RPGFan's Retro Encounter

Life is like a hurricane / Here in Townburg

Dragon Quest III's open-ended exploration and high-stakes story comes to a conclusion for our four intrepid panelists, who struggled through volcanoes, ghos…

The more Dragon Quest changes, the more Dragon Quest stays the same. 

A podcast episode appears! Dragon Quest III was a blockbuster success in Japan in 1988, and its nonlinear progression, fun job sys…

"My favorite book is Moby Dick; no symbolism, just a simple tale about a man who hates an animal."

Metaphor: ReFantazio is one of 2024's most acclaimed RPGs, about a royal succession that spirals out …

For a true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.

Retro Encounter concludes its 2024 Zelda Month with a second episode on A Link to the Past for the SNES, d…

Sky, Sea, Earth, and a Kidnapped Princess

A Link to the Past is an unassailable classic of a Super Nintendo game, as a crystallization of multiple gameplay concepts that established the formula for do…

Zelda! The Zeldster! Zeldarino! Zelmeister! Making copies! 

The Legend of Zelda series has long starred a hero named Link seeking a princess named Zelda, but in 2024 the roles reversed for the first t…

Are you ready for some Sploosh Kaboom!? 

Retro Encounter begins a month of Zelda celebration for a Nintendo November to remember! Five panelists draft parties of their favorite Zelda characters, items…

Aren't you scared? Well that's just fine.

Here at RPGFan, we don't cover dedicated horror games often (other than the odd Until Dawn or The Quarry), but we still love the excitement of being scared! …

I learned to live half alive / Now you want me one more time

Retro Encounter's host demonstrates contrition in today's episode, admitting on-air that there's at least one good Kingdom Hearts game out …

In the night I hear 'em talk / The coldest story ever told

Kingdom Hearts II, one of the most celebrated sequels in the Square Enix catalog, finally gets an episode (the first of two!) on Retro Encoun…

The Leifthrasir Hand of Darkness

When Ogre Battle retreats to the shadows, who keeps the beacons lit? When Princess Crown fails to draw an audience, who picks up the bag and keeps marching? When Japan…

And amidst deepest despair, Retro Encounter everlasting.

In honor of the recent release of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, we decided to get a few of our biggest XIV fans together to discuss the previou…

What possible harm could an insane, mutant tentacle do? 

Day of the Tentacle was a tentpole release in LucasArts's excellent run of classic adventure games from the late 1980s through the late 1990s, …

One more thing, there are a couple of loose ends I'd like to tie up. Nothing important, you understand.

The Case of the Golden Idol made a splash in 2022, with its compelling murder mysteries, politic…

We didn't start the fire

Firewatch is the only release of indie game studio Campo Santo, but made quite an impact when it came out in 2016. Four Retro Encounter panelists played Firewatch recently, an…

The Dark Souls of Retro Encounter fantasy drafts

 FromSoftware has produced an excellent run of fantasy RPGs since 2009's Demon's Souls, to which point its extended family of action RPGs comprises a g…

Trespassers will be contemplated

Retro Encounter concludes its eight-month-long playthrough of the Dragon Age trilogy, with a discussion of what's wrong with the Grey Wardens, what's worse in the Wint…

An Inquisition that everyone saw coming. 

Retro Encounter played the first two Dragon Age games in the last nine months, so naturally there would come the time to finish the fight. Dragon Age: Inquisi…

This episode free with the Podcast of the Year edition

Downloadable content used to be a video game luxury, but in 2024 it's an inevitability. But while day-one patches, frivolous additions, and pay-t…

A, B, C, D, FF3 / Feels like a mid-rank to me

Very few podcast, article, or video topics on the internet get folks more enthusiastic or more up in arms than tiers, lists, or a combination thereof. On …