The GWJ JRPG Club Version 2.5 HD Remaster: Announcing our Q2 2024 Game!

LastSurprise wrote:

Nice! What are you particularly excited for?

I wish Breath of Fire IV were available on the PS4, I'd love to try it. But I have none of the right systems to play it, other than a PS2 that I could use to play PS1 disks.

BoFIV is playable on PSP, Vita and PS3 as well if you have access to one of those.

LastSurprise wrote:

Nice! What are you particularly excited for?

I wish Breath of Fire IV were available on the PS4, I'd love to try it. But I have none of the right systems to play it, other than a PS2 that I could use to play PS1 disks.

Breath of Fire IV is certainly a worthy pick. I played it nearly ten years ago or so... might be persuaded to do it again, thought that might be "irresponsible" on my part, given how much else I own but haven't played through yet.

If you have a PC, well, you may consider other means to play it, but I will not delve into that. There was actually a pc version, iirc, but that's not necessarily what I was referring to.

As for what I look forward to from the list, Trails of Cold Steel is a stalwart (been holding off on playing fully in hopes of it getting picked here for some time now), Xenoblade Chronicles (much like the previous entry), Nier: Automata (which I own and would love to see picked), Valkyrie Profile (I played it back in the day, but would even give the mobile version a go if it got picked), Hack yadda yadda (JRPG nomenclature notwithstanding, I've always wanted to give the series a full go with my current perspective).

The other picks I either do not own nor am I willing to purchase any time soon - not saying never - or I've recently - relatively - beaten them.

To be clear, you can play the PSN version on PSP/Vita/PS3. You can play your original PS1 disc on PC/PS1/PS2. Or you can rip your original PS1 disc and play the image on PC or a custom firmware PSP/Vita.

Mr GT Chris wrote:
LastSurprise wrote:

Nice! What are you particularly excited for?

I wish Breath of Fire IV were available on the PS4, I'd love to try it. But I have none of the right systems to play it, other than a PS2 that I could use to play PS1 disks.

BoFIV is playable on PSP, Vita and PS3 as well if you have access to one of those.

Nope, don’t have any of those!

Woah dude!

Yeah. I have a PS4 and a PS2, but those are my only Sony products. I was a bit of a late adopter of the PS4 (Christmas 2017). And then I have an NES, SNES, 3DS, and Wii -- once had a gamecube and an N64, but I sold those last year. And then a bunch of games on steam.

Wow! But I'm a bit weird, no current gen hardware, not even a computer or phone that would count.

Btw, I second FF8 if needed.

I just wanted to post to say that I'm looking forward to seeing what gets picked. I'm going to hold off on nominating, as I've had a cruddy record of keeping up with playing the games so far. (The 90-hour RPGs we've selected in the CRPG club have kept me busy.)

I'm still hopeful I'll get to dig into Persona 5 before time runs out, but I want to keep up with the CRPG games first.

Hey, question for the group: in the past, I've thought about nominating a game from the Atelier series or the Ys series. I've never played anything from the former, and I've only played the old SNES Wanderers from Ys from the latter. For those who have tried games from either or both, which would you recommend as a good point of entry, or a good game to play and discuss with the club?

Both Ys and Atelier seem like series that make steady, incremental improvements with each iteration. I'd just play the latest release in each series. Which unfortunately cuts them off from the club, for the most part, because of the one year rule.

My favourite Atelier game, and also hands down the kindest to new players would be Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book. It has this neat little puzzle matching game (somewhat reminiscent of what you see on smart phones) that makes alchemy more interesting but it's not too demanding. Google says the release date is 19 November 2015 and platforms are PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows.

For Ys, you could do the great Ys: Books 1&2. That would give you TurboDuo, PC, DS/3DS, PSP/Vita, Famicom and even iOS/Android as possible platforms. I actually own 3 versions of the game ;). Ys 1 is even on SMS but not 2 sadly.

Nominations so far (so that folks don't have to go back to the previous page) :

From the previous round (no seconding needed):

  • The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
  • Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
  • The Last Remnant
  • Xenoblade Chronicles
  • Breath of Fire IV

Newly added:

  • Valkyrie Profile (LastSurprise, seconded by bobbywatson)
  • NieR: Automata (ClockworkHouse, seconded by bobbywatson and Forlorn Hope)
  • Final Fantasy VIII (bobbywatson, seconded by LastSurprise and Mr GT Chris)
  • Monster Hunter Stories (nominated by Ted, seconded by ClockworkHouse)
  • hack//G.U. Vol. 1: Rebirth (nominated by Forlorn Hope)

(Fun fact: In my previous summary, I forgot to add the game I had nominated. This list fixes that issue.)

I'll formally second Monster Hunter Stories.

Last call for nominations! Voting starts tonight!

All right folks, the nomination period is now over!

We have 9 games on the ballot for this quarter: (.hack GU did not make the cut as it was not seconded, unless I missed the reply. If that is the case, please let me know and I'll make sure it is included.)

Breath of Fire IV
Available on: PS1, PS3, PSP, PSVita, PSTV
Estimated length: 41 hours
Final Fantasy VIII
Available on: PS1, PS3, PSP, PSVita, PSTV, PC
Estimated length: 58 hours
The Last Remnant
Available on: Xbox 360, PC (no longer for sale on Steam), PS4 (Remaster)
Estimated length: 81 hours
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Available on: PS3, PSVita, PSTV, PC, PS4 available at the end of the month
Estimated length: 82 hours
Monster Hunter Stories
Available on: 3DS
Estimated length: 48 hours
NieR: Automata
Available on: PS4, PC, Xbox One
Estimated length: 37 hours
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Available on: PS3, PSVita, PSTV, PS4 (non-Leifthrasir version available on PS2, with horrible slowdowns)
Estimated length: 35 hours
Valkyrie Profile
Available on: PS1, PSP, iOS, Android
Estimated length: 44 hours
Xenoblade Chronicles
Available on: Wii, New 3DS (does not work on regular 3DS)
Estimated length: 91 hours

(Note: The times I used are the 'All Styles' times from HowLongToBeat, rounded to the higher integer).

Quick reminders:

  • We're using RANKED voting, so make sure you list your votes in your preferred order!
  • If you do not put numbers, I will use the order in which you list your choices.
  • You can vote for as many games as you want!
  • LastSurprise and I will be announcing on Saturday, March23rd, 2019!

Voting is now open!

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
2. Breath of Fire IV
3. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
4. Final Fantasy VIII

I'm casting my vote for Nier Automata. After Persona 5, I'm in the mood for something a little shorter and I've been meaning to play it anyways.

Forlorn Hope wrote:

I'm casting my vote for Nier Automata. After Persona 5, I'm in the mood for something a little shorter and I've been meaning to play it anyways.

Do you want to rank anything second, third, fourth, etc.? You certainly don't have to go all the way down the list, but if Nier doesn't win, at least you'll have a say in another pick. Of course, if you only want to play Nier, that's fine too.

My votes:

1. Valkyrie Profile
2. Monster Hunter Stories
3. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
4. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
5. The Last Remnant
6. Breath of Fire IV
7. Final Fantasy VIII
8. Xenoblade Chronicles
9. Nier: Automata

My votes:

  • Final Fantasy VIII
  • Nier Automata
  • Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
  • Valkyrie Profile
  • Breath of Fire IV
  • Last Remnant
LastSurprise wrote:
Forlorn Hope wrote:

I'm casting my vote for Nier Automata. After Persona 5, I'm in the mood for something a little shorter and I've been meaning to play it anyways.

Do you want to rank anything second, third, fourth, etc.? You certainly don't have to go all the way down the list, but if Nier doesn't win, at least you'll have a say in another pick. Of course, if you only want to play Nier, that's fine too.

Nier is the only one I can really commit to this time around. And I have a ton of games in my backlog to play if it doesn't get picked.

I vote for Monster Hunter Stories.

I don't think I'll be able to commit to anything else this time around.

Some fun games in here, and not a one that I've played yet to completion! I gave the nod towards some of the "shorter" games on the list this time, as I'm not sure I could manage a super long, 80-hour RPG during this upcoming stretch.

Looking forward to seeing who pulls out the victory!

1. Monster Hunter Stories
2. Valkyrie Profile
3. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
4. Xenoblade Chronicles
5. Final Fantasy VIII
6. Breath of Fire IV
7. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
8. The Last Remnant
9. Nier: Automata

1. Valkyrie Profile
2. Nier: Automata
3. Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel

1. Monster Hunter Stories
2. Nier: Automata
3. Final Fantasy VIII
4. Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel

Not sure if steinkrug and ClockworkHouse made the same mistake in their list on purpose, but it made me chuckle

Thanks for the votes, everyone!

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
2. Nier Automata
3. Xenoblade Chronicles
4. Valkyrie Profile

bobbywatson wrote:

Monster Hunter Stories
Available on: 3DS
Estimated length: 48 hours

I just learned that MH:Stories is apparently also available via Google Play for $20 USD.

Fair warning: the reviews indicate that there's a license check upon every start-up, meaning you need connectivity even when not doing online things.

bobbywatson wrote:

Not sure if steinkrug and ClockworkHouse made the same mistake in their list on purpose, but it made me chuckle

Thanks for the votes, everyone!

Steinkrug's list was close enough to mine that I just quoted it and edited it. Whoops!

ClockworkHouse wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

Not sure if steinkrug and ClockworkHouse made the same mistake in their list on purpose, but it made me chuckle

Thanks for the votes, everyone!

Steinkrug's list was close enough to mine that I just quoted it and edited it. Whoops!

Oh sure! Blame it on me!

I just thought it was funny, because a podcast I was listening to earlier today (RPGamer's RPGCast) brought up the fact that the release list the host was looking at had the same mistake in it