Anime JRPGs just triumphed.

[manifest]

Didn't we have this thread last week? Merge.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

Two of the best JRPGs I played in the last few years were Indie-ish Jrpgs

Which one are those?

I like JRPGs in general, but I would like to see a JRPG that's as free-form and systemic as KCD 2.

Astlibra Revision and Demon Roots. Yeah, I wouldnt compare them to KCD2, different focus and all that.

Ah yeah I played Astlibra. Good times.

 

[Machocruz]

Both are garbage for the same reasons: too simple, too limited, shit dungeon design/interactivity, primitive to non-existent charbuild/chardev, etc. JRPGs were always that and WRPGs have regressed to that, with few exceptions.

Grouping all RPGs made in western lands into one is fake news anyway. Europe and NA do not have the same mindset when it comes to RPG design, especially these days. Kwanslop is exclusively made for backwards baseball cap brainrotted brosephs afraid of numbers.

 

[notpl]

Meh. The only good JRPG last year was Metaphor, which I still had a lot of complaints about, I'd comfortably place it below Skald, Drova, and Withering Rooms from the same period.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

The only good JRPG last year was Metaphor,

The only good things about it is the presentation and combat. I would only call it *good* if it didn't have such a strong emphasis on the narrative, when that narrative is so fucking awful.

SMT V: Vengeance and Romancing Saga 2 are far better games, and Ys X: Nordics is not so bad.

 

[notpl]

Romancing Saga 2 was released in 1993. Vengeance campaign was straightforwardly worse than the original, way more (terrible) dialogue and the shinjuku area was awful. Minor gameplay tweaks were nice but it doesn't feel reasonable to credit such minor changes as a new game. I don't play Falcom garbage.

 

[JarlFrank]

JRPGs could be good if they were all like Dark Souls, without any forced cutscenes and minimalist storytelling that doesn't intrude upon the gameplay. Sadly, 90% of them are cutscene-fests.
And before you respond with "But so are modern western RPGs!", you would inevitably bring nu-Bioware stuff as examples, like Mass Effect, which I also have a very hard time getting into (I started playing the Mass Effect Legendary edition because a friend who likes it a lot wanted me to play it, and the frequency of cutscenes irritates me to no end). The cutscene-fest style of RPG is shit, whether it's made in Japan or the west. But in JRPGs, it's way more frequent than in WRPGs.

Where's the Japanese Fallout 1? Japanese Arcanum? Japanese Morrowind?
The only Japanese RPGs I enjoy are the ones that don't brand themselves as JRPGs, ironically. I like SRPGs for the tactical gameplay. I like DRPGs for being pure dungeon crawlers, no bullshit. And I like Dark Souls style action RPGs, but those don't call themselves JRPGs either.
Anything that calls itself JRPG is a boring cutscene-fest, and therefore sucks.

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

JRPGs could be good if they were all like Dark Souls, without any forced cutscenes and minimalist storytelling that doesn't intrude upon the gameplay. Sadly, 90% of them are cutscene-fests.
And before you respond with "But so are modern western RPGs!", you would inevitably bring nu-Bioware stuff as examples, like Mass Effect, which I also have a very hard time getting into (I started playing the Mass Effect Legendary edition because a friend who likes it a lot wanted me to play it, and the frequency of cutscenes irritates me to no end). The cutscene-fest style of RPG is shit, whether it's made in Japan or the west. But in JRPGs, it's way more frequent than in WRPGs.

Where's the Japanese Fallout 1? Japanese Arcanum? Japanese Morrowind?
The only Japanese RPGs I enjoy are the ones that don't brand themselves as JRPGs, ironically. I like SRPGs for the tactical gameplay. I like DRPGs for being pure dungeon crawlers, no bullshit. And I like Dark Souls style action RPGs, but those don't call themselves JRPGs either.
Anything that calls itself JRPG is a boring cutscene-fest, and therefore sucks.

I agree with this sentiment. Great RPGs from Japan, but rarely from the "JRPG" category. Although I'm a sucker for Final Fantasy before XI (I like X for its systems and setting, although the character and plot writing itself is very meh) even if they suffer greatly and heavily from shallow writing + great many cutscenes (especially 7+). As for the thread itself I think it's just a fact of life you'll have both shitty and good games from different countries, segment of population, development team size (AAA vs indie), etc. Because let's not forget that unless you speak japanese, you probably only play a very slight segment of all possible JRPGs, and a lot of them must be shovelware, we just don't know about it.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Where's the Japanese Fallout 1? Japanese Arcanum? Japanese Morrowind?

Games with a custom/voiceless protagonist and an open world definitely fell out of favour quickly after the genre got going, and I wish they hadn't. I'd say the japanese equivalent of Fallout/Arcanum would be early dragon quest titles. They lack the skill check system, but they have the same sort of free form exploration and expectation of the player to gather clues and solve quests on their own. Personally, I think the lack of skill checks is a decent tradeoff for having combat more complex than 'shoot it in the eyes and reload if I get crit' or 'click really fast in real time.'

Japanese Morrowind is Dragon's Dogma, obviously. Complete with a bunch of obscure sidequests, interactions and loot nobody knows about because most of the mouthbreathers that review it just kept doing what they were told like good little boys and missed more than half the game.

It's a rather silly question to begin with though. Where is the western SaGa Frontier, an rpg with half a dozen different plots interwoven that can be played from the perspective of each character differently in a sort of 'what if?' method of storytelling? Where is the western equivalent of Legend of Mana, a game where you build the world itself as you play it, hiding events behind complex world states connected to your usage of that mechanic, and the most in depth and complex equipment crafting system of any game ever made? Why do western games almost always have dogshit combat and token systems with shallow or outright broken implementations? Why have none of them ever implemented a scoring system for their combat, to incentivize mastery of it?

Obviously there are going to be huge differences between the two sets of games. Instead of looking for a clone that does the same thing just as well, it makes more sense to look for how many good titles worth playing land in each basket. I can't say I think the west stacks up in that regard. So much trash hyped up by people who've only ever played half a dozen rpgs.

 

[MakenBro]

Never liked JRPGs much other than SMT and a few Dragon Quests. The moeshitting designs and anime tropes usually kill them for me.

 

[Machocruz]

Where's the Japanese Fallout 1? Japanese Arcanum? Japanese Morrowind?

TTRPG being the foundation vs. other video games being the foundation. Play Lunatic Dawn though.

 

[Machocruz]

The west doesn't even do Morrowind anymore. How shops were implemented alone is more intricate and simulationist than any modern game that isn't something like Cataclysm DDA. Consider that every item in a merchant's inventory can be found on the premises in MW. Who is doing that now, in first person, with the multitude of items that game had, all interactable? Does KCD even do that? Bethesda stopped doing that in their next game. No one has carried it forward from what I can tell.

 

[JarlFrank]

Yes, but JRPGs aren't doing that either. So the real question isn't WRPGs vs JRPGs who's better and why, but older RPGs vs newer RPGs and the victory clearly belongs to older ones.

 

[anvi]

Modern Western RPGs are terrible but I wouldn't resort to JRPGs. I'd just play old RPGs. There maybe JRPGs I would like but so far it is only FFT and even that had far too much reading.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Japan needed to make simulation-heavy RPGs inspired by classics like Uncharted Waters or the Captain Tsubasa series, but they decided to make banal narrative-heavy games with watered-down systems instead, games like Chrono Trigger and Mother play nothing like a proper RPG should. Their Wizardry clones are fine but they're just that, clones of a 45 years old game with barely anything new or exciting. Their Souls games are cool action games, but they barely qualify as RPGs.

 

[Abu Antar]

As an enjoyer of both wrpgs and jrpgs, they both have good games, and shit games.

I am willing to say that there are still high budget jrpgs that are worth playing, compared to most big budget western rpgs.

The good thing about wrpgs is that there are still smaller budget games that are very good.

 

[Abu Antar]

Sorry for double post, but while we are at it, Asian Non-Japanese games triumph both wrpgs and jrpgs at this point in time.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Their Wizardry clones are fine but they're just that, clones of a 45 years old game with barely anything new or exciting.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement. The systems in a lot of the modern wizardry clones are some of the best combat ever put in a game.

Here's the stat block for a single character in Labyrinth of Touhou 2. Bear in mind this doesn't even include added complications like adding a subclass or permanent stat enhancing consumables, or equipment.

Iku's Stats

Iku Nagae​

Base Stats
Battle Stats	Status Resistances	Elemental Affinities
Character Overview and Comments
Beautiful Scarlet Cloth
Stat L1 Stat (Growth) Rating HP 108 (14.0) B MP 15 (1/15) C Attack 34 (6.0) E Defense 39 (7.0) C Magic 66 (12.4) B Mind 59 (11.0) B Speed 103 (9.4) B Evasion 20 B Accuracy 100 C	Status Resistance Rating Poison 32 C Paralysis 128 * Heavy 32 C Shock 64 A Terror 16 E Silence 16 E Death 32 C Debuff 32 C Total 352 B TP 25 S HP Recovery 14 B MP Recovery 2 C	Element Affinity Rating Fire 75 D Cold 125 B Wind 200 * Nature 75 D Mystic 75 D Spirit 90 D Dark 100 C Physical 125 B Total 865 E Weighted 779 D Void 100 C Level-Up Difficulty 1.04 B Library Cost 1.05 B
Spell Cards Name MP Target Element Damage Formula Special Delay Notes Elekiter Dragon Palace 4 Enemy (One) Wind 256% MAG - 80% T.MND PAR(5000) DEF (-45-5*SLv)% 50% PAR rate: (68+4*SLv)% Debuff rate: 100% Light Dragon's Sigh 5 Enemy (All) Wind 196% MAG - 70% T.MND ACC +40, DEF (-34-2*SLv)% 45% Debuff rate: 100% Thundercloud Stickleback 4 Ally (One) Wind ATK, MAG +52%, PAR(6500-500*Slv) 66% Buff: (48+4*SLv)% PAR rate: (128-8*SLv)% Whiskers of the Dragon God 3 Ally (One) Wind SPD +56%, DEF MND (-52-8*Slv)% 60% SPD buff: (52+4*SLv)% Debuff rate: (150-10*SLv)%
Skills Name Max Lvl Cost Description HP Boost 5 2 Increases base HP by (SLv * 4). Defense Boost 5 2 Increases base Defense by (SLv * 2). Magic Boost 5 2 Increases base Magic by (SLv * 2). Motivated Heart 2 5 Skill holder receives (SLv * 6)% more experience. Only takes effect when in party (active or reserve). Does not stack with "Hands-on Experience", but does stack with all other modifying skills. Hands-on Experience 2 5 Skill holder receives (SLv * 12)% more experience. Only takes effect when in active party at end of battle. Does not stack with "Motivated Heart", but does stack with all other modifying skills. Hisouten Guard 2 5 If Tenshi is on the front line, Iku's Defense and Mind are increased by (SLv * 20)%. Magic Counter 3 4 (SLv * 33)% chance to counter magical enemy attacks with an empowered magical Normal Attack (156.25% MAG - 62.5% T.MND). (Triggers against any attack that scales with the MAG stat, regardless of which defensive stat it targets) Hagoromo Like Sky 2 4 Normal attacks will bypass (SLv * 40)% of the enemy's Defense/Mind, and deal (SLv * 20)% more damage (also affects Magic Counter). Flexibility 1 7 When Iku receives a Defense/Mind debuff, that debuff is instead calculated as a buff of the same magnitude. (Does not affect EX debuffs) Supple Hagoromo 2 5 When Iku is on the front line, allies have a (SLv * 20)% reduced chance of being inflicted with the Paralysis status, if any ally gets inflicted with the Paralysis status, its duration is also reduced by (SLv * 20)%. Heavenly Maiden's Blow 1 7 If Iku attacks an enemy affected by a DEF/MND Debuff, the damage will be calculated as if the debuff was doubled. Lightning Fish 6 10 (Plus Disk only) Increase the user's base SPD by (SLv * 4).
Recruitment She will block your way on the second part of 8F, defeat her and she will join you. She is required to beat the game. Play Notes A fairly durable mage, Iku boasts magic attacks with strong Defense debuffs to support the more physically-inclined members of the team, and a set of powerful but unwieldy buffs with side effects. At first glance, they're too difficult to use; but they can become excellent when considering their synergy with her skills. Flexibility lets her fly in the face of defensive debuffs and turns Whiskers into a potent self-buff, while Supple Hagoromo gives you some buffer against the unfortunate side effects of Stickleback. Hisouten Guard is easy to activate, given that both Tenshi and Iku are very useful members to stay on the field, and Iku getting defensive stat increases helps her better support your team. Like Chen, Iku is capable of using the Hexer's Conversion skill effectively thanks to the potent self debuff from her Whiskers support spell, and unlike Chen, the HP restore will be as appreciated as the MP restore. Or perhaps even more excitingly, Iku can be used as a surprisingly very powerful defense-ignoring magical attacker, letting her shred enemies with only her basic Attack command. Maxing Hagoromo Like Sky in combination with the Sorcerer subclass' Enhanced Normal Attack results in a 7000-post-delay attack at 1 MP cost that ignores 80% of the targets' MND and hits like a truck (it's worth noting Hagoromo Like Sky also boost Iku's Magic Counter). Utilizing her own self buffs to get her damage output started (as she's immune to Stickleback's PAR) and the subclass passive buffs to keep her Magic stat buff from decreasing quickly, she becomes one of the fastest and most efficient sources of single target damage in the game. It only gets better, as Heavenly Maiden's Blow extends that Mind piercing to an easy 90%+ on any enemy vulnerable to debuffs; and if the enemy resists MYS, it allows her WND spellcards to kick through their defenses phenomenally as well. You might also consider subbing Monk in random battles to use the Area Normal Attacks. In Plus Disk, Iku's SPD growth has been raised to 9.4, and she's granted a speed boosting passive, allowing her to become a speed demon. Her Magic Counter damage has also been increased, making it a truly worthwhile investment, and the bug causing it to reset your timebar has been fixed. In Plus Disk where many characters can learn Resistance Boost and Iku can afford to max Thundercloud Stickleback in addition to all other relevant skills, Iku's supportive potential is very significant even in an offensive build. Awakened Skills Skills Name Max Lvl Cost Description Comments Magic Counter+ 1 80 Magic Counter will deal more damage (formula changed to: 272.25% MAG - 82.5% T.MND). Thunder in the Abtruse Clouds 1 40 Increase the user's PAR resistance by 128. When the user takes a turn while a frontliner is Paralyzed, remove their paralysis and buff both that frontliner and the user's all stats by 20% (buffs on the user will stack if multiple characters are cured from PAR). Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon 3 66 The user's base MAG is increased by (SLv * 8). Iku's awakening skills make her stronger overall at all her previous roles. Thunder in the Abtruse Clouds makes up for Thundercloud Stickleback's PAR effect by curing it on Iku's next turn and buffing both Iku herself and the character she used it on - though it can also be useful to help recover from paralysis effects caused by enemies. It also supports characters with PAR-inducing self-buffs - specifically Tenshi and Remilia. Do note however that the paralysis will still immobilize that character for a little while. While she's supporting the team with Stickleback, Magic Counter+ and Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon will also improve her Magic Counter damage; don't underestimate it, as with investment in her Magic, Counter+ is capable of hitting like a truck. Do note however that Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon is less efficient than Magic Boost 2, so get and invest in that skill first.

And that's one character out of a roster of over 40 by the end of the game, to be included in your party of 12 that actually enter the dungeon and fight together. Building a party in this game (which you'll change frequently to handle varying challenges among bosses or even random encounters, not to mention exploit new synergies) makes the build porn for something like Pathfinder or BG3 look like duplo blocks in comparison. You simply don't see this level of complexity in western rpgs, ever. It shows up in strategy games fairly often, but never a party based rpg.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Meh...

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Their Wizardry clones are fine but they're just that, clones of a 45 years old game with barely anything new or exciting.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement. The systems in a lot of the modern wizardry clones are some of the best combat ever put in a game.

Here's the stat block for a single character in Labyrinth of Touhou 2. Bear in mind this doesn't even include added complications like adding a subclass or permanent stat enhancing consumables, or equipment.

Iku's Stats

Iku Nagae​

Base Stats
Battle Stats	Status Resistances	Elemental Affinities
Character Overview and Comments
Beautiful Scarlet Cloth
​ Stat L1 Stat (Growth) Rating HP 108 (14.0) B MP 15 (1/15) C Attack 34 (6.0) E Defense 39 (7.0) C Magic 66 (12.4) B Mind 59 (11.0) B Speed 103 (9.4) B Evasion 20 B Accuracy 100 C	​ Status Resistance Rating Poison 32 C Paralysis 128 * Heavy 32 C Shock 64 A Terror 16 E Silence 16 E Death 32 C Debuff 32 C Total 352 B TP 25 S HP Recovery 14 B MP Recovery 2 C	​ Element Affinity Rating Fire 75 D Cold 125 B Wind 200 * Nature 75 D Mystic 75 D Spirit 90 D Dark 100 C Physical 125 B Total 865 E Weighted 779 D Void 100 C Level-Up Difficulty 1.04 B Library Cost 1.05 B
Spell Cards Name MP Target Element Damage Formula Special Delay Notes Elekiter Dragon Palace 4 Enemy (One) Wind 256% MAG - 80% T.MND PAR(5000) DEF (-45-5*SLv)% 50% PAR rate: (68+4*SLv)% Debuff rate: 100% Light Dragon's Sigh 5 Enemy (All) Wind 196% MAG - 70% T.MND ACC +40, DEF (-34-2*SLv)% 45% Debuff rate: 100% Thundercloud Stickleback 4 Ally (One) Wind ATK, MAG +52%, PAR(6500-500*Slv) 66% Buff: (48+4*SLv)% PAR rate: (128-8*SLv)% Whiskers of the Dragon God 3 Ally (One) Wind SPD +56%, DEF MND (-52-8*Slv)% 60% SPD buff: (52+4*SLv)% Debuff rate: (150-10*SLv)%
Skills Name Max Lvl Cost Description HP Boost 5 2 Increases base HP by (SLv * 4). Defense Boost 5 2 Increases base Defense by (SLv * 2). Magic Boost 5 2 Increases base Magic by (SLv * 2). Motivated Heart 2 5 Skill holder receives (SLv * 6)% more experience. Only takes effect when in party (active or reserve). Does not stack with "Hands-on Experience", but does stack with all other modifying skills. Hands-on Experience 2 5 Skill holder receives (SLv * 12)% more experience. Only takes effect when in active party at end of battle. Does not stack with "Motivated Heart", but does stack with all other modifying skills. Hisouten Guard 2 5 If Tenshi is on the front line, Iku's Defense and Mind are increased by (SLv * 20)%. Magic Counter 3 4 (SLv * 33)% chance to counter magical enemy attacks with an empowered magical Normal Attack (156.25% MAG - 62.5% T.MND). (Triggers against any attack that scales with the MAG stat, regardless of which defensive stat it targets) Hagoromo Like Sky 2 4 Normal attacks will bypass (SLv * 40)% of the enemy's Defense/Mind, and deal (SLv * 20)% more damage (also affects Magic Counter). Flexibility 1 7 When Iku receives a Defense/Mind debuff, that debuff is instead calculated as a buff of the same magnitude. (Does not affect EX debuffs) Supple Hagoromo 2 5 When Iku is on the front line, allies have a (SLv * 20)% reduced chance of being inflicted with the Paralysis status, if any ally gets inflicted with the Paralysis status, its duration is also reduced by (SLv * 20)%. Heavenly Maiden's Blow 1 7 If Iku attacks an enemy affected by a DEF/MND Debuff, the damage will be calculated as if the debuff was doubled. Lightning Fish 6 10 (Plus Disk only) Increase the user's base SPD by (SLv * 4).
​ Recruitment She will block your way on the second part of 8F, defeat her and she will join you. She is required to beat the game. Play Notes A fairly durable mage, Iku boasts magic attacks with strong Defense debuffs to support the more physically-inclined members of the team, and a set of powerful but unwieldy buffs with side effects. At first glance, they're too difficult to use; but they can become excellent when considering their synergy with her skills. Flexibility lets her fly in the face of defensive debuffs and turns Whiskers into a potent self-buff, while Supple Hagoromo gives you some buffer against the unfortunate side effects of Stickleback. Hisouten Guard is easy to activate, given that both Tenshi and Iku are very useful members to stay on the field, and Iku getting defensive stat increases helps her better support your team. Like Chen, Iku is capable of using the Hexer's Conversion skill effectively thanks to the potent self debuff from her Whiskers support spell, and unlike Chen, the HP restore will be as appreciated as the MP restore. Or perhaps even more excitingly, Iku can be used as a surprisingly very powerful defense-ignoring magical attacker, letting her shred enemies with only her basic Attack command. Maxing Hagoromo Like Sky in combination with the Sorcerer subclass' Enhanced Normal Attack results in a 7000-post-delay attack at 1 MP cost that ignores 80% of the targets' MND and hits like a truck (it's worth noting Hagoromo Like Sky also boost Iku's Magic Counter). Utilizing her own self buffs to get her damage output started (as she's immune to Stickleback's PAR) and the subclass passive buffs to keep her Magic stat buff from decreasing quickly, she becomes one of the fastest and most efficient sources of single target damage in the game. It only gets better, as Heavenly Maiden's Blow extends that Mind piercing to an easy 90%+ on any enemy vulnerable to debuffs; and if the enemy resists MYS, it allows her WND spellcards to kick through their defenses phenomenally as well. You might also consider subbing Monk in random battles to use the Area Normal Attacks. In Plus Disk, Iku's SPD growth has been raised to 9.4, and she's granted a speed boosting passive, allowing her to become a speed demon. Her Magic Counter damage has also been increased, making it a truly worthwhile investment, and the bug causing it to reset your timebar has been fixed. In Plus Disk where many characters can learn Resistance Boost and Iku can afford to max Thundercloud Stickleback in addition to all other relevant skills, Iku's supportive potential is very significant even in an offensive build. Awakened Skills Skills Name Max Lvl Cost Description Comments Magic Counter+ 1 80 Magic Counter will deal more damage (formula changed to: 272.25% MAG - 82.5% T.MND). Thunder in the Abtruse Clouds 1 40 Increase the user's PAR resistance by 128. When the user takes a turn while a frontliner is Paralyzed, remove their paralysis and buff both that frontliner and the user's all stats by 20% (buffs on the user will stack if multiple characters are cured from PAR). Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon 3 66 The user's base MAG is increased by (SLv * 8). Iku's awakening skills make her stronger overall at all her previous roles. Thunder in the Abtruse Clouds makes up for Thundercloud Stickleback's PAR effect by curing it on Iku's next turn and buffing both Iku herself and the character she used it on - though it can also be useful to help recover from paralysis effects caused by enemies. It also supports characters with PAR-inducing self-buffs - specifically Tenshi and Remilia. Do note however that the paralysis will still immobilize that character for a little while. While she's supporting the team with Stickleback, Magic Counter+ and Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon will also improve her Magic Counter damage; don't underestimate it, as with investment in her Magic, Counter+ is capable of hitting like a truck. Do note however that Pearl of the 5-Clawed Dragon is less efficient than Magic Boost 2, so get and invest in that skill first.

And that's one character out of a roster of over 40 by the end of the game, to be included in your party of 12 that actually enter the dungeon and fight together. Building a party in this game (which you'll change frequently to handle varying challenges among bosses or even random encounters, not to mention exploit new synergies) makes the build porn for something like Pathfinder or BG3 look like duplo blocks in comparison. You simply don't see this level of complexity in western rpgs, ever. It shows up in strategy games fairly often, but never a party based rpg.

Sorry bro but your post illustrates what's wrong with most JRPGs. Japan never understood role-playing games so when they try to add to the genre they end up messing things up without fail, even when they're just boosting the complexity of an old formula.

Here's a Japanese game that succeded where most Wizardry clones fail:
https://invidio.us/watch?v=wRT7Iqkczao


This is not a very complex game, but look at how a narrative beautifully emerges from the game's mechanics, the player's input, the character stats, how dice roll, and so on. This anime soccer game with stats does a better job at what the original Wizardry tried to accomplish back in the eighties than most JRPGs.

 

[Ryzer]

For those of you who ask what is the Morrowind JRPG or the Fallout 1 JRPG? I ask what is the western Castlevania RPG? or the western Dark Souls RPG?

 

[MerchantKing]

The vast majority of J"rpgs" are just overglorified visual novels with a wizardry-like combat minigame.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

The vast majority of J"rpgs" are just overglorified visual novels with a wizardry-like combat minigame.

Usually of the hentai-ish quality or some dumb shit. Japs are pedo extremes. They can never forget their school days.

 

[H. P. Lovecraft's Cat]

At this point if you still deny the greatness of JRPGs then you don't deserve them. May you play gay DEI infested games for eternity

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Really depends... they aren't all equal. As stated, some are really bad unskipable VN narratives with horrid translations or "moonspeak only" dialogue.