Recommend me a jRPG.

[Cthulhu]

This might be dangerously close to steering off-topic (okay, it probably is, but whatever), but have there been any good CRPGs recently? I loved many of the old series back in the DOS (and early Win 9x) days like Might & Magic and Ultima and so on, but nothing seems to have caught my eye recently. I gave The Witcher (the revamped edition) a try because it got good reviews and I thought it was junk.

Back on-topic a little, I'll recommend Tales of Vesperia for a more traditional JRPG and Shadow Hearts 2 and 3 (1 isn't nearly as good) for something more off the beaten path.

[Gwyrgyn Blood]

I have not played them myself but I've heard decent things about Drakensang and Divinity 2. Dragon Age is actually looking okay now (after some pretty lame footage earlier on in the year).

And these are kind of borderline CRPG but King's Bounty was very good, and the new King Arthur game looks to be an interesting hybrid RPG/Strategy/Empire game.

There's probably been some other stuff that I forgot about.


If you're bored for a good CRPG there's probably a million old ones you never played to go through.

[Cthulhu]

I have not played them myself but I've heard decent things about Drakensang and Divinity 2. Dragon Age is actually looking okay now (after some pretty lame footage earlier on in the year).

And these are kind of borderline CRPG but King's Bounty was very good, and the new King Arthur game looks to be an interesting hybrid RPG/Strategy/Empire game.

There's probably been some other stuff that I forgot about.

If you're bored for a good CRPG there's probably a million old ones you never played to go through.

I loved the original King's Bounty waaaay back in the day. Got a ton of play out of that one. Divinity looked ... well, not for me. Dragon Age does look decent. Plus it has Tim Curry iirc. That might get me to buy it alone.

I'm sure there's a million I haven't played, yeah.

[sjewkestheloon]

I usually play JRPGs in one of a few ways. First time through I'll just feel my way through them and pick up whatever I can along the way.

If the game is worthwhile I will then (hopefully if it is an option) play some New Game + and finish any bonus dungeons, spend some time doing big side quests, get an idea of ultimate weapons, etc etc.

If I'm still interested I'll then crank up the difficulty, get my ass on some forums, and then aim for a more complete play through.

I've just started Star Ocean 4 and I'm having a jolly old time so far. I know full well that I have missed some quests, chests, early battle trophies, ship data, weapon data, etc etc, but it doesn't really matter the first time through. I want to learn how to use the battle system properly and try to enjoy the story (try being the word, it's fucking horrible so far and the young girl that has just joined my party needs picking up by the ankles and dashing against a wall).

I love RPGs. True they are mostly generic, bland grind fests that do diddly squat better than the ones I've already played, but I still really enjoy how relaxing they can be. Same with my other favourite genre, CRPGs. I adore the slow boil.

One thing that I have noticed recently is that none of the RPGs on the current gen of console seem to be at all challenging. I've breezed through Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Infinite Undiscovery and half of Enchanted Arms (it was crap) without any difficulty spikes or serious challenges. All of the last bosses went down without any problems and only the Seraphic Gate in Infinite Undiscovery required any tactics, and that was due to the fact that the last woman could do an almost one shot move on all characters regardless of level.

[Cthulhu]

One thing that I have noticed recently is that none of the RPGs on the current gen of console seem to be at all challenging. I've breezed through Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Infinite Undiscovery and half of Enchanted Arms (it was crap) without any difficulty spikes or serious challenges. All of the last bosses went down without any problems and only the Seraphic Gate in Infinite Undiscovery required any tactics, and that was due to the fact that the last woman could do an almost one shot move on all characters regardless of level.

I haven't played a difficult true RPG in years either. Demon's Souls was delightfully difficult, but it wasn't a traditional RPG at all. 7th Dragon (JP DS) happily ate you for breakfast if you made a bad party, but if you knew what you were doing, it was only moderately difficult. Those are the only two that jump to mind when I think of difficulty (intentionally avoiding the "this game is hard because I can't stand to play it haha" jokes).

[Elixir]

Went ahead and downloaded the Magna Carta 2 demo. Waste of 900mb, this game couldn't be less interesting.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

At least there's plenty of fanservice. The females in that game look like a bunch of putas (more so than in most JRPG nowadays.)

[Skykid]

Secret of Mana.

[elfhentaifan]

At least there's plenty of fanservice. The females in that game look like a bunch of putas (more so than in most JRPG nowadays.)

game with most awesome videogame fanart ever

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Currently I'm chewing through Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land for the PS2.
It's a first person dungeon crawler where you put together a party of six people and scour the depths of some labyrinth.

The highlights include:
-Exploration is grid-based where you move a step at a time but enemy encounters are not random. Instead the encounters wander the area and if you bump into them you trigger a battle. Getting bumped from behind can really screw you over.
-The Reaper will show up every now and again to possess random party members. If a party members is killed while in a possessed state they're reduced to ash and have a low probability of being revived if you return what's left of them to the shrine.
-Battles institute a unique set of skills known as Allied Actions. By running with the same party-members for a long time and completing certain tasks you can raise their trust level. By doing this you open up skills that allow party members to team up to do different things. Some just do extra damage while others can keep enemies from physically attacking, canceling their attempts at spells, and doing a host of other things.
-You can only save outside of the dungeon so if something seriously bad happens you either have to grit your teeth and run with it or lose potentially hours of progress. I had a party member killed instantly(as in destroyed to the point that there was nothing left of her) and rather than reload a save I took the hit to my party's trust level and created a new priest. Tough luck but oh well.

It's a game that really doesn't give a damn about being fair and that's part of the reason why I find it so compelling. It also happens to have good presentation, looks decent for an older title(the 60 fps help), and there's not 1,001 things you can miss out on if you're not doing a billion stupid things. There are quests you can take on but for the most part they're pretty easy and offer decent rewards. Some can be failed I believe but it's usually something simple like yes/no(note: Do not attack the zombie in the shield quest).

[CMoon]

Currently I'm chewing through Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land for the PS2.

I keep coming back to this one, though I am frustrated that of these newer wizardry inspired titles, none of them seem to take what the later sir-tech games were doing as a starting point. Instead, all these titles are just clones of wizardry 1-4 or so. Yay! One town, one dungeon, etc. etc. I mean, I like this format quite a bit, but where are the titles taking their inspiration from Wizardry 6-8?

[Cthulhu]

Currently I'm chewing through Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land for the PS2.

I keep coming back to this one, though I am frustrated that of these newer wizardry inspired titles, none of them seem to take what the later sir-tech games were doing as a starting point. Instead, all these titles are just clones of wizardry 1-4 or so. Yay! One town, one dungeon, etc. etc. I mean, I like this format quite a bit, but where are the titles taking their inspiration from Wizardry 6-8?

This was a quality game. It totally came out of the blue and I enjoyed the whole thing.

As far as Wizardry 6-8 inspired games... um, I dunno. I don't think those ever really caught on in Japan, and Western developers seem to have largely abandoned the 3D-dungeon RPG. There's been one or two new Wizardry games in Japan for the last umpteen years, but they're always one-town-one-dungeon affairs, and I don't think that's likely change.

[Thunder Force]

If the OP liked FFX then I'd suggest trying Brave Story for the PSP; it's no FFX but similar from what I've played of it, with relatively good production values for a handheld title.

Currently I'm chewing through Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land for the PS2.

A great Japanese developed WRPG. Well worth playing but maybe too old school for JRPG fans who didn't grow up playing Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord.

[ZOM]

Another vote to Tale of the Forsaken Land. The atmosphere and artworks are very well done and the rest of the game is top notch, even if it's a bit on the traditional side.

I'm perfectly fine with the one-town-one-dungeon "framework" as long as the dungeon shows enough variation in itself.

[Gwyrgyn Blood]

Another vote to Tale of the Forsaken Land. The atmosphere and artworks are very well done and the rest of the game is top notch, even if it's a bit on the traditional side.

I'm perfectly fine with the one-town-one-dungeon "framework" as long as the dungeon shows enough variation in itself.

The dungeon in TotFL is about as good as they get. It's packed with tons of content and interesting areas and quests. The prequel is also good, but a bit different (and entirely in Japanese).


Anyway, came to suggest Knights of the Chalice, which is a CRPG graphically styled after Ultima but based on the D&D3.5 system. http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/Screenshots.htm

[Diabollokus]

GO PLAY LOST ODYSSEY!

Just beat it today, brilliant. I'll be honest its better than any of the recent final fantasies. Disc 3 and 4 were superb, loved the battle mechanics, character development and it ended really well. Probably the most underated RPG I have ever played.

[sjewkestheloon]

I enjoyed Lost Odyssey a lot and will probably play it again at some point.

Just finished the story in Star Ocean The Last Hope and had a great time. The story was shit and so were the characters but it had a certain camp charm and, most importantly, I'm hooked on the battle system and the whole collectothon routine.

Got lots and lots to get done before I start again on the next difficulty level. I'd quite like to get at least 30% of all battle trophies too, and eventually go for 90% if possible.

I'm quite pleased that I have a complete monster log so far and I hope to complete that on this playthrough. The bonus dungeons are calling but I''m trying to resist until I gain a few more levels.

[Diabollokus]

Yeah I'll revisit it later to beat the temple of enlightenment and finish some of the last additional backyard bosses, my team at the end were insane, all element and ailment resistance + ultimate weps GC 20000 +. I loled at the FF parodies, theres even a highwind amulet and a sky pirate/captain called Sed.

Tales of Vesperia is my next purchase RPG wise, never played a Tales game before.

[ZOM]

If action RPGs count in this thread, I'd recommend to keep an eye on 3D Dot Game Heroes. Being the FROM fanboy I am it's probably my most anticipated title right now.
The game's graphics are 3D dot style which seems to be quite the rage lately in Japan, seeing as there are even 3D dot creators & apps on iPhone...
Gameplay is classic action RPG fare; swing your sword with X, block attacks with your shield by pressing R1.
The game will come with a fairly capable 3D dot "create your own character" editor which is limited to 16x16 "3D pixels" @ 7 colors just to give that 8-bit look.
As for the game's length, it's said to be 24-30 hours and a good 60 for getting 100% completion.
Release date is 05.November 2009.

Oh, and spelunker makes a cameo appearance in the game.

[CMoon]

If action RPGs count in this thread, I'd recommend to keep an eye on 3D Dot Game Heroes. Being the FROM fanboy I am it's probably my most anticipated title right now.

I don't know anything about this, but the webpage has me hooked with its sexy music and weird-ass graphics.

[ZOM]

If action RPGs count in this thread, I'd recommend to keep an eye on 3D Dot Game Heroes. Being the FROM fanboy I am it's probably my most anticipated title right now.

I don't know anything about this, but the webpage has me hooked with its sexy music and weird-ass graphics.

Yeah it's something else, I wonder how the models are animated. There's still no gameplay footage around,
seems strange seeing that the game's release is just 2 months away. Maybe they're planning on showing something for TGS.

Personally, I can't wait to mess around with the character editor - really looks like it has potential for some nice experimenting. Here's a shot:

[orange]

mother 3 is the best game