Ask someone to recommend a great game, and plenty of people will point to gorgeous graphics or a satisfying combat loop. But the thing you truly can’t shake years later? Nine times out of ten, it’s the story. I’m in my mid-40s and have been chasing games since the Dreamcast and PC Engine days. Honestly,…

The Famicom version of Wizardry III: Knight of Diamonds is one of the easiest games in the series to get wrong before you even start it. First, this “III” is actually the second scenario of the original — the Japanese releases swapped the numbering. Second, where the original demanded a maxed-out party imported from the…

The Famicom version of Wizardry II: Legacy of Llylgamyn is a game that confiscates your weapons the moment you walk in the door, especially if you beat the first scenario. That Level 13 Samurai you spent months building? Transfer him over with a Turbo File and he drops straight back to Level 1. Adventurers who…

Born in 1981, it’s the game that defined the RPG genre itself — that’s Wizardry. More than 40 years later, in May 2024, a full 3D remake titled Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord landed on Steam, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. “I’m used to modern RPGs, this is going to chew me up, isn’t…

Do you remember the first time you heard the words “Dragon Quest”? Japan’s so-called national RPG has been the beating heart of the country’s gaming culture for nearly 40 years, ever since its birth in 1986. You’re hailed as a hero, you gather companions, you slay the Demon Lord — that simple skeleton hasn’t changed….

There’s a genre called the tactical RPG, or strategy RPG (SRPG). You move units across a grid, read your opponent’s next move, and build a plan around it. It delivers a kind of “cerebral pleasure” that action games just can’t. Classics like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre have built up a long…