🤔

It very well might be mine as well :)

All that to say, it’s been about 15 years since we’ve gotten a new FMA game, and the 25 year anniversary of the manga is next year! It would be awesome to see something new with the beloved series. I know I’d love a new Square Enix RPG set in that universe /4

FMA creator Hiromu Arakawa got another tie-in game in 2016 with her newer series The Heroic Legend of Arslan (itself a retelling of a 1980’s novel series, featuring art by Final Fantasy’s Yoshitaka Amano). Arslan was developed by Omega Force of Dynasty Warriors fame, and plays how you’d expect 3/

The games were made by a variety of developers, with Square Enix developing three RPG PS2 games, Bandai developing a PS2 fighting game, a Wii game, and both DS games, to be published by Destineer in the US. 2/

Carnage Heart! It’s a mech fighting game, except you don’t control the mech. Instead, it comes with an 80 page manual and an entire second disc dedicated to teaching you how to program your mech, to send it in to fight on your behalf.

Just when we thought the series was dead, Square Enix announced Valkyrie Elysium, an action RPG sequel to the series, alongside an enhanced port of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. This one got so-so reviews, but it’s still a beautiful game, and it’s great that Square still cares about the series /5

Shortly after, in 2008, a DS spinoff tactics game was released, called Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume. Featuring some fun mechanics, including teaming up and surrounding enemy units, this game deserves a lot more love in my opinion /4

Despite its cult status, it also got a direct sequel the same year as Lenneth, on the PlayStation 2! This one follows a similar gameplay pattern as the first, but fully 3D, and this time, it’s a story of revenge /3

VP got a remake with the subtitle “Lenneth” on the PSP in 2006, featuring higher resolution art and brand new CG cutscenes. This version was also ported in HD to the PS4/5 in 2022 /2

This looks like my *exact* type of game, I love flowcharts

Gives me the same vibe

Dragon Quest is my favorite series of all time, so it’s cool to see all this stuff. Some of the art is weird and not even closely resembles (or is nearly as charming) as Akira Toriyama’s classic designs.

It commands a high price on the secondary market, but thankfully is pretty accessible to play thanks to its recent addition to Nintendo Switch Online’s Genesis emulator!
Atlus might be a big name these days, but in 1995 they weren’t doing so well in NA, making this a looked-over gem.
2/2