[0:00]I want to jump into JRPGs, but where do I start? Huh? Huh? It's a good question and when I answer it, my mind always goes back to some common titles. So instead of keeping it individual, why not spread the word a bit more, that's what the channel's for. Here's a collection of modern JRPGs that I think are a good starting point. Small caveat though, only the ones I have played. SMT5, Fire Emblem Three Houses and Yakuza Like a Dragon would likely be a recommendation too, but they're on my backlog for this year. Can't really comment on something I haven't had the time to play. Persona 5 Royal. Let's kick off with possibly the most obvious game on the list. When I'm looking for recommendations to give to newcomers, P5R is pretty much a reflex. It immediately comes to mind. In terms of value for money, there's very few that match up to this game. You're looking at about 100 hours on the base game alone, and that's not even including the content specific to Royal. But what made P5R so excellent, at least from my experience, is that the long time I spent with it never felt exhausting. Outside of a few slower moments here and there, it was paced excellently. Naturally, the aesthetic also has to be mentioned. I mean, look at it. This game just oozes class, very rare is it that the presentation of a game can positively contribute to the overall experience. As for the gameplay, well, you've got a huge list of personas to work with, your confidants add to the depth of your available options as you get deeper into the game, the turn-based system is fast and intuitive with mechanics feeding into one another, like the baton pass. And the palaces pushed the boundary of the traditional JRPG dungeon. Normally, dungeons in this genre are defined by hallways, swarms of enemies, and simple puzzles, but that's not the case in Royal. This idea of infiltrating palaces as a theme is incorporated directly into how you progress through them. You've got multiple levels, engaging designs, shortcuts. I honestly don't think there's been a better iteration of dungeons in a JRPG that I've played recently. Except for Mementos, that sucks. Persona 5 Royal is one of the best modern JRPGs in recent memory, and it easily earns a spot as a recommendation to newcomers. Dragon Quest 11, Echoes of an Elusive Age. Dragon Quest 11 gets on this list alone for birthing one of the greatest lines in smash history. Yo, yo, hero. I have played that man. Never gets old. As for the game though, it's more a love letter to the older style of JRPG while refining that formula to bring it to the present age. I don't think anyone can say Dragon Quest 11 is a bad game from an objective standpoint. What I mean by that is when you look at the game itself, you immediately notice the care and polish. There is a blemish on the canvas that makes up DQ 11. It's a very clean game on the surface, and thus its first impression is near on always positive. And then you move to the more subjective areas like characters and gameplay, and again, these also are decent. Story is a bit lacking here and there for my taste, but it has some memorable moments, too. However, yes, there's that word. I must confess, as much as I can acknowledge that Dragon Quest 11 is a fantastic game, it's not grabbing me as I thought it would, at least not at the 35-hour mark. And I'm positive that the main reason for that is the OST. It's bad. Like rather be serenaded by a flu-induced cat bad.
[3:24]It reinforces to me why I play such importance on a good soundtrack. And it's mainly comes down to the selection, it feels very shallow as no matter what area you find yourself in, you're pretty much always listening to the same tune. I've been on a fairly lengthy hiatus from it for that reason, but when I do go back, I'm going to need to find a workaround because muting the music is also out of the question. I need something to set the tone. Compare this to something like Persona 5 Royal as an example. When you're about to infiltrate a palace, the music switches up to that awesome upbeat cacophony. You enter a mindset whereby it feels like you're about to do something extraordinary. I'm just not getting that feeling from Dragon Quest 11, at least not yet. Despite that though, this recommendation isn't for me, it's for new players to the genre, and I dare say many looking for a JRPG to start with will see past the OST. And if you manage to do that, then you've pretty much got a game that excels near on everywhere else, so I can't justifiably omit it as a recommendation. Tales of Arise. Of course, the 2021 RPG of the year has to be recommended, too. To be fair, you could put any of the modern Tales games up at the podium for this. Tales of Vesperia's definitive edition or Berseria, but I'm personally going for Arise. I played this game non-stop when it came out. I was hooked on it, and I pretty much made all my workmates know about it as well until they told me to get back to work. I was gushing about how much I was enjoying my time with Arise. Right off the bat, you've got the art style. This watercolor approach not only pushed the boundary for Tales and JRPGs in general, but 10 years down the line, it will look just as beautiful. It's similar to Wind Waker's cell-shaded graphics in that it's timeless. The sense of scale you get from the world of Arise is made possible by its excellent presentation. Combat, pretty much the highlight as it generally is in Tales games. The bones hold up well, and then you've got the myriad of options within combat, which gets introduced in good time. You're not waiting for a new game plus to unlock everything. OST is fantastic, characters may seem a bit basic to some, but I enjoyed them, especially the likes of Dohalim, and the narrative, despite falling apart a bit by the end, also had me enraptured. I actually liked the twists and the revelations in this game. I thought they were handled well. The only things that took away from Arise in my mind were the mostly shallow antagonists and also the final dungeon. I see it as one of the worst in recent memory. Those shortcomings though, don't detract at all from Arise. It was easily one of my favorite games of 2021. It not only gets a recommendation as a great starting JRPG for a newcomer, but it has the added effect of potentially leading the player down a rabbit hole to seek out the other Tales games as well. The Final Fantasy VII Remake. Surprise, surprise, the remake of one of the most beloved games of the PS1 is also down as a recommendation. I mean, what can I say that hasn't already been said about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake a million times before? Like Arise, presentation in this game is top tier. I mean, Squares got a massive pile of Dosh to work with, but actually utilizing it is another kettle of fish. Midgar has never looked so good. Narratively speaking, you're getting a retelling of the original plot, which is probably going to span a fair few years till it's concluded, along with a deeper look into the character of Cloud that wasn't as easy to present back in the original. Even minor characters like Jessie were fleshed out far more with relatable backstories. Combat is gonna be hit or miss. It's a big hit for me though, a 30-yard screamer as far as I'm concerned. It feels derivative of previous games, especially Final Fantasy 13 by incorporating the stagger mechanic, but the ability to freeze time gives a nice balance between strategy and action-based gameplay. You're getting the best of both worlds here. Unless I forget the dancing mini-game, that alone makes it worth it. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. Sort of cheating here as I haven't played this version. I've only played the original. I think that still counts though. The only thing I'm missing out on is the epilogue content and the quality of life improvements. At its basic level, you have seamless transitions to combat, a wide array of arts, along with customization potential, plus the ability to move freely while in combat. And these arts also have directional effects as well. For example, attacking from the side has the potential to lower defense. Each character also has a unique play style, so you're bound to find the lead that works for you. There's plenty for you to learn if you want a different change of pace. With this gameplay, you'll really be feeling it. As for the situation outside of combat, wide open plains that admittedly can feel a bit empty, but I think it fits the theme of the game perfectly. At the end of the day, you're making your way up a Titan in the Bionis, while gazing at the imposing Mechonis in the distance. Its stature alone not only acts as a marker on where you are on the Bionis itself, but also reminds you constantly of the scale of the world you're in. It lends perfectly to the atmosphere. The only downside in this case is that the game is Switch exclusive, but I'd like to think a lot of players nowadays have a Switch on hand, and as a JRPG fan, it's a no-brainer for some of the exclusives on it. This one is an easy recommendation to any newcomer. Neo, The World Ends With You. Okay, this may seem like a weird one, but hear me out. My main issue with including Neo was that it's a direct sequel to the original World Ends With You. Now, I don't want to recommend that game as a starting JRPG, because even though it is good, if you get it on something like the Switch, the touchscreen controls can easily put someone off. It was very much a game designed for the original DS. Nothing against the game itself, but the controls, nah-ah. Regardless, I need to give this series some love, so the sequel that reverts to a more traditional control scheme takes its place. Neo, The World Ends With You in my mind is standalone enough that you can enjoy it without playing the first game. The moments within its story, while definitely linking to the previous game, didn't feel like they would be diminished if you jumped straight in here. But I can't deny that you will enjoy it more if you know the events from the first game. And if you are curious about that, there is an anime adaptation retelling most of those moments as well, if you'd rather not play through. That was the only thing that was really holding me back when recommending Neo, because the rest of it is just sick. It's a shame because the series was dormant for about 14 years until Neo came along, and now it looks like it may just disappear forever as Square announced that they weren't too thrilled with how it performed. That's on you, Square, you didn't advertise. The premise is cool. You're playing through something called the Reaper's Game in Shibuya, which functions as the game setting. Each day you need to fulfill a certain mission, and it's in these missions that you partake in combat and all that jazz while roaming the streets. Like Persona 5 Royal, this is a game that is highly defined by style. You're going to be moving around in time of the beat for bonuses to a so-called groove meter before you enter battle. You have novel mechanics in the overworld that lend to some great diversity in the daily missions, and as for the combat, while the controls are simple, the customization potential is excellent. Each character can equip pins that give them unique psychs, and each one gets mapped to a particular button, but as you get further in, you're going to get way more pins, more characters will join the team, and you can also unlock passive abilities, which allow you to stack up pins on the same button. It naturally lends to you finding combinations that work well together and ensures that the battle system remains fresh, which is important as there is an emphasis on stacking battles together for higher drop rates and rarer pins. And the last thing I want to mention here, the music. Oh my God, the music. I can't really say anything else than it's excellent. A bunch of genres are covered, you're getting rock, hip hop, electronic beats, little sprinklings of punk here and there, rap, it really matches the mood of this game. Everything is designed around the hip center of Shibuya, and it combines into an OST that is just nectar for the ears at times. Honestly, this game deserves way more attention than it gets. And I'll do my part by putting it up as a recommendation for newcomers. Trails of Cold Steel. Pretend you didn't see this coming. Trails of Cold Steel is the game that got me into the Trails series. This channel was birthed off of my experience from this game and my subsequent love for the series as a whole. Cold Steel was the perfect tonic to reinforce to me the magic of JRPGs and what they can achieve. It's a slow and formulated game in terms of pacing as you explore the land of Erebonia for the first time, but it's slow pacing done right, like a small flicker on a candle that gradually gets bigger and bigger until it rolls into a bonfire in the later stages. As you join Class Seven and start to unearth the problem surrounding this land, it culminates in one of my personal favorite finales in any game I've played. I still get chills thinking about the big reveal when I first experienced it, I didn't even see it coming. And then of course you have the cliffhanger ending that compels you to buy the second game immediately. Add on to that the staples of the Trails games like satisfying turn-based combat, utilizing arts and crafts, amazing music, a real sense of scale in the world, and a great cast of characters. All of these together in a bubble, easily elevate Cold Steel to at least a recommendation. But the main reason I recommend this game is tied more to the deeper implications. Cold Steel can easily act as a gateway into something far bigger than a player would first realize, an interconnected series of 11 games at present that is unrivaled in terms of world-building. It's no exaggeration to say that if you get hooked on Trails, you are sticking around for the long haul. You become attached to this world and the characters within it. Hec, even NPCs have their own stories moving from game to game. And it's never been a better time to get involved. All four of the Cold Steel games are in the West, the three Sky games are also here, and the long-awaited Crossbell duology is getting official localizations due out in 2022 and 2023. The tenth game, Trails into Reverie, is following soon after those, and I'd like to think Kuro will come soon after. If you place importance on a story with substance and scale, then this is the series for you, and Trails of Cold Steel is an excellent introduction to that. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. Play this game. That's it. Just just buy it right now. Don't be fooled by the eight in its name, this is very much a standalone adventure. Ys VIII is my personal favorite on this list. If I was forced to choose one game to recommend as an introduction to modern JRPGs, this would be the one I choose with no questions asked. Ys VIII holds such a special place for me, a real sentimental connection that's hard to describe. It's possibly because I played this during my final week living in Japan, and this kind of felt like a representation of that, this idea of saying goodbye and moving on to the next chapter of life, but I don't think an individual JRPG has had as much impact on me as Lacrimosa of Dana. In this game, you're playing as Adol, who is pretty much the main man of the Ys series, and sure enough, the main man in many women's fantasies, too, traversing an island that you're stranded on almost immediately. You've got engaging action-based combat with simple yet tight controls, a cast of memorable characters, especially Dana, who remains my favorite girl in the Ys series, a strong story, and a real sense of wanderlust. Ys games are generally about the journey, the mystery that surrounds these lands, and it's spurred on by Adol's insatiable desire for adventure. With that as the core theme of near on every Ys game, I personally feel that Ys VIII demonstrates it the best. There's a perpetual desire to scan every nook and cranny, find those secrets, fill out the map to completion, you name it. Ys VIII is just pure unbridled fun. And if that wasn't enough, you've also got a delicious OST accompanying you all the way. The likes of Sunshine Coastline remains on every single playlist I have, and I listen to it near on daily. Sound Team JDK just killed it in this game, as they generally do. I can't really say much more than that. Ys VIII is undoubtedly one of the best games I have ever played, and I'm not embellishing when I state that. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone looking to transition to JRPGs for the first time. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Yeah, not a JRPG, but I'm including it anyway. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is a departure from many on this list. It's not a typical game by any means, it's more akin to a hybrid visual novel. A lot of the time, you're going to be bouncing between the 13 protagonists in these side-scrolling adventure sections and witnessing their individual routes unfold. You'll be making real-time choices that will divert you down a particular route, and the general idea is to witness all of them to completion. These routes function as puzzle pieces that combine into one large story, starting on the outside and gradually filling in all the blank spots. But the brilliance of Aegis Rim is that even with so many different perspectives, you don't feel lost, which I feel is a testament to how well-paced and structured this game is. Its choice to lock you out of certain character routes until you've progressed to specific points in others, works very well to keep the narrative on track, which is more difficult than it sounds when you consider the premise of the game. But that's far from the only aspect that Aegis Rim offers. In addition, you've got real-time strategy as you take control of the sentinels, and you can customize them with skills, utilize passive abilities from the pilots themselves. There's an intuitive system on offer here that never gets boring. Technical aspects like sound design, absolutely amazing. OST is strong, the art direction, well, I mean you can see it for yourself, it's gorgeous, very much a VanillaWare trademark, but the most important thing is that it keeps you engaged. This game on several occasions kept me up far later than I intended. The pull to play one more route was prominent every time I switched on that console. It is masterful in its storytelling, and again, despite it not being a typical game that may put newcomers off, I implore you to try and see past that because 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is a masterpiece. Nier: Automata. We're ending with a game that I've never actually talked about before on the channel. And it sucks because I wish I was doing YouTube content when I first played Nier Automata. The reason?
[17:11]No, the reason is definitely deeper than that. In terms of triple-A experience, this is one of the best you're going to get. There is so much love put into this game, so much unease in terms of what it presents. This is a more mature journey in every respect. Thought-provoking themes and ambiguity are the cornerstone of what makes Nier Automata so gripping. You're joining an Android duo of 2B and 9S as they seek to eliminate machine threats in this dystopian world, which is now devoid of human life, but that's merely on the surface. And as you progress through this game, you get a sense of what it is attempting to illustrate. It's a work of art, if I had to describe it. In terms of gameplay, it's amazing. Platinum games at their best here with some fluid and slick combat that makes up the bulk, movement feels so crisp, you feel the impact of every swing of your blade. Honestly, that alone is enough to keep someone hooked. But it also encompasses other genres, certain sections will bring in shoot 'em up elements or platforming. There's plenty to keep you on edge throughout your time as you pursue the five main endings. But then you've got other areas like its excellent world design, working in harmony with the themes the story presents, the music, and most notably, the boss battles. Oh my goodness, the boss battles are just unreal in this game. Nier Automata is a must play. Even non-JRPG fans will enjoy this, of that, I'm certain. It's an experience that I feel anyone from any genre can enjoy because it not only covers so many bases, but it executes them brilliantly as well. I can't say much more than that, one of the easiest recommendations to newcomers I can give. Enjoy. And there it is, a collection of JRPGs that I feel can be solid starting points for any newcomer. I hope that if you're looking to begin your own journey, that you found something here that took your fancy. I don't recommend these games lightly. If you like this content, please leave it a thumbs up, that would be much appreciated, and I'll see you soon. Peace.
