Rpg Fan's Retro Encounter

What is Zelda? Do we want a future Zelda game with Zelda playable? Do we like it in 2D or 3D? Is Zelda an RPG? Whatever you want it to be, of course, both, and surprisingly yes. This episode of Retro Encounter is a disorganized, open-ended discussion of Zelda tradition, Zelda weirdness, and what Zelda means to us. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nathan Lee, Rob Rogan, Stephanie Sybydlo, Peter Triezenberg

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, the Game Boy Zelda game with no Zelda, no Sages, no Hyrule, and some unique mechanics and situations relative to other Zelda games. The second of four Zelda-themed episode in Retro Encounter's Zelda month. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Chris Gebauer

In the third installment of Retro Encounter's "favorite game within a particular series" miniseries, five Retro Encounter panelists break down every title in the storied selection of The Legend of Zelda video games. After focusing the discussion on a predetermined final four, the panel votes on an overall favorite to provide a definitive, authoritative, mathematical answer to the Best Zelda conundrum. Also: sexy fish-men. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nathan Lee, Rob Rogan, Stephanie Sybydlo, Peter Triezenberg

The Super Nintendo is a beloved console that delivered some of the greatest role-playing video games ever devised. Retro Encounter loves the SNES and also loves ranking things, and in today's special podcast these two passions meet when our three panelists count down the ten greatest RPGs for the Super Nintendo. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Keegan Lee, Peter Triezenberg

Keegan and Robert's journey into the heart of despair continues! After playing midwife to the Alley of Lingering Sighs, the two venture into the lower wards in search of the infamous night hag Ravel Puzzlewell. Along the way, they fill out their remaining party slots with a range of misfits, before chasing the past to the nexus of Law and Chaos. Brothels for conversation, fallen angels, skull pillars, and ambulatory mortality ahoy, in Planescape: Torment Part II. Featuring: Keegan Lee, Robert Fenner

Maybe your favorite RPG is an original story, or maybe your favorite RPG stands on the shoulders of giants? Today's Retro Encounter episode discusses RPG adaptations of other works, including non-RPG video games, novels from all over the world, blockbuster movies, and more. After going down a list of favorite RPG adaptations, the three panelists each propose a hypothetical nonexistant RPG adaptation from their fertile imaginations. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Keegan Lee, Peter Triezenberg

This week Retro Encounter takes on Planescape: Torment, the classic PC RPG based on the popular Dungeons and Dragons setting Planescape. Torment has a reputation for terrific writing and a malleable story, and it's about time that Retro Encounter covered a western RPG again. Isn't it? Featuring: Keegan Lee, Robert Fenner

Some RPGs just can't stay RPGs. Whether it's stylishg fighting games, colorful roguelikes, nostalgic music games, or free-to-play card games, RPGs have spun off into a myriad of genres. Today on Retro Encounter, four panelists discuss their favorite RPG spinoffs, then concoct some theoretical RPG spinoffs of their own. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner, Kyle Kortvely, Nick Ransbottom

A new challenger appears in our second Valkyrie Profile episode, where a Valkryie Profile superfan joins our two-person panel from the first episode to break down the second half of the tri-Ace cult classic. Dramatic story turns, challenging dungeons, and the darkly tragic world of Valkryie Profile take center stage in this richly detailed Retro Encounter. Featuring: Robert Fenner, Hilary Andreff, Stephanie Sybydlo

This week's Retro Encounter podcast celebrates the Lunar New Year's Year of the Dog with the most godlike dog in all of video games. Okami, starring the canine artist-god Amaterasu, has been praised like the sun over the years, and today Retro Encounter discusses its highs and lows. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Hilary Andreff, Caitlin Argyros

Two Retro Encounter panelists played through the first three chapters of Valkyrie Profile for your listening pleasure. Tri-Ace's wild interpretation of Norse myth became a cult hit as well as a rare, sought-after PlayStation disc. Included in the discussion: difficulty levels, battle systems, strange stats, and early characters and dungeons... in profile. Featuring: Robert Fenner, Hilary Andreff

Ah, cats - stubborn, aloof, proud creatures who enjoy lazing around, eating and bringing you dead animals as presents. There are as many cat lovers as there are dog lovers on the site, so on the cusp of Year of the Dog, we decided to celebrate all things feline instead. These cats are anything but lazy, and this episode is sure to be paw-some as our panellists discuss wannabe movie star cats, space cats and magical cats. Featuring: Alana Hagues, Robert Fenner, Keegan Lee

Monster Hunter World is upon us, and it's the first video game blockbuster hit of 2018. A game from last week isn't quite retro enough for Retro Encounter though, so three of RPGFan's most enthusiastic Monster Hunter fans hop on the show to talk about their personal experiences, weapon mains, and many years of hunting wyverns, dinosaurs, and giant pink fart monkeys. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Nathan Lee, Nick Ransbottom

This week, our host is extremely excited to play the Power Rangers-inspired indie strategy RPG Chroma Squad, and two other Retro Encounter panelists are at least willing to humor him. So is the rainbow-hued Chroma Squad a Tokusatsu triumph, or a sad Sentai send-up? Listen in for the panel's thoughts. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner, Hilary Andreff

Retro Encounter continues its January indie games month with a very special episode all about the 2015 smash hit Undertale! Undertale was programmed, written, and composed by a single creator, but it takes three Retro Encounter panelists to properly dissect this subversive cult favorite. This episode experienced some technical difficulties, so I apologize in advance for occasional lapses in audio quality. Featuring: Chris Gebauer, Dom Kim, Rob Rogan

The indie game scene is thriving in 2018, but ten years ago was a different time. Today, three Retro Encounter panelists examine OFF, a 2008 French-language indie title created in RPGMaker 2003. The group walks through OFF's entire plot before attempting to interpret the surrealist gem's themes and metaphors. Featuring: Robert Fenner, Nilson Carroll, Michael Sollosi

Retro Encounter unites the Yorae Dragon in our second Breath of Fire IV episode. Both panelists are Breath of Fire IV fans, one from childhood and one newly minted. We talk endgame scenarios, edgame characters, difficulty spikes, and fancy dragons in our first Retro Encounter of 2018! Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues

Continuing a Retro Encounter annual tradition, six panelists talk the year in video games, from January's Tales of Berseria to December's Xenoblade Chronicles 2. 2017 was such a dense year for RPGs that there is a lot to talk about. In addition, the panel briefly discusses their favorite RPGFan podcasts and features of the year and a few 2018 games they're looking forward to. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner, Marcos Gaspar, Alana Hagues, Dom Kim, Peter Triezenberg

Retro Encounter listeners voted back in September on a future Retro Encounter game, and now we finally deliver! Breath of Fire IV won the poll, and the duo behind The Good Dogs of RPGs podcast reunites to discuss the first chapter of the 2000 Capcom classic. You know, back when Capcom used to create classics. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Alana Hagues

Two Retro Encounter panelists discuss the game that started it all in our fifth Final Fantasy podcast in as many weeks. We discuss Final Fantasy I's story, gameplay, influence, and even apocryphal development stories in this episode, with the oldest subject in Retro Encounter's brief history. Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Robert Fenner