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Introducing child to RPG genre

Fxp

Member
My 9 year old son has been watching me playing Witcher 3 (except the most gruesome and naked scenes) and I thought to introduce him to RPG (WRPG/JRPG) genre. He mostly plays Minecraft (what kid doesn't?) but new genre would be new experience for him. I know Miitopia is coming out soon and would be great entry point to the genre but maybe there's some games Im missing? English is not his native language so game should not be text heavy, I think. Available platforms - PC, PS4, Wii U, Vita, 3DS. Any suggestions?
 

mrlion

Member
go for the classics like I did when I was young...

FFIV

Make him a great JRPG player that appreciates the classics.
 
Bloodborne
(j/k)

Play Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition (Steam/PS4/X1) because it's the best turn-based CO-OP RPG on the market. PS4 and X1 let you play splitscreen with your son if you want as well.
 
Buy him a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Yellow. That'll be a great first system for a kid and might prevent him from becoming obsessed with smartphones from a young age.
 

Famassu

Member
Mario & Luigi 3: Bowser"s Inside Story. It's a DS game but it works of 3DS of course. I'd imagine a kid will find it pretty funny and the combat system makes for entertainingly involving battles.
 

antitrop

Member
Earthbound or Pokemon. Earthbound is available for the 3DS.

Earthbound is all text, but still probably easy to understand.
 

Cartho

Member
Another vote for Pokemon. Accessible, well designed, not off putting in terms of difficulty and I expect many of his peers will play it / talk about it - the kids in the primary school I teach in are obsessed.
 

mr_chun

Member
Pokemon is the obvious choice. I also really like Fantasy Life as a simplistic RPG - can be played co-op is you have it on two 3DSes.
 
The Pokémon games should totally work.

If he likes watching you playing the Witcher you could try to introduce him to Dragon's Dogma. The game is more about combat than following a story full of dialogue.
 

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Kingdom Hearts?

If you want to turn your kid into an edgelord, sure.

Pokemon or Super Mario RPG.

I'm trying to think of WRPGs appropriate for a 9 year old and coming up blank, although this isn't an area I'm familiar with. Maybe Divinity OS? It can be played co-op as well if you want to spend some time gaming with him.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, Mario RPG, Paper Mario, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy all come to mind.

These plus I really do think Earthbound could be a good choice as well. Really most classic JRPGs aren't hard for kids and can be a lot of fun.
 

iiicon

Member
Pokemon is great for young kids. Sun/Moon was the first my 8yo beat without asking for help because it often has quest markers, ensuring he never got frustrated for hours trying to find his breadcrumbs again.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
Not a bad choice, I think I purchased it long time ago.

The music is fun, the writing is funny, the characters talk like kids talk, the costumes turning into monsters really play up the imagination kids have, its much shorter than Pokemon or Earthbound and the combat is easy and satisfying

it is perfect for what you're looking for.
 

Fxp

Member
The music is fun, the writing is funny, the characters talk like kids talk, the costumes turning into monsters really play up the imagination kids have, its much shorter than Pokemon or Earthbound and the combat is easy and satisfying

it is perfect for what you're looking for.

And can be played on TV via Steam Link with gamepad, yay!
 

Kyuur

Member
If he can hold attention without fancy graphics, Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest would be my answer. It's easy and relatively short. Chrono Trigger is also a good answer since its difficulty is low although he might get stuck here and there on where to go.

Pokemon X/Y/Sun/Moon are good modern choices. Maybe I Am Setsuna? Any of the Mario RPGs too.
 
I'm trying to remember how difficult the mechanics were for Ni No Kuni, because I think the aesthetic and sense of adventure that your child probably wants after seeing the Witcher is perfect.
 

Zenner

Member
Child of Light is a fairly simple RPG with turn-based combat. An adult (or other) can also optionally play as the sidekick ball of light, and help out real-time with combat heals and some other cooperative tasks.

The dialogue is spoken in rhyme, and there's text that accompanies it to read. It only goes as fast you trigger the next paragraph, so you can take your time with reading.
 

poodaddy

Member
My daughter loves Yo Kai Watch and Super Mario RPG. She also enjoys watching and reading Earthbound just because of how goofy and weird it is, as she's pretty goofy and weird as well. I guess some don't consider it an RPG but my daughter also enjoys Breath of the Wild.
 
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