RPGFan's Retro Encounter

Five years after podcasting about Final Fantasy Tactics, Retro Encounter tackles Yasumi Matsuno's prior magnum opus, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together!  We discuss the Super Famicom classic's multi-layered, politics-heavy story, fascinating class system, and key differences between the PS1 and PSP versions before speculating on which Queen songs would make the best subtitles for a future Ogre Sa...

Two Trials of Mana scholars from 2019's Retro Encounter episodes return for a revisitation on the 1995 classic, specifically in the context of its 2020 remake.  We talk visual upgrades, new classes, and some questionable English-language voice acting in a 1-year podcast anniversary all about a 25-year video game anniversary.   Which is worse, Kevin's caveman accent or Charlotte's trouble with cons...

We here at Retro Encounter are taking a short break from talking about classic RPGs to play a party game.  Four Retro Encounter panelists take turns to divulge facts both true and false, with the others guessing the lies.  We learned a little about each other, all thanks to July having a fifth Thursday nestled in the month.   Listen to the episode, and also congratulate RPGFan's new Editor-in-Chie...

Pokey Minch is a major villain both Earthbound and Mother 3, and somehow reminds you of every kid you ever hated in grade school as well as billionaire fascists of both fiction and history.  In this episode we dive deep into Pokey Minch's journey, motivations, and unusual traits.  This is RPG Villains.  Does Pokey Minch bear some resemblance to modern world leaders?  Maybe!  Listen to the episode!...

Our panel has reached the end of Yakuza 0, and with it comes new beginnings for Dragon of Dojima and the Mad Dog of Shimano.  Four panelists discuss Yakuza 0 for another full episode, and there is enough drama for two games and foreshadowing for six more in the crime story's dramatic conclusion.  What metaphor is represented on your gangster back tattoo?  All of this and more on the latest Retro E...

Yakuza 0 is a game about violence. And honor. And... real estate? Yakuza 0 tells a compelling crime drama about the intertwining tales of series hero Kazuma Kiryu and fan favorite villain Goro Majima in 1988, 17 years before the story of the first Yakuza game, but you're forgiven if you can't be bothered to complete more story missions with all the distractions that 1980s Kamurocho and Sotenbori h...

Retro Encounter's Tournament of Consoles continues, whittling down a list of eight to a single champion.  Three PlayStations, three Nintendo handhelds, one Super 90s machine, and whatever the hell you're supposed to call the Switch are our final eight gladiators in our console colosseum, but only one outlives and outlasts this cast of celebrated consoles.  Listen to the end to discover Retro Encou...

Retro Encounter's host misses being able to watch sporting events while playing RPGs on a 3DS or Vita, so he gathered a panel of five panelists to hold a replacement tournament.  Seventeen video game consoles are considered for the title of Retro Encounter's Favorite Console On Which to Play RPGs, but only one wins.  In part 1 of 2, the panelists condense the Starting Seventeen to an Essential Eig...

Our panelists experienced Mother 3 to its dramatic conclusion, and in doing so dug an egg out of the trash, frolicked through a field of sunflowers, and located seven golden needles.  It's Earthbound callbacks, theories about razors and bananas, and a lot of shed tears in part 2 of our Mother 3 episodes!   If you've ever fantasized about kissing a mer-man, dream no longer.   Featuring: Michael Sol...

Mother 3, a Japan-only Game Boy Advance RPG, the final game in Shigesato Itoi's trilogy, the subject of many direct questions to Reggie Fils-Aime. We won't say exactly how, but four Retro Encounter panelists played Mother 3 over the month of May and have a lot to talk about, including (but not limited to) grief, capitalism, and snakes.  Explore Mother 3 and avoid bad crime shows from the early 201...

The Game Boy Advance was a huge success for Nintendo in the early 2000s, giving the world five Pokemon games, three Fire Emblem games, the first Mario & Luigi RPG, and so much more.  Four Retro Encounter panelists gab GBA on today's episode of Retro Encounter! Listen to us discuss all the Game Boy Advance games under the sun, especially because Boktai needs to be played in sunlight.  Featuring...

Is Final Fantasy VII Remake the most-anticipated RPG in history?  Are the character portrayals up to high fan expectations? Was the combat too opaque? Why is it called Final Fantasy VII Remake without clarifying that the game is releasing in multiple parts? All of these questions and more, asked and anwered by a mostly-positive somewhat-frustrated team of Retro Encounter panelists.   Spoilers abou...

The panelists of Retro Encounter are stuck at home, and at least four of them decided to watch the Castlevania animated series available on Netflix.  The cartoon is loosely based on the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, and our podcast is loosely based on the concept of discussing video games and related topics that interest us.  This counts.  Is the Ca...

Aurora borealis? At this time of day? Localized entirely in the Freil Empire? Yes! But all our panelists had to wait until the World of Evil near the end of the game to see it.  And in many ways, it is a riveting, yet quickly escalating conclusion as we make our way through the second half of this older Quintet GEM. Listen on to hear us wax poetical about the fleeting nature of existence when we v...

The group hunts out monster lairs around the globe to some amazing slap-bass tunes as they discuss the very well-received early Quintet RPG Soul Blazer...and discover the importance of waiting at the title screen for game intros on some of those old titles. This segment of our divinely inspired adventure covers up through St. Elles (the third area of the world), but it still includes a range of un...

Retro Encounter is a little more serious than usual this week, as five panelists discuss video games as escapism, video game characters with whom we identify, and specific emotional attachments to video games, in the context of mental health and self-care. It's an episode full of personal stories and serious topics, and about how video games can be rewarding in ways other than simple fun. Featurin...

Retro Encounter wraps on Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE with a discussion on the game's second half, including standoffish new co-workers, tokusatsu superheroes, and whatever the hell The Opera of Light is supposed to be. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nathan Lee

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE sounds like a fever dream. Atlus makes another RPG about teens saving the world from extra-dimensional shadows by teaming up with spirits, except all of the shadows and spirits are Fire Emblem characters and all of the teens are pop stars? Two Retro Encounter panelists dissect and celebrate the Mad Libs weirdness of one of the Wii U's signature RPGs. Also that's a musical...

The spice must flow! Retro Encounter once again muses on the hypothetical and the unlikely in our second Adaptations episode! What movies, books, and TV shows would Peter, Tina, and Audra like to see turned into video games, and how would we go about it? All I know is that I'm kicking myself for not mentioning Tron. Featuring: Peter Triezenberg, Audra Bowling, Tina Olah

Dragon Quest V is a video game near and dear to the hearts of many Dragon Quest fans, but how about its animated adaptation? Three Retro Encounter panelists tackle Dragon Quest: Your Story, a cartoon that makes some very strange decisions in retelling the story of Dragon Quest V. Sort of. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues, Zach Wilkerson

NieR: Automata ramps up the drama in its second half, with 2B, 9S, A2, and other androids with alphanumeric designations exploring post-apocalyptic earth. Our panelists talk about the philosophy, fashion, hard decisions, and even the end credits of NieR: Automata, and how all of the above hurt their feelings. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Caitlin Argyros, Jo Padilla, Zach Wilkerson

Retro Encounter discusses the 2017 RPG superhit NieR: Automata, in which the panelists discuss the philosophy, action, music, colors, and more of Yoko Taro's magnum opus. Nothing can stop us from getting to the end of A route, except for aggressive moose. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Caitlin Argyros, Jo Padilla, Zach Wilkerson

Retro Encounter thought that a game of "Wed, Bed, Behead?" was too disturbring for a G-rated program, so we added an explicit tag and removed murder. Three RPGFan panelists put forth sets of hypothetical bachelors and bachelorettes and play a 1970s Dating Game remade for the 2000s. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Stephanie Sybydlo, Peter Triezenberg

AI: The Somnium Files was one of the understated hit visual novels of 2019, except that the game's tone and story is anything but. Five Retro Encounter panelists break down Kotaro Uchikoshi's wild dream-dropping murder mystery talking about its characters, themes, moments, and abundance of porno mags. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Caitlin Argyros, Alana Hagues, Leona McCallum, Tyler Trosper

Our three Stars of Destiny return for Part 2 of our Suikoden V game journal episode! Come listen to our panellists dissect every inch of this PlayStation 2 gem and maybe the rest of the Suikoden series while they are at it. Featuring: Leona McCallum, Tris Mendoza, Zach Wilkerson