final Fantasy VII IPs to modern audiences while giving them a consistent aesthetic that helps them all feel truly connected. Applibot’s other Square Enix mobile project, NieR Re[in]carnation, has been running for over two years now, so that helps establish some faith that Ever Crisis won’t close down when we blink. Games like this are best enjoyed as a slow grind over a long period of time — months and even years — so bear this in mind when deciding how much you want to commit to it. Enjoy the game for what it is, progression walls ‘n’ all, and perhaps come back to it every few months to see what’s new.