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What's the best JRPG that most people don't know about?
- Thread starter RedZaraki
- Start date
You can, that's how I played it
UNDUBs exist.
Also, completely unrelated, people should give Penny Arcade ep4 a try (ep3 too, but it's not as good as #4)
Amazing music, great encounter design, decent story and writing.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Another great SRPG was Mystaria: The Realms of Lore on the Saturn. Had some really cool attack possibilities as you got further into the game.
OP did have games like Valkyrie Profile and Tales of Destiny. So I chose my picks based on that level of 'obscurity'.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I don't think I've played many obscure JRPGs, but the best ones I think I've played is Pokemon Prism as of lately. It went beyond a hack of Crystal. There are mechanics up to Gen 5, Pokemon from Gen 6, but I've only encountered one so far, more varied level design and additional activities such as mining and crafting. Some of these aspects were integrated too late in the adventure though for you to really get a grasp at them. It would've also helped if there was a description of points of interest in towns when you hovered over one, but that might've not been possible with the game.
Other lesser known JRPGs I've played:
Sailor Moon Another Story
Adventures of Hourai High
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits (Maybe this is obscure. There are a few Arc the Lad games).
Not counting Threads of Fate as I feel that's Action-RPG like Kingdom Hearts.
Other lesser known JRPGs I've played:
Sailor Moon Another Story
Adventures of Hourai High
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits (Maybe this is obscure. There are a few Arc the Lad games).
Not counting Threads of Fate as I feel that's Action-RPG like Kingdom Hearts.
Really wanted to play this since the battle system looked fun and dogged the character design. Never released in Europe though
WickedLaharl
Member
Seconding:
Also:
Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - Three Kingdoms setting, decent writing, fun quick-paced battles (with an auto function), recruitable enemies.
Langrisser games are pretty good, too. Only the first (Warsong) came out officially, but a few others have been fan translated.
- Paladin's Quest (played through for first time a couple years ago, was good)
- Opoona (light-hearted fun, great music, the translation is rough though)
Also:
Destiny of an Emperor (NES) - Three Kingdoms setting, decent writing, fun quick-paced battles (with an auto function), recruitable enemies.
Langrisser games are pretty good, too. Only the first (Warsong) came out officially, but a few others have been fan translated.
Neither are the three games in the OP.
Loving all the azure dreams posts. I spend countless hours playing and replaying this as a child.
I can't really think of an unknown one off the top of my head. Lufia 2 on the snes is an old one that most younger people probably wouldn't have played. Easily one of my favorite jrpgs.
I played this game and I can't remember anything about it.
I can't really think of an unknown one off the top of my head. Lufia 2 on the snes is an old one that most younger people probably wouldn't have played. Easily one of my favorite jrpgs.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Rondo of Swords on the DS is also really cool. SRPG with a twist in that you don't specifically chose an enemy to attack, you choose a path - and attack any enemy in the path.
hydrophilic attack
Member
if you don't enjoy figuring systems out on your own through trial and error tactics ogre can be really overwhelming and for these people some beginner's advice can be helpful
i got you fam
see this post i typed up for an lttp thread a while ago
This game doesn't seem to get any recognition even in Japan, but it was a different approach to turn based combat. Magi-Nation's claim to fame is being a card game of its own, and the game aspired to involve that into its battle system. Think Pokemon and a bit of Magic, but instead of Pokeballs you catch everything in the souls of other monsters you've defeated.... yeah.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
If you look at IGN's negative review of Wild Arms XF, their main complaint was basically that the game was too hard for them. Some choice quotes:
Wild Arms XF's class system is different than most multi-class games. When you switch class you automatically gain all of that class's abilities except for their ultimate passive (which you only get if you've reached max rank in that class). As you rank up, that class doesn't get more powerful, but instead, you unlock that class's abilities & passives for use with other classes. It's quite a smart solution - if you need a specific class to make a unique challenge easier, you can easily switch a character or two over to it, but as you progress in the game, you can create more and more powerful hybrid characters that can tackle a wide variety of problems easily.
Like for example, one of the first things I'll do with Clarissa (the main character) is to gain 47 CSP (that's maybe half a dozen battles or less) in her unique Dandelion Shot class so that I can then attach her Dandelion Shot equipment (a gun that gets more powerful with her LV & a powerful set of defensive equipment) & active abilities (some of the most useful in the game like an ability that costs HP to deal damage that ignore defenses & evasion) to any other class I want. Or with Felius, I'll just get 8 CSP in his unique class to unlock its active ability set which include a mid-range attack with 100% accuracy and then immediately switch him to Secutor for the Atk+ bonus & the ability to equip axes (high atk, low accuracy) & shields.
This is a tricky battle, but the reviewer failed to mention that the enemy "class with nearly unlimited movement range" is the Berserker class which can only move in straight lines. So all you have to do is stick a character in their path & you can easily stop them from moving very far at all, giving you plenty of time to massacre them.
Anyway, if you're willing to deal with a high difficulty level from the start (it gets easier as you go on as you abuse the class system), Wild Arms XF is an awesome Strategy/RPG. Great soundtrack too (like all Wild Arms games).
Sumio Mondo
Member
SaGa games, Suikoden 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Tales of, Xenosaga and Grandia are all "lesser known JRPGs"? :/
OG Shaka Zulu
Member
SMT Nocturne. I had to convince so many friends to try something other than the FF Series.
hydrophilic attack
Member
i mean i really do feel that tactics ogre is overlooked compared to final fantasy tactics
not many people can have as large a knowledge of rpgs as you do
yeah i really put way too much stock into sites like ign back then
can you get it from psn for psp or vita?
I actually really liked this game up until what I assume was one of the last sections of the game (
the moon where every single fight was like a boss fight
I'm not big on Gundam, either. If I were I'm sure I would've pushed through it.
Came to post this as well. So underrated, it is a crime.
Radiant Historia on NDS is excellent!
Borrows a lot of elements from Chrono Trigger!
Another great game, but honestly I think it's pretty well regarded by everyone and was pretty popular (I think? relatively speaking) when it was released.
Sumio Mondo
Member
Doesn't help that Tactics Ogre was never released in Europe.i mean i really do feel that tactics ogre is overlooked compared to final fantasy tactics
not many people can have as large a knowledge of rpgs as you do
Fuck you, Atlus.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Yep, works on both PSP & Vita. Only $9.99. https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/wild-arms-xf/cid=UP1023-ULUS10339_00-WILDARMSXFLEGACY
The Emperor
Member
That game is anything but obscure...led to an entire mini universe thereafter too
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I would say Suikoden Tierkrisis...it's a DS JRPG that I just loved. I know not many people played it.
thekonamicode
Member
Radiant Historia sold poorly in Japan, I can't imagine it did any better in the US sadly.
psynergylover
Member
the Legend of Heroes series
Really surprised I completely missed this series so so long(well didn't miss much because of localization issues)
Trails in the Sky and Tails of Cold Steel are absolute fantastic JRPG's these games should be household names!
EDIT: really hope we get Ao/Zero in the west!! PLEASE XSEED!!!
other mentions as other people have said was
Radiant Histora: bouth this game on a whim and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
(still haven't beaten though....on the last boss...I think..lol)
Really surprised I completely missed this series so so long(well didn't miss much because of localization issues)
Trails in the Sky and Tails of Cold Steel are absolute fantastic JRPG's these games should be household names!
EDIT: really hope we get Ao/Zero in the west!! PLEASE XSEED!!!
other mentions as other people have said was
Radiant Histora: bouth this game on a whim and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
(still haven't beaten though....on the last boss...I think..lol)
RayearthRob
Member
Sailor Moon: Another Story
This game is AMAZING.
Magic Knight Rayearth
hydrophilic attack
Member
That's great. And the class system sounds excellent from how you described it.
Thanks a lot!
WickedLaharl
Member
For sure.
Sumio Mondo
Member
That game is anything but obscure...led to an entire mini universe thereafter too
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I would say Suikoden Tierkrisis...it's a DS JRPG that I just loved. I know not many people played it.
Okay, okay, let me correct that, my actual favourite obscure JRPG is Persona 4 followed closely by Final fantasy IV.
The game isn't hard unless you don't know how to play srpgs. What it is though is extremely long. Like 50+ hours just to beat it. That was my main con for the game.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
It sold well enough in the US that they did a couple reprints. It's probably one of the best selling DS RPGs in the US that isn't from SE or Nintendo.
lol no kidding. Not popular as Final Fantasy doesn't mean they are obscure, any barely-versed in JRPG player will know these games!
The Emperor
Member
Okay, okay, let me correct that, my actual favourite obscure JRPG is Persona 4 followed closely by Final fantasy IV.
Only getting 3 hours of sleep has broken my sarcasm detector.
Silver on the Dreamcast was such a fun adventure... and have never seen another soul mention it. Was it the GOAT...no, but it was fun real-time comabat and had a great story that sucked you.
Edit: Just saw tat "J" in JRPG.... which this is not..... SHAME!!
Judges?
.....I'll allow it!
hydrophilic attack
Member
That is a pretty big negative for me these days. But if I go work abroad for an extended time period in the future (which is how I found the time to do everything I wanted to do in Tactics Ogre), which is not all that unlikely in my line of work, this game will be first in line
Com Truise
Member
I like the Ikusa Megami series. Especially Ikusa Megami Zero and Ikusa Megami Verita.