What was the first jrpg you ever played?

[spookyheart]

Just as what the title says.

My earliest one i can remember was kh 358/2 days then eventually some of the ff games and its mainly square enix stuff back in the day but venturing onto stuff like atlus/sega and falcom **** as time went by that being said what was the jrpg that got you guys into jrpgs? let me know down in the comments below.

[KOS-MOS]

Oh the old memories

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The Pokemon games for the N64 were the very first I got my hands on, if you stretch the definition a bit. Stadium 1 & 2, and Hey You Pikachu. For the Stadium games, you got to pick which tournament to challenge (the Little Cup was the most unique, as you could only use unevolved baby Pokemon), and you got to pick your team, and go. The 3D camera angles and the dramatic narrator helped elevate the game, the battles are still more exciting to watch than in mainline titles. Stadium 2 also had fun minigames. Hey You Pikachu didn't have combat, but you could take walks and explore the forest with your Pikachu and use the microphone to try to give commands to it. I remember it had a nostalgic, maybe melancholic "your years are passing you by" vibe due to the music. Unfortunately, the game did not adequately communicate the limitation of its voice recognition system (you need to just say a keyword and nothing else, don't try to make natural sentences), which could be frustrating.

I then got a PS2, a GBA, and a Gamecube, so my first "real" JRPGs were Final Fantasy X and XII, Pokemon Sapphire, Colosseum, and XD.




I remember really liking the presentation and art direction of FF10 and FF12, and real liked their stories. The aesthetics on the back of FF10's box also made me want to play the game. However, for FF10 my playthroughs kept stalling out at the ice temple. The game was boring in the middle and I didn't have the patience then to tough through it, though in retrospect those games really did have pacing issues in the middle where it can get pretty boring, especially FF12. FF12 had unspectacular RTWP combat, and there are three long stretches where you go hours and hours without anything exciting happening (the hike from the Westersand to Raithwall's Tomb. The hike from Dalmasca to Mount Bur Omisce. The hike from Dalmasca to Archades and the Great Crystal). However, because you could automate FF12's combat, I was able to beat that game half awake with the controller sitting in my lap.




I also wound up getting FF11 with the big fat HDD you plugged into the back of the PS2, and getting the all-in-one expansion package off of ebay, but the code for that had already been used . The PlayOnline music was interesting, and the opening cinematic was great. I made a Tarutaru and ran around in Bastok confused how to do anything before getting bored and quitting. I might have made out into Gustaberg and fought a worm. Didn't revisit the game until 2022.




I must have sank a few hundred hours into playing Pokemon Sapphire. I used Swampert on my first playthrough and Sceptile on my second. Then I played the Gamecube Pokemons. I remember that the box art for Colosseum looked very enticing. I remember staying up to beat the unexpected true final boss of Colosseum. I got stuck halfway through XD (at the pyramid dungeon) and never finished it. Unfortunately, all of the Pokemon from that gen I had accumulated on my Sapphire cartridge were stolen by a friend.

Stealthily swapped my broken Pokémon Silver cartridge with my friend's functional one. Sorry, Chad.

I loaned my Sapphire cartridge to a friend (we were both homeschooled and our parents had taken us on playdates over the years, even went on vacation trips together) so he could catch some Hoenn mons and transfer them to Diamond/Pearl. He returned the cartridge to me... and all of my Pokemon were cleaned out. My beloved Swampert, the mons I had raised in Colosseum and XD and transferred over to Sapphire. Everything. Hundreds of hours of effort, gone. I never spoke to him again after that.

[Oyster Sauce]

I didn't really understand how to play it. Would just do the opening, get to the overworld, and quit because I didn't get the concept of healing between fights or something.

The part where your hometown gets taken over gave me reoccurring nightmares, and the part where your dad is carried back home dead and then given a viking funeral made me really sad

[Acrux]

Probably Little Ninja Brothers

[rusty_shackleford]

Final Fantasy on the NES

[Tweed]

Sword of Vermillion on the Genesis.

[Steel-Knight]

Chrono Trigger on the SNES I think. Its the earliest I remember playing, anyway.

I know it's considered pretty overrated, but it felt like a pretty decent "beginner's JRPG" given the difficulty and length of the game.

[Tangerine]

Final Fantasy on the NES.

[Atlantico]

Final Fantasy VIII on the Playstation.

[Demonic Fate]

Clair Obscur

[Kalarion]

Dragon Quest on NES.

[Kowe]

If Pokemon games are considered JRPGs, then it was First Gen with Blue, Red and Yellow. Otherwise, it was Paper Mario for N64 or Final Fantasy VII for PS1.

[Cipher]

Final Fantasy on the NES

Same here.

[Irenaeus]

Probably Zelda II.
Phantasy Star around the same era.

[Cipher]

Chrono Trigger on the SNES I think. Its the earliest I remember playing, anyway.

I know it's considered pretty overrated, but it felt like a pretty decent "beginner's JRPG" given the difficulty and length of the game.

Overrated? By who? It's an awesome story, extremely lean on fat and filler for a JRPG, multiple endings, New Game + (arguably the first or at least that one that made it popular), superb soundtrack and the graphics were amazing for the hardware and still hold up today. Its fame is very much well deserved. Also, for a JRPG, specially on the SNES, it requires no grinding at all. The game is a real gem.

[Tangerine]

extremely lean on fat and filler for a JRPG,

Going to CDs was a mistake for the genre; it made them indulgent with dialog and cutscenes. The limited size of ROM chips forced them to be more efficient with how they presented the story.

[Cipher]

extremely lean on fat and filler for a JRPG,

Going to CDs was a mistake for the genre; it made them indulgent with dialog and cutscenes. The limited size of ROM chips forced them to be more efficient with how they presented the story.

Yes but that is true for everything. The reason the soundtracks for NES and SNES where so awesome is because of the hardware limitations. Meaning, you have all these classically trained composers that want to compose for orchestra, but only have very limited sound channels (NES) or a limited chipset (SNES). That meant they had to get creative and specially focus on amazing melodies. Melodies so good that we remember them easily to this day.

Take a look at what games call "optimization" now. 200gb downloads. This is the laziness that you mention. Without a limited storage space of a disk or cartridge, the need for optimization disappeared. With the advent of the internet to patch things up and normie cattle taking everything on the *** without complaining, QA disappeared. You get a late beta release on day one with the full game being finished months later, if at all.

The lack of limitations allowed for lazy devs to forgo the need to be creative and that is true for all genres. And still, you have games on the SNES that are plagued with grinding and filler, so its not like the limitations made it so it didn't happen, it just made it harder.

[Classix]

FF7 OG Black Label for PS1 even had the strategy guide my dad ordered for me a month or 2 later that was ordered from a Playstation Magazine ad ( followed right after by Tactics ) then Legend of Legaia.

► Show Spoiler

ff7_myboy_cid.png

ff7_guide1_97baby.png

[Steel-Knight]

Chrono Trigger on the SNES I think. Its the earliest I remember playing, anyway.

I know it's considered pretty overrated, but it felt like a pretty decent "beginner's JRPG" given the difficulty and length of the game.

Overrated? By who? It's an awesome story, extremely lean on fat and filler for a JRPG, multiple endings, New Game + (arguably the first or at least that one that made it popular), superb soundtrack and the graphics were amazing for the hardware and still hold up today. Its fame is very much well deserved. Also, for a JRPG, specially on the SNES, it requires no grinding at all. The game is a real gem.

I personally really love the game for much of the reasons you specified, but since around the time the DS and the semi-infamous Steam versions came around it seems the game's been hit with that reputation online somewhat. Perhaps in part due to overhyping and its age, which is kind of the same fate that's happened to many other older RPGs over the years. The DS version's new content is somewhat hit or miss, but its still new optional content either way... although Crono's new "Dreamseeker" weapon from there makes the final boss laughably easy.

I do prefer the SNES version's translation by Ted Woolsey over the DS version's though for some reason.

[Goblin_Hammer]

Sword of Vermilion was my first I "think" but it was very confusing game since I was very young when I played it.

► Show Spoiler

[Fox1]

Pokemon Red & Blue. I loved them as a kid, sometimes I still revisit them despite the jank

[Cipher]

Chrono Trigger on the SNES I think. Its the earliest I remember playing, anyway.

I know it's considered pretty overrated, but it felt like a pretty decent "beginner's JRPG" given the difficulty and length of the game.

Overrated? By who? It's an awesome story, extremely lean on fat and filler for a JRPG, multiple endings, New Game + (arguably the first or at least that one that made it popular), superb soundtrack and the graphics were amazing for the hardware and still hold up today. Its fame is very much well deserved. Also, for a JRPG, specially on the SNES, it requires no grinding at all. The game is a real gem.

I personally really love the game for much of the reasons you specified, but since around the time the DS and the semi-infamous Steam versions came around it seems the game's been hit with that reputation online somewhat. Perhaps in part due to overhyping and its age, which is kind of the same fate that's happened to many other older RPGs over the years. The DS version's new content is somewhat hit or miss, but its still new optional content either way... although Crono's new "Dreamseeker" weapon from there makes the final boss laughably easy.

I do prefer the SNES version's translation by Ted Woolsey over the DS version's though for some reason.

I haven't heard of that at all. Any criticism the game could have would be equally valid for FF6, and people still love that game, rightfully hail it as one of the best Final Fantasy games in the series, and the pixel remasters did great.

Personally, I like the graphics of Trigger better than FF6 and the story and time travelling gimmick as well. In my mind it is the superior game. I really can't fathom any universe where people rave about the pixel remasters but scuff at Chrono Trigger. It is on par with the Final Fantasy of the SNES era at the very least.

[MC_Sea]

My first 2 JRPGs were Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1/2.

They aged relatively well and are still plenty of fun today. It is a side brawler where you can craft different types of weapons each with their own movesets, strengths, and flaws. (i.e. Drills have charge attacks, speedy continous attacks but long lag afterwards, Knuckles have adjustable combos that can change depending on input, etc.) and each of those types has several unique weapon branches and gimmicks.

The main story is enjoyable especially since it has a lot of specialized dialogue depending on what Guardian Beast you chose, your character's sex, and who you talk to at night. There are also plenty of sidequests to go through if you choose to do so.



Both the art and music are pleasing to experience. The pixel are doesn't feel crunched up like most other GBA games and the music felt catchy despite the limited soundchip on GBA.

The only real flaws of this game are the high encounter rate along with the questionable drop rate. Thankfully, these issues can be both mitigated pretty easily by using encounter lowering amulets or dashing into the side of the screen to escape and by using a strategy for higher drop rates. [If you go into a battle without any weapon equipped, you use a hammer to attack. This hammer does low damage but you can still use spells. At the end of battle, you get a bonus drop rate for doing this.] This strategy helps immensely with certain sidequests and crafting weapons. For some reason, the game never tells you this though.



Overall, great games and my top picks for the GBA system as a whole.

[methoxetamine]

I bought FF7 and FF8 on the same day in 1999. I played 8 first but at the disc 1 -> 2 transition I found out my disc was scratched and I couldn't proceed. I was a little kid so it took me (what felt like) ages to even get to that point, but I ended up switching to 7 and playing it all the way through (also in what felt like ages). After that I found FF8 at Hollywood Video and swapped the discs with my own copy like a ****** which I'm not proud of but at least I got to finish it finally

**** I forgot about Pokemon, I guess Pokemon Blue would've been my actual first jrpg

[Capybara]

Legend of Legaia, but the first one I actually finished was Persona 3 FES.

[DrSneed]

.hack//infection

[WaterMage]

Was FF7. Too boring and dropped. My first true RPG was Might & Magic VII - For Blood and Honor

[sheet]

Dragon Warrior on NES

[Chudrick]

Final Fantasy 6 on the SNES.

First I beat was Super Mario RPG.