I love tier lists and this one is particularly helpful for me, as I believe I've only played one NISA game before. There's lots of water left in the JRPG-publusher tier list well if you want to revisit this topic in the future too (Square Enix, SEGA/Atlus, Nintendo, Bandai/Namco, Working Designs, etc,)
It would be a lot of fun to do one on one of the more obscure publishers, like Working Designs ("obscure" in the sense that they're not around in the same form these days). I might have to combine them with another smaller publisher, because I don't think I've played enough of their titles to make a full list. But we'll see!
Here to let you know that I finally started the Trails series because of your love for the games and I am HOOKED. Can't wait to fully explore and experience all of them =)
@@biblemaneverett6528so I’m done with the prologues of Sky, Zero, and Cold Steel 1 lol but now I’m focusing on Sky first, and then will play them in chronological order without bouncing around. I just wanted to see the different styles and countries a liiiiittle bit just to really familiarize and visualize the whole overarching narrative and world building
Great list, Brandon. I hope I spelled your name correctly. I agree with you on how we experience a story. I love to be surprised/fooled too. I don’t want to guess where the story is going. Don’t get me wrong there are times where the story is predictable but it’s great when we think it’s predictable and then twists start happening that we weren’t thinking of. Love your channel, brother.
My favourite extended universe from NIS is in The Witch and the Hundred Knight games. That includes: The Witch and the Hundred Knight The Witch and the Hundred Knight2 Labyrinth of Refrain Labyrinth of Galleria Because of nonlinear storytelling it can be confusing when you don't pay attention but it is so satisfying when all small details slowly fall into place, unveiling the overarching plot.
This might shed a tear, I haven't played a single game in this list. But they all sound pretty interesting! Would totally watch more of these tier lists from other companies/publishers.
Atelier Marie is released on PC as a remake, and the original is included if you want to play it, but indeed - No physical realease. I personally started playing through the whole pre-Ryza Atelier games, with Rorona as the first one. I play the DX version of all those games, and that version is very much improved upon the original. I can recommend them for all PC owners. The Danganronpa games did not do it for me. I tried, but could not get "into" them. Oh well - That shows different people have different tastes. I like both Crystar and Crymachina about equal. The language barrier is not that big for me to be honest.
I clearly have not played enough NIS games. I feel like people are really passionate about the Trails, Atelier, and Ys series. I'm going to give Ys X a try when that comes out though.
Well - They are passionate about those games for a reason of course. Maybe they are not your "cup of tea", but I can assure you they are fun games. I personally liked all of them, including some less known games like the Blue Reflection games and Tokyo Xanadu eX+ (and a lot more).
If you're interested in giving Atelier another shot, I would strongly recommend Mana Khemia. It has one of the most fun turn-based battle systems I've ever played with a focus on character switching and manipulating a turn timeline much like Trails, and the soundtrack is absolutely killer. It's such an overlooked gem, I adore it and it's one of my favorite ps2 games. If you're curious, give it a shot.
I’m with you Branden in regard to loving a twist in the story and in Crystar I think I know the exact one you are referencing because I had the same reaction!! It’s a shame Crymachina doesn’t have the same level of story impact than Crystar but amazing gameplay, it’s almost like we need to sandwich these games together 😂🍻
I recently picked up Legend of Nayuta to hold me over until Daybreak's release. I'm only a handful of hours in, but I'm pleasantly surprised with it so far. The combat isn't exactly my cup of tea but it's simple enough that it isn't giving me a headache. Unrelated, did you see the reveal for Expedition 33? That game looks amazing, I'll definitely be keeping it on my radar.
Tier lists are fun and I also enjoy hearing you ramble about games, lol. Also, Danganronpa is a bit of an interesting series for me, because I normally align with general sentiment about the ranking of games in series' but I don't in the case of Danganronpa. I think the second game is the worst in the trilogy by a wide margin and I was surprised when I learned how much most people like it.
In the case of NISA I think it would be more helpful to separate the games they've created from the games they've just published. I love Trails but those are Falcom games and not at all what NIS style is about. NIS style games are Disgaea, Phantom Brave, etc.... which are also awesome but way different and their own unique style....
Shows a ketchum and then talks about having to play them all. I like Y's 9 better than 8, mostly due to pacing of the story seems better and think the gameplay was better. Yes, Adol not talking annoyed the heck out of me. I am not sure why, but I just can not get into Trails series. Maybe the story is just not for me or it at least has never gripped me. I do not think about what is going to happen in the story, but they feel so obvious to me. Last time I think I found something shocking for a twist it was FF6 and the WoR. Could also say this about books, tv shows and movies.
Alliance Alive still does require quite a bit of patience on the part of the player, but it is good-better than Romance Saga in my honest opinion. Romance Saga games like to force very lopsided difficulty curves on their players, so the more battles you fight, the more your Battle Rank-which is invisible-grows. The higher your battle rank goes; the harder the enemies become-to the point where progression can easily become next to impossible and a restart is required. Personally, I absolutely despise that mechanic. I’m trying to grind Gold pieces for my first set of armor, not run away from 90% of the monster populations in their games. What Alliance Alive does, instead, is soft cap stat growth in respective regions, or until you overcome a specific story-related boss fight. This way, some monsters will be too strong at first, but they will not grow ungodly strong and zap your party out of existence just because you farmed a few metal slimes.
This was a really fun watch! I think I can be pretty generous when a game has an ambitious/unique idea, but Time and Eternity genuinely might be the single worst game I've ever played - and I've played some stinkers in my day. I agree the concept is interesting, but damn the execution just was not there. Awful characters, choppy animations outside of the main girls, uninteresting story, ugly and bland worlds. Outside of the idea behind the game, I liked NOTHING about it. 34:32 I agree 100%. My own lazy tier list for NISA: Great: Disgaea 1, 2, D2, DS, Langrisser I&II, Danganronpa 2, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir Good: Disgaea 4, 5, 6, 7, Stella Glow, The Alliance Alive, Ar Tonelico 2, Danganronpa 1, 3 Ok: Diagaea 3, Ar Tonelico Lousy: The Witch and the Hundred Knight, Mugen Souls, Atelier Meruru (just not my thing) Horrendous: Neptunia 1, 2, Time and Eternity
@@JustTheGems all good, loved the video, but I'm a trails head and basically shared the same opinions as you, getting into the ys series now, starting with Ys VIII
I was hoping to see the Mana Khemia series on this list, so I could hear your thoughts on it. I recently bought it for the PS2 based off a single song I heard. I thought any game that has battle song this good must be a masterpiece. The gameplay looked pretty good too. I also heard its the predecessor to the Atelier series, which is cool. If you have it in your collection maybe you could start it. If you need some motivation, maybe this song will work on your too haha! ruclips.net/video/ipNKfOEdDDM/видео.htmlsi=3w__Z4Qff17qXyRM
Is this a list of games only published but not developed by NIS or is it just a coincidence and you have never played NIS developed games? Sorry, I just saw The Liar Princess. Hmm, I guess you just don't play them then.
Someone correctly pointed out I missed Trails into Reverie...😅 It's an S.
You missed a little hidden gem like Trails into Reverie. I’m glad you liked it lol. Can’t wait for Daybreak which is about three weeks away
I love tier lists and this one is particularly helpful for me, as I believe I've only played one NISA game before. There's lots of water left in the JRPG-publusher tier list well if you want to revisit this topic in the future too (Square Enix, SEGA/Atlus, Nintendo, Bandai/Namco, Working Designs, etc,)
It would be a lot of fun to do one on one of the more obscure publishers, like Working Designs ("obscure" in the sense that they're not around in the same form these days). I might have to combine them with another smaller publisher, because I don't think I've played enough of their titles to make a full list. But we'll see!
Here to let you know that I finally started the Trails series because of your love for the games and I am HOOKED. Can't wait to fully explore and experience all of them =)
Where are you at in the story?
@@biblemaneverett6528so I’m done with the prologues of Sky, Zero, and Cold Steel 1 lol but now I’m focusing on Sky first, and then will play them in chronological order without bouncing around. I just wanted to see the different styles and countries a liiiiittle bit just to really familiarize and visualize the whole overarching narrative and world building
@@lavenoustwitch5419 Honestly, a valid idea. I spent 10 months playing 10 games with this series, and I don’t regret it.
@@biblemaneverett6528I love that!! Yeah, I am planning on really powering through them all this year and next
All right!!!🥳
definitely would love to see more
Will do!
I'm playing Trails of Cold Steel II right now, your comments on III and IV have got me even more excited !
It just gets better and better starting with 3!
Glad to see so many Trails games get S-Ranks!
Big surprise right? 😁
Excellent video!!! Love hearing your opinion on each one on these. As usual...lots I still need to play LOL
Whenever I see a video like this one, I'm like "Great, I'm about to spend $200..." 😅
This is seriously one of the best channels out there. I'm so glad I across it last week.
Thank you so much for that!
@@JustTheGems You're welcome! I'm always looking forward to your next video.
You are correct, I do tend to try to figure out twists ahead of time.😊
lol
More of these please!
You got it!
Great list, Brandon. I hope I spelled your name correctly. I agree with you on how we experience a story. I love to be surprised/fooled too. I don’t want to guess where the story is going. Don’t get me wrong there are times where the story is predictable but it’s great when we think it’s predictable and then twists start happening that we weren’t thinking of. Love your channel, brother.
My favourite extended universe from NIS is in The Witch and the Hundred Knight games.
That includes:
The Witch and the Hundred Knight
The Witch and the Hundred Knight2
Labyrinth of Refrain
Labyrinth of Galleria
Because of nonlinear storytelling it can be confusing when you don't pay attention but it is so satisfying when all small details slowly fall into place, unveiling the overarching plot.
Interesting, I didn't realize those were connected! Now I'm even more intrigued. I'm only missing Hundred Knight 2.
This might shed a tear, I haven't played a single game in this list. But they all sound pretty interesting! Would totally watch more of these tier lists from other companies/publishers.
Oh man, well if you check out some of these, you're in for a treat. They put out some of my favorite games these days.
Atelier Marie is released on PC as a remake, and the original is included if you want to play it, but indeed - No physical realease. I personally started playing through the whole pre-Ryza Atelier games, with Rorona as the first one. I play the DX version of all those games, and that version is very much improved upon the original. I can recommend them for all PC owners.
The Danganronpa games did not do it for me. I tried, but could not get "into" them. Oh well - That shows different people have different tastes. I like both Crystar and Crymachina about equal. The language barrier is not that big for me to be honest.
Also you don't say about Stella Glow.
You forgot about the disgaea games my friend that series of rogs are nis gold children
Those are a big blindspot for me, but now that I'm more comfortable with strategy I'm going to be diving in
@JustTheGems got yay the disgaea series can be intimidating at first but once you get your grove in those game you can have the time of your life
Thanks for the list honestly. There are a few I missed. I enjoyed NISA thanks to Ys and Trails but I should really try their others.
Fantastic video! No notes.
P.S. Branden your hair looks nice that length!!! Cheers!
I clearly have not played enough NIS games. I feel like people are really passionate about the Trails, Atelier, and Ys series. I'm going to give Ys X a try when that comes out though.
Well - They are passionate about those games for a reason of course. Maybe they are not your "cup of tea", but I can assure you they are fun games. I personally liked all of them, including some less known games like the Blue Reflection games and Tokyo Xanadu eX+ (and a lot more).
Comment for the algorithm. Have to play all the games first before I watch that Video. Still much appreciated that you covered trails ❤
I appreciate it, thank you!!
If you're interested in giving Atelier another shot, I would strongly recommend Mana Khemia. It has one of the most fun turn-based battle systems I've ever played with a focus on character switching and manipulating a turn timeline much like Trails, and the soundtrack is absolutely killer.
It's such an overlooked gem, I adore it and it's one of my favorite ps2 games. If you're curious, give it a shot.
I've been meaning to, actually! I picked up both 1 & 2 and I've had them for quite some time... I'm glad to hear they're worthwhile
@@JustTheGems Just avoid the psp versions if possible. They're missing a lot of voice acting and have bad loading issues.
There is Rhapsody? or whole Marl Kingdom trilogy? Do you plan play it? At least it's would be faster then Disgaea
I will one day!
Enjoyed the video and got to try Crystar.
I’m with you Branden in regard to loving a twist in the story and in Crystar I think I know the exact one you are referencing because I had the same reaction!!
It’s a shame Crymachina doesn’t have the same level of story impact than Crystar but amazing gameplay, it’s almost like we need to sandwich these games together 😂🍻
That would be PERFECT
Alliance alive got me to respect the saga series
Penguin KeA alone makes Zero an S tier _and you know I’m right_ 😏 great list!
I really can't argue with this. A rank rescinded. 🫡
I recently picked up Legend of Nayuta to hold me over until Daybreak's release. I'm only a handful of hours in, but I'm pleasantly surprised with it so far. The combat isn't exactly my cup of tea but it's simple enough that it isn't giving me a headache. Unrelated, did you see the reveal for Expedition 33? That game looks amazing, I'll definitely be keeping it on my radar.
I am maybe TOO hyped for Expedition 33. That game just looks SO freaking peak. I hope I'm not let down by how much I'm looking forward to it. 😅
For once can I please have some more ado?????
Should do Atlus and Squeenix.
Tier lists are fun and I also enjoy hearing you ramble about games, lol.
Also, Danganronpa is a bit of an interesting series for me, because I normally align with general sentiment about the ranking of games in series' but I don't in the case of Danganronpa. I think the second game is the worst in the trilogy by a wide margin and I was surprised when I learned how much most people like it.
In the case of NISA I think it would be more helpful to separate the games they've created from the games they've just published. I love Trails but those are Falcom games and not at all what NIS style is about. NIS style games are Disgaea, Phantom Brave, etc.... which are also awesome but way different and their own unique style....
Shows a ketchum and then talks about having to play them all.
I like Y's 9 better than 8, mostly due to pacing of the story seems better and think the gameplay was better. Yes, Adol not talking annoyed the heck out of me.
I am not sure why, but I just can not get into Trails series. Maybe the story is just not for me or it at least has never gripped me.
I do not think about what is going to happen in the story, but they feel so obvious to me. Last time I think I found something shocking for a twist it was FF6 and the WoR. Could also say this about books, tv shows and movies.
before watching this video, I went right to the tier list. Danganronpa S, SO TRUE!
Alliance Alive still does require quite a bit of patience on the part of the player, but it is good-better than Romance Saga in my honest opinion.
Romance Saga games like to force very lopsided difficulty curves on their players, so the more battles you fight, the more your Battle Rank-which is invisible-grows. The higher your battle rank goes; the harder the enemies become-to the point where progression can easily become next to impossible and a restart is required.
Personally, I absolutely despise that mechanic. I’m trying to grind Gold pieces for my first set of armor, not run away from 90% of the monster populations in their games.
What Alliance Alive does, instead, is soft cap stat growth in respective regions, or until you overcome a specific story-related boss fight. This way, some monsters will be too strong at first, but they will not grow ungodly strong and zap your party out of existence just because you farmed a few metal slimes.
I mean… is atlus next? Lol great video!
Not a fan of them, but showing you some love. Great content man.
I appreciate that!
The Trails Guy ranks Trails as S rank?! You dont say?! 😂
I'm blowing minds out here
Your beard is always S Tier.
I try. 🧔♂️
This was a really fun watch!
I think I can be pretty generous when a game has an ambitious/unique idea, but Time and Eternity genuinely might be the single worst game I've ever played - and I've played some stinkers in my day. I agree the concept is interesting, but damn the execution just was not there. Awful characters, choppy animations outside of the main girls, uninteresting story, ugly and bland worlds. Outside of the idea behind the game, I liked NOTHING about it.
34:32 I agree 100%.
My own lazy tier list for NISA:
Great: Disgaea 1, 2, D2, DS, Langrisser I&II, Danganronpa 2, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Good: Disgaea 4, 5, 6, 7, Stella Glow, The Alliance Alive, Ar Tonelico 2, Danganronpa 1, 3
Ok: Diagaea 3, Ar Tonelico
Lousy: The Witch and the Hundred Knight, Mugen Souls, Atelier Meruru (just not my thing)
Horrendous: Neptunia 1, 2, Time and Eternity
I definitely understand where you're coming from with T&E. I feel a little more favorably toward it because I find it so fascinating, I think.
Make an atlus tierlist. So many rpgs there
That's gonna have to happen for sure
Shouldnt Trails into Reverie be here as well?
Haha whoops! I'll put a pinned comment. It's an S from me. 😅
@@JustTheGems all good, loved the video, but I'm a trails head and basically shared the same opinions as you, getting into the ys series now, starting with Ys VIII
I was hoping to see the Mana Khemia series on this list, so I could hear your thoughts on it. I recently bought it for the PS2 based off a single song I heard. I thought any game that has battle song this good must be a masterpiece. The gameplay looked pretty good too. I also heard its the predecessor to the Atelier series, which is cool. If you have it in your collection maybe you could start it. If you need some motivation, maybe this song will work on your too haha! ruclips.net/video/ipNKfOEdDDM/видео.htmlsi=3w__Z4Qff17qXyRM
I have never played Danganronpa, i like the look of it, but just never played
Love when you do longer videos!
Hate when you buzz the beard. Boo hiss. 😅
🧔♂️!!
@@JustTheGems lol. Hey, I’ve noticed a dearth of SRPGs (FFT, Tactics Ogre) on your lists. Not into this genre?
@@StopHim I wasn't before, but I'm starting to get into them now!
Is this a list of games only published but not developed by NIS or is it just a coincidence and you have never played NIS developed games?
Sorry, I just saw The Liar Princess. Hmm, I guess you just don't play them then.
I haven't played many Nippon Ichi games, though I would like to. But yes, this is games published by NISA
Please, no more rankings or tier-lists. It's one of the worst trends on RUclips
Aw no way, I think they're fun! I enjoy them at least. Sorry you don't, but I hope you'll stick around for some of my other stuff!