Help me find a JRPG....

[distant]

None just yet, just updated my .txt. I am leaning to SMT3 and that Koudelka sequel. I would like to hear more about some of the other games briefly mentioned (e.g samuraigaiden's SNES ARPGs, among others), but I can't ask too much and appreciate the responses so far.

Dude just play SMT3. If you don't like it JRPGs are probably not for you because that's about as good as it gets.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Looks ugly and possibly more animu-emulating than I'd like, but if the gameplay is good I'll enjoy it. Thanks. Any moar?

Damned Registrations Grampy_Bone

What was this again?

 

[Grampy_Bone]

What was this again?

SMT 3 Nocturne. Fight and summon demons in post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

 

[Calthaer]

I see people mentioning sequels to Valkyrie Profile in this thread but not the original. Is the original worthwhile?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Imho it looks to be the best... (the first game). The second does have appeal as well . The japan only one is laughable imho. The tactics one is fine if you are in the mood for that type of gameplay.


There are a lot of vids on various franchises and "WTH HAPPUN?" If these companies could have foreseen the future of gaming they might have made different developement choices.

I don't always take others views as gold and you really have to try for yourself. Ain't no shame if you enjoy a game and other don't or they shit on it. Its your enjoyment not theirs that counts.

Still, when games change drastically it can make these sequels feel like utter tripe. I didn't realize the designers of Valkyrie had previous games so that's something to look at.

 

[SerratedBiz]

I see people mentioning sequels to Valkyrie Profile in this thread but not the original. Is the original worthwhile?

It's the best of the lot, actually.

 

[Silverfish]

SMT 3 Nocturne. Fight and summon demons in post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Considering Tri-Ace was brought in to work on FF13-3, and that game has bizzare combat even for an FF game and a time-pressure mechanic with Valkyrie-Ragnarok themes, my personal theory is that it's the lost VP3 in ersatz form.

Oh yeah, Radiata Stories. Forgot all about that game.

+Interact with everything and everyone by kicking them
+ Main character is a lovable loser
+Game is genuinely funny
+Fight and recruit every NPC in the game
+Full NPC schedules and open exploration/side quests
+Two story branches (side with humans or monsters)

-Main character is a loveable loser
-Takes some time for the game to open up
-Combat is mostly stat- and grinding-based button mashing
-Characters aren't balanced, most of them aren't worth using, the human path is the 'evil' one but has more variety of classes, while the monster path is more limited.

 

[Ash]

Playing Vagrant Story for now. I never did beat it as a kid, would always just lose interest some way in. I am about two thirds in and that is once again happening, but I am determined to stick with it. There's a lot to love but I really don't think it is as good as some people claim Sigourn , and definitely not Squaresoft's best. I do appreciate the difficulty though.

Some criticism:

-Level design: each room is almost always small, which is sad because very rarely a moderate sized room appears (all but twice?) and shows this does not have to be the case. They're rather static too, outside of cube puzzles, floating platforms and floor traps (which you cannot see without first casting a spell, but no room has demanded I ever use said spell yet). Occasionally a room will have a timed challenge (reach the door in x seconds, kill enemy in y seconds) though these have never posed a problem, but even the illusion of urgency is still appreciated for variety's sake at least. Still, overall the level design is above average and engaging, and the world interconnected in an impressive way.
-A quick weapon swap would be nice rather than using the cumbersome UI. the game demands semi-frequent weapon swapping but offers no smooth means to do so. It's quite the problem.
-RPG systems and battle mechanics: much of it feels underutilised. Magic attacks? Break arts? I try to find opportunities where these are actually useful but for the most part just chain attacking is where it is at. There's a fair amount of customization potential but ultimately it boils down to specializing vs enemy types, rarely anything interesting or new. Exception is some gems (e.g 20% chance to dodge magic, which is double-edged because it also means your buffs and healing suffer this too), yet even most gems are simply damage buffs vs enemy type.
Another thing to note is player positioning rarely matters in combat, outside of not letting yourself get surrounded. I wish they took a design approach to the contrary: some enemy AoE attacks that are instead real time and therefore need to be physically dodged, more relevant floor trap design, perhaps scripted ambushes, more elevation in terrain and so on.
-Overall gameplay experience & diversity: Combat (flawed but that's ok/expected), character speccing & item management (flawed and a little disappointing, but still worth something) is the core. Aside from that, occassional cube puzzles are appreciated, there's navigation which is pretty decent and the occassional platforming challenge. Nice gameplay formula but 90s Squaresoft trained me to expect more from them, primarily in RPG systems but also overall game complexity.

Overall a very cool game nonetheless. so far my rating is 8/10. Great SFX, art style, music, story, and the gameplay is well above average for RPGs. Better than FF12 for sure, which is clearly by the same Squaresoft sub-division or individual creative visionary.

I would love to mod this game, too bad that isn't really possible outside of limited hex editing.

Afterwards Dragon's Dogma perhaps.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

There's a game that could use a remake, if only to address those UI issues. Or maybe just make it into a Dark Souls mod...

Combat is too experimental for it's own good but it's the kind of thing you only ever saw JRPGs try. Can't find it now but there's a very cool youtube video that shows all the tricks they used to jazz up the primitive PS1 graphics.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Better than FF12 for sure, which is clearly by the same Squaresoft sub-division or individual creative visionary.

Yasumi Matsuno worked on Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy Tactics before directing, writing, producing, and partially designing Vagrant Story (2000), followed by co-directing and writing Final Fantasy XII (2006), though he departed the development team and Squaresoft before that game's release.

 

[Ash]

Yes I was going to mention FFTactics too. I never liked Ivalice as much compared to settings in other Squaresoft greats e.g WoR/WoB (FF6), Terra/Gaia (FF9), New York (Parasite Eve). It's probably better than Spira though. Or equivalent.

There's a game that could use a remake, if only to address those UI issues. Or maybe just make it into a Dark Souls mod...

Nah. It would receive the same treatment as my other mods: deepen, polish, expand, fulfill the game's potential while trying to remain faithful within reason. This game is a perfect candidate begging for an upgrade. It could be an amazing game...I have many ideas. What a shame.

 

[flyingjohn]

Playing Vagrant Story for now. I never did beat it as a kid, would always just lose interest some way in. I am about two thirds in and that is once again happening, but I am determined to stick with it. There's a lot to love but I really don't think it is as good as some people claim Sigourn , and definitely not Squaresoft's best. I do appreciate the difficulty though.

Some criticism:

-Level design: each room is almost always small, which is sad because very rarely a moderate sized room appears (all but twice?) and shows this does not have to be the case. They're rather static too, outside of cube puzzles, floating platforms and floor traps (which you cannot see without first casting a spell, but no room has demanded I ever use said spell yet). Occasionally a room will have a timed challenge (reach the door in x seconds, kill enemy in y seconds) though these have never posed a problem, but even the illusion of urgency is still appreciated for variety's sake at least. Still, overall the level design is above average and engaging, and the world interconnected in an impressive way.
-A quick weapon swap would be nice rather than using the cumbersome UI. the game demands semi-frequent weapon swapping but offers no smooth means to do so. It's quite the problem.
-RPG systems and battle mechanics: much of it feels underutilised. Magic attacks? Break arts? I try to find opportunities where these are actually useful but for the most part just chain attacking is where it is at. There's a fair amount of customization potential but ultimately it boils down to specializing vs enemy types, rarely anything interesting or new. Exception is some gems (e.g 20% chance to dodge magic, which is double-edged because it also means your buffs and healing suffer this too), yet even most gems are simply damage buffs vs enemy type.
Another thing to note is player positioning rarely matters in combat, outside of not letting yourself get surrounded. I wish they took a design approach to the contrary: some enemy AoE attacks that are instead real time and therefore need to be physically dodged, more relevant floor trap design, perhaps scripted ambushes, more elevation in terrain and so on.
-Overall gameplay experience & diversity: Combat (flawed but that's ok/expected), character speccing & item management (flawed and a little disappointing, but still worth something) is the core. Aside from that, occassional cube puzzles are appreciated, there's navigation which is pretty decent and the occassional platforming challenge. Nice gameplay formula but 90s Squaresoft trained me to expect more from them, primarily in RPG systems but also overall game complexity.

Overall a very cool game nonetheless. so far my rating is 8/10. Great SFX, art style, music, story, and the gameplay is well above average for RPGs. Better than FF12 for sure, which is clearly by the same Squaresoft sub-division or individual creative visionary.

I would love to mod this game, too bad that isn't really possible outside of limited hex editing.

Afterwards Dragon's Dogma perhaps.

Have you tried this tool maybe?
https://github.com/collinsmichael/GodHands
Edit:Also a mod if you are interested:
http://ngplus.net/index.php?/forums/topic/175-vagrant-story-zenith/&

 

[Ash]

thanks. the tool is too limited and the mod looks to be somewhat of an improvement in regards to balance but I wish for far more than that if it were possible.

 

[AetherVagrant]

Wild Arms XF is what I'm playing right now and greatly enjoying. SRPG tactical battles, hexes instead of squares, most missions are a puzzle beyond "slay all enemies" or other cliches. Anime ish story with some choice and consequence. It encourages changing up classes to meet the given challenge over having a stable of single mastery characters. Bonus is it runs great on ppsspp on midrange android hardware even upscaled and prettied or any potato laptop.

 

[downwardspiral]

Lite anime or 80s westaboo style anime is a rather hard filter to deal with.
Can't think of many at moment. The one I want to say are okay are usually 90s anime style or post 2000 anime style.
80s westaboo anime is a hard one.


If SRPG is okay to you.
Ring of red on PS2 has a less post 2000 anime vibe.
Not exactly westaboo anime but less 90s and 2000s.
A bit gritty diesel punk style anime with cold war reference and Japan militarism style story and art.
Gameplay wise, I think it is unique and okay.
Don't expect too much, it is one of those "it try to be special game."
However I do have fun with it.


Taiko Risshiden V has an english patch now.
Not gritty or westaboo anime but not really anime.
I always count this as a sub genre of JRPG.
Crusader kings but in Japan with Japanese style gameplay.
Gameplay wise, Typical Japanese SLG style combat system where you can fight in person, or leading army/navy.
Outside of being a samurai/daimyo you can also play as merchant or hobo.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Can second ring of red, battles between slow moving ww2ish mechas and their accompanying 2 soldier squads were fun.