The story of Chained Echoes is frankly incredible, with believable characters, heart wrenching moments and relationships that are built throughout the epic adventure. The guilt of killing his friends alongside thousands of others is clearly taking its toll on Glenn, so he decides he needs to dedicate his life to finding and getting rid of the crystal once and for all. You see it was actually Glenn who accidentally caused this devastating disaster, thanks to a mysterious crystal that it turns out is a weapon of mass destruction. At least that was the case until the day of the explosion. Our main character Glenn is a mercenary, happy to fight for whichever kingdom that will have him with his band of buddies and hulking mech suit.

With rulers and generals who are still desperate to wipe out their long term enemies though, it’s hard to imagine the peace lasting long. When a mysterious magical explosion kills thousands all at once during a crucial battle, the kingdoms finally take a break from fighting and an age of peace begins. The three kingdoms that occupy this fantasy world have been battling for supremacy for so long that most people live their whole lives in these times of conflict. On the continent of Valandis, a peaceful life is all but unheard of.

It’s been a fantastic year for people who love a good RPG, which makes it all the more impressive that Chained Echoes is far and away the best of the bunch. Jack Move is the perfect JRPG for those who didn’t have thirty hours to spare, Atelier Sophie 2 is the best game in a series well over twenty years old, and The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero finally brought a game to western audiences that was absolutely worth waiting for. It’s not just the classics I’d miss though, this year some of my favourite games have had turn-based combat. From Pokémon to Persona, these games have just been too big a part of my life to toss aside. If I had to pick a genre of video game I couldn’t live without, I’d probably have to choose turn-based RPGs.

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