RPGFan's Retro Encounter

Ah, cats - stubborn, aloof, proud creatures who enjoy lazing around, eating and bringing you dead animals as presents. There are as many cat lovers as there are dog lovers on the site, so on the cusp of Year of the Dog, we decided to celebrate all things feline instead. These cats are anything but lazy, and this episode is sure to be paw-some as our panellists discuss wannabe movie star cats, spac...

Monster Hunter World is upon us, and it's the first video game blockbuster hit of 2018. A game from last week isn't quite retro enough for Retro Encounter though, so three of RPGFan's most enthusiastic Monster Hunter fans hop on the show to talk about their personal experiences, weapon mains, and many years of hunting wyverns, dinosaurs, and giant pink fart monkeys. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nat...

This week, our host is extremely excited to play the Power Rangers-inspired indie strategy RPG Chroma Squad, and two other Retro Encounter panelists are at least willing to humor him. So is the rainbow-hued Chroma Squad a Tokusatsu triumph, or a sad Sentai send-up? Listen in for the panel's thoughts. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner, Hilary Andreff Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro...

Retro Encounter continues its January indie games month with a very special episode all about the 2015 smash hit Undertale! Undertale was programmed, written, and composed by a single creator, but it takes three Retro Encounter panelists to properly dissect this subversive cult favorite. This episode experienced some technical difficulties, so I apologize in advance for occasional lapses in audio...

The indie game scene is thriving in 2018, but ten years ago was a different time. Today, three Retro Encounter panelists examine OFF, a 2008 French-language indie title created in RPGMaker 2003. The group walks through OFF's entire plot before attempting to interpret the surrealist gem's themes and metaphors. Featuring: Robert Fenner, Nilson Carroll, Michael Sollosi Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email...

Retro Encounter unites the Yorae Dragon in our second Breath of Fire IV episode. Both panelists are Breath of Fire IV fans, one from childhood and one newly minted. We talk endgame scenarios, edgame characters, difficulty spikes, and fancy dragons in our first Retro Encounter of 2018! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan.com Twitter: @rpgfancom I...

Continuing a Retro Encounter annual tradition, six panelists talk the year in video games, from January's Tales of Berseria to December's Xenoblade Chronicles 2. 2017 was such a dense year for RPGs that there is a lot to talk about. In addition, the panel briefly discusses their favorite RPGFan podcasts and features of the year and a few 2018 games they're looking forward to. Featuring: Michael So...

Retro Encounter listeners voted back in September on a future Retro Encounter game, and now we finally deliver! Breath of Fire IV won the poll, and the duo behind The Good Dogs of RPGs podcast reunites to discuss the first chapter of the 2000 Capcom classic. You know, back when Capcom used to create classics. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan....

Two Retro Encounter panelists discuss the game that started it all in our fifth Final Fantasy podcast in as many weeks. We discuss Final Fantasy I's story, gameplay, influence, and even apocryphal development stories in this episode, with the oldest subject in Retro Encounter's brief history. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan.com Twitter: @rp...

Retro Encounter's stroll down memory lane for Final Fantasy's 30th anniversary continues, with the panelists discussing the PS2 era to the present. The Fabula Nova Crystallis project, our favorite Final Fantasy XIV jobs, and late-game Blitzball strategy. Kilika Beasts forever. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Hilary Andreff, Alana Hagues, Mike Salbato Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan.com...

This podcast began its life as a well-intentioned jaunt through our favorite Final Fantasy memories for the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series. It ended up being a monstrous meditation on more than fifteen Final Fantasy games that needed to be split into two halves. In this episode four panelists discuss their favorite parts of Final Fantasies I through IX, with the second half of the se...

The aspiring filmmakers of Square Enix attempted Final Fantasy animated films three times over the past 17 years. Three Retro Encounter panelists watched them all and put on their headsets to discuss the three films: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children; and Kingsglaive: FInal Fantasy XV. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Keegan Lee, Peter Triezenberg Get in Touch: RPGFa...

Earlier this year, Retro Ecounter discussed one of the most debated topics - what is the best Final Fantasy game? After deliberation, there was one clear winner, and that's the subject of today's episode. Three Retro regulars get together to discuss Final Fantasy IX and sing its praises. You'll here them gushing about the characters, looting through the sidequests, and picking up all of those litt...

BlizzCon 2017 is behind us, and Retro Encounter original host Jolly Josh Curry reunites with Entitled Mike Sollosi to discuss all of the Blizzard goodness revealed and elaborated at the show. From a new Hearthstone expansion to classic 2004 World of Warcraft servers, two of RPGFan's Blizzard junkies have plenty to discuss. Unless it's about Diablo. Whether you hang out in Azeroth, Sanctuary, or Th...

It's the time of year to celebrate the creepy, the kooky, and the altogether ooky. Three of Retro Encounter's horror aficionados discuss their favorite horror RPGs, scary video game moments, or unexpectedly creepy parts of otherwise cheery RPGs. Seriously, what's with those Tomato Men in Secret of Mana? Featuring: Robert Fenner, Alana Hagues, Dom Kim Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan...

Our three panelists were busy the past two weeks and nobody was able to finish Digital Devil Saga in time for the podcast. It's an embarrassing Retro Encounter first. That doesn't mean there was a lack of discussion, though! Listen on for our continuing thoughts on Digital Devil Saga, including its characters, folklore connection, and novel adaptation Quantum Devil Saga. Featuring: Michael Sollosi...

Who needs ultimate weapons? Not us here at Retro Encounter! While we might have explored the subject before, this week's episode looks at all things stupid and fun - Wacky Weapons! Two returning panelists from the Ultimate Weapons episode take a look over RPG history and discuss the strangest weapons and equipment they've ever wielded against the big bad. Grab your golf clubs, brooms and water pis...

Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner was a PS2 Atlus experiment; two games made in the image of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, starring transforming cannibals in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Two Digital Devil Saga veterans and one newbie explore the bleak, brutal RPG with a critical eye. Is the cult classic also a critical hit? Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner, Peter Triezenberg Get in Touch:...

Quintet! Whether it's a hands-on deity rebuilding civilization, children exploring the different sides of the human condition, or rainbow robot rumbles, Quintet games always feel unique and interesting. Today Retro Encounter throws back to the 90s with an in-depth discussion of Quintet's RPGs. Featuring: Robert Fenner, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan...

Three Retro Encounter panelists reconvene to discuss the second half of Final Fantasy XII, going deep into its ending and optional content. Hunts, espers, music, and romantic shipping each take center stage in today's episode. Featuring: Caitlin Argyros, Robert Fenner, Peter Triezenberg Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Email us: retro@rpgfan.com Twitter: @rpgfancom Instagram: @rpgfancom Facebook: rpgfanco...

Retro Encounter returns to Dalmasca with Final Fantasy XII, the PlayStation 2 classic recently remastered for PlayStation 4. In this first episode our panelists talk classes, characters, and personal memories of Final Fantasy XII, especially the game's excellent localization and Vaan's impressive abdominals. Featuring: Caitlin Argyros, Robert Fenner, Peter Triezenberg Get in Touch: RPGFan.com Emai...

Retro Encounter's first episode posted in May of 2015, and today in September of 2017 Retro Encounter hits triple digits. For its hundredth outing, six recurring Retro panelists play an elimination game to determine a future episode subject, and also wax nostalgic about Encounters past. The end result: a listener poll! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Josh Curry, Robert Fenner, Chris Gebauer, Alana Hag...

Today is Casts & Characters day on RPGFan! To accompany the site featured articles, Retro Encounter has five of the feature writers present to talk about their favorite RPG ensembles. Final Fantasy VII's Planeteers, Borderlands 2's weirdo heroes, Persona 4's Scooby gang, Koudelka's bickering heretics, and Final Fantasy XII's royal entourage each make an appearance. Get to know the heroes and v...

Ultimate weapons. When you find one in an RPG, it's a symbol of accomplishment, a trophy representing high dedication and near-completion of its game. Sometimes they're lying around in a late dungeon, but most of the time players jump through strange, specific hoops to obtain them. And four RPGFan podcasters are here to talk about those weapons, those trophies, and those hoops. Featuring: Peter Tr...

Grim Fandango continues to stun our panel with its original setting and sharp wit, and continues to frustrate that same panel with 1990s adventure game design. But what were the panel's overall feelings? Does Manny manage to rescue Mercedes? How fast does Glottis go? These questions and more are answered in today's podcast. Featuring: Alana Hagues, Marcos Gaspar, Michael Sollosi Get in Touch: RPGF...