The RPG Gamer Gift Guide -- or RP-Quadruple G -- is here to help bring you all the goodies you need this holiday season for the gamer in your life. Whether it's Pokemon, World of Warcraft, Dark Souls, or Final Fantasy, we've got you covered.
Each slide will have a few different items from a series, culminating in the best gift on the list (aka the one I want someone to buy me). Gifts range from T-shirts, which are sort of the low-hanging fruit, to more unique items such as vinyl LPs, board game adaptations, and adult coloring books. All in all, we tried to gather unique items that you might not find every day. So here's a list of some of the best items we found.
Pokemon
That's right, to start the list off we are going to delve into perhaps one of the most popular RPG series of all times. A series that is beloved by children and adults alike across a generation or more. And the first item on our list is ...
... a giant Snorlax beanbag chair. As one would expect, this is not particularly cheap, as it will set you back about $149.99 prior to taxes and shipping charges (which GameStop listed as $30). But it's also awesome.
Continuing with the Snorlax theme, we have his pre-evolution: Munchlax. Except in this situation he is actually in lunchbox form. Not only is this little guy adorable, but -- unlike his evolved form-- he won't do nearly as much damage to your wallet since he only costs $19.99. Even better, he is currently on sale for $11.99, which is practically a steal.
Lastly, I present to you an awesome, if completely novel and useless, Pikachu piggy bank that costs $29.99. Is it useful in any sort of way? Well yes. It holds your coins, or more accurately, snatches the coins you place in front of it and stores them away for you. Does it accomplish anything that a normal box wouldn't? Well, that depends on how much value you place on 200 unique, presumably adorable, Pikachu noises.
Ultimately, these are merely a few of the thousands of pieces of Pokemon merchandise. When you are one of the world's largest, most child-friendly brands, especially as it pertains to video games, being included here is just an inevitability.
Mass Effect and Dragon Age
Look, I know these games are vastly different from one another, but the fact of the matter is they are made by the same studio, and frankly, that is enough for me to put them on the same slide together.
With that out of the way, I know that Mass Effect: Andromeda was one of the largest video game flops we have seen in recent years. But despite that, the franchise itself is still a beloved one and for good reason.
The first item on this slide is actually specific to said flop: the Nomad, or, in this case, a remote-controlled 1:18 scale version of the Nomad, which can be seen above. While it is a bit pricey (usually it costs $199, but currently, it has been cut to $179), it's also really cool to have a functional recreation of an item from a game as opposed to the tradition of completely useless video game statues. In this way, it has a bit of life.
It should be noted that this also comes with a limited-edition SteelBook case for Mass Effect Andromeda, which is also part of the reason the price is so high; SteelBook cases are always expensive.
The second item is perhaps one of my favorites: a replica omni-blade that costs $29.99. Sure, it is meant for cosplaying, but my inner ten-year-old is screaming out, yelling at me to buy this so I can pretend to kill things with it.
Lastly, we have a Dragon Age adult coloring book that costs $14.99, which honestly isn't that bad of a price for a high-quality adult coloring book. And from the looks of the preview images, I would have to say that this is definitely high quality.
Dark Souls
If you're a fan of Dark Souls' music and you also love vinyl, then ThinkGeek has the perfect gift for you: selections of music from each Dark Souls game available on vinyl. There are 3 sets of Double LPs, one for each Dark Souls game, with each one setting you back $34.99.
Next up we have a couple of really nice Dark Souls-themed shirts, both of which cost $19.99.
On the left is the "Flask Ale" shirt, which functions as an old-timey ad for an Estus flask. On the right is "The Great Wolf," featuring one of the most beloved bosses from the franchise's history.
Last but not least, we have the extremely pricey Dark Souls board game.Yes, it costs $119. But it also comes with absolutely gorgeous miniatures, which somewhat reduces the sting while you're getting your ass kicked.
World of Warcraft
If you're a fan of WoW, then you are already well aware of the upcoming expansion -- Battle for Azeroth -- which is set to pit the Alliance and Horde factions against one another. This means there is no better time than now to start investing in some merch to show off your side's colors. Thankfully, I've been able to find just what you're looking for in the form of sharply discounted faction-themed gamer merch.
First up are these two WoW Faction banners. While I don't actually play WoW, these are some of my favorite items on the entire list. Despite currently costing only $6.99 (down from $24.99), they perfectly encapsulate your dedication to your chosen faction while looking awesome, being unique, and costing little. There's not a lot else you could ask for from a gift.
Next is a pair of WoW chests: one for the Horde, and one for the Alliance. They're basically identical except for their theming. They both currently cost $23.99 after being discounted down from $40.00. They also both contain the same contents: a mug, lanyard, leather bracelet, keychain, and wax seal marker for all those letters you're sending all the time.... Overall, it is a decent price, considering that the mug alone would often set you back $15 - $20.
A couple other faction-themed items are these lounge pants ($12) or this bi-fold wallet ($10), both of which are down from their usual $30 price point.
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy isn't just one of the oldest ongoing video game franchises, it's also one of the most popular RPG franchises of all time. Regardless of how you feel about that, the series has always been driven by its art, and that's why there is perhaps no better place to start discussing products for this game than chocobos.
That's right, there are not only traditional playing cards that are ridiculously expensive at $12 just because there are chocobos on them, there are also whole board games dedicated to the crazy adventures that I never knew chocobos went on, which are available for $19.99. Even better, there is an expansion game that builds further upon the (hopefully) crazy adventures I never knew they had, which only costs an extra $9.99.
Past that, we have some great shirts featuring Final Fantasy mashups. First, we have "Fellowship of the Fantasy," which is very clearly a reference to a scene from Lord of the Rings that I am completely drawing a blank on. Not only is it a cool-looking shirt, but it is also on clearance right now, so it is only $9.95.
Then we have an epic series of shirts that mash up various Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy logos. Pictured below is Skyward Sword x FFVIII (left) and Majora's Mask x FFVII (right). There's also a Link's Awakening x FFXIII shirt and an Ocarina of Time x FFX shirt. Each of these shirts costs $19.99.
Last up is in service to all those dank meme lords out there, the brilliantly named "Ha ha ha ha" for $19.99. Enjoy.
Alas, our list has come to an end. From Pokemon to Dark Souls (what a natural segue that was) to World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy, I have covered all types of RPGs. Western and Eastern RPGs are represented in equal measure. Easy to Souls-crushingly brutal. Social to leave-me-alone-for-a-week-while-I-soak-in-every-last-bit-of-this-game! From "Dude, you expect me to drop nearly $200 on a Snorlax beanbag chair?" to shirts off of clearance, I got your back, fam. Almost every facet of the RPG experience has been covered as far as I can tell.
To finish things off, I leave you with the cutest RPG -- no, video game -- enemy of all time: Dragon Quest's Slime. Its design is simple and so is its brain. Its face is cute and wide-eyed like a child yet smashable like a pumpkin made out of jello. It's the perfect plush for a certain author writing a list of items you might love for the holidays, and it's only $23.99 ($39.99 for the large version).
Published: Nov 13, 2017 06:17 pm