RPGFan's Retro Encounter

We're all doing our best, but there is always room for Progress

Tales of Xillia made a big splash on the PS3 in the early 2010s, with beautifully-rendered characters and frenetic combat for RPGs of that era. The usual Tales Of standards are here, from a climate crisis connected to Mana Spirits to one character that seems on the brink of betraying the team at any moment. So how does the panel feel about the do-gooder Jude and Milla of the impossible hairdo? Listen and find out! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Anthony Krolikowski

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Related Links:
Tales of Xillia on RPGFan

Did you know that RPGs, especially more traditional text-based RPGs, are generally considered to be among the more accessible videogame types? And that's a wonderful distinction, because accessibility means that the greatest possible number of players can actually play and enjoy it.

Join our intrepid panel, then, in celebrating accessibility in all its forms. We discuss resources for news on the topic and accessible hardware and software reviews, how important it is to learn from the existing accessible gaming community, a wide variety of crucial accessibility features, and noteworthy ways developers have built accessibility into the design of their games. This is one Retro Encounter special topic that is guaranteed to improve your gaming experience.

Featuring: Hilary Andreff, Lucy Gray, Wes Iliff; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Related Links:

• Can I Play That?
• Game Accessibility 
• DAGER System 
• Ability Powered Gaming 
• Family Gaming Database
• RPGFan Feature: The Trials of Gaming While Colorblind

The chase is on in our pointless quiz show!

Retro Encounter engages in friently competition for the fifth time, with four RPGFan staff members taking on the quizmaster's queue of questions. This quiz is a slightly different format from previous shows, with the four contestants playing simultaneously and rounds inspired by fan favorite game shows "Ask Me Another," and "I Literally Just Told You." Listen to our challengers shared struggle; maybe you'll learn something!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Jonathan Logan, Kyle Seeley, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Mark Mahler

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Young master... listen to this episode. That is my first... and last... request.

Determined duels! Shocking departures! Sudden but inevitable betrayal! The second half of Suikoden the first is not lacking in drama, and four Retro Encounter panelists relish it, whether they're experiencing it for the first time or the tenth. Who's on our final sixes out of the first one-hundred-eight? Listen and find out!

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Jonathan Logan, Cory Tischbein, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Related Links:
Suikoden on RPGFan

Odessa told me: “A talkative man who doesn't have a podcast is a coward."

One of the very first RPGs on the PlayStation, Suikoden created a legion of new fans in 1995, spawning nearly a dozen sequels and spinoffs over the next decade-plus. Retro Encounter has discussed multiple Suikoden sequels in older episodes, but today goes back to where it all began: a story of civil war, mystical runes, and 108 stars of destiny. 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Jonathan Logan, Cory Tischbein, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Zach Wilkerson

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Related Links:
Suikoden on RPGFan

Hundreds of heroes to choose from, but only four squads competing

Retro Encounter returns from its 77-day hiatus to deliver three Suikoden episodes in a row! But before we get to our journal through the first Suikoden, we're going to draft Suikoden characters through the lifetime of the entire series, giving 32 of them a thorough discussion. Which main character goes first overall? Who's everyone's favorite tactician? Listen and find out! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Wes Iliff, Zach Wilkerson; Edited by Mark Mahler

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Three hosts enter. One leaves satisfied, one leaves salty, and the third… is still on the island.

For Retro Encounter's third and final game of Metroidvania Month, three panelists took on Ska Studios' Salt & Sanctuary, a 2016 action RPG inspired heavily by both Metroidvania games and From Software's Souls series. The panelists all acknowledge Salt & Sanctuary's strengths and weaknesses, but completely disagree on whether the bleak, challenging title is, y'know, fun to play.

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Jono Logan, Tina Olah; Edited by Jono Logan

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

Related Links:
Salt and Sanctuary Review

Of warrior mice and podcast men.

Adaptations! In advance of an RPGFan feature later this month, three Retro Encounter panelists talk about their favorite stories and IP from outside the realm of video game RPGs, and how they each could be adapted into RPGs. 1990s novels aimed at young adults, 2000s superhero shows aimed at elementary school students, and 1960s manga for all ages are only a few of the series up for discussion in today's very hypothetical episode of Retro Encounter! 

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Wes Iliff; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom

A couple weeks ago, we kicked off Metroidvania March with an episode on Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Today we turn our attention to what is, in many ways, the true origin of this sub-genre of adventure games, and the first half of its name before "-vania" would be added in subsequent years: Super Metroid.

We don't actually cover Metroid here, but it's impossible to understate its influence on adventure games — especially since Metroidvanias have exploded in popularity thanks to the likes of Hollow Knight, the Ori titles, and of course, most Castlevania entries since 1997. So with all that in mind, four RPGFan editors sat down to discuss their feelings on one of the SNES' best titles, whether this was their first playthrough, or their twentieth.

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Jono Logan, Cory Tischbein, Josh Louis; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom 

Jay Bilas is on hand to break down Flying-type wingspans.

It's time to d-d-d-d-draft! Several RPGFan staff are enjoying Pokemon Legends: Arceus in the early days of 2022, so four Retro Encounter panelists are celebrating good times by drafting teams of their favorite monsters and trainers from the Pokémon universe. And a few draft picks might get a little spicy, or a little… funky.

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues, Niki Fakhoori, Peter Triezenberg; Edited by Michael Sollosi

Opening and ending music by Miles Morkri

Get in Touch:
RPGFan.com
Email us: [email protected]
Twitter: @rpgfancom
Instagram: @rpgfancom
Facebook: rpgfancom
Twitch: rpgfancom