RPG Fan's Scores

  • Games
For 608 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 74% higher than the average critic
  • 6% same as the average critic
  • 20% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 6.6 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Game review score: 79
Highest review score:
Lowest review score:
Critic Score 26
Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 8 out of 608
608 game reviews
    • Metascore: 81
    • Critic Score 76
    Needless to say, Reckoning is a repetitive experience. If you've played the first five hours, you've seen everything the game has to offer except a few bosses and superficially different environments.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 75
    Lost in Blue has its appeal, especially to those folks who enjoy the Harvest Moon series, or those who enjoyed Survival Kids on the GBC. There is comfort in repetition, and it's really not all that bad once you get the story rolling.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 75
    Another nail in the coffin of the Seiken Densetsu series.
    • Metascore: 79
    • Critic Score 75
    While the musical presentation was excellent, the gameplay passable, and the controls well executed, the horrible job with the story and the disappointing graphics dragged down the game a lot. Add in the short playtime and you have a game that is a rental at best, but definitely not a purchase.
    • Metascore: 75
    • Critic Score 75
    If you're a fan of the genre and appreciate the ability to challenge others in battles, you'll do well with Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Otherwise, you'll just find a mediocre game with silly dialogue.
    • Metascore: 68
    • Critic Score 75
    Give this one a chance, especially if you're into this unique brand of games. If you were surprised by the quality of the new Pokémon games, or if you're a long-time Digimon fan, this might be a game worth playing.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 75
    Give this one a chance, especially if you're into this unique brand of games. If you were surprised by the quality of the new Pokémon games, or if you're a long-time Digimon fan, this might be a game worth playing.
    • Metascore: 68
    • Critic Score 75
    The problem with the DS incarnation of Orcs & Elves is that it doesn't give enough incentive to buy it over, say, a $5 download for your cell phone.
    • Metascore: 78
    • Critic Score 75
    To say that Lost Odyssey is a bad game is to do it an injustice. It's not a fun game, though, and maybe that's the same thing.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 75
    Those who liked the first installment will enjoy this one as well, and will appreciate the improvements brought about by the second screen, but weighing in at only 30-40 hours of mediocrity, it's probably a better rental than purchase.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 75
    Those who liked the first installment will enjoy this one as well, and will appreciate the improvements brought about by the second screen, but weighing in at only 30-40 hours of mediocrity, it's probably a better rental than purchase.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Critic Score 75
    Sunshine Islands is a passable installment in the Harvest Moon series. It's a great pick up and play game, but it doesn't do much new.
    • Metascore: 73
    • Critic Score 75
    Overall, I found Attack of the Saiyans to be a short but admirable attempt at bringing structure and story-driven action to the series in its video game adaptations.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 75
    When all is said and done, your satisfaction with the DS version of MUA 2 will rely in large measure on what you expect going in. The game is relatively short, but you're supposed to play it more than once.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 75
    For undying JRPG fans, SoD might be another great experience, but overall, it is another meal for Mediocrity.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 75
    Cing produced two of the DS's finest adventure games with Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk: Room 215, but AGAIN was just "meh." It's not a bad game, but it's not great either.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Critic Score 75
    If you want something fast and full of action, this probably isn't the game for you. However, if you like turn-based games that reward you for putting a lot of thought into your skill choices and are willing to put up with a significant amount of (game-assisted) level grinding, it's likely that you'll appreciate Etrian Odyssey III.
    • Metascore: 80
    • Critic Score 75
    It improves in some ways on things that were already good without really remedying the things that weren't working, but at its heart, there's plenty of fun to be found in this game, and as long as you find the fun, Fable III's flaws aren't too big to be forgiven.
    • Metascore: 79
    • Critic Score 75
    Mark Leung: Revenge of the Bitch is a good game, but not an amazing one. It looks good and controls well, and although its humor can be juvenile, it is both creative and clever.
    • Metascore: 78
    • Critic Score 75
    If you're a Dragon Quest fan, you'll pick this up regardless of my review, especially if you've never played the game in any other form before. If you're new to the series, start with IV, as it is a far superior game in terms of storytelling and overall enjoyment. Bottom Line: you won't find anything new in Realms of Revelation, but hey, that's Dragon Quest.
    • Metascore: 75
    • Critic Score 75
    If you enjoy retro games on iOS, Dragon Fantasy is definitely worth your time. It has great music, good gameplay, and its only real issue is control.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 75
    There's nothing special about Ash II. It has no glaring flaws – just a few foibles that are somewhat annoying – but by that same token, there is nothing really special about it, either.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 75
    I would love to say that Game of Thrones is a great introduction to George R. R. Martin's world, but that simply isn't the truth. There are quite a few references to A Song of Ice and Fire and only those who are already fans of the series will get a significant amount of joy out of this title. Solid combat and interesting gameplay systems prevent it from being a licensed throwaway, but don't expect a gaming masterpiece if you're not already rooting for one of the lords of the Seven Kingdoms.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Critic Score 75
    It's a good game, but not an amazing one, mostly because it's more complicated than it needs to be.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Critic Score 75
    I will end my review the same way I started it: Kentucky Route Zero is a very strange game. Although I did not enjoy it very much, I can see how it is a compelling piece of software. It is very artsy, very avant-garde, very surreal, and a very acquired taste.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 75
    After just one chapter, I'm not sure I'd put The Journey Down in the realm of classics like Grim Fandango, or with the best of its episodic contemporaries like The Walking Dead and Back to the Future. But it's worth the purchase price, and I will definitely keep an eye out for the next episode's release.
    • Metascore: 74
    • Critic Score 75
    It wouldn't be much of a review, but I could describe Saturday Morning RPG to you in just six words: "a love letter to the '80s." If you watched cartoons and movies back then, this game is aimed squarely at you.
    • Metascore: 61
    • Critic Score 75
    Evoland has to be appreciated for what it is, which is less "game" and more "journey traveled." Nostalgia's a hot selling piece these past few years.
    • Metascore: 58
    • Critic Score 74
    It's too bad, because Drakengard 2 could have been, and could have done, a lot more than it did.
    • Metascore: 57
    • Critic Score 74
    None of the bland gameplay is helped by the fact that the controls feel sluggish overall.
    • Metascore: 44
    • Critic Score 74
    I'll admit, the game did grow on me and I actually liked it more than I expected to for its 19 hour duration, but it is not a game I can recommend at full price; especially with so many better and higher profile titles releasing this season. That being said, if you find Last Rebellion for $12 or less in the bargain bin, it's not a terrible purchase.
    • Metascore: 45
    • Critic Score 74
    All in all, it's decent to play, and Compile Heart is trying to improve, but they need more common sense in refining basic gameplay elements.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 73
    PoPoLoCrois is, at its core, a vanilla, mediocre, bland, been-there-done-that Japanese RPG that probably should have stayed in Japan.
    • Metascore: 73
    • Critic Score 73
    Contact is a classic case of A for effort, C for execution. It is easy to tell that a lot of love was put into this game and it had the potential to be a classic of Earthbound proportions. Unfortunately, despite the game's merits, I ultimately found it too mundane, boring, repetitive, monotonous, and dull to recommend.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 73
    In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.
    • Metascore: 64
    • Critic Score 73
    In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 73
    In other words, for those still interested, Alpha Protocol should be low on the to-play list.
    • Metascore: 85
    • Critic Score 73
    If you are a big fan, then I can't see you being disappointed with the game unless you really hate the graphical style or the voices.
    • Metascore: 64
    • Critic Score 73
    Chaos Wars is not a great game, but it is fun. I felt let down by O~3's low-budget localization, and the last few hours of gameplay really felt dragged out, but otherwise I enjoyed the experience.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 73
    Despite the faults, From the Abyss is a solid dungeon crawler. It does what it does well for the genre, and it is very easy to pick up and play. In the long run however, it's not going to be memorable game.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 73
    Definitely not for everyone. But regardless, at the end of the journey, after the countless deaths and billions of bruisings, the stat rolling and puzzle solving, you will undoubtedly feel accomplished.
    • Metascore: 64
    • Critic Score 73
    You have to put a lot of work into the game (and the WiFi settings) to get a good experience out of it.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 73
    I'm a big fan of nostalgic "old-school" style RPGs as my catalogue of reviews suggests, but honestly, Nostalgia fell completely flat in almost all areas.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 73
    A major improvement over the junky Jake Hunter game we got last year. Some of the flaws like the misplaced Americanizations still bug me, but Memories of the Past is still a suitable apology for last year's disappointment.
    • Metascore: 85
    • Critic Score 73
    By far the largest issue Fable has is its length. Completing at least 50% of the sidequests, marrying, slaughtering an entire village, and buying three houses, I still only ended the game at slightly over eight hours.
    • Metascore: 80
    • Critic Score 73
    At the end of the day, The Last Story is a decent RPG, but nothing to be excited about. A dull story and uninteresting characters mar a unique combat system and solid gameplay.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 72
    Crippled by poor gameplay, redeemed at times by enjoyable dialogue and decent aesthetic qualities, Arc the Lad: End of Darkness ends up being a mediocre game.
    • Metascore: 56
    • Critic Score 72
    If you enjoy grinding to unlock classes, and the experience of playing as different classes is more important to you than random loot drops, you could very well have a lot of fun with this game.
    • Metascore: 61
    • Critic Score 72
    Class of Heroes manages to complete the job of being an introductory RPG, and it does a couple of things right, but it wasn't much fun.
    • Metascore: 53
    • Critic Score 72
    Lord of Arcana, at its core, is a solid title with lots of potential.
    • Metascore: 79
    • Critic Score 72
    Dungeons of Dredmor isn't without problems, but the good humour and addictive gameplay make it an amiable purchase. It might not be to everyone's tastes, and the random generation can be frustrating, but for only a few dollars it's pretty easy to recommend.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 72
    It's a fun game with some great mechanics and intriguing ideas going for it. If there was reduced experience gambling, less incessant grinding and a few additional songs, it could have been a far superior game.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Critic Score 71
    Diehard DQ loyalists and tacticians will enjoy what this game has to offer, but those who want an experience – a game with heart and a story to tell – should spend their hard-earned medals elsewhere.
    • Metascore: 62
    • Critic Score 71
    The transition from PS3 to iOS was a bit rough, but playable, and it was a very easy game to play on the go.
    • Metascore: 82
    • Critic Score 71
    All-in-all, Botanicula is a competent adventure game. What it lacks in story and characters, it does its best to make up for in scenery and puzzle variety. It may be rather short, but it's still an enjoyable experience I recommend to adventure gamers looking for something a little different. If point and click adventures are not usually your thing, or you're only interested in this because of your experience with Machinarium, then I'd definitely advise you to at least wait for a Steam sale.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 70
    To see a series falter so badly after years of doing everything right is distressing. One can only hope that Konami returns to the drawing board before undertaking a fifth installment in the series.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Critic Score 70
    MHF is definitely not a game for newbies, and it's not a big fan of loners, but there's some real fun to be had along with the frustration.
    • Metascore: 57
    • Critic Score 70
    This all goes to show that eye candy and excellent music mean nothing if everything else is weak.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 70
    Dragon Quest Swords was originally intended to be a launch game for the Nintendo Wii system and it definitely shows.
    • Metascore: 64
    • Critic Score 70
    While not the worst game I've played, the combination of a dumb story, repetitive gameplay, and those damn in-battle voice clips made me have to relegate it to the scrap pile.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 70
    Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground is a mixed bag. Rather than randomize everything, it allows players to create their own world, which is both its biggest draw and biggest flaw.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Critic Score 70
    I did not enjoy playing Hoshigami: Remix. I did not find it fun. I found it irritating, monotonous, and cruel.
    • Metascore: 56
    • Critic Score 70
    Even with the dime-a-dozen characters and plot, it was still an enjoyable romp on the PSP.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 70
    If you really enjoy SRPGs and don't have anything on your plate at the moment, Spectral Force 3 is a decent buy.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 70
    Granted, Dungeon Explorer lacks some of that proper execution, particularly with the graphics and the storytelling, but overall, it's not a bad game.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 70
    I can appreciate developers wanting to add more realistic touches to games, but to me realism does not always equate to fun.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Critic Score 70
    Sacred 2 is definitely not a game I can recommend to anyone and everyone. Only particular players are going to enjoy this game, while others will log a few hours into it, and quickly lose interest. It's a shame because it has been a long time since we've had a strong console hack-and-slash game, and while Sacred 2 will provide you with something to fill the hack-and-slash void, it will not leave you entirely fulfilled.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 70
    Sacred 2 is definitely not a game I can recommend to anyone and everyone. Only particular players are going to enjoy this game, while others will log a few hours into it, and quickly lose interest. It's a shame because it has been a long time since we've had a strong console hack-and-slash game, and while Sacred 2 will provide you with something to fill the hack-and-slash void, it will not leave you entirely fulfilled.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 70
    Overall, The 3rd Phantom isn't exactly terrible, it's just devoid of much real gameplay to satisfy gamers looking for more meat than just a bit of fanservice and origin stories.
    • Metascore: 53
    • Critic Score 70
    I can sum up Ragnarok DS in one word: mediocre.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Critic Score 70
    Aksys gets a gold star for effort, but Idea Factory gets a thumbs down for artificially lengthening a game with an already-boring combat system and for letting the "interact with the ladies" aspect of the game fall to the wayside.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 70
    Aksys gets a gold star for effort, but Idea Factory gets a thumbs down for artificially lengthening a game with an already-boring combat system and for letting the "interact with the ladies" aspect of the game fall to the wayside.
    • Metascore: 57
    • Critic Score 70
    In the end, though, I give Spiders credit for their work on Faery: Legends of Avalon. If they maintain the quality music and dialogue from the game, improve the plot, and fix the controls and world maps, they'll have a decent game on their hands, worth the 1200 MS points. In that case, pick up the first episode of the series. Otherwise, your money is better spent elsewhere.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 70
    The Mystery Dungeon games are definitely different than most Pokémon games, and there's fun to be had with them, but there are still a lot of better games available on the GBA, which makes Red Rescue Team difficult to recommend.
    • Metascore: 83
    • Critic Score 70
    RPGs as indistinct and shallow as Fable are rare, and for good reason.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 70
    Dungeon Siege 3 is an ambitious game that attempts to change the genre but fails in nailing fundamentals that were perfected over a decade ago.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Critic Score 70
    Dead Island is filled with good concepts and potential, but it can't stick the landing. As it stands today, sadly,
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 70
    During my time with Crimson Alliance, I was left with a hollow feeling - the game never did anything to capture me.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 70
    If you didn't play the first and you don't mind grinding, you can have fun with White Knight Chronicles 2, but I'd strongly advise that you play its predecessor if you're interested in knowing what's going on.
    • Metascore: 68
    • Critic Score 70
    Legasista is a strange thing with an equally strange name, full of great ideas that almost always come hogtied to an opposing force. It's a game's game, but that's all it can ever be. A lukewarm story will do that to you. While the systems in place promise an endless descent into addictive, loot-driven madness, it's just too hard to prop up a game that's been tempered with bean sprout inspiration.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Critic Score 70
    Although expansive, sometimes beautiful, and occasionally fun, Darksiders II is mediocre at best, a rambling bore of a game and a shoddy sequel. You may have liked the original, and you may enjoy action RPGs, but you've played this game before, and not just once.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 70
    Realms of Ancient Wars is a game. It's not particularly buggy and it's far more playable than last year's Daggerdale debauchery– in fact, you may even enjoy it for a piece of brainless weekend entertainment. But that's it, completely. It's a game. There's nothing memorable about it and you'll likely finish it and forget about it just as quickly as I have. You might pick it up if you can't find something else to play, but that seems unlikely given the flood of similar, better releases.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 70
    Despite its issues in just about every department, the core of Ragnarok Odyssey is a competent Monster Hunter-style adventure. For the right audience, the fast-paced combat counterbalances any issues with repetition and awkwardness.
    • Metascore: 81
    • Critic Score 70
    This is still a huge, fun to play, absolutely sprawling game in the tradition of classic RPGs of yesteryear, and is really only one of a very few of its kind available on the iPad.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 70
    Mars: War Logs is derivative, underdeveloped, and features one of the briefest, most rushed final chapters I've seen, but it's also completely playable and even charming in a B-movie kind of way.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 69
    Nothing more than a short and simple game that provides a thoroughly unsatisfying experience. While the localization is excellent, not only is there not enough of it, what's already there is lost in the torrent of monstrous difficulty, subpar aesthetics, and an overly simplified game system.
    • Metascore: 47
    • Critic Score 69
    Since there is no dynamic gameplay to fall back on, the visual novel genre is driven 95% by story, and the stories were below average in this game.
    • Metascore: 62
    • Critic Score 69
    Hero's Saga has some good points such as actual, strategic challenge and some pretty visuals, but the game as a whole is weak.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 69
    All-in-all, Heroes of Ruin is a good bit of fun, marred by a couple of serious problems. The combat is dynamic and fluid, loot collecting is as addictive as ever, and online and multiplayer is done right. If only dungeons suffered from less repetition, the campaign was longer, and the inventory had been thoughtfully designed, it could have really shined.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 69
    If the developers put as much effort into the rest of the game as they did catering to player choice, then this title would successfully tread new territory for its ilk.
    • Metascore: 73
    • Critic Score 69
    Play it on the PC if you haven't done so. If, like me, you're an old dude that has played this so many times you know almost everything by heart, you'll enjoy having it to take with you wherever you go.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 68
    Even though this game was trash, if it gets enough support, then there may be hope for a <I>real</I> Lunar 3 in the future.
    • Metascore: 62
    • Critic Score 68
    The Mystery Dungeon games are definitely different than most Pokémon games, and there's fun to be had with them, but there are still a lot of better games available on the DS (including the second Pokémon Mystery Dungeon), which makes Blue Rescue Team difficult to recommend.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 68
    Rondo of Swords could have been a great strategy RPG.
    • Metascore: 54
    • Critic Score 68
    Rise of the Argonauts is not unplayable. It's just mediocre and marred by countless careless mistakes born out of a lack of inspiration and passion for the product.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 68
    Fragile Dreams offers an intense RPG mixed with a survivor horror eeriness that is bound to provide some with hours of enjoyment. Those who don't the patience to put up with the game's flaws, however, are best to look at a survival horror game for their survival horror fix or to an RPG for their RPG fix.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 68
    Do yourself a favor and wait until this game hits a major price drop. Honestly, I've never felt so let down by a Kingdom Hearts game. As fans of the series, we all deserve better than this.
    • Metascore: 61
    • Critic Score 68
    Perhaps Ar tonelico Qoga will quench the thirst of many wanting to play a console JRPG, but the game is filled with debilitating flaws. Almost everything that Ar tonelico Qoga provides has been done before in a JRPG; the lack of original content and presence of overused content doesn't leave much to praise.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 68
    Overall, Jikandia: The Timeless Land is a rather disappointing game that pales in comparison to similar titles like Half Minute Hero.
    • Metascore: 74
    • Critic Score 68
    Repetition and game-breaking bugs cannot be excused. While I understand that some bugs just slip by and patches will likely rectify issues like the one I experienced, this is what separates top-notch games from the rest.
    • Metascore: 71
    • Critic Score 67
    The 3rd Birthday is disappointing; it brings back a series and a character that fans adore, and destroys what fans held as a paragon. The narrative is filled with holes and problems, the tough Aya people were hoping for is absent, the gameplay is a mess, and the story tries harder to throw you into cheap plot twists rather than to be enjoyable.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 67
    BRS is not actually broken, but there's nothing about it that will make you glad you put even 10 hours into it.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 66
    For all the twisted, macabre, death-worshiping crap that's found in this game, it only makes sense that the game itself should suffer a terrible fate.
    • Metascore: 47
    • Critic Score 66
    Uninspired slop. MKA had quite a bit of promise, and we were extremely excited to play the game based on interviews with the staff members, but issues with the control scheme and gameplay functionality killed what we were hoping would come about in Mage Knight: Apocalypse.
    • Metascore: 58
    • Critic Score 66
    As with its handheld predecessors, Dark Kingdom is a game that can be enjoyable to hardcore fans of the genre who are willing to overlook its flaws, but probably not to anyone else.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 66
    Too Human is repetitive, unbalanced, and frustrating, made complete with an uninteresting story.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 66
    The bottom line regarding Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner is that the game is a colossal disappointment.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 66
    Opoona is yet another example of a game where very little is actually broken, but very little is noticeably good, either.
    • Metascore: 56
    • Critic Score 66
    It's fun, but incredibly flawed. As long as it's taken as such, fans of the adventure genre will probably have fun playing it like I did.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 66
    There's some playability at the core of the game for those who enjoy mindless, droll beat 'em ups, so Code of Princess isn't the worst game out there for the 3DS, but for $40 you can do a lot better.
    • Metascore: 68
    • Critic Score 65
    I found it addicting when I first played it, and even praised it. Looking back now, it's just a mediocre game with a few redeeming qualities, and too much repetition.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 65
    It's not that Final Fantasy for the PSP is bad - far from it - it's just that it's nothing gamers haven't seen, and played, many times over.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 65
    Save your money (or spend it on "Persona 3," Atlus fans!) and skip this mediocre mess. [Import]
    • Metascore: 46
    • Critic Score 65
    Operation Darkness isn't so bad as to be unplayable, but it gives no motivation for the completion of more than a few hours of play.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 65
    Clocking in at a measly 20 hours, with very little replay value, this is not a game that will be worth hard-earned money.
    • Metascore: 56
    • Critic Score 65
    Although this game reminded me of plastic people fighting to the death in stiff, catatonic glory, the nostalgia didn't make up for the game's oversimplification of the strategy RPG genre. When compared to games made as far back as 1998, Disciples III simply falls flat on its face.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 65
    While Dawn of Heroes is a stalwart effort by the developers, and I can't say that there's anything truly wrong with the game, it simply underwhelms in every single aspect.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 65
    There is the seed of an interesting, enjoyable, funny, and simple SRPG in Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes, but it's buried in fertilizer.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Critic Score 65
    At a final length of about six to eight hours, Penny Arcade Episode 3 is a decent value for the money, as long as you keep your expectations in check.
    • Metascore: 61
    • Critic Score 65
    Sacred Citadel should best be treated as a light romp while waiting for friends to log on to play something multiplayer.
    • Metascore: 35
    • Critic Score 64
    Concluding thoughts: you have to be feeling starved for an RPG on the Wii to want to play this game.
    • Metascore: 72
    • Critic Score 63
    The game feels broken at times and often gives the impression that the developers were rushed, or stopped caring halfway through. There also seems to be a lot of heart put into the game, but during several instances, the development feels blatantly careless.
    • Metascore: 62
    • Critic Score 63
    All-in-all Trinity Universe swims the seas of mediocrity. Whilst it's not a bad game, it doesn't try very hard to appeal to a large audience.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 62
    So Disney published an RPG with some innovative mini-games utilizing the DS to its full extent. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was garbage.
    • Metascore: 50
    • Critic Score 62
    All-in-all, A Witch's Tale is not only just average aesthetically, but absolutely destroyed by one of the worst battle systems I've encountered in a long time.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 62
    Most of us, however, will find Two Worlds II boring, mindless, and dull, requiring (and consisting of) such little thought that it should have a warning label.
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 62
    Most of us, however, will find Two Worlds II boring, mindless, and dull, requiring (and consisting of) such little thought that it should have a warning label.
    • Metascore: 58
    • Critic Score 62
    There are better visual novels and better RPGs out there than Fate/Extra, and with similar themes to boot, so skip this title and play The World Ends With You; Chaos Rings; or 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors instead.
    • Metascore: 61
    • Critic Score 62
    While Venetica is completely playable, I never would have beaten it without a review assignment. Gamers deserve a little more incentive than the bare pleasure of leveling up and hoarding loot to no real end. Even if that's your only ambition, there are much more attractive and fun venues for it. The developers seem to have infused Venetica with at least a portion of their hearts, and I hate to see passion so wasted. Then again, I could be wrong, and Venetica is the dreary result of pure industry.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 61
    Warriors of the Lost Empire is a game you'll want to like, but only hardcore fans of the hack & slash genre will have a very easy time forgiving its flaws.
    • Metascore: 45
    • Critic Score 61
    With so many high-quality mainstream and indie titles on the gaming landscape this season, PSP RPG players would be best advised to skip Mimana Iyar Chronicle in favor of something better like Valkyria Chronicles 2 or Hexyz Force.
    • Metascore: 77
    • Critic Score 61
    Might & Magic Heroes VI's entire experience is driven by repetitious, mechanical tactics; it should be reserved for those with masochistic tendencies. The average gamer should definitely pass this up.
    • Metascore: 53
    • Critic Score 60
    Valhalla Knights lacks soul.
    • Metascore: 46
    • Critic Score 60
    In the end, Daggerdale is a passable hack and slash that seems like it needed another few months in the oven before release.
    • Metascore: 53
    • Critic Score 60
    What's frustrating about Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is that it's a game with a good concept and a battle system that has the potential to be fantastic if refined. What it ends up being, though, is a game with the smallest bit of quality at its core, surrounded by a suite of atrociously subpar elements.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 60
    I really came into this game wanting to like it. As I said in my preview of the alpha version, it showed promise. That promise just never seems to be realized in the final version of the game.
    • Metascore: 70
    • Critic Score 60
    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like RPGFans are stuck waiting a little longer for a killer app on the Vita. Conceptually sound but riddled with technical flaws and a lack of polish, this game is a perfect example of the adage "good idea, bad execution."
    • Metascore: 67
    • Critic Score 60
    Though quirky, The Cave took an opportunity to revive a beloved classic and squandered it. I have to wonder if Schafer and Gilbert were active participants in this game's development, because the final product does not match what the gaming community has come to expect from these original thinkers.
    • Metascore: 78
    • Critic Score 59
    When I had heard about Crossworlds after sleuthing about on 1C's website, I couldn't wait for September. Now that I've played the game, I'm horrified. Was Armored Princess luck? I'd like not to think so, but if Crossworlds is any indication of the kind of work we can expect from future installments, I'll be dusting my Sega Genesis off for another go at nostalgia.
    • Metascore: 78
    • Critic Score 59
    Cladun: This is an RPG certainly has novelty, but the novelty is not enough to overcome the game's shortcomings.
    • Metascore: 46
    • Critic Score 59
    Don't go near this game.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 58
    Perhaps in the course of the nearly 30 hour romp I had through Final Fantasy II, I missed some mystical item that magically makes the game fun and so I was never able to actually appreciate the full worth of the game.
    • Metascore: 74
    • Critic Score 58
    D3 struck gold once, which is fantastic. Aside from the titans of the gaming industry, many developers have trouble creating a truly innovative title that's also good, old-fashioned fun. That was Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. However, after two major mistakes with what's essentially the same design, one has to wonder if they should throw in the towel on this franchise.
    • Metascore: 69
    • Critic Score 58
    I'm rarely disgusted after beating a game. Risen 2 left me aghast, and I'm not even a pirate fanatic. I can't imagine the disappointment of those expecting to finally lay their hands on a quality pirate RPG. What could have been a heavily nuanced action RPG is instead a waste of potential and a cheap product. Risen 2 doesn't just leave the niche as empty as it found it. Risen 2: Dark Waters gives pirates a bad name.
    • Metascore: 44
    • Critic Score 57
    There was nothing fun, enjoyable, or remotely redeeming about this game at all. The experience was akin to having a root canal.
    • Metascore: 50
    • Critic Score 55
    If you've already beaten every DS RPG to date and you have plenty of money, then buy this one. If you're into repetitive dungeon-crawling and repetitive fighting to level monsters who are much less interesting than their franchise-based rivals (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh), then give this title a play.
    • Metascore: 46
    • Critic Score 55
    InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel is a dud.
    • Metascore: 46
    • Critic Score 55
    Zoids Assault is a bland, uninspiring game that will keep the interest of very few gamers after the first battle or two.
    • Metascore: 59
    • Critic Score 55
    So many things don't fit, so many things work against each other, and everything just reeks of half finished game ideas.
    • Metascore: 63
    • Critic Score 53
    Aura: Fate of the Ages promises many things, yet fails to deliver on almost all of them.
    • Metascore: 52
    • Critic Score 53
    I keep a list of RPGs I want to play, or think I should play, or have to play for the sake of writing a review. Cross Edge was right on the bottom "edge" of the list. Now, I happily "cross" it off the list.
    • Metascore: 48
    • Critic Score 52
    In a word: yuck.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Critic Score 50
    So in the final analysis, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom takes a bunch of decently designed aspects and mangles them into an unfun experience.
    • Metascore: 65
    • Critic Score 50
    I guess if I had to summarize my experience with Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns, it would be this: do not buy this game. Do not rent this game. Do not borrow this game from a friend.
    • Metascore: 60
    • Critic Score 50
    This is a disturbingly conservative action RPG that functions as a museum of bad game design.
    • Metascore: 55
    • Critic Score 50
    Faith in Destiny is not a good game, and I could not recommend it to anyone.
    • Metascore: 57
    • Critic Score 48
    Deep Labyrinth is every generic action-RPG you've ever played overlaid with what is quite possibly one of the worst control schemes in any DS game.
    • Metascore: 66
    • Critic Score 46
    Let this game serve as a warning to Square Enix: we don't want an RTS for the Mana series. And even if we did, we would only want it if the game wasn't broken from start to finish.
    • Metascore: 43
    • Critic Score 45
    Stay very far away from this port. Virtually any other port will do, but not this one.
    • Metascore: 47
    • Critic Score 43
    One of the worst RPG experiences on the PSP, and one of the worst RPGs of the past few years. The terrible story, bland battle system, and the atrocious load times and slow down makes this Strategy RPG unbearable. And because of this, Spectral Souls is like eating your grandmother's fruitcake. It looks appetizing on the outside, but as you put it into your mouth, it's stale and hard to swallow.
    • Metascore: 41
    • Critic Score 43
    Do yourself a favor, pass on the PSP port of this game and go find a copy of the PS2 version. Mana Khemia is a cute, enjoyable game - just not on the PSP.
    • Metascore: 54
    • Critic Score 40
    Flower, Sun, and Rain is barely a video game at all. Calling it such is almost too high of praise for a blemish such as this. FSR manages to fail in almost every way, and so completely does it fail that I could scarcely finish half of the adventure.
    • Metascore: 43
    • Critic Score 35
    I can see no reason why anyone would want to play this game to completion. In its present form, the game is terrible.