Love it or hate it, Pokemon is one of the Big Three of Nintendo’s franchises. So it was no surprise that the revealing of a fifth generation, deemed Pokemon Black and Pokemon White, led to a firestorm of eager anticipation. The fervor was so great, Nintendo actually cracked down on fansites for leaking pre-release information.

It has been said that Pokemon Black and White are an attempt to revitalize the series–so how does this new generation hold up?

There will be spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)

As I’ve stated before, Dragon Quest is a niche series in the rest of the world, but enjoys rock star status in Japan. This meant that for a long time, the US never saw much of the series, barring fan translations. With Dragon Quest 6 finally released on US and European shores, the Zenithian trilogy is complete in the rest of the world (alongside Chapters of the Chosen in 2009 and Hand of the Heavenly Bride last year)

But was this grand adventure worth the wait?

There will be spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)

There’s nothing wrong with what’s tried and true. In the case of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, the dev team has gone on record as saying that they wanted to make a retro style game with today’s technology. This has led to a love-hate relationship in the gaming community–some praising its charming graphics and fairy-tale like story, and others griping about the game’s challenge and gameplay. So when my copy arrived in the mail, I can see why this game is not for everyone.

Be forewarned, there will be spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)

The Dragon Quest series has always been a bit of a niche series in most of the world, but in Japan, it has the rock star status that Final Fantasy enjoys in the US, so much so that there is supposedly a law saying that a Dragon Quest game cannot be released on a weekday (to keep people from missing work and cutting class to play it.) Furthermore, when this game released in Japan, 3 million copies sold in one weekend!

So when my copy arrived in the mail last week, I dove right in–and I can see why it sold like hotcakes in Japan.

Curious as to what spurred 3 million copies to fly off the shelves? Read on… (more…)

Dark Void Zero
Developer: Other Ocean Interactive
Price: $5.00
Platform: DSI Ware, iPhone, PC

According to Capcom Dark Void Zero had been in development in the 80′s for the PlayChoice 10, which was a dual-screen arcade machine, but was quickly canceled. Years later Capcom finds Dark Void Zero buried deep within their vault and decide to create a remake called Dark Void for the PS3 and 360, but they simply couldn’t leave Dark Void Zero to rot in the vault (more…)

Last May, Pokemon fans the world over received a pleasent surprise that was 10 years in the making: remakes of the beloved second generation games Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. In addition to the classic plot, there would be new characters (such as a new playable female character), new twists to a classic story, the ability for every Pokemon to follow you, a Battle Frontier, and many more surprises. But is all of that worth the return trip to Johto?

There will be spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)

When the newest entry in the beloved Zelda series was announced earlier this year, people were both excited and skeptical. How well would a train in the Zeldaverse go over with fans? Would the gameplay be a replay of Phantom Hourglass, with its infamously numerous trips through the Temple of the Ocean King?

Now that the game has arrived stateside, I can safely assure you that Team Zelda took a gamble or two, and the results are refreshingly fabulous!

But before we depart aboard the Zelda Express, let me warn you that there are going to be spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)

I’ve always had a soft spot for RPGS–being a writer, an RPG allows me to have a hand in watching characters grow and change, as well as learning about their dreams, regrets, hopes, and wishes. Having said that, Dragon Quest IV takes a novel (no pun intended) approach to the genre by dividing up the game into different chapters like a book, each focusing on a different companion until they join up with the hero in time to save the world. But does this help or hurt the experience?

Just be forwarned, there will be some spoilers in here, so if you want to be surprised, click away now. (more…)