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Just another JRPG recommendation request from a non-JPRG player.

V_K

Arcane
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So I'm looking for some Epic Journey (tm) to play through, and it looks like I've burnt through all the WRPG offerings, so I want to see if there's some JPRG goodness I have missed.

In particular, I'm looking for something that is:
- available on Steam (this is essential, I have Steam wallet funds to burn before the sale ends);
- puzzle-heavy (or at least puzzle-prominent);
- not grindy and not heavy on trash combat (I don't have much patience for repeating the same battle over and over again);
- ideally with big overworld with towns and dungeons;
- ideally without long unskippable cutscenes.

Any suggestions?
 

Ialda

Learned
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Oct 13, 2019
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DQXI seems to fit most of your criteria - thematically, the DQ games always have been about an hero on some kind of epic journey, and the battles are pretty easy (the really interesting challenge here is to play with the difficulty settings on and trying to be clever). Not a lot of puzzles, thought (you have to do some light investigation to resolve most subquests but it's generally pretty easy).

There isn't a lot of good, recent JRPGs with interesting puzzles - you will probably have to go back to the SFC/PS1 era via emulation for this. The Lufia/Golden Sun games are probably a good starting point. Landstalker, too.
 

Ysaye

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The puzzle heavy makes it difficult. If it wasn't Steam then I would have said Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, that is puzzle heavy, and you could emulate it.

My current favourites Legends of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2 would not give you a puzzle-prominent hit (There are a few bits and pieces), but it actively works against grinding, has a fascinating world and no long unskippable cutscenes but is an Epic Journey (tm). And is on Steam.

As reommended by Ialda, DQ11 is a good JRPG game that also springs to mind, but I reckon it might hit the grindy a little bit, and not really a lot of puzzles.
 

Reality

Learned
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There are a couple games you have to make sure that the steam versions aren't secretly IOS or otherwise bad ports when they look like famous console games- (Square enix and certain Tales of games burn people a lot on these counts).

If it HAS to be a JRPG on steam - I would look through

A:Tales of stuff - These tend toward ARPGs, the ones I played had medium-light puzzles (def more than Squeenix would use), leveling doesn't matter because the whole series has low difficulty, will definatly cover you on overworld and sense of scale.
B:Square Enix stuff - I would say DQ 11 > Octopath > older DQ > older Final Fantasy - most are kind of weak on puzzles, grinding is not REALLY necessary in any game with a 6 or higher number... you can get around it with other kinds of charather progession (using the sphere grid or job subclassing, instead of raw level up stats)
C:Trails of stuff - Fail puzzle, fit everything else - have a weakness in the game's being trilogies instead of self-contained stories.
D: Nihon Software stuff - Ys games are more ARPGs, but best fit the puzzle, no-grind, and game-depenendtly fit overworld. They also offer Disgea and other SRPGs, but those will break the no trash combat rule very hard, as well as no overworld.
E: Valkyria Chonicles series - technically they're more SRPG and have no about puzzles and overworld, but they are a nice enough short experience.

Elex is on page 6 of steam's RPG tag search, and Underail is on page 7, Wiz 8 on 12, so evaluate what if burnt on WRPG means really burnt out or if you really mean take a break from bioware/black isle and could use this stuff or even the Tactics/RPG hybirds instead of jumping straight to JRPG as your antidote of choice.
 

Urthor

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Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
So I'm looking for some Epic Journey (tm) to play through, and it looks like I've burnt through all the WRPG offerings, so I want to see if there's some JPRG goodness I have missed.
- puzzle-heavy (or at least puzzle-prominent);
- not grindy and not heavy on trash combat (I don't have much patience for repeating the same battle over and over again);

Any suggestions?

The problem to me is that traditionally the "JRPG genre" takes many of its beats from the Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy mold, and in those games puzzles are not prominent. Or trash combat not present.

Hence I'm struggling to think about big, puzzle prominent games that I would call "JRPG-ey".

Classics of the genre that are actually good games, unlike Dragon Quest and most of the Final Fantasies, like SMT Nocturne, Trails, others are very much not puzzle based.

The games that fit your bill, all the Zelda games in particular, Shadow of the Colossus, are made in Japan but not what I would called JRPGs.

They're simply games of a very global genre made in Japan.

I would suggest BOTW emulated on PC as long as you have a good CPU and not a craptop, and I'd also suggest using the wonderful software known as Cheatengine and learning how to speedhack your JRPGs in order to minimise the grind.
 
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Are there many puzzle-heavy JRPGs? I mean, besides straight puzzle games with RPG elements as a backdrop. I almost want to suggest CrossCode, but it's an action JRPG and doesn't have an overworld. CrossCode is really puzzle-heavy though.
 

V_K

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The puzzle heavy makes it difficult
There isn't a lot of good, recent JRPGs with interesting puzzles
The problem to me is that traditionally the "JRPG genre" takes many of its beats from the Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy mold, and in those games puzzles are not prominent
Interesting. The better RPGMaker games I've played have always had quite a bit of sliding blocks and stuff to their dungeons, so I assumed that was something original JRPGs did too.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild emulated on PC is indeed the best possible answer for OP :salute:
I would suggest BOTW emulated on PC
BotW is something I've been really interested in for a long time, but I'm not sure my hardware is good enough to emulate something this recent.

evaluate what if burnt on WRPG means really burnt out
I meant that I burned through them - that I can't think of a WRPG that would fit my current interest and that I haven't already played (or at least tried and didn't like). And I can't run Elex because the of infamous black screen thingie :negative:

I almost want to suggest CrossCode, but it's an action JRPG and doesn't have an overworld. CrossCode is really puzzle-heavy though.
The last two points, overworld and cutscenes, are merely desirable, not necessary. Puzzles and lack of trash battles is what I'm after the most, so thanks for the suggestion!
 

Ialda

Learned
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Does system-heavy-JRPGs count as puzzles ? Because the SMT and Saga games want to have a word with you OP.
 

V_K

Arcane
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No. I want puzzles-puzzles :D
I played one of SMT games, I think it was the second one. It got too repetitive for me somewhere midway through the underworld (?) chapter.
 
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I've tried the demo and it does seem a lot of fun, but damn does it require some twitch skills... :negative:
Yeah, even the puzzles require twitch skills, but the bosses themselves also have puzzling elements to them. I don't know how far the demo goes, so here's some footage at the end of the second dungeon where the training wheels come off that gives an better idea of how crazy the puzzles get:


Well, that's all I can think of that comes close to your criteria.
 

V_K

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I've tried the demo and it does seem a lot of fun, but damn does it require some twitch skills... :negative:
Yeah, even the puzzles require twitch skills, but the bosses themselves also have puzzling elements to them. I don't know how far the demo goes, so here's some footage at the end of the second dungeon where the training wheels come off that gives an better idea of how crazy the puzzles get:


Well, that's all I can think of that comes close to your criteria.

Goodness me! Even understanding what's going on in this video took a bit of time. It's very tantalizing - looks like a game I'd really enjoy if it was 3 times slower, but my dyspraxic ass can't master the reflexes needed for that.
 

Ysaye

Arbiter
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Messages
771
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Australia
So I'm looking for some Epic Journey (tm) to play through, and it looks like I've burnt through all the WRPG offerings, so I want to see if there's some JPRG goodness I have missed.

In particular, I'm looking for something that is:
- available on Steam (this is essential, I have Steam wallet funds to burn before the sale ends);
- puzzle-heavy (or at least puzzle-prominent);
- not grindy and not heavy on trash combat (I don't have much patience for repeating the same battle over and over again);
- ideally with big overworld with towns and dungeons;
- ideally without long unskippable cutscenes.

Any suggestions?

I have thought of another game that might be more on the money: Xanadu Next (Note NOT Tokyo Xanadu).

Xanadu Next is set on an island and is predominantly an action dungeon crawler, but has lots of puzzles associated with getting from one part to the next and also lots of exploration required. There is also quite a bit of lore and stuff, good soundtrack, doesn't feel "JRPG" as well (more like Dark Souls with puzzles), also it is on sale atm.....

https://store.steampowered.com/app/312560/Xanadu_Next/

 

ghostdog

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Lufia 2 is indeed a good choice. It's one of the best snes jrpgs and your party members also have specific abilities that can be used in dungeons to solve various puzzles.
 

deama

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You could try to use cheat engine and speedhack crosscode to make it slower, or maybe hotkey a slow button so if you press it, it acts as a "bullet time".
 

Urthor

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Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Crosscode is not that difficult, the start is very easy and it rises gradually. The difficulty curve is superb
 

Momock

Augur
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Sep 26, 2014
Messages
644
Golden Sun on emulator is a good choice since you use the characters' spells outside of combat to solve puzzles, but it has random encounters. You can emulate that easy. And I don't know about the other Tales Of but Tales Of Symphonia has puzzles in it's dungeons and some of them are almost Zeldaish in nature (compared to other JRPGs, that is), it's one of the things I liked the most in that game. That and the enemies appearing on the map (you can avoid them when you're sick of combat). And it's on Steam.

My recommendation still goes to the Trails series though.
 

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