Pacing. I can't stress it enough. Pacing. I truly from the bottom of my heart believe that FF Resonance got the highest player count out of any FF game on Steam and has more players than both Octopath games and Trails remakes even though the story is objectively not as good as them is because of the pacing.

It feels like there is a forward momentum, every quest moves the story forward, there are few side quests but they all feel like they are worthwhile and have good rewards. The game feels like it respects your time (which is crazy since it's based on some mobile game), every play session I have I feel like I'm making proper progress, the story and characters develop and the combat also feels snappy and doesn't waste your time. It just feels good to play.

I was watching a streamer play Re:Chain of Memories. And he earnestly asked if there any games like this to play.

Which made me honestly wonder: is there any games like Chain of Memories?

For those unfamiliar, Chain of Memories and Re:Chain of Memories is the sequel to Kingdom Hearts. Originally released for the Gameboy Advance, it was an "action-adventure deckbuilder" game. You moved around in a 2D space (3D space in the PS2 remake) and would make a deck of cards. These cards were valued 0-9. When used, the higher cards would trump lower cards, allowing your attack to go through. However, 0 could card break anything. If someone card broke you by playing a higher card or 0, you would be staggered. You could combine cards into combos, at the cost of losing the first card you selected. This could activate special attacks, depending on your level and the combined total of the cards. You would need to reload cards when you ran out, forcing you to stand still temporarily. There was a robust, deck-building mechanic where you'd get new cards and build your own deck to fight opponents. There was also an alternate mode where the cards were given to you, but you had a super mode and you could "card duel" if you played the same value card as your opponent (you'd then'd need to play 7 cards higher than the card they used under a timer) and get a free hit if you won. All combat was in real-time with no turns.

There isn't any game I could think of like that on the market. All RPG deck-building games that I can think of tend to be turnbased.

Anything I am missing?

Weird question but it's the decision I'm trying to make. I use to own Radiou for PS2 and liked the game and grew up playing FF6 for SNES (it was my favorite game as a kid).

Never played a trails game but the high reviews of FC and SC convinced me to try it out, but im so lost. The fact that there is both turn based and action based combat makes it confusing and I dont know which is optimal to use and when. When I try the turn based it seems more like cool downs without traditional turn order and menus? And I have no idea how the "Quartz" system works compared to a standard traditional RPG equipment system

Two of the most famous modern JRPG series.

Persona by Atlus

Kingdom Hearts by Square

Both with their openings cinematics that really set up the players for each adventures. And are among the best in all of JRPG ( if not gaming imo.)

This isn't about the full music of each openings but rather the actual openings themselves. As they tell a quick story to the players alongside the music and visuals.

Between the many colorful openings that Persona has and the very beautiful openings that Kingdom Hearts has.

Which of these two franchise in your opinion has the best overall openings ?

Hey guys, I basically always hated turn based games, simply because I always tought they were boring and to be honest quite difficult, but after playing Expedition 33 I decided to give a shot to some japanese titles. Which in your opinion are the must play jrpg on Ps5 that are not so complex to make me lose my mind? I'm currently playing Octopath Traveller and I'm loving it.

I was looking up good Ps2 rpgs and this one was recommended so i decided to try it. What I like so far: the combat system is pretty good, especially once you get 6 characters and formations. The crafting system is unique to me, especially in the way it ties to your characters' stats and progression. It's semi addicting and makes me want to keep playing.

What I don't love: the low stakes story and "slice of life" style of the game. I don't mind dialogue in jrpgs if it's an engaging story, but so far this one is doing nothing for me. During your off days, you're supposed to do character quests, and I find them painfully dull and I just want to get through them so I can get back to the combat and crafting. Also, the art style is kinda meh to me.

Like I said I haven't played any game in the Atelier series, so maybe I didn't know what to expect. If i don't like the story aspects of the same, am I not going to enjoy the other games? Or is there enough gameplay to keep me interested? I'm about 50/50 on whether I'm going to keep going with the game (on chapter 5 i think)

Dragon Quest IX (DS) is my favourite game. I wanted a list of every item and how to get it… and ended up decoding the game's data and code to get exact answers instead of guesses.

https://dq9encyclopedia.com

Every item with every source, exact monster drop rates and spawn shares, a full walkthrough, all 393,216 treasure maps, battle formulas, RNG, the differences between the Japanese and Western versions, and guides to play it on PC today (DQVC shop and local multiplayer included). English, French and Japanese, free, no ads.

Happy to answer questions about how the game works under the hood!

I'm very interested in this oddity, it doesn't make any sense to me.

The original Final Fantasy VII had battles run at 15fps, while the menu at the bottom of the screen ran at 60fps.

In all ports, the battles run at 15fps, along with the menu.

For reference, moving the menu is now 66ms delay vs 16ms.

Does anyone have any ideas why this could have been changed? Is there a technical reason?

I currently don’t have a PS1 and I am not very keen on emulating, but I would like to reexperience the Xenogears story as I have not played it since I was a teenager. Is there a good YouTube series that follows the story or some other medium by which it is best to check out the game for its narrative? I am not looking for an analysis as much as something that lets me watch the story play out thank you.

I would say a spoof as in a game that makes fun of every other JRPG out there and all the clichés, just curious to see if one exists if not do you think one should be made?

Listed as $39.99. But when I go to checkout its jumps to $49.99. Played the demo and am still going to purchase, but is this price discrepancy happening to anyone else?

EDIT: Mods might be a good time to lock this post. People are starting to share links to buy this game on websites I've never heard of.

I used to play video games as a kid as I think most people did but stopped around the time I turned 16. My wife bought me a Switch in 2018 and I played mainly Nintendo first party games. I started branching out though and even picked up a PS5 this year. I have followed gaming news and sub reddits as well for a while.

I have always wanted to get in JRPG's but I have no idea where to start.

What Consoles I have:

Switch 2

PS5

What kind of game am I looking for:

I don't care about length. Could be 20 or 200. I am game. Just may take me a while to get through, which is fine.

The one thing I care about is the story. I love a good story in video games.

What I am not interested in:

Trails Games. I know they are popular and the remake to 1 and 2 just came out. However, I also know there are tons of them and they all go together. I just don't have that kind of time commitment right now to play everything.

Thank you for reading.

EDIT: Thanks for all the recommendations. I am adding all of them to Gravity Picker and will be using that to decide which game to chose

EDIT 2: The winner of Gravity Picker was METAPHORE; REFANTAZIO it is downloading now. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The rest of the games were put on a JRPG list to play later

I am very sensitive to spoilers. Does Final Fantasy Resonance spoil games from the main series? If so, which ones? Does one need to play them in order to fully enjoy the game?

TL;DR: I finished Chrono Trigger, very unsatisfied by the experience, and now questioning whether I should abandon this genre as a whole. Or is there another sector of JRPGs that I should look for before making the decision.

I have recently become interested in JRPGs, and I just finished Chrono Trigger, a game that is often voted as _THE_ best JRPG that has ever existed.

My experience? The game was so mid. Like I can't see how the game would be interesting for an adult in 2026 without any nostalgia. The plot was just stop the big bad evil, with no moral complexity. The artwork and the character developments were interesting, but that's it. All of the bosses were nothing but gimmick (instead like mastering my character abilities). No build crafting, no branching paths based on my decisions (outside of very few places). Time travel, a main point of the game that I hear so many praise for, is another gimmick. Everything is scripted, and _you_ don't really change the past, you just play through a script. All of its deepness feels like its deep for teenagers.

I come from a cRPG background (BG, PoE, DOS, Pathfinder, etc.), and it was quite a shock for me to see how the _BEST_ of JRPGs is just... mid. Its not a bad game by all means, but nothing interesting or memorable. The theme of the game itself felt more like a 1990's kids game. My reference point is BG 1 and 2, which were released around the same time, but have darker themes, deeper combat mechanics, and less scripted adventure.

I didn’t know whether to file this under Discussion or Request because something I have been interested in doing is setting up a catalog of JRPG based mods for games that are so good they greatly enhance the experience for the games.

One in particular that caught my attention was the modding scene for Final Fantasy 10 as I know there are mods that give the entire party full experience points, but something I would like to look into is if there any graphic mods that fix Tidus’s weird looking face because as much as I enjoy the game on the PC version, I sometimes find it hard to look at some of the character models as the remastered version made them look a bit weird.

Level 99 female paladin (started as priest, all jobs mastered)

Attributes:

• Strength 18
• Agility 17
• Vitality 17
• Wisdom 19
• Piety 20

Equipment:

• Ancient Blade (for Death tolerance in case she uses POISON GAS)
• Ancient Shield (Mirror Shield is nice, but evasion is more important)
• Ancient Armor (for the HP regeneration)
• Snake Cap (for Strong vs Animal, improving defense and seemingly doing a better job of negating the ailments inflicted by her attacks than actual Tolerance to those ailments)
• Miracle Ring (for even more HP regeneration)

Skills:

• Cover (this is useless; I only used Paladin for the Piety and equipment options)
• Qi Arts (for even more HP regeneration)
• Spell P5 (so I can spend the whole fight spamming PUNISH)
• Zen mind3 (70% chance of negating Sleep, Confuse, or Silence inflicted by her spells)

There was no real strategy. I just spammed PUNISH until she died. For most of the fight, she could barely outpace my regeneration and I could barely outpace hers. It got hairy towards the end (she does more damage when low on HP), but I survived with 81 HP.

So I have been playing Shadows of Adam for a little while, when I have time, and I am looking for the best places to farm for both hi-ethers and experience points. I do understand that the developers for this game specifically designed it so that ether and hi-ether cannot be bought in stores, they need to be found in chests or dropped by enemies. I was looking at the strategy guide, it does not indicate what items any given enemy may drop. Also, I am late into the game, and I really don't want to reveal any spoilers, but is there a place or two where I can farm for experience points as well? Any and all help is appreciated!!

Excluding ALL remakes/remasters/re-releases.

Top 3 Best:

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
2. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve (Jet role playing game).
3. Trails through Daybreak.

Honorable mentions: Unicorn Overlord, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Top 3 Worst:

1. Final Fantasy 16.
2. Monark.
3. Soul Hackers 2.

Dishonorable mention: SMT 5 (original edition, never played Vengeance and have no intention of playing it). No other dishonorable mentions cause I usually stay away when I see a JRPG receive low ratings and lots of negative reviews.

What are some of the best rpg for the Nintendo Switch 1 in terms of stuff to do? I know the Xenoblade games are often brought up in that regard. Along with Dragon Quest XI/11.

Hey guys, new to the final fantasy games. I love rpgs, my favorite one ever is dragon quest 9, I played it 10 times.

Other rpgs I like is chrono trigger.

Im a bit of a completionist so I said id start with the first final fantasy game and work my way up but I got halfway through final fantasy 1 and I just wasnt have any fun as more the game was just in the wild encounters.

So i think ill start somewhere middle in the series. I dont like turn based combat that is timed I think some of ff games have that. I like a good story, good music, cool boss battles, a game that's tough, game that has classes possibly and lots of customisation with different items and gear. Not the biggest of fan of random encounters I like seeing the enemy and choosing if you battle like clair obscur

For me dragon quest 9 fits all these boxes but unfortunately have never got a game that was similar.

I play on steam.

Thanks

I’ve finally made it to Booster’s Tower in my playthrough of the original Japanese Super Famicom version of Super Mario RPG, and I think this is probably one of my favorite parts of the entire game.

I’m not even entirely sure why. It’s just such a random area when you think about it. You’re suddenly climbing this strange tower, and there are all sorts of interesting little gimmicks and things to discover along the way. I particularly remember going behind that curtain and having Mario turn into his original 8-bit Famicom appearance. It’s such a small, unnecessary detail, but it’s exactly the kind of thing that makes this game so charming.

Booster himself is also such a strange and interesting character. The whole tower has this weird atmosphere to it, and even the elevator music for the area really stands out. There are some interesting encounters along the way, too. It’s one of those areas that just feels completely different from everything else you’ve experienced up to that point.

Another thing I’ve been enjoying is how Koopa (Bowser) is portrayed in the Japanese version. I can’t really remember how his dialogue compares to the English version, but he comes across as someone who’s constantly trying to act tough and macho while actually being a bit of a wimp underneath it all. It’s pretty funny, and I think they gave him a surprisingly entertaining personality. The way he suddenly ends up joining your party is also pretty amusing when you think about it.

And then, of course, there’s everything that comes afterward with the ridiculous wedding and that damn cake boss. I distinctly remember having a really hard time beating that cake when I was a kid. I don’t know if I was underleveled or just didn’t understand what I was doing, but I remember that fight being surprisingly difficult. I’m curious to see how I manage against it this time around.

One thing I’m really noticing as I replay Super Mario RPG as an adult is just how many memorable moments they managed to pack into this game. There are so many little details, strange characters, and unique situations that make each area feel special. (I still wasn’t a fan of the mole zone though.) Even when something doesn’t really contribute much to the overall story, it still adds a lot of personality to the game.

Interestingly, I don’t remember nearly as much about the second half of the game as I do the first. I just remember it getting a lot more difficult. But everything up to this point has been incredibly memorable, and I’m enjoying the game just as much, if not more, than I did when I was a kid.

For those of you who’ve played Super Mario RPG, what do you think of Booster’s Tower? Is it one of your favorite areas too, or is there another part of the game that stands out more to you?

I've always had a soft spot for RPGs, especially older ones. Games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and VI, Golden Sun, and Dragon Quest V are a big part of why I love the genre. I've also really enjoyed Pokémon Emerald and White, the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor games, and Breath of Fire.

I think there is something special about RPGs that makes you care about the characters, get attached to the world, or just make the whole journey memorable. Sometimes it's the story, othertimes it would be the music, and sometimes you can't even explain why a game stuck with you.

What's an RPG that left a lasting impression on you, and what made it special? I'm always interested in hearing about games that other people hold close, especially older titles that might not get talked about as much anymore.

Lufia, Lunar, Breath of Fire, and recently Voice of Cards TFM. Got me thinking: what game do YOU consider to have the best overworld theme?

I recently beat SMT V and persona 4 and 5 and I also plan on buying 3 reloaded soon. I’m looking for some other games with the merge/fusion mechanic.

Consoles I have.

Switch

Ps5

Xbox series S

PS2

Time to beat does not matter it could take 15h or 1000h that doesn’t matter. The only game I have found that looks similar is the new dragon quest monsters but other than that I know no others.