Square Enix

Chrono Series

• Chrono Trigger
  • Let's start with the best, a review of many would call the best JRPG ever, let alone the best of the SNES era.
• Chrono Cross
  • Chrono Trigger is great and we'll fight anyone that says otherwise. Chrono Cross, though? Not so much. Let's see if we can figure out why.
    • Critical Reevalution

Dragon Quest

• Dragon Quest
  • The land of Alfegard is in danger, dominated by an evil being known at the Dragon Lord. You take on the role of the hero, sent out into the world with the clothes on your back to defeat the evil and save the day. Or, you know, never leave the opening zone and commit slime genocide. At least, that's what we did.
• Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line
  • Released one year later, Enix's immediate Dragon Quest follow-up was an improvement in every way... except when it came to difficulty balance.
• Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation
  • Another year, another Dragon Quest title, although this one does so much to improve on the experience of the previous titles it's like night and day.
• Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
  • Enix delivered their last NES Dragon Quest, an episodic adventure that really brought the house down.

Final Fantasy Series

• Final Fantasy
  • We take a proper dive into the Final Fantasy series with a look at the game that started it all, the NES original. It's a brutal game, but someone has to play it. Will it be you that next takes up the challenge?
    • Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Review
    • Final Fantasy Randomizer Review
    • A Guide to Final Fantasy Randomizer
• Final Fantasy II
  • The series takes a weird diversion, crafting an entirely different way to craft your characters, in this deried game that feels too different from anything else in the series to be a proper sequel.
    • Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster Review
• Final Fantasy III
  • A return to form for the series as four Onion Knights take up a quest to light the crystals and save the world, in an adventure that also introduces the much beloved "Job System".
    • The Curious Case of Final Fantasy IV on the NES
• Final Fantasy IV
  • The series moves to the SNES for its most expansive, and rewarding, adventure yet in a true masterpiece for the series.
    • "Highway to the Zemus Zone" Tournament
    • "Highway to the 3mus Zone" Tournament
    • Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster Soundtrack Review (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
• Final Fantasy V
  • Four heroes come together to save the crystals that control their world, and then pick up a number of careers on the side in the game that redefined the Job System.
    • Final Fantasy V Career Day Randomizer
• Final Fantasy VI
  • It's a group of heroes against a mad man hellbent on destroying world via the power of summons in this game that rides the transition from the SNES to the PlayStation era.
• Final Fantasy VII
  • The series makes its debut on the PlayStation and becomes an unqualified smash sensation, with this game being the must have title for Sony's console.

Mana Series

• Final Fantasy Adventure
  • We then turn our sights to the Seiken Densetsu series, as it's known in Japan, with the first of the titles in the series. Is this GameBoy adventure a classic or just an oddity?
• Secret of Mana
  • The SNES follow-up to Final Fantasy Adventure improves everything while adding in better graphics and music. But does it really create a winner, or is it more weirdness from the Japanese company?

SaGa Series

• The Final Fantasy Legend
  • Square's first Game Boy title continues the ideas and development from Final Fantasy II into an even weirder adventure.
• Final Fantasy Legend II
  • Another group of adventurers go another another adventure up a tower in Square's follow-up to their Game Boy smash hit.
• Final Fantasy Legend III
  • Four heroes must travel through time to save their world in this rather difficult adventure.

Other Games:

• Secret of Evermore
  • Finally, a true odd-ball, an America-only game built upon the Mana engine. We take a look at the game to see why it never made it outside the States.
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
  • Square and Nintendo teamed up to bring Big N's most popular characters into a very Square-style RPG... and it worked!
• Octopath Traveler
  • A game with eight characters, eight storylines, and eight long plaths to take through the adventure. We're taking a deep dive, chronicling each path we follow in the story, and you can join our adventures:
    • Part 1: The Long, Unending Introduction
    • Part 2: Let's Continue Our--Oh, And, We're Dead
    • Part 3: Fear My Overpowered Glory!
    • Part 4: Coming Back After Some Time Away
    • Part 5: Finishing Up the Second Legs, On to the Third

See Also:

• Awesome Games Done Quick 2019: We take a tour through the best parts of the Winter 2019 GDQ maraton, including an awesome run of Octopath Traveler.
• SpeedGaming Live 2019: We take a backstage tour through SpeedGaming Live, and then hit a few of the videos from the marathon, including Final Fantasy Randomizer.
• Linearity in RPGs: We take a look at what makes an RPG too linear, whether that really even is a thing.
• When Do Video Games Really End?: We think on the endings of games and if an ending has to be an ending.
• Linearity in RPGs: A discussion of whether or not it's fair to call modern RPGs "hallway simulators".

Podcasts:

• The Final Final Fantasy of Fantasies, (Not So) Live from Asteroid G, Episode #9
• Mind Over Materia, (Not So) Live Asteroid G Episode #06-07
• Shouldn't You Know?, (Not So) Live from Asteroid G Episode #07-07