Issue #68: The ABCs of RPGs – November/December 2023

The next NF issue is imminent!

Print production has begun, and completed issues will be mailed to print subscribers within the next week. Digital issue download links will be emailed to digital subscribers on Friday, October 27.

Our print production time was scheduled for a little later in the month than usual, so my apologies there – but, to compensate for the few days' worth of extra wait, we've included an extra bonus with each of the physical issues: One randomly selected Art Print Postcard from the set of 16 different postcards we've printed in support of The Impact of Iwata! That first-ever NF book is still on schedule to ship in December, so maybe getting one free postcard featuring a piece of its artwork will inspire you to place an order. (If you haven't already done so, of course!)

For this NF issue, we took our cue from the upcoming release of Super Mario RPG's fancy new Switch remake, and turned our spotlight on the RPG genre as a whole. We've got reviews of RPGs like Sea of Stars, the full set of Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster and the Teal Mask DLC for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. We've got RPG previews for titles like Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Ys X: Nordics and, of course, Super Mario RPG itself. We've got RPG-inspired comics, an RPG-themed book review or two and an exclusive interview with Yu Suzuki . . . who I don't think has ever really done much with RPGs. So hey, the theme isn't all-encompassing, but it comes close.

And how about that reveal of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door also getting a snazzy new remake coming soon? It's another RPG golden age on the Switch, I'm declaring it now!

Thanks as always for your continuing support, NF faithful! Once again, print issues will ship within the next week, so please don't email me two months from now asking "Did you mail Issue #68 yet?" I get those kinds of emails all the time. Some of you out there really confuse me. :p

~ Lucas M. Thomas