I've never played a JRPG! Suggestions?

[dpodblood]

Hey,

As the title suggests. I've been gaming since I was a child and yet never played any JRPG's. All the RPG's I've played are either western, or European (and mostly all action RPG's). I did play a little bit of Chronotigger, and the first hour or so of FF7, but nothing beyond that. What are your suggestions as a good place to start?

I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS, and PC. Any suggestions for those platforms (whether hard copy, or downloadable) would be great. My PS3 doesn't have backwards compatibility so any PS1/PS2 era games would need to be available on PSN or in HD remake form. Of course open to older games available on the Wii Virtual Console as well.

Thanks!

 

[rayfieldclement]

Hey,

As the title suggests. I've been gaming since I was a child and yet never played any JRPG's. All the RPG's I've played are either western, or European (and mostly all action RPG's). I did play a little bit of Chronotigger, and the first hour or so of FF7, but nothing beyond that. What are your suggestions as a good place to start?

I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS, and PC. Any suggestions for those platforms (whether hard copy, or downloadable) would be great. My PS3 doesn't have backwards compatibility so any PS1/PS2 era games would need to be available on PSN or in HD remake form. Of course open to older games available on the Wii Virtual Console as well.

Thanks!

Start with the Wii and get Xenoblade Chronicles and the Last Story.

 

[exdeath]

Honestly if you really think you like JRPGs, you owe it to yourself to pick up a SNES and play Final Fantasy II, III, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Illusion of Gaia, Earthbound, Secret of Evermore, Breath of Fire I, II, Lufia I, II, Robotrek, Secret of the Stars, Soul Blazer, Super Mario RPG, etc SNES is super hot in the collector scene right now and all these games are very expensive for 20 year old 16 bit cartridges, so get a Super Everdrive flash cart if you have to. But the biggest reason for a flash cart is all the unofficial fan translated ROMs for a TRUE JRPG experience, such as Bahamut Lagoon, Dragon Quest series, Final Fantasy V, Seiken Densetsu 3, Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, Treasure Hunter G, Treasure of the Rudras, Front Mission, many many more.

PS1 is also a great JRPG system with Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 which are meh, but you get more Breath of Fire, Alundra, Dragon Quest series, Xenogears, Suikoden series, Lunar, Lunar 2, Arc the Lad, Chrono Cross, Threads of Fate, Final Fantasy Tactics, Grandia, Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Mana, etc. Parasite Eve, Saga Frontier, Star Ocean, the Namco Tales series, Vagrant Story, Valkyrie Profile, Vandal Hearts, Wild Arms, Ogre Battle, Granstream Saga, and of course the Final Fantasy Anthrology, Origins, and Chronicles which are 8/16 bit remakes (includes Chrono Trigger) etc. For LOTS of JRPGs on the cheap on a relatively modern system with still affordable used systems and games, cannot beat PS1. Xenogears = #1 on this system, forget the Final Fantasy 7 hype.

PS2 check out the Xenosaga series, very very awesome and highly underrated. Kingdom Hearts series is also a absolute must. More Wild Arms, more Star Ocean, more Suikoden, more Final Fantasy, many more lesser known ones, can't think right now.

The best modern system for JRPGs is actually the DS and/or GBA. Start with Radiant Historia, Golden Sun, SNES Final Fantasy ports if you dont want or can't afford the ridiculous prices of used SNES RPGs right now, etc. GBA and DS have ALOT of SNES ports that are much cheaper than the SNES originals and you can play anywhere, always a big plus. Note that a DS Lite is the last system that can play both DS and GBA games.

Then again it's a double edge sword if you come to love those games and realize that they don't make games like that anymore for current generation and probably never will again now that gaming is all mass market mainstream.

I'm typing this in a hurry and strangely can't think of more games, I'll provide a comprehensive list when I have time.

 

[dpodblood]

Honestly if you really think you like JRPGs, you owe it to yourself to pick up a SNES and play Final Fantasy II, III, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Illusion of Gaia, Earthbound, Secret of Evermore, Breath of Fire I, II, Lufia I, II, etc

PS1 is also a great JRPG system with Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 which are meh, but you get more Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest series, Xenogears, Suikoden series, Lunar, Lunar 2, etc.

PS2 check out the Xenosaga series, very very awesome and highly underrated.

The best modern system for JRPGs is actually the DS and/or GBA. Start with Radiant Historia, Golden Sun, SNES Final Fantasy ports if you dont want or can't afford the ridiculous prices of used SNES RPGs right now, etc.

Then again it's a double edge sword if you come to love those games and realize that they don't make games like that anymore for current generation and probably never will again now that gaming is all mass market mainstream.

I'm typing this in a hurry and strangely can't think of more games, I'll provide a comprehensive list when I have time.

Thanks! I think most of those games are actually available on the Wii VC and PSN. I'm wondering which route is better to take. Starting with the classic SNES/PSx games and working my way to more modern games, or playing the modern ones first and then doing the back catalog.

As far as whether or not I really like the genre it's really hard to tell at this point with my limited experience. I am really making an effort to diversify my gaming portfolio though.

 

[Oyeve]

Pokemon.

 

[dpodblood]

Pokemon.

Doesn't really interest me.

 

[dpodblood]

Start with the Wii and get Xenoblade Chronicles and the Last Story.

Just checked out the reviews for these games and they look excellent. I may pick up Xenoblade Chronicles in the near future.

 

[exdeath]

Thanks! I think most of those games are actually available on the Wii VC and PSN. I'm wondering which route is better to take. Starting with the classic SNES/PSx games and working my way to more modern games, or playing the modern ones first and then doing the back catalog.

As far as whether or not I really like the genre it's really hard to tell at this point with my limited experience. I am really making an effort to diversify my gaming portfolio though.

The classics are some of the best games ever made. Games like Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger will be on the top 5 best games ever made list for decades to come.

I'd say start modern so you have something to look forward too On the other hand playing something like Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy II/III will get you pumped and wanting more, which will cause you to be desperate to get moar JRPG and take whatever you can get, which will help push you through the less spectacular modern games

Real SNES stuff is expensive as hell right now and only for the hardcore JRPG fan and collector/retro gamer. Virtual console releases and GBA/DS are your best bet for SNES era classics.

 

[dpodblood]

The classics are some of the best games ever made. Games like Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger will be on the top 5 best games ever made list for decades to come.

I'd say start modern so you have something to look forward too

Real SNES stuff is expensive as hell right now and only for the hardcore JRPG fan and collector/retro gamer. Virtual console releases and GBA/DS are your best bet for SNES era classics.

Yeah as much as I'd like to play those games on the original console, the time, money, and effort involved in getting hands on them just doesn't seem worth it.

 

[dpodblood]

I understand that each of the Final Fantasy games are their own story and don't really link together. Which are the best FF games to pick up, and which ones can be avoided?

 

[BD2003]

If you've seriously never played a JRPG before, Id say start with FF4 (FF2 on the SNES). It was the turning point for JRPGs, where they became something mainstream that anyone could enjoy. It had more than a shell of a story, and didnt require grinding.

Beyond that, the most popular and widely appreciated are 6 (3 on SNES), 7 and 10.

If I could play one, and only one, I'd play 6. But start with 4.

 

[exdeath]

Final Fantasy II\IV is pure story; no annoying distracting mini games to keep you occupied and keep you from realizing the main story sucks, no fancy battle crap and 15 minute FMV summons, not much grinding, just pure story and plot progression. It's one of my top favorites next to Xenogears. I played Dragon Warrior and Mystic Quest first, but Final Fantasy II on SNES for me was the first big eye opening with a story and endearing characters that sucked me into another world that I had a very VERY hard time leaving (read: couldn't stop playing, edge of seat story, what happens next, etc). The music, the characters, it's the first video game I think I've ever shed tears over. It's the one that sucked me forever into the downward spiral trap of JRPGs. You finish that game and it's sad because you wish they were real people... and you could stay there... but then its over and time to come back... sigh. Just. Epic.

Play Xenogears if you just want to be taken to a whole new level of story and completely fry your sense of reality and existance. The game is long and drawn out and slow to start into the heavy story and philosophy, and the mechanics are old and clunky, but the depth and complexity of the story is something that no other game, not even Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger, even come CLOSE to.

Do *not* play Xenogears first. Everything else will seem rather dull and simplistic story wise. You don't want to set the bar too high at the very beginning.

 

[PowerYoga]

I loved FF2/4 when i played it as a kid. When I replayed it on the DS a few years ago... the story was really stupid. I couldn't get over how stupid it was and I never even finished it the 2nd time around. There are really a lot of ridiculous parts... Must've been low standards when I was a kid. The gameplay is very representative of a JRPG though.

FF3/6 however is still great. I'd play that first, then work up to chrono trigger and try out some of the dragon warrior games.

Keep in mind all of these are 40-60 hour investment games. Unless you're a student or unemployed these will keep you occupied solid for the next few months.

 

[dpodblood]

Keep in mind all of these are 40-60 hour investment games. Unless you're a student or unemployed these will keep you occupied solid for the next few months.

Yeah, I really have a lot going on for games as it is. But it would be nice to at least get a short list of "must play" JRPG's. I might be able to complete 2-3 of them per year.

 

[BD2003]

Nah....not the old SNES games. I beat FF2 in less than 20 hours back in the day. FF6 was maybe 50% longer.

The story is at about the level of a children's book, but its at least coherent.

I'm actually really curious to see what a total noob thinks of them, with today's context, and no real nostalgia. I wouldn't be surprised if he just can't enjoy them at all.

 

[dpodblood]

Nah....not the old SNES games. I beat FF2 in less than 20 hours back in the day. FF6 was maybe 50% longer.

The story is at about the level of a children's book, but its at least coherent.

I'm actually really curious to see what a total noob thinks of them, with today's context, and no real nostalgia. I wouldn't be surprised if he just can't enjoy them at all.

I'll keep you updated

I figure if I actually pay money for these games (rather than emulate) it will give me more motivation to actually finish them, or at least give them a good try.

 

[exdeath]

I loved FF2/4 when i played it as a kid. When I replayed it on the DS a few years ago... the story was really stupid. I couldn't get over how stupid it was and I never even finished it the 2nd time around. There are really a lot of ridiculous parts... Must've been low standards when I was a kid. The gameplay is very representative of a JRPG though.

I thought the DS remake did it justice. It was a straight port, nothing changed for the stake of changing it to make it "cooler".

Yes the story is stupid simple, but so are all timeless classics including works of Shakespeare. That's not the point.

The only thing I don't like about FF4 DS is the new thing they added where everyone can learn every command/skill, but you have to know in advance who to give the skill to and how to evolve it and even then it takes three play throughs of evolving the commands in the right order to get all of them. Reeks of modern era stupid human pet tricks to create fake replay value.

 

[PowerYoga]

depends on if you're doing extra stuff or just slogging through the story. All jrpgs have a lot of side quests and items and gear and stuff that you can get. If you don't do anything besides the main story you can probably finish xenogears in like 10-15 hours, but it's easily an 100 hour+ game.

I spent at least 60- hours in FF6 lvling espers and characters and farming gear and doing side quests and whatnot.

 

[PowerYoga]

I thought the DS remake did it justice.

Yes the story is stupid simple, but so are all timeless classics including works of Shakespeare. That's not the point.

The only thing I don't like about FF4 DS is the new thing they added where everyone can learn every command/skill, but you have to know in advance who to give the skill to and how to evolve it and even then it takes three play throughs of evolving the commands in the right order to get all of them. Reeks of modern era stupid human pet tricks to create fake replay value.

The DS remake is no doubt superior, but I just didn't have the heart to sit through the story. I had other things I wanted to play...

 

[BD2003]

There is no way you just compared final fantasy to Shakespeare.

 

[exdeath]

There is no way you just compared final fantasy to Shakespeare.

Yes I did, the 16 bit classics anyway. There are some genuine epic tragedies in the 16-32 bit JRPG stories.

I'm not surprised you of all posters don't have that level of appreciation and don't "get it". Go play moar Call of Duty and Halo and blow things up.

 

[BD2003]

I'm just saying don't oversell them. There's a few orders of magnitude difference in levels of artistry between final fantasy and Shakespeare, even if there are some common themes.

 

[exdeath]

Xenogears is most definitely a masterpiece on equal footing with Shakespeare, no ifs ands or buts.

Assuming we are considering the story as a stand alone tragedy and not accounting for unimportant things like game play mechanics, cut budgets, and rushed production, eg: the heart of the game being the story vs clunky implementation as a specific limited media like a video game.

I do believe Xenogears could be written as a very long play/novel/etc that would be on par with or even rival Shakespeare. Sadly today's ADHD public can't sit still through an action movie longer than 50 minutes without giving it a thumbs down for taking too long, let alone a multi hour or multi day Shakespeare play that would go over their heads completely.

Again I'm refering to story content, not the media itself. Of course 8 megabit cartridges and rushed translations from Japanese to English and attempts at adapting cultural context are going to impose physical limitations.

Anyway... simple != bad. Many things in Shakespeare were also slow, simple, and stupid at times. The actual themes and concepts are extremely basic. Even Shakespeare himself said there are only like 6 basic stories in the world that can be told or something like that. And this is where we get all the well known back stabbing plot twist JRPG cliches as well.

 

[BD2003]

I'll keep you updated

I figure if I actually pay money for these games (rather than emulate) it will give me more motivation to actually finish them, or at least give them a good try.

Your best bet is either Wii VC or PSN. I think they're like 10 bucks each. I think there are some graphically updated ones on PSP...honestly there's so many versions in so many places its hard to really know what is available where.

I'm not going to try and convince you that these are going to be the best gaming experiences of your life. I honestly don't think it's going to hold up as well as something like mario bros, and unfortunately, the JRPG is kind of a lost art. From a distance it might be impressive how they got so much mileage out of so little. The presence of any story at all back then was absolutely remarkable, but that's long ceased to be something that sets a game apart. Ultimately the actual gameplay is just really basic turn based strategy, and there is a whole genre dedicated to doing that better.

 

[dighn]

the first JRPG i played was chrono trigger and it got me hooked; mind you this was years after its release. FF6 is also very good. Xenogears is the best of them all imo, but if you've never played a JRPG before it might be a little jarring (story can be a little convoluted). FF7 is also pretty good.

for more modern ones, FF-X, Xenoblade, Lost Oddysey are all very good