Tag: rpg

Upcoming RPGs in 2024 to keep on your radar: Final Fantasy, Bloodlines 2, and more

The slate of upcoming RPGs of 2024 is packed with high-profile video game releases in the first few months, and these are some of the best

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The slate of upcoming RPGs of 2024 is packed with high-profile video game releases in just the first few months alone. Final Fantasy, Like A Dragon, and a new Persona game all launch within four weeks of each other, and then we get into some more niche games. SaGa, something new from Vanillaware, Paper Mario, Eiyuden Chronicle – good as 2023 and 2022 were for RPGs, somehow it seems like 2024 might be even better. That goes double if we get some of the long-delayed RPGs in the works, such as Bloodlines 2 and Black Myth: Wukong.

All these and more are some of the best RPGs of 2024 to keep an eye on.

Square Enix finally clarifies Final Fantasy 7 Remake plot mystery

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s story is full of mysteries by design, but Square Enix clarified one that the RPG’s fans believed was a plot hole

Final Fantasy 7 Remake ’s story is full of mysteries by design, but Square Enix clarified one that the RPG ’s fans long believed was a plot hole. About midway through the game, when Cloud meets Aerith ahead of their encounter with Reno, she remarks that he’s a mercenary and says she arrived at that conclusion after seeing his Buster Sword.

There are a few problems with that. Cloud is dressed as a member of SOLDIER, Shinra’s elite infantry, but there’s no indication that Cloud has left the group and operates as a sword-for-hire. Even more confusing is the Buster Sword comment. The buster sword belonged to Zack Fair, Aerith’s former boyfriend and another member of SOLDIER who died before the main game started.

That simple sentence raises a lot of questions, but Square Enix posted on Twitter that Aerith is just as surprised that she knows this as we were (thanks, Siliconera ). The team says that Aerith has pieces of memories from events that haven’t happened yet. Square Enix also said that’s how Aerith knows Tifa wants her to save Marlene.

Every time she encounters the Whispers, the smoke-like spirits that appear under certain circumstances, they steal some of these memories.

The result is an Aerith who’s left knowing things she shouldn’t, with bits of memories – maybe hers, maybe someone else’s – floating around her mind, while these still-enigmatic Whispers try their best to force the original storyline back on course. 

The game itself hints at this situation when Aerith says she feels like she loses part of herself when the Whispers appear. It turns out she really does, and her confusion over where these memories come from suggests she’s not as omniscient as some fans first thought.

It’s fertile ground to build on in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 when it launches in early 2024 . Whether it continues deviating from that original course remains to be seen, though considering Zack, who should be very dead, appeared in Intergrade and Remake Part 2 ‘s first trailer, it seems like Square Enix still has plenty of surprises in store.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Larian has surprising advice for your first Baldur’s Gate 3 character

If you’re wondering whether to pick a custom character or origin story in Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian CEO Swen Vincke has some unexpected advice

If you’re wondering whether to pick a custom character or origin character in Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian CEO Swen Vincke has some advice you might not have expected. Like Divinity Original Sin 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 lets you choose a character, class, and skills of your own or pick from one of several origin characters, characters who play an important role in the story and have pre-defined stats and skills.

If you’re like me, you might think these origin stories are an ideal way to avoid choice paralysis and making the wrong build right from the start. During a recent interview with Dropped Frames, Vincke said “not so fast” (thanks, PC Gamer).

“I would always pick a custom, and discover my companions,” Vincke said. “I think the origins come into play when you replay it. That said, there’s nothing wrong with picking an origin. It’s just… they work better if you’ve played the game already once because then you see it through their eyes. What was Shadowheart thinking the first time she saw you? And now you know when you’re in their head.”

It’s a sound point to make about how Larian hopes people experience the story and will probably make for a balanced, well-rounded narrative – something I definitely didn’t get my first time through Original Sin 2 when I saw things only through Lohse’s perspective. Still, if you only have time for one playthrough of the meaty RPG, your best choice is probably whichever character appeals to you the most.

Baldur’s Gate 3 launches for PC on Aug. 3, 2023, and for PS5 on Sep. 6, 2023 – the same day Starfield launches.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Ranking the best Final Fantasy 16 bosses from terrible to awesome

Final Fantasy 16 bosses run the gamut from absolutely spectacular to kinda boring, and we’ve ranked them all in our boss list

Final Fantasy 16 bosses run the gamut from absolutely spectacular to kinda boring, but in true Final Fantasy fashion, there are so many of them that overlooking the less inspiring ones is easy to do. Final Fantasy 16 has over 40 main boss fights, if you don’t include mini-bosses, optional bosses, and some repeats and multi-form bosses. These range from tame battles against foes who become normal enemies later to genuinely awesome spectacles as Clive faces some of Valisthea’s biggest and most dangerous threats. We’ve ranked them all below in our Final Fantasy 16 boss list, and since it includes every mainline boss, bear in mind that there will be some mild spoilers.

 

Persona 3 Anime Expo trailer highlights fresh English voice cast

Atlus debuted a new Persona 3 remake trailer during Anime Expo 2023, spotlighting the PS2 RPG’s new English voice cast

Atlus debuted a new Persona 3 Reload trailer during Anime Expo 2023, spotlighting the RPG’s new English voice cast and showing off more of the remake’s style, spruced up from its original days as a PS2 game. The trailer takes us to Iwatodai High School during the day and in the evening, along its cherry blossom-strewn front walk, and into the town’s main square, before briefly delving into Tartarus and its twisted nightmares.

The reworked dorm, school, and town look excellent, but Tartarus seems to benefit almost more than any other location. Its randomized floors tended to meld into a writing, same-y blur after a while in the original, but a host of new visual effects, including some eerie lighting on the darker floors and more detailed environments, seem like they bring a much-needed overhaul to the place you’ll be spending most of your time. 

The new English cast is the main focus, though, and early indications are that they’ll do a brilliant job reinventing these roles.

  • Heather Gonzalez (Yukari Takeba)
  • Suzie Yeung (Fuuka Yamagishi)
  • Zeno Robinson (Junpei Iori)
  • Alejandro Saab (Akihiko Sanada)
  • Aleks Le (Protagonist)
  • Allegra Clark (Mitsuru Kirijo)

That still leaves Ken’s and Shinji’s voice actors – and new character models – yet to be revealed from the S.E.E.S crew, along with all the Social Link characters. Persona 3 Reload is due out sometime in early 2024 for Xbox, PS5, PS4, and PC. In a thematically appropriate move, Atlus promised more trailers and info drops at every month’s full moon, so we’ll be seeing a lot more Persona 3 remake before too long.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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New Skyrim mod adds the Grimace shake for a touch of horror

A new Skyrim mod adds a touch of “unbalanced horror” to the classic RPG with the Grimace milkshake, a mysterious purple, maybe deadly, mead

A new Skyrim mod adds a touch of “unbalanced horror” to the classic RPG with the Grimace milkshake, a mysterious purple concoction whose function remains unknown outside the small group of fans who’ve tried it. The mod comes from NexusMods user MissileMann, who dubbed it “Grimace Mead” and gave it the “unbalanced” and “horror” tags (thanks, GamesRadar).

Belethor, a merchant in Whiterun, created a special purple brew called Grimace Mead to celebrate his friend’s birthday, and you can grab some for the low value of 170. The description simply reads “Happy Birthday Grimace!”

They also added the “not lore friendly” tag, so this is meant purely in the spirit of fun. Belethor isn’t really friends with Grimace in case you were wondering (and sorry to disappoint).

While the Grimace Shake doesn’t actually turn you into purple goo in real life, the birthday celebration quickly became a TikTok meme trend, where people posted videos of drinking it and having terrible things happen to them afterward. MissileMan declined to say what drinking the brew actually does to you in Skyrim and only responded, rather distressingly, with “Drink it :)”

The few people who drank Grimace Mead and survived to post about it on YouTube preserved the joke by not showing what actually happened. I play the Switch version, which is, sadly, modless, so you’ll just have to download Grimace Mead yourself and see what happens. If you’re brave enough.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Atlus announces Persona 5 Tactica, a strategy Persona spinoff game

P5T is officially Persona 5 Tactica, a tactics-based Persona spin-off that’s launching sooner than you might expect

P5T is officially Persona 5 Tactica, a tactics-based Persona spin-off that’s launching sooner than you might expect. Atlus announced Persona 5 Tactica at the Xbox Games Showcase and said the RPG will launch on Nov. 17, 2023, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

P5T  sees the Phantom Thieves dropped into a mysterious world fraught with danger, and as you’d expect from the tagline “revolutionize your heart,” that danger centers on social and political upheaval. We see the crew in what looks like revolutionary France, teaming up with a new ally, and briefly in what’s probably Edo Japan.

While the trailer might seem short, it’s packed with details that suggest Persona 5 Tactica has quite a bit going on in its tactics systems. The Thieves have their usual attacks, gun abilities, and Persona summons, but familiar skills have new effects attached. Eiha, for example, causes a Despair condition, while some conditions, such as forgetfulness, seemingly trigger a “one more turn” situation by knocking enemies down.

Cover and height play an important role. Some physical skills even ignore cover and deal extra damage. There’s also a new feature called Triple Threat, which apparently lets you trigger an All-Out Attack when three allies are positioned the right way.

It might not be Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor, but it looks like quite the deep strategy game nonetheless.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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Atlus unveiled the Persona 3 Remake at Xbox Games Showcase

The rumors of a Persona 3 Remake – and that out-of-bounds dev space in Persona 5 – were true, and Atlus officially unveiled the RPG

Update: June 11, 2023

Atlus announced in a press release that Persona 3 Reload will feature a new English voice cast.

  • Aigis – Dawn Bennett

  • Akihiko Sanada – Alejandro Saab

  • Fuuka Yamagishi – Suzie Yeung

  • Junpei Iori – Zeno Robinson

  • Ken Amada – Justine Lee

  • Mitsuru Kirijo – Allegra Clark

  • Protagonist – Aleks Le

  • Shinjiro Aragaki – Justice Slocum

  • Yukari Takeba – Heather Gonzalez

Original Story

The rumors of a Persona 3 Remake – and that out-of-bounds dev space in Persona 5 – were true, and Atlus officially unveiled the RPG at the Xbox Games Showcase. Persona 3 Remake is officially called Persona 3 Reload and will launch on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch in early 2024.

The announcement comes after Atlus accidentally uploaded a trailer for the game on its Instagram account, alongside one for Persona 5 Tactica.

The Persona 3 remake trailer highlights the game’s substantial visual overhaul, though what new features or narrative elements Atlus has in store remains to be seen. Persona 3 remake uses a style similar to what Atlus used in the Persona 3 and Persona 5 dancing games, with full 3D models, slick anime style, and some welcome enhancements to Iwatodai and Tartarus, the latter of which looks properly creepy and atmospheric now. 

While it’s unclear whether the female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable or the additional epilogue from Persona 3 FES are included, you can, at least, control all your party members manually if you want. No more Marin Karin disasters from Mitsuru.

There’s also no word yet on whether Atlus has recorded a new English voice track.  Vic Mignogna, the original voice of Junpei Iori, was accused of sexual assault and harassment, while Aigis’ voice actor Karen Strassman vocally espoused anti-vaccination and racist views during the Covid-19 lockdowns and Black Lives Matter protests.

Atlus also announced Persona 5 Tactica, a tactics spinoff featuring the Phantom Thieves in literally revolutionary settings.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

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The best RPGs of 2022 – the most exciting upcoming RPG games

Role-playing in 2022 is all about depth of experience.

What even is an RPG in 2022? Such has been the cross-pollination of genre elements over the last few generations that where you’d once have described a game with XP, an inventory and upgrade trees as classic RPG material, now those markers only narrow it down to ‘a video game’.

When it boils down to it, role-playing in 2022 is about depth of experience. Games that embark on vast narratives and give you some agency in them, whether that means your protagonist has a new pair of +5 charisma shoulder pads for the next big fight or their dialogue options actually change the course of events in the game world. A great modern RPG should take you on a journey and steep it in interconnected systems. Failing that, at the very least there should be the occasional cuirass or a chest that somebody has inexplicably left one gold coin in.

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The Riftbreaker: Beginner tips and tricks

If you’re new to The Riftbreaker, you need these important tips to help defend your base and move around the map easily.

The Riftbreaker is about balance. As a twin-stick shooter where aliens consistently attack your bases, players must maintain adequate energy levels and resources to traverse otherworldly habitats infested with alien life. Even in its campaign mode, it’s not always straightforward in its directives.

The Riftbreaker can quickly become overwhelming as the player grapples with its different mechanics, tools, and buildings. Here’s a guide to help you as you lead Ashley S., Nowak and Mr. Riggs on a journey to build a giant rift that will take them back to Earth, and that’s something everyone should attempt now that The Riftbreaker is available on Xbox Game Pass.