RPGFan's Retro Encounter

What the hell, Yoko Taro?

After our recently published "25 Years, 25 RPG Moments" feature, we decided to get the crew at Retro Encounter together to talk about some of the moments that made us laugh, made us happy, and most importantly, the ones that wrecked us.

What moments did we choose? Which ones did we miss? Who got too emotional to talk for a little while? Listen in to find out!

(Note: there are heavy spoilers for a number of the games we discuss here, notably Breath of Fire IV, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Dragon Quest XI, Monster Rancher 2, Mother 3, Suikoden II, Final Fantasy X, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and NieR: Automata. Listen with caution.)

Featuring: Zach Wilkerson, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel, Michael Sollosi, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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25 Years, 25 RPG Moment Feature

Its gifts were mixed with good and evil both.

This week we bring our panelists back together to discuss to discuss the second half of Lost Odyssey. While were were all pretty positive on the first half, some of us really like the latter portions, and some of us really don't.

Did we do all the sidequests? Do the excellent short stories make up for the middling narrative? Are the environments still so very brown? Listen in to find out!

(Editor's Note - While the host indicates this is Episode 374, the correct number is 375)

Featuring: Peter Triezenberg, Aleks Franiczek, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Lost Odyssey on RPGFan
Lost Odyssey Review on RPGFan

Okay it might not be called Final Fantasy XIII, but...

This week on Retro Encounter, three first-timers get together to discuss Mistwalker's Xbox 360 cult classic Lost Odyssey. It certainly has some big names behind it, and we want to find out if it lives up to the previous works of the masters.

How does it hold up? How brown can one game get? Does the turn-based combat work this time around? Listen to find out!

Featuring: Peter Triezenberg, Aleks Franiczek, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Lost Odyssey on RPGFan
Lost Odyssey Review on RPGFan

Thou shalleth listenen to thisen episode.

Luckily, you won't hear any conversations about broken Early Modern English, because this time we're not talking about the original. Instead, we have a spoiler filled chat about Octopath Traveler II, a sequel that our panel loved even more than the first game.

How does the game look? What about that combat? Oh, the music has to be good. What about any funny accents? Listen in to this week's episode to find out!

Featuring: Zach Wilkerson, Patrick Gann, Alana Hagues; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Octopath Traveler II on RPGFan
Octopath Traveler II Review on RPGFan

It's time to make history!

This week, we're revisiting one of our favorites: Persona 4 Golden. After all, with the new release on modern consoles and Wes' glowing review for us at RPGFan, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit some of our old friends.

But there's an even better reason we're revisiting this classic! We're also joined by special guest, and friend of the podcast, Alex from Backlog Battle, to talk about everything that makes the game special to them, too.

Does the game still hold up? Is Kanji still the best character? Listen in to find out!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Wes Iliff, Alex from Backlog Battle; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Persona 4 Golden on RPGFan
The Backlog Battle YouTube channel

More brutal murders than John Wick and more mistaken identities than Twelfth Night. 

Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin! plays fast and loose with the events of Bakumatsu Japan, with multiple historical figures assuming second personas, a legendary alliance forged through a drunken brawl instead of careful diplomacy, and much more than can be contained in a mere podcast description. Today's Retro Encounter is all about the king-making, life-taking, and chicken racing of the latest to come out Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Gio Castillo, Jono Logan, Nick Mangiaracina; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Like A Dragon: Ishin! on RPGFan

Kamurocho has nothing on the mean streets of 1860s Kyo. 

Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin! was probably a lost cause to most fans of the Like A Dragon / Yakuza series, but Sega shocked everyone last year with the announcement of a full remake of the 2014 historical fiction samurai drama to arrive in February of 2023. RPGFan had at least four panelists eager to play it, so they gathered here to form their own Shinsengumi to discuss the swordplay, writing, performances, and historical context of the Ishin! remake. 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Gio Castillo, Jono Logan, Nick Mangiaracina; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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All RPGs and no fighting games makes Jack a dull boy.

We don't *solely* play RPGs here at RPGFan, and today is exactly the podcast to express that. Four RPGFan panelists discuss a few of their favorite games that can't be classified as RPGs with even the most liberal interpretation of the term, from crossover fighters to atmospheric horror to block puzzles to epic bug sagas.

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Tom Cox, Ben Love, Nick Mangiaracina; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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Today we enter the realm of video game fantasies, but not Final Fantasies.

Remakes are a regular part of the video game release schedule in the 2020s, and here at Retro Encounter we have a few ideas on a few that should come soon. A PS2 rogue-like, a Squaresoft RPG never released in Japan, and some Game Boy Color classics are only a small sample of what's in store in this episode of Retro Encounter!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Joshua Lindquist, Jonathan Logan, Tin Manuel; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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E-I-E-I-oh boy I almost went to bed without watering the corn. Oh, hello. On today's Retro Encounter, we're breaking out the farm equipment and digging into the ever-growing farm simulation genre. Many of them overlap with RPGs, especially as modern games have expanded their systems beyond crops, animals, and relationships, offering combat systems and more. Of course we talked about Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons and Stardew Valley, but we covered much more ground in discussing how we all got our start, what we are playing now, and some farming games we're looking forward to. Saddle up!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Greg Delmage, Dom Kim; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

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