[chickdigger802]

Actually... would recommending Trials be a bad thing?

The wait for eternity for the 'direct sequel' that will never come... can you live with that?

[Adam Prime]

Trails in the Sky = worth purchasing a PSP

Xenoblade = worth purchasing a Wii

both games are truly outstanding. JRPGs are alive and well!

[Gunloc]

Actually... would recommending Trials be a bad thing? The wait for eternity for the 'direct sequel' that will never come... can you live with that?

Who says it'll never come? XSEED most recent direct comment says they are still trying to work it out with Falcom, and with the rumors of XSEED getting on Steam, I think the series definitely still has a place in the US.

[cj_iwakura]

I honestly don't think Trails is THAT great.

It's good, yes. Fun combat, interesting story, good cast, but the game can drag like crazy, and it takes forever and a day to get rolling.

It's a solid game, but hardly the greatest thing to happen to JRPGs since the Conception.

It's definitely one of the more approachable kinds, though. It won't terrify and break JRPG fans like an SMT game will.

[RyougaSaotome]

No news is good news on that front. On how many projects do localizers actually report on the status of the translation? Not a lot, as far as I know.

For now, the best thing people can do is buy Trails.

I'd also like to believe that there is a small army of Trails fans who sense when threads like these go up. XD.

[cosmicblizzard]

I'll be honest, I've always thought JRPGs are one of the most approachable genres in gaming. Literally anyone (even a complete gaming idiot) can play a JRPG, figure it out, and even master it. All you need is time. I can't imagine JRPGs being any more approachable, short of playing itself for you.

It has the potential to be both super approachable and super unapproachable. I mean when your genre has a game like Unlimited Saga in it, you know it's capable of birthing incoherent messes of gameplay.

[Finaika]

Costume Quest.

Very simple & very charming.

[Augemitbutter]

Who says it'll never come? XSEED most recent direct comment says they are still trying to work it out with Falcom, and with the rumors of XSEED getting on Steam, I think the series definitely still has a place in the US.

they're quiet on too many games right now. aside from trails sequel, we haven't heard about wizardry and grand knights history in a good while.

[thetrin]

It has the potential to be both super approachable and super unapproachable. I mean when your genre has a game like Unlimited Saga in it, you know it's capable of birthing incoherent messes of gameplay.

Yeah, and Unlimited Saga is a bad game.

(I like it for various ridiculous reasons, but my taste is suspect)

[RyougaSaotome]

they're quiet on too many games right now. aside from trails sequel, we haven't heard about wizardry and grand knights history in a good while.

GKH is pretty obvious I think. Vanillaware is working on Dragon's Crown and they're the ones that would have to program in text etc anyway. Not to mention it's possible VW/Ignition is putting the localization on DC ahead of GKH in terms of priority.

[Mauricio_Magus]

you played 2 bad games... don't give up.


I'd check out Tales of Graces F this month, and definitely Xenoblade.

[Rahxephon91]

you played 2 bad games... don't give up.

There's nothing bad about either RoF or XIII. RoF though hardly explains itself.

[daycru]

Costume Quest is incredibly fun and charming and you can blow through it in an afternoon.

[DJIzana]

I'm hoping for a Western release for Tales of Xillia... game looks amazing.

[Ravage]

I used to love JRPG's in the 16 and 31 bit era's, but slowly lost interest in the genre. Games like Lunar and Phantasy Star II remain some of my favorite games of all time. So this month I decided I would try to get back into the genre. I have tried to play FF XIII and Resonance of Fate and was shocked with how dense and complicated they have become. I keep looking for RPG's that are more playable but it seems that every single JRPG out there has an overly complicated battle system and an absurdly deep menu system. Is anyone out there making JRPG's that are a little more approachable to people who aren't hardcore fans of the genre?

You found FFXIII complicated?

If you have a PSP, i believe Brave Story is exactly what you are looking for.

[Darkmakaimura]

Something that's been bothering me of late. Are there any good websites out there devoted to JRPGs? I'm talking about like an online 'zine devoted to JRPGs in general and not a site devoted to one specific game. I've performed Google searches and whatnot and came up with nothing. A bit surprised that one of the most, if the most popular genre in Japan doesn't have it's own website, even a North American one.

[Dragon]

Something that's been bothering me of late. Are there any good websites out there devoted to JRPGs? I'm talking about like an online 'zine devoted to JRPGs in general and not a site devoted to one specific game. I've performed Google searches and whatnot and came up with nothing. A bit surprised that one of the most, if the most popular genre in Japan doesn't have it's own website, even a North American one.

rpgamer used to be largely about them back in the day, but with them being more absent from console cycles they've opened it up more recently. I used to be on that site constantly back in the day.

[H_Prestige]

I used to love JRPG's in the 16 and 31 bit era's, but slowly lost interest in the genre. Games like Lunar and Phantasy Star II remain some of my favorite games of all time. So this month I decided I would try to get back into the genre. I have tried to play FF XIII and Resonance of Fate and was shocked with how dense and complicated they have become. I keep looking for RPG's that are more playable but it seems that every single JRPG out there has an overly complicated battle system and an absurdly deep menu system. Is anyone out there making JRPG's that are a little more approachable to people who aren't hardcore fans of the genre?

Other than the embarrassing anime bull crap, this is the main reason I can't stand this genre anymore. It's why I gravitated towards KH and Dark Souls, because the combat is simple and straightforward. FFXII was also self explanatory like previous FF games. I feel like in a lot of these other jrpgs, you need to read a mini textbook in order to learn how to fight.

[Laughing Banana]

I have Trails in the Sky ready to be played but I haven't touched it even though I am admittedly a very big JRPG fan... I feel like a dirty person for not playing it, hahah. Also have the Last Remnant, Magna Carta II but didn't touch them, as well as the Tactics Ogre/FFIV remakes on the PSP...

Tales of Vesperia, Devil Survivor, FF13, Lost Odyssey, Radiant Historia, Valkyria Chronicles, Resonance of Fate, Nier, the Ys Series on the PSP... I've played and completed and 100%-ing them all... such grand experiences each and every one of them.

Currently playing Devil Survivor Overclocked and Tales of the Abyss on the 3DS... planning on 100%-ing both of them as well.

Demon's/Dark Souls are too hardcore for me, hahahah, and I am pretty much kind of limited to offline only so I am not too enthused in playing them.

Can't bring myself to fully enjoy Star Ocean 4 due to the characters... only played for about 3 or 4 hours... probably should give it more chance. Infinite Undiscovery... only make it as far as the initial cutscene before I just... shut it off, for some reason. I am also not a fan of the Kingdom Heart series. Also stopped playing FF13-2 after just one or two hours.

I should probably get around in doing them all... hmmm.

[DarkPanda]

FF XIII isn't really that complicated if you understand it; it's basically an on-the-fly version of the job system built around the stagger mechanic. Rav = increase the stagger bar. Com = stabilize the stagger bard. Com/Rav/Rav should be your default party for non-special fights once you can use 3 party members. Medic = White Mage/healing. Sab = Negative status effects on the enemy (mostly useful for special fights). Syn = Positive status buffs on your party (again, mostly for special fights). Sen = Putting a party member in Block mode. Once you understand that, you can prepare for the average encounter. Bosses might take you more than one try to figure out how to prepare (Sen/Sen/Sen + X/X/Medic if you're having trouble), but they shouldn't take too long to figure out. What exactly is causing you trouble?

Anyway, if you like Pre-PS2 JRPG's, I HIGHLY recommend Arc Rise Fantasia. It's a very traditionally JRPG (turn-based battles, world map, airship, ect). All you really need to worry about is which characters to use (based on are they long range or not + inherent abilities), and weapon-based perks. Very accessible, especially if you like "traditional" JRPGs.

[Laughing Banana]

Anyway, if you like Pre-PS2 JRPG's, I HIGHLY recommend Arc Rise Fantasia. It's a very traditionally JRPG (turn-based battles, world map, airship, ect). All you really need to worry about is which characters to use (based on are they long range or not + inherent abilities), and weapon-based perks. Very accessible, especially if you like "traditional" JRPGs.

I need to go and play this as well.

Unfortunately my quest of trying to play the undub version is so far has been unsuccessful :\ Guess I'll stuck with... that.

[Vinci]

A bit late, but Pokemon is the best example. Not coincidentally, new entries still sell like fucking $2 whores.

[Dark Schala]

I need to go and play this as well. Unfortunately my quest of trying to play the undub version is so far has been unsuccessful :\ Guess I'll stuck with... that.

It isn't effing awful by the end (still bad, the script is utterly vanilla, and there are some things left untranslated) but you can turn the voices off. I really wish it had gotten better treatment because I really ended up liking the game part of it. Honestly, it took me out of the RPG rut I was in during 2010 where I felt like I was playing a bunch of RPGs that I plain didn't care much for.

At least it got to a point where it was one of my favourite RPGs of the current gen. I was planning on taking some shots and stuff and explaining what the weapon development system was like, how magic stocks during battle, how to get extra magic slots, how the battle system flows, how to avoid AoE attacks, etc., but I haven't had the time lately.

Oh, and the soundtrack kicks ass. (Goodness gracious, do not read the comments for the videos. So many spoilers.)

[Perfo]

Final Fantasy XIII is one of the jRPGs where the focus is kept on few working gameplay ideas, it's not really anything complex and it works perfectly. It's one of the most "approachable" jRPG around there, really. On the contrary I agree on the general idea that sometimes games of this genre try too hard to appear complex (Last Remnant) and they just end up being confusing, messy and unbalanced.

[SatelliteOfLove]

Other than the embarrassing anime bull crap, this is the main reason I can't stand this genre anymore. It's why I gravitated towards KH and Dark Souls, because the combat is simple and straightforward. FFXII was also self explanatory like previous FF games. I feel like in a lot of these other jrpgs, you need to read a mini textbook in order to learn how to fight.

Complex games based around useful, purposeful complexity are never in the wrong, and the move to reign in experimentation is one of the things slowly grinding the life out of JRPGs over the this generation and making one of their greatest strengths a weakness.

Final Fantasy XIII is one of the jRPGs where the focus is kept on few working gameplay ideas, it's not really anything complex and it works perfectly. It's one of the most "approachable" jRPG around there, really. On the contrary I agree on the general idea that sometimes games of this genre try too hard to appear complex (Last Remnant) and they just end up being confusing, messy and unbalanced.

There are a few titles that do this (contrived instead of intricate), but their defenders tend to scream bloody murder when they're named.

[Vinci]

Complex games based around useful, purposeful complexity are never in the wrong, and the move to reign in experimentation is one of the things slowly grinding the life out of JRPGs over the this generation and making one of their greatest strengths a weakness.

I'm all for experimentation if it's done in an intelligent, intuitive manner. Some games' systems simply aren't.

[Dark Schala]

On the contrary I agree on the general idea that sometimes games of this genre try too hard to appear complex (Last Remnant) and they just end up being confusing, messy and unbalanced.

I thought The Last Remnant on PC was really fun. :/

At least, the PC version added a bunch of stuff absent from the 360 version, and overhauled a lot of other things (ex: stats, attributes) that people were originally dissatisfied with.

[SMT]

Whenever I think of approachable, I think of White Knight Chronicles. You know that feeling you got when you stepped onto Hyrule Field for the first time? I got that as soon as I was able to use my character.
The massive amount of detail in that game should not be overlooked, it's worth playing and loving.

[toddhunter]

You found FFXIII complicated? If you have a PSP, i believe Brave Story is exactly what you are looking for.

Pressing x only worked for 98% of ff13. The other 2% took a while to work out.

Resonance of fate was the opposite. Hard to work out, then the exact same thing works for every battle for the entire rest of the game.

[Shimesaba]

On the subject of JRPG recommendations, if I were going to pick up just one of Tales of Xillia and Tales of Vesperia (PS3), which should it be? (Or should I skip both and get Ni no Kuni?) Any suggestions would be helpful, I've been debating this one with myself for a while.

[SatelliteOfLove]

I'm all for experimentation if it's done in an intelligent, intuitive manner. Some games' systems simply aren't.

Hence my second response. There's an uncoordinated but effective movement against depth in game mechanics, which is as wrong-headed as one against simplifcation, as intricate > contrived and simplified > dumbed down.

[Rhazer Fusion]

Does anyone make JRPG's anymore on consoles?

[raven777]

On the subject of JRPG recommendations, if I were going to pick up just one of Tales of Xillia and Tales of Vesperia (PS3), which should it be? (Or should I skip both and get Ni no Kuni?) Any suggestions would be helpful, I've been debating this one with myself for a while.

I think a lot of people will recommend Vesperia, because it has a lot more contents.

I thought Xillia was good, but it felt rushed. I wouldn't be surprised if DC version comes out.

[Dark Schala]

On the subject of JRPG recommendations, if I were going to pick up just one of Tales of Xillia and Tales of Vesperia (PS3), which should it be? (Or should I skip both and get Ni no Kuni?) Any suggestions would be helpful, I've been debating this one with myself for a while.

Go for Vesperia first because you'll get used to using Fatal Strikes in that one. Plus it has a lot of content. I felt like Xillia's Link Artes were an evolution of Fatal Strikes a bit, but not exactly since it isn't glyph-based, but I mean elemental-wise (to be honest, I think I liked Fatal Strikes better, but Link Artes were still kinda fun to use). It's also a little light on content (which ended up being one of the common criticisms about the game, especially since it was a 15th anniversary title). But Xillia should be much cheaper and discounted (at least, if you're living in Japan, I think?), so it's up to you.

If you're going for multiplayer, go for Vesperia. Once you're in Link Mode in Xillia, multiplayer falls apart and most of it is up to player 1. I also prefer Vesperia's environments as opposed to Xillia's, particularly because Xillia's environments aren't that great and sometimes they feel a little samey (ex: fields surrounded by mountains, some monsters, and sparklies/duffel bags to collect). I also think Vesperia has better art direction in some places, but there are some places where Xillia looks nice too. It's unfortunate that all the port towns in this game are all the same, though.

I think the narratives are comparable. Vesperia has a more cohesive cast, and both Yuri and Karol have good development (and Estelle ends up being a good character as well). Xillia's cast is great save for one (or two, depending on how you feel about one of them) character. The contrast between party characters is done quite well.

[KevinCow]

People were suggesting Xenoblade in this thread? That's crazy. Xenoblade is extremely unapproachable. From the start, there are a bunch of bars scattered throughout the screen that aren't clearly explained and numbers popping up everywhere and all sorts of stats and status effects that aren't explained very well and menus with submenus and subsubmenus that are all about some system that seems important but doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and since it's all in real time, it's easy to die or at least take a ton of damage while you're still trying to figure out what the hell you're even doing.

I'm sure someone will pop up and shout at me about how I just suck at RPGs, because saying anything negative about Xenoblade inspires certain people to scream about how it's absolutely perfect and any issues I had with it are entirely my fault, but that's the point. I absolutely do suck at RPGs because I don't touch the genre very often. Because of that, I think I'm in a far better position to judge the approachability of them than people who were able to look at all these stats and menus and systems and immediately understand them.

[tetrisgrammaton]

People were suggesting Xenoblade in this thread? That's crazy. Xenoblade is extremely unapproachable. From the start, there are a bunch of bars scattered throughout the screen that aren't clearly explained and numbers popping up everywhere and all sorts of stats and status effects that aren't explained very well and menus with submenus and subsubmenus that are all about some system that seems important but doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and since it's all in real time, it's easy to die or at least take a ton of damage while you're still trying to figure out what the hell you're even doing. I'm sure someone will pop up and shout at me about how I just suck at RPGs, because saying anything negative about Xenoblade inspires certain people to scream about how it's absolutely perfect and any issues I had with it are entirely my fault, but that's the point. I absolutely do suck at RPGs because I don't touch the genre very often. Because of that, I think I'm in a far better position to judge the approachability of them than people who were able to look at all these stats and menus and systems and immediately understand them.

It also sucks.

[Shimesaba]

Thanks for the tips, Raven and Schala. It sounds like neither particularly stands out over the other, so it'll probably come down to price (but I'll favor Vesperia).

Kind of surprised to hear Xillia will be the cheap/discounted one. I haven't checked stores since last summer when it was obviously going at full price, but I expected it to still be more than Vesperia since it came out more recently and IIRC had pretty successful sales...

[timetokill]

People were suggesting Xenoblade in this thread? That's crazy.

Wow, really?

I usually find that I'm turned off by whatever JRPG battle system of the month is and the overload of bars and things, but I found Xenoblade really approachable and easy to understand. It helps that you're not really threatened for a good while at the beginning of the game, and it invites you to try new things without much penalty for the first several hours.

I agree that it can be overwhelming to see at first but it's not like you're lost if you don't get it right away. The game auto-battles a lot of stuff and then you can just start trying new things as you go along. I found it pretty refreshing honestly.

[amtentori]

Xenoblade is not nearly as approachable as say Pokemon or SMT I think. (both of those games have a lot of optional depth but the combat is much more straightforward) The SMT on DS are extremely accessible if you are familiar with strategy RPGs. Everything is broken down nicely into different chapters and levels. A great portable experience.

That said, Xenoblade is fantastic. One of my top 5 jRPGs. Great characters, interesting and varied combat, outstanding music and art design.

(and despite its scale it is actually pretty straightforward to proceed through the game if you avoid all the sidequests and optional stuff. It has a very clear story quest tracking mechanic, fast travel, etc.)

[Dark Schala]

Thanks for the tips, Raven and Schala. It sounds like neither particularly stands out over the other, so it'll probably come down to price (but I'll favor Vesperia). Kind of surprised to hear Xillia will be the cheap/discounted one. I haven't checked stores since last summer when it was obviously going at full price, but I expected it to still be more than Vesperia since it came out more recently and IIRC had pretty successful sales...

It was one of the fastest-selling Tales titles, yep.

I think it just depends on where you look, though. You can find Vesperia cheaper than Xillia in some places (but not by much), and in other places you can find Xillia cheaper than Vesperia (Amazon Japan is one of those cases since it's going for 4000-ish yen there the last time I checked). People've been clamouring for a budget version of Vesperia for ages since it still runs from 7000-8000 yen depending on where you look. I'd still go for Vesperia first, though.

Xenoblade is not nearly as approachable as say Pokemon or SMT I think. (both of those games have a lot of optional depth but the combat is much more straightforward) The SMT on DS are extremely accessible if you are familiar with strategy RPGs. Everything is broken down nicely into different chapters and levels. A great portable experience.

I have a friend who's played a lot of RPGs, but just won't touch a SMT or Persona game because he's heard they're hard and that they look hard and unfun to play, despite my reassurances that the games aren't as difficult as he thinks, and that they're a blast to play.

I think Persona fusion, and possibly demon negotiation, might be frightening him off. I found that DDS could've been quite approachable, though, but he refused to play even that.

[amtentori]

Devil Survivor 1 can be difficult. Not too bad, but you will die a few times trying to figure out the best strategy. The final boss sequence was so hard...

[charlequin]

Thanks for the tips, Raven and Schala. It sounds like neither particularly stands out over the other

Vesperia is quite excellent and by almost all accounts, Xillia is undercooked and problematic (though not necessarily poor overall). I would lean quite a bit in favor of the former.

I usually find that I'm turned off by whatever JRPG battle system of the month is and the overload of bars and things, but I found Xenoblade really approachable and easy to understand.

There are games that are approachable by virtue of simplicity, streamlining, and an otherwise low-detail approach to design, and those that are approachable by virtue of an effective and comprehensible interface, useful self-documentation, and an absence of showstopping design flaws. XB is much more in the latter category than the former.

[timetokill]

There are games that are approachable by virtue of simplicity, streamlining, and an otherwise low-detail approach to design, and those that are approachable by virtue of an effective and comprehensible interface, useful self-documentation, and an absence of showstopping design flaws. XB is much more in the latter category than the former.

I can definitely agree with that.

[Kintaro]

I used to love JRPG's in the 16 and 31 bit era's, but slowly lost interest in the genre. Games like Lunar and Phantasy Star II remain some of my favorite games of all time. So this month I decided I would try to get back into the genre. I have tried to play FF XIII and Resonance of Fate and was shocked with how dense and complicated they have become. I keep looking for RPG's that are more playable but it seems that every single JRPG out there has an overly complicated battle system and an absurdly deep menu system. Is anyone out there making JRPG's that are a little more approachable to people who aren't hardcore fans of the genre?

You got older. That's all. JRPGs aren't anymore or less "dense" and "complicated" as they always were. You just either a) grew out of them b) don't have the time anymore or c) ...well, you're now an ADHD gamer trained by the myriad of shitty, overly simplistic games out there.

[truly101]

Resonance of Fate is complicated, FFXIII certainly is not. Most of them have been pretty easy to get into from a mechanical standpoint.