I didn’t even think it was possible. How does a franchise that relies on Disney star power (and, to a lesser extent, Tetsuya Nomura-based FF star power) become so derivative that it is shamelessly copying copies of itself? I found out this last week, when I decided to push my way through the DS game KINGDOM HEARTS RE:CODED. Having completed all games in this...

Warning: the following article contains massive spoilers for Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. The intended audience is a) people who have reached the True End and b) people who have no intention of ever playing 999 but want to learn more about it anyway. This article will be broken into seven sections. The first six sections will be one for each ending,...

The following article, unlike the previous, is safe to read without any fear of spoilage. The spoilerific parts of the article are coded as invisible text; highlight to read, don’t highlight to maintain your blessed ignorance. Sources include: 999 itself and Aksys Games’ Q&A with Kotaro Uchikoshi NONARY GAME PARTICIPANTS Bracelet Number:...

Warning: the following article contains spoilers related to Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS). Not the kind that would ruin the big twists at the end, but the kind of thing you really shouldn’t know until you witness it in-game. I have a little brother whom I love dearly. In my eyes, he is nearly flawless. He is smart, he is industrious, and he is a...

As mentioned in our last podcast, the most recent game to break the top 10 on my spreadsheet of “RPG-ish games I’ve beaten” is 999: NINE HOURS, NINE PERSONS, NINE DOORS. If you’ve stumbled onto this article, know that it is the first of a few I’ll be writing about the game. And it will be the only one that is spoiler-free. This DS...

I’m not going to be writing a review proper for CHRONO TRIGGER. That’s just ridiculous. If you want my personal opinion of the game, let’s put it this way: I’ve beaten over 150 RPGs and this particular game ranks within the top 5. In many ways, it is the “perfect” JRPG, and was so far ahead of its time that it almost hurts...