RPGFan's Retro Encounter

Only the second game to be released by Monolith Soft, Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean swaps space and mechs for a card game, but keeps the dead gods. Three panelists explore disc one of this weird and wonderful game, from the beautiful pre-rendered visuals, to the engaging world and battle system. Where will the Mighty Ocean guide us? Tune in to this week's episode of Retro Encounte...

Retro Encounter's episode on Hades marks the fourth SuperGiant Games episode of the podcast in six weeks, but we discussed the Hell out of this roguelike RPG of gods and monsters.  Our favorite Zagreus builds, our mythological romantic preferences, and our warm, fuzzy feelings of progress and accomplishment all feature prominently in today's dark and bloody episode.  Rhymes with "ladies," not with...

What happens when you cross NBA Jam, Oregon Trail, and SuperGiant Games' distinct style and flavor?  The 2017 indie narrative game Pyre, which is hard to describe in just a few sentences, so we recorded an entire podcast about it instead!  Part three (out of four) of our miniseries on SuperGiant Games.  She shoots, she douses! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues, Eva Padilla; Edited by Michae...

On the last day of 2020, Retro Encounter celebrates the year's video games while offering good riddance to essentially everything else.  From roguelikes that play like Diablo to open worlds that play like Persona to Japanese adventure games of multiple narratives to Irish adventure games of self-discovery, the Retro Encounter panel discusses their favorites in 2020 RPGs and podcasts.  From all of...

Retro Encounter examines another entry in the Supergiant Games catalog in an episode all about Transistor, the 2014 action RPG that rewards careful planning with swift execution of its customizable abilities.  The beautiful visual and audio presentation, 2nd-person narration, creative boss fights, and Function loadouts of Transistor take center stage in today's Retro Encounter!  Retro Encounter wa...

Retro Encounter loves Tales Of RPGs, and Retro Encounter's host loves ludicrous fantasy drafts.  Naturally those two passions collided in a podcast, in which five Retro Encounter panelists discuss their (mostly) favorite Tales Of characters and relationships in the format of a fantasy sports draft.  Who is the first overall pick?  Which Tales of Symphonia summon is stolen?  Who are the president,...

Retro Encounter kicks off Supergiant Games Month with a podcast all about Bastion, SG's breakout 2011 title in which a Kid wakes up in a mysterious broken city with only a voice to guide him and a hammer to smash things up.  In this episode three panelists discuss The Kid's journey, including his arsenal of weapons, the beautiful accompanying soundtrack, and a few bold story choices.   You know ho...

Final Fantasy X-2. Great job system, great battle system, well-made pop songs.  But how about the rest of the game? Our panel has some criticisms about the side quests, main story, and overall presentation of FFX-2, but they try to balance the bad with some good in the newest Retro Encounter. Well, that sure was a video game. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Eva Padilla, Peter Triezenberg; Edited by Mi...

Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter, IndieGogo, and Fig have disrupted traditional game production and become an inescapable part of how video game consumers and developers interact, but the crowdfunding revolution within video games is less than ten years old.  Today's Retro Encounter is a discussion of how crowdfunding has affected the modern gaming landscape, as well as a few of our favorite...

The sequel to the 2nd game ever covered by Retro Encounter finally gets its own journal episodes over five years later!  We revisit the world of Spira and its new dueling factions, critique Dressphere fashion choices, and discuss Yuna's career change in our latest episode.  Which Final Fantasy X character evokes a comparison to a classic Saturday Night Live character?  Listen to find out!  Featuri...

Retro Encounter 261 - Finding Paradise Kan Gao and Freebird Games deliver the fourth game in the SIgmund Corp. Saga later this year, so in anticipation of Impostor Factory Retro Encounter is playing Finding Paradise, a game about memories, regrets, and making sure toilet paper rolls are on the hanger and not at the edge of the bathroom sink.   Dive into our minds with the latest Retro Encounter! ...

Retro 260 - RPG Vampires: Fangs for the Memories Vampires are a staple of horror, and to celebrate Halloween Retro Encounter is celebrating the vampires of RPGs.  From the psychic vampires of Mass Effect to the protagonist of a game literally called Vampyr, we hold a supernatural discussion to run a small gamut of (actual) bloodsuckers who don't suck (figuratively).   Drape your best cape and list...

Phantasy Star IV is the culmination of a four-game saga that puts the 2,000-year struggle of the Algol System into a context, and in today's Retro Encounter episode we dive deep into its final battle.  We spent plenty of time in Phantasy Star IV's battles and dungeons, but we forget to go into the adorable final credits scene.  That's our error.  It's macros, combos, and more in the latest Retro E...

Retro Encounter visits a faraway galaxy in a game from a long time ago (don't @ me Disney) in Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, one of the most acclaimed RPGs for the Sega Genesis, or Mega Drive if you're a peein'.  It took us 5 years and 257 episodes to talk about Sega RPGs a second time, but it was worth it! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues, Mark Tjan; Edited by Brian Ingemans...

Presently (October 2020), RPGFan is publishing a feature on the best RPG of each year, from the dawn of Dragon Quest to the last full calendar year.  As a podcast side dish to the website's main course, Retro Encounter examined the RPG oeuvre of each voting year, settled on the 10 best, and then started counting down.  Join us in talking 1987 through 2019 in 2020! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana...

Even in a video game, humans are too trusting.  Many of the most storied plot twists in RPGs have a central character performing an unexpected turn or betraying the player's trust.  In today's episode of Retro Encounter five panelists detail over a dozen great video game traitors, from A (Apollo Justice) to Z (YakuZa Kiwami).   Is one panelist among us... an imposter?   No guarantees.  Featuring:...

In the final episode of Persona Month, we gather again to discuss the end of Persona 2: Innocent Sin . Discussion topics include the continuously terrible dungeons, childhood trauma, Adolf Hitler, and Jesus. Somehow, we try to make sense of all those things on this episode. Yes, this game goes some places. So does our discussion! Featuring Zach Wilkerson , Alana Hagues, Leona McCallum, Jo Padilla;...

This week on Retro Encounter, four panelists get together to talk about Persona 2: Innocent Sin , the PS1 RPG that we never saw until its PSP remake over 10 years later. Topics include the engaging characters, the less than engaging combat, and somehow...disaster bisexuals. Don't ask. Just listen. Be sure to check out next week's episode to hear the end of our month of Persona ! Featuring: Zach Wi...

Rhythm Encounter is back for the first time since 2017!  (This is an different podcast entirely).  But in a Grand Cross of a cosmic coincidence, Rhythm Encounter's return occurs during Retro Encounter's Persona Month, so we (Retro) chose to do an episode all about the music of the Persona series to celebrate their (Rhythm) return.   Bop along to our jams, and check the tracklist below!    Featurin...

Persona 4 stars a group of meddling teenagers (and one bear) determined to bring a serial killer to justice, but what makes that killer tick?  Retro Encounter jumps into the TV World and journeys into the mind of a murderer in a new episode of RPG Villains.  The identity of Persona 4's culprit constitutes a spoiler, so listener beware.  Turn this whodunnit into a yaheardit!  Featuring: Michael Sol...

This. Is. RPGeopardy! RPGFan is hosting a third quiz show in which four RPGFan staff compete for absolutely nothing at all in a trivia competition where the clues are (mostly) all about RPGs. Retro Encounter's most frequent host wrote the rounds, so don't be surprised to hear multiple Dragon Quest(ions).  Can you figure out This, That, and The Other? Listen and find out!  Featuring: Michael Sollos...

Retro Encounter just hit a new milestone, and that means another self-congratulatory gimmick episode.  Retro Encounter solicited listener emails all summer, and today we read and react to all that we received.  At episode's end, we pick five games from the listener suggestions to be part of a new listener poll!  Please listen to the episode and then vote in the survey!  It's too late to write us a...

Retro Encounter draws their shared adventure in the Beanbean to a close in this podcast episode, discussing Luigi's solo missions, the collection of the Beanstar pieces, the brothers' journey through Joke's End, and confronting the final villains in a surprising moment of body horror. Today, Superstar Saga. Next week, episode 250! Featuring: Peter Triezenberg, Pete Leavitt, Jo Padilla, Michael Sol...

Retro Encounter tackles the 2003 GBA classic Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga this week, and the panel is divided on whether the game's timed-hits combat, silly humor, and early-aughts dungeon puzzles have aged well or poorly. The panel is unanimous on Superstar Saga's treatment of coffee and condiments.  So is Superstar Saga a classic coffee grind, or just a grind? Listen to find out!  Featuring...

Retro Encounter's journey to unite the Valerian isles, expel the manipulative Knights Loslorien, and stave off invasion from a hell dimension comes to a close, with the messy conclusion to Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together.  Collectivist vs. Individualist ideals, how characters are treated in different ending paths, and Yasumi Matsuno's love of obscure content all feature heavily.  What endings...