In many gaming circles, 1998 is considered the best year for video games in history. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Xenogears, Half-Life, Banjo-Kazooie, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Tekken 3, and Resident Evil 2 among others. All these games (many which still top All Time Great listings) were released within…
Category: Opinion
The Never Ending Realm features video game reviews, fan-fiction, fan-art, and more! Since 2003. Read all of our opinion pieces here!
Five Average PS1 JRPGs That You Might Have Enjoyed (and Even Loved)
*The criteria used for the selection of the five JRPG titles in this article is as follows: Any game that was scored under an 80 out of 100, but above a 60 out of 100 in its review ‘overall’ tally on the Never-Ending Realm is considered average. Games that appear on the list that have…
Nier Automata: A Weird but Wonderful Action RPG
Nier: Automata is a game that, for me, is very hard to put into words. It blends its dystopia world with an elegant soundtrack that left me feeling peaceful, rather than depressed. This game truly has some of the most beautiful music in it, and somehow it fits perfectly. On top of that, the gameplay…
Five of the Hardest Final Fantasy Bosses
When thinking about Final Fantasy bosses, there are plenty to pick from. The majority of the harder ones are completely optional however, and require the best party to take down. Now, with a franchise like Final Fantasy this can be a bit subjective, but there’s no denying that these five are forces to be reckoned…
Throwback Bit Thursday: Legend of Legaia
1999’s Legend of Legaia is one of PS1’s forgotten J-RPGs. With only 300,000 units sold (United States) during the genre’s golden era the game was not exactly a flop, but it didn’t sell nearly enough to warrant much mention amongst its contemporaries.   Developed (Partially) by Contrail, Legend of Legaia got lost in 1999’s massive…
Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch is a Fantastic RPG
I just finished playing Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch and absolutely adored it. As an RPG fan, I was already attracted to this game, but the added creature capture feature just makes it that much more appealing to me. Ni No Kuni’s battle system is certainly interesting. It is essentially real-time,…
The 5 Best Sega Genesis (Mega-Drive) RPGs
The 16-bit era featured a great line up of J-RPGs. The genre remained confined to a niche group of fans during this period, but game franchises like Final Fantasy were still able to leave a mark. The SNES ruled the JRPG roost thanks in great part to Squaresoft’s strong efforts for the system. Nintendo’s console chief…
Stardew Valley: My 2020 Escape
While I know that the majority of gamers took to Animal Crossing: New Horizons as an escape from their year in 2020, I escaped mine in Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley was a game I had wanted to jump into for some time, and I finally took the plunge last year. Needless to say, it was…
Monster Hunter: World Reintroduces The Franchise Perfectly
The Monster Hunter franchise has been extremely successful in Japan, spanning across multiple consoles and handhelds alike. Here in Western markets though, it never quite took off in the same way that it did in Japan. Monster Hunter: World though, changed things tremendously. Monster Hunter: World was able to break out in a way that…
Throwback Bit Thursday: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was released on July 11th, 2001 and directed by Final Fantasy legend Hironobu Sakaguchi. The movie would ultimately lead to Sakaguchi’s departure from Square and the eventual end of Square itself. I remember seeing Spirits Within in the theater in 2001. I was about 13 and being a huge fan of…