I wasn’t sure what to expect when I booted up Sand Land, but I was surprised by my experience. While I had no familiarity with the property, I found myself loving the quirky characters, the charming narrative, and the wide world to explore. On the other hand, the combat and the game’s side content leave a lot to be desired. At no point is Sand Land a bad game, it’s a quick, charming romp full of humour, but definitely has room to improve should a sequel be made.

I’ve had a soft place in my heart for Sakura Wars since I was first introduced to the series a decade ago. I personally lament the change to an action game, especially since it seems to make it feel a bit more dialogue-heavy without the lengthy strategy sections to balance out the gameplay. However, Sakura Wars has always been about the characters, interacting via L.I.P.S., and experiencing some insane, over-the-top anime antics. In that respect, the new Sakura Wars recaptures the spirit of the earlier entries and is a perfect bit of RPG comfort food to brighten your soul.

Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia was a fun experience, and with six different campaigns to explore, there is plenty of room to replay and enjoy multiple playthroughs. This game definitely scratches that strategy RPG itch, and even offers an adjustable difficulty to match just about any player’s desired challenge level. The Switch could certainly benefit from more proper strategy RPGs in its library and Brigandine feels right at home. Fans that enjoy planning out total domination should certainly check out this one.

VED is a very ambitious title. It takes a lot of hand-drawn intricacies and combines them with strong, thought-provoking character building and interesting storytelling. The first playthrough is rather quick at around six hours and subsequent ones finding new information are even quicker. The lower caliber of its voice acting and lack of depth to combat prevent it from becoming a full indie darling, but seeing how industrial and magical ideologies mix with the lawful and chaotic mindset in a fun fantasy world is consistently exciting. The game will do well with those who appreciate its visual novel tendencies, and the gameplay holds up well enough overall to encourage others to explore the mysteries of Micropolis.

Beyond Galaxyland is a welcome addition to the RPG cosmos. Its audiovisual mixture is both distinctive and effective, while the gameplay and narrative keeps everything moving along nicely. The combat may get a bit rote towards the end, and there are some frustratingly unanswered story questions when all is said and done, but there’s no denying it’s a positive experience all the way through. It’s a game that’s easy to recommend in general, but for those whom a speedily-paced RPG that offers enjoyable exploration, some engaging sci-fi mystery, and a solid turn-based system sounds appealling, Beyond Galaxyland should be right up their alley.

River City Girls brought me so much joy, and playing it with my roommate we beat it in two days without taking too many breaks. It’s fantastic to have a couch co-op game that takes all of the classic elements of beat-’em-ups and gives them an upgrade that feels modern and fresh. I can’t remember the last time I played a beat-’em-up that had both a fun and entertaining story, but was also great to play, even with its few frustrations.

Cassette Beats is generally a good game that takes the classic Pokémon formula and tries to iterate upon it in almost all areas. For the most part, the ideas are indeed a step up from the first few Pokémon generations, but the execution doesn’t quite come off in the pace of battles and its more obscure puzzles. The double-battle nature of the game and the beast customization offers players a great deal of strategy to engage with while listening to an excellent soundtrack. With such a broad open-world setting, RPGamers will likely find themselves immersed far beyond the fifteen hours of mainline content the game has to offer.

Nioh 3 feels weighed down by its own scope. There’s a lot of space, and not quite enough content to fill it all adequately. If Nioh as a series was going to move towards an open world, there definitely could have been a better balance between scope and content. This is a game that could have benefited had it traded at least one of the time periods for more unique yokai and more missions. If it had to be this big, the performance issues and eventual repetition indicate it needed a bit more heat and time in the crucible. That said, it does maintain ferocious, ruthless, fast-paced action combat, punctuated by blood-pumping compositions, and it has a generally competent story and world built around it. Just don’t expect it to excel in every dimension.

Ultimately, Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth emphasizes gameplay at the expense of story and bows out a touch too early. An abundance of weapons, abilities, and playstyles combine with a dazzling audio and visual presentation, producing a challenging, fair, yet brief experience that is sure to please both Record of Lodoss War and Metroidvania fans alike.

A fun and entertaining roguelike with a few troublesome stumbles along the way. Fans of 16-bit style adventures will certainly enjoy its audio and visual style, and a number of post-game dungeons and challenges will keep players entertained for a long time beyond the game's initial running time.

Inazuma Eleven 2 definitely stays true to the simple charm created by the first game, providing what is very much more of the same. An engaging premise sets the early theme of simple but enjoyable fun, which the gameplay is more than happy to uphold. Those looking for a challenging experience won't find that here, but there's plenty of enjoyment to be had by those prepared to sit back and enjoy the wacky adventures of the Raimon team.

Even though Black Legend uses a lot of common features, they are blended in an original way. With the addition of alchemy, battling never gets boring, even when it takes hours of gameplay to be proficient in it. The background folklore offers ingenious classes and enemies, as well as a solid basis for the visual style. Players would do well to avoid the madness-inducing fog trying to make them overlook this game.

Although Destiny isn't the brilliant start to a franchise that many had hoped for, it's a great game for those who can push through its flaws and enjoy the ride.

Inazuma Eleven 2 definitely stays true to the simple charm created by the first game, providing what is very much more of the same. An engaging premise sets the early theme of simple but enjoyable fun, which the gameplay is more than happy to uphold. Those looking for a challenging experience won't find that here, but there's plenty of enjoyment to be had by those prepared to sit back and enjoy the wacky adventures of the Raimon team.

I’m an antisocial recluse and took no advantage of the features available by connecting to the Internet, but the presence of such things in addition to the core experience means Wargroove has an enormous amount of content. Even without going through all the internet-enabled content, this game has plenty of material to keep anyone interested in a tactical experience invested. It’s not a game in which every element is effective, especially for those who demand a powerful narrative, but Chucklefish has made something worth investigating for those thinking Nintendo has let Advance Wars sit around without a follow-up for too long.

While Keep Driving has its flaws, I can’t deny how addicted I was to the game overall. With short playthroughs that clock anywhere between an hour or two, I became obsessed with obtaining all of the endings, trying different hitchhiker skills, and just enjoying the ride through pixilated backgrounds with my Swedish indie pop in the CD player. While the game’s story is minimal, it’s a point in its favour as it allows the player to create their own road trip adventure. Even though elements struggle — the writing needs another editing pass and the awkward UI made for some sticky situations — there is a lot to love that kept me coming back for more.

However, for what it is, Van Helsing II provides another very fun way to spend some evenings reducing numerous monstrous creations to their component giblets.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate offers a tough challenge that rewards those who are up to learning the game’s many intricacies and mechanics. It is a tight package bursting at the seams with loads of content, but it is also a game that asks the player to be in a certain frame of mind, one in which losses aren’t regarded as just a waste of time but opportunities to learn for the sake of future success. Even then, there is definitely an addictive feeling in brushing the dust off after the latest defeat and stepping once again into a dungeon to reach for a brand new goal, be it finding more useful items, upgrading Shiren’s gear, or managing to reach the last floor and reap the rewards.

All in all, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers successfully distinguishes itself as worthy of attention for multiple reasons. Beyond its riveting gameplay and exceptional character customization, Wuchang crafts a vibrant, mystical, and interesting world deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Sadly, the game’s awful quest progression, storytelling mishaps, and occasionally overbearing level design keep the promising concepts, plot premise, and beautiful world from shining like they should. Nevertheless, Wuchang’s sheer excitement is too attractive and makes for a gameplay experience that fans of action RPGs and especially Soulslikes will not want to miss.

There are a lot of odds and ends one discovers over the course of the game, for better or worse. The game is packed with content, quite a bit of it extending beyond the main campaign's runtime. Capcom and Marvelous wanted to turn over a new leaf, and Monster Hunter Stories certainly is that, a departure from what has come before, it just wasn't enough of a departure for my taste. The franchise faithful will probably still feel at home here, but others may need to decide if they can stomach the guesswork combat system or rote mission structure before committing to this game.

In the end, the real question is whether Pokémon Black offers enough spark to justify buying another Pokémon game. True believers have purchased it already, and the vocal haters will continue their hating despite this review's best efforts. For everyone who's left, the answer is a solid maybe.

Those prepared to battle through the tough times will find much to like from Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time, but a good number of players are likely to be chased off by some of the more frustrating parts. For me the enjoyable story and cast were more than enough to outweigh those sections where it felt like the PSP might go flying soon and it is a game worthy of serious consideration for those who enjoy the more story and text-heavy RPGs, even if those frustrating gameplay sections prevent a universal recommendation. On a whole it was an experience I would be happy to volunteer for again.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is bound to be a very divisive game among Trails fans. Its radically different structure is such a departure from the prior games that it's inevitably going to turn off some players, but at the same time, the fantastic boss battles and charming moments still manage to keep you hooked through what would, in any other circumstance, be a rather monotonous dungeon crawler. Had it not been for the two prior games of history, I doubt it would be able to hold up as well as it does; indeed, if you haven't played the previous titles, Trails in the Sky the 3rd would be a confusing mess. If, however, like so many Trails fans, you've fallen in love with the cast and want one last adventure with them, Trails in the Sky the 3rd does an admirable job of providing just that.

River City Girls 2 is mostly a refinement of the first game, and there’s honestly nothing wrong with that. While there are new characters and stories to enjoy, the core combat and gameplay remain relatively identical. However, some of the quest glitches and the game’s high price point hurt it at launch, making it a tough sell to purchase at full price for what amounts to a ten-hour experience. Even so, River City Girls 2 is a fun game to knock out over a weekend, especially with a good friend, and I hope Wayforward Technologies considers giving Misako, Kyoko, and friends another whacky adventure in the future.

Valkyria Chronicles II does gameplay right, but lacks polish in other areas.

Banishers is not quite the unqualified win I wanted it to be, but it’s easy to appreciate on its merits. While the combat overstays its welcome and the exploration leaves a lot to be desired, there’s enough here to like for those who like strong narratives with great characters. For all its faults, the game is entirely confident in what it’s attempting to do. What’s more, with the foundation laid there’s plenty of potential for its faults to be addressed in future works. And it will be interesting to see what this team does next.

Considering the source material, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories is an impressive effort that is certainly worth playing for every fan of the series that missed it on Nintendo's retired handheld. The game is far more familiar in 3D, and translates into a more addicting and satisfying experience on the PS2.

Drakensang is ultimately a rich and polished experience, and fans of the old party-based PC RPG design will find the same virtues and flaws that come with this type of game.