JRPGs that Aren't Final Fantasy Catch-All 2.0

brokenclavicle wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
brokenclavicle wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

BD2 is in the “wait for a sale” section of my priorities. $50 atm via ebay, but I’m gonna wait until I can snag it for around $30 (or less), digital or physical.

Given that it's not first party Nintendo, that shouldn't take too long...

Bad news, bud. Nintendo is the publisher on this one, so they'll be setting the pricing.

Ah, well, there goes that for those waiting on a sale/discount.

I got a lot of first party Nintendo games over the holidays for $38-40, about a third off. Sales happen, just not as often and not as steep. One was fairly recent, Links’s Awakening.

I'm having too much fun, so I made a thread for Bravely Default II.

I posted more about it in the Video Game Deals thread, but I thought I'd point out here that GOG is having a Nihon Falcom 40th Anniversary Sale, which has a lot of their older JRPGs marked down. That doesn't seem to happen very often.

I'm not familiar with most of the list, but can say that Ys 8: The Lacrimosa of Dana was outstanding. I had a ton of fun with it. It's $24 for about 5 more days. The paid DLC is not really worth it, but the three freebies are fine.

So...Romancing Saga 3, yay or nay?

It's currently 50% off on PS4 and Switch, it looks interesting. It also looks very obtuse and unforgiving. I have absolutely no idea if I'll love it or hate it, so I'd love to hear some opinions.

Old school SaGa games are for folks who aren't into grinding to beat games and aren't afraid to play around with systems in order to understand them.

Sparking adds in a wonderful element that can pop up at any time in any battle. That's the bit I like the most.

It helps to read up a bit on what to expect, systems-wise. Going in completely blind will likely involve dropping it an hour or two in. Story isn't the focus, so don't expect gangbusters.

That all sounds amazing, but I couldn't get past my bias against SNES games. I wanted to like it, but I just didn't end up hanging with it for long.

Yeah, it's old, for sure, which is why the remake of Saga Frontier is exciting to me. It's newer! Like, three whole years newer!

Project Athia is Forspoken. Didn't see that name coming. I was really gunning for Athiapath Traveler.

The remaster of The Alliance Alive is also discounted this week on PSN. It has a similar combat and leveling design to the SaGa series while incorporating a Suikoden-ish system for recruiting NPCs you encounter. Most of them don't become party members, but they do provide customizable in-combat benefits through assignment to bases around the map. The Alliance Alive was a real hidden gem on the 3DS, and I'm happy to see it accessible to a larger audience through the HD remaster.

I had a big chunk of GameStop credit from a trade-in just hanging around. And apparently someone lit it on fire because it was suddenly burning a hole in my pocket, and I spent it on:

  • Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Secret of Mana (2018)
  • Trials of Mana
  • SaGa Scarlet Grace
  • Romancing SaGa 3
  • Oninaki
  • Dragon Quest Heroes
  • Lost Sphear

Good thing I also was able to buy all the time I'd need to play those, right?

I can't wait to play those on XBox Game Pass!

That’s a great list of games!

Playing Katana Kami made me understand the Way of the Samurai games. Granted Katana is a spin off of of the series. I wonder if it's supposed to be wacky like the Yakuza series or in its on genre of Japanese games.

Oh, Way of the Samurai definitely balances total wackiness with seriousness, just like Yakuza.

I actually bounced off Katana Kami hard, myself. Combat was never the strong suit of the franchise, and I feel like Katana Kami emphasizes the combat far more than the more interesting freedom of choice of the other games. That it's a pretty basic dungeon crawler didn't help. I think I played it for one session and never went back to it.

merphle wrote:

I can't wait to play those on XBox Game Pass!

IMAGE( https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OGC.c4b4bd62fe7b00300617c78c41a304a5&pid=Api&rurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.giphy.com%2fmedia%2fnZrrZlasiTN1m%2fgiphy.gif&ehk=W9wUE92a%2bsgxz8MkWrUb0G74uMh6Y6WhBwWToXYhaO8%3d )

ClockworkHouse wrote:

my bias against SNES games

That was not a concept I was expecting from anyone. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate it? It was so amazing compared to everything that had come before.

It seems weird that anyone would think it was primitive and no fun, but... yeah, it's ancient. It had amazing sound and graphics for 1990 (better than the Amiga in many ways), and beat the heck out of its predecessors..... but those are not exactly high bars to clear in 2021.

Sigh. Before too much longer, people who like SNES games will be considered videogame hipsters.

To be clear: I specifically don't like the SNES. I like its predecessor, and I like its contemporaries. I just... Don't like the SNES. I didn't much like it when it was new, either. The games all have a cludginess to them that I don't like, and it seems to have been either a limitation or convention of the platform because Genesis games don't have that feel. I've played all the heavy hitters on the SNES and disliked all but one of them (Super Metroid), so I've just accepted that there's something about the platform that doesn't work for me.

I have learned not to worry and just assume Clock doesn't like whatever I like.

I lived through and enjoyed that generation but one thing I notice now is the clear sacrifices in writing to cram the text onto a (small) cartridge.

Agathos wrote:

I have learned not to worry and just assume Clock doesn't like whatever I like.

Big same.

Looks like Hironobu Sakaguchi's new game, Fantasian, is now out on a platform nobody uses: Apple Arcade.

I don't know if my aging MacBook Pro can handle that game, but I might give it a shot at some point. I don't want to play this on my phone.

Don't like SNES games? Is there a way to ban someone from the Internet?!

HEARESY!

(I don't like the N64, and never thought it was a good console - even when it was out.)

Well, while we're confessing our sins -- I bought, played, and enjoyed Quest 64.

bobbywatson wrote:

Looks like Hironobu Sakaguchi's new game, Fantasian, is now out on a platform nobody uses: Apple Arcade.

I don't know if my aging MacBook Pro can handle that game, but I might give it a shot at some point. I don't want to play this on my phone.

I still have a few weeks left on my free trial, so I'll be checking it out soon.

I understand not wanting to play with touch controls, but as long as there is controller support, playing on my phone is better than playing on my Vita at this point. The screen is larger and the image is clearer. Heck, it's also significantly better than the Switch screen, just not as large. I have an iPhone 12, so this might not be true for older phones.

You can get a clip to attach a controller for less than $10. I picked one up when they added controller support for Genshin Impact, and I was astonished at how easy it was to sync up a PS4 controller to my iPhone. I had more trouble getting my airpods to connect the first time.

Dyni wrote:

You can get a clip to attach a controller for less than $10. I picked one up when they added controller support for Genshin Impact, and I was astonished at how easy it was to sync up a PS4 controller to my iPhone. I had more trouble getting my airpods to connect the first time.

I had not considered that, thank you for the suggestion, I might look into it!

bobbywatson wrote:
Dyni wrote:

You can get a clip to attach a controller for less than $10. I picked one up when they added controller support for Genshin Impact, and I was astonished at how easy it was to sync up a PS4 controller to my iPhone. I had more trouble getting my airpods to connect the first time.

I had not considered that, thank you for the suggestion, I might look into it!

Here is the one I picked up. Looks like it was $12.

It's basically the same setup I use for my Switch at this point with the Fixture S1, which is an awesome attachment for the Pro controller. It's not as sturdy, but perfectly serviceable for $12.

Farscry wrote:

Well, while we're confessing our sins -- I bought, played, and enjoyed Quest 64. ;)

Same, actually. I knew it wasn’t good but there’s a charm to the combat that I felt went underappreciated.

brokenclavicle wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
brokenclavicle wrote:
trueheart78 wrote:

BD2 is in the “wait for a sale” section of my priorities. $50 atm via ebay, but I’m gonna wait until I can snag it for around $30 (or less), digital or physical.

Given that it's not first party Nintendo, that shouldn't take too long...

Bad news, bud. Nintendo is the publisher on this one, so they'll be setting the pricing.

Ah, well, there goes that for those waiting on a sale/discount.

I hear you can get BD2 for $10 off today

Edit to avoid the dreaded triple post: I’ll be trying Fantasian. I’m not anti-phone-game, just most of them tend to suck. Here’s hoping! I usually love Sakaguchi’s output.

Kind of a weak video, or it's the voiceover that feels off.

Anyway, I'm stoked, even if the UI continues to scream good-on-mobile to me.