JRPG general discussion

Zapp Brannigan

Nier: Automata looks great.

Reminds me I never got round to finishing Bayonetta 2.

Retr0gamer

Pac1Man wrote: »

Thanks, I've heard great things. A challenge wouldn't be the worst thing now. I was expecting a battle at the end of Chrono Trigger so I did a bit of grinding which was definitely not needed!

The only thing you need to survive in Shin Megami Tensei games is that stat buffs and debuffs are extremely important unlike really simple systems like Final Fantasy where they are a waste of time for the most part. If you don't use buffs and debuffs you'll have trouble at some of the bottle neck bosses. Also Persona 4's first boss can be a bit of a baptism of fire if you don't remember blocking negates elemental weaknesses. Most muppets say you need to grind a lot in the SMT games to get over bottle neck bosses like the Persona 4 one and the infamous Matador from SMT3 but really grinding does nothing, good strategy and stat buff use are all you need.

Sieghardt

Trails in the Sky: SC just got a surprise release, it's on Steam now and will be on PSN this week I think

FC is 50% off too so if you havent played it, it's a good chance to jump into this series

Retr0gamer

Really want to start the series but need to finish Nocturne and I got caught playing meat boy and sunk 40 hours into it.

Cina

So is Tales of Zestiria any good? Seems to be getting fairly mixed reviews.

Xenji

Cina wrote: »

So is Tales of Zestiria any good? Seems to be getting fairly mixed reviews.

Started it yesterday, it is your usual Tales game combat and story wise, backgrounds look quite nice and varied and the soundtrack so far is the highlight for me, about 8 hours in I do not have any major gripes and it has drawn me in better than Xillia did so far, have not noticed any bugs either.

Cina

Xenji wrote: »

Started it yesterday, it is your usual Tales game combat and story wise, backgrounds look quite nice and varied and the soundtrack so far is the highlight for me, about 6 hours in I do not have any major gripes and it has drawn me in better than Xillia did so far, have not seen any bugs either.

I've never actually played the other Tales games before, so maybe this is a good place to start.

Sieghardt

Cina wrote: »

So is Tales of Zestiria any good? Seems to be getting fairly mixed reviews.

It's pretty good. The battle system is good, the world is largely fun to explore and the characters are very likeable, the equipment/skill system is a bit **** and the story is so-so. It's a very oldschool hero of light fighting the darkness type thing but quite well done

Xenji

Cina wrote: »

I've never actually played the other Tales games before, so maybe this is a good place to start.

I would recommend it if you are going getting it for the PS4, it has no links to the other games, if you have a PS3 I would recommend getting Tales Of Symphonia first as it is dirt cheap now and a great entry point to the series.

Cina

Xenji wrote: »

I would recommend it if you are going getting it for the PS4, it has no links to the other games, if you have a PS3 I would recommend getting Tales Of Symphonia first as it is dirt cheap now and a great entry point to the series.

I have a PS4 but I'm actually veering more towards getting it on the PC

Retr0gamer

The Tales games can be a little bit generic and can get tiring after a while. If you want a PC RPG, get Grandia 2 instead

Cina

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The Tales games can be a little bit generic and can get tiring after a while. If you want a PC RPG, get Grandia 2 instead

What am I, an amateur?

I played Grandia II twice over on the PS2!

johnny_ultimate

Jason Schreier has published his fascinating report of exactly how difficult it was to get Trails in the Sky out:

http://kotaku.com/the-curse-of-kiseki-how-one-of-japans-biggest-rpgs-bar-1740055631

While I only ever got a few hours in to the first and can't see myself going back to it anytime soon, I'd almost be inclined to just buy the new one as a signal of kudos :pac:

Sieghardt

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Jason Schreier has published his fascinating report of exactly how difficult it was to get Trails in the Sky out:

http://kotaku.com/the-curse-of-kiseki-how-one-of-japans-biggest-rpgs-bar-1740055631

While I only ever got a few hours in to the first and can't see myself going back to it anytime soon, I'd almost be inclined to just buy the new one as a signal of kudos :pac:

It's a real labour of love for the staff at XSEED, they all personally love the series so they were willing to go to such extremes to get it done.

Retr0gamer

This is hidden in one of the TitS SC treasure chests (worth checking them all twice apparently).

Xenji

Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk and Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland are currently both half price on the PSN Store along with a lot more JRPGs.

Mal-Adjusted

I'm well used to western RPG's but the only Japanese ones iv'e played were FFVII & VIII on Steam. Could anyone recommend maybe an easy, new user friendly JRPG for the 360? Maybe some sort of gateway drug.

Sieghardt

Sega have now also trademarked Valkyria: Azure Revolution. Fingers crossed for a reveal at PSX

http://gematsu.com/2015/11/sega-trademarks-valkyria-azure-revolution

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

I'm well used to western RPG's but the only Japanese ones iv'e played were FFVII & VIII on Steam. Could anyone recommend maybe an easy, new user friendly JRPG for the 360? Maybe some sort of gateway drug.

Tales of Vesperia is worth a spin

Xenji

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

I'm well used to western RPG's but the only Japanese ones iv'e played were FFVII & VIII on Steam. Could anyone recommend maybe an easy, new user friendly JRPG for the 360? Maybe some sort of gateway drug.

Lost Odyssey
Tales of Vesperia
Blue Dragon
Eternal Sonata
Star Ocean
Resonance of Fate
Nier

Retr0gamer

Xenji wrote: »

Lost Odyssey
Tales of Vesperia
Blue Dragon
Eternal Sonata
Star Ocean
Resonance of Fate
Nier

I'd recommend none of those other than Nier or Tales of Vesperia.And Nier might be an acquired taste since its a bit hanky but brilliant because of how weird and original it is. Lost Odyssey is a slog until the late game, the best thing about it are the amazing short stories, pity the actual story doesn't live up to those. Blue Dragon is kind of pish. Eternal Sonata kind of drags a bit. Star OceN has an amazing combat system but dreadful cutscenes that last way too long.

Resonance of Fate is superb but not for a new comer, the battle system is a thing of beauty but is incredibly difficult to learn.

If you are on steam there's a far better selection with the likes of Grandia, Trails in the Sky, the stupidly good Valkyria chronicles, or Final Fantasy 4

Xenji

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd recommend none of those other than Nier or Tales of Vesperia.And Nier might be an acquired taste since its a bit hanky but brilliant because of how weird and original it is. Lost Odyssey is a slog until the late game, the best thing about it are the amazing short stories, pity the actual story doesn't live up to those. Blue Dragon is kind of pish. Eternal Sonata kind of drags a bit. Star OceN has an amazing combat system but dreadful cutscenes that last way too long.

Resonance of Fate is superb but not for a new comer, the battle system is a thing of beauty but is incredibly difficult to learn.

If you are on steam there's a far better selection with the likes of Grandia, Trails in the Sky, the stupidly good Valkyria chronicles, or Final Fantasy 4

Not really many to recommend on the 360 in fairness, best of a bad bunch.

_Godot_

Xenji wrote:

Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk and Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland are currently both half price on the PSN Store along with a lot more JRPGs.

Was so tempted to buy them when I saw them, but bought Lunar Silver Star Harmony instead.

Retr0gamer

_Godot_ wrote: »

Was so tempted to buy them when I saw them, but bought Lunar Silver Star Harmony instead.

Should have went for the Atelier games. Found Lunar a slog. The battle system has been slowed right down which makes the battles a chore and the localisation is kind of straight faced and not as fun as the working design one. Then they changed the Luna's boat song which just isn't as good as the old PS1 version.

Lahinchians

So, with retro always banging on about the atelier (sp?) Games I grabbed rorona plus on vita, along with dragon's crown and soul sacrifice delta. Played a bit of dragon's crown, enjoying it so far I have to say. Something to keep me busy between dragons dogma and the upcoming fallout 4.

Retr0gamer

Dragon's Crown is great at the start but it becomes really good once you've been through the levels once. The second time through opens up alternate routes and you can challenge yourself by running endurance runs of the levels for better 'filthy lucre'.

Xenji

Square-Enix have announced a $102M first half operating profit.

http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/16q2slides.pdf

Interested Observer

Guys I'm flying to Aus in a few weeks and I'm looking for something on Vita or 3DS to keep me occupied on the flight.

I have P4G and SMTIV already so any other suggestions?

penev10

Interested Observer wrote: »

Guys I'm flying to Aus in a few weeks and I'm looking for something on Vita or 3DS to keep me occupied on the flight.

I have P4G and SMTIV already so any other suggestions?

Fire Emblem for 3DS or Natural Doctrine for Vita

Interested Observer

penev10 wrote: »

Fire Emblem for 3DS or Natural Doctrine for Vita

Much obliged. Have heard good things about Fire Emblem, never heard of Natural Doctrine.

Xenji

Interested Observer wrote: »

Much obliged. Have heard good things about Fire Emblem, never heard of Natural Doctrine.

You need to be a real sadist to enjoy Natural Doctrine, its very tough and complicated, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 got a 3DS release last week.