L'articolo Chihayafuru season 4: Madhouse might have given us a hint about upcoming new season è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>The first episode aired actually ten years ago but on October 4, rather then October 29. So Madhouse seems to have celebrated Chihayafuru anniversary a little bit late. Not a big deal, or is it?
The thing is, 25 days after missing the correct anime debut date, Madhouse felt the urge to post about Chihayafuru and gave its followers a new original illustration by Kunihiko Hamada, who is the character designer and animation director of this anime.
Here is the illustration:
Manga artist Yuki Suetsugu (author of Chihayafuru ) immediately retweeted Madhouse‘s post and illustration adding her own line:
“I’m grateful for this 10th anniversary illustration! I want to watch Chihaya move and shine again through Kunihiko Hamada’s design”.
The whole episode seems to reveal more than a mere occurrence.
And that’s not all. Fans have noticed an interesting detail in Hamada‘s illustration: the title, handwritten by Hanada himself, is actually “Chihayafuru 4”
It can be a simple coincidence or it can be a clue the staff of Chihayafuru gave us to keep us ready and alert for an upcoming season 4 announcement.
Furthermore, since 1 November 2021, Chihayafuru anime old seasons are available on Netflix in many countries and this, too, seems a very good sign.
Official announcement for a season 4 might be not far away.
What we still don’t know is whether Chihayafuru season 4 is the final season or not.
The manga is still ongoing but officially heading towards the end. Matching manga’s end with anime’s final season would be just perfect but there are still some arcs to adapt in anime and some people strongly believe even 25 episodes could be not sufficient.
My personal idea is Chihayafuru season 4 will be definitely released and it will be also the final season.
What’s your opinion? Let us know by commenting this post.
L'articolo Chihayafuru season 4: Madhouse might have given us a hint about upcoming new season è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Mashiro no Oto – Lyrics and Guitar Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>The two opening theme songs “Blizzard” and “Ginsekai” (Silver World) are both performed by the Japanes band Burnout Syndromes, while the ending theme song “Kono Yume ga Sameru Made” (Until I Wake From Dreaming) was performed by Miliyah Kato and the Yoshida Brothers: in this post we’ll take care of Blizzard, the opening song for the anime’s first arc.
Masshi
Hakushi
Massa
Furu
(Kuga tachi no yakedo o oitaru toganin ya
Tsubasa ienai itsu mahoroba
Kairoi no koi madowashite chi o taezu
Waga koromode ni yuki wa oritsutsu)
Tae
Sono
Kama
(utsuronaru sekka no omoi ni moyuru hodo
So koso makoto no koi toiu mono
Kakaru yoru kokoro ugarite aogi miru
Hi yori mabushiki yuki zo orikeru)
Hakushi
Massa
Furu
Kogo
L'articolo Mashiro no Oto – Lyrics and Guitar Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo How to sew a perfect bow tie for kids (or even adults) è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>A kid-size bow tie adds stylishness to simple children outfits whenever they attend a ceremony, a festive dinner or just a party.
Some time ago a dear friend of mine got married and my youngest son was asked to be a pageboy. He and some other little boys were asked to wear the same outfit and anticipate the bride’s entrance by throwing flower petals. As some of the pageboys were basically toddler, the outfit needed to be very basic and comfortable. Furthermore the weather was expected to be pretty hot.
So the pageboy dress-code was decided to be a white short-sleeved shirt with khaki trousers and blue suspenders. Yet the bride and myself were not entirely satisfied. How to add an elegant touch to the whole?
That’s when I had the idea to craft a series of little bow ties. The bride chose the fabric she preferred. At first we considered a solid color satin fabric, but, at the end, we chose a patterned cotton (which was even easier for me to sew!)
At the wedding, the pageboys and their bow ties were adorable and they looked totally… professional.
So here I am to share how I sewed different size bow ties in no time, making them comfortable and wearable even for the youngest children.
For the bow I used:
in centimeters:
a 11,5 cm * 7 cm pattern (for kids 3 to 7 years old)
a 11 cm * 5,5 cm pattern (for toddlers under 3 years)
in inches:
a 4,5” * 2,7” pattern (for kids 3 to 7 years old)
a 4,3” * 2,1” pattern (for toddlers under 3 years)
For the band:
I calculated the measure of the pattern this way: I measured the collar of the shirt the kids were going to wear (in my case 34 cm / 13,3”) + 7 cm / 2,7” to close the center of the bow + 4 cm / 1,5” of allowance.
So I made a pattern 3,5 cm / 1,3” height * 45 cm / 17,7” long
After chosing the fabric you like, cut a square following the pattern you created (mine was 11,5 * 7 cm)
Fold it in half as shown in the next picture, with the wrong side up. Sew only the lenght, leaving the short sides opened. You get a little “tube”. Do not iron!
Cut the exceding fabric along the seam. Leave just the smallest amount.
Now turn the fabric inside out, so you can see the right side of the fabric. Roll the fabric “tube” until you bring the stitching at the upper center (see picture below). Now -and only now- you should iron the fabric.
…And you get a flat “tube”.
Pin the left side to the right side. Remember the stitches must be visible at the center horizontally.
Sew it close to the edge. Do not iron.
Again, turn the fabric inside out, then, roll the fabric “tube” until you bring the (vertical) stitching at the upper center, while the horizonal stitching has disappeared inside the tube (see picture below). Do not iron the fabric ever again. The “tube” must stay curved (not flat!) This piece of fabric will soon be our bow.
Now take another piece of fabric and cut it following the measures for the bow tie band. I picked a piece of fabric 3,5 cm (1,3”) height * 45 cm (17,7”) long. Then, apply an iron-on interfacing to make the fabric stiffer.
Separate a piece of about 7 cm (2,7”). We will use it later to attach the bow to the band.
Fold both pieces horizontally and pin them along the edges.
Sew both of them (only) horizontally, leaving the far ends opened. You get 2 narrow “tubes”.
Once again, cut the exceding fabric along the seam.
Roll the fabric “tubes” until you bring the stitching at the upper center (see picture below). Now it’s time to iron the fabric and make the bands as flat as you can.
Flip them. They start looking like the final band you need for your bow tie. Aren’t they?
Get back the first fabric you sewed. Pinch the bow at the center with your fingers. Creating 3 small waves is the best option.
With the help of the smallest of the 2 bands you made, attach the bow to the longer band. Pins or clothespegs will be necessary to join all the parts (see picture below).
We are very close to the end and the bow tie begins to look a lot like a real one!
Now you need to sew by hand the fabric “ring” in order to close it tightly.
It must be tight enough for the band and the bow not to slide off, but not too tight: the central “ring” must be nicely rounded.
Cut the excess fabric away, as close to the seem as possible without spoiling it.
At this stage you can already see the final effect. But we haven’t finisched yet…
Measure the right circumference by trying the bow tie over the shirt you are going to wear it with. Try to be sure about the exact size you want. You’ll be able to adjust the fastening a little bit, once the bow tie is completed, but the more precise you get to be in this one step, the better.
Now it’s time to apply an “invisible” velcro closure.
Cut the smallest piece of velcro possible (it must be enough to close well the tie but it should turn out as unnoticeable as you can get)
Sew the velcro on both the band’s ends. If necessary, you can trim the exceeding lenght of the band itself.
And… here it is: your handmade bow tie is all finished!
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you decide to make a bow tie following these instructions, I would be delighted to see a photo of your work posted in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
L'articolo How to sew a perfect bow tie for kids (or even adults) è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Mystic Messenger – Ray’s After Ending review (Spoiler alert!) è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>Probably the best news this terrible year 2020 will ever give us before it goes without being missed, Ray’s After Ending arrives nearly 3 years late, as it was originally announced to be released in January 2018. But I guess none of Mystic Messenger fans ever gave up reading the rest of Saeran Choi‘s heartbreaking story.
Personally I’ve never uninstalled Mystic Messenger app through these long years and I was totally ready to plunge into an emotional new chapter with my favourite 2D character ever.
Have a look at the first official illustration released by Cheritz:
Aren’t the Choi twins in their best shape?
And isn’t Saeran the coolest ever in that Dark Academia outfit of his?
So, let’s have a look together to this long awaited Mystic Messenger DLC. Beware of possible spoilers in the following lines.
Ray’s After Ending is so rich of beautifully voiced lines and gorgeous illustrations that could be easily considered a complete route instead of a mere DLC. I dare say it was worth the wait.
3 days packed with chats, messages, phone calls and illustrated visual stories (really lots of visual stories!) leave the gamer a little time to distract as long as the 3-days game lasts.
I really loved how Saeran evolved into a self-conscious young man in this final arc. He keeps all of Ray‘s sweetness and sensibility while getting rid of all of Ray‘s fears and insecurities.
Saeran becomes the ultimate charming prince every girl could dream of. His lines are beautiful indeed, as they are highly dramatic and moving but also full of hope and peacefulness. Thanks to MC‘s love, Saeran reach a perfect balance with the world through forgiveness and acceptance.
Saeran‘s way of being wise and balanced literally overwhelms V‘s (claimed) wisdom and balance.
V plays quite an important role in this arc, yet I think he comes off as a weak and petty character here. His inner motivations to still cover for Rika are just incomprehensable.
Honestly, in Mystic Messenger saga V has always been my least favourite character. Despite being presented by every other character as a sensible, talented, staid man (therefore deserving to be RFA‘s leader) there is always something fishy in his behaviour and I can’t stand there’s always something he can’t tell you about (nontheless he expects you to trust him just because it’s him).
In Ray’s After Ending, Rika is still a snake, but she goes on evolving and I start to understand her persona more and more and I think, all in all, she is an excellent villain and a good motor of the story.
Jumin‘s fans will be happy to find their favourite “CEO in line” acting very cool and smart in this route, being the actual leader RFA needs. Non just for he’s wealthy and powerful but because he is cool-headed and noble.
I also loved how the authors decided to give space to minor characters that were very appreciated by Mystic Messenger players. First of all Vanderwood (how do we need a Vanderwood DLC!!), but also Chairmain Han, driver Kim and a little space for Yoosung‘s hilarious mum.
Big brother, hothead, protective Zen is here for us, as fit and “in character” as ever.
Yoosung and Jaehee Kang are left a little on the sidelines. But that couldn’t be helped in a short story so full of events and important characters.
That said, I wished I could deeply analize this After Ending, and the supposed “Final End” it should represent but… At my first attempt I inadvertently hit my head against a BAD ENDING !! (the bad relationship ending) at the fourth day of the game.
That means I had to start it over from scratch and the terrible thing is that I still don’t know what I did wrong to deserve it >_<
Apparently Cheritz decided to give us a hard time with this DLC, as I’m hearing expert players meeting bad endings every day.
So it’s not just me having forgot how to play Mystic Messenger. It’s Mystic Messenger who decided to go hard mode here.
I managed to reach the good ending at Day 4 after hitting 3 times (I mean 3 times!!) the same damn Bad Relationship ending. Basically I had to try every possible combination of answers in order to finally get enough Sarean’s hearts and unlock my way to the Good Ending.
I appreciate the idea of making this route less predictable but I was taken aback by the fact that, in the first 3 days, the right answers (those which give Saeran’s hearts) are quite erratic.
Cheritz‘ idea is probably this: MC must not entirely sentence Rika and V …but still she has to constantly remind them (and Saeran) what they had done. She has to state more and more she is not going to part from Saeran …but still she has to support him and cheer for him.
Easier said than done. Some answers prove themselves to be correct (because they do give Saeran‘s hearts) but it’s impossible to undertand why they are correct until you chose them.
Anyway, after unlocking Jumin’s story mode (instead of Savior’s story mode) in the morning of Day 4, I think it’s safe to assume that the worst is behind us and we can quite easily predict which answers will lead us to the Good Ending (or to the Normal Ending, which is also here in Day 4).
I didn’t make any walkthrough but if you wish to follow one, I recommend this one on reddit which reddit user Ririkutai achieved with the help of some other Mystic Messenger players.
So, now it comes the big final spoiler…
Saeran AE Good Ending put an end to the whole saga. In this specific Good Ending every single villain (I mean EVERYONE) repents thanks to Saeran and MC‘s kindness and moral strenght. Every single character gets his/her happy ending somehow. So this probably is Mystic Messenger’s final end. Probably Cheritz might give us a nice and lightweight Vanderwood‘s DLC but I think they decided it’s about time to move on towards a brand new product.
I love the fact that the final mission and the entire epilogue of the saga was entrusted to Saeran who I consider to be the most interesting and complete character in Mystic Messenger.
Please come back to discuss it with me and feel free to comment Ray’s After Ending whenever you want.
L'articolo Mystic Messenger – Ray’s After Ending review (Spoiler alert!) è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Dinosaur Corps Koseidon – Guitar and Keyboard Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>Koseidon is a Japanese television series in 52 episodes dating back to 1978 and broadcast in Italy for the first time in 1981. The series, belonging to the well-known Tokusatsu genre which in those years enjoyed great popularity in Japan, focuses on the events of the superhero Go, captain of a time traveler patrol, and its attempts to defeat some aliens that have altered the course of time. For more information, we recommend reading the Dinosaur Corps Koseidon entry on Wikipedia.
Dopo aver distrutto i dinosauri si
ogni sua forma di
Ma, dal secolo XXI arrivarono gli uomini del
Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah
L'articolo Dinosaur Corps Koseidon – Guitar and Keyboard Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Chihayafuru 3×23 – Taichi confesses his love to Chihaya è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>Surprisingly for the audience (at least for those who have not read the manga yet) what seemed destined to be a light-hearted episode, a simple transition to the future Karuta competitions of the series, has instead touched the most dramatic and emotional point of the entire story.
Episode 23, with Taichi confessing his love to Chihaya, seems to mark an irreversible breakdown of interpersonal balance and a brutal push towards a new evolution of the characters.
In the previous episode, we saw Chihaya realize the inner conflict experienced by Taichi and, while unable to understand neither his sentimental nor his human drama, she tries in every way to make him smile again.
This unprecedented attention shown by Chihaya (who is endowed with a heart of gold but usually too naive) towards his friend, surprised us a lot.
We saw the girl for the first time think and try to understand Taichi, with an interest and devotion that is not commonly reserved to a simple teammate. So much so that we thought that something was really changing in the main character’s feelings and that Chihaya herself would soon have to deal with it.
Episode 23 opens with comedy tones and with the surprise party for the boy’s 18th birthday: the “Taichi Cup” organized by Chihaya. Taichi himself seems moved when noticing what effort and care she puts into making him happy.
Keeping faith to the decision taken in the previous episode, Taichi, who no longer wants to run away from his feelings, takes the opportunity to talk to Chihaya and confesses, in the Karuta club room, flooded with cherry blossom petals, to love her.
The courage to make himself vulnerable by exposing his feelings, with the almost absolute certainty that the answer he wishes won’t come, makes his beautiful confession more than just romantic.
Taichi knows that his attempt is desperate and seems to have already accepted the consequences of rejection when he decides to finally give voice to his love.
“I have always known, deep down, that I could devote my entire youth to karuta without ever become better than Arata” Taichi said to Harada sensei before founding the Karuta club of Mizusawa with Chihaya.
“You can only say that after you’ve really tried” the old man replied, the same man who has just shown to the world that he is still able to put all of himself into his dream of becoming Meijin.
Harada sensei lost the match against Suo but fought without being intimidated, without sparing himself and came out as a true hero.
In the same way, Taichi doesn’t want any regrets and it seems that the time has come for him to decide where to direct his future and his talent.
“I have already devoted my youth (to Chihaya and Karuta) that is why I am scared. What if, at the end, there’s nothing? What if I’m left with nothing but regrets?”
“I’ve always, always wanted to be someone who isn’t a coward”.
To the unexpected love confession, Chihaya replies something that we can’t hear. A foreseen and expected refusal. Taichi, with his usual composure, leaves the room while the audience end up feeling the same burden the boy bears on his heart.
Taichi knows that he has to turn over a new leaf and that his future must now go far away from Chihaya, Arata, the club and Karuta.
Despite the overwhelming blossoming of spring outside the window, there is a feeling of gloomy despair, just as “pitch black” as the 100 sweet poems imprinted on the cards are now, for Taichi.
Taichi‘s many talents can now be effectively put into something more “important”, as his mother always wanted for him. But it doesn’t make the separation any less painful for him, nor for the audience, nor for Chihaya.
After Taichi announces his retirement from the Karuta club, the girl, in tears, chases him and beg him to reconsider it.
When he instinctively holds her close to kiss her, she remains paralyzed and stiff. Taichi understands that Chihaya, although genuinely desperate to lose him, is not in love.
He cannot bear being on Chihaya’s side when his feelings aren’t reciprocated. And, without Chihaya, Karuta itself has lost any meaning for the boy.
It seems like everything will change for the main characters, now. Arata is about to move and reach Chihaya and he has confessed his feelings to her as well, although the girl has not given any answer yet.
Arata‘s confession “if you want, let’s play Karuta together” sounds, for both him and Chiahaya, like “if you want, let’s live our lives together”.
If it’is true that the absolute protagonist of this anime is the game of Karuta, I wonder, however, if it’s really in the author’s intentions to show that Chihaya herself begins and ends with this sport.
Arata and Chihaya undoubtedly share the same burning passion for Karuta, but, as many fans have often pointed out, Arata had been away from the girl’s side for years. And I’m not fully persueded that the mere fact of being two passionate champions, make the two of them meant to be a couple in life.
I don’t want to reduce the discussion to the trite “Taichi vs. Arata” debate, because it is evident that in Chihayafuru there is much more than a love triangle. However, like most fans, I can’t help wonder what the author’s real intentions are.
I never ever found it so difficult to make predictions about the epilogue of an anime (Who will win the Meijin title? And who will win Chihaya’s heart?)
Long story short, I think the possible upcoming epilogues are the following:
Hypothesis A) Arata wins the title by defeating Suo and fulfilling is grandfather’s desire. Also Arata has Chihaya by his side while Taichi lives a successful life (certainly having no problem in finding a girl who really loves him –Sumire or anyone else-.
Hypothesis B) Arata becomes Meijin. Taichi cannot beat his rival but Chihaya understands that Love and Karuta are not the same and choose to be Taichi‘s girlfriend.
Hypothesis C) Taichi defeats his inner demons and come back to play Karuta, eventually managing to win the title of champion. Arata must accept the defeat but consoles himself with Chihaya‘s love which makes him appreciate the beauty of life, even outside Karuta.
Hypothesis D) Regardless who becomes Master, Chihaya will take her time to find her way in life and does not accept the love of any of her two best friends.
Each fan seems to have his own prediction but I believe each of these assumptions is equally plausible.
For my part, lately I wouldn’t mind seeing C): Taichi as Meijin and Arata with Chiahaya. This ending would seem to coherently complete the inner growth of both male characters: Taichi finds the strength to overcome his limits just where he seemed to have no hopes while Arata opens his heart to the outside world.
However, among these 4 hypotheses, the only one which would finally foresee a personal evolution of Chihaya (the real protagonist) is B).
If imagine an epilogue where Karuta ceases to be “a final goal”, to Chihaya, and becomes “a means” (not the only one) to achieve happiness, then I tend to think that Chihaya will eventually understand the importance of Taichi‘s presence at her side. Whether he is a Karuta god or not.
Of course Arata was the one who promoted Chihaya‘s passion for Karuta (he’s the spark that started the fire of the the whole story) and he is just the kind of shy guy, deep and modest who, in anime, often have the upper hand over the most distinguished rivals.
Taichi, on the other hand, by Yuki Suetsugu‘s own admission, was born as a supporting character who just “get out of hand” to the author, growing up in the story almost of his own will.
He starts, in fact, as the rich and spoiled guy who is accustomed to excelling.
However it is undeniable that, so far, he has been at the center of the stage (counting his presence in the story alongside Chihaya and considering his personal evolution that has basically overturned the stereotype in which he seemed imprisoned) much more than the designated hero, Arata.
Fans appreciated the awkward sweetness of Arata‘s confession to Chihaya, yet, I wonder: how can one deny the narrative and emotional power of Taichi‘s own love confession? Why do the pains of a simple supporting character end up marking the emotional climax of the whole story?
The author loves Taichi, there is no doubt about that. Just think of how many times we have listened to his inner thoughts and how we all know Taichi‘s deep feelings and doubts much better than those of Arata or even Chihaya.
Will Suetsugu really have the courage not to give this character, on whom she spent so much, the love story with her lead character?
If you feel like it, let me know in the comments what you think.
I only ask you to please avoid spoilers for those who, like me, have not read the manga and only follow the anime.
Thanks for reading, bye!
L'articolo Chihayafuru 3×23 – Taichi confesses his love to Chihaya è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Beautiful Dororo illustrations drawn by artist Hiroyuki Asada è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>While specialized in shōnen genre, Asada adds to his works a peculiar elegance, airy and etheral, that get them close to shojo style.
Here you can see some Cheer Danshi ! (Cheer Boys!) illustrations:
And here’s Hiroyuki Asada‘s tribute to japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu
L'articolo Beautiful Dororo illustrations drawn by artist Hiroyuki Asada è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Guyslugger – Lyrics and Guitar Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>The Italian theme, created by P. Dossena and A. Tamborrelli, is played by the music band I Drago (1982). For additional info, checkout the Guyslugger page on Wikipedia.
L'articolo Guyslugger – Lyrics and Guitar Chords è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Sekiro Shadows Die Twice PC – Startup Crash Fix è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>These kind of sad stories can be found through all the web, as demonstrated by countless threads opened by people experiencing the issue:
… and so on.
As a matter of fact, we also did experience some crashes here and there, which we quickly solved by following some priceless advices given by the player community. For this very reason, in order to help other games, we’ve tried to collect all those hints and workarounds in a single article.
If you’re also experiencing these crashing issues, here’s a list of things you can try to work around it.
Ensure that you have the latest DirectX version on your Windows machine by clicking here: download the file and execute it for a quick update check.
These crashing issues seems to affect most NVIDIA graphic cards: if you run a NVIDIA GPU yourself, be sure to download the latest drivers available from the official NVIDIA driver website. If you run an ATI card (or any other card) be sure to do the same, as your issue might be related to outdated drivers as well.
Some users reported that disabling the Windows 10 Full-Screen Optimizations features helped them to fix the issue. To do that, follow these steps:
Here’s a YouTube video explaining the whole process (thanks to Dannikur for having published that):
If you have a secondary screen/dual monitor, try to disable it: are a number of users reported that some specific dual monitor configurations could cause problems to the Sekiro game engine, such as extreme lag and/or crashes.
As odd as it might sound, try to shutdown all yout browser instances, including all the webpages & tabs: it has been also reported that the Sekiro game engine might have some stability issues if there are several browser windows opened – especially with Google Chrome.
We sincerely hope that our suggestions will help you to fix your crashing issues with Sekiro. If you want additional help to play the game, learn the basics and/or a walkthrough to the various chapters, areas and zones, here are some useful resources you can look at thanks to IGN:
L'articolo Sekiro Shadows Die Twice PC – Startup Crash Fix è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>L'articolo Become the Hero: The Top 10 RPG Classics Every Gamer Needs to Play è presente su Hanahaki.
]]>It’s situations like this that make RPGs so much fun to play. Being the fourth most popular genre in videogames, RPGs allow players to immerse themselves in full, rich stories with tons of possibilities. And though there isn’t a shortage of RPG games on the market, there are some classics that every gamer needs to check out. Here’s our pick for the 10 best RPG classics.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over two decades since we were first introduced to Pikachu and friends. While the Pokémon series has continued to evolve over the years, adding complex competitive modes and deep lore, nothing surpasses the wonder of booting up the first two entries Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue for the first time.
The Pokémon franchise may not feature hardcore RPG mechanics a la Final Fantasy IV or Dragon Quest VII, but Red and Blue introduced an entire genre to the possibilities of RPG games. And for that, we think both games are still worth exploring, even decades later.
The Star Wars franchise isn’t a stranger to video games, beginning with the 1982 release of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back for the Atari 2600. While fans have come to know and love Star Wars’ extended universe, no game came close to capitalizing on the narrative potential of a Star Wars game. Until, that is, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
KOTOR gave players the chance to choose between becoming a powerful Jedi or succumbing to darkness and following the path of the Sith with each decision the player made affecting their overall alignment.
It was rigged from the start. Fallout: New Vegas quite literally starts with a bang and never lets up. By the time Fallout 3 rolled around, fans of the classic RPG franchise weren’t sure what to expect. The strategic, turn-based action of their beloved franchise was now an action-shooter hybrid with RPG elements. But a glimmer of hope arrived with the announcement that Obsidian Entertainment would be responsible for tackling New Vegas. Obsidian featured staff who worked on classic Fallout games as well as Baldur’s Gate and Planescape Torment.
And the difference showed. Though Obsidian only had a little over a year to develop New Vegas, fans were stunned and the night and day differences between New Vegas and its predecessor. Where Fallout 3 is an action game, New Vegas is happy to show players that gunfights aren’t always the best way to solve quarrels. Though the game itself was a buggy mess upon release, the fantastic world building and storytelling made it worth trudging through crashes, bugs, and glitches.
If you’ve never experienced New Vegas, consider picking up a copy of the Ultimate Edition, which comes with the base game and all of its DLC.
Diablo isn’t Blizzard’s only RPG franchise, but it’s arguably its best. While World of Warcraft is still alive and kicking, Diablo’s player base is every bit as fervent. Thanks to Blizzard’s constant support and dedication to adding new enemies, events, and gear, Diablo 3 still has players firing their crossbows and freezing enemies seven years later. What’s more, the game’s meta changes on a regular basis, giving players an incentive to crawl through one more dungeon or explore new builds.
Admittedly, Diablo 3 is light on story. But in truth, that’s fine. The Diablo franchise was never about storytelling and the deep character customization more than makes up for the lack of narrative.
Is it really a list of the best RPGs of all time if we don’t include a shout-out to Final Fantasy VII? Sure, it may be a bit cliché to include it. But as far as we’re concerned, Final Fantasy VII deserves the love it gets.
At the time, few games were brave enough to take as many risks as Final Fantasy VII. The brutal death of one of the game’s most beloved characters is a perfect example of how Final Fantasy VII wasn’t afraid to subvert expectations. The turn-based aspect may turn some gamers off but stick with it. Your patience will pay off.
The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the black sheep of the Zelda franchise. It’s a strange game that drastically changes play styles and featured a mishmash of genres that no one expected. But for that reason alone, it’s worth checking out.
It isn’t the best game in the series by a long shot, but it’s different enough that fans of RPGs will find enough depth to satisfy their hunger.
Speaking of Nintendo RPGs no one ever expected, yes, everyone’s favorite plumber starred in his very own RPG on the Super Nintendo. It’s a forgotten classic with tons of personality and humor. It was also quite long for the time, with the main story taking most players around 17 hours to beat.
Sadly, it’s a bit hard to track down a copy of Legend of the Seven Stars these days. To experience this hidden gem, your best bet is to try and find a Super Nintendo Classic.
Many PC games tried to capture the feel and scope of a tabletop RPG but few were ever successful at it. Baldur’s Gate is that rare exception.
Released in 1998, Baldur’s Gate was a breath of fresh air in the era of DOOM clones and licensed movie tie-ins featuring fantastic writing and almost endless customization options. The gameplay doesn’t hold up as well as it once did, but returning fans or first-timers can check out a remastered version which fixes some common complaints.
Before there was Fallout there was Wasteland. Set in a post-apocalyptic universe, players had to reestablish civilization, secure resources, and maintain peace through whatever means necessary. Wasteland gave players the ability to play the game how they wanted. Does that raider have food and ammo? You could persuade him to hand over the food or shoot him on sight and loot the food and ammo from his corpse.
Both Wasteland and its sequel are fantastic games. Fans of Fallout looking for something a bit different would do well to check it out.
It’s hard to pick the best Persona game, but for our money, we’d choose Persona 4: Golden for the PlayStation Vita. The game fixes most of the gripes we had with Persona 4’s original PS2 release while adding a ton of extra story and gameplay. Players can customize their parties and explore dozens of dungeons all while maintaining social bonds and attending high school.
But the best feature is Golden’s gorgeous animations. These are full-on, anime-style cutscenes with a memorable soundtrack and colorful characters.
When it comes to the best RPG games, it’s hard to beat these ten games. Now for the hard part – deciding which of these RPG classics to play first! Although most of them can only be played through the gaming system they were designed for, there are some great exception that made it through the most recent installments: for example, both Final Fantasy 7 and Diablo 3: Eternal Collection have been recently released for Nintendo Switch in 2018/2019.
L'articolo Become the Hero: The Top 10 RPG Classics Every Gamer Needs to Play è presente su Hanahaki.
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