RPGFan's Random Encounter

Spoiler Warning! And now for something completely different. The podcast crew decided it was time to take a long hard look at narrative in RPGs and video games as a whole. We pretty much get lost talking about the importance of player choice, strong character interactions, and the interactive nature of the art form. There are some spoilers here and there, but we do our best to bring up the game be...

We've got a weird one for y'all this week. With John catching a case of the Solid Snake Gravely Voice, the podcast ends of hijacked with tons of side topics and seemingly random discussions. Thankfully, there's some new releases to talk about with Etrian Odyssey IV and Atelier Ayesha. We've also got a little preview of another potential retro episode, so be sure to let us know what you think! Feat...

Y'all wanted more retro episodes, so we put together a brief discussion of System Shock 2 and its impact on the gaming world since its release nearly fourteen years ago. After that, you know we just have to talk about the big Playstation 4 announcement last week, and we've certainly got some rather divisive opinions among the group. Featuring: Robert Steinman, John, McCarroll, Stephen Meyerink, De...

We're down one party member this week, but fear not, listeners! We've got some final thoughts on Ni no Kuni, some serious love for Fire Emblem: Awakening, and some brief thoughts on the re-release of System Shock 2 on Good Old Games. Featuring: Robert Steinman, Stephen Meyerink, Derek Heemsbergen Questions? Comments? Spare Potions? Email us: podcast@rpgfan.com

Ni no Kuni is finally out in America, and the podcast crew takes an in-depth look at Level 5's latest epic. Following a spirited debate and brief analysis of video game commercials for some reason, Stephen and Rob throw down on Path of Exile. Oh, and there's an epic amount of news to talk about, so somebody give John a nice pat on the back for organizing all of this madness! Featuring: Robert Stei...

Our first ever Music of the Year show, featuring some of our favorite tracks from the year. Stay tuned after the show for our interview with Casey Ormond, arranger of the Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII album! And if you like the show, be sure to let us know! Featuring: Stephen Meyerink, Derek Heemsbergen, Patrick Gann, Don Kotowski Questions? Comments? Spare Potions? Email us: podcast@rpgfan....

2012 has finally come to a close, and thankfully the Mayans weren't right and the world keeps turning. But before we start talking about 2013, join us for a look back at some of the major releases of last year with a bit more time and perspective on our side. Of course we've got some crazy predictions for 2013, so be sure to listen and tell us in a year just how wrong we were! Featuring: Robert St...

It's the last episode of the year, and we decided to go out with a bang by inviting long time editor John Tucker to the podcast. He's got some Paper Mario to talk about, and then John, Derek and Stephen completely steal the show to gush about Crimson Shroud. There's quite a bit of news to finish out the year, however, including a story that Rob and Stephen have been DYING to talk about... Featurin...

Time to upgrade your social link! We've got lots to say about Persona 4: Golden on the Vita followed by a brief talk with Kyle about his trip to Baltimore and the world of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls Online. Featuring: Robert Steinman, John McCarroll, Stephen Meyerink and Kyle Miller Questions? Comments? Spare Potions? Email us: podcast@rpgfan.com

The release of Virtue's Last Reward gives the podcast crew another chance to gush over visual novels (999 included, of course), while Pandas invade World of Warcraft to... do whatever it is pandas do. Following some news, Stephen picks the brains of Phoenix Online Studios Cesar Bittar and Richard Flores to talk about Cognition. Featuring: Robert Steinman, John McCarroll, Stephen Meyerink and Derek...

Let the looting begin! Borderlands 2 is out, and our podcast crew has opinions. But that's not all this week. We've also got Realms of Ancient Wars and Ragnarok Online to round out the first of the big Fall releases. John also has some news coming out of Bioware that is both sad and exciting at the same time! Whatever could it be?! Featuring: Robert Steinman, John McCarroll, Stephen Meyerink and D...

Well, we actually made it to fifty episode. Bet no one saw that coming. But we have no room for a clip show with The Last Story, Darksiders 2, Guild Wars 2, and all sorts of news going on these days. We also have some fellow editors putting in brief appearances to talk about their favorite RPG memories (spoiler: lots of people like Chrono Trigger), and we hope to maybe continue with this in the fu...

We decided to get one more leisurely episode in before the craziness of the fourth quarter starts to take over. Dave leads off with some final thoughts on The Secret World, Rob fends off the zombie apocalypse (TM) while talking about the first two episodes of The Walking Dead, and John throws down with Persona 4: Arena. Dave also pulls double duty as our podcast economist and tries to make sense o...

The podcast crew continues to fight back the record setting drought with a focus on great gaming experience. Rob and John spent some time in The Secret World, and John also pulled double duty by partaking in some Rainbow Moon with resident gaming lover Stephen. Meanwhile, some relatively minor news accompanies a major rumor on a supposedly troubled project. Featuring: Robert Steinman, John McCarro...

The summer heat has kicked in, but that just means more time to stay in the air conditioning and play some great RPGs. Stephen comes armed after a harrowing experience with the Japanese beta of Phantasy Star Online 2 (keep in mind we didn't know about the US release when we recorded), while John brings the critters of Pokemon Conquest to destroy the armies of feudal Japan. Meanwhile, Rob's been pl...

Another year, another E3 come and gone in the gaming world. While it may not have seemed like there were a lot of RPGs on display, our intrepid reporters scoured the show floor to bring you all of the latest info. From the first Skyrim expansion to a game in which a young child tries to kill people (seriously!), this year's expo had a wide range of titles to choose from. Join the regular crew and...

Join RPGFan Editor-in-Chief John McCarroll as he talks Gungnir with Richard Rodrigues and Aram Jabbari of Atlus. Note: This is the same interview available at the end of Random Encounter Episode 45. We've added a separate download option for your listening convenience. Featuring: John McCarroll, Richard Rodrigues (QA Lead, Atlus), Aram Jabbari (PR Manager, Atlus) Questions? Comments? Spare Potions...

Looks like Hell has finally frozen over. Blizzard unleashed Diablo 3 a little over two weeks ago, and the podcast crew has been tearing through the armies of the Burning Hells with reckless abandon. What do they think about all of the connection issues? What about the auction house? Is the game even good? After that, the crew wades into a title that Rob can't pronounce or spell with Gungnir, and t...

As part of the ArenaNet studio visit that took place one month ago, Rob was able to participate in two roundtable interviews on the upcoming Guild Wars 2. Unfortunately, we were unable to get you the interviews due to technical difficulties... until now! The first interview is with Lead Content Designer Colin Johanson and Lead Game Designer Eric Flannum, and is followed by an interview with ArenaN...

Ya know what's a good idea? Let's send the biggest MMO-hater on the site out to Seattle to check out Guild Wars 2. It may sound like a recipe for disaster, but Rob came back with a huge smile on his face and a desire to play more of the innovative title due out later this year. In addition, John found a surprising amount of quality listener mail, giving us the oppourtunity to hold our very first Q...

It's spring time and allergy season has hit the podcast crew like a ton of bricks, but that won't stop us from talking about some great JRPG releases! We finally have Xenoblade in America as well as Tales of Graces f to satiate us during these sneeze filled months. There's also a lot of Kickstarter stuff to talk about in news, leading to the revival of some well loved franchises (yay for Shadowrun...

The release of Mass Effect 3 sure has sent some shockwaves through the industry, and the podcast gang is no exception. Join the crew of Random Encounter as they talk about the crew of the Normandy and the finale to BioWare's epic. We delve into spoilers from about the 37 minute mark until 1 hour 20 minutes in, so avoid that if you're worried about spoilers. But do come back! After John's journey t...

You can't say we don't listen to the fans. Wait, that double negative has me all confused now. Anywho, the podcast crew wades into the JRPG space this week with a look at Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2 and (one of Stephen's favorite games) Tales of the Abyss. The conversation ends up completely off track when Rob and John focus on what draws them into a video game. Zack returns from his college adven...

Remember when the first quarter was a slow time of the year? Yeah, fat chance of us getting a break around here with these major releases! Final Fantasy 13-2 is here and ready to usher in the New Year with moogles, time travel, and the cast of Kingdom Hearts. Wait, what? We brought Derek back on the show because, well, he found every freakin' doodad in the game! That's dedication, folks! After tha...

Square-Enix graced the US with the demo for Final Fantasy XIII-2, and it's up to the podcast crew to tear into this mammoth JRPG. Did the developers listen to the complaints from the original game? Will this sequel bring new and old fans to the fold? We may not have concrete answers, but we certainly have some initial thoughts. You also get to hear the beginnings of a retrospective look at the fra...