RPGFan's Retro Encounter

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a beloved 1993 classic with a recent 2019 remake. We wanted to discuss it in detail on a podcast, but we did so back in 2018! Hence the "revisited" in this ep…

Fire Emblem: Three Houses made a huge splash among RPG fans in general and Fire Emblem fans in particular in July 2019, and a few months later we're ready to dive deep into a spoilercast all about it…

The second half of Wild ARMs 3 is loaded with hidden puzzle rooms, secret bosses, unidentified flying objects, and story surprises. Wild ARMs 3 has many hidden depths buried in its post-apocalyptic s…

Wild ARMs fans can't agree which game is the best in the series, but Wild ARMs 3 won a public poll held earlier this year, so that's the Ramen Western our two Retro Encounter panelists are taking on.…

Retro Encounter celebrates Nintendo's massively successful handheld in a new console-dedicated episode! Melodramatic lawyers, gentleman professors, Square Enix remakes, and even rotoscoped detectives…

With Dragon Quest XI's Switch version on the horizon and Dragon Quest Builders II in the rearview mirror, two of Retro Encounter's distinguished Dragon Quest dilettantes delve into the entire series …

Luca Blight, the mad dog of a bad prince from Suikoden II, is one of the most memorable villains of Japanese RPGs, and Retro Encounter is bringing back the RPG Villains format to celebrate, analyze, …

In their second exploration of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, a panel gets deep into Erebonian politics, giant robots, and school dances. Plot twists, connections to other Trails titles,…

Retro Encounter celebrates 200 episodes with its very own awards show! Five panelists discuss more than twenty awards subjects, except they aren't beholden to particular years, specific genres, or co…

Retro Encounter braves their second Falcom journey of 2019 with The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, an epic tale of generations of war, an economic class divide, and questionable school field…

Four Retro Encounter panelists each finished Trials of Mana (maybe more than once) and there is plenty to discuss. The game hits its non-linear middle chapter and choice-determined finale, and everyt…

Three RPGFan panelists spend a warm July evening reminiscing about the games of summer. Games played durring summer break from school, games that have a summery feeling, or even games tied to specifi…

Seiken Densetsu 3 spent more than two decades on lists of "great Japanese RPGs that never left Japan," until June 2019. It was added to the Retro Encounter schedule minutes after the announcement dur…

It's fun to talk about what you love, but almost as much fun to wallow in shared disdain. For this episode of Retro Encounter, four panelists discuss their LEAST favorite games in a few of their favo…

Retro Encounter gets spooky in June as two panelists discuss Until Dawn, the 2015 horror-narrative game where everyone can live, everyone can die, and everyone will definitely get chased around a res…

Mythology, including everything from fairy tales to foundational beliefs of ancient peoples, has influenced storytelling, literature, and human civilization for thousands of years. RPGs are heavily i…

RPGFan recently celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day with separate features dedicate to the moms and dads of RPGs, and Retro Encounter is here to piggyback on those pieces like they're a dad at a…

Retro Encounter did an episode about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in late 2015, but back then Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night wasn't on the horizon and Timespinner didn't exist in a playable …

In our third and final episode of Retro Encounter's Podcast Tribute series, our hosts emulate Ophira Eisenberg and Jonathan Coulton for an RPGFan episode of Ask Me Another. Four contestants tackle si…

The dream is not over yet. Retro Encounter's journey through Chrono Cross continues, with a discussion of the latter half of the game. From the Dead Sea to Chronopolis, the depths of the ocean to the…