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Looking for a JRPG on PC - can you help me find the best fit?

FFXI or DQXI?

  • FFXII of course!

    Votes: 42 51.2%

  • DQXI, no question!

    Votes: 40 48.8%
  • Total voters
    82
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
Heya.

I'm looking for a JRPG on PC, something that scratches a specific itch. The main things I want are:

- Turn based or tactical combat ahead of action if possible (I will consider action, though).
- A more modern game with 3D design.
- Meaningful and rewarding exploration.
- Challenging combat.
- The option to grind combat while exploring if I feel like levelling up my party.

A few games have caught my eye that seem to fit, the main ones being:

Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age
Dragon Quest XI
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

A good story would be a bonus, but really what I want here is exploration and a battle system that will let me just relax and explore while I level my party as much as I want, challenging end-game encounters and optional/secret bosses to gear up for would also be a big bonus.

I really like the aesthetic of FF12, more so than the other games, and that's the one I'm leaning toward atm... but I'd really like some feedback before I make up my mind.

Thanks a lot!
 
Haze

Haze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,865
Detroit, MI
All 3 of those games are good choices but I think FF12 is probably the best JRPG ever made, so that's my suggestion, with DQXI as close second.

In terms of scale and a world spanning adventure, it's easily the most grandiose of the three and has excellent writing.
 
Kromeo

Kromeo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,986
Only FFXII really fits the criteria you listed of those 3 games, although I guess DQ does have some limited exploration as well
 
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
I don't think you can go wrong with any of those. However, be aware that Cold Steel ends on a cliffhanger, so you might end up playing somewhere between 2 and 4 JRPGs rather than one there!

Of the three DQXI is my favourite but I've finished and enjoyed them all.
 
Mifec

Mifec

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,841
astro said:
Heya.

I'm looking for a JRPG on PC, something that scratches a specific itch. The main things I want are:

- Turn based or tactical combat ahead of action if possible (I will consider action, though).
- A more modern game with 3D design.
- Meaningful and rewarding exploration.
- Challenging combat.
- The option to grind combat while exploring if I feel like levelling up my party.

A few games have caught my eye that seem to fit, the main ones being:

Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age
Dragon Quest XI
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel

A good story would be a bonus, but really what I want here is exploration and a battle system that will let me just relax and explore while I level my party as much as I want, challenging end-game encounters and optional/secret bosses to gear up for would also be a big bonus.

I really like the aesthetic of FF12, more so than the other games, and that's the one I'm leaning toward atm... but I'd really like some feedback before I make up my mind.

Thanks a lot!
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DQXI for sure, it has incredibly hammy British accents, a stock story but still feel good, you have modifiers you can set to decide how hard you want it to be. You can grind as much as you want, has sidequests.
 
Athrum

Athrum

Member
Oct 18, 2019
1,371
Out of those 3 I would definitely go with FF12, it's a wonderful jrpg.
DQ11 is an old game with a new coat of paint, a game that makes you backtrack through the map again without fast travel and has auto-combat.
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
From watching reviews and gameplay, I think it's between FFXII and DQXI...

I like the aesthetics of FF12 a lot more, and it's the one I think I'm leaning toward as I said... if you think I should go DQXI instead, why would that be?
 
QisTopTier

QisTopTier

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,743
astro said:
From watching reviews and gameplay, I think it's between FFXII and DQXI...

I like the aesthetics of FF12 a lot more, and it's the one I think I'm leaning toward as I said... if you think I should go DQXI instead, why would that be?
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DQXI with the EXP cap enabled and Dragonic Difficulty mobs has some of my favorite boss fights in a JRPG. Tagging out party members to set up buffs/debuffs/heal was really fun.

If you can play it at 2k or 4k resolution it's absolutely beautiful as well with some of the best if not best animated monsters in any JRPG.
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Look at how good this random ass normal enemy looks :P

The skill unlock system and doing different weapon builds in DQ11 is fun too and pretty simple and cheap to reset and try different builds
 
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tommyv2

tommyv2

Member
Nov 6, 2017
1,425
Dragon Quest XI is wonderful. Way better than FF XII, which is a Star Wars offline MMO.

Edit: I really like FF XII.
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,175
astro said:
From watching reviews and gameplay, I think it's between FFXII and DQXI...

I like the aesthetics of FF12 a lot more, and it's the one I think I'm leaning toward as I said... if you think I should go DQXI instead, why would that be?
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DQXI has a real chill atmosphere. The game has really fun writing and characters are generally peppy and punny in a way that's pretty refreshing. The battle system is straightforward classic JRPG style.

I'd vote for FFXII in a poll but DQXI is a great game too. Just be aware that the music in DQXI is lackluster; if that's something you can look past then you'll find a lot to enjoy there. And there are mods on PC that let you change the music up substantially - there's the mod that ports over the orchestrated versions of the MIDI soundtrack from the Switch version, but I'd recommend the mod that replaces most of DQXI's music outright with orchestrated DQ music from older games, which generally have more interesting music in general.
 
Thiago

Thiago

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,671
You can't go wrong with either FF12 or DQ11.

If you choose DQ, don't forget to turn on Draconian mode for increased challenge.
 
Kromeo

Kromeo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
17,986
astro said:
From watching reviews and gameplay, I think it's between FFXII and DQXI...

I like the aesthetics of FF12 a lot more, and it's the one I think I'm leaning toward as I said... if you think I should go DQXI instead, why would that be?
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Click to shrink...

It's quite a good looking game on PC for one thing, great towns as well. The combat does become fun later on but it takes a long time to get going

One thing that you definitely will notice, FFXII has amazing music while DQ really doesn't
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
You're not making this easy for me, lol... added a poll.

Haze said:
astro if you do pick XII, I'd be really interested to see your thoughts on it.
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I did play this briefly on ps4 a while ago and I really enjoyed what I did play, but I wasn't in the mood for a JRPG at the time and put it to the side. Will share my thoughts if I pick it!
 
Haze

Haze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,865
Detroit, MI
astro said:
You're not making this easy for me, lol... added a poll.


I did play this briefly on ps4 a while ago and I really enjoyed what I did play, but I wasn't in the mood for a JRPG at the time and put it to the side. Will share my thoughts if I pick it!
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If you were considering rebuying it on PC because of the QOL changes, they finally added them to the PS4 version last month.

And great!
 

Tyrant Rave

Has A Pretty Cool Jacket
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,696
I'd say it's between FFXII and DQXI for you. Both are great games. I'd go with DQ myself, but I just like the series more so I'm kind of biased. It's got a much more standard tun-based battle system but there's a good amount of fun with the boss battles and the fantastic monster design the series is known for. Plus it's packed with content.

FFXII does have an incredible world and aesthetic as well, and I also like the gameplay quite a bit... Basically you could go with either and be pretty satisfied lol

Cold Steel is good too (combat is really fun) but I don't think it's quite what you're looking for. It's also a bigger commitment as you'll need to invest in the sequels and all that since it's only part of the story. Not to mention all the other Trails games beforehand if you're interested.
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,175
astro said:
You're not making this easy for me, lol... added a poll.


I did play this briefly on ps4 a while ago and I really enjoyed what I did play, but I wasn't in the mood for a JRPG at the time and put it to the side. Will share my thoughts if I pick it!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Are you like, really really into grinding? I am lol, and FFXII gives opportunities to grind pretty much every aspect of it. There's a location like 1/4 of the way into the game that I usually spend two or three hours in once a playthrough while I farm XP and items to sell. I end up leaving at a level that isn't high enough to trivialize the rest of the game, but which is high enough to begin seeking out and engaging in more optional content - plus with enough sellable loot to purchase every 'gambit' in the game (gambits are sort of like AI triggers you can apply to your party characters to customize their behavior while you're not controlling them.)

There are also the trials, a challenge accessible from the main menu that puts your characters through a series of battles to see how far they can get. You don't accumulate EXP from those battles IIRC, but you do accumulate AP - the points you spend on the License Boards for access to new skills and the ability to equip new items) - and you keep all of the items you pick up or steal - you just have to make it through at least 10 rounds to do so. Which isn't too tough. I use trials to grind AP early on so that I can unlock the ability to use certain skills and equipment earlier than usual.
 
Doskoi Panda

Doskoi Panda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,175
astro said:
I do own it on ps4... but I want that 60fps... happy to double dip to get it.
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In addition to that 60fps you can also use Cheat Engine for minor gameplay tweaks and the ability to map a hotkey to speeding up the game even more than the ingame speed toggle allows (when I played it on my last computer, using the ingame speed toggle in tandem with Cheat Engine let me go from 4x speed to something like 10x speed)
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
Solid said:
Are you like, really really into grinding? I am lol, and FFXII gives opportunities to grind pretty much every aspect of it. There's a location like 1/4 of the way into the game that I usually spend two or three hours in once a playthrough while I farm XP and items to sell. I end up leaving at a level that isn't high enough to trivialize the rest of the game, but which is high enough to begin seeking out and engaging in more optional content - plus with enough sellable loot to purchase every 'gambit' in the game (gambits are sort of like AI triggers you can apply to your party characters to customize their behavior while you're not controlling them.)
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This is pretty much exactly what I'm after... grinding that doesn't make the game a complete cakewalk but allows me to seek out optional challenges sounds ideal. Zoning out for a few hours and just grinding out and refining my builds/party is a huge draw for me.

I have played a few hours of FF12 on ps4 (way back at release, and I bought Zodiac Age on release too), so I know the basics. I like the Gambit system and how combat feels, just wasn't sure how it all pans out. I think this might be the one...
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
Thanks for the feedback all, I'm going for FF12! I've put DQXI on my wishlist, though, and will look out for it in the summer sales.

Ok, now I just need to figure out where to buy from lol. Don't think I can hang on until the sales for this...

EDIT: Got a copy, downloading now. Thanks again everyone!
 
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Midgarian

Midgarian

Alt Account
Banned
Apr 16, 2020
2,619
Midgar
DQXI if you just want traditional turn based combat.

FFXII if you want arguably the most innovative and in-depth battle system in JRPG history.

I've got to give FFXII a proper try myself. I got bored on the PS4 version a few hours in, but the battle system interests me so much the more and more I read its praises.
 
Mr.Deadshot

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,285
Go with FF12. You already like the artstyle, it has a new 100 floor Endgame dungeon and it's a great game to explore, level up and relax. Story isn't the best of the FF games, but still good with some great characters.
 

Mudo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,118
Tennessee
Both Trails of Cold Steel and Dragon Quest XI fit the bill perfectly and have everything in your list of wants.
If you are in the mood to really dig into a series, go with Trails - but know there are 3 games (5 really) before Cold Steel and the entire series is set in the same world with intersecting plots and characters. Some will tell you to play the Sky and AO/Zero games before Cold Steel, but I have played Cold Steel 1 without them and felt like I understood things well.

Dragon Quest XI is standalone so nothing else required. It's a traditional JRPG from years past. Tons of content, really likeable characters, battles can be super challenging if you want or just normal to where you can grind your way to godhood lol. There are lots of giant cities and fields to traverse, and lots of "mini stories" that you play throughout the game while a bigger plot advances on top of it all.

I absolutely love both games and you can't go wrong with either.
Snap decision I'd say Dragon Quest, and then Trails later when you really want to dig into something that spans multiple games and hundreds/thousands of hours !

EDIT: FF12 is one of my favorite games of all time, but I felt like it didn't really fit your criteria. It's an amazing game with a ton of content, but people either love or hate the battles that are ATB based/realtime/setting up AI routines for party members.
The big/best mod is called Struggle for Freedom but I have not yet tried it. It changes a LOT of things, and gives you 4 different options for how to do the License Boards. Definitely look into that mod as it's universally loved. I think the author is working on a big 1.9 update that rebalances a lot and i know a bunch of people are waiting on that to play the mod.
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
Haze said:
There's some various ones on Nexus that improve textures of faces and clothes/weapons and one that gives Fran more uhhh functional armor.
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I was browsing, there's nothing that you'd consider essential right? If so, I think I'll just skip the hassle for now. Might look into the armour stuff if it bugs me...
 
Mass Effect

Mass Effect

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 31, 2017
16,967
Damn you just missed the Golden Week sales. All three of those games were on sale.
 
Milennia

Milennia

Prophet of Truth - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,332
Of those and as someone who was looking for something similar recently - FF12 was absolutely what I was looking for
Fantastic combat as someone who loves MMOs was just icing for me
 
zashga

zashga

Losing is fun
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,256
I'd go with FF12 between those two; it's the more complete package. There are a few things about DQ11 (particularly the music) that prevent me from recommending it as highly.

But... have you considered Octopath Traveler? That's my go-to for turn-based JRPG gameplay, more so than DQ11. But if you're not looking for sprites then it may not be your cup of tea visually.
 
OP
OP
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
57,409
zashga said:
I'd go with FF12 between those two; it's the more complete package. There are a few things about DQ11 (particularly the music) that prevent me from recommending it as highly.

But... have you considered Octopath Traveler? That's my go-to for turn-based JRPG gameplay, more so than DQ11. But if you're not looking for sprites then it may not be your cup of tea visually.
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I have been looking at that game for a while now, but it's never been at a price that really enticed me to take a chance. It's on my wishlist on steam just in case it falls to a price that makes me take note.
 
ZiZ

ZiZ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,716
Currently playing FFXII, While I love a lot of things about it, I have to say it is a bit of a slog. Sometimes I have to force myself to play it.
I didn't feel that way with DQ XI
 
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