Overview
- Average Game Rating
- 7.59/10
Feature The History Of SaGa, Square's Weirdest, Bravest RPG Series
A saga of SaGa
Final Fantasy. Kingdom Hearts. Mana. Dragon Quest. Chrono. Star Ocean. Valkyrie. Bravely. Square Enix has no shortage of RPG franchises under its belt, from those it's developed in-house to beloved classics that it's acquired over the years. But among all the space-faring ac
Feature That Time I Was Invited To Square HQ To Playtest Final Fantasy VI
I was there 30 years ago…
If you’re reading this on October 11th 2024, then 30 years ago today Final Fantasy 3 (aka VI) was released in North America. A lot of memorable games (Super Metroid, DKC, Earthworm Jim, Ridge Racer, and Doom
Memory Pak Secret Of Mana's Dazzling World Of Colour Opened My Eyes
You're looking a bit green
Welcome to the latest instalment in our nostalgia-inducing column, Memory Pak, where we deep-dive into some of the most memorable moments in gaming – good and bad. Today, Secret of Mana turns 30 years old in Japan, and to celebrate this seminal action RPG's anniversary, Alana is reminiscing about how the game's use of...
Poll What's The Best RPG Starring Mario?
Paper, Partners, and everything in between
Mario, the world's favourite platforming plumber, has done everything — kart racing, tennis, golf, partying, and a little bit of turn-based RPG-ing. 1996 saw Mario's RPG debut in the Super NES favourite, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and since then, he's starred in 14 different RPGs (plus...
Hands On Super Mario RPG Is The Most Faithful Remake We've Ever Played
A legendary star
Take a look at any Best Super NES RPG list and you’ll see a veritable bounty of genre favourites. Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy VI. EarthBound. Terranigma. Dragon Quest V. The fact that Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Random The Super Mario RPG Switch Remake Clarifies A Couple Of Cameos
Some resolution
The announcement of a Switch remake of the beloved SNES game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars set many a nostalgic heart racing during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, and sharp-eyed gamers have noted that the upcoming return of Square's 16-bit classic will bring some previously blurry elements into much sharper focus. In...
News 'The Lara Croft Collection' For Switch Has Been Rated By The ESRB
Two Tomb Raider spin-offs are due out this year
Back in October 2021, Square Enix announced it would be releasing Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris on the Nintendo Switch. Both titles ended up getting delayed last year until 2023, and now there appears to be another development. The Entertainment Software...
Poll What Order Should You Play Live A Live In? And Does It Even Matter?
Chronologicalive A Live
You might be forgiven for thinking that we here at Nintendo Life are a little too excited by Live A Live, an HD-2D remake of a 1994 JRPG that, by many accounts, was a bit of a flop. But even though not all of us were blown away by the demo, the reviews are in, and they're looking pretty good — so we're anticipating the game...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #78 - Super Mario RPG
Seven-star game
Welcome back, you lovely lot, to Box Art Brawl — our poll-filled series to find out your favourite regional retro box art variants from two or more contestants. It's been over a month since the last Brawl but following some time off to train up and recuperate, we're back once again to wreak havoc on video game covers of yesteryear...
Anniversary It's Super Mario RPG's 25th Birthday!
Don't get too excited - Nintendo likely won't do anything for this one, either
Let's just ignore the woeful approach of the end of Mario's 35th anniversary, or the completely-ignored 35th anniversary of the Zelda series for a moment. 2021 is also a big year for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Poll What's The Best Final Fantasy Game On Nintendo Consoles?
You've got the 'Final' word
Update: We've switched out Famicom's Final Fantasy V in the poll below for Final Fantasy V Advance on the GBA, the version available worldwide rather than Japan-only. We've left FF2 for Famicom as that's only available internationally (on Nintendo systems) in the GBA dual pack with FF1. What does this mean to you? Well,...
News Square Enix Trademarks Super Famicom RPG Live A Live In Australia And Europe
Will it finally be localised?
Square Enix has a huge library of role-playing games, and some of them haven't even been released in the west. One game, in particular, that never got officially localised was the 1994 Super Famicom RPG, Live A Live. With any luck, we might finally see this game make its way to other regions. Gematsu has discovered...
News The English Translation of Super Mario RPG Cut Many Japanese Pop References
Explains some of the oddness
That's Mallow Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was a grand departure from the Mario template when it launched back on Super Nintendo in 1996. Nowadays there's nary a genre the precocious plumber hasn't dipped his toe into, but his first foray with role-playing turned out to be a classic that still stands up...
News SaGa Series Director Says We Could See Other Entries Get Localised
"We plan on continuing to release titles overseas in the future"
The recent release of Romancing SaGa 2 on consoles in the west is quite significant, as the game was never published outside of Japan at the time of its original launch. The high cost of localising such a massive RPG will no doubt have put Square Enix off the idea in the past, but...
Music Secret of Mana Tribute Album "Resonance Of The Pure Land" Released
Overclocked Remix's 65th tribute album takes us back to 16-bit bliss
While Switch owners eagerly awaiting news of a possible Western release of the Seiken Desentsu Collection or even a change of heart regarding the Secret of Mana Remake being released on everything except Nintendo's flagship console, we bring you bit of good news and h
Random Someone Is Localising Final Fantasy IV Using Google Translate
"I want to hit it with my mother chocolate"
Modern gamers are quite fussy about how Japanese games - RPGs in particular - are localised. Back in the 16-bit era, translations were often hack-jobs riddled with errors, but more recently we've seen a rise in quality which is all down to the tireless efforts of localisation teams who seek to maintain the...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Final Fantasy
A final fling that launched a dynasty
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to (eventually) provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Final Fantasy. The Mini NES is packed...
News Square Enix Graphic Designer Manabu Daishama Passes Away at Age 45
Best known for his work on Chrono Trigger
Ask any RPG fan to name their top 5 favorite games in the genre, and Chrono Trigger is likely to show up somewhere on the list. The development staff was a dream team of talent, most notably with the creators of Dragon Ball, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest all collaborating to create one of the most...
News Chrono Trigger Director Would Love To Create A New "High End" Version Of The Game
"Or a movie production, or something of the sort"
Chrono Trigger is rightly considered to be one of the finest JRPGs ever made. Released on the Super Famicom / SNES back in 1995, the title was critically lauded upon release and has since been re-released on the Nintendo DS to equally effusive acclaim. Despite the game's enviable status in the...
Feature The History Of SaGa, Square's Weirdest, Bravest RPG Series
A saga of SaGa
Final Fantasy. Kingdom Hearts. Mana. Dragon Quest. Chrono. Star Ocean. Valkyrie. Bravely. Square Enix has no shortage of RPG franchises under its belt, from those it's developed in-house to beloved classics that it's acquired over the years. But among all the space-faring ac
Feature That Time I Was Invited To Square HQ To Playtest Final Fantasy VI
I was there 30 years ago…
If you’re reading this on October 11th 2024, then 30 years ago today Final Fantasy 3 (aka VI) was released in North America. A lot of memorable games (Super Metroid, DKC, Earthworm Jim, Ridge Racer, and Doom
Memory Pak Secret Of Mana's Dazzling World Of Colour Opened My Eyes
You're looking a bit green
Welcome to the latest instalment in our nostalgia-inducing column, Memory Pak, where we deep-dive into some of the most memorable moments in gaming – good and bad. Today, Secret of Mana turns 30 years old in Japan, and to celebrate this seminal action RPG's anniversary, Alana is reminiscing about how the game's use of...
Poll What's The Best RPG Starring Mario?
Paper, Partners, and everything in between
Mario, the world's favourite platforming plumber, has done everything — kart racing, tennis, golf, partying, and a little bit of turn-based RPG-ing. 1996 saw Mario's RPG debut in the Super NES favourite, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and since then, he's starred in 14 different RPGs (plus...
Hands On Super Mario RPG Is The Most Faithful Remake We've Ever Played
A legendary star
Take a look at any Best Super NES RPG list and you’ll see a veritable bounty of genre favourites. Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy VI. EarthBound. Terranigma. Dragon Quest V. The fact that Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Random The Super Mario RPG Switch Remake Clarifies A Couple Of Cameos
Some resolution
The announcement of a Switch remake of the beloved SNES game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars set many a nostalgic heart racing during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct, and sharp-eyed gamers have noted that the upcoming return of Square's 16-bit classic will bring some previously blurry elements into much sharper focus. In...
News 'The Lara Croft Collection' For Switch Has Been Rated By The ESRB
Two Tomb Raider spin-offs are due out this year
Back in October 2021, Square Enix announced it would be releasing Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris on the Nintendo Switch. Both titles ended up getting delayed last year until 2023, and now there appears to be another development. The Entertainment Software...
Poll What Order Should You Play Live A Live In? And Does It Even Matter?
Chronologicalive A Live
You might be forgiven for thinking that we here at Nintendo Life are a little too excited by Live A Live, an HD-2D remake of a 1994 JRPG that, by many accounts, was a bit of a flop. But even though not all of us were blown away by the demo, the reviews are in, and they're looking pretty good — so we're anticipating the game...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel #78 - Super Mario RPG
Seven-star game
Welcome back, you lovely lot, to Box Art Brawl — our poll-filled series to find out your favourite regional retro box art variants from two or more contestants. It's been over a month since the last Brawl but following some time off to train up and recuperate, we're back once again to wreak havoc on video game covers of yesteryear...
Anniversary It's Super Mario RPG's 25th Birthday!
Don't get too excited - Nintendo likely won't do anything for this one, either
Let's just ignore the woeful approach of the end of Mario's 35th anniversary, or the completely-ignored 35th anniversary of the Zelda series for a moment. 2021 is also a big year for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Poll What's The Best Final Fantasy Game On Nintendo Consoles?
You've got the 'Final' word
Update: We've switched out Famicom's Final Fantasy V in the poll below for Final Fantasy V Advance on the GBA, the version available worldwide rather than Japan-only. We've left FF2 for Famicom as that's only available internationally (on Nintendo systems) in the GBA dual pack with FF1. What does this mean to you? Well,...
News Square Enix Trademarks Super Famicom RPG Live A Live In Australia And Europe
Will it finally be localised?
Square Enix has a huge library of role-playing games, and some of them haven't even been released in the west. One game, in particular, that never got officially localised was the 1994 Super Famicom RPG, Live A Live. With any luck, we might finally see this game make its way to other regions. Gematsu has discovered...
News The English Translation of Super Mario RPG Cut Many Japanese Pop References
Explains some of the oddness
That's Mallow Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was a grand departure from the Mario template when it launched back on Super Nintendo in 1996. Nowadays there's nary a genre the precocious plumber hasn't dipped his toe into, but his first foray with role-playing turned out to be a classic that still stands up...
News SaGa Series Director Says We Could See Other Entries Get Localised
"We plan on continuing to release titles overseas in the future"
The recent release of Romancing SaGa 2 on consoles in the west is quite significant, as the game was never published outside of Japan at the time of its original launch. The high cost of localising such a massive RPG will no doubt have put Square Enix off the idea in the past, but...
Music Secret of Mana Tribute Album "Resonance Of The Pure Land" Released
Overclocked Remix's 65th tribute album takes us back to 16-bit bliss
While Switch owners eagerly awaiting news of a possible Western release of the Seiken Desentsu Collection or even a change of heart regarding the Secret of Mana Remake being released on everything except Nintendo's flagship console, we bring you bit of good news and h
Random Someone Is Localising Final Fantasy IV Using Google Translate
"I want to hit it with my mother chocolate"
Modern gamers are quite fussy about how Japanese games - RPGs in particular - are localised. Back in the 16-bit era, translations were often hack-jobs riddled with errors, but more recently we've seen a rise in quality which is all down to the tireless efforts of localisation teams who seek to maintain the...
Feature NES Mini Classics - Final Fantasy
A final fling that launched a dynasty
With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition (NA) / Nintendo Classic Mini: Nintendo Entertainment System (PAL), we're going to (eventually) provide short profiles of all 30 games included on the system. This time around we look at Final Fantasy. The Mini NES is packed...
News Square Enix Graphic Designer Manabu Daishama Passes Away at Age 45
Best known for his work on Chrono Trigger
Ask any RPG fan to name their top 5 favorite games in the genre, and Chrono Trigger is likely to show up somewhere on the list. The development staff was a dream team of talent, most notably with the creators of Dragon Ball, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest all collaborating to create one of the most...
News Chrono Trigger Director Would Love To Create A New "High End" Version Of The Game
"Or a movie production, or something of the sort"
Chrono Trigger is rightly considered to be one of the finest JRPGs ever made. Released on the Super Famicom / SNES back in 1995, the title was critically lauded upon release and has since been re-released on the Nintendo DS to equally effusive acclaim. Despite the game's enviable status in the...