How do you evolve a genre that has remained consistent for as long as it has existed without alienating fans? Japanese RPGs have grown in terms of quality and scale, sure, but they all follow a very basic formula and rarely do they deviate from it. Xenoblade Chronicles changes all of that. By taking a few pages from the Western RPG playbook and giving them a JRPG spin, it manages to take a genre and push it out of its comfort zone. The results are simply spectacular. READ MORE
Editor’s note: Check out part one of this feature here.
Some gamers like to identify with the avatars they are controlling. It’s only natural to want to play the characters that appeal to us. Not everyone gets a sense of accomplishment by just beelining it for the most powerful individuals. Some of us need the aesthetics to help make our choices and character themes tend to appeal to us emotionally invested gamers more than visual design. READ MORE
This week, we buck the trend for fake news and greet you this April Fool’s Day with real JRPG news of all kinds.
TOP STORY: Class of Heroes 2 getting Kickstarted
In an event few people would have expected (though we did), MonkeyPaw Games has announced the first use of Kickstarter for a localization project. Their goal is to raise $500,000 to create a Limited Edition retail release of Class of Heroes 2. While the actual localization will happen regardless, it will only see a digital release without a successful funding. This will be pointed at as a test case for any future crowdsourcing for localization, so we’re hoping that there’s plenty of people interested in a Deluxe release of Class of Heroes 2. READ MORE
