<3sRichardSimmons
Arcane
I really don't get it. I can't say my experience with them is by any means extensive, but as an adult I just really don't get the appeal. My experience with them is that they're generally very easy, very grindy, and very cheesy. Even the ones I've overall enjoyed (the blobber sub-genre e.g. Etrian Odysseys and Elminage) tend to suffer from one or more of these problems.
Ones I've played:
Chrono Trigger: I played this as a kid and had fond memories of it, so I started playing it on my phone during commute or while watching TV with my son, and it's... fine? The story is engaging enough, and the graphics are generally superb, but it's super-fucking easy. I'm currently searching for the Masamune and I don't think I've ever had a single character drop below 1/3 health at any time. Part of this is that the game just showers you with a constant stream of money and restorative items, but part of it is also that the combat is very nearly braindead.
Final Fantasy VI: Graphics are nice, story is a bit silly, combat is once again really easy.
The Legend of Heroes: Trail in the Sky FC: I got maybe 1/3 of the way through this and then lost any will to live. Just an utterly boring story, with unattractive graphics, and zero difficulty. I guess I could try playing it again if I run out of sleeping meds.
Lufia: I remember liking this one a lot as a kid, but I remember barely anything else about it.
Bravely Default: Gorgeous graphics, braindead gameplay, nonsensical story.
Etrian Odysseys: Good games, love the mapping mechanic, actually have a decent level of difficulty, story is very minimal, but still suffer from extreme grind and oddly infantilizing art.
Elminage: Gothic: Probably the best out of all the ones I've played. Good difficulty, decent art, still too grindy.
Valkyria Chronicles 1: Not sure this counts. I really liked the gameplay in this, and found it to be decently difficult, but I ended up putting it down because I hated the (incredibly bloated) story, and iirc it's full of five minute long unskippable cut-scenes.
So are JRPGs just not my thing? Or is my sampling of the genre the problem?
Ones I've played:
Chrono Trigger: I played this as a kid and had fond memories of it, so I started playing it on my phone during commute or while watching TV with my son, and it's... fine? The story is engaging enough, and the graphics are generally superb, but it's super-fucking easy. I'm currently searching for the Masamune and I don't think I've ever had a single character drop below 1/3 health at any time. Part of this is that the game just showers you with a constant stream of money and restorative items, but part of it is also that the combat is very nearly braindead.
Final Fantasy VI: Graphics are nice, story is a bit silly, combat is once again really easy.
The Legend of Heroes: Trail in the Sky FC: I got maybe 1/3 of the way through this and then lost any will to live. Just an utterly boring story, with unattractive graphics, and zero difficulty. I guess I could try playing it again if I run out of sleeping meds.
Lufia: I remember liking this one a lot as a kid, but I remember barely anything else about it.
Bravely Default: Gorgeous graphics, braindead gameplay, nonsensical story.
Etrian Odysseys: Good games, love the mapping mechanic, actually have a decent level of difficulty, story is very minimal, but still suffer from extreme grind and oddly infantilizing art.
Elminage: Gothic: Probably the best out of all the ones I've played. Good difficulty, decent art, still too grindy.
Valkyria Chronicles 1: Not sure this counts. I really liked the gameplay in this, and found it to be decently difficult, but I ended up putting it down because I hated the (incredibly bloated) story, and iirc it's full of five minute long unskippable cut-scenes.
So are JRPGs just not my thing? Or is my sampling of the genre the problem?
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