Various JRPG stuff not deserving its own thread

[Statesman]

I bought a New 3DS XL a couple weeks ago. I had a DS when it launched but I didn't play any JRPG's on it, and I've not played a single game on the 3DS catalogue. I didn't realize until recently how nice of a library it has, especially for JRPG's. What are the essentials?

Radiant Historia is by far the best game on your list. If you plan to play up to EONexus/love Dungeon Crawlers, start the Etrian Odyssey series with the Untold 1-2. Otherwise you won't appreciate the capstone/Greatest Hits game. EO3 is easy but decent to play too if you still hunger for more, as is The Dark Spire (an old school dungeon crawler). Feel free to skip Dragon Quest VIII and IX. DQVIII is just DQXI 0.5 (most of the hype is nostalgia due to being the first DQ a lot of people played) and IX is the worst mainline DQ (great job system though). Also, if you end up wanting more SMT, check out Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The 3DS version has some extra content/QoL (and, as a consequence, lower difficulty).

I can also recommend Infinite Space, a space-opera jRPG were you recruit crewmembers, build and customize spaceships to take over the galaxy.

► Show Spoiler

[methoxetamine]

I bought a New 3DS XL a couple weeks ago. I had a DS when it launched but I didn't play any JRPG's on it, and I've not played a single game on the 3DS catalogue. I didn't realize until recently how nice of a library it has, especially for JRPG's. What are the essentials?

Radiant Historia is by far the best game on your list. If you plan to play up to EONexus/love Dungeon Crawlers, start the Etrian Odyssey series with the Untold 1-2. Otherwise you won't appreciate the capstone/Greatest Hits game. EO3 is easy but decent to play too if you want more game like it, as is The Dark Spire (a more old school dungeon crawler for the DS). Feel free to skip Dragon Quest VIII and IX. DQVIII is just DQXI 0.5 (most of the hype is just nostalgia due to being the first DQ for a lot of people) and IX is the worst mainline DQ (great job system though). Also, if you end up wanting more SMT, check out Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The 3DS version has some extra content/QoL (and, as a consequence, lower difficulty).

I can also recommend Infinite Space, a space-opera jRPG were you recruit crewmembers, build and customize spaceships, and take over the galaxy.

► Show Spoiler

I didn't realize that EO Untold existed, I'll start with those then when I get to the series. I wanted to play a bit more modern one to start but I didn't realize those versions existed. I'll check out Strange Journey Redux too, thanks. Glad to hear that you love Radiant Historia since I'm really excited to play that one. Infinite Space looks cool, I don't think I've played any space themed jrpg's (never got around to playing any Star Ocean), I'll check that out too

[spookyheart]

Daily reminder that elemental gearbolt is the best that is simply the post.

[spookyheart]

daily reminder that parasite eve is amazing that is the post.

[spookyheart]

daily reminder that fairy fencer is fun thats it thats the post.

[Vergil]

Has anyone here played this? Going to try and see if I can emulate it because the cover looked interesting.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Has anyone here played this? Going to try and see if I can emulate it because the cover looked interesting.

[rusty_shackleford]

Has anyone here played this? Going to try and see if I can emulate it because the cover looked interesting.

I watched a video on it and that's basically the same as playing it so I know all about it

[Kalarion]

Has anyone here played this? Going to try and see if I can emulate it because the cover looked interesting.

It's a good game, but it's very long, has lots of reading (as in, pages of story/flashback text like a book) and requires grind. An honest 6/10.

I liked it but I must be clear: it is LONG.

[Finarfin]

Has anyone here played this? Going to try and see if I can emulate it because the cover looked interesting.

It's a good game, but it's very long, has lots of reading (as in, pages of story/flashback text like a book) and requires grind. An honest 6/10.

I liked it but I must be clear: it is LONG.

A 6?! A ******* 6?!

[Kalarion]

6 on an honest scale is above-average without being exceptionally noteworthy. It has fun, turn-based combat, good production values, great music, a story that got my attention. Balanced against that it's long (did I mention the game is L O N G?), requires a lot of grind, and forces you to stop and read several pages of text about once an hour or so. The constant text exposition and horrendous grind are big hurdles.

It's possible I'm not remembering my time with the game well (it was over a decade), maybe I should replay it.

[methoxetamine]

Lost Odyssey was kino from what I played but I never finished it. I remember some of the written stories hitting really hard, but I don't really remember anything specific about the game. I want to play to all the way through some day
I was so hyped for this game after hating FF12 so much, but unfortunately I was a piece of **** MMO addict which is why I never finished it despite loving it

[Tangerine]

6 on an honest scale is above-average without being exceptionally noteworthy. It has fun, turn-based combat, good production values, great music, a story that got my attention. Balanced against that it's long (did I mention the game is L O N G?), requires a lot of grind, and forces you to stop and read several pages of text about once an hour or so. The constant text exposition and horrendous grind are big hurdles.

It's possible I'm not remembering my time with the game well (it was over a decade), maybe I should replay it.

That game is a slog. I couldn't finish it. 6 is more than fair.

[Vergil]

I think if your hard hitting story is conveyed through reading lots and lots of text logs you have failed at making use of the medium of video games.

[Lich]

Kyūyaku Megami Tensei > Shin Megami Tensei

[WhiteShark]

Here are the games I have installed and plan on playing at some point, but I need more suggestions and recommendations what to play first. DS/3DS/emulatable games all accepted, with a preference towards 3DS games for now

Devil Survivor: Overclocked (and probably its sequel, but I haven't played that yet so I can't personally vouch for it). It turns SMT combat into a grid-tactics game, and the story has a lot of branching.

[WhiteShark]

I didn't realize that EO Untold existed

DO NOT play the story mode in these. It gives you a fixed party of named characters instead of letting you build your own, and the minimalist storytelling of the originals is superior anyway.

[WhiteShark]

EO3 is easy but decent to play too if you still hunger for moreily the best game in the series

Yes, I agree. I love the sailing part, the union skills, and the classes in that one.

Sovereign, my beloved:

[methoxetamine]

Devil Survivor: Overclocked (and probably its sequel, but I haven't played that yet so I can't personally vouch for it). It turns SMT combat into a grid-tactics game, and the story has a lot of branching.

I actually started it a month or two ago and played about ~10 hours so far, got distracted and haven't touched it in a bit. It's really cool though and I'm going to get back to it soon

DO NOT play the story mode in these. It gives you a fixed party of named characters instead of letting you build your own, and the minimalist storytelling of the originals is superior anyway.

Noted, since that post I learned a bit more about EO and wasn't going to touch the Untolds for a while anyway

So far on the 3DS I finished SMT4, SMT4A, 90% of Bravely Default, all the 3DS FE's, 1 DS FE, and Radiant Historia

plus emulated FF4, FF5, and a couple GBA FE's on it. Great device, I should've got one years ago

Oh and I played about 5 hours of EO4. So i definitely can tell why you're advising against playing with set characters, sounds pretty homosexual

[WhiteShark]

Oh and I played about 5 hours of EO4. So i definitely can tell why you're advising against playing with set characters, sounds pretty homosexual

Yeah. Frankly, I think it's probably best to just play the original EO1 and EO2 and then perhaps come back later for the Untolds. The story modes do add a little bit of dungeon content, but it's not worth it if you haven't experienced the original first.

If you're taking non-JRPG recommendations, the Advance Wars series are great tactics games. 1 and 2 were on the GBA, then Dual Strike and Days of Ruin followed on the DS. The GBA and DS Castlevania games are also all great―they have levels and equipment, so they're at least superficially RPGish. Mega Man ZX and Advent are good Metroidlikes: no RPG mechanics, just plays like X/Zero in an open environment instead of discrete levels.

[rusty_shackleford]

I played an EO for the nintendo handheld that has two screens.
No, I don't remember which for either.

[Valter]

Utawarerumono's getting a... musou game? Wild to see this old obscure franchise still getting new games

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Utawarerumono's getting a... musou game? Wild to see this old obscure franchise still getting new games

It came out on Playstation years ago. It is just now getting a PC port. The 3D models are noticeably better than the ones in Monochrome Mobius, which was puzzling when I played it.

The MM sequels was slated to come out this year but has been pushed back to 2026.

[Valter]

Utawarerumono's getting a... musou game? Wild to see this old obscure franchise still getting new games

It came out on Playstation years ago. It is just now getting a PC port. The 3D models are noticeably better than the ones in Monochrome Mobius, which was puzzling when I played it.

The MM sequels was slated to come out this year but has been pushed back to 2026.

Soon everything will be available on PC. THE WORLD IS HEALING

[maidenhaver]

[DemoGraph]

THIKK THIGHS SAVE LIVES

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The next Utawarerumono game and the sequel to Monochrome Mobius now has a Steam page. Releases in 3 months! Sadly they haven't revamped the graphics to be on par with the ZAN spinoffs, but nonetheless looking forward to it.

[Valter]

THIS **** TOOK ME 2 HOURS TO UNLOCK SAVING. Absolutely seething, fume coming outta my ears and immediately ALT-F4'd when I finally got to save.

Combat is reminiscent of Darkest Dungeon so far, and the character creator only affects your starting stats, though it is decently fleshed out for a visual novel. Several skill checks during dialogue. Weird. Was expecting more visual novel than game but it might be the opposite.

[DemoGraph]

THIS **** TOOK ME 2 HOURS TO UNLOCK SAVING. Absolutely seething, fume coming outta my ears and immediately ALT-F4'd when I finally got to save.

But do you recommend it?

[Valter]

THIS **** TOOK ME 2 HOURS TO UNLOCK SAVING. Absolutely seething, fume coming outta my ears and immediately ALT-F4'd when I finally got to save.

But do you recommend it?

Only 2 hours in so far but yes, I like it. Though I can't really recommend it as the English translation is a mess, and several parts of the game are simply not translated and still in chinese, including activity choices which would be crucial to know what you are choosing to do. I'll come back to it later when it's actually translated.