JRPG Catch-All

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Rather than create a million little mini-threads for each upcoming JRPG, let's have a catch-all for this oft-maligned genre. What JRPGs are on the horizon or have just come out that have you all excited?

Edit: Wanting to chat about Final Fantasy specifically? There's a thread for that!

I'll at least play Final Fantasy XIII, because I've yet to miss a Final Fantasy game. I'm also interested in playing Persona 3 on PSP, since a friend has recommended it highly.

Golden Sun DS also looks good.

Pokemon probably should get mentioned here, too.

This should be called the Sean Sands Invitational JRPG Discussion Thread.

I'm also interested in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, which basically takes the SMT formula, adds in some scifi and mashes it up with Etrian Odyssey. See:

IMAGE(http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/105/1054986/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey-20091214000652077.jpg)

Apparently Nippon Ichi has a game called Last Rebellion coming out at the end of this month. I've heard nothing about. Absolutely nothing.

Oh, and Resonance of Fate just got dated to release the week after FFXIII. Terrible idea. Terrible, terrible idea.

The sheen is very much off the JRPG for me. Over the last couple of years, I've had a couple of great experiences with them (Lost Odyssey, Disgaea), and a couple of soul-crushingly poor experiences (Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean - 360 version).

Final Fantasy 13 is going to be the litmus test that tells me whether I should start to avoid the genre like the plague, or merely restrict myself to the cream of the crop.

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

What's funny is that my interest in JRPGs has increased since I played, and hated, Mass Effect. I stopped playing JRPGs some time back when the original Fallout rolled around, but I've become less and less interested in Western RPGs as time has gone by. My experiences with Mass Effect and Oblivion, and my complete lack of interest in Dragon Age, makes me think that I'm just not that into them, anymore. So, I'm turning back to JRPGs to see what they have to offer me.

Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

And Rogue Galaxy should have taught you otherwise.

I need to play that again just to see what other weird stuff I can manufacture with the Captain's Socks.

Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

Star Ocean's localization and animation is terrible. The remakes of first two games on the PSP are worth playing, but SO: TLH is just bad.

Tales of Vesperia, on the other hand, was pretty good. Not as good as Lost Odyssey, but definitely worthwhile.

I'm going into one of my JRPG phases, so I'll be following this thread with interest.

Meanwhile, I've started playing through the Persona series starting with the PSP remake of Persona 1 that came out in September. I'm really liking it so far - it's pretty oldschool, and the random encounter rate is ungodly high, but it's still pretty neat. I really like the animated cut-scenes, which are (apparently) new to the remake.

Jonman wrote:

...a couple of soul-crushingly poor experiences (Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean - 360 version).

Oh God, those were both so horrible.

momgamer wrote:
Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

And Rogue Galaxy should have taught you otherwise.

I need to play that again just to see what other weird stuff I can manufacture with the Captain's Socks. ;)

Life saved me from that one. Was originally going to be a day 1 purchase, then had to sell the PS2 to move to the US. Thanks America!

The PSP is starting to look more and more intersting as a dedicated JRPG player. I've never so much as touched a Persona game, and the addition of some decent Star Ocean games is a nice touch too.

Maybe that'll be my gift to myself next time I take a long flight.

What's a good JRPG for someone new to that genre? I'm very experienced in western RPGs, but not JRPG's. Looking for something that might be easy to get into.

I got Vandal Hearts: Flames of Justice on XBLA, but I doubt that counts (and is also very simplistic).

Edit: I should mention I have no handhelds, but I do have PC, 360, and PS3.

Jeff-66 wrote:

What's a good JRPG for someone new to that genre? I'm very experienced in western RPGs, but not JRPG's. Looking for something that might be easy to get into.

I got Vandal Hearts: Flames of Justice on XBLA, but I doubt that counts (and is also very simplistic).

Edit: I should mention I have no handhelds, but I do have PC, 360, and PS3.

Since you have a PS3 you should definitely get Valkyria Chronicles. It's certainly not a typical jrpg a la Final Fantasy, it's a strategy rpg (wholly different than Vadal Hearts, however), but regardless you should totally pick that up.

Since you mentioned recently released titles, I did a big write-up on MagnaCarta 2, which had absolutely zero discussion on this site otherwise. I'm linking to it here for posterity. It's technically a KRPG (Korean), but it's functionally the same thing.

I am excited to think that my Wii may actually get some use this year.

garion333 wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

What's a good JRPG for someone new to that genre? I'm very experienced in western RPGs, but not JRPG's. Looking for something that might be easy to get into.

I got Vandal Hearts: Flames of Justice on XBLA, but I doubt that counts (and is also very simplistic).

Edit: I should mention I have no handhelds, but I do have PC, 360, and PS3.

Since you have a PS3 you should definitely get Valkyria Chronicles. It's certainly not a typical jrpg a la Final Fantasy, it's a strategy rpg (wholly different than Vadal Hearts, however), but regardless you should totally pick that up.

Thanks. I looked up the IGN review (9.0), and it looks like something I might enjoy. I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon. Thanks for the suggestion!

It doesn't happen very often, but are there any coming to PC or released recently? I picked up the Last Remnant during the Steam sale, but that's the last JRPG released on the PC that I know of.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for me. March 23rd can't come soon enough.

Citizen86 wrote:

It doesn't happen very often, but are there any coming to PC or released recently? I picked up the Last Remnant during the Steam sale, but that's the last JRPG released on the PC that I know of.

I can't think of one. They are a rarity.

I've updated the original post to make it a bit more of a reference for upcoming titles, their platforms, and their release dates. If any of those titles develop catch-all threads, I'll link to them; if you write up a good review for one of those games in this thread, I'll link to that, too.

For the sake of my sanity, except for MagnaCarta II, since Minarchist linked his review in this thread, I'll only be adding games to the "released games" section if they come out after, say, today.

I actually watched a bunch of vids on Resonance of Fate after mentioning it earlier. It's a tri-Ace game, so I'm a bit scared (see: Star Ocean TLH), but Famitsu gave it a 34/40, which gives me hope. Anyway, it's on the 360 and PS3 and is slated for the 16th of March (this is a new date, btw, most places had it listed as May 10).

Anyway, I'm liking the way it looks. It actually reminds me of Valkyria Chronicles where you have a mix of turn based and live action with guns. I like that. And since I'm a visual person:

IMAGE(http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/105/1052218/resonance-of-fate-20091204102537640_640w.jpg)

IMAGE(http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/105/1052218/resonance-of-fate-20091204102547139_640w.jpg)

IMAGE(http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/105/1052218/resonance-of-fate-20091204102556733_640w.jpg)

Resonance of Fate looks pretty cool, I might have to keep an eye on that one... and then borrow my friends Xbox for a while when it comes out.

Citizen86 wrote:

Resonance of Fate looks pretty cool, I might have to keep an eye on that one... and then borrow my friends Xbox for a while when it comes out.

Here's a great video overview of the Japanese demo and what to expect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59g4Y...

Ahhh...The JRPG. I love buying them, and then never playing them for some reason. I did finish Lost Odyssey, which was good. I don't get all the Eternal Sonata hate. It was beautiful, and had Chopin's music. I'm sure there was a story in there somewhere, which was probably crap, but I finished that one. They were damn stingy with the achievements, though.

I loved Valkirya Chronicles, but stopped about two thirds of the way through for some reason. Same with Tales of Vesperia, although I only got about fifteen hours into that one. I have unplayed sale bought copies of The Last Remenant and Infinite Undiscovery that I'll never get to. I also bought Disgaea 3, loved the tutorial, then never played it again. I barely touched Persona 3 and Persona 4, despite liking them. Yakuza 2 is still in the shrink wrap. Even Garnett Lee beat me to that one. What's wrong with me?

My recent portable JRPGs include Chrono Trigger, the first Star Ocean for PSP, The World Ends With You, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII on PSN and Persona PSP.

In short, sign me up for Final Fantasy XIII day one, Yakuza 3, Strange Journey, and Persona 3 PSP. I might finish one of those.

momgamer wrote:
Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

And Rogue Galaxy should have taught you otherwise.

I need to play that again just to see what other weird stuff I can manufacture with the Captain's Socks. ;)

Yeah, I enjoyed every little bit of Rogue Galaxy. It comes pretty close to being Skies of Arcadia in space, and that's just wonderful. I'm looking forward to SMT: Strange Journey, but if it isn't Persona, it's not an immediate buy for me. Maybe when it hits the bargain bins.

I just wish that all these JRPG crafting systems featured an undo button. It's hard to find old socks.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Jonman wrote:

I've been watching Infinite Space with cautioned interest - Mass Effect has taught me that RPG + spaceships = Win. Star Ocean has taught me that [color=red]J[/color]RPG + spaceships = Lose.

What's funny is that my interest in JRPGs has increased since I played, and hated, Mass Effect. I stopped playing JRPGs some time back when the original Fallout rolled around, but I've become less and less interested in Western RPGs as time has gone by. My experiences with Mass Effect and Oblivion, and my complete lack of interest in Dragon Age, makes me think that I'm just not that into them, anymore. So, I'm turning back to JRPGs to see what they have to offer me.

What's even funnier to me is that I have gone in the absolutely opposite direction in the last 10 years or so. I used to buy every JRPG released on nearly any system, but the older I get the more "samey" and nonsensical they all feel. Never used to be a huge fan of western RPGs, but Mass Effect 1 & 2 and Fallout 3 have rocked my world these past 3 months. I am waiting for Dragon Age to arrive in the mail any day now.

TheCounselor wrote:

Ahhh...The JRPG. I love buying them, and then never playing them for some reason. I did finish Lost Odyssey, which was good. I don't get all the Eternal Sonata hate. It was beautiful, and had Chopin's music. I'm sure there was a story in there somewhere, which was probably crap, but I finished that one. They were damn stingy with the achievements, though.

It's pretty easy to explain why I hate Eternal Sonata.

If you can watch that without pulling out your own eyeballs then you are a stronger person than I am.

But it also contained an entire performance of Chopin's Revolutionary Etude in C Minor, one of the all-time great piano works. Still, the dialogue was painful, at best.

Eternal Sonata was crap. The plot fell apart half-way through and it never recovered. It was a shame since I liked the concept and the music and graphics were just beautiful.

I'm not sure what to do with JRPGs anymore. My pile is huge and I'm trying desperately to shift my focus from gaming to art. The hours required to finish an RPG are too many at this point in my life. I'm currently playing Phantasy IV. It's one of my favorite games of all time so I replay it occasionally. I was going through Disgaea but the grinding killed my interest. It seems like Final Fantasy XIII is going to be the one to get me back into the genre since I powered through Lost Odyssey.

Switchbreak wrote:

It's pretty easy to explain why I hate Eternal Sonata.

-youtube-

If you can watch that without pulling out your own eyeballs then you are a stronger person than I am.

Well, eyeballs still intact and actually quite happy (they didn't read the subtitles). However, I do have pencils shoved through my eardrums, so I guess it's a wash.

Good idea for a thread. There never seems to be enough interest to keep a thread alive for a lot of smaller RPGs, but something like this should get some good traffic. And, I didn't know about one or two of the ones in your list... (but I would add Hexyz Force, dated May 25 for the US)

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