What JRPG are you currently playing?

penev10 · 17-05-2012 8:15pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Don't really get that at all. Found as a social sim they were great with some lovely writing. As a dungeon crawler as well they were excellent and it was nice to actually have a game that was challenging. I never had to grind in them either. Sure I lost a lot of progress if I played badly or pushed myself too far but never felt I was going into dungeons just to rack up levels.

I thought the social links made the game. The dungeons would get dull without all the other stuff to keep you interested.

Mindkiller · 17-05-2012 8:22pm

FLOODY777 wrote: »

I've just started Persona 3 Portable. Have any 'problems' from the original version been ironed out for this version? Eg. The AI etc. mentioned in the last few posts?

You've full control over your party, so you don't even need to bother with AI.

ghostchant · 17-05-2012 9:48pm

Just remember to switch them out of AI mode, since that's what they default as (if I remember correctly). P3P was the version I played and it's probably my favourite RPG ever.

penev10 · 18-05-2012 4:19pm

On the 4th day of Devil Survivor 2 now and it's starting to get a bit more interesting. The character recruitment is less obtuse than the original which is a good thing and it also lets you play with a larger pool of characters before (I'm gathering) you choose a route towards end game (which obviously narrows your pool).

Feels a lot easier than the original. Certainly less grinding. Only been one fight that has given me trouble so far (at the end of Day 2) compared to the multiple difficulty spikes in DS1.

The weak plot/characters initially threw me but the great combat and demon fusing/team tweaking mechanics has dragged me in again.

manicmonoliths · 18-05-2012 6:37pm

Mindkiller wrote: »

Beat Persona 3 FES a minute ago. At least, I think I beat it but after I killed what can only be the big bad they still have me going to school. I'm too tired to watch what happens next, but I hope it doesn't pull another big demon out of its ass like Persona 4 did.

Overall I found it a really tepid grind, even more so than Persona 4. There's a lot to be admired in the Persona games but for the most part 90% of them is like banging your head against a wall for hours on end. If the other 10% wasn't so good I doubt I'd have bothered.

I've actually just finished Persona 3 as well, beat the last boss earlier in the week like yourself, saved and just now watched the ending.

Anyone else get Lost vibes from the ending, the whole remembering eachother stuff was very similar

I was very impressed by the game as a whole although some parts were slightly tedious. I enjoyed fusing Persona's and the social link stuff the most. The combat was great at first, it was always really satisfying to pull off an all out attack. I found it was slightly repetitive by the end though and I experienced similar AI problems too other posters here, but nothing huge, mainly just casting useless spells at the worst times. I found that certain characters, Ken, Koromaru and Aigis were pretty useless in fights compared to the others and Mitsuru got very annoying by contantly casting Tentafroo at the end of battles. The only fights which really gave me difficulty were the last Tartarus boss before the final boss, (the one who was strong against everything and had to be weakened first) and the Reaper. Both of those difficult fights threw up the AI issues surrounding healing and support spells in particular.

The main story was quite interesting, the majority of main characters were pretty likeable, Junpei and Akihiko in particular, though I wasn't too keen on Yukari or Ken. The whole setting was a very nice change of pace from the usual RPG fare although the lack of variety in locations was slightly disappointing particularly in Tartarus.

I enjoyed the Social Links aspect a lot, I thought it was really well done and most of the character plots were very interesting. I'm kind of a completionist though so I was frustrated that I couldn't complete them all, though I managed to at least find all except The Tower, I'm guessing that was linked to another character though. Slightly annoyed that I couldn't fuse all the various Personas due to this and my level not being high enough, think I finished the game around lv. 87. Also never got a chance to explore the area which opens up once beating the Reaper.

I'd like to see the remaining elements of the game, but I don't know if I'd be bothered doing a New Game Plus, can anyone tell me if it's worthwhile? I'd like see the remaining 7 or so social links I didn't finish and complete the persona compendium and the Elizabeth requests but I don't really fancy sinking another 80 or so hours into this. Revisiting every floor of Tartarus again sounds like it could be a bit of a pain the second time round.

I only finished the main quest, is the Answer worth playing? I think I might be slightly burnt out by the game so I'm not sure if I should skip over it or not.

I have Persona 4 waiting on my shelf but I think I'll hold off and play something else so it feels fresher when I do get around to playing it. For now I might try getting into Nier again, I found the combat very tedious, very hack and slash, but I should make the effort. That or play through Xenoblade again.

Mindkiller · 18-05-2012 7:03pm

manicmonoliths wrote: »

The main story was quite interesting, the majority of main characters were pretty likeable, Junpei and Akihiko in particular, though I wasn't too keen on Yukari or Ken. The whole setting was a very nice change of pace from the usual RPG fare although the lack of variety in locations was slightly disappointing particularly in Tartarus.

I agree with this, but I'd include Aigis in the list of rubbish characters. I hated her. I only played 30 minutes of the Answer so I don't know if it's worth playing but I'm not too keen on it if she's the main character. I'm a bit burnt out on Persona like yourself so I'll give it a few months before I try it properly.

The strongest parts of the game for me was the music and the story. Although I really hated some of the themes that played during the day. They grated after about the 50th time or so.

On a new game + the main character retains his level, items, money, weapons and personas (but only in the demon compendium). You also retain your Charm, Academics and Courage but not your Social Links. I think the secret area automatically opens up so long as you killed the Reaper in your first playthrough, so you could powerlevel really quickly there if you wanted. You can get about 20000-30000 exp with an exp card, and that's at high levels. You'll obviously get more at low levels.

I'm not planning on a NG+ though. The grinding is one thing, but I don't want to go through all the stuff with Kenji and the French student again.

I was thinking of replaying Lucifer's Call. I'm not that interested in checking out DDS and it's been so long since I've played LC that I've forgotten most of it. It was my favourite game at the time when I played it so it should be be interested to see if it holds up.

Retr0gamer · 18-05-2012 7:16pm

manicmonoliths wrote: »

I'd like to see the remaining elements of the game, but I don't know if I'd be bothered doing a New Game Plus, can anyone tell me if it's worthwhile? I'd like see the remaining 7 or so social links I didn't finish and complete the persona compendium and the Elizabeth requests but I don't really fancy sinking another 80 or so hours into this. Revisiting every floor of Tartarus again sounds like it could be a bit of a pain the second time round.

TBH, youtube them.

manicmonoliths wrote: »

I only finished the main quest, is the Answer worth playing? I think I might be slightly burnt out by the game so I'm not sure if I should skip over it or not.

I played a few hours of the Answer before getting sick of it. It's really high level stuff so you have to grind for ages and also there's no way to heal before a boss so you end up making at least two runs through a dungeon, once to level and the second time avoiding all the enemies to get to the boss. I heard people say it's not worth it but I would like to go back. I wasn't enjoying it though.

manicmonoliths wrote: »

I have Persona 4 waiting on my shelf but I think I'll hold off and play something else so it feels fresher when I do get around to playing it. For now I might try getting into Nier again, I found the combat very tedious, very hack and slash, but I should make the effort. That or play through Xenoblade again.

Play something else, you'll burn out on Persona. Nier is well worth sticking with. Combat isn't great but the story, characters and music make up for it and some of the bosses are excellent. Also the new game plus is amazing!

Fergus_ · 18-05-2012 11:50pm

Just started FFV. It's my last FF to be played (Still gotta complete XII and I-III though)

Which version is recommended? I'm playing the GBA version.

Retr0gamer · 19-05-2012 12:21am

I'd go with the SNES translated version really. The PS1 translation is a disgrace as are the load times. The GBA version is a good port with a good translation but the music sucks compared to the excellent original SNES music.

manicmonoliths · 23-05-2012 8:01pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Play something else, you'll burn out on Persona. Nier is well worth sticking with. Combat isn't great but the story, characters and music make up for it and some of the bosses are excellent. Also the new game plus is amazing!

I gave Nier another chance, I gave up when I couldn't figure out the fishing minigame last time, glad to see the game picks up remarkably from that point! I finished the first play through and I'm almost finished new game plus. Some nice mini additions in the new game, but I'm guessing the really good extra stuff will be focused on the ending which I'm looking forward to. I love how overpowered you feel in the new game, it really makes the combat a lot more enjoyable when you're not constantly running out of MP. I know there are 4 endings, but I might just stop at 2 given the requirements for getting the others and the fact that my import copy of Baten Kaitos Origins just arrived!

Retr0gamer · 23-05-2012 9:20pm

I just youtubed the other 2 endings. The 4th ending has an extra boss fight but the requirements to get it are silly.

Naphiel · 24-05-2012 12:47pm

I went and got the other two endings myself. It really takes almost no time at all and you're strong enough to fly through the game, even on hard mode.

Sieghardt · 24-05-2012 1:45pm

platinumed 13-2, now THERE'S an extra ending not worth the effort

Mindkiller · 24-05-2012 3:17pm

Secret endings are a load of ass. Alternative endings are even worse.

Retr0gamer · 24-05-2012 3:29pm

Mindkiller wrote: »

Secret endings are a load of ass. Alternative endings are even worse.

I'd agree with this mostly but a recent exception was Nier where the new game plus added so much to the experience and completely changed how you felt about the game.

Fergus_ · 24-05-2012 5:49pm

Just picked up FFXIII-2 and FFXII Revenant Wings

penev10 · 24-05-2012 7:01pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd agree with this mostly but a recent exception was Nier where the new game plus added so much to the experience and completely changed how you felt about the game.

I have Nier on my playlist and intend giving it a go soon, how long is an average playthrough? seeing as how you have to beat it twice!

manicmonoliths · 24-05-2012 7:05pm

penev10 wrote: »

I have Nier on my playlist and intend giving it a go soon, how long is an average playthrough? seeing as how you have to beat it twice!

First playthrough in which I mostly ignored sidequests was about 15 hours. It felt the ideal length to be honest. Second playthrough could easily be done in less than half that, although I'm attempting a lot of the quests this time around.

Retr0gamer · 24-05-2012 7:40pm

The new game plus took me two evenings to get through so wasn't too bad. You only have to go through the second half of the game again and since you are levelled up and know where to go it's much quicker.

ancapailldorcha · 24-05-2012 8:32pm

Sieghardt wrote: »

platinumed 13-2, now THERE'S an extra ending not worth the effort

I just went onto Youtube to see it, such as it was. Whoever at SE thought people would enjoy playing slots for hours and hours ought to be fired.

dmcdante · 24-05-2012 8:53pm

I have started to play NEIR but i am finding it really boring just been to the junk yard how long does it take to pick up cause i am finding it hard to play at the moment i love the soundtrack but seems to put me to sleep for some reason

manicmonoliths · 24-05-2012 10:23pm

dmcdante wrote: »

I have started to play NEIR but i am finding it really boring just been to the junk yard how long does it take to pick up cause i am finding it hard to play at the moment i love the soundtrack but seems to put me to sleep for some reason

Junk yard is fairly tedious but the game does pick up a lot after the boss there and and then again significantly at around the midway point. Combat can be slow paced enough unless you make liberal use of the Grimoire skills.

Also a note to anyone playing this for the first time, leave the subtitles on! You'll miss a lot of cut scene dialogue which takes place in some of the game's languages if you're like me and prefer to switch them off.

Sieghardt · 25-05-2012 6:37am

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I just went onto Youtube to see it, such as it was. Whoever at SE thought people would enjoy playing slots for hours and hours ought to be fired.

and whoever thought people would enjoy the clock puzzles, let alone two areas in a row with dozens of them, deserves much much worse

Playing Ys: The Oath in Felghana now, extremely fun

funky penguin · 25-05-2012 6:58am

I noticed the Ys series on PSN a while ago, are they any good? Which is the best to start with?

Retr0gamer · 25-05-2012 10:34am

Stayed up until 4 am last night only to be hit with final Boss difficulty spike syndrome in Xenoblade. Oh well at least levelling up makes a huge difference in this game so only think I have two levels to gain and there's tonnes of quests to level on.

funky penguin wrote: »

I noticed the Ys series on PSN a while ago, are they any good? Which is the best to start with?

They're all absolutely superb action RPGs. Blindingly fast paced and so much fun. Best to start with Ys Oath in Felghana or Ys Seven. Oath in Felghana is considered the absolute pinnacle of action RPGs by many. Ys Origins is worth picking up as well although the first game is a little obtuse, so much so they included a walkthrough with it.

Retr0gamer · 26-05-2012 9:28am

So the final boss in Xenoblade is completed. I'm glad I took time to do some quests beforehand because there's a load of massive high level areas I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Seems the team could go through the whole game without having a totally off the wall bananas ending like Xenogears and Xenosaga had. The big difference here though is that the ending in Xenoblade was deeply satisfying.

Overall it's got an amazing story, brilliant battle system and a huge and beautiful world to explore. In particular I loved the characters and how maturely they were handled. For example Shulk has visions of the future and people dying and throughout the game he tries to save them. However he can't save everyone. In your usual JRPG the character would do a Squall or Sephiroth and have some existential breakdown, which I've always found a bit silly and shatters the suspension of disbelief that they have real emotions. Shulk just gets on with it like any normal person as do the rest of the cast.

I really loved this game and I'd say that other than Dark Souls it's the best RPG of this console generation.

Fergus_ · 26-05-2012 1:14pm

I picked up Dragon Quest IX from gamestop today, will give it a whack later on.

penev10 · 28-05-2012 4:25pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

So the final boss in Xenoblade is completed. I'm glad I took time to do some quests beforehand because there's a load of massive high level areas I wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

Seems the team could go through the whole game without having a totally off the wall bananas ending like Xenogears and Xenosaga had. The big difference here though is that the ending in Xenoblade was deeply satisfying.

Overall it's got an amazing story, brilliant battle system and a huge and beautiful world to explore. In particular I loved the characters and how maturely they were handled. For example Shulk has visions of the future and people dying and throughout the game he tries to save them. However he can't save everyone. In your usual JRPG the character would do a Squall or Sephiroth and have some existential breakdown, which I've always found a bit silly and shatters the suspension of disbelief that they have real emotions. Shulk just gets on with it like any normal person as do the rest of the cast.

I really loved this game and I'd say that other than Dark Souls it's the best RPG of this console generation.

Must go back to Xenoblade, have heard nothing but gushing reports. Got about 30% through I reckon (area after the jungle, islands I think) but got bored.

The combat is engaging but became a rote of cooldown maintenance and in the chaos I didn't really feel I could impart much strategy. I tried other character combinations but the other characters felt very specialised and vulnerable. I'm sure I just haven't got "it" yet.

manicmonoliths · 16-06-2012 12:14pm

Recently finished Baten Kaitos Origins, so glad I decided to import it, it's a fantastic game. Improves on everything from the original, especially the voice acting. Combat is very different, much more fast paced and challenging, you get a great sense of achievement from pulling off a long combo. There are some annoying aspects, one part of the main story involves a lot of back tracking through a very tedious area and a lot of the side quests are glorified fetch quests. Difficulty can spike on occassion but nothing too frustrating though. Music is great as you'd expect from the first game and the vast bulk of it is new music, not that there's anything wrong with the remixed tracks from the original.

I'd highly recommend it to fans of the first game. Don't think we see many RPGs of this type these days. I'd also recommend the first game to those who haven't played it. The story of the prequel is much more meaningful if you're familiar with the story of the first game.

I really wish this series had more fans and sales. It'd be great to see another game in the series, but given that this game in particular was a major flop in the US, it seems unlikely. Monolith Soft seem to be gaining popularity after Xenoblade, so maybe there's a chance. Tri-Cresendo who were co-developers for Baten Kaitos don't seem to have done much since except Eternal Sonata which I personally found poor, could never really get past the annoying characters and repetitive combat.

Retr0gamer · 21-06-2012 11:17am

I really loved the original Baiten Kaitos but it was a very long burner. It took me a while to fully understand the battle system and it only got interesting once your deck really expanded. Once it did though it was an amazing battle system.

jaxdasher · 22-06-2012 7:25pm

Playing Yakuza 4 at the moment, more of an RPG brawler like Shenmue but more adult. Love it.

Retr0gamer · 22-06-2012 7:27pm

Yakuza is defo an RPG, it just hides it very well. Sure it has random battles!

jaxdasher · 22-06-2012 11:07pm

Ive been looking up and down for Resonance of Fate. Anyone can help?

megaten · 23-06-2012 12:13am

You should be able to get it off any popular site fairly cheaply.

penev10 · 29-06-2012 10:41am

Go to the last boss in Devil Survivor 2 last night. Disappointed that I'll definitely have to grind now if I want to beat the game as it's one of those marathon, keep-moving-the-goal-posts type battles that requires high HP/MP rather than any particular strategy.

It's a shame as I'd managed not to grind up until now, relying on adapting my party set-up for each battle. The grinding opportunities in the game are horrible as well. There are permanently available "Free Battles" but they always contain weaker enemies which give you feck all XP.

Starting to regret taking the hardest route now as I've a feeling this might've been a better choice for NG+.

Sieghardt · 29-06-2012 3:27pm

Playing Phantasy Star Online 2 right now, utterly amazing game, the combat is really good, better than nearly every action game I've played except Bayonetta and there's some brilliant ideas like the emergency interrupt events that I think will be copied by a lot of other games in the future

elekid · 07-07-2012 4:50pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I really loved this game and I'd say that other than Dark Souls it's the best RPG of this console generation.

Just finished Xenoblade and I couldn't agree more. I loved everything about it, especially the characters and the massive world. 140 hour of gameplay as well, I think I've been playing it for the last month and a half or so!

Retr0gamer · 07-07-2012 10:17pm

Back playing DQ9 again and loving it. Really like Dragon Quests storytelling where every town is it's own self contained drama.

seraphimvc · 09-07-2012 6:19pm

finished xenoblade and Last story lately. Two of the best jrpg I've played since ages!!

Personally i think xenoblade is chattered to younger players, alot of teenagers chattered elements in the game that i don't quite like them lol

Last story is more 'mature' and truly is the FF successor albeit i bet sagakuchi missed the old graphics team. The voice acting is horrible but luckily Zeal and Celista's voices are fine. I also suspect that the translation of the dialogue was hugely altered from the original. The modern english usage is really bothering me the whole game.

God damn i am so glad i have wii

Retr0gamer · 09-07-2012 7:56pm

seraphimvc wrote: »

Personally i think xenoblade is chattered to younger players, alot of teenagers chattered elements in the game that i don't quite like them lol

Ah now, it was hardly kingdom hearts.

Funny you should say that, I found Xenoblade a lot more mature than any of the FF games.

megaten · 09-07-2012 10:25pm

seraphimvc wrote: »

finished xenoblade and Last story lately. Two of the best jrpg I've played since ages!!

Personally i think xenoblade is chattered to younger players, alot of teenagers chattered elements in the game that i don't quite like them lol

Last story is more 'mature' and truly is the FF successor albeit i bet sagakuchi missed the old graphics team. The voice acting is horrible but luckily Zeal and Celista's voices are fine. I also suspect that the translation of the dialogue was hugely altered from the original. The modern english usage is really bothering me the whole game.

God damn i am so glad i have wii

Almost every JRPG in existence is focused towards teenagers being the primary audience.

Retr0gamer · 09-07-2012 10:41pm

megaten wrote: »

Almost every JRPG in existence is focused towards teenagers being the primary audience.

Yup, unless it's dragon quest then there's very few over 20's that play games in japan.

cloud493 · 09-07-2012 11:44pm

Big thanks to robbingbandit, I'm playing chrono trigger on the DS

seraphimvc · 10-07-2012 12:23am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Ah now, it was hardly kingdom hearts.

Funny you should say that, I found Xenoblade a lot more mature than any of the FF games.

ah KH is in another dimension. I am fine with xenoblade, just saying 'i dont quite like it' as in compare to Last story. Or may be i should say i don't quite like the 'young' artstyle of characters in the game, the chacraters in traditional FF always cover all the age range. I am stuck with using Melia for a long time lol.

Halve_ZOL · 17-07-2012 11:08am

cloud493 wrote: »

Big thanks to robbingbandit, I'm playing chrono trigger on the DS

Chrono Trigger on my 3DS, now 8 hours in and absolutely loving it!

Retr0gamer · 18-07-2012 12:00pm

Started playing FFIV through the complete collection on PSP. I have said that the game looks like it was done with cheap outsource 2D art but now seeing it in motion it's a joy to behold. 2D looks stunning on the PSP and this game looks fantastic. FFIV has still got it. The story is absolute garbage but it's such a well paced story which doesn't intrude on the action with too much exposition and cutscenes that it's just a joy to play. Also it's probably the only game until FF13 where ATB actually added something to the gameplay.

noodler · 18-07-2012 12:03pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Started playing FFIV through the complete collection on PSP. I have said that the game looks like it was done with cheap outsource 2D art but now seeing it in motion it's a joy to behold. 2D looks stunning on the PSP and this game looks fantastic. FFIV has still got it. The story is absolute garbage but it's such a well paced story which doesn't intrude on the action with too much exposition and cutscenes that it's just a joy to play. Also it's probably the only game until FF13 where ATB actually added something to the gameplay.

I put it down last year sometime after Cecile became the White Knight.

I picked it up again but couldn't figure out where I was supposed to go!

Have to say it does look great.

Retr0gamer · 18-07-2012 12:13pm

noodler wrote: »

I put it down last year sometime after Cecile became the White Knight.

I picked it up again but couldn't figure out where I was supposed to go!

Have to say it does look great.

If you head West to back to Mysidia and talk to the town head in the big house in the North you'll advance the plot. Then there's a door in that town that leads to a warp to baron. Go there and then talk to Yang in the pub to get the baron key which opens the weapon and armour shop and a secret entrance into baron. Be warned that there's 2 boss fights in a row after that, I got my first game over there since I was out of MP for the second one so head back and use a tent when you beat the first.

Hope that helps.

noodler · 18-07-2012 12:27pm

Actually, now that I think about it. I had made it to the underground world so I was actually a bit further than I previously thought.

Retr0gamer · 18-07-2012 12:47pm

You're further than me so. I just got cid.

What JRPG are you currently playing?

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