Yggdra Union – Better together

I’ve loved tactical RPGs ever since Vandal Hearts in 1997. I can’t get enough of them and will take a chance on pretty much any game in the genre. It usually pays off, but not always… The very best games in the genre tend to come from Japan, which sometimes leaves me battling against the language barrier of import-only releases rather than the rank and file of an enemy army. In the Sega Saturn era, in particular, I took a chance on some amazing looking SRPGs like Black/Matrix, Terra Phantastica or FEDA Remake, but despite perseverance and a deep familiarity with the genre, I’d often find myself slogging through walls of text or struggling to understand their intricate game mechanics.

Mother 3 – Never not funny

I can still remember the first time I heard about Mother 3. It was long before I’d heard of Earthbound, and may even be before I’d played any RPG. It was in the news pages of Computer & Video Games magazine, previewed as Earthbound 64, an upcoming RPG for the N64’s forthcoming disk drive add-on, the 64DD.

Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon – Forced perspective

It’s an unfortunate twist of fate that the year I discovered my favourite game series was also the year it effectively came to an end. In instantly fell in love with tactical RPG Shining Force III when it released on Saturn in 1998, and after a bit of googling – or did I ask Jeeves? – in the college computer lab, I was thrilled to find out that there were two more, Japan-exclusive chapters, as well as a deep bench of previous games in the series. But this was also the year that Camelot Software Planning, the creators and custodians (but not the copyright holders) of the whole Shining series decided to part ways with Sega to largely work on golf games for Sony and Nintendo. So although there were plenty of Shining games I could go back and play, there was effectively nothing new to look forward to. Well, that’s only partially true…