PPR 112

ost kids just care about getting a Victory Royale in Fortnite these days, and then there other kids who don’t even remember anything about their past, and are prophesized to save the world alongside a talking dog, a hitchhiker, and some retired ninja or something—ain’t that a kick in the seat?

Japanese Role-Playing games have always had their ups and downs within the last 25 years of gaming, but they have nonetheless remained a staple genre on the forefront of the western games market, especially now with heavy hitting games like Y’s VIII and Octopath Traveler actually making it over to a major Nintendo platform. Join George, Andrew, and Ser as they go over the their thoughts on the budding mainstream renaissance of JRPGs, along with discussing Gradius II, Panzer Dragoon Saga, podcasting as a life skill, Destiny II, eating edibles at the age of 32, Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu, Super Mario Odyssey, Tekken 7, EVO news, and much, much more!

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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PPR at the Movies: Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light Review

he impact that a video game can have on any one person and the relationships that they share with the people closest to them is hardly a foreign concept these days, but it’s certainly one that hasn’t had the best representation in films or television that that use it as the main framing artifice for a character-driven narrative.

Whether it’s the light-hearted classic, The Wizard, where a bunch of kids embark on a journey of self-discovery through their shared love of gaming, or Reign over me, a more somber film about a traumatized man who’s coping with the death of his family through his PlayStation 2; this MacGuffin has a storied history of good intentions, and awful execution.

In spite of this checkered past, Square-Enix took on a gamble to collaborate with Japanese media company Oricon to tell the story of a son concocting an elaborate plan to rekindle the bond between him and his estranged father through the iconic MMO, A Realm Reborn: Final Fantasy XIV within an eight episode series.

While the premise sounds like one that’s ripe for gross exploitation, the end-result is thankfully much more heartfelt in its presentation, as Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light strives on to be a touching tale of the human condition that manages to authentically capture the timeless charm of Final Fantasy in the process.

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PPR Presents Play Play: Final Fantasy Type-0 HD

t’s always a joy when the west gets a Final Fantasy game that they originally missed out on, and the deal sounds even sweeter when the game gets an HD facelift to boot; which is why it’s disappointing that this long lost Final Fantasy gem is so disappointing, and violent too.

Like, weirdly violent, if adorably birds being bloodied death doesn’t sound like a good time, then consider this your trigger warning, Final Fantasy Type-0 HD has lots of this shit from the start…

Ser and George attempt to find the fun that the game has to offer, and discuss design elements that they feel would be more ideal for an action RPG title (and they’ll try to find as many as they can in this pretty mess of game too.)

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

PAX PRIME 2014: Hands-On at Square-Enix

quare-Enix brought the goods this PAX for fans of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts alike. Both the upcoming Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix were available to play at the Square-Enix booth, and I got hands-on with both.

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Late To The Party: Bravely Default

et’s face it; we’ve reached a point where the cynical, yet-unavoidable truth concerning the relevancy of the JRPG couldn’t nearly deafen the opposing dissention to the contrary anymore like it has in 2014. Every new batch of titles that are hazardously published by the brave publishers who endorse them continue to dangerously escalate the degree of pandering we've slowly come to expect over the years. The same monotonous exercise of tired conventions and obnoxiously antiquated visual designs that do very little, or nothing, to break the repeating slump of circle-jerking that’s been plaguing the genre for the better part of ten years.

Sure there are the few exceptions that break out of the trappings of the stale mold that’s been defining the type. Lost Odyssey and Valkyria Chronicles are just a few worth naming and they have truly reinvigorated the same sense of charm and phantasm that the JRPG label once held, but these gems were few and far between the frequency of sub-par titles, and even garbage contemporaries released, within entire generations worth of time it seems.

That’s why it’s uplifting that Square-Enix, the arguabley, the giant of JRPG distribution that’s also seen its fair share of criticism for contributing the stigma associated with this kind of game, but then, there are moments like Bravely Default, that can surprise us all. Not only does Bravely Default stand as one of most criminally underrated champions for JRPGs at the moment, but it's easily one of the best games released in 2014 period.

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PPR 83

o I guess we know what LeBron James is doing; ruining our childhoods. Speaking of our childhoods, a time-tested genre has gotten its second wind the last couple of years, involving all that pointing and clicking and what not…

But not to worry! We dive into plenty of Titanfall, Bravely Default, Seal’s Kiss from a Rose, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, The Raven, Blue’s Clues, and so much more; you’re just going to have to listen aren’t you?

Mail us at our new email Mailbag@presspauseradio.com, leave a voicemail at 469-PPR-TALK, and be sure to stop by at our Forums if you haven’t already registered and post your thoughts about the show. Finally, make sure to rate and subscribe to us on iTunes and YouTube, follow us on Twitch page and Twitter, and finally take part in our Facebook and Steam group!

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QCF: Evoland

amers are a fickle bunch, and while I understand that I’m posing an opinionated statement as fact, the evidence that supports the conclusion isn’t just some common consensus that you can argue, it’s reality. Keeping that in mind, when a game pays some sort of tribute or homage to some bit of allusion in video game culture that only a gamer would recognize then the odds have always shown the reference to be a surefire hit among players as a standout moment within the game. Whether it’s shameless and shallow or well thought out and brilliant, the love letter mechanic has always been met with open reception. Still, how well does the concept pan out when the game is entirely built around it?

Shiro Games aims for the stakes with Evoland, a literal portrayal of the growth in adventure video games from the late eighties to the present. While the gimmick is heartwarming and will appeal to an audience in some capacity, it barely stands to prop up a game that can’t competently stand on its own otherwise.

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