• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

JRPG's for a beginner?

C

Cudder

Member
Hey y'all.

I feel like giving JRPG's a shot. I have a PS2, PS3, PS4, and Vita. And (especially for Vita), I feel like I'm missing out on on a huge sub section of games for the system. Whenever I see threads dealing with them I kinda dismiss them, but right now the thought of wrapping myself up in a game for a long period is appealing. I like some western RPG's, namely the big ones, Oblivion, Skyrim, Dead Island, shit like that.

The only JRPGs I've ever tried were Pokemon Red/blue/yellow/gold/silver/crystal, way back in the day. I don't even like anime all that much, I don't watch it, don't really like the art style either, but if a game had a cool story/characters I'd be inclined to stick with it, I think.

Maybe an action RPG is what I need to get into it? That's where it's not turn based, right? I'm just looking for a little bit of direction. I know there's shitloads of fervent fans of the genre, so try not to just name off your favourite game. I'm looking for something pretty accessible, I guess.

One more thing, though I have the consoles, I've been spending a lot of time with my Vita lately, so picking a game for that would be preferable. (Persona 4 Golden gets tons of praise around here, and I can get the game pretty cheap, would that be an okay choice?)

Thanks
 
Persona 4 Golden is a very good choice for a beginner, seeing as it has five different difficulty settings. Plus, you own a Vita.
 
Persona 4 Golden is a good choice, also take a look at Ys: Memories Of Celceta and The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky
 
Persona 4 Golden is a great JRPG but at the same time it's very much inspired by anime. That said buying that game completely justified buying a Vita for myself.
 
In terms of Action RPGs the Kingdom Hearts series and Tales of series both come to mind, which are both pretty accessible to newcomers IMO.
 
Final Fantasys are pretty beginner-friendly. Other than some non-mandatory sidequest bosses and a rare difficulty spike, they aren't too hard to get through. If you don't mind somewhat dated graphics, all the PS1 FFs are available pretty cheaply on PSN and if you want something a bit more recent, FFX | X-2 HD Collection was just released, which is available for Vita too.

For something more action-y on Vita, try the PSP & Vita Ys games (on easier difficulty settings). They are extremely fast-paced & fun action RPGs. Really hard on harder difficulty levels, but I think a beginner should have no problem on easy.


I wouldn't really recommend Persona 4, necessarily. Even if you can choose an easy difficulty level, all the different gameplay systems in the game can probably be a bit indimitating for a beginner. FF is way more beginner-friendly. If you like FF and feel those didn't offer enough challenge, then advance to Persona 4.
 
I don't know if I'd really call Persona 4 a beginner JRPG. Sure, it might be one compared to the rest of the SMT franchise, but it's not THAT accessible. It's also turn-based and not action. It's also VERY long and more of a hybrid than a straight JRPG (life sim elements and stuff).

There's the Tales series, but those are all pretty damn anime (even if they try to turn some of the tropes on their heads). Same with Star Ocean.

I think if you can tolerate turn-based, Final Fantasy X might be a good place to start. Of course, random encounters might be a turn off.
 
darkziosj said:
Yep persona 4 is a fantastic choice for your case.
Click to expand...

Sophia said:
Persona 4 Golden is a very good choice for a beginner, seeing as it has five different difficulty settings. Plus, you own a Vita.
Click to expand...

CureVylash said:
Persona 4 Golden is a good choice, also take a look at Ys: Memories Of Celceta and The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky
Click to expand...

Jonnax said:
Persona 4 Golden is a great JRPG but at the same time it's very much inspired by anime. That said buying that game completely justified buying a Vita for myself.
Click to expand...

NO OP PLAY PERSONA /3/

seriously Persona 4
 
If you're looking for something that isn't turn based maybe try a Tales game or Chrono Trigger.

P4 is far and away the best JRPG on the Vita though. There's a bit of a difficulty spike early on, but don't let that discourage you.
 
Silky said:
NO OP PLAY PERSONA /3/

seriously Persona 4
Click to expand...

Well they have a Vita, PS3, and PS2.... Once Persona 4 Golden hooks them, they'll be ready for more. ;)

Speaking of which, all the Ys games for the PSP and Vita are a good choice too, as is Trails in the Sky.
 
I give all Ys games a high recommendation, especially for play on the Vita. Ys is a great series by design, and I think it manages to avoid a lot of JRPG tropes that can be a turn off for new players to the genre.

If you want something more turn-based, I'd give Final Fantasy ooooh, let's say VI through X a go. X was recently given a remaster, available on the Vita too.

I haven't played it yet, but I've heard nothing but good things about Persona 4 Golden.
 
I think Golden Sun is actually really good for beginners. Nothing in the game is somewhat difficult to understand, and the only thing close to it, equipping combinations of djinn for certain classes, doesnt need to be known as you can easily get through the game just going with the default earth djinn for venus adept, etc.

Turn based too

for GBA, cartridges can be acquired pretty cheaply, and is on WiiU virtual console iirc

EDIT: Oh whoops, no turn based or Nintendo console

OP, what exactly do you not like about turn based? That way it can help with recommending games
 
I guess your main problem might be getting into the idea of JRPGs, rather than their difficulty. I can't stand most of their tropes, nor their loooong dialogues, but I enjoyed Persona 4 Golden (you can fast forward any dialogue VCR style, you can bring up a menu that teleports you around when you're not in dungeons, etc).

From the other side, Persona per se might be a little difficult to comprehend while Final Fantasy X might be a little more accessible when it comes down to battles, strategies etc.
 
Mystic Quest Legend

is literally an RPG for beginners.

but given your platforms(and that MQL is pretty dated now, though still fun), I'd say Grandia - I think that should be on PSN, not sure if it's vitable. Fighting is menu based, but it's a bit different then most turn based rpgs in that it's got a great time based action system where every character has set times that it'll take for all of their attacks to be ready(think of it as EVERY attack having a casting time), and if you counter attack with the right kind of attack at the right time, you can cancel the enemies attack. It's pretty fun.

The story is super-adventure into the unknown with a generally happy-go-lucky protagonist.
 
The Mario RPG's are pretty great. Full of humor and generally pretty easy. The Thousand Year Door is definitely the best one and my favorite RPG.

Oh you don't have a Nintendo console. Whoops. :P
 
Suikoden, Golden Sun, Mario RPGs, Final Fantasy. Some Tales games - some are less "anime" than others. Abyss is a great game, but I wouldn't start with it - go for Vesperia or Xillia first, if you play a Tales game.

There's a huge goldmine of JRPGs to experience if you're just getting into it, but these franchises are good starting points.
 
Persona 4 Golden definitely.
FF X and X-2 (to some extent) are beginner friendly.

Tales of series - Graces if you want a good combat system, but don't mind the bad story and annoying characters. Xillia and Symphonia have better story / characters.

Ys: Memories of Celceta is an action rpg and you can choose which difficulty to play on.

Atelier series - if you want lighthearted rpgs. Most of them focus more on alchemy than on fighting. They also have time limits.
 
Persona 4 is fine, but make sure it's Persona 4 Golden on Vita, and play it on the lowest difficulty level. You pretty much can't lose at that point, and the story is worth the effort.
 
Persona 4 Golden broski. Yo but make sure you give yourself time to get into the mechanics of the game. Honestly, most JRPGs take a good 5-10 hours before you build a good grasp of the game and its story. Persona 4 Golden is no different. But, once it grabs you, there's no going back.
 
I hate most JRPGs, so take my advice with that in mind.

Play Persona 4 Golden. It's flawed but fantastic, and the best JRPG for a beginner by far.
 
If you want something not turn based, I'd go with Kingdom Hearts. But if you want to give turn based a shot, go with Persona 4 Golden.
 
Persona 4 would be a strange way to enter JRPGs... random hallway dungeons, first 3 hours is only dialogue with no dungeons/combat, persona system, etc. The combat, characters, and story are SUPERB though.

Id start with something more traditional. SNES or PS1 era Final Fantasy. Id suggest IV, VI, VII, or IX. (VIII is my personal favorite, but I wouldnt start with that.) None of the stories or worlds are connected, so dont worry about the order you play them.
 
My first JRPG that actually got me into them was Star Ocean Till the End of Time so I recommend that one. It has a nice battle system and is really fun!
 
J_Ark said:
Suikoden I, II, III and V are good entries. My favorite saga by far, nobody won't regret.
Click to expand...

Basically this. The original Suikoden is on PSN.

But all these games are turn-based, and you want something with action. So go with Star Ocean III. Great game until the "twist" ending most people hated
but I liked
There's plenty of complexity in the game, but only if you want to take it there. Crafting and book publishing isn't really necessary.

Final Fantasy XII is another game you could try, but I wouldn't really say it was "for beginners". It's unique battle system allows you to basically "program" both your main character and your party, so you could theoretically just move the analog stick forward and they would fight for you on automatic. If that's something you can handle, then try it but I could see how it can be viewed as too complex.

As far as Vita games, try Ragnarok Odyssey ACE.

Edit: This thread is proof that people don't read OPs, apparently.
 
I know you don't have a DS or a 3DS but it's worth investing in either of those systems for Chrono Trigger. Excellent RPG for beginners.
 
Ys Oath in felgana.

Fun boss fights.
Not too easy or not too hard. There's difficulty options.
Bitching music.
No grinding.
Straight forward story.
No stupid characters.

I think Persona 4 is a bit long for a beginner rpg. Oath is 15 hours max. It doesn't overstay it welcome. You'll enjoy it. Then you can play 7 and Celceta if you want more Ys!

I can't recommend a long rpg for someone getting into it. Get a short but quality title under your belt, and then go from there.

Chrono Trigger is my favorite game ever, but I don't think I can recommend the psn version.
 
If you want turn-based RPGs, P4G and FFX are both excellent choices for starters. For action RPGs, I'd recommend KH1.5 or Threads of Fate as they are both easy and accessible.
 
suikoden is available to play on vita. i just beat it last month and despite being kinda dated, it's pretty good.

chrono trigger and final fantasy vi are also available on psn. i recommend trying them out as they are also classic games. hell, they're what i started on after first playing pokemon.

if you're looking for stuff that feels more active, tales of symphonia hd (psn) kinda/sorta feels like a fighting game in its battles. vaklyrie profile 2 (ps2) adds a lot of strategy, and valkyria chronicles (ps3), is a really great strategy rpg that puts you in direct control instead of moving characters on a grid.
 
Screw what everyone else is telling you. If jrpg is determined by type of gameplay (ie turn-based) as opposed to country of origin, my suggestion is:

Costume Quest! It is THE definition of "beginner jrpg"... and it's a fantastic, charming little game (and getting a sequel this fall too).
 
Honestly I don't feel like Persona 4 is a good beginner game to play, I'd recommend playing it any day but I feel like FFX is more beginner friendly. You have a vita, so definitely get it sometime though. FFX is out on Vita and PS3 now so you can get that.

If you want a good action RPG grab KH 1.5 if you've never played KH. You won't regret it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Your Top 5 Indie JRPG's
2
74
114
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay replied
Your Top 5 PSOne JRPG's
2
83
4K
Plies replied
Action JRPG 'Echoes of Aincrad' Announced a Sword Art Online Game for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC Launching July 10, 2026
News Trailer 
48
2K
March Climber replied
Helldivers 2 tips for Xbros [The Complete Beginner's Guide]
Hype 
7
865
Heisenberg007 replied
  • Poll
Among these, what is the best JRPG?
2
68
2K
RoboFu replied
Top Bottom