RPG Backtrack

In 2009 Atlus took a risk by ordering the largest print run for a game in its history, but that gamble paid off handsomely. Corpses litter the world of Demon's Souls, and talking about that grim but unforgettable place is today's topic. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 139: “Soultaker” appeared first on RPGamer .

When it comes to the first Borderlands, lots of talk about gathering guns shares space with love for the simple pleasure of administering a shotgun blast to the face. It's all about bringing the fruits of civilization to another world. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 138: “Over the Borderline” appeared first on RPGamer .

Project Rainfall helped bring several titles to the Wii in North America, and one of them features a title reminiscent of another series Hironobu Sakaguchi worked on. Now that the Wii has been relegated to the list of dead consoles, the time to tell this story has come. (The Last Story) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 137: “Just One More Story?” appeared first on RPGamer .

The Mass Effect trilogy comes to a conclusion in grandiose fashion, but many people were not happy at the time. How it looks after a few years for pondering is a question that needs answering. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 136: “Shepard in The Right Stuff” appeared first on RPGamer .

The second Persona is a duo of titles with an unusual release history, and detailing it is an arduous undertaking. The Backtrack crew proved willing to take on this task, and the result is a fascinating listen. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 135: “Dramatis Persona” appeared first on RPGamer .

Mistwalker supplied the Xbox 360 with some unique content, and a title involving immortals seeking the return of their memories got considerable praise. Discussion of Lost Odyssey is the centerpiece of this episode, but plenty of other subjects make it into the mix too. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 134: “Lost in the Mist” appeared first on RPGamer .

While Final Fantasy spawns a lot of heated talk, relatively little of it is devoted to the earliest entries. The NES era spawned the series, but going back to that trio with a more modern mindset isn't the smoothest of rides. (Final Fantasy I, II, III) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 133: “It Wasn’t Always an Oxymoron” appeared first on RPGamer .

The bar for bringing Legend of Heroes titles across the Pacific had been set rather low, making it easy for XSEED to impress gamers when it took over the localization for another installment. Of course, having a quality game at the core also helped. (Trails in the Sky) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 132: “Then Some Heroes Come Along” appeared first on RPGamer .

Dealing with games made by tri-Ace usually requires a bit of effort, and in recent years it hasn't gotten any easier. Maybe this attempt to make sense of Infinite Undiscovery and Resonance of Fate is successful, and maybe it isn't, but at least the result should be informative. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 131: “Infinite Inapplicability” appeared first on RPGamer .

Yasumi Matsuno's work includes a title from the late PS1 era that defies easy explanation. Attempting to describe it anyway may require a flow chart to keep track of all the concepts, but no one will confuse Vagrant Story with any other game. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 130: “Night of the Living Vagrants” appeared first on RPGamer .

There's something addictive about walking forward while beating everyone encountered along the way into a bloody pulp. This procedure has occasionally been used in titles with some RPG tenets, and talking about them proved a bloody good time. (River City Ransom, Guardian Heroes, Chronicles of Mystara, Code of Princess) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 129: “My Fist Your Face” app...

It's time once again to venture into the vast Megami Tensei universe. This particular grouping involves tactical maneuvers of people and their demons summoned through portable electronics, with time ticking down on the life of everyone encountered. (Devil Survivor) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 128: “House of the Devil” appeared first on RPGamer .

Get set for some more explosive outer space adventures courtesy of BioWare, as the second installment of its massive trilogy comes under scrutiny. Does it cheapen the value of returning from the dead? (Mass Effect 2) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 127: “Sheparding the Flock” appeared first on RPGamer .

Of course there are people and things to shoot around New Vegas, but this most recent incarnation of the Fallout universe doesn't stop there. Enjoy going down the Vegas Strip and taking in all its scenic delights between the killing sprees in the desert. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 126: “What Happens in New Vegas, Stays in New Vegas” appeared first on RPGamer .

The start of BioWare's ongoing series brought a lot of thoughts to the surface. Some are profound and challenging, others lewd and depraved, with plenty occupying some kind of middle ground in this episode. (Dragon Age: Origins) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 125: “How Many Dragons in an Age?” appeared first on RPGamer .

In the world of gaming, anything that can be described as educational is a definite turn-off. First-person dungeon crawlers count as learning experiences in a number of ways, but one series transformed cartography into something addictive. Its other parts do a pretty good job too. (Etrian Odyssey) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 124: “Mapping the World Tree” appeared first on RP...

One final hurrah for the Stars of Destiny came out of Konami, though it wasn't officially intended as such. Then the DS got a game which didn't deserve all the negativity it received, but as a spinoff couldn't do everything fans wanted. There isn't much left to talk about after that one, unfortunately. (Suikoden, Part 3) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 123: “Konami’s Trail of Te...

BioWare wanted to convey the ineffectual nature of the human race when compared to other species populating the galaxy. This naturally took the form of having a human lead others into combat, while undertaking decisions that might one day have galactic consequences. Perhaps the human race doesn't deserve all the scorn it receives if that's the case. (Mass Effect 1) The post RPG Backtrack – E...

Ah, Sony, holder of many now-dormant IPs. One of those was a pretty good tactical series that hasn't been seen for a number of years, but did a lot of interesting things along the way. Not all of those things were successful, but the effort makes for a substantive chat. (Arc the Lad) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 121: “The Rock Goes in an Arc” appeared first on RPGamer .

Blizzard once had an idea to send players through the realms of the afterlife, beating up the locals and grabbing whatever desirable things they happened to drop. The setting may change, but this mechanic has proved enduring through the years, making its origination even more fascinating to remember. (Diablo) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 120: “You Could Wake Up Dead Tomorrow”...

Falcom has a storied development history, and one of its larger series saw multiple versions before ending up on the PSP for a few installments. Many things can be said about these particular renditions, but the majority of them are not overflowing with praise. (Legend of Heroes: Gagharv Trilogy) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 119: “We Can Be Heroes” appeared first on RPGamer .

The ruins of the central Atlantic region of the US are open to in-depth exploration, as Bethesda takes a crack at the post-apocalyptic future. Thinking too hard about one's surroundings may strain neurons to the breaking point. (Fallout 3) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 118: “Can’t We Get Beyond Thunderdome?” appeared first on RPGamer .

Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu, and Akira Toriyama got together again to inaugurate Mistwalker as a studio. The results were unfortunately not up to the standard set when they first collaborated, but nevertheless spawned a series. (Blue Dragon) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 117: “The Shadow Knows” appeared first on RPGamer .

Gust makes a long-running, plentiful series that doesn't adhere to many of the usual RPG stereotypes. Here's a trilogy of them on the PS3, sporting a love for pie and relatively few instances in which killing things is mandatory. (Atelier Rorona, Totori, Meruru) The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 116: “The Secret Ingredient” appeared first on RPGamer .

After the first Fallout, eight decades passed before a new hero had to undertake a quest. That quest involved meeting a number of strange new people in interesting places. Dealing with these people could take place in any number of ways, but the stark effectiveness of blowing them away was a tempting option. The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 115: “Dust in the Wind” appeared first...