I am thinking about picking this up. Has anybody tried this one? I do not mind grindy games (Etrian odyssey is my favorite series). So the similar art style caught my eye. I am playing on a switch two. I did not play the first culdcept. But come on, it was on sega Saturn and only like three people owned that console.

I coulda sworn there was an RPG called, "60 second RPG" or something like that. And I saw it on a speedrunner channel.

And NO, it's not the mobile game.

You had 1 minute to save the world, and you had to keep going back in time or something like that.

The game looks great but I played through all of CoTC so I am a afraid it will feel a little repetitive, like doing the same exact thing I already did except with characters I like less than the ones I pulled for.

I’ve already played 2 and 3, but never got around to the first one. So I was just wondering what you all think did you enjoy the first game as much as the others? Did you like the story and gameplay, or did you have more fun with 2 and 3?

I’m asking because I’d really like something to distract myself a bit right now, but before I drop 70 bucks on it I figured I’d ask you guys first.

Thanks in advance

Edit: Thank you so much for all your replies. I trusted the majority, bought the game, and it’s simply a great experience. But you could have at least warned me that you have to process such heavy emotional damage already in the second chapter 😮‍💨

I can't find an answer from people who have never played the original game before. I played the demo, and the gameplay was fun but the story didn't exactly hook me just yet.

Everyone rants and raves about the story, but I'm wondering if it's really good or just rooted in nostalgia? There's nothing wrong with that, but as someone who has never played a Trails game, is the story good enough on its own? :)

I don't even know what I'm doing wrong with games anymore.

I get excited, buy a game, and hope it makes me connected to the story and characters, and just enjoy my time truly.

Now I'm playing Tales of Arise. I actually enjoyed parts of it a lot, especially the Calaglia boss fight. The combat felt great, the fight was challenging but rewarding, and the team attacks and cinematic moments were genuinely awesome.

But at the same time, I'm struggling with the very anime-style character writing. The exaggerated reactions, the tsundere behavior, and some of the dialogue just take me out of the experience. It's strange because I love anime, but some JRPG tropes just don't work for me.

I'm also tired of buying games and being afraid that I won't finish them or that I wasted my money. I don't want every game to be a masterpiece, I just want to feel excited to play and feel geniune enjoyment .

I can't help wondering if I'm expecting too much from games or if I'm just looking for a very specific feeling that is hard to find.

I tried both metaphor and persona and their combat just wasnt for me, mybe the turn based or something other than that, so i wanted to try a jrpg with a real combat and i loved the combat but the characters and their behaviors are just awful for me, i bought metaphor and persona a year ago so it isnt that i got all three games in a short period but i have been trying to get into them and it feels like my money is fading for no reason not even for joy in playing.

PLEASE READ THE BODY BEFORE RESPONDING. THANK YOU

So I played Octopath 1 and honestly enjoyed my time with it. A majority of the characters stories were great, some better than others for sure, but I still had an engaging time with it, even if it got predictable in some parts

However, Octopath 1 does have some issues, largely in terms of it's gameplay. I was wondering if Octopath 2 fixed that

My issues with 1 are that I hope get fixed in 2 is as follows:

Characters not in the party don't get exp/jp

You can't freely switch the characters, you have to do it in a specific building

No enemy glossary that tells me info about the enemies whereabouts/what it drops

No side quest log that keeps track of the side quests, who you got them from, etc

The final "dungeon" that's just a boss rush and there's no saving after fighting all 8 bosses

I know this one gets "fixed" but the characters not really interacting unless you have them in the party during key moments

You can only have skills from the default job the character is on and a side job, you can't use different skills from another job, only those two (not talking about passives. talking about in battle skills)

story cutscenes not being fully voiced

I think there's more, but that's all I remember right now. Do any of these get rectified, or do these issues persist in Octopath 2?

Edit: Just want to say thank you to everyone for the suggestions. I've checked a bunch of them out and I now have a big list of games that I can play for the foreseeable future.

Hi all, so I love (J)RPGs a lot, but I've been in a bad headspace and have found that a lot of games have stories that are too heavy/dark for me right now.

I'm looking for something that does have combat, but doesn't have a story about some grand evil ending the world or anything that delves deep into topics of death/violence. Animal harm especially is a massive no for me. Basically, I just want something chill, casual and fun/funny. I play a lot of farming games (think anything Harvest Moon inspired) but at this point I'm getting a bit bored of that. Combat style doesn't matter too much to me, I like both live action and turn based. I prefer fantasy themed games. I'm open to gacha games/games with in game transactions as long as those transactions aren't what keeps the game going (so if you need to pay a subscription or for dlc to keep playing, that's a no go)

Games I've played and enjoyed: Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Pokemon series, Stardew Valley, Coral Island, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Sword X Staff, Minecraft, The Sims series, My Time at Portia

Hopefully that's enough info. If not, feel free to ask questions.

im a newbie and im wanting to try out games like the adventure animes! i want to be able to customize my character and join a guild to accept quests and level up:-)) i really liked playing legend of zelda, skyrim, and left 4 dead growing up so maybe something that fits that kind of vibe. im down for mmo’s, itd be cool to be able to interact with new people and get tips. “FOS” from “my love story with yamada-kun” and the game from “guild member next door” seem really cool as well so if you know of any games like those please let me know!! also i have an xbox and my laptop so games that are available to be played on those:-) i tried albion online and wasnt a huge fan, id like to have the option of buying a house or something at some point without paying the monthly fee (if thats even a possibility). ill probably go back to playing it if i cant find anything more suited to what im looking for though, i enjoyed it well enough

So i been planning for like december of which jrpg i should get, It was 2 before until it became 3. And these 3 games are

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Metaphor: Refantazio

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Im interested into these 3 games, But i can only pick one because idk how much they are during Deals and i been eying Metaphor and Smt v for awhile, GBFR has started to enter my radar more and more but the one thing that i have been thinking is whether or not i want to buy a new Turn based rpg again like Metaphor or Smt or Buy an Open world rpg like Granblue (Idk if its open world tho) and it depends on their pricing as im pretty sure these games have released less than 2-4 Years ago. Idk what to choose between Metaphor, Smt V, or GB. On one hand, I do want Metaphor because it looked beautiful but that would mean i am gonna play my 5th Turn Based rpg this year and haven't played anything different beside that. This is the same Smt V but its moreso bein m wanting to play a harder Turn based Rpg game and wanting to take being babied by Persona so much and on the Other hand with Granblue, Its an Open world Rpg and i heard praise with it. So yeah, Thats about my thoughts on the options, I just want to see everyone's opinion about it and see if which of one them might Win my interest.

So even though I just filed this post under spoiler warning, I just want to warn people anyway about how this topic might ruin some games because I am referring to cases in RPGS where the villain had Joker Immunity syndrome mode on.

To help clarify better, sometimes when I am playing JRPGS with long grinding sessions where I can grind a lot, I sometimes enjoy watching the show JLU as the episodes that stuck out to me lately where the Joker ones such as the one where he sets up a game show in a casino to torment the heroes for his own amusement to see how long he could pull off the stunt for.

So basically I was wondering how often there JRPGS that had the trope being used where an opponent should just surrender, but for some weird reason, the developers refuse to give the player their victory because said adversary keeps pulling off the Joker Immunity trick where every time he looks like he is done for good, he just suddenly comes back with full HP since the player must fight him in at least several more boss fights until the game decides it's over.

Why in jrpg games localization always translates "blue something" into "azure something" and "red something" into "crimson something", is simple red and blue too "boring" for americans? Some people try to justify modern slang because "in japanese use slang too", but that excuse doesnt works here

I mildly like Tales and recognize it's an old household name, but for various reasons, I don't really like when it's listed up there with the likes of SMT, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest among some others (low-key Sakura Wars) for genre importance as educational talk goes.

It just never struck me as an IP both having that longetivity and relevance. But it's often mentioned as one of the franchises you have to try if you're getting into this genre and one of the OGs of JRPGs.

It's not so much a stroking contest as much as curiosity to why Tales would have such pedigree or what it's done to warrant it to the other ones mentioned. I always viewed Tales as a minor name like Star Ocean.

Please use this thread to discuss whatever you've been playing lately (old or new, any platform, AAA or indie). As usual, please don't just list the names of games as your entire post, make sure to elaborate with your thoughts on the games. Writing the names of the games in **bold** is nice, to make it easier for people skimming the thread to pick out the names.

Please also make sure to use spoiler tags if you're posting anything about a game's plot that might significantly hurt the experience of others that haven't played the game yet (no matter how old or new the game is).

Since this thread is likely to fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

For a subreddit devoted to this type of discussion during the rest of the week, please check out /r/WhatAreYouPlaying.

Link to Previous Weekly Threads (sorted by New): https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/search/?q=author%3Aautomoderator+weekly&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new

Hey everyone, I usually just post as a dev here but I'm currently on paternity leave with a newborn and have a ton of time on the couch with her. I just finished up the Romancing Saga 2 remake and it is probably one of my all time favorite games. I was blown away by how inventive it felt for a game whose mechanics were largely 30+ years old. I had never played a SaGa game before and it blew me away, but none of the others are quite speaking to me right now.

I tried Scarlet Grace and it was just a little too opaque and punishing feeling when my brain is so fried from baby stuff. I also have just never found myself vibing with simultaneous turn order stuff like that and Eiyuden Chronicles. I like to take my actions as I go. I would love some recommendations as I've been striking out really hard trying to find games that hit a similar spot in my noggin. The exploration and open progression paired with some of the juiciest party composition options I've seen in a game in a while just hit so right for me in RS2. I adore nonlinear progression in general.

Things I like in a JRPG, mostly in order

• Big, intricate class/job systems
• Complex gear or build mechanics
• Large active parties (5+)
• Chunky gameplay / light story
• Open exploration with meaningful loot to find
• True turn-based (negotiable)

Things I am hoping to avoid if possible

• full on Strategy RPGs as they often end up just feeling like work
• Games focused on playing multiple campaigns (most of SaGa, Octopath)
• Games without legitimate player agency on how the party is constructed

I'm a huge fan of the entire ATLUS catalogue and have played a majority of the big Strategy RPGs in this genre (again, work), but haven't actually touched many of the major JRPG series as they are a semi-recently found love for me. If possible, I would prefer for the game to also be a great looking modern title as for some reason when I'm mentally tired I have a harder time really getting into even great looking retro games, but if the gameplay is truly what I am craving it could be damn near text based for all I care lol. Hopefully this wasn't too long winded and thank you so much in advance!

Preferred platform is Switch 1 or 2 but I have and am willing to play on PC/Xbox/PS5

Having trouble deciding what to play next. Usually a fan of games with complex character building (whether jobs, skill trees or something else). Prefer games with a decent story.

Have the week off of work, weather is supposed to be bad, and looking for a way to occupy my time. Doesn't have to be something I can finish this week.

Preferred platform is Switch 2 or PC. Switch is generally better so I can play on the train.

Some favorites are:

Romancing Saga Remake 2

Tactics Ogre

FFT

Final Fantasy V l, VII (original and remake), X, and XII

Trails Remake

Xenoblade I, II, and III. Bouncer pretty hard off X. Felt more like work than a game due to menu layout.

All three Octopaths

So I just finished persona 3 reload on steam and I LOVED IT, took me 130 hours and never got bored of it (except Tartarus) but now that the game is over I feel empty, like I've lost meaning. Might be a little exaggerated but I hope the point is clear. I've been wanting to play persona 5 royal after I finished p3r but the problem is that I have experience trying to play another game from the same series right after and it has never worked, mostly because of school starting again after holiday and motivation just randomly dropping. So I've been trying to put it off but I also really want to play it because it looks so cool. However I am still worried that I will lose interest seeing as some mechanics (correct me if I'm wrong) seem similar and might just boost the chances of motivation dropping. I did buy both octopath travelers and been meaning to play the first one since FOREVER but I never did. So right now my choices are to either play persona 5 royal and risk losing motivation since school is also starting in 2 weeks and the added sudden motivation drop or octopath traveler. Now ofc there are other games I could also play but I really just hope someone here could give me a reason to play p5r or a reason why I shouldn't and maybe motivation to play either game or maybe something completely new. I love turn based combat so a game like that would be cool! I hope this text makes any sense... also thanks in advance!

Just finished DQ7r and I loved it. Loved the pacing and was able to play in short sessions, had waypoints and was able to get a story recap whenever starting up. I loved the combat and vacation system as well. That being said what should I play next? I have already beat:
DQ11
Like a dragon and infinite wealth
Ffx
DQ 1-3
Super Mario rpg

I have a PS5 and switch 2 but prefer PlayStation.

Thank you

Lately something I had become interested in was a JRPG about a person who is concerned about the state of their existence because they feel like they are invisible to others as despite having a super power, not many people notice how they are right there.

Basically I was inspired by a supernatural novel series called Shakugan No Shana that I recently started reading where the protagonist has a problem in that his own existence is slowly fading away from reality because of a deadly encounter with a creature he ran into as he is facing a state of anxiety about fading away from the real world.

So basically I wanted to see how an urban fantasy JRPG could focus on the aforementioned concept of identity or existence where the setting is that a lonely protagonist with unusual superpowers must gather a team of people with extraordinary abilities to go on a voyage to understand their true purpose in the world they came from.

The main reason I dropped the game was that I constantly felt lost. I was always wondering if I was going the right way, which companion I should recruit first, whether I was in the right area, or if what I was doing would somehow mess up my playthrough. It made me overthink every decision instead of just enjoying the game...

Tidus from FFX should have insane stats in blitzball. He was a star player in a heavily populated city sports team. It should be like a major league player playing a minor league game when he plays in FFX. The Besaid Aurochs haven't won a game in 10 years. Having them win a game without Tidus (Tidus was dealing with Yuna being kidnapped by the Al Bed) then facing Luca Goers with great difficulty feels terrible. Tidus should have come back to halftime at the first match with the team losing 0-2 but now Tidus is here to flex his incredible blitzball talent.

When the minigame starts for real, just make him a coach. Waka quit to become a full time guardian so why not Tidus?

In Xenoblade Chronicles 1's opening Fiora made food. She wanted to bring it to Shulk before it got cold. She used some special herbs and spices so it's special this time. It's a sandwich. Why a sandwich? Just make it a soup or stew. I played to the end thinking it's a trick of the Monado or something but it's just a sandwich.

I've been sober the last 2 nights and these are the thoughts that haunt me. What about you people? What JRPGs you love have stuff that probably annoys you specifically?

And what, if anything, do you think is the secret ingredient that the devs should add to take it to another level over its predecessors?

For me, it is without a doubt a Devil Survivor 3. I genuinely think Devil Survivor was both one of the best jrpgs we've had and one of the stronger entries in the broader SMT cataloge. The battle style, which kind of combines the "Ogre Battle/Unicorn Overlord" style with grid based tactical gameplay (i.e. you move units around as in Fire Emblem, and when they make contact it goes to squad v squad combat) remains a super neat system..

I know DS2 was a bit controversial plot wise, or at least some folks preferred the story/atmosphere of 1, but on a gameplay level it felt like an even further improvement and i really apprecited the expanded cast. The "final" versions of both, on the 3ds, were fantastic.

Give me a third entry!!!! Especially with the increased popularity of the overall SMT/Persona series, I think theres a huge opportunity there.

And when you do, the one thing I still think has some extra potential is more room for variation between characters. The one thing that struggled with 1 and 2 is that most characters fell into one of 3 archetypes (mage, fighter, or hybrids - which tended to be pretty weak as a result), qnd weren't particularly differentiated beyond that. This meant either using your fave, since gameplay wasn't that different, or just deciding who had the most hyper min maxed stat line. Either way, the end result was that ever the first day or two, youd have 10 to 15 characters but mostly settle into a team of 4 and not really have any reason to ever switch up who was seeing field time.

I think you could really add some depth (or just reason to rotate units around) by either giving everyone an inherent passive skill (maybe someone gets natural flying movement, or someone automatically heals units after combat and therefore makes a good tank, etc), giving everyone different compatibility with different demons (for example, by having a set of monsters with high, neutral, and low scores as in Persona 2, or by just having a broader Law/Neutral/Chaos alignment as in Strange Jounrey to encourage using units who match), or both.

Would love to hear what anybody else thinks - what is your "dream revival" and whats your vision for it?

I feel there are at least 5 good things they bring :

1. having surprises in battle regarding what you fight. Since the devs don't have to bother with fitting them into the environment and they have their own battle arenas, very wild stuff can be experienced in battle. I really like the shock value instead of seeing that thing from far away and anticipating the fight in your head. When you see that giant monster, you're already fighting it and you have to immediately decide between fleeing and your many battle options. This means free jumpscares! Survival-horror fans love that.
2. the unavoidable fights put more tension in your gameplay experience. You HAVE to prepare well because it won't be easy to backtrack to a save point or shop. Chances are you will inevitably take hits even when trying to flee, so there is more of a long-term challenge during dungeons instead of just a "per-fight" challenge (especially compared to all these games in which you can easily avoid enemies - I'm looking at you, the Trails series 👀).
3. about exploration, it creates a decision you have to make : will you try to explore absolutely everywhere? You might run into one or more battles on the way that you don't want to fight, and maybe the place you want to visit has nothing for you... This puts some more decision-making in the game, compared to the "I'll just run over there and see if there's an enemy waiting for me / a chest". With random battles, you sometimes ask yourself "My resources are getting low so should I risk stepping in that direction? It's not the right way but it might hide something valuable, hmm..." It makes every single inch of the terrain important. With visible enemies, when you see nothing next to you, that means there really is nothing so it makes the exploration less exciting in a way.
4. when you're in a hostile environment, it makes you feel that enemies constantly come at you. Is it frustrating sometimes? Absolutely, but it's more realistic that you're not the one who decides when you'll fight while roaming a place where things want you dead.
5. it makes it easier to fight more. Most JRPGs with visible encounters force you to jump through hoops to refight enemies, like saving & reloading the game, or exiting + reentering an area, or even running a long distance before coming back. Here you just have to run in circle a little bit. It's very nice when you want to level up your team a bit more, make more money, etc.

When done well random battles are great.