Reviewing every single JRPG from the Top 55 JRPGs from the Codex.

[Goldsnivy1]

Also, you get exp share for your whole party, so there is no more picking and choosing which Pokemon to focus on developing for a particular leg of your journey.

The universal EXP share was introduced in X and Y, Black and White and their sequels still used the classic single Pokemon held item. Everything else is still a fair criticism of the games, though I'd like to add that there is some extra side content in the sequels with PokeStar Studios (I guess also the Musicals in both sets of gen V games, but those are so bare-bones I don't really count them)

[Oyster Sauce]

@Val the Moofia Boss how are the PSP Valkyria Chronicles? I'm planning on hitting them before 4,but nobody ever talks about them.

They are fine gameplay wise, the maps are really small and broken up into multiple regions, it becomes really grindy and the story is kinda **** (but that is true for the whole series).

Some cool new classes have been brought in and the existing ones have been broken up in more useful ways (there is class changes now into different classes) IIRC.

It's fun enough, got it on my Vita (what a **** console, on which I have basically only psp and PS1 games)

Beat the first one and started 2 just now. The shift to 90s Anime High School is rough. I can see why it hasn't been ported.

[Lord of Riva]

@Val the Moofia Boss how are the PSP Valkyria Chronicles? I'm planning on hitting them before 4,but nobody ever talks about them.

They are fine gameplay wise, the maps are really small and broken up into multiple regions, it becomes really grindy and the story is kinda **** (but that is true for the whole series).

Some cool new classes have been brought in and the existing ones have been broken up in more useful ways (there is class changes now into different classes) IIRC.

It's fun enough, got it on my Vita (what a **** console, on which I have basically only psp and PS1 games)

Beat the first one and started 2 just now. The shift to 90s Anime High School is rough. I can see why it hasn't been ported.

Yeah the setting and story is an absolute snorefest, it's not going to get better in that regard. But as said, the original had a lot of shonen anime tropes anyways, could have been a great story as both design and general setting could be set ups for excellent drama but it's as anime as it gets

[A Chinese opium den]

@Val the Moofia Boss how are the PSP Valkyria Chronicles? I'm planning on hitting them before 4,but nobody ever talks about them.

They are fine gameplay wise, the maps are really small and broken up into multiple regions, it becomes really grindy and the story is kinda **** (but that is true for the whole series).

Some cool new classes have been brought in and the existing ones have been broken up in more useful ways (there is class changes now into different classes) IIRC.

It's fun enough, got it on my Vita (what a **** console, on which I have basically only psp and PS1 games)

Beat the first one and started 2 just now. The shift to 90s Anime High School is rough. I can see why it hasn't been ported.

You can more or less just skip to 4, the highschool ones aren't really worth playing IMO.

[Zothique]

Have never played a JRPG. Don't see the point.

[Godjjjita]

Have never played a JRPG. Don't see the point.

chrono trigger and persona 4 can be good. The anime artstyle is a turnoff for me but if the story is good and the cringe anime dialogue is toned down, they can have good stories from time to time but it is hard to find one that has a good story, little cringe dialogue and it's not outdated on the mechanics.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Have never played a JRPG. Don't see the point.

Good aesthetics. Usually much prettier than most WRPGs. The only WRPGs I can think of with good artbook aesthetics are MMOs like WoW, the Banner Saga, and Kingdoms of Amalur.

Likeable characters. I am hard pressed to think of WRPG casts I liked, whereas the only JRPG cast I really disliked was Crossbell's/Zero no Kiseki's.

Very nice presentation, from menus to the combat. WRPGs on the other hand tend to have ugly, cluttered menus, and the combat isn't very fun to look at. Combat is also usually more fun.

Memorable soundtracks.

The setting and stories are usually more imaginative fantasy stuff (also ties into the artbook aesthetics), whereas WRPGs tend to be dull IMO.

You usually do not need to spend a lot of time doing homework by looking up build guides or being advised on the correct things to do in a certain order before you play. Such games like The Last Remnant are the rare exception.

The main thing you tend to lose out on is:

• Being able to create your own character, ie picking a non-human race like a Tauren in WoW or a dragonman in Divinity Original Sin, and being able to pick your class ie paladin or mage. In JRPGs, you usually play as a preset character (usually a human) with a preset class (usually a swordsman). The main character is much more involved in the story though and is more of a character you can get invested in. I care more about Welkin from Valkyria Chronicles or Rean from Trails of Cold Steel than WRPG player characters.

• "Player choice" like different dialogue options, though usually this doesn't add much meaningfully to the gameplay IMO. Having a high persuasion/charisma stat to pick a dialog option to skip a fight isn't very fun, IMO.

• You can't do sandboxy stuff like kill anyone you want. You are usually unable to target NPCs in town and attack them.

[Zothique]

Good aesthetics. Usually much prettier than most WRPGs.

I would like to hope most people on here don't give a **** about this.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Good aesthetics. Usually much prettier than most WRPGs.

I would like to hope most people on here don't give a **** about this.

It's called a VIDEO game. Good audiovisuals are the point of the medium. If you don't care about audiovisuals then you should read a book or play a tabletop RPG instead.

[Zothique]

Good aesthetics. Usually much prettier than most WRPGs.

I would like to hope most people on here don't give a **** about this.

It's called a VIDEO game. Good audiovisuals are the point of the medium. If you don't care about audiovisuals then you should read a book or play a tabletop RPG instead.

If that means not sucking **** ****, sure.

[KOS-MOS]

Have never played a JRPG. Don't see the point.

What I love about JRPGs is that they allow themselves to tell stories that can go very far. And not just in their twists or things like that, but in their themes, symbolism, and references. Some JRPGs have extremely complex stories that require a certain intellectual background to even be understood. When you look at WRPGs, it's rare.

The experience I had playing games like Xenogears, Xenosaga, Chrono Cross, Shin Megami Tensei, FF8/10 etc... is something I've never found in any WRPG, and I'm also a big fan of the old Bioware, Larian... But I've never seen a story as ambitious in a WRPG as in Xenogears for example. And that's what I love most about JRPGs, this ambition, this imagination, this touch of madness too.

JRPG can be pretty hit or miss though, and they all have their flaws. I'm not going to pretend they're perfect. Especially not my favorite ones. But yeah, they offer something that other games don't.

[rusty_shackleford]

best jrpg is lufia 2

[Lord of Riva]

Good aesthetics. Usually much prettier than most WRPGs.

I would like to hope most people on here don't give a **** about this.

There is a difference in being a graphics ***** and wanting a coherent visual aesthetic and style. Archrebel tactics, a game that had recently released a demo, has a very coherent Artstyle even if it is not high end, most woke trash does not. He is right most JRPGs are visually more coherent as they mostly do not follow the trend of hyperrealism (and wokeness), however of course there is, of course, also a lot of **** around in the genre that looks atrocious like Dark souls, which got a *tad* better with ED.