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My first JRPG. For the second time.

Following loads of great responses I've narrowed down the most common answers

  • Dragon Quest XI S

    Votes: 30 36.1%

  • Persona 5 Royal

    Votes: 16 19.3%

  • Trials of Mana

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Chrono Trigger (not the remake)

    Votes: 29 34.9%

  • Tales of Vesperia

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • Octopath Traveller

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Xenoblade (switch release)

    Votes: 7 8.4%
  • Total voters
    83
PenultimateFantasy

PenultimateFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
London, UK
So, I have been playing games a very long time but I have never really got into JRPG and I feel I'm missing out.

The only ones I played were FF7 and 8 (and X) when they came out but I didn't really enjoy them at all. I tried one of the Pokemon games about ten years ago and again didn't click.

I'd like to give them another go and I'd love to get some recommendations to ease me in. I have access to all current gen platforms and a 3DS.

A thousand thank yous in advance.
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

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DQ 11 or Persona 5 Royal when it drops.

since you mentioned the 3DS
Check out Dragon Quest 8, Stella Glow, Tales is Abyss, Fantasy Life, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 or Xenoblade 3D
 

MrMegaPhoenix

Member
Oct 27, 2017
366
Jrpgs have so much variety between structure, story focus and battle systems that it's hard to recommend. Chrono trigger and smrpg are usually easy suggestions though.

But if a few FF games and Pokemon didn't help, maybe an action system? A tales game could work.

But yea, turn based isn't for everyone, if it's not for you then it's not for you
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

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PenultimateFantasy said:
Yeah I have wondered if that's what puts me off - I'm not sure if I just didn't get it when I was younger but it always seemed every battle was identical
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Try Octopath it does some cool things with the turn based combat or Bravely Default.

Golden is great but more repetitive than 5. Can't go wrong with either imo.
 
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PenultimateFantasy

PenultimateFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
London, UK
MrMegaPhoenix said:
Jrpgs have so much variety between structure, story focus and battle systems that it's hard to recommend. Chrono trigger and smrpg are usually easy suggestions though.

But if a few FF games and Pokemon didn't help, maybe an action system? A tales game could work.

But yea, turn based isn't for everyone, if it's not for you then it's not for you
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Ok, thank you.

Any particular one you think might be a good jumping off point?
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

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Fishook

Member
Dec 20, 2017
808
I was thinking about doing a similar topic, as there are something I have never really played. I don't mind turn based games but the anime aspects have put me off. It's the Yakuza series has got me interested in them, so I really looking forward to the new title.
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

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Fishook said:
I was thinking about doing a similar topic, as there are something I have never really played. I don't mind turn based games but the anime aspects have put me off. It's the Yakuza series has got me interested in them, so I really looking forward to the new title.
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Try Judgement my guy.
 
ryushe

ryushe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,813
I love Dragon Quest XI but I don't know if I'd recommend it as someone's "first" RPG mainly because it's traditional with a capital T.

Persona 5 (or Royal) is actually a good first one to jump into. I don't particularly think it's a good RPG but it's flashy enough to distract you for majority of its playtime.

PenultimateFantasy said:
Would you say Octopath is better than either Bravely?
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In terms of story and characters, no. Octopath does however have quite possibly the best turn based battle system in the genre.
 
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PenultimateFantasy

PenultimateFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
London, UK
ryushe said:
I love Dragon Quest XI but I don't know if I'd recommend it as someone's "first" RPG mainly because it's traditional with a capital T.

Persona 5 (or Royal) is actually a good first one to jump into. I don't particularly think it's a good RPG but it's flashy enough to distract you for majority of its playtime.
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I have to say and I hate to be like this but everything I've seen of any DQ game is very off putting
 
crimilde

crimilde

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,004
I'd actually throw Final Fantasy XV in the mix. It's a good entry point into Final Fantasy, and personally I think it's a great game.
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,198
PenultimateFantasy said:
Isn't Persona 5 a bit of a repetitive slog?
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I generally like JRPGs, but I haven't purchased P5 for myself, and I doubt I ever will. The social sim/highschool aspects in P4 were bad enough, and they are taken to the extreme in P5. I ended up buying the game for my aunt, who said it looked like something she would enjoy, and even she was complaining that nothing is happening within the first few hours and that it seemed like she was "reading a comic book" and not playing a video game. Eventually though it actually turned into something she enjoyed enough to finish, but parts of the game are a slog depending on who you ask...

The only modern JRPG that I could recommend would be Dragon Quest XI, and either get it on the Switch, or PC so you can swap out the awful midi music.
 
ryushe

ryushe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,813
PenultimateFantasy said:
I have to say and I hate to be like this but everything I've seen of any DQ game is very off putting
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That's fair. DQXI is easily in my top 3 favorite JRPGs but that's mostly because it feels like a game that came from another timeline where FFVII didn't blow up the way it did.

It hits all the right notes for me, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't already love this genre - warts and all.
 
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PenultimateFantasy

PenultimateFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
London, UK
Sanctuary said:
I generally like JRPGs, but I haven't purchased P5 for myself, and I doubt I ever will. The social sim/highschool aspects in P4 were bad enough, and they are taken to the extreme in P5. I ended up buying the game for my aunt, who said it looked like something she would enjoy, and even she was complaining that nothing is happening within the first few hours and that it seemed like she was "reading a comic book" and not playing a video game. Eventually though it actually turned into something she enjoyed enough to finish, but part of the game are a slog depending on who you ask...

The only modern JRPG that I could recommend would be Dragon Quest XI, and either get it on the Switch, or PC so you can swap out the awful midi music.
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What is the Japanese obsession with school and social?
 
DrHercouet

DrHercouet

Member
May 25, 2018
1,679
France
It's not really an RPG but it could be a great trojan horse to that : try Kingdom Hearts. The PS4 compilations are pretty cheap today with a TON of content and it's a great action RPG collection. Not everything is AMAZING but it could ease you into it. Also, Trials of Mana is coming to the Switch. It's not turned based, but it could ease you into JRPG dynamics.
 
Jimnymebob

Jimnymebob

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,559
PenultimateFantasy said:
What's Tokyo Mirage Sessions like?
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I remember hearing that it was fun, but didn't really do anything better than the actual SMT or FE games.

What exactly are you looking for from a JRPG? There's a load of different styles to choose from, and there are a lot of more obscure titles that might be more to your liking than the big titles.

Do you want turn based, active time (the primary FF style, were it's turn based, but turns are on a timer, not a queue), or real time?
Do you want fantasy, modern day, or futuristic?
How anime do you want to go lol?
Do you want monster raising?
Do you prioritise gameplay or story?
 
Lunchbox

Lunchbox

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PenultimateFantasy said:
Ok!

Would you say Octopath is better than either Bravely?
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I would, I like the art direction better but in Bravely you can really customize the battle speed & stuff so it's more accessible.


SoZetaSlow said:
I love P5 but a little yeah. Honestly both of them are repetitive asf, and DQ11 doesn't even have likable characters, except Sylvando who is precious and deserved to be in a better game
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I liked the females a lot.
 

Deleted member 3190

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The Trails in the Sky games are very good. There's also some other systems in the turn based combat that might make it more interesting for you.
 
Rommaz

Rommaz

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Nov 27, 2017
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Judging from what you've tried, Maybe you don't like turn based RPGs? Try an action RPG like perhaps Tales of Berseria(or Vesperia - Definitive edition which I've never played). Kingdom Hearts II is an all time great of the action JRPG genre but you'd need to be willing to play the 1st game which is a bit dated and that could turn you off. I personally think it's worth it though. Era will disagree but I also do recommend FFXV as a beginner entry into the genre.

If you still want to try turn based stuff you can look into Persona 5 Royal in March or Persona 4 Golden for Vita as they're among my favorites but they are a bit unconventional as far as the genre goes.
 
ryushe

ryushe

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Manmademan

Manmademan

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PenultimateFantasy said:
I have to say and I hate to be like this but everything I've seen of any DQ game is very off putting
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You're not wrong. I agree with the poster you responded to. Dragon quest INTENTIONALLY does a number of things that are archaic throwbacks to 8 bit design as "fan service" and most gamers not familiar with the series find it somewhere between bewildering and infuriating.

It is not at all a game I'd recommend to someone struggling to like the genre.
 
Lunchbox

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Rommaz said:
Judging from what you've tried, Maybe you don't like turn based RPGs? Try an action RPG like perhaps Tales of Berseria(or Vesperia - Definitive edition which I've never played). Kingdom Hearts II is an all time great of the action JRPG genre but you'd need to be willing to play the 1st game which is a bit dated and that could turn you off. I personally think it's worth it though. Era will disagree but I also do recommend FFXV as a beginner entry into the genre.

If you still want to try turn based stuff you can look into Persona 5 Royal in March or Persona 4 Golden for Vita as they're among my favorites but they are a bit unconventional as far as the genre goes.
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I can definitely recommend Vesperia, my personal favorite JRPG.
 
Stevo

Stevo

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Jan 29, 2019
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If you want one recommendation rather than a list, I'd say you absolutely cannot go wrong with Chrono Trigger DS.
 
mèx

mèx

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Dec 30, 2017
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Chrono Trigger is a lean and engaging jRPG without major blatant flaws and no bloat. The story is interesting from the get go, and the pacing at which it unravels is still one of the best in the genre. The combat system still feels modern, and for sure it will not feel dated for someone who has never played jRPGs. Obviously the graphics are what you can expect from a SNES game, but I find it charming all in all.

If you have a DS or 3DS give it a try. It is also available on Steam and can run on basically any PC.
 
LazyLain

LazyLain

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Jan 17, 2019
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PenultimateFantasy said:
What's Tokyo Mirage Sessions like?
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Tokyo Mirage Sessions is great, and tbh would make a pretty decent entry JRPG.

It's a relatively light affair... the dungeons aren't super crazy, but aren't completely hollow either. The story is fairly simple, but it has a very likeable cast of characters that get a decent amount of development in their side stories. Combat system's great but not overly complex. And it's relatively short for a JRPG, especially now that the Switch version has drastically reduced load times and the ability to speed through the flashy combat animations... the GameXplain reviewer claims to have nearly 100%'ed it with around 40 hours of playtime.

If the colorful j-pop aesthetic doesn't scare you off, I'd highly recommend it.
 

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PenultimateFantasy said:
What is the Japanese obsession with school and social?
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For school, it's seen as the golden period in media storytelling (culturally everyone knows it's a horrible time even in Japan), it's the easiest setting to do romance, the easiest to relate to and for Persona they can play off time management mechanics against dungeon crawling in a parallel world.

For social, it goes back to dating sims and it has creeped into modern JRPGs. I really like the formula, but the results can be kinda creepy especially in Persona 5.
 
Lunchbox

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Fishook said:
Already completed it a excellent title, it comes to something where I have completed 5 Yakuza games and Judgement within 2 years (this is someone who has never really got into Japanese produced games)

I going to give Battle Chasers a go, as it's on Game Pass
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That's crazy!! I beat 0 & am playing Judgement, I'm happy that clicked for you.
 

Marukoban

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Really hard to recommend anything without knowing what you're looking for.
JRPG is a big genre with a lot of variations in gameplay, battle system, writing, structure, etc.
It would help to know what other genres and games you enjoy. Also if you want something simpler or more complex gameplay wise. And if strong "narrative" is important to you.
 
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PenultimateFantasy

PenultimateFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
London, UK
DrHercouet said:
It's not really an RPG but it could be a great trojan horse to that : try Kingdom Hearts. The PS4 compilations are pretty cheap today with a TON of content and it's a great action RPG collection. Not everything is AMAZING but it could ease you into it. Also, Trials of Mana is coming to the Switch. It's not turned based, but it could ease you into JRPG dynamics.
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I was thinking about Trials of Mana - looks interesting

I really hate Donakd Duck so KH might be a bad fit however it is coming to game pass so I'll probably give it a go
 
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