Thanks, @BMO, all good points there. I think we’re pretty much on the same page.
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JRPGs vary in length, style, and other things…
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What is your favorite aspect of a JRPG?
(music, story, combat, characterization, plot twists, summons, weapon/armor collecting, crafting…for example) -
What is your #1 top JRPG of all time?
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If too hard to rank, what would be your top 3 or 5 JRPGs in any order?
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What was the first JRPG you ever played?
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What was the latest JRPG you’ve played?
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I’ve tried several JRPGs and I almost always find myself just getting bored and putting them down. Ocarina of Time didn’t do it for me, and I was even happy to see the end of the mighty Crono Trigger.
The only JRPG I can truly say I loved was Skies of Arcadia. I guess I just have the mind of a pleb, but they simply don’t seem to hold my interest.
Having said that though, I do plan on trying some of the Switch Zelda and Pokemon games.
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I like it when a game’s combat system is really deep and fun to toy around with. Games with tons of character classes and abilities really pique my interest. They are a little daunting at first, but become great
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This is a pure nostalgia choice, but Dragon Warrior 7 (PS1). This game is sooooo long and you don’t get to battle an enemy for about 3 hours but I played it a ton as a kid.
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1: DW7, 2: Lost Odyssey, 3: Chrono Trigger
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Probably a Pokemon game… FireRed?
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Final Fantasy 13
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- Its tough, and maybe it’s a tie between characters and the gameplay. I do love me a good grind and appreciate great characters on that grind. But I also love a good job system and I’m a sucker for healers and playing as a healer or hybrid attack/support role if I can.
- Chrono Trigger
- In no specific order, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy Tactics, Illusion of Gaia. Special mention to FFXIV for being my favourite MMORPG.
- Either Final Fantasy or Dragon’s Quest (A.K.A. Dragon Warrior), I can’t remember which was first.
- Xenoblade Chronicles which incidentally only just didn’t make my top five above.
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- It’s finding a really satisfying gameplay rhythm. There’s a groove that my favorites reach where their balance of story, side quests, exploration and combat just feels wonderful… like a multi-course meal where everything on the table compliments everything else.
- Persona 5 Royal
- Aside from Persona 5, probably… Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Xenoblade Chronicles, Chrono Trigger, and Persona 4 Golden. (I’d also say Undertale and Shenmue but I don’t think of those as JRPGs.)
- Pokémon Blue
- Grandia II
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God I love Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Such a phenomenal game and a game that expertly walks the line between satire and faithful JRPG execution. Going back to a different conversation, this is why I have such a hard time making lists of my top favourite games, because when I was drafting the list above I forgot how much I love this game and think it deserves to be listed with the other games I mentioned.
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Thanks, everyone, for great replies!
@JoeyPajamas
No worries. JRPGs aren’t for everyone. And sometimes it can take more than one play attempt for a game to click with someone. When I first played FFVI, I truly didn’t understand what it was and felt I’d wasted my hard-earned money…
I’ve never tried Skies of Arcadia…there are many JRPGs I’ve never tired, even entire series like SMT or Persona. What kind of fan am I?
Zelda and Pokémon are more universally liked, so you’ll likely find them easier to get into. Those games must be doing something right, right?
@GlitchtheGameGremlin
I think you’re onto something there. Good point about plots. Yeah, I think I’d agree that character-driven narratives hook us more b/c we relate to people most. I loved watching Parks and Rec on TV (I know, not a JRPG) b/c of the cool characters and their interactions.
So XC1 is your fave JRPG? Nice. I just finished it for the first time! Yes, Earthbound is great too!
@HANSOLOOOOOOOO
Welcome!
Nice pick, seriously. JRPGs are known for many things; combat systems are one of the top ones I think. Nothing like a Quest for the Best Battle System. Besides exploration, I think combat is at the core of a role-playing game’s gameplay. A LOT can be said about the different battle mechanics in JRPGs. If there’s one that doesn’t work for you, try another b/c surely there’s some that will click just right. I thoroughly enjoyed Octopath’s break system…
@BMO
Hey, nice. I’m not averse to grinding either; if nothing else, I figure all I need to do is level-up to beat a boss… And I too like a good Job system (Bravely Default II), trying out so many abilities/combos.
That’s really interesting that you prefer healers/supporters because I’ve always catered to the fast-attack DPS types, and I’m intrigued at how I might enjoy certain JRPGs more if I leaned into healer types.
Chrono Trigger gets mentioned a lot!
FFXIII is in your top 5, interesting. Also, I played Gaia on SNES circa '94, I think after finishing FFVI and was looking for my next JRPG fix. Nintendo Power was really pushing Gaia. I finished it, but it wasn’t like FFVI to me. I liked it less.
I think DW came first to the west.
XC1 was also my latest, literally just finished the main story a week ago and Future Connected like an hour ago!! XC3 is next!!!
@tylerisrandom
Ah, pacing? Balance, mmmm. I think I know what you mean. No fun to grind for hours, get a 30 second cut-scene, then grind for hours… I like it when the game has some pattern, like: town, equip-up, field, dungeon, repeat. But then I also like it when the game isn’t too predictable.
I’ve never played Persona and should probably be ashamed of myself. 
Lots of Xeno, Chrono, and Pokémon…all Nintendo (mostly, then Steam).
@BMO
I’ve never played a Yakuza but hear good things. Would you say Earthbound is also balance of satire and JRPG?
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I don’t know if I can answer my own questions here…I’ll give it a shot.
- I think exploration is my favorite thing, so that would mean great world-building. I also really appreciate it when the world/items/level designs tied directly and cleverly into the story, making everything fit properly together. It enhances/aids immersion.
2 & 4. I give my #1 spot to my first-ever JRPG, the gold-standard for me, Final Fantasy VI (FFIII SNES). Kefka is a standout villain, the kind you love to hate.
- My top 5 currently: FFVI, Bravely Default II, Octopath Traveler, FFVII, and Xenoblade Chronicles.
5 (five). Xenoblade Chronicles: DE and Future Connected, back-to-back (total 95h41m)
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A couple questions for all the JRPG fans here.
First: Any recommendations for short games? I’m curious if anything really solid comes to mind for titles under 10 hours. I know JRPGs are known for being either long or extremely long, but I feel it should be possible to tell shorter stories within the general framework of the genre.
Second: Any recommendations for games that tell a different kind of story? And by that I mean, not a grand fantasy (or sci-fi) epic adventure, saving the world from some huge disaster or preventing a great war from breaking out, etc etc. This is something I have to wonder if the JRPG framework can reasonably pull off well, but I think it would be cool to look at what attempts have been made.
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10 hours is a pretty tough ask with JRPGs, but I would suggest looking at handhelds for games of that length. The Final Fantasy Legend is a Final Fantasy game on the original Gameboy and it only took me about 10-12 hours to beat. It’s a solid final fantasy game and tells a generic, but okay story for its time. I can understand that committing 30+ hours for a normal FF game may be too much of a commitment, so this may be a good place to learn what the series is about (if you don’t mind that the original Gameboy is all in green).
Most JRPGs are pretty long though and I would consider “short” to be around 20-25 hours long in this sense. If you are open to games of this length, then Chrono Trigger is one of the best games of all time and it’s considered short in terms of JRPGs.
As for your second question, all the Mario RPGs are unconventional in the way that they tell stories. They may be a little childish, but they are heavily focused on comedy and the Mario world. Also, Nier: Automata has a really unique and interesting story about a post-apocalyptic world and goes in detail about androids and their sentience/consciousness. Nier: Automata is an action rpg though and I feel like a lot of this group’s discussion has been around turn-based systems, so take that recommendation as you will.
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Looking at older handheld releases is probably a good idea. I’ll have to explore that realm a bit sometime, though I do wonder if there are many titles with a particularly engaging story. I really need something with a little more meat than “good triumphs over evil, the end” these days. (Nothing wrong with that of course, especially for those going into a game primarily for the combat or exploration or what have you.)
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Yakuza: Like a Dragon is definitely a different kind of story for a JRPG to tell. It’s set in the present day, most of its protagonists are middle-aged, and its most stereotypical JRPG references and qualities are presented in a very postmodern way. Highly recommended if you’re looking for something unique.
Shorter JRPGs are harder for me to think of. It wasn’t developed in Japan, but FRANKEN is an hour long and a good, silly time. If you don’t mind a bit of cringe-inducing anime tropes, LiEat is a straightforward JRPG that doesn’t overstay its welcome. And I would eventually like to emulate Panzer Dragoon Saga, which I’ve heard is shorter than the typical JRPG.
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I do intend to get to Like a Dragon at some point (it looks fantastic) – I kind of figured I might as well continue working through the Yakuza games in order, so it’ll probably be a while though…
And I’ve tried several times over the years to get Panzer Dragoon Saga working through various means (even with an actual Saturn), but all my efforts have been in vain. One day I’ll have a good enough computer and/or the technical know-how and/or good enough emulation to make it happen. What I was able to play of it once was fantastic. I wish Sega would give it a proper remake and re-release… But I guess not enough people are really clamoring for it, so they won’t make the effort.
LiEat is one I’ve heard of, back when I was really into indie horror RPGMaker games from Japan. Never got around to it though – maybe I’ll find the time sometime. There are a handful of others in that vein that have long been on my radar, but I’ve got to be in the right mood.
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Short JRPG? I’ve read that Ys Origin (action-RPG) is very short, 10-15 hours. I’ve played through Ara Fell (an indy 16-bit retro-JRPG) and it’s “short” at 25-ish hours, but not 10.
Earthbound (old-schoold SNES game) is a very interesting JRPG, like satire about JRPGs, set in a modern day world. It’s kind of “save the world from huge disaster” but it’s different.
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It’s incredible to me that Panzer Dragoon Saga hasn’t gotten a rerelease. The game is fantastic and the amount of people who care about the Saturn has only gone up in the past few years. People are willing to pay 1000+ dollars for it. Idk… I think it would make money.
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This month sees the release of at least two JRPGs I’m eager for on Switch and plan to backlog for now:
- Octopath Traveler II (I finished the first one; love it)
- Tales of Symphonia Remaster (I’ve not really played a Tales of game yet…)
What other February JRPGs might you be looking forward to?
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While I have put a few hundreds of hours into JRPGs, I can never for the love of my life know what makes the differences between a J one and a non J one, other than, well, having anime-ish art. What a surprise I had when I saw the first trailers of the Seiken Densetsu 3 remake and noticed that all of my beloved characters were animeised. Probably the Seiken Densetsu words should have told me something earlier on but anyhow.
So again, is there a really specific trait that defines a JRPG from a non JRPG? I tend to notice plots and dialogues but I think that that difference precedes games as it’s also something that can be seen in other media products from there, like being way more direct and explicit with what you’re saying even if that takes you a few extra seconds.
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I think the only qualifications for calling something a JRPG is that it was developed in Japan and that it is a Role Playing Game. It doesn’t matter if the game is an action RPG or turn-based.
It’s more about the atmosphere of being a Japanese RPG. In my case, I can just kinda tell when a game is JRPG (even without seeing that it was developed by Square-Enix or something). Someone more qualified could probably list actual traits, but I’ve always thought that it was just about the game’s atmosphere.
Turn-based combat is usually a good indicator. The west just doesn’t make many turn based games… After writing that last sentence, I attempted looking up western turn-based games and it was really scarce. The only things that were really similar to Japanese turn-based games that I could find were South Park: The Stick of Truth and Undertale (and Undertale could arguably be called a shmup). Western turn-based systems are usually tabletop simulators like Divinity, Pillars of Eternity, Fallout 1/2, Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age, or Warcraft. These games are more strategy RPGs than traditionally turn based.
Another trope that I have noticed in Japanese RPGs is heavy Christian/Buddhist symbolism. I can’t think of any game that uses Angels or Buddhist references that didn’t come from Japan. (Other than Christian education games) When Western games do reference Christianity it is usually in the form of Assassin’s Creed, where it shows historical figures.
There’s probably more tropes and not all JRPGs fit these tropes, but they enable me to pretty quickly realize that a game was from Japan.
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Going to risk an uneducated guess from what I can recall reading online, but the main diff between WRPGs and JRPGs is (whoever can clarify, I’d appreciate the help):
WRPGs
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Character creation/progression is more emphasized
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Characters start as a blank slate the player can evolve into any class/type (I think the intent is to more closely mimic table-top RPGs). Players create a role.
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I’m guessing the player role is more singular, like a loner, throughout the game.
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The adventure is in mostly an open-world setting
JRPGs
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Story/plot is more emphasized (though some, like XC3, are more character driven I think)
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These tend to present pre-molded characters the player assumes the role of, with minor customization (the most being in Class/Job system types) Players assume a role.
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I’m guessing the player role is less singular, there’s more often a party of characters to play as, throughout the game.
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The worlds/levels can be less open/more linear (since story/characters are more pre-defined)
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