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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QCF - Demon Gaze

t seems as though every year NIS releases one or two games in hopes that they will be as big a hit as Disgaea, some have come close or so I've been told, but most seems to fall flat on their face. I for one hold my breath when I hear that a new NIS title will be hitting shelves and wonder “Why are they still around”. While Demon Gaze isn't anywhere near Disgaea in most respects, it has its moments.

You take on the role of Oz (or whatever name you see fit for your game self), a young man who awakens in a dungeon with no memories of his past. With the help of a woman named Lorna, a retired Demon Gazer you escape the dungeon and find yourself at the Dragon Princess Inn, run by the lovely Fran.

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PPR Presents Play Play: Child of Light

t’s rare when a game with an attempt at being larger than life shows up out of the blue, and actually follows through with being just that; moments of play start blurring into a makings for an experience. George believed that when he initially reviewed Child of Light, and took it up on himself to show the rest of the crew what exactly they were missing out on. Ser shares his trademark cynicism, Ren can’t stop saying the word pretty, and Toast is mostly won over, but do you fight dragons? All this and more on the latest Play Play—be warned though, the footage of Child of Light may spoil certain story moments so viewer discretion is advised.

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!

PPR Presents Play Play: Princess Crown

ack in the beginning, before George Kamitani and company started the Vanillaware brand, they worked on a project in conjunction with Sega and Atlus for the 2D Powerhouse that was the Sega Saturn; game that would become a Holy Grail of sorts on the platform before it would get rereleased again on the PSP—Princess Crown. So many accolades have been attributed to this title aside from it being the catalyst for Vanillaware, but after all this time, have those accolades held up? Should this game have seen a stateside release after all?

George doesn’t really think so, and is Andrew still excited for the game after all this time? Tune in and find out as well simultaneously discover just how good Ser’s Japanese really is, as we stumble around our understanding of it along for the ride.

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!

QCF: Child of Light

he philosophy to telling a good fairy tale carries a specific ingredient for success that will always remain consistent to the process, no matter what the subject matter may be; imagination—just how much mileage does it stretch out of the minds of all who give the fable the time of day. The humble beginnings of a fairytale can make all the difference between merely entertaining you, to completely transporting you to completely different world entirely, and even when it’s all done, you’ll never exactly be the same ever again.

Ubisoft hit this nail square on with Child of Light, and it took everything within me to rip myself away from one of the most enchanting worlds I’ve been to in the last ten years, and I do this just so that I can share with you all, how incredible this unassumingly brilliant title really is.

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PAX East 2014: Entering the world of Child of Light

t’s strange that in that the last two decades where technology has considerably increased a number of new, more advanced avenues that can provision incredible feats of art design and animation, that we haven’t seen a Final Fantasy game actually rendered in the style of Yoshitaka Amano’s art beyond mere promotion.

It wasn’t until arriving at the Ubisoft booth at PAX East that I was relieved about such a thing too, it may have prevented such inspiration for one of the most beautiful games I’ve witnessed in some time; Ubisoft Montreal’s Child of Light. The eye candy is definitely a sight to behold, but behind all of that visual sweetness, is an RPG filled out from top to bottom with ingenuity and charisma that’ll be sure to incite a new trend for western RPGs to follow.

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QCF: Time & Eternity

odern Anime culture is synonymous with several tropes that identify conventions and conduct that most fans come to expect from it. From the hormonally fueled propulsion nose bleeds at the sight of panties or cleavage to the violent response that follows, the Shōnen Hāremumono Anime is one of the more iconic genres to represent the media, and there are dozens of these productions that continue to this day. Being a fan myself, I’ve always enjoyed the occasional Harem, considering the premise of characterization. However, I could never understand the decisions that most Japanese developers voluntarily restrict themselves with when adapting these genres for video games.

For every Persona 4 or Katawa Shoujo, some uninspired tripe pops up and simply panders character roles to the unwritten rules and clichés of the genre with insipid and predictable gameplay, and without breaking any new territory in the slightest.

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QCF: Y's I & II Chronicles+

This Review was Frelanced by Johnathan Sawyer; you can find his other work here.

 storm had arrived. Nothing could pass through this supposedly impenetrable "Stormwall," as it had come to be called. The land looked as though it would be seeing its final days, until a lone man with fiery-red hair washed up on the shores of Esteria... It is here in Ys I & II Chronicles+ that the saga of Adol the Red begins and puts several memorable marks into the pages of gaming history along the way.

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