Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

(Gaming discussion not related to Shenmue)

Which JRPG should I play (first)? (Total votes: 9)

I am Setsuna
0
No votes
Persona 5
8
89%
Final Fantasy XV
0
No votes
Something else..!
1
11%

Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Monkei » Fri Mar 31, 2017 6:52 am

Hey guys,

I thought you could possibly offer me some advice. I haven't played a JRPG in a really long time, and I haven't played many of them at all over the course of my life. My JRPG experience is limited to Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast, adored it), Grandia II (Dreamcast, adored it), Baten Kaitos (Gamecube, finished but didn't like), Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube, didn't like, didn't finish) and Eternal Sonata (Xbox, didn't like, didn't finish). Don't try to recognize a pattern there, I guess I simply got sick of the genre pretty quickly.

But now I feel an itch for it again. So I'm wondering where to start. The three candidates that seem the most appealing to me here are
1) I am Setsuna, because it seems like a nice little throwback to the two JRPGs I actually enjoyed
2) Persona 5, because it's getting amazing scores and seems to be the freshest way possible to experience the genre
3) Final Fantasy XV, because I've never played an FF game and I'd like to experience a blockbuster-like JRPG that's said to be (or at least marketed as) easily accessible for new players

So what do you guys think, or recommend? Where does a guy who fell out of love with the genre try a fresh start?
What I can say is that I'd prefer not to have endless grinding sessions, killing enemies over and over again in random encounters to collect enough exp to beat the next boss. I wouldn't really like randomized dungeons either. And not too much dragging and cliche-ridden dialogue would be good. A great story would be welcome, too.
While writing this text it kinda dawned on me that the answer might actually be I am Setsuna (even though I don't have a clue about grinding and randomness and dragging and cliches in this one), but I'd still like to hear some opinions from experienced fans of the genre, some stuff I can't get from the reviews that are out there maybe.

EDIT: Oh, I'm playing on PS4, so yeah.. no 3DS recommendations please. :p
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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby shredingskin » Fri Mar 31, 2017 8:06 am

I'll go with persona 5 even if I didn't play it.

Persona games are always great (albeit they tend to have quite a bit of grinding, nothing new to jrpgs).

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Raithos » Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:00 am

While I Am Setsuna is awesome and brings back the feeling of the golden age of RPG's (and is a great game) it might be a little too straightforward and traditional for some people. The battle system is fun and very similar to Chrono Trigger. OST is full of amazing piano tracks and the story is very unique. Fairly short too just FYI, I beat it in around 25 hours. Definitely one of my recent favorites. Its not perfect but was worth every penny.

I would still recommend Persona 5 though even if I haven't played it yet. The series is extremely fun to play and never seem to feel stale like some other JRPG's. Great music, fun battle system (often times too easy though) and cool characters that are very developed. Soundtracks are top notch as well.

I got the platinum for FFXV and enjoyed it a lot, but I would have a hard time suggesting it to anyone. After its all said and done its really not that great of a game tbh, especially if you are trying to get back into RPG's. It more of an action game with RPG elements (kind of but not really). Also finished the newest DLC episode in an hour, complete waste of money on the season pass so far.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Kintor » Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:57 am

Get Persona 5 - it's not just a great JRPG it's also one of the most stylish games ever made.

Setsuna is a deliberate throwback. Final Fantasy XV is competent enough for a modern AAA release. Persona 5 though, it's taking JRPGs to a whole new level.

I've got my copy of Persona 5 pre-ordered and I can't wait to finally play it.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Coromasta » Fri Mar 31, 2017 11:21 am

Persona 5 definitely! Persona 4 is my favorite jrpg though I'm not exactly a lover of the genre perse. Months of avoiding trailers screens and spoilers, after seeing that initial teaser 2 years ago? I was instantly hyped almost to the point of shenmue 3. And its going to arrive tomorrow, 4 days too soon, so lucky.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby OL » Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:43 pm

Actually, if you're testing the waters again, I wouldn't recommend any of those. Well, maybe I Am Setsuna, since it's a throwback. But both Persona 5 and FFXV are games that were in development for a long, long time, are likely filled to the brim with content, and might be kind of daunting for someone who doesn't play the genre much. They're games mainly made for people who frequent the genre, not ones who have barely touched it.
I'd actually recommend going backward a bit; play something on PS1 or PS2. If Persona is an option, I'd say go back to Persona 3, since that's already proven itself pretty prominently as a bit of an "initiation" tool for the genre (that was many, many people's first Shin Megami Tensei game, and probably among their first JRPGs as well), but you'd have to actually get a physical copy and have a console to play it on. If Final Fantasy is an interest, then FFX is available on current consoles in HD form (and for dirt cheap, too), and FFXII HD is set to come out in a few months.
If you have a Vita or PS3, then grab up a couple of old PS1 classics on the Playstation Store; Chrono Cross, Xenogears, Parasite Eve, and all three Final Fantasies of that era are readily available, and all are fatastic (well, I can't personally vouch for Final Fantasy IX, but I hear it's good). Parasite Eve might be the most accessible, since it focuses on one character (removing too much in the way of complication), is mildly cinematic, has an excellent story, and has pretty simple gameplay.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Henry Spencer » Fri Mar 31, 2017 12:54 pm

I love shorter JRPGs like Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story (this one will be obtuse and hard to get into though, I think), Crimson Shroud, Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, Persona 2, Lost Dimension - games like that.

It's really a more diverse genre than people think. On the surface you have your Final Fantasy games and Dragon Quest games but underneath you have your cult classics that are unlike anything else you'll play again. I'm going to disagree with Orange here since I feel like Persona 3 has some barriers that you have to get past to fully enjoy (Tartarus being what it is - a pretty hardcore dungeon crawler). I'd say if you want to go with one Persona game as an entry point, Persona 4 is better. It's more accessible and focuses more on the "adventure" part of the game than the other Persona games. Plus the game has some difficulty spikes (mainly bosses) but nothing that bad. The game is pretty damn long though, I clocked in my completion where I got all of the endings at around 85 hours, don't know how you feel about that? The game never felt like it dragged for me anyway. I'd love to recommend Persona 2: Innocent Sin since it's my favourite game quite handily from a story standpoint (and quite frankly, the music is too) but the game part is definitely the weakest of them all, even if it is a bit underrated by the fanbase.

I definitely echo the sentiment from Orange though, a lot of these older JRPGs I have only played for the first time in the past few years and the PS1 catalogue on PSN is amazing. None of that is just "nostalgia" to me, they're just genuinely fantastic games even all of these years later. If you ever fancy giving Strategy RPGs a go, try out Front Mission 3, for sure (then follow it up with the original Final Fantasy Tactics).

Anyway, I voted Persona 5 since it looks like potentially the surprise GOTY and one of the best games Atlus will ever put out.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Hyo Razuki » Fri Mar 31, 2017 1:48 pm

Seems like a no-brainer to me. With Persona 5 coming out next week, I guess this is the perfect time to get back into JRPGs.

If you like Persona 5, you can still try out the other games you put in the poll, but I guess Persona would be the most original take on the genre out of these games and therfor a good starting point.

Oh, and Fairy Fencer F is also a good JRPG on the PS4, but that's a PS3 port.

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Re: Advice needed: Testing the JRPG waters again

Postby Monkei » Tue Apr 11, 2017 4:38 am

Thanks for the replies guys! :) Going back to older consoles isn't an option for me, so I won't be able to check out the classics you recommended, OL. And while Persona 5 as a game clearly looks the most attractive out of my three initial options, I am Setsuna really seems to be the way to go for testing the waters. Because it's the shortest, and so similar to Grandia II and Skies of Arcadia.

Forgot to mention one more JRPG I enjoyed by the way: Ni no Kuni. So I already tested the waters with that a while ago but somehow forgot about it for a moment. Oh well, testing them again then. Maybe I'll just stick with dipping my toes in every once in a while after all.
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