SKALD: Against the Black Priory

SKALD: Against the Black Priory is a neat little retro-style RPG all about doom and destruction. It employs a unique RPG system built from familiar DNA, with a well-woven story that knows exactly when its welcome has worn out. The biggest issues are the clunkiness of the battle system at early levels (which arguably only enhances the game’s theme and atmosphere) and depressing plot. Skald is not a grand 100+ hour JRPG, but a short and competent RPG module.

Monster Sanctuary

Monster Sanctuary is a great monster-catching metroidvania. That’s two distinct genres, so let’s break down how to intersect.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

Icewind Dale is the final game created in the Infinity Engine using Dungeons & Dragons 2e rules, after Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment. Despite being made after those games, it doesn’t stack up to any of them. Baldur’s Gate provided a balanced experience and Planescape: Torment focused heavily on story. Icewind Dale, on the other hand, is a combat slog, and that descriptor should tell you what I think of it.

Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition

While I enjoyed Baldur’s Gate I & II and understood why they made a big splash when released, they were notably dated and I didn’t think they rose to the level of a masterpiece. Planescape: Torment, the next game developed in the same Infinity Engine, is a masterpiece. It’s also notably dated and far from perfect, but it explores weird, interesting and unique ideas with intelligence and well-crafted writing.

Baldur's Gate (I & II)

In discussions of CRPGs, Baldur’s Gate is often held up as the holy grail. It was celebrated by its fans for being expansive and deep, and maintained a dedicated fanbase through its modding community. Release of the Enhanced Editions in 2013 helped maintain modern interest, and Baldur’s Gate 3 proved to be a massive hit. By how well do the original games hold up now, especially without any nostalgia to view the games through?

Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest

The only reason I bought Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is because it’s by the same people that made Legend of Grimrock. (I’d do anything for those guys.) Druidstone is not Grimrock—which I knew going in. It’s a puzzly tactical RPG that takes place in a Tolkienesque fantasy forest; a competent-built challenge with a fun aesthetic.

Triangle Strategy / トライアングルストラテジー

Normally I’m not a fan of strategy RPGs, but the stars aligned for me and Triangle Strategy. I played the demo when it first came out, and it piqued my interest. It seemed to have more JRPG trappings than Fire Emblem, and the lack of permadeath eliminated the main source of stress I had when I tried Fire Emblem. This year I was in the mood for a Switch RPG that required some thinking but could also be easily picked up and put down, so on a semi-whim I bought Triangle Strategy, and now, over 100 hours later, here I am.

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is a dungeon-crawling fantasy board game. First released in 2017, it revolutionized the genre and was hailed as one of the best co-op board games of all time thanks to its intricate mechanics, deep customization, wealth of secrets to unlock, and branching story. In 2019, Flaming Fowl Studios released a digital version (in early access, which was completed in 2021), which I played, so I can now confirm that the accolades Gloomhaven received are undoubtedly well-earned. While the digital version massively streamlined many points of the experience, it also introduced a few annoyances.

Vaporum

It always begins with a man and a lighthouse… We play as a man with no memories who washes up on at a tower in the middle of the ocean. Upon entering, he finds a retro-futuristic steampunk dystopia that, based on audiologs scattered throughout the facility, appears to have resulted from the study of a mysterious miracle substance gone wrong. In other words, it’s… Vaporum!

Operencia: The Stolen Sun

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is a first-person grid-based dungeon crawler, which readers of the blog may already know that I love. While Legend of Grimrock is focused purely on exploration, combat, and puzzles, Operencia is a bit more well-rounded, with actual characters and story, and a more fleshed-out combat system. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean Operencia was better. It was fun, but it wasn’t great—it held itself back. But we’ll get to that.

Chrono Cross / クロノ・クロス

Chrono Trigger is a stunning masterpiece with beautiful pixel graphics, engaging gameplay, fantastic music, memorable characters, and a well-paced, well-constructed time travel story. It's no wonder it's hailed by many as one of the, if not the, greatest video games of all time, and it's fully deserving of such exemplary accolades.

Chrono Cross, its sequel, is fine.

Legend of Grimrock II

Legend of Grimrock II is a masterpiece. Go give the developers your money.

Children of Zodiarcs

I don’t usually like SRPGs, but an SRPG card game? Sign me up!

...Maybe I should have trusted my preferences more.

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology / ラジアントヒストリア パーフェクトクロノロジー

Desertification has been ravaging the continent of Vainqueur, forcing the two major countries of Alistel and Granorg into a war over the remaining fertile land. We play as Stocke, a special intelligence operative for Alistel. One day, Stocke receives from his boss what appears to be a blank book—but turns out to be a magical artifact known as the White Chronicle, which allows Stocke to travel through time. Teo and Lippti, children who act as advisers to the holder of the White Chronicle, warn Stocke of the world's inevitable destruction from desertification and task him with stopping it.

Dragon Quest XI / ドラゴンクエストXI

Although it didn't pick up as much popularity in America, Dragon Quest is a veritable phenomenon in Japan. And with good cause: Dragon Quest XI is an insanely fun, good ol' fashioned RPG that's filled to the brim with content. This is a game not to be missed.

Mind Zero / マインドゼロ

Today, I'm going to be talking about a JRPG about a group of Japanese high schoolers that each bond with a unique magical being, allowing them to fight alongside said being, prompting them to venture into an alternate, twisted version of our own world to fight other magical beings and get to the bottom of what's going on. And if the title of this post and image right above this paragraph didn't give it away, I'm not talking about Persona. No, I'm talking about the Persona knock-off, Mind Zero!