Been itching for a new JRPG to play while waiting for SMT V which is still a few months away. I still have Persona 4 (Steam) and 5 (PS4) to finish but I rarely get any time to play on my laptop and TV with family/work life also in the picture. I have FFXII (completed), SMT Nocturne (mid-game) and Ni No Kuni (barely played) all on the Switch which are all remastered games from previous gens. The thing is I really want a new-ish JRPG and I am having trouble picking one. Since November is not that far off, I might considering getting one from a deep sale like SAO: Hollow Realization or Caligula Effect to fill the gap, but also thinking of higher tier games like XC2 which has been on my radar for a while now (played and completed main story of Torna standalone btw). I also wanted DQ11 initially but I am not really into the series and did not like the demo (same feelings with Ni No Kuni and Bravely Default 2). There is also Atelier Ryza 2 which has gameplay elements appeal to me, but the style is not really my thing. Trails series also seems nice but the military themes, pre-requisite titles for the story and stiff tone makes me hesitant. As for the Tales series, the ones I am interested in are on PC/PS4 (Berseria and the upcoming Arise) and I don't really want another remaster in Vesperia.
Apologies for the sort of confusing post. It seems I might also be overthinking to find a worthy JRPG of my time. The older you get its like you get more picky with the content you consume, when during my teens and early 20s would just play and watch anything. Any suggestions you guys have are very much welcome!
@path4smash Haven't played many myself (although got a few in the backlog) so can't personally recommend anything specific, but have you checked out the Nintendo life guide on Switch RPGs?
@Anti-Matter@CactusMan Looked into I Am Setsuna before but I haven't heard of Lost Sphear. Seems like these two games are related? Which one is better to pick up first? Looks like something I would enjoy! My daughter plays Miitopia but haven't really touched it yet. Might give that one a go as well. Thanks!
@dmcc0 Hey thanks! Yeah looked into the list as well, problem is many of those games are remasters/re-releases of older JRPGs. Seems like a lot of the good stuff was done during those times.
@path4smash
Better pick Lost Sphear ASAP once you find great deal price.
Oh, btw. Miitopia is kind of JRPG game by Nintendo to be funny, quirky and hilarious.
You can decide the Mii looking, who are they, what jobs for them, etc. The relationship between other Mii was the main part of Miitopia as they will react differently based on your affection level.
It was like watching quirky sitcom show during battle when your Mii have some conversations or arguments, you will not regret to see that quirkiness as something that will never happened on serious JRPG games. Miitopia have pretty great OST even during battle. You will never expect for a quirky cartoonish JRPG game can have such a killer OST like AAA JRPG games. The storyline of Miitopia was actually pretty good too after you discovered the truth behind the Dark Lord appearance.
@path4smash Whatever you do, do not get Caligula - while the art and story might be pretty good it's the fact that if you want to get more skills (passive & active) you literally have to chase around 500 npcs in a school and talk to them. They always say the same thing, too.
I also feel the same as you with being picky with JRPGs. I also don't have a lot of time to play them anymore.
What I recommend is Octopath if you want that oldschool feeling itched while it still being rather newish.
There's also Monster Hunter Stories 2 - while the story & visuals are simple yet effective, the addicting part of MHS2 is the environment and the monster you can get. Also helps if you're a huge Monster Hunter nerd.
I really enjoyed Cris Tales, Indivisible Jin Conception, ONINAKI, both Xenoblade games, Trials of Mana, Sakuna of Rice and Ruin and Shiren if you want some Mystery Dungeon-esque type game.
I am Setsuna and Lost Sphear are really overrated imho. Everyone praises the sound track / graphic style and environment. While they are nice to look at / hear, they get old quickly since they are on repeat for the first few hours of the game.
@Nephestinus I was seriously considering Caligula but I looked for some more reviews after seeing your reply and it seems like there are just too many red flags on this one. I like weird/clunky and might tolerate the generic NPCs, lack of BGM variety and generic dungeons as long as there's a unique narrative/treatment and decent combat. However the passives gated behind the generic sidequest NPCs (not to mention you have to talk to them 3x just to trigger quests) and the abysmal handheld visuals are deal breakers for me. I think both SAO and this is now a pass for me. Glad I didn't impulse buy.
MHS2, Octopath and XC2 are all full price worthy physical games and is just a matter of 'when' rather than 'if'. I guess I'll just pick up one of those now. JRPGs surely really demand a lot of time and attention which is why we're so picky I think.
@CactusMan I kinda assumed it was from parallel worlds/timelines from the short bits that I read. Thanks for clarifying. Looks like Lost Sphere is the unanimous choice between the 2.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (& Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, if you haven't played it yet) are both absolutely top tier, though they're huge time sinks.
Trials of Mana would be another great pick. Great "comfort food" JRPG that doesn't bog you down in a bunch of systems & has a fun combat loop. It is a remake of an older game, though.
I'm also required to shill Final Fantasy X, simply because it's one of my favorite games of all time. It's a remaster, but again, one of my favorites.
Oh, and it's criminal that no one's mentioned Ys VIII yet. It's one of the best JRPGs on the system bar none. I'd say it has a similar kind of gameplay loop as Trials of Mana, but better.
I'll also go ahead and name drop Shining Resonance Refrain. Not top tier, but a fun enough JRPG.
Undertale, DQ XI, XC DE, Darkest Dungeon, and Bug Fables would probably me my top five turn-based and/or pseudo turn-based rpg recommendations on Switch. Divinity: Original Sin II is an award winning strategy rpg also available on Switch but I haven't played it yet.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,251 games (as of April 24th, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay
@path4smash Yeah wise choice on that. Also like Magician said you might wanna look up Bug Fables, it's a fantastic mini game. Otherwise there is still Fire Emblem Three Houses or Wargroove if you like SJRPG + Disgaea if you like them over-the-top.
Here's another vote for I Am Setsuna. It's a bit shorter than most JRPGs, too, so that may be a good thing in your current life situation. But I loved the story and characters, and the music is hauntingly beautiful.
Also, Octopath is good, but I didn't love it by the end like I thought I would. I'm just not a fan of the pretty much totally separate stories.
@RR529 FFX was best of the franchise for me as well. The world and story nothing short of magical. I would want to play that again sometime and I didn't really get to play X-2 that much on the PS2. Haven't really looked into the Ys series but hear good things about it, on a sale right now too. Never heard of Shining Resonance and already forgot about the Mana series, only played the first on SNES for a little while and hardly remember anything about it honestly. Gonna do some research on those.
@Magician Since you mentioned Bug Fables, I hear it is a homage to the old Paper Mario games? Finished my playthrough of Origami King recently and enjoyed it a lot but its my first of the series. The towns, dungeons and puzzles felt like a proper JRPG minus the exp grinding.
@rallydefault Strange that a lot of the reviews find the story uninteresting and generic. From the trailer it looks alright. Glad to hear a different opinion. Guess I really need to see this for myself and I like that its a short game that I can easily see through the end.
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