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

A_Unicycle wrote:

How long until the next game?

I'm gauging if I have time to play another JRPG, or if I should have a little break

I'm kind of in the same boat here, jonesing for a good JRPG but I don't want to start something this month that will be interrupted by whatever we pick up next. I might give MHS a go in earnest, still not sure.

Malkroth wrote:
A_Unicycle wrote:

Whatever does come next, I think I've realised that any JRPGing I do almost certainly has to be on a handheld system.

It's so much easier to digest long games bit by bit before bed

Oh gosh, I got the exact opposite realization. I couldn't stand constantly playing such a long game on my 3DS. Only reason I got through this one so quick is because I had a two week trip where I really only played my 3DS. I much prefer to sit down and play hours long sessions in front of my TV. Less arm/wrist/shoulder strain too.

I'm definitely on the Pro-3DS team, but I'm also not sure how many games on it would still realistically win at this point. TWEWY has been nominated many times (which is on a bunch of other stuff now too), or maybe a mystery dungeon game (Persona Q or Super Pokemon). Etrian odyssey has been nominated before, but might be too hard to win broad support. The only one I've played is EO4, and it's still the game on my 3DS that I've booted up the most times even seven years later, since I rage quit out so many times and had to turn it back on.

On the other hand, we have a number of games on the Switch (Octopath, Xenoblade, Ys VIII) that have all come close to winning at various times, so that might be a good way to split the difference.

Xenoblade is on 3DS and Ys VIII is on Vita so those two have options.

I was actually surprised that TWEWY didn’t get up at some point prior to the sequel. Still, that game can be played on Ds/3DS/Switch/Mobile.

Switch is definitely a good middle ground.

I do really love the vibe the 3DS has, though. It's just a little bit better for some cozy bedtime gaming - the form factor, the more bite-sized approach to game design on it etc. DS/3DS JRPGs just hit different to Switch JRPGs, which feel more like console games with the ability to pause.

That being said, I'm pretty curious about Digimon: Cyber Slueth which I picked up on sale recently. It's on Vita, PC and Switch now, and pretty cheap when it goes on sale.

Etrian odyssey has been nominated before, but might be too hard to win broad support.

Yeah it never does too well. I've been playing through V very sporadically, and I think it would be a really good gameclub game. It would be fun to share maps and party builds! There's so many ways to approach EO games! I think EOIV is always pretty cheap on the eShop, too.

I put about 25 hours into EOV, unlocked the second class trees and just needed a break. It gets a bit oppressive at times, but damn it's a fantastic game.

I'm kind of in the same boat here, jonesing for a good JRPG but I don't want to start something this month that will be interrupted by whatever we pick up next. I might give MHS a go in earnest, still not sure.

I'm on a mad rush to finish CrossCode before we start! I couldn't resist starting it up, now I'm half way through and (mostly) loving it! the puzzles are a little bit much at times, and it's longer than I expected. But DAMN it's a wonderful little RPG.

Handhelds are out for me, too. All I get from them is eyestrain and cramped hands and back (showing my age here).

Coincidentally I was planning to start CrossCode next too!

I'd love some Etrian Odyssey too. I like the gameplay loop but I think group support would help me get over some of the difficulty spikes. And advise me on character builds.

Digimon: Cyber Sleuth got 3 votes when I nominated it way back but then it was only on Vita. It's an interesting game.

Switch exclusives are out for me unfortunately.

No reason we can't run a little social EO run through with Discord or something

I agree that some support would help me get over some of the hurdles. They are tough games. I own most of the 3DS titles, and the others regularly go on sale. More than happy to play with you.

I played a good bit of EOIV a year or two ago, but also stalled out. It's one of those games I'd love to finish. I was far in, to: in the 4th land.

I've spent the most time with IV and V. Both have 30+ hours clocked but neither have been finished.

Something about those games, as much as I love them, they wear you thin after that long!

Congrats to Malkroth, our latest finisher!

The next song from the Olympic Ceremony is actually not from a JRPG: it's First Flight from Ace Combat 5. But it sure sounds like it could be from a JRPG.

When does the voting for Q4 start? Hard to believe, but it's getting close to that time.

I was going to skip this cycle, but I think I just figured out what I'm going to nominate...

I know some people have the itch. I have the itch. And you know what? Why the heck not, it starts right now.

Nominations: Open NOW; close Sunday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m. EDT (GMT -4)
Pick 5 (if necessary): Open Sunday, Sept. 19, 9 a.m. EDT; close Wednesday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m. EDT
Ranked Choice: Open Wednesday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m. EDT; close Saturday, Sept. 25; 9 a.m. EDT
Winner announced: shortly thereafter.

For the newbies, or anyone needing a reminder, here's our process:

  • The game must be at least 1 year old. Remasters (but not remakes) that are less than a year old are fine. The test is basically "could I play the old game, alongside someone playing the new game, and share a common experience?"
  • Anyone can nominate one game, and second any number of games. Any game that's nominated and seconded moves on to the next round.
  • The "Pick 5" round is designed to winnow down the choices to credible contenders that most members of the club will play. In the past, where we've had a field of 10+ games, a bunch of games would get 1 or 2 first-place votes, which made selections cumbersome. I reserve the right to modify "Pick 5" to "Pick 4" or "Pick 6" depending on how many games are nominated and how many members have voted.
  • Ranked-choice voting is designed to make sure we have broad consensus about the game we end up playing.

Game on!

I guess I get to start, and I nominate Phantom Brave.

Gonna try something different. I nominate Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Ys 8.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

Ys 8.

Seconded.

bobbywatson wrote:

I guess I get to start, and I nominate Phantom Brave.

And seconded :).

Biding my time and will second some fun games until I can decide between the handful I want to nominate

Mr GT Chris wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:

I guess I get to start, and I nominate Phantom Brave.

And seconded :).

Color me surprised: I did not expect anyone to second it!

I'll second Fire Emblem Three Houses. It'll give me a good reason to finally finish the game!

Is Phantom Brave a Disgaea spinoff? It certainly looks it. I've never played a Disgaea game but that could be a lot of fun.

LastSurprise wrote:

I'll second Fire Emblem Three Houses. It'll give me a good reason to finally finish the game!

Is Phantom Brave a Disgaea spinoff? It certainly looks it. I've never played a Disgaea game but that could be a lot of fun.

Yes, it is. Both developed by Nippon Ichi. Available on PS2, PSP, PC, Wii, and Switch.

Quick note: Can you update the thread title to let folks know nominations have started?

Just double checked that I still have my copy of Phantom Brave (PS2) sitting in a folder with Disgaea and La Pucelle Tactics.

bobbywatson wrote:
LastSurprise wrote:

I'll second Fire Emblem Three Houses. It'll give me a good reason to finally finish the game!

Is Phantom Brave a Disgaea spinoff? It certainly looks it. I've never played a Disgaea game but that could be a lot of fun.

Yes, it is. Both developed by Nippon Ichi. Available on PS2, PSP, PC, Wii, and Switch.

Quick note: Can you update the thread title to let folks know nominations have started?

Good call! Doing that now.

I've been meaning to poke around with Disgaea again after getting burned out with the series upon finishing (and grinding the hell out of) Disgaea 2. Phantom Brave could be a nice re-entry point. Same engine, different vibes.

I bounced off Three Houses because I missed the difficulty and permadeath of the older games. Fire Emblem (GBA) is still my favourite, followed closely by Awakening. Not a fan of it becoming an easy dating sim, but...I've heard nothing but good things about the game. I'd be happy to take another stab at it with a game club.

I'll nominate Tales of Vesperia. I was going to suggest Digimon Cyber Sleuth, but I'm seeing Tales of Arise hype everywhere I go, so I figured it'd be nice to explore the series a bit!

I’ll second Tales of Vesperia

EDIT: Since I’m the one who nominated Three Houses, I’ll make the case for it. And I’m a bit biased, since it was my GOTY when it came out in 2019.

I’ll start with the difficulty. Play on Hard. Simple as that. The Normal difficult is easy, the Hard difficulty is normal, and Maddening is maddening. I played Awakening on Hard and thought that that was the correct difficulty for me, since I had played most of the games in the series up to that point, and I thought Hard in 3H felt like a similar reasonable difficulty.

As for the dating sim side, I really didn’t think it was all that bad. It was really obnoxious in Fates, and with the school setting, I thought they were going to do more of the same with that Persona spin. But it surprised me by actually not being annoying about it (leaving aside the tea party, which I almost entirely avoided and wasn’t my favorite way to get support levels anyway), it had some of the deepest characters and best writing that I’ve seen (for Fire Emblem). Instead of characters maybe being annoying, they were kind of the highlight, and the strategic RPG side of the game (trying to recruit people while also trying to train up my current class to get to certain classes with limited time and resources) was this constant plate spinning act that was shockingly compelling. Plus the flexible new way they handled classes and stat growth was a breath of fresh air compared to the fixed classes of prior games. And I liked the story as well.

My reason for wanting to go back to it is that I only played as 2 of the 3 houses, and I'd like to get back to it at some point and replay the 3rd house plus the DLC. I also think it would be a good one for discussion, since there's a lot of characters and strategies and builds to discuss, plus the different houses have completely different stories in the second half, so there's some opportunities for spoiler talk there. At least, I remember the FE thread being pretty lively for a few months after the game came out.

Okay you may have convinced me! It'll be high up on my list

Just wow! All great games nominated. I'd be happy to play any of them so far! Definitely my favourite thread (or series of threads) on this site!

I'll offer a slightly different take on Three Houses. I generally agree with Sundown: play on Hard, and don't play on casual mode. That'll be the right difficulty level.

To me, the game was easier than other Fire Emblem games, for a few reasons. One was the Divine Pulse, which works similarly to the Turnwheel in Fire Emblem Echoes. I'm so glad they introduced it. I've enjoyed the challenge of Fire Emblem games, but didn't enjoy the feeling of having to restart battles -- or do without a character, and lose that character's story, because I failed to anticipate something or because of a dice role. The limited rewind mechanic does a great job with this.

The game's also easier because you'll have an easier time "breaking" it. Character development is more flexible and customizable in this game. If you really make an effort to learn the systems, do the side missions, and get good gear, your characters will become mostly unstoppable. If you enjoy that feeling of making an RPG easy because you've put in the time and mastered it, you'll like this.

I do think the game's a bit too long, and some of the social stuff is too grindy. But I think some of that was my own fault, for trying to do too much and drawing out the game. You'll often have three free weekends between big chapter beats, which felt like one too many. One is for exploring the monastery, one is for side battles, and one ... ends up being for exploring the monastery again, at least for me. But there only enough story for one visit per month. So, I was just using that second trip to optimize things, and it felt like busy work.

I also spent a good bit of time trying to recruit members of other houses in the early game. I'd actually recommend against overdoing this. Yes, you'll find interesting characters in the other house. But the members of your own house all tend to have supports with each other, making them a naturally good group. And the unit cap on each map typically makes it so you're caught somewhere between being slightly under or slightly over the number of units that belong to your own house anyway. There's also a group of people not affiliated with any house (the faculty & staff) that are super easy to recruit. So -- especially if you keep people alive -- recruiting people away from other houses will just lead to having way more people you can use.

Anyway, I came here to nominate a game, and I'm going to nominate Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout! I've been wanting to try an Atelier game and this one looks like a good point of entry.

I will second Atelier Ryza, it is also a series I have been meaning to try, especially after I played Mana Khemia and loved it then learned it was a spin-off from that series.

As for myself, I would like to nominate Xenoblade Chronicles again.