Jeremy Parish

Great Works, Troubling Moments

The controversy surrounding Dragon's Crown inspires the question: Does one rotten element ruin the entire experience?

Super Mario Maker for 3DS Review: The Fine Art of Overcompensating

Nintendo breaks its trend of disappointing Wii U-to-3DS downconversions by totally revamping the wrapper for its level-design tool kit.

Giving Thanks: Two New Books on a Cult Classic Embody Gaming's Rich Culture

20 years ago, no one cared about SNES RPG EarthBound. Now it's a cottage industry, emblematic of the medium's continued maturation.

Red Dead Redemption's Curious 8-Bit Origin Story

How 2017's Western juggernaut can trace its family history all the way back to the frontier days of 1985.

Final Fantasy XIV 4.0 Expansion Stormblood Arriving Summer 2017

New jobs, a revamped battle system, and countless quality of life features inbound as well.

Dragon Quest: Builders PlayStation 4 Review: Fables of the Reconstruction

A brilliant marriage in which two very different types of game — Minecraft and the classical console RPG — come together to find their common ground.

Paper Mario: Color Splash Wii U Review: Flinging Hue, Throwing Shade

Mario's latest is a beautiful, rollicking adventure that's been folded, spindled, and mutilated by questionable design choices.

Paper Mario's Evolution from RPG to Adventure Game Draws a Line to a Forgotten Corner of Nintendo's Past

The series' gradual genre shift may be unpopular, but it's not unprecedented.

At 30, Castlevania May be Dead, But Its Influence Lingers Beyond The Grave

Happy anniversary, Simon Belmont! Too bad your bloodline is as deceased as Dracula himself.

If Sonic's New Games are Half as Good as Their Marketing, We're in for a Treat

Who knows if the Sonic Cycle will ever be broken, but at least our social media will never be dull.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse 3DS Review — End of Days

One of the best RPGs of the decade gets a direct sequel. Does Apocalypse live up to its predecessor's impressive standard? Final thoughts and score!

How the Dragon Quest Builders Team is Crafting a New Kind Of RPG

A conversation with the creators of Square Enix's upcoming do-it-yourself take on the role-playing genre.

A Conversation With Paper Mario: Color Splash Producer Risa Tabata

The game's green producer talks about the RPG that has some Nintendo fans seeing red.

Catch Our Super NES 25th Anniversary Stream Series [Next: EarthBound]

Nintendo's 16-bit behemoth has hit the quarter-century mark, and we're celebrating with live streams of the system's 25 best games! Our anniversary showcase continues next week with EarthBound.

Containing the Sprawl: An Interview with the Dragon Quest VII Remake Team

Dragon Quest VII is one of the most massive solo role-playing games ever created. Producers Yuu Miyake and Noriyoshi Fujimoto explain the challenge of squeezing it into a portable remake.

Final Fantasy VI, the Essence of a Franchise Distilled for SNES

Though perhaps not the best of the series, FFVI was definitely the most Final Fantasy-ish of the lot.

Daily Classic: 7 Reasons Super Metroid was an SNES Masterpiece

Happy 25th birthday, Super NES! Look back at the fundamental brilliance of one of the console's all-time greatest creations with this piece from the USgamer archives.

With Yoshi's Island, the Mario Series Broke Its Own Rules

Nintendo's iconoclastic platformer defied expectations and became all the more memorable for it.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force 3DS Review-in-Progress: Barely Metroid, but Plenty Of Fun

While the verdict remains out on multiplayer, Nintendo's controversial FPS plays well despite its divergence from the Metroid series' platonic ideal.

Abz? PlayStation 4 Review: (Dis)enchantment Under The Sea

Giant Squid's stunning, serene underwater adventure trips over itself, despite rarely setting foot on land.

Gallery: Up Close With Nintendo's Amiibos

We get up close and personal with Nintendo's new interactive figurines.

Begun, the Clone Wars Have: SEGA Fires Back at Classic Mini NES With a Mini Genesis

But it's looking less like a pitched battle than a total rout.

The Quiet Revolution: How Animal Crossing has Embraced the Future

We speak with Katsuya Eguchi and Aya Kyogoku to learn how Nintendo's most good-natured franchise is pointing the way to company-wide change.

Pokémon Ranger Arrives on Virtual Console to Remind Us That Not Every Spin-off is Pokémon Go

Without a multiplayer component, is there really much point to Pokémon?

2013 in Review: How I Built a Life Worth Returning to in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

For a game about nothing in particular, Animal Crossing: New Leaf manages to create a remarkably engrossing world -- one that remains inviting half a year later.

Nintendo Changes Its Mind, Will Update Animal Crossing: New Leaf for amiibo Support

Belatedly, but better than never.

Why Play Animal Crossing, Anyway? (A Primer)

Curious what the big deal is about Nintendo's quirky attempt at the simulation genre?

Check Out the First 30 Minutes of Chrono Trigger Successor I am Setsuna in Action

Is Square Enix's new retro-style RPG a worthy take on Chrono Trigger or just empty nostalgia bait? Check out the opening chapter and decide for yourself.

Local Color: An Animal Crossing New Leaf Interview

There's far more to localizing Animal Crossing for America than simply changing Japanese words into English.

Metatext: Separating the Player from the Character

Ever get the feeling your video games are talking to you? You may not be crazy after all....

Time, and a Word About Animal Crossing

As a new season descends upon the world of New Leaf, the sounds and sights of summer stir powerful memories.

5 Series That Should Shamelessly Clone Pokémon Go

Fascinated by the Pokémon Go craze, but not a big fan of the franchise? Thankfully, the idea is big enough to work beyond Pokémon....

Argonaut's X, the Rough Draft for Star Fox, Highlights the Compromises of Game Design

The most technically impressive work ever to appear on Game Boy reveals a harsh truth about the realities of making games.

A Game Design Near-Miss: Double Dragon for Game Boy

Why the classic brawler's handheld version was almost (but not quite) its best home port.

SEGA 3D Classics Collection 3DS Review: Virtuous Console

While this M2-developed SEGA compilation has its drawbacks, it's still a heck of a package.

Kirby: Planet Robobot 3DS Review: A Gundam Good Time

Who knows whose idea it was to put Kirby in a giant, stompy mech suit... but it makes for one of the most gleeful action games of the year.

10 Years Ago, New Super Mario Bros. Made Old-School Cool… or Profitable, Anyway

The only thing truly "new" about Nintendo's DS blockbuster was the notion that maybe classic platformers still had a place in the world, but that was enough to make a difference.

Stranger of Sword City Turns Out to be More Familiar Than Its Name Suggests

While its intriguing premise isn't the only novel element this dungeon crawler brings to the table, it's ultimately business as usual.

PlayStation 4K, Xbox "Neo," and the Unhappy History of Mid-Cycle Console Upgrades

Sony and Microsoft's plan to refresh their current consoles has become the industry's worst-kept secret, but they'll be fighting uphill against history.

The History of RPGs: How Dragon Quest Redefined a Genre

COVER STORY: 30 years ago, a small team of Japanese game designers changed the way the world looked at role-playing games.

Dragon Quest Builders Truly is the Dragon Quest of Minecraft Clones

Not just in appearance, but in terms of its fundamental design philosophy.

Why ReCore is a $40 Game

Microsoft wants to test the waters, it seems.

Dishonored 2 Embodies Bethesda's Formula for Success

Namely, hide innovation amidst the mundane.

Bethesda's E3 Press Recap: Skyrim Special Edition, Quake: Champions, Dishonored 2, and More!

Bethesda brought a whole host of games at E3 2016. See what's coming from the house that Elder Scrolls built.

Microsoft's New Xbox Brings Lofty Pre-launch Promises Down to Earth

Turns out Xbox One was a scalable system... just not the way Microsoft promised.

15 Must-Have Games for 3DS Virtual Console

Love classic games on the go? Not sure where to start? Obviously, you should start with the best. Here's our top 15 picks — plus five great imports!

Axiom Verge Review: Play it Again, Sam [Updated for Vita]

Think you're tired of retro Metroidvania games? You obviously haven't played Axiom Verge yet.

In PlayStation's Misadventures of Tron Bonne, an Echo of Better Days

Back when Mega Man spinoffs had their own spinoffs (and we had Mega Man games, period).

Essential Reading: "I Am Error" Brings New Insight to the History of the NES

With a technical yet holistic approach to Nintendo's classic console, this new book establishes itself as a must-have for video game enthusiasts.

Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker 3DS Review: Cruel Angel's Thesis

An overlooked RPG gem becomes bigger and better on 3DS: More content, more conflict, more characters... and so much more anime.