QCF: Y's I & II Chronicles+

This Review was Frelanced by Johnathan Sawyer; you can find his other work here.

 storm had arrived. Nothing could pass through this supposedly impenetrable "Stormwall," as it had come to be called. The land looked as though it would be seeing its final days, until a lone man with fiery-red hair washed up on the shores of Esteria... It is here in Ys I & II Chronicles+ that the saga of Adol the Red begins and puts several memorable marks into the pages of gaming history along the way.

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QCF: Black Rock Shooter: The Game

he planet Earth is almost entirely devoid of human life. What was once a thriving population consisting of billions was reduced to a mercilessly paltry 12. Hope is all but lost, and what’s left of it rides on a secret weapon: Project-BRS, the creatively titled Black Rock Shooter. Yeah, Black Rock Shooter, because she shoots black rocks, y'all. What did you expect?

The Vita struggles a little less with each passing month, and the benefit of accessing PSP games within PSN has been integral in expanding the library and overall appeal for Sony’s on-the-go game box. Taking full advantage, NIS America mines away at some of these untapped veins of PSP releases that haven’t seen light outside of the land of the rising sun, and they be on to something. While this frame of mind may seem lazy for those looking for new and optimized content for their expensive Vita, Black Rock Shooter: The Game does good to compliment the direction NIS America is taking and gives us a great portable game in its own right.

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GDC 2013: Getting serious with Ben McGraw about Sully: AVSRPG

stablished genres are constantly met with the challenge of keeping things refreshing while still applying the rules and distinctions that adhere to the structure of what makes the genre what it is. One of these established genres in particular is the JRPG. For every quality and merit you could argue for these types of games, there’s another waiting to combat it. The genre has become one of the most divided between gamers for over the last 10 years, but one man, among others, wants to help usher JRPGs back into its former limelight.

Anxiously sitting at the local Starbucks caddy-corner near the Moscone, I awaited the arrival of Ben McGraw of Breadbros Games after meeting him earlier this week to discuss his current project, Sully: A Very Serious RPG. As I finish spreading the cream cheese on my bagel, we prepare to discuss one of the most promising JRPG games from the indie scene yet.

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QCF: Ragnarok Odyssey

The Vita isn’t doing so hot, guys. Despite being a wonderful piece of hardware with a pretty decent lineup of games, players just aren’t giving it the attention it deserves. One factor many are citing to explain Vita’s failure to catch on is the lack of a Monster Hunter game anywhere on the release slate. When PSP was on life support, Monster Hunter helped revitalize the handheld in Japan. It quickly became a household system purely based on the popularity of this one game. Now that MH has moved to 3DS it looks like we won’t be seeing the series hit Vita any time soon. Fortunately, we now have a pretty good facsimile. It’s not quite up to Monster Hunter snuff, but Ragnarok Odyssey makes a valiant effort.

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QCF: Mugen Souls

The universe is truly a space that will never be fully comprehended, terrain so wide that humankind will labor eons and eons in order to fully understand its magnitude and nature. Imagine if you will however, a universe, structured specifically around seven planets, and a magically gifted little woman who aims to subjugate all who reside within it. Developed by a faction of cult Japanese development house Idea Factory, Compile Hearts brings us latest JRPG from NIS America on the PS3, Mugen Souls.

The novelty of choice is refreshing with Mugen Souls being available in the pre-holiday season with titles like Doom 3: BFG, Assassin’s Creed III, and Skylanders: Giants. However, Mugen Souls does not do its genre any service and ends up being nothing more than tawdry theatrics with little to no appeal in the long run.

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QCF: Legasista

Dungeon crawlers have been touch-and-go as of late. Sure, they’re addictive and they’ll quench the thirst of anyone who’s looking for a hearty challenge, but boy, they can be a burn. Where the genre became insipid, however, was the frequency of these all too similar experiences, and their releases lumped in so closely with one another. Refreshment is in the air for this once ambitious genre, and its name is Legasista.

From NIS America, Legasista tells of a tower covered in an ivy growth that climbs to the heavens; in it is an ancient weapon capable of granting miracles and unleashing utter destruction. Grounding the conventions of the dungeon formula, Legasista outlines its intentions pretty clearly to bridge the gap of accessibility for the obtuse crawler types. The story of one boy and his task to undertake the ultimate sacrifice hits most targets and marks a stimulating sign of the dungeon crawler heading in the right direction.

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