random encounters
PC

My Love-Hate Relationship With JRPGs

I have a confession to make: I hate JRPGs. I also love them. Then I hate them. And I love them. And so on and so forth for 40 hours or so.

11 May 2013

Retro

How To Break Final Fantasy IV

Have you ever wanted to make Rydia beat herself up? No? Well you might enjoy this anyway. Last year on Random Encounters, we learned how to break Final Fantasy VI. Today, I’m going to show you how to take apart one of its Super Nintendo predecessors, Final Fantasy IV (the one with Cecil and Golbez). It will be fun. Warning: Spoilers for FFIV follow.

4 May 2013

Nintendo

JRPG Censorship Is Such A Silly Thing

For as long as there have been Japanese role-playing games, there has been censorship. Since the NES days, Nintendo and other big Japanese companies have been quick to stamp their big black bars on anything that might be considered offensive to Western sensibilities: alcohol, religion, sex, octopus statues, whatever. And JRPGs have been the biggest victim of this misguided crusade.

28 April 2013

PC

The Little Things That Make JRPGs So Great

There’s a part at the beginning of Final Fantasy IX — a game that was once underrated, then overrated, and now feels properly rated as “totally awesome” by most RPG fans on the web — where you have to pretend to fight with swords.

20 April 2013

PC

Ode To The JRPG Mini-Game

During the two-and-a-half decades I’ve been playing JRPGs, I’ve learned three important lessons: 1) If an NPC tells you a rumour, it’s true; 2) All valuables are hidden in bookshelves; and 3) Mini-games are always better than real games.

14 April 2013

PC

11 Indie JRPGs On My Radar

Here at Random Encounters, we spend a lot of time talking about big JRPGs — the Final Fantasys, the Dragon Quests, the Taleses. NOT TODAY. Today we’re going to talk about the smaller ones.

6 April 2013

In Real Life

Tales RPGs Are Like Gumdrops, Says The Guy Who Makes Them

I like to compare the long-running Tales action-RPG series to fast food: they’re not particularly nutritious and you always know what you’re gonna get, but when you’ve got the craving, they can’t be beat. Hideo Baba, on the other hand, says they’re more like gumdrops.

30 March 2013

In Real Life

Watch A Bunch Of People Talk About JRPGs

This week’s Random Encounters is a special bonus video edition! Here’s footage of my JRPG panel at PAX East last weekend, brought to you by MMO Reporter.

16 March 2013

PC

Turn-Based Combat Is The Best Kind Of Combat

Oh boy, here we go. If I’m gonna take over Jason’s column for a week, that means I’m gonna talk about Japanese role-playing games. And if I’m gonna talk about Japanese role-playing games, that means I’m gonna talk about one of their defining characteristics: turn-based gameplay.

9 March 2013

PC

Proof That Western Gamers Really Do Want Japanese RPGs

Does the world still care about Japanese role-playing games? Do people still want to buy them? Do they still deserve our attention? Ask your average gamer — or your average game developer — and they’ll tell you that the JRPG is a dying genre.

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