Poll: What's a good JRPG to get into for newbies?

[kyogen]

If you're on a quest to find one game from every genre that you like, OP, then you should probably play more than one JRPG. Which of your options appeals to you in terms of themes or visual aesthetics? Did you check out any gameplay vids on Youtube? Read any professional or user reviews? That's the only way you're going to be able to narrow down the field to something that might really be worth your time. The spoiler risk strikes me as minimal when you consider how much time JRPGs usually require gamers to invest if they want to finish a given game.

Personally, I like main series Final Fantasy because it mixes up settings and gameplay with each new iteration. The Persona series is also creative, but I get tired of the Japanese school setting, so I don't play all of them. I've never had any interest in the other franchises you listed, but that doesn't mean that they're bad; I'm just not the right audience for them.

Do you like strategic combat and a (vaguely) WWII setting? What about Valkyria Chronicles? Do you really prefer fast action that only barely touches on JRPG tropes while tossing in nods to many other Japanese games? Try Nier. Want combat that isn't tied to a lengthy narrative or an anime aesthetic at all? Give Demon's Souls a shot. Like gunplay, steampunk aesthetics, and working out wild combat mechanics? Resonance of Fate might be something to check out.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

I always felt Kingdom hearts was a very accessible JRPG. The Disney connection does provide a frame of reference for newcomers, and the story (at least in the first game) is fairly straightforward. That said, I understand that it isn't for everybody. With Chrono trigger on DS, thatd be a good place to look. Very ahead of its time as a SNES game, even better as a DS title.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on the Super Nintendo originally. I am going to assume you can find this one online. I know it's on the Virtual Console (or rather, I'm 80% sure it's on the virtual console) but there we are. This game was released in the U.S. first unlike just about every other Final Fantasy on this planet and, when it was released in Japan it was released with the somewhat different title of Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest. It was intended as an entry level JRPG for people new to the genre. It's easy, it's fun, it uses a health bar by default, it has platforming puzzles and, can be beaten in between 15 and 25 hours depending on how grind-happy you get.

 

[Clinky]

I voted Persona 3/4 and I recommend it. If characters and story are important to you then this is really the game to go for. I wouldn't recommend it though if you have a distaste for heavy cutscenes. The 'social link' aspect means you will be spending a good portion of the game just talking to people. But it does pay off combatwise and the characters(including side ones) are all pretty fleshed out.I suppose that aspect is really a 'love it or hate it' kind of deal and I personally love it but I'd suggest looking at some gameplay videos first to see if you could put up with it.

Another person recommended Star Ocean: The Second Story, that does happen to have a PSP rerelease subtitled Second Evolution. And to me is the best in the series. It does have real-time combat which will pause when you open the menu, it does keep random encounters. It's also good if you don't care for heavy cutscenes as a lot are actually optional and on the side. You can get items from them and you sometimes have to follow one to get a party member but it is possible to use it very little. It also has a very engrossing item creation mechanic which is my main love in the game, it allows you to create new weapons, armor, consumable items, accessories, and a good variety of other things which you can use to make combat easier or harder or to rake in the big bucks. I admit that aspect of the game really pulled me in. The story is pretty convoluted at times though... It's pretty easy to follow until about one half to 3/4 of the way through then it starts getting odd. Again, do your research and find out if it seems like your cup of tea.

But really you should do your research and find what would really appeal to you, a lot of times it comes down to what you want out of it.We can recommend what we like and everything, but a little extra research can probably tell you more.

 

[The Abhorrent]

Hmm... there are many great japanese RPGs out there, but many of them are unfortunately from previous generations. The current generation has had some very lacklustre releases from the major developpers while the others have been relatively unknown.

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Xenoblade Chronicles recently got released to english-speaking audiences for the Wii (not easily), and I've been enjoying that quite a bit recently. However, it's certainly not your "typical" JRPG as far as combat mechanics go. Nevertheless, it's been an outstanding experience so far; almost 20 hours in and near-perfect pacing throughout and tons of side-quests to do during the whole way. The only issues are the underwhelming graphics (great art style, though) and party members constantly calling out attacks (the banter is a bit better, and I've been able to "tune out" the worst of it); everything else easily makes up for it. You'll also want to grab a classic controller for it, but it's worth the extra investment.

Xenogears (PS1, PSN too I believe) and the Xenosaga trilogy (all are on the PS2) are an interesting option, but probably not good for those just getting into the genre. Xenoblade has been very light on heavy subject material when compared to these two, not to mention nowhere near as exhaustive with the lengthy cutscenes. XG and XS could easily be called "interactive films" rather than games, with the latter having multiple half-hour long cutscenes. They also take on religious themes at times, which can rub some the wrong way.

Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 aren't as horrible as many make them out to be, though they are a bit disappointing compared to franchise's earlier classics. FFXIII's linearity can be annoying, and taking a couple dozen hours to properly "open up" doesn't help things. FFXIII-2 corrected this problem by giving you the better parts of the battle system right away, but it laden with spoilers for FFXIII (depends on whether or not you want to play that one first) and pacing isn't quite as finely tuned. To looking at the previous generation, FFX is the safest bet (the last "classic" FF); FFXII is also solid, but can be incredibly lengthy. If you don't mind not having any voice acting, FFIV through FFIX are all outstanding; the first three could be a bit too ancient.

Chrono Trigger is a classic among classics, though FFVI is neck-and-neck with it for quality. A bit more light-hearted than most JRPGs, but also very fun and charming. DS version isn't too old, you could look for that one. Chrono Cross (PS1) is the sequel, but follows a separate storyline altogether. It's also quite divisive, but is generally regarded as a great game; the problem is that being the sequel to CT means living up to the expectations was all but impossible.

 

[OrpheusTelos]

Umm, don't fall into the trap before whilst you have the chance?

I know that posts such as yours are relatively common, but please: there's no need to be rude. You don't like JRPGs? Thats fine. Snarky posts that add nothing to the discussion aren't.

 

[Mister K]

So... Persona 4 Golden edition is coming soon to PS Vita, so I'd recommend it.

 

[snave]

In my little experience with Star Ocean, (just the new one, The Last Story), it just seems like a worse version of the Tales series. Action based combat, but really grating characters and average story.

Sorry for the slight off-topic here, but a curious little bit of trivia comes to mind:

That pretty much is how both series started and I guess the producers just kinda rolled with it from there on. The first Star Ocean was built using a modified engine of the first Tales game (seemingly WRPG influenced changes) but they ran out of development time (and lifecycle time of the SNES console itself) on the storyline leaving it largely unfinished.

If you're going for an emulated game of yore, I'd say Chrono Trigger, simply because it is probably the most polished from that era, followed by Tales of Phantasia. Both are also very newbie friendly. FF6 is neat but a bit rough around the edges interface-wise and throws you in the deep end. I think all three have received polished remakes since though. I also have a soft spot for Lufia 2, the first JRPG without that insane random encounter rubbish (and some really awesome puzzles). You'd want that one emulated for the frame-skip button though as the battles can drag on when you choose not to avoid them.

Modern games, no idea. Symphonia struck me as pretty neat. Haven't played through a whole JRPG in many years, so I'm curious for my own sake to see what modern suggestions you receive. There's a huge period of JRPGs between the SNES and PS2 (and Gamecube) era that relied way too heavily on FMV graphically and aged terribly to the point where they are rather jarring today. That period includes FF7 sadly.

 

[Tipsy Giant]

play a rom of

Illusion of Gaia

I've been playing it recently and loving it and i've never completed a JRPG before

 

[thisismyonlypost]

the Final Fantasys, as many people are saying, are just great JRPGs. My first were JRPGs were FFIX and The Legend of Dragoon, so those are number one on my personal suggestion list

I was so glad to see that I was not the only one to start off with FFIX and Legend of the Dragoon. I would also highly recommend both. Some of my favorite things about FFIX are the music, most of which I will never forget, and the art. But I love the mechanics and the story as well. A great place to start in my opinion.

Legend of the dragoon is less notable for things like art, story, and character depth, although its not terrible in those areas. But as a place to start with RPGs it's notable because the battle system is two parts simple but traditional turn based, and one part extremely satisfying skill based combo execution. Characters can learn combos, each more complicated and flashy than the last, which level up with use until you can find the next, even cooler one.

With a PS1 emulator and a game pad (the game pad is more for LotD), both can be played happily on a PC. Assuming you've made the proper purchases to make this legal, yada yada

 

[way2sl0w]

Thanks everyone! Decided to go with Valkyria Chronicles to start then maybe Tales of Vesperia/Persona later on.

 

[Tiswas]

Suikoden is probably too difficult to get for people too.

There's an auto-attack feature that will get you through everything but boss fights, don't think that's one of Suikoden's problems

Suikoden 2 or 5 would be your best bet, if you decided to go down that route. While its still 'anime' in appearance its not the sort of thing that falls on anime cliches. At least not obnoxiously so.

The reason I didn't say Suikoden was because they're so darn hard to get ahold of. Especially number 2. While it's easily my fave JRPG I find it hard to recommend to people as a starter for this reason.

 

[Vanitas likes Bubbles]

Well.... ummm there's urrmmmmm.......

Kingdom Hearts, yeah the only JRPG I have actually played but seeing that is one of my favourite series, I certainly recommend it.

 

[C117]

I'm going to recommend my all-tim favorite JRPG: Grandia II. It might be a tad bit outdated, but the gameplay is solid, the voiceacting is pretty good and the story is what really seals the deal.

If you're out for a more recent title, try to get your hands on Final Fantasy 9. Or 10. They're both good.