Any JRPG recommendations?

[WarpSkip]

You need to get friends with better tastes!

If you also do like FE, someone else recommended the Devil Survivor duology and I recommend them too! SRPGs with an SMT flair basically.

True, I’ve tried converting some of them but they’re fairly surface level RPG fans.

And I actually was looking at Devil Survivor as well and after some quick YouTube searches I think they look pretty intriguing.

 

[WarpSkip]

I reccomend this game to literally everyone I write with but... Tales of Symphonia is personally the game that means the most to me, and I think if you are able to get past the slightly dated combat, you'll experience a truly wonderful story that will stick with you a good while, the characters are so wonderfully written and play off each-other well-- can't recommend it enough.

I will also reccomend the Trails series-- I think starting from Sky is the best, I'm currently not even finished with the series yet since I started last year but playing through Trails in the Sky, Azure, and working through Cold Steel... it's safe to say-- I've never experienced a JRPG that is more 'connected' than this one. If you enjoy a large build-up to a strong overarching epic plot and great characters then I reccomend Trails-- you can start with Cold Steel but Sky is the best experience if you don't mind dated graphics and such and care more about the story!

Also uh... Fire Emblem Three Houses is a personal favorite of mine but that's just me!

Funny thing: I actually have Tales of Symphonia on Gamecube, I actually kinda forgot about it. I had benched it when Fire Emblem Engage came out and never went back to it. I’ll have to give it another go though!

Thanks for the shout on Trails, I’ve had quite a few people recommend it but I’ve never heard what the recommended starting point is, so it’s extremely daunting from an outsider perspective.

Three Houses is such a great game, I did a Maddening run of Blue Lions and am taking a LONG hiatus after that, however. Almost broke a controller on the final map.

 

[WarpSkip]

Those all sound like solid entries! Fire Emblem is also a personal favorite of mine and I fully relate to having a friend group that isn't into the genre at all. I'll go ahead and list some more.

Most of them can be emulated on low or mid-range PCs, with decent enough results :

-EarthBound (3DS Mod FTW)
-Skies of Arcadia : Legends (GCN, Emulation)
-Shadow Hearts (PS2, Emulation)
-The Legend Of Dragoon (PS5/Emulation)
-Golden Sun Trilogy (GBA, DS)
-Radiant Historia (DS, 3DS has a good Remake)
-Final Fantasy IV (DS, Switch, PC)
-Eternal Sonata (PS3 for QoL improvements)
-Mario RPG / Mario & Luigi Series (GBA, DS, 3DS, Switch)
-Star Ocean : Till The End Of Time (PS2, PC, PS5)*
-Star Ocean : The Second Story R (PS4,PS5, PC, Switch)
-Chrono Trigger (SNES, DS, PC, Emulation)
-Lost Dimension (PS3, Vita, PC)
-I Am Setsuna (PC, Switch, PS4)
-Tales Of Arise (PS4, PS5, PC)
-Stella Glow (3DS, Emulation)
-Disgaea 4 Complete + (PS4, PC, Switch)
-Octopath Traveler / OTP II (PC, Switch, PS4)

*The game has an infamous plot twist right at the end that changes the player's perspective of the whole series, so tread carefully, and maybe save it for last.

Devil Survivor I can vouch for as being some of the most underrated SRPG on their systems, go with Overclocked and Record Breaker for them (both on 3DS) since they are just new and improved versions of the DS games with great voice acting and more plot.

Same goes for Trails, if you are a story guy then those games are perfect for you, and the universe is very well built and developed to boot.

There have been a bunch of other great mentions, but those are the games that come to mind whenever I think 'JRPG' and great music alike (Yoko Shimomura & Motoi Sakuraba, plus Yasunori Mitsuda for Chrono Trigger).

Also @Mint, @song and I will be the first to tell you that Yasunori Nishiki, the composer for Octopath Traveler, wites absolute magma when it comes to OSTs.


View: https://youtu.be/f3F_xd5R_4I?si=YWacwa8rYIzD7KzD



View: https://youtu.be/QbsIXAIn5aE?si=mts9o1kP4pHRGEnp

Not to mention the series' combat system closely resembles Bravely Default's, having dedicated roles for the party to fill in and the Boost mechanic allowing you to power up attacks up to 4 times once stockpiled.

I’ve played a couple of these! You are 100% on the money about the Octopath OSTs. My personal favorites have to be “Decisive Battle 2” from the first game and “Battle at Journey’s End (Hikari)” from the second. I’ve also played a couple of the Mario Bros RPGs and the first Golden Sun.

I am curious about a couple other recs you made though. I am particularly curious as to what made you pick FF4? I’ve played 7 and 10, but I don’t really hear a lot about 4.

 

[Strange Days]

I’ve played a couple of these! You are 100% on the money about the Octopath OSTs. My personal favorites have to be “Decisive Battle 2” from the first game and “Battle at Journey’s End (Hikari)” from the second. I’ve also played a couple of the Mario Bros RPGs and the first Golden Sun.

I am curious about a couple other recs you made though. I am particularly curious as to what made you pick FF4? I’ve played 7 and 10, but I don’t really hear a lot about 4.

Those are also my favorites OST from the respective games so I totally get it. In my opinion the best Mario RPG would be Bowser's Inside Story, and you should check out GS : The Lost Age since it wraps up the plot of the first game and Isaac's journey.

Final Fantasy 4 (as some of the people in here probably know), is my favorite game of all time, so I tend to recommend it to almost everyone looking for a good JRPG. It has a great OST, one of my favorite parties in the series and an easy enough story to follow that doesn't get overly bogged down.

I really could write dozens of paragraphs about why I love it, but I think I'll just let my favorite boss theme of all time do the talking in my place :


View: https://youtu.be/GEYCGJYwvhM?si=wXs-omovfw1zrFca

FFX is behind IX as my favorite FF, I wish I could play that game for the first time again.

---

Devil Survivor is an awesome pair of spin-off entries that I cannot recommend enough, while the main reason people recommend starting with Sky is because every following game in TLOH ended up borrowing and improving upon the UI and combat system, to great effect might I add.

While I do not love the series, I still think they are fun games with a very devout fanbase, and boast pretty solid, if bloated, writing and character arcs.

 

[Revelations]

Stella Glow

Oh man I thought I was the only one who played this. Great game, very underrated.

If you like games like Harvest Moon or other farming sim games, Rune Factory is a fantasy version of harvest moon/story of seasons (literally). I highly recommend 3 or 4 which can be found on PC or switch as well!

 

[Strange Days]

Oh man I thought I was the only one who played this. Great game, very underrated.

I even have the 3DS background from the EShop release. Honestly aside from that 2010s horni ecchi harem vibe to the romances and the usual make it or break it designs it's a very solid, simple to understand SRPG. No FF Tactics but good.

Jeanne D'Arc (PSP) is also another good one, provided you play it Undubbed because the voice acting we got in the US/EU version is horrendous.

Oh, also, another classic : Valkyrie Profile. Specifically the Lenneth version for some QOL improvements and story additions.

 

[Revelations]

I'd also look into Troubleshooter: Abandoned Children. It's a Korean made strategy RPG that plays a bit like xcom but also a lot like Fire Emblem as well. It's on PC and is pretty damn good.

Touhou: Artificial Dreams in Arcadia is a fan game of Touhou that basically is a first person/older school SMT game, where you recruit characters by doing little bullet hell/danmaku segments. Knowledge of Touhou is a bonus but some friends of mine played it sans knowledge and had a good time.

The Mary Skelter series is a more story based 1st person dungeon crawler RPG, with some dating sim elements. Mary Skelter 2 is one of the few RPGs I can think of with outright, actual Yuri in it. You can ignore buying Mary Skelter 1 as MS 2 has a remake of 1 that improves on it.

 

[raison detre]

Stella Glow mentioned? Now that's a deep cut. I still have it somewhere, never got around to %100-ing even though I wanted to. Now that's a hidden gem.

 

[Strange Days]

Stella Glow mentioned? Now that's a deep cut. I still have it somewhere, never got around to %100-ing even though I wanted to. Now that's a hidden gem.

I believe I got the True Ending on my first run, though I would probably save it for a second playthrough when you get more chances to spend time with the party, since it requires you to burn a good chunk of the slots on a single character.

 

[raison detre]

I believe I got the True Ending on my first run, though I would probably save it for a second playthrough when you get more chances to spend time with the party, since it requires you to burn a good chunk of the slots on a single character.

Yeah, I did beat it at least once and even got around to starting the second playthrough. With these kind of JRPGs (or any story-based game) where your time is finite, I always just kind of go with whatever I feel like the first time around. Stuff like Persona or Danganronpa where you only get to spend a couple of timeslots with your favorite character.

Then the second time around, I grab a guide to help me get to the true ending. I feel like I get a better experience out of it that way.

 

[Ink Slinger]

Xenogears. Ps1, Vita.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Switch.
Trails in The Sky. Vita.
Trails of Cold Steel. Vita, PS4
Tales of Arise. PS4, 5.
Lost Odyssey. Xbox 360.

 

[Strange Days]

Xenogears. Ps1, Vita.
Lost Odyssey. Xbox 360.

Damn, Lost Odyssey is also a hidden gem. I myself am looking to get a copy, love Takehiko Inoue's work on the main character designs. It's also got a very unique battle system.

I was also going to recommend XG, but I think it should come with a warning regarding Disc 2 and it being mostly text with some gameplay and boss battles thrown in due to the studio running out of budget during development.

---

I just looked at my title library and feel like recommending Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP) as well as Grandia HD Collection (PS4&5, PC, NS, XBOne), both are really fun and you'll love them if you happen to be into that '90s anime style for character-based gags and humor.

 

[Baka]

Thanks to this thread my gaming backlog has extended once more.

Persona/SMT-games in general are my favorite franchise of all time, so I ehco the sentiments of the people who have already been recommending them.

Honestly every game that I would've recommended has already been mentioned at least once like Persona/SMT-games, but one franchise that I didn't spot was Atelier-series. Been playing through Atelier Ryza-games of the franchise and been enjoying them quite a bit. Pretty chill and comfy JRPG series with a focus on crafting. Started my Tales of...- journey as well with Tales of Symphonia last week. I've enjoyed it a lot so far and can recommend based on the first few hours or so.

The Mary Skelter series is a more story based 1st person dungeon crawler RPG, with some dating sim elements. Mary Skelter 2 is one of the few RPGs I can think of with outright, actual Yuri in it. You can ignore buying Mary Skelter 1 as MS 2 has a remake of 1 that improves on it.

First time I hear of the franchise, but now I know what games I will get next lol

 

[Revelations]

First time I hear of the franchise, but now I know what games I will get next lol

Yeah! No problem. If it helps, the only two games you need to buy are 2 and Finale (Assuming you liked 2/1.) Like I said, MS 2 comes with a remake of MS 1, so buying MS1 as a stand alone is pretty unwise. Otsuu and Little Mermaid (the couple in question) are quite cute.

I will give a small spoiler for MS 1 though since it pertains.

Mary Skelter spoilers.

Otsuu/Little Mermaid are not in the game for story reasons but they do return as main characters in Mary Skelter Finale

 

[Ink Slinger]

Damn, Lost Odyssey is also a hidden gem. I myself am looking to get a copy, love Takehiko Inoue's work on the main character designs. It's also got a very unique battle system.

I was also going to recommend XG, but I think it should come with a warning regarding Disc 2 and it being mostly text with some gameplay and boss battles thrown in due to the studio running out of budget during development.

---

I just looked at my title library and feel like recommending Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP) as well as Grandia HD Collection (PS4&5, PC, NS, XBOne), both are really fun and you'll love them if you happen to be into that '90s anime style for character-based gags and humor.

Back when LO came out, I never finished it. I got to the 4th disc before my Xbox 360 got the RROD. It wasn't until recently I got a series X, that I discovered LO again. Amazon might be your best bet. Depending on where you are, Gameware also has it for a decent price too.

That's my only issue with Xenogears. I really wish they would do something with it. Remake, etc for current gen. There was a lot left to be desired. Probably will never happen but a girl can hope lol.

I heard of Grandia but I missed it. That and Lunar. Adding those to my list. Thanks.

 

[Baka]

Yeah! No problem. If it helps, the only two games you need to buy are 2 and Finale (Assuming you liked 2/1.) Like I said, MS 2 comes with a remake of MS 1, so buying MS1 as a stand alone is pretty unwise. Otsuu and Little Mermaid (the couple in question) are quite cute.

I will give a small spoiler for MS 1 though since it pertains.

Mary Skelter spoilers.

Otsuu/Little Mermaid are not in the game for story reasons but they do return as main characters in Mary Skelter Finale

Thanks for the tip. Will keep myself busy with Tales of Symphonia and Atelier Ryza till next week. Pretty excited to get around these. Sadly based on some Steam reviews the port on PC isn't the best, but we'll see how it fares (technically both PS4 and Switch are options for me, but I try to prioritize the games I've already purchased for those, and I am admittedly pretty lazy when it comes picking-up my PS4 controller or Switch Lite lol)

Response to the spoiler

That's alright. While I adore WlW/yuri rep the games being fun and interesting is the main point, so will buy the 2nd one and play the remake with it and then try the Finale

 

[Strange Days]

Back when LO came out, I never finished it. I got to the 4th disc before my Xbox 360 got the RROD. It wasn't until recently I got a series X, that I discovered LO again. Amazon might be your best bet. Depending on where you are, Gameware also has it for a decent price too.

That's my only issue with Xenogears. I really wish they would do something with it. Remake, etc for current gen. There was a lot left to be desired. Probably will never happen but a girl can hope lol.

I heard of Grandia but I missed it. That and Lunar. Adding those to my list. Thanks.

I actually ended up finding a complete, used copy for a good price on Ebay, so I swiped it and am looking forward to getting it in the mail! Funnily enough, for all of the criticism that FFXIII gets, LO is very much a spiritual successor to the older FF games, what with Sakaguchi being at the helm of it.

Again I am a massive Takehiko Inoue fan due to Vagabond and Slam Dunk, so finding out he collaborated on this was a trip and a half back in the day, hahaha. I'm hyped!

I think XG is a top-tier game that is severely held back by the limitations (and ambition) of those that worked on it - we will likely never get to see every single little thing they planned for it come back in a potential remake, but I myself would be very happy to see all the Omnigears make the cut.

That or I just want to throw down with Fei and the gang one more time! I do hope that if they at least remastered it, we could get a brand new cast to fix the OG's de-synced dub.

I will say though, that I'll be forever thankful for it spawning the Xenosaga as we know it, we might have not gotten XC1-3 without the spectacle that is the narrative scope of the original.

Also, one last final bit of sperging over it : probably Yasunori Mitsuda's finest work as far as composing goes. I still can hum most of the OST and 'Knight of Fire' is up there in my book as far as boss themes go, JRPG or other sources-wise.

Grandia and Lunar are long-dead franchises that people often overlook. While 1&2 for the former and the first entry for the latter are the only worthwhile ones IMO, they're quality.

---

Oh yeah, how could I forget!

The Shining Force Trilogy is part of perhaps one of the most metal SRPGs franchises out there. Awesome spritework and colorful casts.

Emulation is your best bet, though you may want to look into the Saturn scene for tips on how to play III and its fan translations.

The GBA and Mega Drive/Genesis versions are the best ones to emulate otherwise.

Suikoden is a gem of a series, boasting a very impressive (108 per game!) cast and ambitous narrative. 1&2 are getting an HD re-release on major consoles, while the rest are PS2-exclusives.

The last underrated franchise I can think of ATM would be Phantasy Star, a Sci-Fi x Fantasy crossover, much like Star Ocean. PSIV in particular is the best out of the bunch, and has a lengthy campaign that spans several planets worth of narrative, even if it is quite linear and easy throughout, the spritework is gorgeous.

The Sega Mega Drive Collection (PC, PS4, XBOne, Switch) houses entries II-IV.

 

[Strange Days]

Sadly based on some Steam reviews the port on PC isn't the best

Can't speak for Atelier Ryza, but ToS runs fine on just about any platform, with the main reason people look down on the PC version being it lacks the GCN version's smoother 60FPS. The difference isn't that worthwhile, it is a 21 year old game after all, but if you are someone that cares about frame-perfect inputs (which you do not need to git gud) then it is something to look out for.

I personally am playing through the Switch version and have almost wrapped up my first playthrough for it, and I've had no issues.

 

[WarpSkip]

Xenogears. Ps1, Vita.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Switch.
Trails in The Sky. Vita.
Trails of Cold Steel. Vita, PS4
Tales of Arise. PS4, 5.
Lost Odyssey. Xbox 360.

Trails seems to be a common thread in this discussion lol

And Xenoblade 1 is my favorite game of all time, Xenoblade 3 and Future Redeemed had me uncontrollably sobbing at some parts so definitely gotta be up there for RPGs in my book.

I own Xenogears but unfortunately the PS2 slim I have crashes every so often when I try playing it, so I am forced to emulate it it looks absolutely gorgeous on original hardware and a CRTV though. I have been meaning to go back to it for a while but I'd have to restart entirely...

 

[WarpSkip]

I believe I got the True Ending on my first run, though I would probably save it for a second playthrough when you get more chances to spend time with the party, since it requires you to burn a good chunk of the slots on a single character.

A lot of Stella Glow enthusiasts in the replies, love to hear it. I'll have to download it on my 3DS then it sounds like it could be a sleeper hit.

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

If you want an epic to play through then you should look into trying to find Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360. One of the best RPG's I've personally played (though has some sticking points of difficulty you can stumble into) with a very deep story that's quite thought-provoking. The game is on like, 4 discs though so be prepared to hot-swap as you go through certain zones lol.

 

[Baka]

Can't speak for Atelier Ryza, but ToS runs fine on just about any platform, with the main reason people look down on the PC version being it lacks the GCN version's smoother 60FPS. The difference isn't that worthwhile, it is a 21 year old game after all, but if you are someone that cares about frame-perfect inputs (which you do not need to git gud) then it is something to look out for.

I personally am playing through the Switch version and have almost wrapped up my first playthrough for it, and I've had no issues.

I actually meant Mary Skelter games there. After reading what I typed though I can see that my sentence structure was wonky there hah hah!

ToS PC port has been good so far, though I really don't have any comparison point since I never tried the original out, but haven't encountered anything other than the FPS-thing you mentioned, but as someone who really doesn't pay too much attention to FPS unless it's unplayable jank it's no problem for me.

 

[Strange Days]

A lot of Stella Glow enthusiasts in the replies, love to hear it. I'll have to download it on my 3DS then it sounds like it could be a sleeper hit.

The studio that made it went under, so we will likely never get other games in the same vein as it, but it's a shame - it's really fun IMO.

One thing I feel like recommending for Xenogears would be to install the 2.0 patch on a US ISO, it fixes some bugs and removes the de-synced audio present in the localization.

XBC 1&3 are really great games and while it is more of a spiritual successor, it does lay the foundations of the entire universe. I'm not going to spoil anything, but let's just say that a few links to the other universes are there.

One last thing to note : a while after the game came out, Perfect Works was released - and it's essentially a guide to the setting and Gears themselves, plus cut content that did not make it into the final game. Keep in mind that what we got was a complete game as far as the main story went, but with a lot of the content in Disc 2 being condensed, and sub-plots skipped over or eliminated.

I suggest giving it a read, as there should be a fan translation of it online.

---

I actually meant Mary Skelter games there. After reading what I typed though I can see that my sentence structure was wonky there hah hah!

ToS PC port has been good so far, though I really don't have any comparison point since I never tried the original out, but haven't encountered anything other than the FPS-thing you mentioned, but as someone who really doesn't pay too much attention to FPS unless it's unplayable jank it's no problem for me.

I actually might need to play MS2 now. I've never seen a lot of games with GxG romances that actually showcased them being together and making it feel natural & wholesome & cute.

The Remastered version (and Chronicles before that) is the best current way to play the game if you are not a purist or have a PC that can emulate the original. I'd have to check for the bonus content it added in, but I believe it mostly was costumes belonging to the MCs from other Tales games.

It's definitely playable. Aside from Arise having had minor stutter back when I first played it on oldgen, the majority of the series has pretty damn fluid engines and solid art direction overall.

 

[song]

Also @Mint, @song and I will be the first to tell you that Yasunori Nishiki, the composer for Octopath Traveler, wites absolute magma when it comes to OSTs.

WHY DIDNT I GET THIS MENTION EARLIER JFDSJKLFSDKLJ

i love and have heard of almost all the games mentioned (if they haven't i will probably add them to my gaming backlog). but if it hasn't been said before, i also highly recommend world ends with you! all the characters are super drippy, and i think there are switch ports now? i played on the nds and emulated it too!

i've also heard AMAZING things about the new neo-sequel. highly recommend at least trying the nds rom to see if you're into the story/gameplay!

 

[Strange Days]

TWEWY is a really easy game to learn and master provided you aren't bothered by relying on touch controls, since the game revolves around their use in combat and exploration phases. I'd recommend the ReMix version on Switch, which I believe can be played in co-op, though I never tried emulating it on PC, always played it on flashcarts, so IDK how well it'd work as far as stylus emulation goes.

I have yet to check Neo TWEWY, but for now I will post one of my favorite tracks below :


View: https://youtu.be/fMDtlTgruBc?si=qQrJYPKBN7HUFT-J

One of the few JRPGs that has a techno and hip-hop influenced OST, while it might feel very mid-2000s aesthetic-wise and Neku is a bit of an edgelord, characters like Beat and Shiki stand out as favs.