A little girl with the ability to put spirits into objects, a foolish demon who almost burns his dimension out of existence, multiple consumers of the world, and a place with a certain je ne sais quoi. All came from NIS and involve various amounts of strategic thinking to succeed. (La Pucelle, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, Soul Nomad and the World Eaters)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 96: “La Makai Phantom World” appeared first on RPGamer.

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie. Mordor’s grip has ensnared most attempts to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s world to life. (The Lord of the Rings)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 95: “Central Middle Earth” appeared first on RPGamer.

This particular Gust series has many trademark RPG elements, including tongue-twister subtitles for the games. It also steadily progresses in misogynism, until the amount of odious material reaches near-cataclysmic levels. (Ar Tonelico)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 94: “Ou Est le Sol Ciel?” appeared first on RPGamer.

Being a detective in an alternate history version of Tokyo with demons crawling all over the place isn’t that hard. It just demands a willingness to get lost in evocative 1920s-esque environments while smacking inhuman adversaries repeatedly in action combat. (Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner).

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 93: “Devil Doll” appeared first on RPGamer.

Link went through several phases during the GameCube era. First he demonstrated cel shading, then he tempted gamers to buy GBA link cables, and after that ushered in the Wii’s launch. It’s all up for reminiscence on this episode – along with something about a fellow named Tingle. (The Legend of Zelda, Part 3)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 92: “Master of Swordplay” appeared first on RPGamer.

Cavia’s occasional ventures into the RPG world have been filled with bloodshed and piling up huge numbers of corpses. The other tenets of these games vary quite a bit, so have a bloody good time with a slice of this episode. (Drakengard, NIER)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 91: “Y’know, for Kids!” appeared first on RPGamer.

Instead of venturing further into a galaxy far, far away BioWare chose to enter a land inspired by, but hardly identical to, imperial China. The company’s usual high writing standard made the transition with flying colors. (Jade Empire)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 90: “Bauxite Republic” appeared first on RPGamer.

Reviving barren worlds was a theme Quintet visited more than once, right up to the end of the company in fact. Bring back the faded flora and fauna of whole planets on this ecologically-minded Backtrack! (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, The Granstream Saga)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 89: “A Quartet of Quintet” appeared first on RPGamer.

Once upon a time, Akira Toriyama created a long-running series that has lasted in the public consciousness far longer than its contemporaries. Given that it involves people increasing in strength to a seemingly unreachable zenith, a few RPGs have surfaced over the years dealing with it. (Dragon Ball Z)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 88: “Go to Hfil” appeared first on RPGamer.

The GameCube got the occasional exclusive, and Monolith Soft delivered a pair of them later in the system’s life. Managing cards for combat and contending with winged citizenry, along with the occasional divine whale, await. (Baten Kaitos)

The post RPG Backtrack – Episode 87: “Is This Your Card?” appeared first on RPGamer.