Thread 3862355

hey you guys Im really not sure what I should play next. jrpgs are my favorite genre by far but theres a ton of mid slop mixed in there. Ive played all the FFs, DQs and Star Oceans, as far as tales games go Ive played Symphonia and Eternia which were great but I didnt care for Vesperia for some reason. Im looking for games that are different than the typical jrpg in some fashion, have memorable writing, story characters, good atmosphere and good level design especially. I hate games where every dungeon is the same generic cave filled with dead ends. fun battle system is a plus. also I cant stand SRPGs.

games ive played in the last year that I really loved:
>Parasite Eve
>Vagrant Story
>Threads of Fate
>Dragon Quest VIII
>PM TTYD
>Earthbound
thanks in advance

Play Trails FC and SC.

Didn't I tell you to play Shadow Hearts already? You still haven't?

>>3862359
dont think I was that anon but fine I will. isnt covenant the one everyone loves? or should I start with the first one

>>3862363
Start with the first.

>>3862363
Play all three in release order. FTNW's story isn't nearly as good but the gameplay is hands down the best in the series.

>Koudelka
>Growth or Devolution
>Baroque (PS1)
>SMT IV

>>3862355 (OP)
Soul Hackers

>>3862355 (OP)
There being 4 Beatles with names that start with J, R, P, and G and JRPGs usually having 4 niggas in a row all makes so much sense, I have been enlightened.

>>3862355 (OP)
Have you played Riviera: The Promised Land?
It's quite different from most other JRPGs but if you're looking for novelty in gameplay it can be worth checking out.
Nearly every item is a consumable and you level your characters by using certain items a certain amount of times with them.

>>3862355 (OP)
Growlanser Wayferer of time
It's focuses more on RPG and then in J
Tactic Ogre LUCT one vision, there is a steam version but the Mod is far better imo

>>3862355 (OP)
Xenogears fits everything except level design
The encounter rate is high but there's a mod that can fix it https://github.com/NoharOSP/Perfect_Works_Build

>>3862355 (OP)
nothing is comfier than first Grandia

>>3862355 (OP)
If good level design is your most sought feature, then your next game should be Lufia II:Rise of the Sinistrals

>>3862355 (OP)
Suikoden 2
Lufia 2
Grandia 1
Baten Kaitos Origins

they don't check all of your boxes but I think you'll enjoy them all the same

>>3862355 (OP)
Check out Saga Frontier on PSX and possibly the entire saga series.

>>3862457
it was so good looking when it came out too. Nowadays the art style is commonplace but Grandia was the first time I had seen such colorful moving art. I always meant to go back to those games. I only ever casually played the blockbuster rental or demo disc.

>>3862388
>Koudelka
I'll second this, for anyone who has played the usual stuff, and wants a "hidden gem", that's also not total crap and actually has some shine to it

>>3862430
Ill definitely give it another chance

>>3862355 (OP)
>Arc the Lad Collection
One starts out slow, but it really picks up in two.
It honestly made me quit Pokemon.

Play with a guide, it's from that era when they were trying to sell them, there are tons of missable goodies.

Play NIS titles IN ORDER !


start with
>rhapsody
>la pucelle
play the psp version or PC
>disgaea
pc or psp
>phantom brave
pc or wii
>Makai kingdom
psp
>disgaea 2
\pc or psp
>prinny can I be the hero?
>soul nomad
>disgaea 3
Vita version or PC
>prinny can I be the hero? 2
>Zettai hero project
>disgaea 4
>disgaea D2
>disgaea 5

>>3862647
dude, play it last, that game gave me not just jrpg burnout but video game burnout in general, there are better recommendations in this thread

>>3862355 (OP)

Valkyrie profile is probably the soulfullest JRPG. Other than that i´d say try Folklore, Ni no Kuni (wrath of the white witch), Saga Frontier 2 and Shadow Hearts.

>>3862722
>Play NIS titles IN ORDER !
Gross.

>>3862839
it's harder go back once you play later titles, because the gameplay/artwork/music gets better as the series progresses. Also there are many references to the prior titles

>>3862722
>It honestly made me quit Pokemon.
Honestly laughable attempt to say you just hate Pokemon for being popular, "stop acting white" anon. Arc the lad monster taming part is pretty lackluster as well.

>>3862868
>Pokemon for being popular,
animated sprites and an interesting world are better than static sprites as well as dull af one.

>>3862765
>vallkyrie profile
anon said he wants good story and good level design. not gonna find that here.

>>3862722
OP said he can't stand SRPGs which I assume includes NIS titles

>>3863023
Maybe the lack of towns in FFT put him off or he wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ready for FFT the first time I played it, I soon after started playing Arc the Lad and it eased me into it. From there I went on to Disgaea.

>>3862938
Valkyrie Profile has some great dungeons.

>>3863040
honestly I just hate how long battles take and Im also really shit at them. FFT straight up filtered me.

gonna download all the games recc'd in here but I tried out shadow hearts and grandia and they both seem really comfy and cool. thanks anons

>>3863071
>honestly I just hate how long battles take and Im also really shit at them. FFT straight up filtered me.
Disgaea has shorter battles and you don't need tactics as much to beat them since you can just grind to absurd levels.

>>3862497
Yeah, SaGa Frontier oozes soul.

>>3862499
>Nowadays the art style is commonplace but Grandia was the first time I had seen such colorful moving art
It really helps to put things in perspective. Grandia's environments and arcitecture were next-fucking-level, especially at a time where most dungeons and towns just re-used the same tilesets. One thing I will always love about the Grandia series is how there was obviously a strong imperative to make every town and dungeon look and feel unique, as though they all had their own history. It's one of the things that helps the game feel like an adventure.

>>3863253
pity it's overall boring. Should've thought about that.

>>3863256
>boring
Nah. The combat can get a bit easy, which is a shame because of how tactical the battle system is when you're actually forced to use it. But the game is full of great dialogue that updates frequently, and it tells a very heartwarming coming-of-age adventure that uses its gameplay to deliberately pace your adventure and actually make it feel like you've travelled to a continent on the other side of the world. The constantly changing cultures, environments, and arcitecture make the trip worth it on their own.

if you havent played it yet, paper mario 64 is just as good or close to TTYD quality, some people even think its better though I wouldnt go that far its great.

>>3863261
>some people even think its better though I wouldnt go that far its great.
I think it's better simply because it's more streamlined. TTYD is more ambitious, but the gameplay simply isn't deep enough to uphold the amount of senseless blather and backtracking that you have to endure. There's less to do in PM64, but I feel like that's ultimately an asset—it makes it easier to lock in for max comfiness.

>>3863263
what was on the tape, paper bros?
>>3863261
play the TTYD64 hack, its superior to vanilla in every way. changes the battle system to TTYD and adds a ton of new content including a pit of 100 trials. wish I had for my first playthrough

>>3862765
It's aged very poorly
Not that it was anything to call home about to begin with

Minstrel Song

>>3862355 (OP)
How has nobody mentioned Astlibra? It's probably the most soulful JRPG ever created.

>>3862355 (OP)
Play Tales of the Abyss. Most of the early Tales are good.
Try Phantasia, too.
>I hate games where every dungeon is the same generic cave filled with dead ends
Don't play any game since Xillia, lmao
>Parasite Eve
>Vagrant Story
>Threads of Fate
>Dragon Quest VIII
>PM TTYD
>Earthbound
Good taste. Have you tried Mario&Luigi games?

Grandia has amazing world and characters indeed

>>3865326
Has the game ever gotten a retranslation? I played the PS1 version, and I felt like the only thing holding it back was a fairly amateurish localization with a lot of awkward dialogue. If it were revamped to be on par with Grandia II, I feel like that would really be the icing on the cake.

>>3864873
ive played superstar saga and it was great. going to try out BIS soon since everyone says thats the best one.

>>3865343
I played the fan translation of the the Saturn version, I think it had some rewrites

>>3864815
fucking kek.

>>3862355 (OP)
Anachronox

>>3865357
Nice! The rest of the Dragon Quest games are also fun. I recommend DQIII, V and XI. VII is great too, but too long.

>>3862355 (OP)
>games ive played in the last year that I really loved:
When did you grow up? All the shit you listed is like PS1/PS2 with an NES game thrown in. Did you not play games as a kid, or are you super young and checking out old stuff?

>>3865529
old but missed out on a lot of games growing up and only recently got into emulation/back into gaming

>>3863070
The backstory for most Einherjars is really well done, too.

>>3862355 (OP)
if you like those games and don't care about graphics you're looking for this thread >>3828432

>>3862407
holy shit...

>>3862407
Wow, I never knew this.

>>3862407
earthbound moment

>>3862358
I will wait for the second remake

>>3865326
Emulating the Saturn version with the English translation, widescreen hack and the crt-royale filter is pure bliss.

>>3862355 (OP)
>>Dragon Quest VIII
>>Earthbound

Play Popolocrous Monogatari for PS1. It's another really soulful cartoony styled JRPG like these but not many people played it since we only got the shit PSP port. But they're all fan translated now.

>>3862355 (OP)
>No mention of Lunar
Lunar Remastered Collection.
>No mention of Ys
Ys Origin, Oath in Felghana, and Lacrimosa of Dana.
>No mention of Trails
It's a huge commitment so I'll just recommend Nayuta no Kiseki.
>No mention of Growlanser PSX getting a translation
Play Growlanser 1 with the new English translation.

For something new I really enjoyed Witch Spring R.

>>3862355 (OP)
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology