Search found 23 matches for RPG

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The Overlord of All Demos!

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It was revealed during this morning's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase that a free demo of Atlus and Vanillaware's strategy RPG Unicorn Overlord would be made available today! The demo has since been made available on the Nintendo eShop so if you want a taste of the game early you can try it out now!

Do you plan to purchase this title, and have you tried out the demo yet? As always, be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#NintendoDirect #Atlus #Vanillaware #Switch #Retail #eShop #Demo #Strategy #RPG #SRPG

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For Puzzlery!

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Developed by Vine and Yacht Club Games and published by Yacht Club Games, Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon is a unique blend of roguelike, puzzler, RPG, and a bit of adventure gameplay elements that meld together into a highly compelling and ultra enjoyable package and to be honest is every bit as good as the original Shovel Knight title. Continue reading our review to find out why:



As previously stated, Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon's gameplay is a mixture of many different genres blended together in perfect harmony. The roguelike elements add an unpredictable, but fair level of randomness to the puzzler aspect of the game, while the RPG and adventure genre elements allow for a compelling and enjoyable story and feeling of progression for your characters as the gain new skills and abilities from the shop. There are loads of characters in the game to be unlocked, each with their own weapons, skills, and unique gameplay mechanics which adds a lot of replayability to the game.

You can also unlock 10 skins per character and many other things while grinding the game's endless content which is quite enjoyable for completionists. The game also features a Vs. Mode which is a great way to enjoy the game with a friend and had us hooked for hours! The story is relatively short on its own, clocking in at only a handful of hours, but the unlockable content, random nature of the game, and addictive gameplay will keep you coming back for dozens or even hundreds of hours and you'll likely enjoy every single minute of it due to the insane amount of polish this game possesses!



As for the game's difficulty? It's fair, but has a steep learning curve to master and can take quite a few hours to fully grasp how everything works, but the journey of mastering this game is where a lot of the fun is derived from! The controls are very intuitive and respond very well which obviously is always a good thing!

As for Shovel Knght: Pocket Dungeon's audio-visual presentation, it's a true masterpiece! Great looking overworld? Check! Breathtaking character and enemy designs? Check! Gorgeous and streamlined user interface? Check! And the soundtrack is easily the best of any puzzler we've heard in years as well as arcade-style sound effects that are absolute ear-candy!



Bottom-Line: With unique and amazing gameplay, excellent controls, and gorgeous visuals, Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon will have players hooked right from the start, while the endless replay-value and best soundtrack in the puzzler genre in years will keep players coming back time and time again! We give Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon for the Nintendo Switch a perfect-level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #ShovelKnight #YachtClubGames #VineGames #Switch #eShop #PS4 #PSN #Puzzler #Roguelike #RPG #Adventure

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Witchtastic!

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Developed by KiwiWalks and Ikina Games, published by ININ, and public relations by PR Hound, WitchSpring 3 Re:Fine is an RPG that feels a lot like a Atelier series title, but more simplistic. For better or worse the game is short at around 12 hours in length, but is that a turn-off to recommending purchasing the game? Yes, but it's mostly due to the price and there are a myriad of reasons why you should at least consider this game if it's discounted.



The gameplay is simple enough, but has quite an addictive curve to its formula in much the same way an Atelier game does with a robust item creation system that is heavily integrated into the story itself. The battles are also quite unique with the golem like puppets that you fight battles with. Overall this is where the game shines the most.

As for the controls the can be somewhat cumbersome at times, but aren't bad overall, the game is also a bit on the easy side and the length of the game is VERY short at around 12 hours in length as we already said. The audiovisual presentation is also merely adequate while it's not bad, nothing really struck us as being memorable in that department.



Bottom-Line: With great gameplay with a fun and addictive alchemy system, WitchSpring 3 will draw players in with its charm, however a short story length, overly easy difficulty, somewhat cumbersome controls, and unremarkable audio presentation really hold this game back, as does its $40 price tag. It's not without its merits and is definitely enjoyable for fans of the Atelier series so we do give the game a decent to solid level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★¾☆☆☆ 6.75/10

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#Review #WitchSpring #KiwiWalks #IkinaGames #ININ #PRHound #Switch #Retail #eShop #RPG

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The End of A Saga!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the final game in the Erabonian storyline in the long-running series and has been highly anticipated by fans, but does the game deliver the quality that fans have come to expect? We think so and here's why:



In-terms of story and gameplay, Trails of Cold Steel IV picks up where the third game left off, and while it doesn't immediately get you into the meat of the gameplay, it does quickly recap what happened at the end of ToCS III, just in more detail. Once you do gain control you'll quickly notice that the battles are a good deal more challenging this time around with orders taking a massive drop in efficacy, but aside from that most of the changes in gameplay are pretty minimal outside of the new minigames and few new features that were added in this game.



The game is quite the beast in-terms of length as well, clocking in at between 100 and 150 hours to beat even on the easiest difficulty. The game has a host of missables as usual which can make earning the platinum trophy quite difficult to obtain without some sort of assistance, such as a guide or walkthrough. The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn if you're a newcomer, though we highly recommend playing the games in order to avoid spoilers.



The audiovisual presentation is absolutely breathtaking as the visuals have seen a increase in detail and the cutscenes in particular look amazing with higher quality special effects than the previous game possessed. The new locations are quite enjoyable and look a good deal better than the returning locations, which still look great and the characters new looks are quite fantastic!



The soundtrack also is one of the best in video game history in our honest opinions, it easily has the best soundtrack we've heard since ToCS II and possibly even eclipses the soundtrack of the original Xenoblade Chronicles!

The Switch Difference:



There are a few noteworthy differences between the PS4 and Switch versions of Trails of Cold Steel IV. The first is obviously the portability allowing players to play on the go which is always a great feature no-doubt, however that's the only positive difference. The game is surprisingly harsh on the analog sticks on the Switch Lite so we'd imagine it might spell doom for any Joycon controlers on a standard Switch Model. The second issue is a significant downgrade in the graphics which felt much closer to those seen in the first two Trails of Cold Steel games, which while not terrible, feels like a big step backwards. And the last issue are frame-rates that occasionally drop below 20 FPS with more frequent drops to around 25 FPS which REALLY hurts the game's audiovisual rating.

Bottom-Line: With challenging yet amazing gameplay with a ton of content, excellent story, and a fully portable experience if desired, JRPG fans and fans of RPG's in-general will certainly fall in love with this charming and epic role-playing game. The only downside is that the audiovisual presentation has taken a HUGE hit on the limited power of the Switch hardware. Overall we give the game a good to great recommendation to all Switch owners who love a great JRPG!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10

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#Review #NihonFalcomGames #NISAmerica #TheLegendOfHeroes #Kiseki #Switch #eShop #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #RPG #SRPG

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Shakin' That Treasure Booty!

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Developed by STUDIOARTDINK and the digital version published by STUDIOARTDINK with the physical version published by ININ Games and public relations by PR Hound, Wonderboy: Asha In Monster World is a platforming RPG and a remake of the fourth game in the long-running Wonderboy series and "Boy" is it an amazing game! Continue reading our review to learn just how amazing we feel this remake is, along with our recommendation score!



The classic sidescrolling gameplay with smooth combat, puzzle solving, and zelda-esque progression is mostly intact in this remake of the legendary fourth installment of the Wonderboy series, however several new sections have been added to the game as have completely reworked 3-D sections that add a whole new dimension of gameplay to the already enjoyable Platforming-RPG.

The game is much easier than the original version that was initially localized in the west on the Wii and PS3, but still provides a challenge that will test many gamer's skills. The controls are intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing in our opinions! In-terms of length, Wonderboy: Asha in Monster World will take most first-timers around 15-20 hours to beat, though to complete 100% expect to spend an additional 10 hours of time sinking into the game!



The audiovisual presentation in the game is absolutely amazing with cute chibi 3-D characters, detailed towns and areas, and special effects that really pop. As for the soundtrack, it's quite charming and oh so catchy and will draw players into the game's whimsical world.



Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, intuitive controls, and a top-notch audiovisual presentation, Wonderboy: Asha in Monster World is a fantastic game worthy of being in any gamer's video games collection, and the additions in this remake make this an absolute must-have for any fan of the genre and as such we give this game a nearly perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10

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#Review #WonderboyIV #Remake #ININGames #StudioArtDink #PRHound #Retail #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #Platformer #RPG #Action

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WunderGurl!

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It's been a longtime coming, but Wonderboy: Asha In Monster World's release date has been announced by PR Hound and ININ Games! You can read the press release below:



ININ Games and STUDIOARTDINK are delighted to announce the official release for Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World for the Western retail release for both physical and digital Nintendo Switch and PS4 versions will be on May 28th 2021 for North America, Europe and Australia.


The retail editions for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 will be available for €39.99 / $39.99 / £34.99 and include the original Monster World IV exclusively.



The digital Switch and PS4 versions, by STUDIOARTDINK, will be available in EU and US through the online stores for €34.99 /  $34.99 / £31.49 (GBP to be confirmed). Furthermore the Steam version will release a month later on June 29th. The game will be available for €34.99 /  $34.99 / £31.49 (GBP to be confirmed) on Steam. The digital versions won’t include the original game.

Two friends saving the world

Asha, with her companion, Pepelogoo, must free the four spirits confined by evil forces whose origin she discovers throughout her journey. While the story remains true to the original 1994 game it is a full remake of Monster World IV, with cell-shaded 3D graphics and 2D gameplay that stays close to the beloved original, including enhanced visuals and refined play content.



Limited and exclusive physical editions

Three limited editions for Switch and PS4 can exclusively be pre-ordered at Strictly Limited Games. All three editions include the original Monster World IV:

The Limited Edition is available for €39.99 and includes exclusive color manual & reversible box art.

The Collector’s Edition includes terrific items like the Monster World Map, 2x soundtrack (Original & Remix), Artbook, a Squishy Ball Pepelogoo and more (€99.99).

The Mega Collector’s Edition celebrates the origins of the game and includes everything from the CE and even more fantastic items like the Asha and Pepelogoo Figurine (18cm / 7.1"), Asha Pixel Pin, a Vinyl Sticker for your console and more (€179.99).



Are you looking forward to the game's release later this month? As always be sure to leave us a comment in the comments section below!

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#ReleaseDate #Switch #eShop #Retail #PS4 #PSN #Platformer #RPG #PRHound #ININGames #STUDIOARTDINK

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The End of A Saga!

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Developed by Nihon Falcom Games and published by NIS America, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the final game in the Erabonian storyline in the long-running series and has been highly anticipated by fans, but does the game deliver the quality that fans have come to expect? We think so and here's why:



In-terms of story and gameplay, Trails of Cold Steel IV picks up where the third game left off, and while it doesn't immediately get you into the meat of the gameplay, it does quickly recap what happened at the end of ToCS III, just in more detail. Once you do gain control you'll quickly notice that the battles are a good deal more challenging this time around with orders taking a massive drop in efficacy, but aside from that most of the changes in gameplay are pretty minimal outside of the new minigames and few new features that were added in this game.



The game is quite the beast in-terms of length as well, clocking in at between 100 and 150 hours to beat even on the easiest difficulty. The game has a host of missables as usual which can make earning the platinum trophy quite difficult to obtain without some sort of assistance, such as a guide or walkthrough. The controls in the game are intuitive and easy to learn if you're a newcomer, though we highly recommend playing the games in order to avoid spoilers.



The audiovisual presentation is absolutely breathtaking as the visuals have seen a increase in detail and the cutscenes in particular look amazing with higher quality special effects than the previous game possessed. The new locations are quite enjoyable and look a good deal better than the returning locations, which still look great and the characters new looks are quite fantastic!



The soundtrack also is one of the best in video game history in our honest opinions, it easily has the best soundtrack we've heard since ToCS II and possibly even eclipses the soundtrack of the original Xenoblade Chronicles!

Bottom-Line: With challenging yet amazing gameplay with a ton of content, excellent story, and a top-notch audiovisual presentation, JRPG fans and fans of RPG's in-general will certainly fall in love with this charming and epic role-playing game, and we'd even argue it's the best game in the past 4 or 5 years at the very least. As such, we give The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV for the PS4 a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #NihonFalcomGames #NISAmerica #TheLegendOfHeroes #Kiseki #PS4 #Retail #PSN #JRPG #RPG #SRPG

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Dragons, Heroes, And Destruction!

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Developed by Hit-Point and published by KEMCO, Liege Dragon is an epic tale of legendary heroes, an ancient evil, and betrayal that will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what's next. If this sounds like good fun, it is so continue reading the review to learn more!



The story in Liege Dragon is one of ancestry, friendship, and betrayal with plot-twists will keep you returning time and time again. The characters are charming and likable, and their personal growth is very apparent over the course of the game's 20-25 hour long story. The gameplay is rather interesting with characters facing hordes of enemies at once. Each enemy cluster loses strength as the cluster gets weeded out as it takes damage which adds a fun layer of strategy to the game. The controls are fully serviceable and the difficulty can be super hard at times which might be off puting to some players.



The graphics are nice enough with good retro inspired 16-bit characters and world and nice visual novel like story scenes which looks amazing. The music is also great with some rockin' chiptunes that will entertain most retro aficionados.



Bottom-Line: With a great story, good gameplay, and excellent audiovisual presentation we give Liege Dragon for the Nintendo Switch and PS4 a great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #KEMCO #HitPoint #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #RPG

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War of The Clones!

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Developed and published by KEMCO Alphadia Genesis is a JRPG that combines SNES era elements with some modern elements thrown in and features a fully 3-D battle system, but are these features enough to give this game an edge over its competition? Keep reading to find out!

Alphadia Genesis' story is part medieval fantasy and part sci-fi and involves the typical ragtag group of characters that must work together to prevent a rebellion, but it later becomes a journey to save the entire world! While we can't get much into the details without spoiling the story, we can say that the characters are unique and the development of the characters and relationships between them is presented flawlessly in this game!

The gameplay is standard RPG fare with random battles, great storytelling, and alot of experience grinding "late game", but this game has almost perfected the classic formula to the point that it still feels like a fresh experience! The energy ring system is similar to the magic system in some of the Final Fantasy titles where your party members can essentially learn any magic in the game by equipping energi rings and battling while they're equipped! The game also has many sidequests and guild missions to tackle which adds many hours to the game for completionists!

The only major complaint that we have with the game is that the difficulty is far too easy early on, but suddenly spikes to being a little too difficult after a certain point in the game. It's certainly not gamebreaking, but it is an issue nonetheless.



Alphadia Genesis also has a superb soundtrack that not only fits the game well, but also is very memorable! The Japanese voice acting "which is turned off by default" is quite a nice touch and those of you who are fans of the Sword Art Online anime series should instantly recognize the main character Fray's voice actor! The other sound effects in the game are decidedly retro, but work well with the game.

As for the graphics the 2-D world map, towns, and dungeons look quite nice and will remind players of classic 16-bit RPG's and the anime-style character portraits during cut-scenes look gorgeous. The battles on the other hand are in 3-D and though the battle effects and character models are a little rough around the edges the overall feel will remind players of classic RPG's such as Wild Arms and certain Dreamcast RPG's!



Bottom-Line:

With a great story, excellent gameplay, superb soundtrack, and for the most part excellent graphics Alphadia Genesis is a game that any fan of the RPG genre should purchase, however issues with the difficulty curve and slightly unpolished visuals during battles prevent this game from receiving a perfect score. Regardless we still highly recommend downloading this game!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #KEMCO #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #RPG

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CrossDimensional Fun!

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Developed by Radical Fish Games, published by Deck 13, and public relations by PR Hound, CrossCode is an action RPG set in a simulated VRMMORPG that pays homage to many classic games in the genre. How does it stack up to other simulated VRMMORPG's or action RPG's in general? Continue reading our review to find out!



The gameplay in CrossCode is basically like The Legend of Zelda crossed with a ton of MMO features such as quests, landmarks, fast travel, and other nuances, but the game also focuses on intricate puzzle-solving and some of the puzzles are incredibly difficult even compared to the almighty king of puzzles The Legend of Zelda series. The game's world is quite expansive for a 2-D RPG, but not so big that it becomes a hassle to traverse.

The game is extremely long as well clocking in at a whopping 60-80 hours in length depending on a player's skill level and we mean it when we say this could have been a AAA RPG back during the SNES era, but of course things like MMO's didn't exactly exist during those days, at least not in the capacity that they have existed in for the past 20-22 years so simulated MMO's obviously didn't exist either, but we digress. As for the controls, they are silky smooth, intuitive, and a breeze to learn which is always a good thing!



The audio-visual presentation while decidedly retro has a unique style all its own and is very fitting since every other aspect of the game feels like an absolute piece of art. There is no doubt that this game would have been among the most gorgeous looking games during the 16-bit era and even in the modern era of gaming it still looks stylishly amazing! The soundtrack is extremely varied and there aren't any music tracks that we felt weren't amazing. Overall the audio-visual presentation is as close to perfection as possible!



Bottom-Line: With a fantastic story, amazing gameplay, excellent controls, a ton of content, and an absolutely perfect audio-visual presentation, there's just no reason not to add CrossCode to your collection of games be it on PS4 or Nintendo Switch! We give the game a nearly perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10

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#Review #PRHound #Deck13 #RadicalFishGames #RPG #Adventure #SimulatedMMO #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop

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Amazing, But What Happened To Paper Mario?!

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Developed and published by Nintendo, Paper Mario: Color Splash is an amazing 3-D platformer?! with JRPG and adventure genre gameplay elements, but does it live up to its true roots as a standout JRPG series? Not quite, but the game is still superb in its own rights and here's why!



The story in Paper Mario Color Splash for the Wii U is pretty funny albeit relatively non-existent which is the first of several disappointing aspects of the game, but in spite of these flaws the game is still absolutely superb! The gameplay in Color Splash is fairly straightforward, restore color to the world with you paint hammer, defeat enemies with cards, explore the various courses, and save the day. The battles are a blast to play unlike those in Sticker Star, with much more depth and strategy involved.

The world itself is separated into individual levels and there are dozens of courses in the game. Despite not being heavily story-driven, the game is still well over 25 hours in length which is pretty sizable. The controls are also silky smooth and easy to learn which is always a good thing! The game is well-balanced for the most part so don't expect any radical difficulty spikes. And lastly the Gamepad features include some touchscreen controls as well as off-TV play which is always welcome in our opinions!



There's one more gameplay aspect we're dying to talk about and that is the boss battles which are an absolute blast to play and typically have some sort of gimmick associated with them. Usually gimmicks are not a positive when it comes to core gameplay elements, but the boss battles handle these very well in Color Splash! There is one thing that has left us scratching our heads though and that is the complete lack of unique characters and enemies in the game which has always been a staple of the franchise.



The audio-visual of in Paper Mario Color Splash is absolutely breathtaking with gorgeous character designs and unique and vibrant locations that look like they were taken straight from a gorgeous work of art or a vibrant picture book. The soundtrack is equally amazing with many iconic songs beautifully remixed in this game! Overall the audio-visual presentation is complete perfection!



Bottom-Line: With a simple yet funny story, excellent gameplay, intuitive controls, and an amazing audio-visual presentation, Paper Mario Color Splash for the Wii U is a superb game for the console that is only marred by the fact that it continues to be too different from its roots as a top-notch RPG series, but regardless we give the game a great level of recommendation to all Wii U owners!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★¼ 9.25/10

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#Review #Nintendo #3DPlatformer #RPG #Adventure #PaperMario #Mario

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Overlord of The Century!

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Developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software, Disgaea 4+ Complete is a collection that compiles Disgaea 4 and all of its DLC into a single bundle and to be honest it is an absolutely amazing deal! Continue reading our review to find out more about this fantastic title!



Disgaea has always been the epitome of excellence when is comes to Japanese strategy based tactical RPG's and this game is no different with a superb and zany story and excellent gameplay that we'll be talking about shortly, overall this game oozes of quality and any SRPG fan should checkout this amazing series!

Now as for the gameplay itself the game is split into a few different parts, a city hub where you shop, train your units, among other useful things, missions where you battle in strategic grid-based battles against enemy units, and there are online matches to test your mettle against other players! There are other gameplay modes as well, but these are the three primary sections of the game.



The hub of the game has a ton of various functions as is typical in the series, but there are new things to do such as expeditions, which are basically roguelike missions that can pay players off handsomely assuming they can complete these missions. The story missions are well thought out and the story itself is quite enjoyable.

The controls are easy to learn as expected from a strategy RPG, and the game can be quite challenging at times so don't expect to breeze through the game. The audio-visual presentation is terrific as the characters, objects, and areas are vibrant and detailed and the voice acting and soundtrack are equally as good and fit the game beautifully.



Bottom-Line: With a humorous story, great gameplay and excellent audio-visual presentation, Disgaea 4 Complete+ will hook fans of the genre almost immediately and the included DLC with many hours of additional content will keep them coming back for more! We give the game a great level of recommendation!

Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

#Review #NISA #NipponIchiSoftware #PS4 #PS3 #Vita #Retail #PSN #SRPG #Strategy #RPG

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Extravagant Abode?

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My Time at Portia, released on April 16, has been well received by the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One communities alike.  It has several points that make it an excellent game.  Do you think you’ll enjoy it?  We think so and here’s why.



Developed by Pathea and published by Team17, My Time at Portia is a relaxing yet highly addictive game.  This crafting sim has several activities to keep you busy throughout your gameplay, from crafting to farming and many more in between.

Starting out with Pa’s inheritance of the workshop, you’re thrust into the world of Portia at a fairly good clip.  The tutorials are very simple, and the controls are extremely easy to figure out.  After chatting with Presley, you learn you must register your workshop in order to accept commissions, which is the lifeblood of this game as far as its currency, gols, along with earning relationships with your fellow townspeople.  There is the main storyline, and it’s entertaining but feels slow at times.  It’s not enough to sway one from the game, however.



As the game goes by, the missions become increasingly difficult along with relationships harder to earn. They aren’t insurmountable, but they do take a bit of strategy and finesse at times.  New areas of the map open up as you complete your tasks, which lead to more opportunities for your character to flourish.  



Now to the very integral part of the game: your workshop.  This is what the game revolves around.  You need it in basically each mission you attempt along with upgrading it.  Your missions are based upon certain levels of machinery, and the quests will not progress until you reach that milestone. It’s not impossible, just time-consuming.  

The devs have been extremely helpful and polite to the community, listening to their complaints and promising full game content in the near future. Their communication is unique as far as a dev goes, but this is another aspect which makes the game great.

Now to the cons.  There have been bugs reported by players, ranging from ridiculous to game-breaking.  They are few and far between, but when they rear their ugly heads, you typically have to leave the area and start again.  The hopeful part is the devs are aware of this and are working diligently on a patch.  

Some of the timed missions don’t specify they have a strict time constraint unless you open your mission book and review the quest.  There were several times when I had the dreaded failed quest announcement flash across my screen, so it was only logical to restart the day.  With the knowledge of the timer, the quests can quickly be completed in the allotted time.

Relationships take a long time to attain, but it isn’t hopeless.  There are many different levels of gifting for each player, points determined by the type of gift you give the NPC. Between fostering these relationships and carrying on with your missions or free play, the player won’t run out of things to do.



The graphics are in a soft 3D style, which adds to the peaceful feeling that the game has. Sometimes the rendering is comical, but all-in-all they are deemed pleasant.  The audio is another story. When you start playing, it’s interesting and enjoyable.  However, when you have a few hours in, the soundtrack becomes very monotonous.  A more ranged soundtrack would have been welcome in My Time at Portia.



Overall, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.  The fact that the devs are hard at work devising a patch makes this game more attractive.  Taking the entire impression of MyTime at Portia, we give this game good level of recommendation!

Afternote: Team17 released the update for My Time at Portia this past week (May 23) and like many gamers that play, I am very pleased with the updates and bug fixes that were plaguing random players.  While there are more updates promised, this one nipped the infinite loading bug and seemed to have solved the disappearing item bug as well.  The graphics are more pleasing since the patch with additions to the load screen and subtle differences in gameplay.  New quests and small improvements to existing content were added, making the game feel more rounded.  You can view full information on the update here.

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #Team17 #PatheaGames #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #Simulation #RPG #Adventure #Indie #Nindie

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Classic Arcade Goodness Making A Splash On PS4 and Switch!

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Developed by Digital Eclipse and published by NIS America, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is a compilation of excellent retro arcade games from SNK's rich catalogue of software and there's a large variety of genres to be had so there's something for everyone in this collection of games. Is it worth its price though? We think so and here's why:



This collection of games is pretty impressive with fantastic emulation and amazing bonus content. You can choose the region of most games and some games you can even choose between a home console version and the original arcade version which is a nice touch. The games span several different genres so there is something for gamers of different tastes, however scrolling shmup's do dominate the lineup somewhat.

The games run as they should with little to no issues. The games also have a sharp image mode and even a full-screen mode and stretch mode if you want the original aspect ratio or don't like borders or arcade cabinet images on your TV screen while playing respectively. The gameplay options are somewhat limited, but are serviceable.



A cool feature of this compilation is that you can activate "watch mode" at the start to watch how the courses should be played and can jump in at any time which can help if you get stuck on a particular part of one of the games or to help you boost your scores by knowing how to do certain things in a particular way.

Back to the bonus content there's a plethora of cool info regarding  the included games in Museum Mode and tons of other juicy tidbits of awesomeness that you likely wouldn't expect to be included which is great for any arcade aficionado's!



The controls are pretty responsive and work as they are intended to which is nice as well. The audio-visual presentation is what it is and is more or less perfectly rendered from the source material. Sure there's a very rare visual or audio blip every now and then, but you'll likely not even notice these while playing and some of the games hold up quite well visually given their age. The soundtracks of many of the games range from good to great, but a few of the older titles do have rather limited chiptunes and can be somewhat grating, but overall it's a non-issue.



Bottom-Line: With a great selection of arcade game classics with tons of bonus content in the museum, excellent controls, and  near-perfect emulation including the audio-visual side of things, SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the PS4 is a good title that is well worth purchasing if you're a fan of arcade gameplay and grew up with older games. On the downside these games are bite-sized compared to modern games and are mostly good for short-bursts of challenging fun. Overall we give the game a good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #NISAmerica #DigitalEclipse #Arcade #Compilation #Platformer #Action #Shmup #RPG #PS4 #PSN #Retail #Switch #eShop

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The YIIK Bug Is Back Baby!

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Developed by Ackk Studios and published by Ysbryd Games, YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a psychedelic trip that will have you relive the craziness of the 90's and is heavily inspired by the Earthbound/Mother series, but does this game reach the greatness of the aforementioned series? No, but it's still fantastic in its own way! Continue reading our review to find out why:



The story in YIIK is nuts, but in a good way. Through a series of events you meet a young woman and her cat with a Salvador Dali mustache, but then the woman is suddenly whisked away by unknown forces while in an elevator. You eventually set out on a journey to find her, the writing is hilarious at times, but be warned that the game's characters can be extremely sensitive and VERY odd at times. Sometimes you'll roll your eyes, but it's all good fun!

The gameplay is typical RPG fare and has alot in common with the Mother/Earthbound series, but has some of its own unique nuances such as the way characters in your party fight during battles. The protagonist for instance fights with records and his record player is used to boost his attacks, while another character  utilizes arcade game shinanagans to fight, this system is not only unique, but is highly enjoyable!



The game features around a half a dozen dungeons which can get quite tricky at times with their puzzles. The game itself in our personal experience took 25 hours to beat, however it most definitely can be finished much faster if you try to power through the game. The controls are pretty simple and shouldn't give anyone any difficulties which is always a good thing!

The audio-visual presentation is where this game is not only shines, but is one of its most unique aspects! The visuals are in full-3D and are beautifully cel-shaded. The art-style definitely falls under the psychedelic theme, which works amazingly well for YIIK's bizarre setting. The music while not as good as the visuals, fits the game quite well.



Bottom-Line: With great gameplay, an excellent story, intuitive controls, and extremely unique and gorgeous visuals, YIIK is a game that we highly recommend to all fans of the RPG genre and as such we give the game a good to great level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★¾☆ 8.75/10

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#Review #AckkStudios #YsbrydGames #PS4 #PSN #Switch #eShop #FutureVitaRelease #RPG

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School of Heroic Fun!

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Developed by Agate Studio and published by PQube, Valthirian Arc is a surprisingly deep school simulation title with RPG elements that has alot of unique gameplay elements, but is that all there is to this game? Hardly, Valthirian Arc is a blast to play and is well worth a purchase and here's why!



The story in Valthirian Arc is quite good and entertaining, while the gameplay has a fantastic mixture of simulation and RPG elements. Those looking for a deep JRPG need to look elsewhere, but what we have here is quite an enjoyable experience. You basically must build your school up and train heroes using the school's facilities while meeting the quota of graduates which means that you will have to do some micro-management to avoid graduating all of your best heroes-in-training leaving you unable to complete more challenging missions.

The missions themselves are where the RPG elements come in as you'll be able to battle enemies in small fields and dungeon in rather simplistic action-RPG fashion. Overall the RPG elements while fun are absolutely overshadowed by the simulation elements. This is why the game will likely be more enjoyable to those who like simulation titles.



The game also features item creation which is somewhat simplistic, but a nice feature nonetheless. The game is pretty accessible and shouldn't be too difficult for newbies to simulation games, while still being deep enough for fans of the genre. The controls are also quite intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing!

The visuals in the game are colorful a cheery, but don't expect to be blown away by them as the game is very outdated in that regard, but gets the job done. The soundtrack on the other hand is fantastic albeit somewhat repetitive, regardless it is pretty good stuff and earns our seal of approval! Overall the audio-visual presentation is good in our opinions!



Bottom-Line:

With a great story and unique yet enjoyable gameplay, excellent controls, and a good audio-visual presentation, Valthirian Arc is a worthwhile PS4 game that fans of simulation games and RPG's should enjoy, overall we give Valthirian Arc for the PS4 a good level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #AgateStudio #PQube #Simulation #RPG #PS4 #Switch #Retail #Budget

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A Baby Splash In Time!

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Developed and published by Nintendo, Mario & Luigi: Partners in time is the second title in the now long-running Mario & Luigi series and adds to the formula of Superstar Saga with time-travelling shananigans with the now-famous Baby Mario Bros. in tow. Is this zany title as good as its predecessor? We think so and here's why:



The story in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is just as epic as you'd expect from a true to form Mario RPG. Of course there's plenty of humour to be had, but unlike recent Mario RPG's Bowser is not the main focus as an antagonist, much like in Superstar Saga and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door there's a cast of refreshingly unique antagonists to tackle which is a breath of fresh air to be quite honest.

the gameplay is revamped from Superstar Saga, there's a time-travelling element, plus the baby bros. join the team, giving you four different allies at your command at once which adds alot of depth to the gameplay formula. Puzzle solving plays a big role in Partners in Time and ctn be challenging at times while the battles are substantially more difficult than those in Superstar Saga.



Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is also quite a long game, clocking in at over 40 hours in length. The controls are also superb which is always a good thing. The audio-visual presentation while simple in nature are quite beautiful and fit the game like a glove, while the soundtrack is far better than the one in Superstar Saga. Overall the game looks and sounds like pure perfection!

Bottom-Line:

With a wacky and highly enjoyable story, superb gameplay, and flawless audio-visual presentation, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the pinnacle of perfection and one of the best DS games we've had the opportunity to play and as such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #Nintendo #WiiU #VC #DS #Mario #RPG #Retro

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Revel in the majestic nostalgia of Reverie!

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Rainbite's Vita adventure game Reverie has gone gold. The developer confirmed on Twitter that Reverie will launch on (Vita PSN) soon for $12.99 in North America. Reverie will take up around 210mb of memory on your system and will take roughly six to eight hours to beat. Rainbite has also confirmed that Reverie will be PSTV compatible and will be released on PS4 shortly after the initial launch on Vita.

So what do you think? Excited huh? We'd love to see what you think in our comment section below!

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#Rainbite #Reverie #Vita #PSTV #PSN #Adventure #RPG

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A Rare Western JRPG Making A Festively Magical Splash On Wii U!

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Developed and published by Snowcastle Games, Earthlock: Festival of Magic might be developed by a European company, but is truly a JRPG at heart with a colorful artstyle, and music you'd expect from the Japanese sub-genre of RPG's. Is the game as a whole worth purchasing if you're a Wii U owner? We think so and here's why:



Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a mouthful so we'll just call it Earthlock for the rest of the review. Earthlock is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG that is the first fully 3D indie RPG to ever grace a Nintendo console in the West. The story is all about magic and youth and well it's pretty good, though don't expect anything groundbreaking in this regard. The gameplay on the other-hand is a bit more unique with a monster partner system, and a farm to grow ammunition for your characters guns. There's also a bit of city development and other very enjoyable features that we thoroughly had a blast with!

The game itself can be relatively short if you try to power through it, but completionists can expect over 60 hours of gameplay! The difficulty can be challenging at times, but for the most part is well balanced with easy solutions to beat otherwise extremely challenging bosses. The controls are also intuitive and easy to learn which is always a good thing, however the lack of Gamepad features despite the fact that the game can only be played with one is rather disappointing.



Visually the game looks absolutely breathtaking for an indie title as the world has a crazy amount of detail, the characters and monsters look great, and the special effects look amazing, especially the lighting effects! The audio presentation is also fantastic with great tracks that fit the game well to great ambiance in certain dungeons and locations. Overall we'd say the game showcases just how good a 3D indie game can look with enough effort!



Bottom-Line:

With amazing gameplay, easy to learn controls, and a top-notch audio-visual presentation, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is an insanely fun game that'll keep you coming back for more, the own negative aspect of the game is that it really doesn't make use of the Gamepad. Overall however we give the game an amazing level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

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#Review #SnowcastleGames #JRPG #RPG #WiiU #eShop #Earthlock

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Game: Breath of Fire 3
System: PSP
Release Date:
11th September 1997 (Japan)
30th April 1998 (US)

What is it about?
You start out as a young Ryu, a silent protagonist Brood (people who transform into a dragon), which you would wander around the world to discover the origin of your race and the truth behind the God’s genocide of the Brood race.

Completion Hours: Estimated around 30 hours




Storyline: 6/10

Despite being a 30-hour game, the story in this game feels incredibly short. Trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible, you spend the first half of the game playing as a young Ryu, which would eventually develop the story into his adulthood.

During the Young Ryu’s arc, I have to admit that the story is interesting as there’s a bunch of fun adventures going around. However, when you start the Adult Ryu’s arc, the story is pretty much straight forward about searching for God. From there it’s just a straight line and when you reach the end of the line, it falls flat. The story is overall mildly entertaining, but won’t leave a deep impression in your mind.



Gameplay: 7/10

The thing I love the most about this game is the world map. You access a dungeon or an area in the map and once you’ve cleared it, you can just walk pass through it in the world map! Not only does it makes backtracking easier (you don’t need to go through the dungeon again), it also reduces the amount of those oh-so-annoying-and-easy random encounters.

But let’s talk about the battle system. For a game developed in 1997, the battle system is quite innovative for it’s time. You got the standard attack/magic/defend commands, but they also included an additional command called “Examine”, which you can learn enemy’s skills (ala Blue Mage of Final Fantasy games). Not only that, there’s a Master system, which if you set your characters to apprentice under your choice of Master, they will gain (or loss) additional stats and also learn new skills. For example, you can set your magic character to be train under a High HP and Def Master and make your magic character super tanky. It involves good planning so that your characters will have an edge in battles. Let’s not forget that since your MC is a dragon, you can mix and match different genes (which were found throughout the map) and transform into various types of dragon with different stats and abilities! This adds another layer or strategy to your battle to defeat your foes. But becareful though as transforming into a Dragon will eat up a lot of your AP, which is vital for using skills or spells. Did I also mention that the auto-attack button is also incorporated to help you save up time on battles if all you do is only attack, attack and attack.

Nevertheless I have a lot of fun with the battle system, but it could be frustrating at times because of the difficulty and how the enemies will only tend to target your weakess character in the party. That’s really uncool, bro.



Sound/Music: 7/10

Music for the most part is memorable and enjoyable. It certainly fits the cartoonish world perfectly. However, it is not high-level amazing (definitely not Nobuo Uematsu level). Still, the tunes are catchy and fun to listen to.



Graphics: 8/10

For a game that’s released in 1997, its cartoonish design is delightful to look at. There are 3d graphics used for the building structure, and it certainly doesn’t feel out of place. The map, town and dungeon design are good for the most part and it will easily draw your soul into the world.



Final Score: 7/10

I hate to admit it, but this is my first Breath of Fire game. But on the positive side, I do enjoy it throughout the game. Unfortunately, the story is too direct and short that it really makes me want to crave more out of it. I guess I just have to satisfy myself by playing other Breath of Fire games.



Will I replay the game for a second time?

Unfortunately the answer is no. The random battle is difficult at times which makes it very frustrating to get through the dungeon, and sometimes you have to play through some annoying mini-games to proceed on. (I swear to god, it was the AI’s fault that broke the rope at the beach! It’s not my fault!).

I am just glad that I was able to add this rpg to my list of completed RPGs, and I certainly have tons of fun with the battle system. If the random battles and the mini-games can be tweaked better, and with a better written story, I might come back to this game again. For that reason, this game won’t be in my “RPGs that need to be replay” list for a long long time.

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #Capcom #PSP #Retail #RPG #Gaming

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Wait, Y2K?

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Recently the official WiiWareWave twitter contacted AckkStudios about their new game YIIK, a post-modern RPG that is "kinda like Persona, Earthbound, and Wild Arms" we asked how many towns and dungeons there will be and here is what we found out



According to the developer the game is very close to completion, so keep an eye on YIIK coming to the Wii U eShop soon!

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#WiiU #eShop #YIIK #RPG #ACKK

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Get ready to game like its 1999!

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Ackk Studios interesting looking game YIIK (Y2K) is coming soon to a WiiU Console near you.  This news comes from twitter where Wiiwarewave asked the studio whether or not the studios' new title would be hitting the console at the same time as the other platforms.




As you can see the answer was a Yes. It’s nice to see a Multiplatform title released on the WiiU at the same time as the other consoles. Games like, Assassins Creed 3, Watch Dogs, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Deus Ex Human Revolutions are all examples of games that came to the console long after they were originally released.

YIIK so far is looking like a great title and the story seems interesting. We are not sure yet if the game will be a retail or Digitally Downloadable title as of yet so stay tuned for more information. YIIK is scheduled for release in February of 2016. Visit the website for more information on this title.


Website


Ackk Studios Blog

Trailer


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#WiiU #eShop #YIIK #RPG #Ackk

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Take the role of a mercenary Larc Bright Lagoon in this epic fight against the gods in an atempt to save the common race!

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Story & Gameplay:

The story in this game is epic and has an emotion driven feel to it. The game is a turn based rpg that has a unique rogress system that allows you to boost stats and summon mighty rogress to aid you! Expect it to take quite some time to play through this game as the main story will likely take 80+ hours and if you add the secret dungeon, hidden bosses and sidequests, it can easily take 150 hours to complete this game 100%.



Graphics:

Wow, just wow this games graphics are absolutely awe-inspiring as the in game graphics such as models, special effects as well as the towns and dungeons are better then what's seen in most PS2 rpgs. It also has mind-blowing CGI cutscenes that look like something you'd see on a X-Box 360 rpg.



Sound & Music:

The voice acting in this game gets alot of hate by gamers and though it is not AAA quality it's still above average. The soundtrack is awesome and most of the music fits very well.



Bottom line:

This is one great rpg that no gamer should miss out on as it has a great story with tons of sidequests, 100+ hours of gameplay, decent voice acting (despite what you might read on other sites), an epic soundtrack and not to mention graphics that defy the limitations of the Wii.

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★½ 9.5/10

9- Awesome This game has little in the way of flaws, and is a highly enjoyable experience.

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#Review #Wii #ImageEpoch #ARF #RPG #Gaming

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