We bust out our flowcharts and get unstuck in time as we cover the time-traveling cult classic Radiant Historia. As a dying world contends with endless war and desertification, three heroes jump between multiple timelines to try and find a way forward. Both a throwback to classic JRPGs and an ambitious reformulation of them, Radiant Historia is a fascinating relic of the Nintendo DS era. Timeline flowcharts on Fandom Follow Allisa's writing here Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! Support Combo Chain - A JRPG Podcast ..read more

Tales of the Abyss is a bold game, particularly for a series as risk-averse as Tales. This game takes big chances from the jump, from its initially-unlikeable protagonist to its constant efforts to undermine the story tropes you expect in such a game. Robert joins us to discuss this PS2/3DS JRPG classic that doesn't get the credit it deserves, a game with a thrilling narrative that often subverts the genre's tropes. Support Combo Chain - A JRPG Podcast ..read more

One of the greatest, and perhaps most underrated, JRPG's of the 16-bit generation, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium is a sci-fi epic with a narrative and mechanics before its time. Alexander McConnell joins us to discuss the definitive conclusion to this four game saga, delving into its epic scope, charmingly sleazy protagonists, magical cats, and dad joke-spouting aliens. Pledge drive time! We need your help covering the costs of hosting and producing Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, which are more than $500 a year. Plus, we’re giving away early-access episodes to contributors. Pl ..read more

As Composer Frédéric Chopin lies on his deathbed from tuberculosis, in a parallel universe he's an anime bad boy in a fantasy world, doing battle with an industrialized empire and nasty anthropormphised beans. Eternal Sonata may not be the strangest premise for a JRPG ever, but it's certainly in the running. In this episode, Dani Siller of Escape This Podcast and Solve This Murder joins us to unpack this truly bizarre curio of the PS3/XBox 360 era. Pledge drive time! We need your help covering the costs of hosting and producing Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, which are more than $500 a year ..read more

Sharpen up those Blitzball skills 'cos we're heading back to Spira. Final Fantasy X expert extraordinaire Andy Reinhold joins Paul for a deep dive into the themes, characters, and misconceptions about one of the most unusual and abstract entries in the franchise. Join us as we explore the heady themes, investigate who the game's true protagonist is, and learn why that infamous laughter scene is actually good. Pledge drive time! We need your help covering the costs of hosting and producing Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, which are more than $500 a year. Plus, we’re giving away early-access ep ..read more

Allisa has already beaten Persona 5 Royal for her Dualshockers review, so in this episode she talks about her takaways, how the new characters and mechanics change the base game, and whether its worth going back to for people who played the original. We also give our first impressions on the Bravely Default 2 demo, Trials of Mana, and run through some of the latest JRPG news. Please support us on Patreon! Any amount will help us cover the hosting, recording, and other related costs. Show Notes Allisa's Persona 5 Royal review Persona 5 Royal post-review discussion Allisa's Trials of Mana previ ..read more

With special guest Fletch, we take a deep dive into the infamous Neptunia series, where you play as moe girls who are the living embodiment of famous video game consoles. Specifically, we look at Megadimension Neptunia VII, the most refined and successful iteration of this bizarre but ultimately endearing franchise. If you're looking for a JRPG based on obscure jokes about game consoles, developers, niche genres and kusoge games, this is the game for you. Listen as Neptunia expert Fletch guides Paul through the delightful madness that is this series, and as Paul's initial skepticism gives way ..read more

** Please consider supporting us on Patreon ** In this episode, Allisa reports back from a preview event for Persona 5 Royal. We also discuss the new DLC campaign forn Fire Emble: Three Houses, a highly possible review of Yakuza 7, the great Junji Ito and his influence on a new indie game, the Persona 5 Scramble demo on the Switch, Lovecraft's racism, and the amazing Japanese-only Dragon Quest ATMs. Eurogamer previews Yakuza 7, says it has some of the best RPG combat in a long time Secret of Mana-inspired western RPG Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition coming to Switch Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive ..read more

Format change! Allisa James and Paul join up for a new twice-monthly look at the latest JRPG news and releases. We look at Nomura's Burden, aka Kingdom Hearts, the controversy over Yakuza's JRPG makeover, and take a look at the PC release of The Alliance Alive HD. Not to worry—we'll still be doing the single game, deep-dive episodes, but every couple of weeks or so we're going to round up the latest in JRPG news, give first impressions on new releases, and chat about what we're playing (and what we want to see!) Show Notes Kingdom Hearts Q&A Yakuza trailer Banner of the Maid Atelier Dusk ..read more

Allisa James and Paul take us through the epic conclusion of Xenoblade Chronicles—humans get turned into mechs, our characters see abstract astral visions, and they go to war with a god—this one's got it all, folks. Rarely does a JRPG with this much story stick the landing, but this one is the rare exception. And even more rarely does a game on underpowered systems like the Wii and the 3DS produce such vibrant worldbuilding. This one's special, folks. Show Notes Allisa on Dualshockers Dualshockers' games of the year Megaten Marathon Paul's favorite games of the decade Paul's unemployed and n ..read more