Lockdown Day 10 edition. What are ya playin' and/or grindin' today, Yas Forums?
An user from the last thread made a rough sketch of "essential" JRPGs, which I think would be nice for some type of beginner's guide;
>Final Fantasy XII
>DQ11
>All SMT games
>Trails in the Sky
>Growlanser
But I'd like to hear what common consensus has to say. I guess *all* SMTs might be a bit overkill, for starters...?
Crystal Bearers is one of those “objectively bad” games that I fucking love. Love the characters, world, setting, and everything but the gameplay and lack of map was kind of gay
I wouldn't really say TitS is good for beginners. I know some people who got into JRPGs thanks to it, but it's not really a beginner's choice.
I went back to finish SMT1 after getting confused over something near the end and dropping it. I'm in the cathedral now, neutral route. Gameplay is still brainless and repetitive but I like exploring the mazes while watching something on the side.
I kinda wish more JRPGs did less fantasy stuff and went to other genres.
They were definitely a lot more varied in the PS1 era. Now every developer seems to play it safe as fuck and just do the same thing they always did. It's not their fault I guess...
Why the fuck is FFXII on a beginner's guide? Why not 5-7, 9, or 10?
Introduction to JRPGs should always start with Chrono Trigger imo. Then you can go in different directions from there.
I'm guessing mostly because of the godly aesthetic, the writing quality, and how the Gambit System plays out, but you do have a point. I guess the OG 7 might be a more *classic* intro?
Intriguing. I've seen it being namedropped here and there, but I never took a better look into it. Care to elaborate?
The problem with FFXII, is that there's a lot to love, but a decent amount to hate as well, which does not make for a great intro.
I feel like that could be said for *almost* any JRPG, but alright. Will keep in mind.
A real "beginner's guide" would be something like
>Chrono Trigger
>Final Fantasy VI
>Final Fantasy VII
>Dragon Quest VIII/XI, doesn't matter
>Tales of Symphonia
>Final Fantasy Tactics
>Persona 3
>Kingdom Hearts (not sure about this one)
>>Dragon Quest VIII/XI, doesn't matter
I'm kinda biased towards XI for the whole "modern JRPG" factor, just as a sort of precaution, but placing both as a pick-one would be good.
>>Kingdom Hearts (not sure about this one)
Ehh... With all due respect, KH may be somewhat alienating because of 1. Nomura's frankly complex way of handling lore, 2. the non-standard ARPG battle scheme and 3. the whole Disney/Sqeenix thing. I've heard a whole lotta comments about seeing Mickey Mouse and the gang being weird as hell, so go figure.
I wouldn't say KH is bad by any means, but as an intro, I'm not sure how well it'd work. Maybe as an acquired taste, I guess?
Aside from those two, this seems like a pretty good list. Thanks, user.
can I throw Lufia 2 in the "beginner's guide"?
before someone says something, it's a prequel
>Beginner's guide.
Suikoden 1
Final Fantasy 6 or 7 (original obviously)
Phantasy Star 4
Dragon Quest 5
For better or for worse, Pokemon (probably hgss or bw)
I don't really like KH, especially 1, myself, but I wanted to put a more action-y ARPG into the list and can't think of a good alternative. Maybe Ys, but it's hard to pick one.
Lufia 2 is a great choice, but I'd say it's the next step after CT and/or FF due to its more complex dungeon design and whatever.
>I wanted to put a more action-y ARPG into the list and can't think of a good alternative.
My SMT bias says Raidou Kuzunoha, but I've heard some people complaining on the last couple of threads that Raidou 1's gameplay is kinda hellish, so I sorta get how ya feel. I think I'll wait and see if someone else pops in with an idea for that subgenre of JRPG for now.
Ha, I'd argue that Pokemon may be a bit *too* beginner-ish and already well-known as-is, but somethin' like Ruby or Sapphire might be neat.
X is a better intro to JRPGs than XII and most FF games based on my own experiences trying to get friends into FF and JRPGs in general.
Zoom-zooms nowadays won't go back to anything prior to VA, hell I have friends in MY age range (late 20s early 30s) complain about having to read their games, and 2D graphics seem to be a no-no. Otherwise I think FFIV is the perfect entry point for an "initiated" or old-school gamer
Should've killed Sakahagi all the way back in Asakusa rather than going through this shit, not gonna lie.
FFXII is where the race to the bottom was in full motion. Someone post the pasta
Bump.
>essential
>Growlanser
fuck no, growlanser is the type of shit you only get into once you've played all the well known jrpgs and have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find more. It's as "essential" as ar tonelico, steambot chronicles, dept heaven, uncharted waters, and natural doctrine. I.e. not at all.
Look up any jrpg list online and you'll get a better picture of what is truly essential. Dragon quest is obviously #1, then chrono trigger, pokemon, final fantasy, persona, trails in the sky, kingdom hearts, xenogears, suikoden, paper mario, earthbound, mana, breath of fire, lunar, legend of dragoon, tales of, shining force, ... basically all the jrpgs that sold well and were popular.
There's also a mid tier before you have to resort to growlanser type shit, with stuff like ys, saga, atelier, valkyrie profile, etc.
whoever made OP's list was trying real hard to be elitist and not to name entry level stuff for an entry level list.
Honestly what's the point of listing "essential" shit when it's going to be common names everyone should know? I don't play RPGs at all and I recognize Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Persona, etc. I'd much rather have people tell me games that are still "beginner" friendly but not too well known.
they're common names everyone should know because they're essential, obviously. If you make a list that doesn't mention them your list automatically sucks. To solve this you should just list the obvious games at the start of your list, otherwise people will just ask why (good game) is missing. You can just list the titles of those games, then go into more depth about the less well known beginner friendly games.
>Dragon quest is obviously #1, then chrono trigger, pokemon, final fantasy, persona, trails in the sky, kingdom hearts, xenogears, suikoden (...)
Hey, 'least we got those on the list right now. Well, save for KH. Still kinda antsy about that one.
>for an entry level list
I said "essential" in the sense that the user in question figured that the vidya on his list were the most common JRPGs in these threads, and therefore the ones that he should probably play. It's a good spot to start from, but I will admit that it did come off a bit wrong and elitist, and moreso for a beginner's list. My bad :^(
The logic behind this feels kinda dumb. I wouldn't really say it's about how mainstream the vidya is, but more about the experience itself. Sure, shit like Persona 3 or Final Fantasy VII are popular and well-known enough, but that doesn't make 'em any worse as intros to the genre than something that's less-known.
's got it right - at the least, it's good to first note down the stuff that almost everyone knows about, and *then* eventually get into the slightly more obscure stuff if they want more.
>I'd much rather have people tell me games that are still "beginner" friendly but not too well known.
I get your point, but there's almost no way to tell whether a game is well known or not. Is Grandia well known? What about Valkyria Chronicles? Lost Odyssey? Rogue Galaxy?
I don't really think there can even be a general recommendation list that isn't full of normalfag tier games. There's a shitton of both relatively popular and really obscure JRPGs that have absolutely nothing in common with each other and everyone has their preferences.
Any jrpg recommendations that have romance options like persona?
It would be good if the combat is not turn based, or at least turn based but dinamic
Well since this is a JRPG thread I may as well ask for recs here. What's a good JRPG I can play right now (emulated or on steam) that has a huge varied cast of characters I can pick from? Like, something with replay value because I can choose different party members to beat the game with multiple times, preferably with unique story/dialogue interactions each time. I've already played all the Fire Emblems, most of the Final Fantasies, and Chrono Trigger/Cross.
SaGa scarlet grace
What JRPGs do you not like that much or you can't get into?
Go try Der Langrisser in SNES. It has different routes and which party member you keep till the end is based on your route.
Theres Growlanser and the latter Langrisser series like IV and V. Growlanser is semi RTS where you can pause the gameplay to set orders to your party.
I'm fucking trying, but it just isn't clicking for me.
Is there some other Star Ocean game I should play? I was told that this was the peak of the series.
What don't you like about it? Most SO are similar to each other.
Star Ocean is mediocre. If you don't like SO2, you won't like any of them.
You’re making a list of essential jrpgs and haven’t played chrono trigger? What are you even doing user? It’s the Citizen Kane of the genre.
In fairness, I've still got a fair amount of essentials to go through, myself. In creating the list, I'd like to figure out what acts as *the* bread and butter of the genre while curating it for the sake of newfags like myself.
I'll take your word for it, though. I've heard more than enough praise for CT, so I'm kinda inclined to go through it, lol. (Not *now*, but definitely at some point.)
I'd say that Dragon Quest III is closer to Citizen Kane. Chrono Trigger is more like Hitchcock or Kubrick.
I think it's the story, characters and the fact that the game doesn't tell you anything. I actually find the gameplay to be unique and I really dig how character recruitment and side-stories work. But I just got to the part where you tame the Synard and got stuck. After looking some shit up I found out that I missed out on multiple party members and items that make everything much easier that were located in secret side-stories. Also, I don't really care about any of the characters.
I actually like a game not holding your hand, but this is a bit too much.
As a film theory major this analogy gets my dick hard
What game(s) come closest to the feeling of pokemon gen I&II. That real world light sci-fi atmosphere and sense of an individual adventure.
Yeah that is SO for you. If you really like the gameplay the others are great, but the story and characters will always suck. The side content is a bit more toned down in 3 and 4. You can still miss optional characters in 3 however and 4 makes you choose between one and another party member at some point.
>film theory major
I hope you're joking.
Kek, certainly not. Graduated in 2013, moved to nyc and have been a video editor ever since (thankfully moved again before pandemic btfo).
Agree with the others that FFXII is not for beginners. The great parts of it (combat, mechanics etc) can only be truly appreciated once you're familiar with other games
user make sure you add Phantasy Star IV. As good as CT and FFVI but never gets brought up in these threads.
PSII is good as well but I’d have a pretty hard time recommending it in 2020 desu.
Just like any JRPG. FFXII is still the perfect introduction to the series.
>Not too old
>Not too recent
>The least convoluted plot
>Easy to play, hard to master
>A lot of content
>It's somewhat open instead of being an endless corridor
>No cringefest scenes like Tidus' laugh
>The best remaster of the series
What Breath of Fire to start with?
genwun/too are extremely unique and I'd argue products of their time and circumstance.
I genuinely can't think of a similar RPG series thematically other than maybe MOTHER.
Even that lacks the adventuring aspect and focuses more on the light sci-fi atmosphere, novelty, and characters.
Which JRPG classic should I play on my GBA first?
>FFVI
>Mother 3
You don't need a PhD to set up gambits. It's actually harder for a beginner to wrap their head around turn-based combat than FFXII's combat.
Huh. Well, shit.
Alright, compromise; placing FFXII as a good intro to Final Fantasy, *but* in some middle category of "I sorta have some experience with JRPGs, but not that much". That works just fine, I think.
For sure, though I'd always appreciate elaborations on why somethin' is as good as it is.
Mother 3.
The latter
Phantasy Star collection on gba was dope and my intro to the series
FFIV
Mother 3, although I'd highly recommend playing FFVI as well.
>Alright, compromise; placing FFXII as a good intro to Final Fantasy, *but* in some middle category of "I sorta have some experience with JRPGs, but not that much". That works just fine, I think.
Which FF would be part of a beginner's list then?
FFVI, no question
How will they even be able to play it on modern platforms considering its remaster is dogshit?
this is a horrible list
>Der Langrisser
Holy shit the music in this game is fucking great. Is it as good in the other games in the series?
>hard to master
If by "master" you mean challenges, then sure, but it's as easy to master during a normal playthrough as any other FF.
Emulation
Of course it's about challenges, which is something FF12 has plenty of. More than the other games
I would add Paper Mario
If what was relayed to me was accurate, VI and VII are both good intros to some essential JRPGs and Final Fantasy itself. Although, granted, the latter means that the whole "FFXII as an intro to FF itself" thing kinda falls apart. Good on me for thinking that one through.
I mean, I *did* say "rough sketch" for a reason. If you feel like adding or removing something, be my guest, user - the more input I can get on this, the better.
I'd have to say FFIV is probably the best starting point in the series. It's not the absolute best FF out there in any regard, but it's a great introduction to a lot of mainstays in the series:
>ATB
>row mechanics and party management
>series-wide combat roles and skill systems
>chocobos and airships
Why do JRPGSfags only play mainline garbage
so this is a beginner's list but you're going to tell people that they can only play on one platform (PC), that they have to set up an emulator, that they have to set up a controller, etc, for one game? You're already in enthusiast territory
>Holy shit the music in this game is fucking great. Is it as good in the other games in the series?
I and II are good, I don't know about III since I didn't play it yet, IV is fine but the judgement system makes the gameplay into a crawl. V, I don't know as well.
Chronological's alright, but it's cool to start with 3/4 if you're cool with it feeling a bit weird to go back to the older games.
If you decide to start with 5 for whatever reason, just be aware that it's pretty different compared to the other 4 games
>Lockdown Day 10
It's been longer than that hasn't it.
>corona quarantine
>now a tornado outbreak is forecasted for my area
What's the best JRPG to start immediately prior to death
What do you mean? There are plenty of obscure JRPGs that have got mentioned in these threads.
FFX-2 or Atelier Ryza?
Glad we agree it's the best JRPG of 8th gen
Played this one user? This game is rarely getting mentioned as its usually hard as balls and a bit clunky.
>that they can only play on one platform (PC)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but backwards compatability is still on a thing on modern-day PlayStations.
>that they have to set up an emulator
In fairness, they're usually pretty retardproof. And most issues are generally fixed via a quick renderer or graphical setting change, i.e. fixing Nocturne's weird filtering by setting AA to blend bff and calling it a day.
>that they have to set up a controller
You'd be surprised at how well you can play some JRPGs with KB/M. Haven't come across one which requires very precise control just to play properly. (So far, anyway.)
The World Ends With You :^)
Different countries locked down at different times.
FF6 on playstation? The one in which you have to suffer a 10 second loading screen for the battle to start?
You just want beginners to suffer
does jrpg with good gameplay exist? from all the games I've tried smt system is the least bad but I've yet to come across a jrpg with actual good gameplay
If setting up something as simple as a SNES emulator is a roadblock to someone pursuing a game that they claim to be interested in, they either didn't care that much in the first place or are likely doomed in any aspect of life that requires the slightest effort.
VP2.
>so this is a beginner's list but you're going to tell people that they can only play on one platform (PC), that they have to set up an emulator, that they have to set up a controller, etc, for one game?
I mean, this shit isn't rocket science. There might be some elbow grease involved with a few trickier emulators like Mednafen, but as long as a person has a decent PC and an XBone/360 controller, they can get setup pretty quickly.
Can I just jump into this or do I have to drown myself in 7 games of lore?
I think a genuine advice for beginners is: DON'T just play through the main story/quest. Absolutely do the side contents. Perhaps not 100% the game, but do try at least to do 85% the game has to offer. They're the real meat of the game, and for me the main reason why I would play one in the first place. A lot of people will get turned off by the whole genre if they just speed through the oftentimes awful plot and storytelling you see in most of these games
Arc Rise Fantasia.
At least in this game, attacking mindlessly will destroy you in no time even in normal enemy encounter.
I agree. It was my first FF and it was great. The others I've played are far clunkier in comparison. Too many random battles and too many cutscenes. XII was the perfect blend of exploration and story
No lol? At best you'll see "cult classics" that zoomers no doubt learned of from le top ten jrpg hidden gems youtube videos with 20 million views. You'll never see something like Elminage, Uncharted Waters, Lunatic Dawn, etc. in these threads. It's always hypernormie story/aesthetically driven casual nonsense, basically an interactive anime.
>Veteran character that joins your party early on and is relatively overpowered compared to everyone else by being a jack of all trades
>Eventually gets left behind by the time you get into the 30s
It was hard work trying to make him function as a Vartan when 1 handed bows stop existing after the mid 20s.
I'm pretty sure I've seen Elminage mentioned here, it usually comes up in DRPG discussions. If you want to talk about them then start recommending them instead of just bitching.
Ya can't please everyone. Besides, emulation and speedups are still a thing.
Probably not too universally-applicable, but good stuff nonetheless. Noted.
>It's always hypernormie story/aesthetically driven casual nonsense, basically an interactive anime.
A JRPG is a JRPG, user. But if you do have some recs (preferably beginner-friendly, though not necessary), go for it.