A brief look behind the curtain of the process behind every episode of Home on the RNG.

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game

developed by Square for the PlayStation. The seventh main installment in the

Final Fantasy series, it was released in Japan by Square and internationally by

Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first game in the main series to have

a PAL release.

Find us online!

Jeff

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/CentaurProductions

Twitter - @JeffCentaur

Blue Sky - @JeffCentaur.bsky.social

Mastadon - @JeffCentaur.kind.social

Russ

Twitter - @RussMac25

Blue Sky - @RussMac25.bsky.social

Chris

Twitch - http://twitch.tv/LierXAgerate

Twitter - @EnrichFlavor

Super Hi Tops - https://www.youtube.com/@SuperHiTopsVGM

And of course, Graham Stark

http://loadingreadyrun.com

http://patreon.com/loadingreadyrun

We continue our discussion of the Quintet trilogy with our Illusion of Gaia!

Lunar: Eternal Blue is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex for the Sega CD as the sequel to Lunar: The Silver Star. The game was originally released in December 1994 in Japan, and later in North America in September 1995 by Working Designs. Eternal Blue expanded the story and gameplay of its predecessor, and made more use of the Sega CD's hardware, including more detailed graphics, longer, more elaborate animated cutscenes, and more extensive use of voice acting. Critics were mostly pleased with the title, giving particular merit to the game's English translation and further expansion of the role-playing game genre in CD format.

 Set one thousand years after the events of The Silver Star, the game follows the adventure of Hiro, a young explorer and adventurer who meets Lucia, visitor from the far-away Blue Star, becoming entangled in her mission to stop Zophar, an evil, all-powerful being, from destroying the world. During their journey across the world of Lunar, Hiro and Lucia are joined by an ever-expanding cast of supporting characters, including some from its predecessor. Eternal Blue was remade in 1998 as Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete published by Kadokawa Shoten and Entertainment Software Publishing.

Final Fantasy Tactics is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Squaresoft (later changed to Square and now Square Enix) for the Sony PlayStation video game console. Released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998, it is the first game of the Final Fantasy Tactics series. The game combines thematic elements of the Final Fantasy video game series with a game engine and battle system unlike those previously seen in the franchise. In contrast to other 32-bit era Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy Tactics uses a 3D, isometric, rotatable playing field, with bitmap sprite characters.

Final Fantasy Tactics is set in a fictional medieval-inspired kingdom called Ivalice, created by Yasumi Matsuno. The game's story follows Ramza Beoulve, a highborn cadet who finds himself thrust into the middle of an intricate military conflict known as The Lion War, where two opposing noble factions are coveting the throne of the kingdom. As the story progresses, Ramza and his allies discover a sinister plot behind the war.

The game received critical acclaim from gaming magazines and websites and has become a cult classic since its release. It has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Final Fantasy Legend II, known in Japan as SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The second entry in the SaGa series, it released in Japan in 1990, and in North America in 1991. A later edition released in North America in 1998 through Sunsoft. The Game Boy version was later ported by Nintendo Switch and released worldwide by Square Enix in 2020. A remake for the Nintendo DS was released in 2009 by Square Enix, remaining exclusive to Japan.

The game is set in a fantasy world where the player assumes the role of one of eight different characters of varying race and gender who leaves on a journey to find their lost father and discover the secret of "Magi", a substance created by the gods that holds powerful magic. Final Fantasy Legend II was largely well-received worldwide during its original release, with readers of Japanese magazine Famitsu voting it the 94th greatest game of all time in a 2006 poll.

Jeff and Russ look back at the last 9 games, the good, the bad, and the ugly of them. Plus our usual trope discussion.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is a role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. Initially released as The Legend of Heroes VI: Trails in the Sky and later published as Trails in the Sky FC (first chapter), the game is the first in what later became known as the Trails series, and was directly followed by Trails in the Sky SC (second chapter).

Trails in the Sky was first released in Japan for Microsoft Windows in 2004, and later ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2006. North American video game publisher Xseed Games acquired the rights from Falcom, but did not release it until 2011 due to the game's large amount of text necessary to translate and localize. A high-definition port to the PlayStation 3 was released in Japan in 2012 as part of Sony's PSP Remaster line of games, while a remaster for the PlayStation Vita was released in 2015. Both were Japanese-only releases.

Final Fantasy is a fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1987. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Originally released for the NES, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The story follows four youths called the Light Warriors, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.

Skies of Arcadia is a role-playing video game developed by Overworks for the Dreamcast and published by Sega in 2000. Players control Vyse, a young air pirate, and his friends as they attempt to stop the fictional Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with the potential to destroy the world. Today we're reviewing the GameCube port, which has some changes.

With special music reviewer Mike Hughes.

Jeff has recently become obsessed with the Danganronpa series, and even though he still has a couple games to go, he wants to talk about it with Russ RIGHT NOW.

Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line, titled Dragon Warrior II when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Dragon Quest series. Enix's U.S. subsidiary published the American release, Dragon Warrior II, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Dragon Quest II is set one hundred years after the events of the first game.

With special music review guest Mike Hughes.

It was Russ' turn to pick a non-jRPG to play, and he picked the SNES "classic" Clock Tower, which was never officially released in America. Come join us in a trip to a randomly generated horror house with a scissor man.

Grandia II is a role-playing video game developed by Game

Arts originally for the Dreamcast console as part of their Grandia series.

Initially released in Japan by Game Arts in August 2000, the game was published

by Ubi Soft in North America in December 2000 and in Europe in February 2001.

Grandia II was later ported to PlayStation 2, where it was released worldwide

throughout 2002, and for Windows exclusively in North America and Europe later

that year.

Find us online!

Jeff

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/CentaurProductions

Twitter - @JeffCentaur

Blue Sky - @JeffCentaur.bsky.social

Mastadon - @JeffCentaur.kind.social

Russ

Twitter - @RussMac25

Blue Sky - @RussMac25.bsky.social

Chris

Twitch - http://twitch.tv/LierXAgerate

Twitter - @EnrichFlavor

Super Hi Tops - https://www.youtube.com/@SuperHiTopsVGM

Mother, officially known outside of Japan as EarthBound Beginnings, is a role-playing video game developed by Ape and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. The first entry in the Mother series, it was first released in Japan on July 27, 1989. It is modeled on the gameplay of the Dragon Quest series, but is set in the late 20th-century United States, unlike its fantasy genre contemporaries. Mother follows the young Ninten as he uses his great-grandfather's studies on psychic powers to fight hostile, formerly inanimate objects and other enemies. The game uses random encounters to enter a menu-based, first-person perspective battle system.

 Writer and director Shigesato Itoi pitched Mother's concept to Shigeru Miyamoto while visiting Nintendo's headquarters for other business. Though Miyamoto rejected the proposal at first, he eventually gave Itoi a development team. A North American version of the game was localized into English, but was abandoned as commercially nonviable. A copy of this prototype was later found and circulated on the Internet under the informal title EarthBound Zero. The game was eventually released worldwide under the name EarthBound Beginnings for the Wii U Virtual Console in June 2015.

It's going to be a little while before we do official reviews of the games in the Persona series, so we wanted to take a moment to talk about the series as a whole.

Lunar: The Silver Star (ルナ ザ・シルバースター, Runa Za Shirubā Sutā) is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and Studio Alex for the Sega/Mega-CD, originally published by Game Arts and released in Japan in 1992. After a successful release, the game was translated and localized by Working Designs for release in North America the following year.

Designed as a "different kind of RPG", Lunar: The Silver Star made use of the up-and-coming CD-ROM format by featuring high quality audio, full motion video, and voice acting to narrate a fantasy story set in a magical world. The game centers on the exploits of Alex, a young boy from a small town who dreams of one day becoming a great hero like his idol, Dragonmaster Dyne. When a childish adventure later turns to discovering an ancient dragon, Alex and his friends must journey across the world to gather the necessary power to become the next Dragonmaster, and save the world in the process.

This is a fairly normal out-take of what it's like trying to film an episode of Home on the RNG with Russ. He usually takes a little while to warm up.

Phantasy Star is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Sega and released for the Master System in 1987. One of the earliest Japanese RPGs for consoles, Phantasy Star tells the story of Alis on her journey to defeat the evil ruler of her star system, King Lassic, after her brother dies at his hands. She traverses between planets, gathering a party of fighters and collecting the items she needs to avenge her brother's death and return peace to the star system. The gameplay features traditional Japanese RPG elements including random encounters and experience points. All the characters have predefined personalities and abilities, a unique element compared to the customizable characters of other RPGs of the era.

Story time with Jeff and Russ, this time they talk about the night they camped out overnight in order to buy a Wii.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, known as Estpolis Denki II (エストポリス伝記II, officially translated Biography of Estpolis II) in Japan, and as Lufia in Europe and Australia, is a role-playing video game with puzzle elements developed by Neverland and published in Japan in 1995 by Taito, and in North America and Europe in 1996 by Natsume and Nintendo respectively, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Jeff wanted to introduce Russ to something new. So Jeff and Russ are going to review the SNES game Lost Vikings 2, which was later remade as Lost Vikings: Norse by Norsewest.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. It was directed by Yoshihiko Maekawa and Chihiro Fujioka and produced by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Yoko Shimomura composed the score, which was released on a soundtrack album in Japan.

Jeff and Russ played Dragon Quest 11, and they didn't want to wait ten years until they got around to it as a proper Home on the RNG episode to talk about it, so here we are.

It's happening again. Desert Bus for Hope 2025 kicks off November 14th at 5pm CST. (You'll have to figure out your own time zones, sorry).

Check it out at http://desertbus.org

And thank you, just for being here.

Jeff, Russ, and Lauren look back over the last 9 games that have been reviewed, discuss some common jRPG tropes that they encountered, and then they test their musical knowledge with a video game themed version of Name That Tune.

Russ wanted to play something a little different, so here we are, Jeff and Russ review the NES game Adventures of Lolo.

Secret of Evermore is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released by Square in North America on October 1, 1995. February 1996, saw its release in the PAL territories of Europe and Australia. A Japanese release was planned to follow the North American release by a few months but was ultimately cancelled.

With special guest music reviewer Lauren the Flute.

Jeff and Russ finish their discussion of the Final Fantasy series...for now. Because we all know that fantasy will never end.

The Final Fantasy Legend, known in Japan as Makai Toushi Sa·Ga, is a video game released for the Game Boy in December 1989 by Square Co. It is the first game in the SaGa series and the first role-playing video game for the system. Square translated the game into English for worldwide release and renamed it, linking it with the Final Fantasy series to improve marketing.

With special guest music reviewer Lauren the Flute.

Jeff and Russ continue their discussion of the Final Fantasy series, game by game. In this episode, they discuss the best games in the series, because they happened to be released all in a row.

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Jeff and Russ talk about the Final Fantasy series as a whole in this 3 part series of Side Quest. They will briefly break down each and every game in the series. These games will be reviewed in full as episodes of Home on the RNG....eventually.

Since Russ won't play Shining Force II, Jeff is reviewing it on his own. Also, since Russ isn't in this episode, and we don't want to deprive you of your regularly schedule Russ, there will be another episode of Side Quest next week.

Arcana is a 1992 role-playing video game for the SNES by HAL Laboratory.

The guys discuss the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, because we are on the cutting edge of jRPG discussions.

Before they get much further into this series, Jeff and Russ talk about their top 5 jRPGs of all time. It'll be interesting to see if this changes over the course of this show.

Breath of Fire is a role-playing video game series developed by Capcom. It originated on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993.

Jeff and Russ visit a game from Jeff's childhood, featuring a boy, his alien blob, and so many jellybeans.

Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention is a 1992 fantasy turn-based tactics role-playing video game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console.

Jeff and Russ discuss one of the strangest jRPG series they've ever encountered, and how much they enjoy it. This is a series overview, individual games from the series will be reviewed (much much) later on.

Dragon Quest, titled Dragon Warrior when initially localized to North America, is the first role-playing video game (RPG) in the Dragon Quest media franchise. It was developed by Chunsoft for the Family Computer and published by Enix in Japan in 1986 as Dragon Quest and by Nintendo in 1989 in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Jeff and Russ decide to play something a little different, as they take on the NES port of Maniac Mansion, the famous LucasArts adventure game by Ron Gilbert.

Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, known as Estpolis Denki in Japan, is a role-playing video game developed by Neverland and published by Taito in 1993, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Great Greed, known in Japan as Bitamīna Oukoku Monogatari, is an environmentally-themed role-playing video game for the Nintendo Game Boy released by Namco in 1992.

Welcome to Home on the RNG. We are your primary hosts, Jeff and Russ. And we just wanted to briefly introduce ourselves, and the format of our show. We hope you enjoy listening to it half as much as we enjoyed making it.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is a 2000 role-playing video

game developed and published by Atlus for the PlayStation. It is a direct

sequel to Persona 2: Innocent Sin and chronologically the third installment in

the Persona series, a subseries of the Megami Tensei franchise. The game was

later remade by Atlus for the PlayStation Portable. This version, released in

Japan in 2012, did not receive an overseas release. In response to this, the

PlayStation version was released on PlayStation Network in 2013.

Find us online!

Jeff

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/CentaurProductions

Twitter - @JeffCentaur

Blue Sky - @JeffCentaur.bsky.social

Mastadon - @JeffCentaur.kind.social

Russ

Twitter - @RussMac25

Blue Sky - @RussMac25.bsky.social

Chris

Twitch - http://twitch.tv/LierXAgerate

Twitter - @EnrichFlavor

Super Hi Tops - https://www.youtube.com/@SuperHiTopsVGM

Jeff continues his personal discussion of point-and-click adventure games by talking about the more "mature" themed Leisure Suit Larry series.

Suikoden II is a role-playing video game developed and

published by Konami for the PlayStation video game console and the second

installment of the Suikoden video game series. It was released on December 17,

1998, in Japan; on September 29, 1999, in North America; and on July 28, 2000,

in Europe. The game features a vast array of characters, with over 100

recruitable characters, of which over 40 are usable in combat.

Find us online!

Jeff

Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/CentaurProductions

Twitter - @JeffCentaur

Blue Sky - @JeffCentaur.bsky.social

Mastadon - @JeffCentaur.kind.social

Russ

Twitter - @RussMac25

Blue Sky - @RussMac25.bsky.social

Chris

Twitch - http://twitch.tv/LierXAgerate

Twitter - @EnrichFlavor

Super Hi Tops - https://www.youtube.com/@SuperHiTopsVGM

We sit with Chris Taylor and talk about the music of three games we didn't have a music reviewer for. Arcana, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, and Mother 1.