Tag: jrpg

The JRPG Magazine Review Archive

Posted on by SpriteCell

Overview

Video game magazines used to be the hub of video game discourse, with the latest news, editorials on the state of the industry, and, of course, reviews. While the internet eventually buried most of these magazines I still find it fascinating to look through them to see what was a big deal at the time and how others viewed particular games.

I wanted to make these magazines more accessible, while learning more about my favorite genre: the JRPG. So I have collected as many JRPGs reviews from magazines as I could and presented them here. I hope you find them as interesting as I do, and maybe find some new games you would like to play. If you’re here you’d probably also be interested in my JRPG project, where I use a mountain of data to attempt to find the best systems for JRPGs based on review scores, price, exclusivity, and more.

Almost all scans are from RetroMags, an invaluable resource for video game history. Many are from Out-of-Print Archive. A minority are from the Internet Archive, including many uploaded by Foxhack. I update this archive periodically, see the section below. As for the games, I am using JRPG Chronicle’s JRPG Index, which is maintained by Lucca. It’s a great website and discord channel for JRPG lovers, check it out if you’re into JRPGs.

This project includes video game magazines from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Every English language gaming magazine I could find, except for Game Informer and GameFan, which do not want scans of their magazines online. A total of 69 magazines are included:

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@Gamer, Computer Game Review and 16-bit Entertainment, Computer & Video Games, Control, Dreamcast Magazine, Electric Brain, Electronic Entertainment, Electronic Games, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Extreme PlayStation, GameNow, Game On!, Game Players, Game Player’s, GamePro, Gamers’ Republic, Games Domain Offline, Games TM, Game Zone, GMR, Incite, Intelligent Gamer, Mean Machines Sega, Mega, Mega Play, Megatech, Mr Dreamcast, N64, N64 Magazine, N64 Pro, Next Generation, Next Generation, Nintendo Game Zone, Nintendo Official Magazine, Nintendo Power, Nintendo Power Flash, Official Nintendo Magazine UK, Official PlayStation 2 Magazine UK, Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, P.S.X., Planet Game Boy, PLAY, Play (UK), PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Pro, Pocket Games, PSExtreme, PSM2, PS Max, Q 64, Saturn Power, Sega Force, Sega Visions, Station, Super Action, Super Gamer, Super Play, Surge, Total!, Total Gamer, Total PlayStation, Total Saturn, Ultimate Future Games, Ultra Game Players, Videogame Advisor, VideoGames & Computer Entertainment/Video Games – the Ultimate Gaming Magazine, Xbox Nation

Games are listed by their official title in North America at the time and in mostly alphabetical order without leading articles. Series with roman numerals or other inconsistencies have been put in an order that hopefully makes more sense. The order can look weird since titles can vary in length as well as where the spaces, numbers, and colons go. If a game was released on multiple systems with the same name I have indicated which the review is for. I’ve done my best to get exact names correct, but let me know if I’ve made a mistake.

The earliest game included is 1988’s Phantasy Star, the third JRPG to reach North America or Europe, while the latest is 2014’s Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. There are very few reviews from after 2010, though, as there were few magazines left, and even fewer scans available of them. The 1994-2003 era is probably the most complete period.

There are a few anomalies worth noting. Magazines occasionally reviewed games that never came to their region, or never left Japan at all. There are a few retrospective reviews, written years after a game came out. Nintendo Power’s early days threw out review scores inconsistently, sometimes giving scores to games without a written review, or giving scores in a walkthrough. They even reviewed Brandish twice.

You can click on the images to expand them to full size. Pressing the right arrow key or clicking on the right half of the image will go to the next image, while the left arrow key and left half of the image will go to the previous. Pressing escape will close the image lightbox. You may want to open some very large images in a new tab. Filenames start with the the name of the magazine if you ever want to check.

Update Log and Totals

November 28th, 2022 Update: I didn’t expect to ever have more magazines to add, but 6 more are now included. A total of 596 new images have been added and 78 new games. A new letter has also been added: #.

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New games: 3D Dot Game Heroes, The 3rd Birthday, Ar Tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel, Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland, Brave Story, Crimson Sea, Crimson Sea 2, Custom Robo (N64), Digimon World: Data Squad, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, Dragon’s Crown, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, Dragoneer’s Aria, Drone Tactics, Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, Fate/Extra, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, Final Fantasy VI Advance, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, Gods Eater Burst, .Hack//G.U. Vol. 3//Redemption, Hyperdimension Neptunia, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel, Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, Mana Khemia: Student Alliance, Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker X Ninja/Zerker X Saurian, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Muramasa Rebirth, Mother 1 + 2, Metal Dungeon, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2, Orphen: Scion of Sorcery, Pandora’s Tower, Persona 4 Golden, Phantasy Star Portable, Pokémon Black Version /White Version, Project X Zone, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Radiant Historia, Record of Agarest War, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (PS3), Shaman King: Power of Spirit, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Soul Sacrifice, Summon Night: Swordcraft Story, Summon Night: Twin Age, Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity, Soul Nomad & the World Eaters, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation, Tales of Xillia, Tales of Innocence, Tales of Destiny: Director’s Cut, Tales of Graces f, Traysia, Unchained Blades, White Knight Chronicles II, Way of the Samurai 4, Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!?, Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum, Yakuza 4, Ys I & II Chronicles

May 6th, 2022 Update: Instead of just using the biggest magazines I have added every English language magazine I can, a total of 46 additional magazines with at least one scan have been added. A total of 824 new images including 132 new games have been added.

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New games: Arc Rise Fantasia, Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica, Astonishia Story, Blaze and Blade: Eternal Quest, Baroque, Battle Hunter, Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow, The Bouncer, Castlevania: Double Pack, Chaos Wars, Class of Heroes, Code of Princess, Crimson Gem Saga, Cross Edge, Dark Souls, Demon’s Souls, Digimon World 2, Digimon World 4, Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Day, Disgaea DS, Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dokapon Kingdom, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, Dragon Warrior, Dragon’s Dogma, Drakengard 2, Drakkhen, Dual Hearts, Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of the Ancient Art, Dungeon Maker 2: The Hidden War, Dynasty Tactics, Dynasty Tactics 2, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2, Eternal Poison, Eternal Sonata (PS3), Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City, Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan (PS2), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, Fossil Fighters: Champions, Front Mission (DS), Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir, Generation of Chaos, Glory of Heracles, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Guardian Heroes (Xbox 360), Half-Minute Hero, Harvest Moon DS Cute, Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar, Harvest Moon: More Friends From Mineral Town, Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns DS, Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns 3D, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, Hexys Force, Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Remix, Infinite Space, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Langrisser III, The Last Story, Legaia 2: Duel Saga, Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked, Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals, Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy, Mario Tennis: Power Tour, Master of the Monster Lair, Medabots: Infinity, Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel/Team Protoman, Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar/Cybeast Gregar, Mega Man Star Force: Dragon/Leo/Pegasus, Metal Saga, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Monster Hunter Tri, Monster Rancher Evo, Naruto: Path of the Ninja, Nier, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, Operation Darkness, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2, Phantasy Star Online: Episode I & II Plus, Pokémon Black Version 2/White Version 2, Pokémon Conquest, Pokémon HeartGold Version/SoulSilver Version, Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, Ragnarok DS, Record of Agarest War, Resonance of Fate (PS3), River King: Mystic Valley, Riviera: The Promised Land, Rondo of Swords, Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (Wii), Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, Sands of Destruction, Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits, Soaring Hawk/Sprinting Wolf, Shaman King: Master of Spirits, Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Shiren the Wanderer, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, Spectral Force 3, Spectral Souls: Resurrection of the Ethereal Empires, Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Star Ocean: The Last Hope International, Steambot Chronicles, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Tales of the Abyss (3DS), Trinity: Souls of Zill Ơll, Uncharted Waters (SNES), Valhalla Knights 2, Way of the Samurai 3, White Knight Chronicles, Xenoblade Chronicles, Yakuza 2, Ys Seven, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards, Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman, Zoids: Legacy

November 22nd, 2021 Update: 26 games have had new reviews added, and 12 new games have been added: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Car Battler Joe, Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warrior, Dragon Warrior III, Exile, Faxanadu, Lufia: The Legend Returns, Metal Gear Ac!d, Mystic Heroes, Pokémon Crystal Version, Ring of Red, Star Ocean: First Departure

Total Magazines Included: 69

Total Images: 2,709

Total Games: 705

Total Games with a Colon in the Title: 287

# – 2 Games

A – 26 games

B – 28 games

C – 35 games

D Part 1 – 40 games

D Part 2 – 38 Games

E – 23 games

F Part 1 – 29 games

F Part 2 – 34 games

G – 20 games

H – 28 games

I – 9 games

J – 3 games

K – 18 games

L Part 1 – 22 games

L Part 2 – 22 games

M Part 1 – 32 games

M Part 2 – 31 games

N – 9 games

O – 11 games

P Part 1 – 23 games

P Part 2 – 28 games

Q – 1 game

R  – 27 games

S Part 1 – 47 games

S Part 2 – 42 games

T – 32 games

U – 5 games

V – 15 games

W – 20 games

X – 5 games

Y – 16 games

Z – 4 games

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