Mike comes out of his funk long enough to mash feelings on a keyboard. Tri-Crescendo's Fragile Dreams is the culprit.

How can a game succeed in almost every way only to throw one, tiny pebble in your boot?

For this weeks' JRPG scoop, Mike takes another look at the Last Story, not the last title supported by Operation: Rainfall but one of the best experiences to be had amongst today's JRPG's.

This week on Swords & Zippers, a return to the Ar Tonelico universe as Pete takes a first look at the third and final game in the series.

Ganbarion's excellent "two-hander" action RPG Pandora's Tower is out this week, so what better time to revisit it in our JRPG column?

Today on Swords & Zippers, Pete revisits a classic of the Dreamcast era: Sega and Overworks' Skies of Arcadia.

In today's JRPG column, Pete ponders why he enjoys crafting in Japanese titles like Ar Tonelico and its ilk, but not Western RPGs.

In today's Swords & Zippers, Pete looks at Square's first foray into developing direct sequels for its long-running Final Fantasy franchise.

Today on Swords & Zippers, Pete shares his personal "Appeal Elements" for the divisive game genre.

In today's Swords & Zippers, a discussion of a key difference between how Eastern and Western RPGs approach the matter of their "rulesets," with specific regard to Ar Tonelico II.