I just love how entertaining you are in these videos Brandon. Great job. For me, there are many but one of the most notable is the Persona series. I am confident I will eventually play all of the major JRPG series but Persona will likely be one of the last ones.
Re: Atelier series, I’m impressed with how diplomatically you put that. I would have said something like, “I want to explore, kill shit, and save the world, not bake cakes and have girly conversations about feelings.” 😂
Hahaha, well to be honest I'm down for having the occasional girly conversation about feelings, though killing stuff and saving the world are also pretty great
Honestly, if I hadn’t grown up with Pokémon, I wouldn’t have played it honestly lol. With Atelier, most have stakes like in the Dusk trilogy and Ryza games, but the journey of an amateur alchemist is more front and center I highly recommend you give them a try
Yeah, I can only reasonably recommend Black/White, X/Y, and Sun/Moon. Even those are a hilariously breezy cakewalk that are more about aesthetics than gameplay in my opinion. If you want some PROPER monster collecting RPG GOODNESS, check out the Yokai Watch series! They're all great!
For Yakuza, Like a Dragon was the one that got me into the series. It is crazy fun to go back in time after finishing it to see how everyone got to where they are, and as it is the first game with a new protagonist you'll feel more like you're missing references and nodes more than the overall plot. Would highly recommend just going for LAD and moving back when you feel like it. The series that I missed up until like 6 months ago was the Trails series, I had heard about cold steel, but was always hesitant to jump into a at time time 8 or 9 game series. Bought them all back in October an hour into Trails in the Sky FC and can't wait to get to all of them... now if only there was enough time.
I was exactly like you with the Ryza games, but have found they are really great palate cleanser games between the super serious games about death. They are usually not very long, characters are fun, systems are engaging, and some pretty incredible soundtracks! After killing god again its nice to just run around and craft some stuff before getting back to the next god battle.
@@JustTheGems I think the story in Ryza in particular is actually really nice. like is it super massive and epic? nope. but it's also not like overly simple and stupid, you really do get attached to the characters and care about them and their journeys a lot.
Love this and I love that some of yours are the same as mine. Also, go for it - play Like a Dragon right away. It's a new protagonist so you can just go for it. I did, lol, I'm still working my way through the Yakuza games but up to date with Ichiban's story with the new ones! It's WAY too good to wait on.
@@JustTheGems I’m not replaying them, I’m just playing them! Slowly but surely!!! I just beat Yakuza 3. So I’ve got lots to go still! LAD has the odd reference to old games but anyone can just play them! Definitely do it!
If you’re gonna play any of these series I’d recommend the shortest ones. Start with the Golden Sun series. I get the lack of enthusiasm for FF14. MMO as well as a paid subscription for it. It’s enough to make you not want to bother.
In my experience, the moment FF XIV goes from good to great is in the story leading up to Heavensward, the first expansion. There are some jaw-droppingly shocking moments in the story, and at this point I was all in. Now it's my favorite Final Fantasy. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, since it was my first MMO and I overlooked the in-game character class tutorials. Somehow I even missed that, as a tank character, I should be turning on tank stance to draw aggro in dungeons and boss fights lol.
My biggest blindspot has to be the SMT games. I’ve never played or owned a single one of them. Though I’m tempted to get Vengeance when it comes out on PS5.
What other RPGs are you into? If you're a Pokemon fan SMT has a lot to offer imo. Filling the compendium gives me a nigh identical rush to filling the pokedex. Since it has yet to release, I can't speak much on Vengeance specifically, but I found the original SMT5 to be great fun (though the story was a bit sparse for my liking). I started with SMT4 in 2021, then played 4 Apocalypse, 5, 3, and am currently going through a fan translation of SMT2. I feel like I'm a new fan, but SMT definitely has its hooks in me. Oh, and a tip: I bought SMT5 about a month after it came out on a crazy sale for like $35 new. If you do plan on taking the plunge on Vengeance, it might be worth waiting a month or two to catch a sale.
I’m kinda like Branden, I was just a little too old for the demo they were pushing the original Pokémon to. So a lot of the “collect ‘em all” games don’t quite hit the same nostalgic button for me as they do with others. I’ve worked with guys who are only a few years younger than me that swear by it, though!
I love Pokémon, but if you’re looking for story, you’ll never fall for these games. I’ve been playing the Ryza series (currently playing 2), and the first one develops into a reasonably epic story. The battles are enjoyable too, so this one might be worth your time!
Good list, the ones that still are blindspots I've yet to play is the Breath of Fire games, Terranigma, the Paper Mario games, Mario and Luigi games, Fire Emblem Awakening, Blazing Sword, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Path of Radiance, Yakuza also, Tokyo Xanadu, both Xenogears and Xenosaga, Dragon Quest, Valkyrie Profile, Blue Reflection, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VII OG and Persona 5 etc,
I think most Final Fantasy XIV fans will tell you that the 2.0 main story and levels 1-50 are the slowest and least engaging section of the game by a very large margin. Even the devs a few years back removed a ton of filler and lowered the overall quest count of the early MSQ. Even after that it's still pretty dull all things considered, but the leadup to Heavensward, the first expansion, really gets the ball rolling and it only gets better from there. As for how long getting through that part will take, it's about the length of a standard single player JRPG. Treat it like Cold Steel 1 and you'll be fine :3
There are many things i love about Pokemon: nostalgia, deep strategy, competitive landscape; but my biggest argument for the series is replayability. Each playthrough is unique and even in Gen 1 (without Natures, IV, etc) the amount of different teams you can have is staggering. Its fun to catch them and raise them and try them out and to get through the games with them. There's also the challenges you can do to increase replayability, i got into Nuzlocking this year and it makes the games actually challenging and even more fun with the amount of possibilities and restrictions you can impose.
If I included RPG maker games, we'd be here all day...😅 I should probably do a video about RPG Maker games at some point, there are a ton of great ones.
RPG Maker games? Try Lunar Wish: Orbs of Fate. Not long, but splendid for being a solo project, and it's free!-probably because it borrows legendary VGM from various classics. The humor is also amazing. I've played it all the way through two or three times and I've convinced one of my online friends to give it a try.
Pokemon, I got into it at the peak of the franchise during Gen 4 and 5. While my favorites of the mainline games have been Platinum and HGSS, if you're looking for a more story driven Pokemon game, I'd recommend picking up the Mystery Dungeon games. My very 1st Pokemon games, and RPGs, were Pokemon Explorers of Time and Darkness, though I'd say get Explorers of Sky as it has way more content, story, and places to visit. I won't say the story is complicated, but it's very heartfelt, you slowly grow to care about the characters, you grow attached to the music, vibe, and beauty of the land, and the need to save it. The soundtrack is just beautiful, and the vibes can go from warm and cozy, to pensive and questioning, and creepy/scary. Just know that it is a dungeon crawler/roguelike, and it can be tedious at times, but if you can get through it, it's fantastic.
Great video as always. I think a lot of Atelier games can have more profound and heavy stories than most people realize. Don’t be fooled by the slice of life vignettes (of which there are many, admittedly 😅)
Hi Brandon! The “Voice of Cards” games are great. They don’t overstay their welcome - the relatively short (by JRPG standards) playtime of each entry is a good match for the relatively simple mechanics. The art direction, however, is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is phenomenal… both being a given for a Yoko Taro and Keiichi Okabe collaboration. I left the game running several times just to enjoy the soundtrack in the background to whatever I was doing around the house (as I’ve done with both “Nier” games, for which Taro and Okabe are arguably most famous). Also, don’t hesitate to start with “Yakuza: Like a Dragon!” It’s fantastic and essentially a standalone experience. I personally started there and went back to “Yakuza 0” while waiting on “Infinite Wealth,” though now that “Like a Dragon Gaiden” is freely available, I would suggest playing that instead of Y0 to see if you engage with the differing playstyle of the pre-Y7 entries (“Gaiden” can be beaten in a dozen hours or less if you skip side quests, making it the perfect taster for the beat-em-up combat and allowing it to serve as a briefer intro to Kiryu as a VERY different style of protagonist to the ever-optimistic Ichiban who headlines Y7 and Y8). By the way… I too have bounced off of the “Atelier” games for now, having finally bought the first “Ryza” during a Switch Eshop sale last year but becoming distracted by other releases. I *will* go back!!
Thanks for the Yakuza advice! Yakuzadvice. And I'm honestly pretty glad to hear Voice of Cards is on the shorter side, I need those smaller pallet-cleanser games from time to time.
So i started with yakuza kiwami, but then stopped that to play yakuza 0 on gamepass. Fell in love with that game, might be the best in the series. Then I went straight to Like a Dragon. After about 9hrs, it felt wrong. I just knew the game was throwing a ton of references at me from previous games and it just didnt feel right to continue. I put it down and went back to Kiwami 1 and now im on Yakuza 4. The progression feels a lot more natural and I know that when I get to Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth, the payoff will be huge! (especially for the latter). As overwhelming as it may sound, I 100% suggest going back to the beginning and working your way up. They're all great games!
The Atelier series is so legendary. I haven't finished all of them, but I have finished most and dabbled in all. I actually think Ryza is one of the weaker entries. Arland Saga all the way! Great video, brother! ❤️
I personally can highly recommend 8 and 9, though Origins is also a top contender in my book. 1 and 2 were sort of middling for me, and Celceta wasn't a favorite. Neither was 7. Felghana and Book of Napishtim are both pretty good, thouh.
IMO the only DQ spin-offs worth playing are the Monsters games. I had always *shrugged* at monsters too, but then I played the demo for The Dark Prince and fell in love. It pulled me into buying/completing the whole series (plus Jokers) and subsequently getting back into Pokémon games that I had dropped and burning my way through those (thought I was too old, but nah). Tried all the other DQ spin-offs afterwards, but none of them hit like Monsters with its OCD-inspiring synthesis system. Have fun if you try! Edit: This vid helped assuage my collection-completion anxiety. It’s good to know other JRPG fans have blind spots and bounce off of widely beloved “classics” and popular spin-offs. Thanks Brandon, I’ve enjoyed your content lately! And I’m glad you’re going to put out more Trails stuff, as I’m finally jumping into Sky FC for the big start.
I'm not sure you'd be impressed by Golden Sun's story, but I have to say I was beyond hooked with the cliffhanger at the end of the first one. That feeling has only been surpassed by the end of Sky FC. While Falcom is just everything, I still think what Camelot did in terms of world-building is incredible, so you should definitely give them a shot!
That's good to hear - I love a solid cliffhanger! It means they've done a good job of getting you invested in the story and the characters, so even though I know they bother some people, that's the main reason I've always been a big cliffhanger guy.
Honestly if a story is what you need to enjoy pokemon, the mystery Dungeon games are where it's at. They're so silly. My blindspots are also definitely Atelier. I have only the PS2 ones and I've never put in even the slightest effort to try them lol
Pokemon Yellow is nostalgic, probably even if you don't have direct nostalgia yourself. After gen 2 it falls off but try those. It's pretty pure and adventurous.
I think Pokemon Yellow was a genius move, coming out after the success of the anime. It'd be interesting to give it a try now, since I didn't actually play it back in the day.
@@JustTheGems Yeah, I agree, they really capitalized on that opportunity, and it's a but curious they never really did something like that again, perhaps for their highly successful first film. My advice is if you do go into the game I wouldn't expect anything mind blowing. It was to kids in the 90's but today just have the expectation of playing a historically significant, quaint passion project that still has charm.
@@Vulpas Yeah, I think approaching it as a curious piece of game history is the best way for an old fart like me to enjoy it when I didn't have that childhood experience with it. Then I can appreciate it for what it is, and not be irritated about what it's NOT.
I'd say my blindspots are many of yours. I haven't played either of the Chrono games. I finally got into Dragon Quest two years ago, and they have become a top 3 for me.
Oh nice - if you have a chance to try out Chrono Trigger, I highly recommend it. I feel like it holds up super well for such an old game, like it could have easily been made today as an indie game and people would still praise it I think.
@@JustTheGems i definitely need to play it. I've heard up and down about it the entire time I've known about RPGs. So we're working on like 20 years of Chrono Trigger breathing down neck. 😂 Also, Golden Sun is great! It's pretty nostalgic to me. The Djinn system is fun, and it definitely gives off that snes era rpg.
Excellent discussion! If you don't mind, I may also discuss this idea on a video of mine as well. I was *exactly* like you with so many RPG and general game franchises not being played...until my gaming mid-life crisis in 2019/2020. Since then, I've actually played through over half of the series that you've mentioned here, but there are still others like Ryza (HATE that name due to personal reasons) and Etrian Odyssey that I have to play.
If you do start with First Departure R and dont care for it, don't write off the entire series as a result. The combat in FDR is simple, and there is a lot of back tracking. I reached a difficulty spike and realized I would need to do a lot of crafting to make progress, so I dropped it. I have not played the recent second story remake, but I have heard the combat is much more fluid and fun. I can say I played Divine Force and loved it. It's not as polished as AAA games, but the characters are likeable, the combat feels great, and the music is awesome. It made me interested in the rest of the series, and I intend to play the rest soon as I can while I continue to chip away at the backlog.
I've dabbled a bit in First Departure R, just like the first 30 minutes or so, and I think I'll at least enjoy it from a nostalgia standpoint (not nostalgia for the actual GAME itself, since I didn't play it back then, but just the vibes of a freshened up old game)
I definitely feel you on the traditional Pokemon games. Like I've always loved the concept of Pokemon in general but I never found the older games super engaging even as a child. That being said, I did really enjoy Legends of Arceus. While the story may not be anything to write home about (though better than the traditional games, imo), I found the new take on the game play style fun and more to my personal taste. You should definitely give Dragon Quest Builders a chance! I absolutely loved those games! I've never played Minecraft and have no interest in it but the Builders have such fun stories and I personally like for my games to have more objectives/structure to follow (probs why Minecraft isn't my jam) while also offering tons of freedom to fulfill them.
Good point about the objectives and structure -- I think that's also a big reason I couldn't connect with Minecraft. There are elements of it that are really cool, but it sounds like DQB has those elements PLUS objectives, so that might make it more palatable for me.
I'd say you should play Golden Sun 1 and 2, and Dragon Quest Rocket Slime. You can ignore the rest ;). I played the Atelier games on the PS2, and like the idea of playing the modern games, but I'm replaying games instead of playing new cozy games during my busy season. I think they'd be fun, but not MUST PLAY. Star Ocean 4 is my favorite (haven't played 1 or 6 ye), but they have strong music and visuals, and pretty good mechanics, but horrible stories and characters. I really wish Tri-Ace would hire a real writer.
Yeah, I've heard they lack in the story department, which bums me out because that's the thing I want the MOST! But I'm still going to give them all a fair shot regardless.
Interesting take. My only advise is to play the one you want eg. Like a Dragon and then if you love it go back and play 1-6. I'm glad that I started with Trails from Zero and Azure. I loved them so much that I bought a Steam Deck to play 1st 3 games. I'm in the middle of 1st game right now.
I'm leaning that way, yeah. I just worry that I'll get used to nice quality of life improvements in later games and then miss them when I go back to earlier ones. But I suppose the earlier Yakuzas are different enough that it might not matter.
For me it's the SaGa series and to be honest I want to try the Romancing SaGa 2 Remake. I know about the perks of the series like formation matters and grinding will be punished because of level scaling even if you flee from battles. Hardcore Jrpgs scare me because I want to play games blind and not use guides so naturally Romancing SaGa 2 will probably give me much trouble so I avoided the series but it's time now to face the challenge and hopefully not hate it.
One of my biggest blind spots is the Trails games. I may pick up Daybreak, but up to now is just a lot of catching up to do, and having so many different games on different systems sucks too (I try my best to keep a series contained to one system as much as possible.) I haven't played any of the Golden Sun games either, but I want to. I played Yakuza 7 as my first game, and had fun for the time I played (I didn't beat it, but got about 50-ish hours in.) There wasn't much you miss in the story except maybe the lore and backgrounds of some characters if you start with 7. Otherwise, it's pretty self-contained.
If you do decide to start with Daybreak, I'd be curious to hear how your experience is (like if it's a good or good-enough starting point for newcomers). Hit me up on Twitter if you want to fill me in: @brandenjohnson
It's funny how many series listed here are also on blind spot list. As for ones that are on my own and how many JRPG fans would say I'm a 'fake gamer' most games from SNES, PS1 and PS2. Even though I grew up around then I just didn't know anybody who played games it wasn't until Highchool with a couple of my mates told me how many I missed. Most of my time on older PlayStation was spent on Tekken, Gran Turismo with my brothers and Ratchet and Clank. Now back to the list at hand: The issue with Pokémon is if you're not a child or have nostalgia with the series then it's difficult to get into them, I'd say try Gen 3 maybe 5 as for spinoffs possibly Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky because of the surprisingly good story. Atelier games are huge on the Lighter tones but the darkest of the series is easily the Dusk games which asks the question 'What happens when all the natural resources die off?'
Great video. My biggest blindspots are Suikoden and Xenoblade. You are correct about: Pokemon. It's just stayed really basic for a long time. Somehow we've had pokemon sounds but no voice acting for 25 years. Arceus is a bit better than the other Switch offerings. Atelier. Sort of the archetype of cozy games. Not very challenging, no consequential decisions to make, get very repetitive quickly. DQ Spinoffs. Monsters is really good for the breeding mechanics, on the other games I'd save your money. Etrian Odyssey. Getting lost over and over isn't my idea of a good gameplay loop either. You are incorrect about: .HACK and sequel series. I love/hate how expensive the first series is, because it has a great story, only slightly limited by clunky gameplay. Sequel series has better gameplay (especially the remaster), but a derivative story. Worth playing. Star Ocean. The remake on Switch is really, really well done. Can't speak to the other games in the series. I don't think playing in release order is necessary, there are only tangential connections between the games IIRC. I can't speak to: Golden Sun, Voice of Cards, Final Fantasy XIV, and Yakuza series, haven't played any of them. Modern Final Fantasy has kinda jumped the shark for me, and I never once looked at GTA and thought "What I really need is a game like this but set in Japan." Golden Sun I'd be interested in, if it weren't stuck on old hardware.
Thanks for the recommendations! Though I will say, if you have the Switch Online expansion thingy, they just put Golden Sun 1 and 2 up on there, so at least that's a bit more accessible now.
- Only DQ spinoff you need to play is Rocket Slime DS - Ryza series is very different from traditional Atelier games. Play Ryza 1,see if you like it - Only Star Ocean game worth playing is SO2. Second Story R is one of the best JRPG remakes, along with Live A Live. - Do not miss Yakuza 7 Like A Dragon. It's fine if you skip 1-6.
I'd highly recommend starting with Pokemon Sun or Moon since you're so big on jrpgs. Sun is my favorite game in the series because it is the most traditional jrpg of the series. Just don't confuse them with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that completely botches the story and removes the best sidequest. Very solid alternatives would be Black and White, Legends Arceus, and the gamecube games Coliseum and XD: Gale of Darkness.
I wish I'd kept Gale of Darkness... I had picked it up at a garage sale for really cheap, and then I saw how much it was WORTH, and I... got greedy and sold it. 😬
Play Golden Sun! The GBA duology is fantastic. I'm also going to speak up for Dark Dawn; it's a good follow up to the first games thematically, with good characters and world-building. The biggest flaw it really has is that it probably won't ever be a finished story. DD ended on a cliffhanger and due to low sales they never got a chance to revisit it.
We have some similar blind spots. Dragon Quest and Golden Sun for me. Also never played any Star Ocean or Etrian Odyssey, though I'm significantly less interested in trying those (my friends have been singing the praises of DQ and GS for over a decade now). As for Pokemon, I'm a straight up fanboy. So take my words with a grain of salt. Pokemon offers so much in regards to player choice. You're given a plethora of choices regarding builds for your pokemon (moves, abilities, natures, EVs, IVs). I also like the method of obtaining new pokemon. The tension in trying to capture an awesome rare pokemon without killing it is great. And the breeding mechanics are fun to mess around with. The replayability is insane. With the exception of the gen 5 and gen 8 games, I've replayed every mainline entry at least once. You can replay the game using only water types, or only using eeveelutions, or only using baby pokemon, or only using starters, or going through the game with nuzlocke rules. While the series hasn't been consistent on this, traditionally Pokemon games offer a lot of sequence breaking freedoms. The newest games Scarlet and Violet offer some of the most freedoms in this regard. Another aspect of the games that draws me in is the creature designs. Imo Pokemon has some of the best monster designs ever - with a perfect balance of cute and cool. Something I find underappreciated is Pokemon's atmosphere. Gen 1 has locations that are genuinely creepy. Gen 2 and 4 had such chill vibes that invoked feelings of walking through a rustic Japanese village or relaxing by a beautiful lake. Relating to atmosphere, the soundtracks in these games are among the very best in gaming. The battle themes really give me that rush, especially the late game themes. And the overworld themes never fail to hit the mark when it comes to an appropriate atmosphere for the setting. Personally, I love Pokemon's balance of strategy and RNG. RNG can really feel like a kick in the pants at times - especially in competitive formats, but with a solid enough strategy, you can always build a team that is prepared for bad luck (or build a team to maximize your own luck, with abilities like serene grace). You could make the argument that most games allow you to play "how you want." But I'd say that Pokemon is one of the best examples of a series offering players a plethora of choices regarding how to play. And I mean independent of the 1000+ pokemon, 900+ moves, 300+ abilities. What you emphasize in your playthrough is totally up to you. Will you focus strictly on building an effective team for battling? or will you focus more on filling the pokedex? Or maybe hunting for shiny pokemon? Each game has its own accoutrements to distract from the turn based battling (gen 2 had thorough world simulator elements - especially for a GBC title, Gens 3 and 4 had pokemon contests - which were like beauty pageants and talent shows, and the latest entries have some mini games. Something I often hear complained about with pokemon is its difficulty. I can guarantee the people that whine about these games are too easy can't even make it to master ball rank (not an impressive feat by any means - but if you're competent that should absolutely be "easy"). The difficulty level in Pokemon games are one of the series' biggest strengths. The main story is easy enough that young children (the franchise's primary demographic) can get through it with a reasonable challenge. While simultaneously offering immense challenges, even for seasoned adults, in the multiplayer and postgame content. Pokemon is totally awesome. From the visuals, the music, the myriad of choices thrust upon the player, this is definitely one of my favorite series of all time - and I am not the type to give such praise lightly. BUT, let it be known that I am an OG. I got my first Pokemon game - Pokemon Yellow Version when I was 6 years old. Despite all the objective (and subjective) praises I can give, this is a series that has been so extremely boosted by nostalgia for me. I remember sifting through playground rumors prior to widespread home internet. I was something of a liaison between the older kids and the younger kids. I'd learn glitches from the big kids then bring my knowledge to the other first graders. Pokemon Yellow is the only game to this day that made me cry real tears. I was playing through the game at a time when most of my friends couldn't read well if at all. My longest lasting friendship is with someone I met when we were 3 years old. And when Pokemon came out the two of us were HOOKED and we both still play to this day. The hype back then was beyond the games. I collected cards, toys, watched the show. Pokemon is THE nostalgia game for me, so nobody should get into the series expecting to become as obsessed as I am. Sorry for being so excessive. Hopefully nobody burned out their retinas reading my novel. PS. Your channel started popping up for me about a week ago and I've been crushing your videos. You have excellent delivery. I love the lack of spastic fake hype. And your humor really hits. Your videos make you come across as very genuine. Digging the content; keep up the good work 👍
Wow, thank you so much for this, both the kind words and for sharing about your Pokemon experience. See, it's stuff like this that makes me legitimately want to really give it a try. Even if I don't have the nostalgia, there's enough in what you said that should genuinely and easily supersede nostalgia. I have several Pokemon games in my collection (cart only DS/3DS mostly, from garage saling over the years). I'll take a look at what I have and give it a shot. Thanks again!
Dragonquest is by a landslide my favorite jrpg series. But the spinoffs are hit or miss. I share some of your blindspots but mostly because i just dont have any interest in playing the games. This is also true for anything tatics based my brain just does not like it. Haha. Solid video sir! Also still been really enjoying trails of cold steel! Bought the other 3 on the steam sale. So im ready to go!
Nice!! I'm glad that all the Trails games are on Steam, makes it SO much easier for people to dive into the series as a whole. I'll be curious what you think of the whole arc!
Please give Pokémon a shot. Not mainline Pokémon, though. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Explorers of Sky is my favorite game ever, and my namesake on nearly every social is a reference to that game. One of my favorite stories in gaming.
As someone who has similar gaming tastes to you, and agrees with most of these skippable series, I will vouche for FF14, it's one of the best FF Stories on par with FF9 IMO (but not better than FF9). It's better than all the modern FFs, but you do need to get through the original release first which is Main Story Quest Lvl1-50. Fortunately, recent patching trims that content down and speeds up leveling. The "good" story that everyone is talking about are in all of the Expansion Content, so you just gotta slog through those Intro Zones and it will pick up afterward. It's totally worth it to play through those Main Story Quest Lines, you do need to partake in some Multiplayer Content but honestly you can Solo probably 75% of the game if you focus only on the Main Story Content. The Yakuza Series is another good one that is worth playing, you can Skip the 6 games because Like a Dragon is a total Reboot with a new Main Character. Obviously you have to enjoy Crime Dramas for Yakuza, since it's not your anime power level battles but it's really about the very serious Organized Crime Drama Storyline juxtaposed with those hilarious comical side quests that create a very special, very japanese story and setting. I also played .hack recently, on Steam, not the Original but the other 3 games that came out afterward and I will say they age poorly and are not worth it. The storyline is not that engaging at all by modern standards. It definitely would have been so awesome back in the PS2 days when I was a younger lad, but as a grown man with much better Video Game Storylines nowadays, it's very juvenile and just not that interesting anymore and the gameplay is incredibly, incredibly repetitive. In conclusion, I Personally give you the Thumbs Up on FF14 and Yakuza, but agree with Thumbs Down on all your other picks, even Atelier which I say are only good as "palate cleanser" between your other main big releases you want to play. (I 100% agree I just can't sit down and devote large amounts of time into a game that is just about making potions and moving up in the alchemy schools ranks and slice of life style)
That's interesting, I'm so not in tune with the way FF14's story is told, but it sounds like sticking it out until the expansions is the way to go. I may have to just try playing it on my PlayStation 5, I think part of the issue is I'm not a big PC gamer and sitting down to try and play it there just never feels quite right. As for Yakuza... I'm leaning toward just playing Like a Dragon and then maybe jumping back to the others if I like it enough.
I've played the first two Voice of Cards games. They're really fun games and about 25-30 hours each. I've been meaning to play the third one for a while now. I also skipped Yakuza 0-6 and played Like A Dragon as my first Yakuza game. I enjoyed it without having any past experience with the first 7 games.
Nice, I'm glad to hear that you can jump right into Like a Dragon. And Voice of Cards at around 25 hours feels right to me, like it wouldn't want to overstay its welcome, but they just seem so charming.
Well, Im new to the whole RPG world. I got on late....like, 2 years ago. Lol. Sooooo, technically, every amazing RPG game that exists is currently in my blind spot. But I am diligently working on correcting this mishap of mine, now. :)
A lot of my blindspots are being fixed by you. so thats cool. I honestly shouldn't buy any new JRPG's as there are so many old ones that are already amazing - but i think i like buying games more than actually playing them, or maybe I just dont have enough time now. Either way, cool video.
Same, I feel like I get a significant rush from buying a new game, and then the task of making TIME for all the games I bought ends up feeling more and more unobtainable.
I was sure we’d see Fire Emblem on this list! You’re missing out. I just started DQ Builders 2 this week and it was immediately incredibly addictive. And I say this as someone who dislikes Minecraft. I highly recommend it.
Oh believe me, I have enough games that fit this description to make 2 or 3 lists...😅 That's good to hear about DQ Builders, I've heard good things in reading about it in general but it's always better when I hear from someone directly.
It’s SMT ( including persona) for me. I own 5 and it’s on my list, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Atelier feels like the perfect palette cleanser cozy game. I just started Ryza as my first foray into the series and it’s so delightful and relaxing. Skip to the Yakuza you want to play!! Life’s too short. Play what you’re excited about.
For which ones of those to start. Definitely the golden sun games. They are fairly short too so you can get through quicker. Star ocean first departure r is fun too if you’re like me and have a compulsion to play games in order. I never played a persona game until last year with p4 golden. Now I own 3,4,5 and their spin-offs. Just gotta play them. I’ve also never played a shining force game so this year I got the first two and the dungeon crawler before, shining in the darkness. And this one is hard to say, but I’ve yet to play chrono trigger. I need to rectify that and own it on steam, but I just haven’t yet.
Oh definitely, Chrono Trigger (and I think this is true and not just me being blinded by nostalgia) actually holds up REALLY well. Like, an indie dev could release that game today and people would think it was fantastic.
You question the Atelier games because of the relaxing low stakes stories, but you really like the Blue Reflection games, right? The Atelier games, especially the Ryza trilogy, are more action-oriented than the Blue Reflection games and have great characters.
your first order of business is to play any atelier game. I've only recently heard of the series and would love to see more people on yt talking about the games to help me figure out how good atelier is (it looks great I just need to figure out which one to start) Uh. Please. also, you can't get hung up on playing all the games in a series unless you really think you like it enough. so unless yakuza has a sequential story that starts in the first one and continues all the way into LAD, I don't see why you should worry about skipping entries
FF14 is a great passion/ timesink of mine! It really is fantastic- been playing for years. It starts very simple but as you get more levels and job unlocks etc, the game really opens up. Its biggest downside for me is it easily saps my time away from playing other JRPGs. If you really did want to get into FF14 the community is the best of the MMOs I've played and I'm sure many people on this channel would help. Myself included although I'm on EU servers!
I genuinely love Pokemon so much but you're right about Pokemon not having a very enthralling story lol. I only really like the stories in Gen 7 and 9. I really like Voice of Cards as well - it honestly doesn't have anything to do with card RPGs, it's just a standard turn-based RPG with a card aesthetic. my blind spots are Yakuza, Mana, SMT, any dungeon crawler, FFXIV, and any Mario RPGs. while I have watched entire playthroughs of Xenogears and Xenosaga, I haven't actually played them. I also have only played the basic bitch Tales (Arise, Vesperia, Abyss, Berseria. not even Symphonia) and only Star Ocean Second Story R. and the only Shining I played was uh Shining Resonance Refrain (I actually liked it don't at me). haven't played Kingdom Hearts since 2 came out when I was in college (falls to dust). I also haven't played any DQ spinoffs, Digimon, or Yo-Kai Watch. I'm a basic Pokemon bitch.
Oh interesting, it's cool to hear that you enjoyed Shining Resonance Refrain! I have that one, haven't played it, and I know the reputation it has, but it seemed cool to me.
Atelier peaked with the Dusk trilogy, IMO. I used to review them every year for RPGFan, and I genuinely looked forward to each one. “The Madden of JRPGs,” I called them. They used to be gentle, breezy, and pastoral. These days they tend to be more straight male gaze-y, with a fair bit of fanservice. It’s not to my taste anymore, but it might be to yours. Either way, I’d recommend trying either the Iris trilogy on PS2 (Iris 2 is especially good) or Atelier Ayesha. Cheers!
Nice! Was always a big fan of RPGFan. That was one of my two main sites for JRPGs growing up. Yeah, the creep factor of some of the Atelier games is a little... much sometimes. It wouldn't necessarily keep me from playing if it's otherwise good, but... yeah. 😬
I typically don't like jrpgs, at least for their stories, and you've hit on 3 of my faves. So, for what it's worth... The Atelier series, which I'd guess you're familiar enough with having Rorona under your belt, has less of a strife-based approach to their games, but still prides itself on character interactions. I feel the later ones do add some strife into the mix, but I've always been more into the crafting system, so I'd be a poor judge of that. All I'd add is that the Ryza series has actual time-based combat instead of turn-based, so if you want a little more chaos in your gameplay, that's the way to go. Golden Sun was pretty much hit spot-on. Story was there, but the scale of the game and puzzles, as well as combat system, made for a crazy adventure. 3rd one wasn't as good, though, feeling lackluster on puzzles and especially the scale. I did feel like the characters were harder to get invested in. Overall, they are great games that have mostly held up today, even the story, I'd argue. DQ Monsters, and other spinoffs, are usually good in their own ways. I don't think of them as story-rich, and as very gameplay centric. That said, The Dark Prince may be enjoyed by you since you actually gave DQ4 a go (I didn't), it follows the storyline from the enemy perspective, I'm told. I didn't get far into builders because of backlog issues, but the 2 monsters games I played lacked story(at least to the scale of the mainlines I played), did play like a unique Pokemon off-shoot, but had what felt like a decent collect-in-your-own-way system, where you can sometimes find a monster in the wild, sometimes get the same monster by direct synthesis (DQM breeding), and sometimes complete long synthesis lines with very low-level monsters. Very interesting to me, compared to the Pokemon systems I was used to. DQ Treasures is hard to speak for, though. I sunk way too much time into that, and really don't have much nice to say about it.
I suspect that if I were to introduce, say, 1 Atelier game into my rotation every several months, that would be a good way of experiencing them without getting burnt out. I do like the chill vibes quite a bit, and the character interactions, so they're ones I definitely want to experience.
Yes, i also I'm pretty nerdy when Harvestella is on the table. I'll say how brilliant is the twist with the amnesia any other day. Atelier i entered recently, a year ago. Ryza is pretty good, also Atelier Sophie 2. Ryza dies have some stakes, especially 1 and third, the island where rhey live is on the line. In the Dusk series there are some risk for the world, but yeah, they're chill; definitely I recommend the Ryza trilogy, Atelier Sophie 2 (the story of the first is very simple and the last boss is annoying, so for me is not that recommended, but the second is amazing), Atelier Escha and Logy has a fun battke system and i recommend that One too. I have the hack GU last recode pack in digital, pretty cheap in sales. I'm yet to indulge in them tough.
Part of me is afraid to go out of order in the Atelier games, just because I do eventually want to play them all, and if I play a later one that has some good quality of life improvements over previous entries, it might bum me out to have to go without this features. But I do want to get to Ryza...
Aaah , I love this man 😔💜 Anyway, as a 29 years old male I agree with majorty of your list I'm not interested in any of them Except for: -Pokemon (played a few entries, and im like a 6/10 fan. it's fine. it's comfort food game-like) -The Atelier series is interesting to me, and I'm afraid that it will suck my wallet and time (I don't have a lot to begin with), but I'm really interested I've heard that it's comfy addictive and funny so I'll see - I'm still planning to play DQ11. I already bought it and I know it's like a vanilla RPG, but still I think I will love it. also Golden Sun and yakuza I wanna play both - tried the furst voice of card .. it was alright... not playing the other 2 Thank you for your amazing content keep it up And excuses the bad engRish
Not sure I'd count the rest of Yakuza as JRPGs but those are definitely top tier for me. At least until Sega pulled a Sega and paywalled basic features behind paid dlc.
With your love of Blue Reflection you will feel right at home with the Ryza trilogy. Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime on the DS was super fun. I love Etrian Odyssey on DS, I recently imported the Origin HD Collection physically for Switch and fell in love all over again. I picked up the .hack G.U. Collection for Switch, still haven't finished the 1st. I'm about halfway through Golden Sun 1 on the GBA NSO, it's really good, I missed them originally
I'm really glad Golden Sun is on Nintendo Switch now, though I may still play it on the Pocket. But I'm happy more people will be able to get to it now.
Of the whole list definitely you should play golden sun 1,2, if you have any interest of the spin off of dragon quest ,builders 2 , heroes 2 and the latets monsters are the best to me. But really dude not playing golden sun being a jrpg lover is THE SIN.
Sorry to say but you got to play all the yakuza games in order. Cant skip the first 6 but it’ll be worth it. To get through it quickly would put it on easy and do plenty of side quests. It’s so quirky and fun.
Of course you can start with whichever Yakuza game you want. Who's going to stop you from doing it? Sure, you might not know some of the characters or maybe some references will go over your head but the stories of the games are very much self contained.
Your procrastination issues sound as bad as mine. I get excited about adding a game to my collection but when it comes to actually playing them I'll always find some excuse not to.
For sure, getting new things is awesome! HAVING things, though, is like... that's just normal. Nothing to get excited about there. 😅 I should probably try a no-buy year or something and try and catch up, but I don't think I'll have the guts.
I’ve never played an Atelier game or gotten into any tactical/strategy RPGs. I do however own Triangle Strategy that I plan to try at some point and Unicorn Overlord looks intriguing. With the exception of Pokémon, just about everything on your list are games/series I’ve never played either.
Yeah, I'm also sitting on copies of Triangle Strategy and Unicorn Overlord, I really want to get into them but I know they're going to be massive timesinks!
All the ones you mentioned I've missed out on too except Pokemon and some of the Star Ocean games. I've also missed out on the Trails, Shining, Nier, and up until recently; Persona games. I would recommend playing the first Pokemon game, it's pretty great, but other than that I haven't really felt the need to play any others.
Oh really, the first as in Blue/Red? I wish I had a physical copy of one of those, to be honest... Or any of the GB/GBA ones. Alas, all I have are DS/3DS entries (though I've heard good things about most of those)
I am going to sound like a broken record as I have suggested Ryza in a few other videos by various creators. It's great one to play after a long jrpg with a heavier story (you know what I am talking about--- great heavier jpgs that leave you drained when beaten). Although different, if you liked Blue Reflection and its sequel, then you will probably like Ryza. My blind spot is the Xenoblade Chronicles games... I have them all, but haven't gotten around to them for various reasons.
I think you're right that there's going to be significant taste cross-over between Atelier and Blue Reflection. I think the BR composer may have even worked on some of the Ateliers? Maybe? Either way, I know the music is super great in that series.
An argument to play Pokémon? If you want something with a bit more serious story, the Gen 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald) and Gen 5 (black, white, and their sequels) have a more involved story to keep you hooked if you want. I think something that could really sell you on them is the music. Pokémon music is iconic. I know for myself it’s not uncommon for me to enter a new area and such sit to soak in the new track. The route music is so adventurous and the battle music goes hard. Maybe this will be the motivation you would like?
First, I would like to say that you are like the Ryan Reynolds version who plays RPGs, and that's a compliment! Second, about Yakuza, I played Like a Dragon first and was totally fine. That was like two moments that would have been more impactful if I had played all the games before(and a little spoiler too), but overall is it a solid complete game and a great start for the series. The big question is the sequel Infinite Wealth have two protagonists, Ichiban (the guy with funny hair and protagonist from Like a Dragon/rpg) and Kiryu (the guy who stars all other games, from 0 to 6 and the extra "The Man Who Erased his Name"). So to continue into the new(and probably best) RPG game of the series, we need to see Kiryu stories through all the other games. You can start with Like a Dragon, have a taste of the series, and go back to the Yakuza 0, or just play the games in order. Anyway, thanks for the video!
Persona is my most notable blindspot. The main reason I can't get into them is their presentation, which is one thing that can make or break a game for me. Characters all wearing the same outfit (school uniforms), the bright and sparkly lighting and animations look really silly to me, I don't like the music... there's more to it, but I don't really know how to put the rest of my thoughts into words. It also doesn't help that people look at me like I'm crazy when I say I have no interest in the series. Telling me I can't let something so "unimportant" stop me from playing the alleged "greatest games ever conceived by man." Nothing ever lives up to that kind of hype. Makes me want to play them even less.
I don’t actually think persona is for everyone. You have to be down for the high school and dating sim aspect of it and the dungeon crawl aspect of it. But presentation? I invite you to reevaluate that stance. These are pinnacles of the genre for presentation. I understand the reservations around uniforms but there is still enough personality to make each character design iconic. Aside from that there is no series aside from maybe final fantasy that can truly compete with Persona ok presentation.
Yeah, I think your instinct is probably right -- it seems like there would be too many hurdles for you to really enjoy Persona as a series. And that's okay! There are SO many dang games out there, there's a ton for everyone.
I beat the first Star Ocean and enjoyed my time with it. Gave up on the 2nd one when i was about halfway through because i found the plot and characters too annoying. Also, if you want to have an easy time with these games i think you really have to be open to engaging with the (complex/convoluted?) crafting system. It wasnt my jam and i think it made my playthrough challenging. Im playing Golden Sun right now and enjoying the hell out of it so far. Interesting story set-up, fun puzzles, interesting turn based combat, and cute friends to collect!
I think you're probably right about how to make Star Ocean more easily playable. I know for a certainty that back in the 90s, I definitely did NOT engage with the crafting at all, and that end-game difficulty spike was just not going to be surmountable without it.
@@JustTheGemsahhh, i just got into the series and have beat sky 1, cold steel 1. But working on sky 2 and loving every bit of it, even have an Estelle pvc figure coming in August!
@@kylecaswell1969 The closest thing I have is probably my video on the best Trails entry to start with, but that's not really "collection" specific and more just series in general.
DRPGs like SMT and Etrian Odyssey, even JRPGs, all descend from the legendary Wizardry franchise. Looks it up, it's single most influential series of all time.
Absolutely. I just read the Complete Guide to Japanese Roleplaying Games recently and they went into a good amount of detail on all the devs who found direct influence from Wizardry. That series might have even been more powerful in Japan than it was here, to be honest.
What? You didnt mention Disgaea? LoL. You definitely have a type of game that you like, but its also good to know you like to stretch that once in a while. Etrian is a game inspired by the old crpgs of the past, which is why I love it so much. Someone at Atlus played them, and felt the genre was top tier. I think the key to enjoying games like that is you habe to engage your imagination and be an active participant, sort of like in a pen and paper game. Most JRPG's are passive games...you play, but the world and characters are given to you, maybe a decision once in a while, but for the most part it takes you for the ride. Its like riding a rollercoaster...while playing a open game, crawler or roguelike is like driving a race car. On FF14, and mmos in general...I tend to put gameplay first before story, so a key to enjoying those games is enjoying the gameplay, and not feeling like you are "digging" or "grinding" to get to the good part. People that enjoy the general gameplay will think an MMO with a decent story is the best thing ever, because the fun time investement has a payoff. If you dont enjoy the gameplay however, its probably best to do something else. Lifes to short to not have fun for hours just to get a payoff. Well that was fun as usual Brandon. Im having fun with Eiyuden...though sadly, I think the people talking about the localization do have a point. Still its a solid game.
rpg's ive not gotten into 1. Xenogears 2. atelier series (this series burnt me multiple times, I think its something about the deadlines made it extremely hard) 3. .hack (sadly this series was expensive to get and hard to find which made me give up quick) 4. star ocean (dunno why just felt confused) 5. xenoblade (dunno its that one game that people don't shut up about which makes me lose interest 6. sword art (I dunno no english dub and jank gameplay) 7. golden sun (gba games just never had a sticking appeal) 8. lunar (dunno I tried it didn't stick) 9.trails of (I keep trying and I really like what I've seen but like a good novel I put it down and come back months later) as for the Yakuza games I really didn't click with them until Like a dragon ichiban as a character really drew me in and like about half way through the tone of the story changes and I was actually left feeling a world of emotions and it was legit fantastic I do truly believe Pokemon Black and white 1 and 2 really are peak Pokemon storytelling
Even though I played almost all the Pokemon games, I don't recommend them for newcomers. The story is boring compared to other JRPGs and if you don't have nostalgic feelings toward the creatures, it won't be as fun. But if you REALLY want to try one, the 3DS ones or the Let's Go are my recommendations (even though you already played Let's Go Eevee. And for the Voice of Cards games, I only played the first one (but bought all of them...) and it's a pretty generic story for a Yoko Taro game but if the visuals are appealing for you, you'll enjoy it!
The EO series is one of my favorites, but I almost never recommend them to people. They are crazy difficult, slow, and have minimal story, all of which are usually turn offs for me...but I love them anyway. If you want to get into the series, I'd recommend EO3 from the recent HD collection. If you just want to play one and you don't think you'll be interested in the series as a whole, I'd say stick with the PQ games or maybe try Nexus on the 3DS
Sorry, too many comments by me for the lose! But I should mention my blindspots. I definitely have a prejudice against cute girl games like Neptunia, Nlue Reflection,Atelier...kind of for the same reasons you described earlier...even near 50, im still grimdark..LOL. but Im going to give some of those games a try. My best friend loves them, and swear by them, and i should challenge my own perceptions once in while. Cheers!
Definitely know the feeling about blind spots. I have a few of my own. Yakuza - just never interested me. SMT/Persona - I tried P4G and hated it. I finished Soul Hackers 2 and it was just okay. Not an impression that leaves me wanting to continue the franchise. Plenty of others, but I think those are probably the biggest names. Also never played Golden Sun or Etrian Odyssey. Just haven't gotten to them yet. From your list - I personally love the Atelier series. These aren't generally "big epic story" games. They're much more about small scale character-focused stories. Ryza is probably the easiest to get into. After that probably the Mysterious trilogy but I thought those were boring. The Dusk trilogy is great, and if you're looking for big epic story, this is the closest you're going to get. Arland is my personal favorite, but not something I'd recommend to a first timer to the series. The original .hack quadrilogy has quite the interesting story, at least as far as I played. But the gameplay is just not there and so I've never finished them all. I've heard .hack//GU is much better, but I want to finish the originals before I play these. Star Ocean - I can wholeheartedly recommend Star Ocean 2. As you're surely heard, the remake is supposed to be excellent. Star Ocean 4 is a great game, though I really dislike the lead character. Star Ocean 1, the SNES one, is not that good, and I don't know the rest.
Yeah, from what I've been able to gather, the Dusk games are definitely the ones with the biggest "scope." But I'm honestly okay with a smaller scale story that has significant CHARACTER stakes at least. I did really enjoy Rorona quite a bit, and I think it'd be fun to play through all the Arland games in order.
@@JustTheGems Well I would say that's the franchise's stock in trade. That and cute girls I suppose. I think that's probably I didn't like the Mysterious games. No stakes.
Because...game too hard, bwahahaa. The amount of grinding I had to do at the end of that game as a kid to beat it was borderline insane. It's too bad you skipped 3 though. That and Suikoden 2 are my all-time favorite games. DQ3 introduced class changing and I couldn't get enough of it. Hopefully that remake comes out soon and you'll have another shot at it.
Oh for sure, I'm DEFINITELY hyped to play the remake of 3. I honestly probably would enjoy the GBC remake of 3 if I gave it a fair shot, but I was also kinda burning out on DQ having played so many in quick succession.
Early Atelier games didn't come out in the West at all (5 or so I think), I believe they want to remake the PS1 entries and release them worldwide at some point. They're all rather 'cozy', though there are more serious elements in a few titles. As for Dragon Quest - DQ III was 'massive' in Japan and basically kicked off the JRPG craze for good, but in the US it sold very poorly by comparison back then. Shame this series rarely does that well in the West, even some spin-offs are solid. FF 14 is the most profitable FF for Squeenix apparently, but I haven't tried it out yet either - it's certainly on my bucket list though!
I think it'd be cool if they redid the OG Ateliers (I know they did Marie already, still haven't grabbed that, so actually whoops, I forgot, I don't have that OR Annie on DS...)
Hey Brandon! thanks for the video, yeah you got a social life with us here, like me! lol Yeah did only play Atelier Annie, but like you I own most of them lol I love Etrian Odyssey, ok I love Dungeon crawler, but this one can be hard, so if you like grinding and fighting hard boss, this could be for you, but I guess not! You can skip ahead, but I know you are like me and love to do series in order... Yeah you need to invest ton of time in FF XIV to get to the good stories part, did play a ton back in 2020, you know when a world event given us some free time lol For me you should go and play the Golden sun first! I need to go back and beat the second one myself, but I did have lot of fun with the first one!
Golden sun and persona series is where I would start, Golden sun is just pure rpg fun. persona is very unique, as long as your not turned off by relationship building type gameplay its got great complex stories. I love the first couple star ocean games but yea they do get a bit .. meh.. by the end. Its not that their bad, its just that their a little TOO similar in alot of ways. Maby play it, but instead of doing them in a row, intersperse them between other series or something would help keep it fresh. They also suffer from being a bit heavily punished if you dont already know some things. IE if you sell the master sword or whatever in star ocean 2 (a relatively early weapon) then you just strait up cant craft alot of the better weapons. And crafting itself has such a high failure rate with unique items required means alot of soft resetting unless you want things to get more challenging than they really should be.
I struggled with the crafting and all that in the original release of SO2. But from what I hear, it's pretty dang important to ensure you're strong enough to handle the endgame....
@@JustTheGems it definitely makes things more difficult if you dont keep up with the crafting and yea SO many resets to get the stuff to turnout right (Eternal Sphere is the most important). You can actually do alot to help the odds, but alot of it is not clearly outlined or explained, for example theres music you can play if you have someone learn that specialty that raises your odds of success while the song lasts. If you know all the tricks and what items are important to the crafting chain its reasonable and even kind of fun. The issue is that for a first time through your NOT going to know all that stuff that without alot of research. Latter instalments did improve the crafting in alot of ways to make it less annoying. I dont think chronology actually matters at all for the star ocean games, maby try one of the more recent ones and see if you enjoy it then its probably worth doing the whole series eventually?
The crazy thing for me is, the anime was on back when I was just starting to get OBSESSED with anime. Like, I watched anything that was anime back then, even if it's not something I was really into. So strange that I didn't get caught up in the Pokemon hype at all somehow...
Can't believe you've never played a Pokemon game! 😮 Well I'm that one guy who's never played a Final Fantasy game in return 😂 And I feel the same with dungeon crawlers, to me personally they're a little more on the boring side of JRPGs, but maybe I'll change my mind one day! Awesome video as always dude, enjoyed this one a ton 😎
For dungeon crawlers, I had the impression that they were all really light on story, but I'm starting to find some examples where that isn't the case, so I'm becoming intrigued....
With Pokemon, just play Heart Gold/Soul Silver and you will never have to play another one if it doesnt click. Do not start with the newer entries on switch. Theyre too easy and are buggy as hell. They do not give you a good impression of what a good pokemon game is. With Atelier, the Ryza trilogy feels like a very different game to the older ones. The older ones can be quite punishing with strict time limits whereas Ryza feels more like a tradition JRPG that happens to also have a deep alchemy system. Golden Sun is an awesome series and one of my most wanted for remakes/successor. At the time, the graphics were phenomenal (especially the summon animations) but they can be quite jarring now if you play on a bigger screen.
Yeah, I think handheld on the Pocket is probably my ideal way to play Golden Sun now. Which is great, it gives me an excuse to bust that thing out, it's so cool.
A comment I made on another of your videos that I'll re-post here: you do know that the last three Star Ocean games (4, 5 and 6) are prequels right? I played Star Ocean 3, till the end of time, which is the last game in the timeline, and it holds a special distinction for me: it is, at the same time, one of the best games I've ever played and also the one game that I will absolutely never play again. I got all the way to the very end, but what they did with the end-game was just disgusting to me, and I stopped playing the game right as I was about to get to the final boss because I couldn't stand the plot. Star Ocean 2 is good, but be warned: the plot of 3 is very controversial, some people absolutely love it to death, and others hate it with a burning passion. Star Ocean 3 is, in short, the Last Jedi of Video Games. I played Second Story R a few weeks ago and that game is really good. I get that you stopped playing Dragon Quest 8. 8 and 5 are probably my two favorite Dragon Quest games, but it's clear that 11 is the better entry point because 11 has a very smooth difficulty curve. 8 is not like that, it has massive difficulty spikes all throughout the game. I finished it years ago, but there's no denying that the game is grindy as hell in a lot of places. It's a fantastic game, but it's also a game that will stop the story progression and force you to level up a bunch before you can continue. I loved it, but I'm also pretty sure it's a game I'll never replay. Don't worry about the first however many Yakuza games, Like a Dragon is a whole new story with a brand new protagonist. It's like starting trails with the Calvard arc, sure Kiryu is still there, and he does show up at one point towards the end of the game, but Like a Dragon is Ichiban's game, and Kiryu shows up to guide Ichiban and offer the sage and wise advice of a veteran when Ichiban most needs it. You don't need to have played any of the previous Yakuza games; there will be a point where some of the previous games heavyweights show up for a boss fight (it's helpful to know who the mad dog of Shadaloo and his brother are) and also there is that aforementioned part of the story where Kiryu shows up to mentor ichiban and pass the torch, but this isn't the trails series, the connection between like a dragon and the previous games is very, very small.
Oh yes, I've heard all about the twist in Star Ocean 3... I'm hoping that knowing it's coming will lessen the negative impact.😅But anyway, I think I'll enjoy DQ8 more now. Back in the day, I did NOT like to grind, but now I find it soothing.
I'm not sure how you feel about emulation but hear me out... Pokemon Unbound is a Pokemon fan game that actually has a great story. For a Pokemon game. Anyway, I haven't played a lot of these too but you know I'll bring up Golden Sun any chance I can. I have no idea if this will help motivate it you or not, but the first game has a maybe a 20 hour main story so it's not a huge time commitment. I haven't played a lot of the biggest JRPGs (Xenoblade, Persona, etc.) because the time commitment is so daunting. I have three kids and a job, how on earth can I put in enough hours? Shorter JRPGs are my favorite.
I LOVE shorter JRPGs. I'm glad to hear Golden Sun isn't an enormous time sink. Also, I'm totally onboard with emulation, I think it's generally fantastic!
You don’t have to complete a game to play it. Except 13 sentinels. You have to complete THAT game. I actually think this is valid for many JRPG’s, especially story-lite games like Pokémon. Seeing my wife play the newer Pokémon made me boot up scarlet and played 5 hours. I played and beat red and gold back in the day and “video games have come a long way since pac-man”. I don’t have to beat the new one to enjoy it. I personally played 10 hours of Ryza and I’m unlikely to go back and finish it. Really great game though. I haven’t played Rorona, but I bet it’s a good game too. Regarding golden I think it’s worth playing 5-10 hours to get exposure to the djinn/class system and environment puzzles. I don’t think it’s actually necessary to play through both games to understand what is beloved of the game. This is coming from someone who has 100% both games and replayed multiple times. Of these games on the list, I would put Golden Sun at the too assuming you haven’t played it at all. Really just be confident that you can speak on games you haven’t sunk 100 hours into. And yeah play like a dragon…one yakuza game is better than no yakuza games
Honestly, for me, the biggest reason I play is the story, so not completing the game isn't an option -- that is, unless the story isn't working for me. In that case, I will drop a game without completing it (I think the most recent game that happened with was Astria Ascending. I would have probably kept with it, but I wasn't SUPER engaged by the story, and the gameplay wasn't working for me besides that, so it was kind of a double-whammy). But outside of RPGs where story is the main focus, I do feel the same - like I haven't "beaten" Mario Wonder, but I played a good bit of it and enjoyed the heck out of it, so I feel like I "played" it, you know?
@@JustTheGems I completely agree on the importance of story and share the same “not completing the game isn’t an option” mentality. My comment was from that perspective and how I try to approach my blindspots. Golden sun has a good story but the dialogue is a bit drawn out sometimes. It makes it hard for me to recommend. Nowadays I imagine the game with punched up writing.
The biggest issue with FFXIV as with most MMORPGs, on boarding later in it's life can be hit or miss. The free trial is quite generous but it cannot save you time unfortunately. They have streamlined a lot of the fetch quests and I'd say from 2.0(where one starts in the story) it doesn't get truly good until one starts getting past content from say patch 2.3 or so. The story is a slow burn and it's tough to put a time estimate on it because it depends on your reading speed, how long you wait for dungeons and if you skip minor cutscenes and side questing. I'd say side quests add to the world but are far from needed. If you burn through everything the story gets real good around Heavensward or the towns to the north but heats up after dealing with a lot of the original releases content. Maybe 30 hours?
In regards to Pokémon, I’d posit that looking to the newer games to try and “get into Pokémon” is not the way to go. Especially for someone like you that has no problems playing older/retro games, I’d really recommend generations 3-5. Those would be the games on the GBA and DS. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald for gen 3, Platinum for gen 4, and Black/White for gen 5. There are also the first remakes of gen 1, FireRed/LeafGreen, but that’s the same general setting and story you played in Let’s Go Eevee so probably skip those, and then the remakes of gen 2, HeartGold/SoulSilver which many consider among the best Pokémon games ever. The games aren’t just about catching ‘em all, that’s not really the goal. You can just get a handful of Pokémon you like to make a team and never catch anything again for the most part. For me the appeal of Pokémon, at least on the gameplay side, is similar to the appeal of a job system in a Final Fantasy game. You get to pick and choose from among many jobs/Pokémon to make a team that can face any challenges you will face. “Physical resistant enemy? Better pull my Knight back and use my Black Mage” turns the same gears in my head as “Fire-type Pokémon? Better pull my Grass-type back and use my Water-type”. As the game goes on you get more options for jobs/Pokémon and can tweak and improve your team as you wish. On the story front, they aren’t the deepest RPG narratives you ever played or anything, but they have some stakes and interesting plots. Gen 3 for example is all about extreme environmentalists using legendary Pokémon to try and either flood the world or dry out the oceans to make more habitats for Pokémon, consequences for humans and the planet be damned. But really the main plot is usually not the biggest draw, it’s more about the smaller stories and lore and such of various legendary Pokémon or particular trainers, and your character’s overall journey to go out into the world and have an adventure with Pokémon. Overall I’d say it’s more of a gameplay-focused RPG than a story-focused one. If RPG systems and combat mechanics and figuring out weaknesses and party balancing and stuff appeals to you, then Pokémon has immense depth to give you that.
Based on this and some other comments, I'm thinking I might try Black. That seems like a good mix of all the positives people want to highlight and very few of the negatives.
@@JustTheGems I think that’s a great place to start. Those games also did a really neat thing where they took out all the old Pokémon from previous gens and only had a brand new 150 available until after you beat the game. It put everyone on an even playing field of learning new Pokémon and what they are capable of. I also think Black/White were the pinnacle of sprite based Pokémon. Those are good looking games!
Our taste is almost identical down to our obsession with harvestella. Even our back log is similar I hated dungeon crawlers until undernauts recently that changed my opinion completely it was incredible and so dark. Just started the atelier riza games and thought what’s the point is it dark enough but actually really enjoying them I’m hoping for them to get a bit dark but not sure 😅. Also the Hack series I have started the soundtrack is incredible and the world is actually addictive I just seem to start stuff but kinda move on and forget.
@@JustTheGems such a great game I didn’t like first person dungeon crawlers but the premise intrigued me also then I looked at my time and I had no idea where the hrs went plus such a epic title screen song
I just love how entertaining you are in these videos Brandon. Great job. For me, there are many but one of the most notable is the Persona series. I am confident I will eventually play all of the major JRPG series but Persona will likely be one of the last ones.
Thank you! You might enjoy Persona, they're VERY different from most JRPGs, but the vibe and characters are very cool.
Re: Atelier series, I’m impressed with how diplomatically you put that. I would have said something like, “I want to explore, kill shit, and save the world, not bake cakes and have girly conversations about feelings.” 😂
Hahaha, well to be honest I'm down for having the occasional girly conversation about feelings, though killing stuff and saving the world are also pretty great
Honestly, if I hadn’t grown up with Pokémon, I wouldn’t have played it honestly lol.
With Atelier, most have stakes like in the Dusk trilogy and Ryza games, but the journey of an amateur alchemist is more front and center
I highly recommend you give them a try
Aside from Ryza, the Dusk trilogy are the ones that look the most outwardly interesting to me. I'm gonna make a point to get to them!
The 3DS Pokemon games might be a better late entry than the switch ones. I got into those hard when they came out
Yeah, they do seem to be generally much better accepted by the fanbase.
Yeah, I can only reasonably recommend Black/White, X/Y, and Sun/Moon. Even those are a hilariously breezy cakewalk that are more about aesthetics than gameplay in my opinion. If you want some PROPER monster collecting RPG GOODNESS, check out the Yokai Watch series! They're all great!
X & Y got me back into Pokemon after basically my last game being Gold and are way better entry points than the Switch games currently.
For Yakuza, Like a Dragon was the one that got me into the series. It is crazy fun to go back in time after finishing it to see how everyone got to where they are, and as it is the first game with a new protagonist you'll feel more like you're missing references and nodes more than the overall plot. Would highly recommend just going for LAD and moving back when you feel like it. The series that I missed up until like 6 months ago was the Trails series, I had heard about cold steel, but was always hesitant to jump into a at time time 8 or 9 game series. Bought them all back in October an hour into Trails in the Sky FC and can't wait to get to all of them... now if only there was enough time.
Good advice! And yeah... time... having more of that would be nice...!
I was exactly like you with the Ryza games, but have found they are really great palate cleanser games between the super serious games about death. They are usually not very long, characters are fun, systems are engaging, and some pretty incredible soundtracks! After killing god again its nice to just run around and craft some stuff before getting back to the next god battle.
I can get behind that. And I'll 100% agree, everything I've heard of the soundtracks from Atelier games are TOP NOTCH
@@JustTheGems I think the story in Ryza in particular is actually really nice. like is it super massive and epic? nope. but it's also not like overly simple and stupid, you really do get attached to the characters and care about them and their journeys a lot.
Love this and I love that some of yours are the same as mine. Also, go for it - play Like a Dragon right away. It's a new protagonist so you can just go for it. I did, lol, I'm still working my way through the Yakuza games but up to date with Ichiban's story with the new ones! It's WAY too good to wait on.
Oh interesting! For some reason I thought you were RE-playing those Yakuza games. But I'm glad to hear I can jump right in with LaD!
@@JustTheGems I’m not replaying them, I’m just playing them! Slowly but surely!!! I just beat Yakuza 3. So I’ve got lots to go still! LAD has the odd reference to old games but anyone can just play them! Definitely do it!
Totally agree! Go play like a dragon. Fantastic game. Also hey Femtrooper 👋
If you’re gonna play any of these series I’d recommend the shortest ones. Start with the Golden Sun series. I get the lack of enthusiasm for FF14. MMO as well as a paid subscription for it. It’s enough to make you not want to bother.
I think Golden Sun as a starting point makes a lot of sense. Easily digestible, and something I can do in between playing bigger games.
In my experience, the moment FF XIV goes from good to great is in the story leading up to Heavensward, the first expansion. There are some jaw-droppingly shocking moments in the story, and at this point I was all in. Now it's my favorite Final Fantasy.
I had no idea what I was doing when I started, since it was my first MMO and I overlooked the in-game character class tutorials. Somehow I even missed that, as a tank character, I should be turning on tank stance to draw aggro in dungeons and boss fights lol.
Haha, I tend to skim tutorials, so I'm afraid I'd end up COMPETELY lost in a game as complex as FFXIV. We shall see.....
My biggest blindspot has to be the SMT games. I’ve never played or owned a single one of them. Though I’m tempted to get Vengeance when it comes out on PS5.
SMTV was my first. I got it at launch and it really is as good as they say!! It's AMAZING!!
What other RPGs are you into? If you're a Pokemon fan SMT has a lot to offer imo. Filling the compendium gives me a nigh identical rush to filling the pokedex. Since it has yet to release, I can't speak much on Vengeance specifically, but I found the original SMT5 to be great fun (though the story was a bit sparse for my liking). I started with SMT4 in 2021, then played 4 Apocalypse, 5, 3, and am currently going through a fan translation of SMT2. I feel like I'm a new fan, but SMT definitely has its hooks in me.
Oh, and a tip: I bought SMT5 about a month after it came out on a crazy sale for like $35 new. If you do plan on taking the plunge on Vengeance, it might be worth waiting a month or two to catch a sale.
I can say I really enjoyed SMT 3, but SMT 4 didn't click with me for whatever reason. I still haven't gotten around to 5 myself...
I’m kinda like Branden, I was just a little too old for the demo they were pushing the original Pokémon to. So a lot of the “collect ‘em all” games don’t quite hit the same nostalgic button for me as they do with others. I’ve worked with guys who are only a few years younger than me that swear by it, though!
Just came by to give you permission to skip to Yakuza: Like a Dragon lol! Was my first Yakuza game and absolutely loved it!!
LAD is a great standalone game for sure. You start missing out in Infinite Wealth when old characters return
@@adam_antoise I’m feeling that started infinite wealth and really wanting to go back and finish the old games now
Yeah, maybe Like a Dragon first, then go back, then Infinite Wealth... We'll see!
I love Pokémon, but if you’re looking for story, you’ll never fall for these games. I’ve been playing the Ryza series (currently playing 2), and the first one develops into a reasonably epic story. The battles are enjoyable too, so this one might be worth your time!
That's what I've heard about Ryza, so I'm glad to get more confirmation!
Good list, the ones that still are blindspots I've yet to play is the Breath of Fire games, Terranigma, the Paper Mario games, Mario and Luigi games, Fire Emblem Awakening, Blazing Sword, Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Path of Radiance, Yakuza also, Tokyo Xanadu, both Xenogears and Xenosaga, Dragon Quest, Valkyrie Profile, Blue Reflection, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VII OG and Persona 5 etc,
There are some BANGERS on that list, so you have a lot of great stuff to look forward to!
I think most Final Fantasy XIV fans will tell you that the 2.0 main story and levels 1-50 are the slowest and least engaging section of the game by a very large margin. Even the devs a few years back removed a ton of filler and lowered the overall quest count of the early MSQ. Even after that it's still pretty dull all things considered, but the leadup to Heavensward, the first expansion, really gets the ball rolling and it only gets better from there. As for how long getting through that part will take, it's about the length of a standard single player JRPG. Treat it like Cold Steel 1 and you'll be fine :3
The more I read about how good it gets, the more I want to just freaking go for it...
It is my favorite RPG out of about 80 completed RPG. You need to get to the end of Endwalker for the catharsis tho
There are many things i love about Pokemon: nostalgia, deep strategy, competitive landscape; but my biggest argument for the series is replayability. Each playthrough is unique and even in Gen 1 (without Natures, IV, etc) the amount of different teams you can have is staggering. Its fun to catch them and raise them and try them out and to get through the games with them. There's also the challenges you can do to increase replayability, i got into Nuzlocking this year and it makes the games actually challenging and even more fun with the amount of possibilities and restrictions you can impose.
I honestly had a good amount of fun watching Pokemon Nulock videos a couple years ago, so I can definitely see the appeal!
I loved Dragon Quest Treasures. Enormously enjoyable!
My blind spots are many.
Atelier, Megami Tensei, Might and Magic, Ultima, Fate/Extra, dozens of RPG Maker games...
If I included RPG maker games, we'd be here all day...😅 I should probably do a video about RPG Maker games at some point, there are a ton of great ones.
@@JustTheGems indeed!
You poor thing...
RPG Maker games? Try Lunar Wish: Orbs of Fate. Not long, but splendid for being a solo project, and it's free!-probably because it borrows legendary VGM from various classics. The humor is also amazing. I've played it all the way through two or three times and I've convinced one of my online friends to give it a try.
Pokemon, I got into it at the peak of the franchise during Gen 4 and 5. While my favorites of the mainline games have been Platinum and HGSS, if you're looking for a more story driven Pokemon game, I'd recommend picking up the Mystery Dungeon games.
My very 1st Pokemon games, and RPGs, were Pokemon Explorers of Time and Darkness, though I'd say get Explorers of Sky as it has way more content, story, and places to visit. I won't say the story is complicated, but it's very heartfelt, you slowly grow to care about the characters, you grow attached to the music, vibe, and beauty of the land, and the need to save it.
The soundtrack is just beautiful, and the vibes can go from warm and cozy, to pensive and questioning, and creepy/scary. Just know that it is a dungeon crawler/roguelike, and it can be tedious at times, but if you can get through it, it's fantastic.
Great video as always. I think a lot of Atelier games can have more profound and heavy stories than most people realize. Don’t be fooled by the slice of life vignettes (of which there are many, admittedly 😅)
And honestly, I enjoy the slice of life vignettes too, I kinda wish more games would do that sort of thing.
Hi Brandon! The “Voice of Cards” games are great. They don’t overstay their welcome - the relatively short (by JRPG standards) playtime of each entry is a good match for the relatively simple mechanics. The art direction, however, is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is phenomenal… both being a given for a Yoko Taro and Keiichi Okabe collaboration. I left the game running several times just to enjoy the soundtrack in the background to whatever I was doing around the house (as I’ve done with both “Nier” games, for which Taro and Okabe are arguably most famous).
Also, don’t hesitate to start with “Yakuza: Like a Dragon!” It’s fantastic and essentially a standalone experience. I personally started there and went back to “Yakuza 0” while waiting on “Infinite Wealth,” though now that “Like a Dragon Gaiden” is freely available, I would suggest playing that instead of Y0 to see if you engage with the differing playstyle of the pre-Y7 entries (“Gaiden” can be beaten in a dozen hours or less if you skip side quests, making it the perfect taster for the beat-em-up combat and allowing it to serve as a briefer intro to Kiryu as a VERY different style of protagonist to the ever-optimistic Ichiban who headlines Y7 and Y8).
By the way… I too have bounced off of the “Atelier” games for now, having finally bought the first “Ryza” during a Switch Eshop sale last year but becoming distracted by other releases. I *will* go back!!
Thanks for the Yakuza advice! Yakuzadvice.
And I'm honestly pretty glad to hear Voice of Cards is on the shorter side, I need those smaller pallet-cleanser games from time to time.
So i started with yakuza kiwami, but then stopped that to play yakuza 0 on gamepass. Fell in love with that game, might be the best in the series. Then I went straight to Like a Dragon. After about 9hrs, it felt wrong. I just knew the game was throwing a ton of references at me from previous games and it just didnt feel right to continue. I put it down and went back to Kiwami 1 and now im on Yakuza 4. The progression feels a lot more natural and I know that when I get to Like a Dragon and Infinite Wealth, the payoff will be huge! (especially for the latter). As overwhelming as it may sound, I 100% suggest going back to the beginning and working your way up. They're all great games!
That's my instinct, too. And I suppose there's no rush, I can do them a bit at a time.
I always save your videos for when I’m grinding in a JRPG. Currently it’s xenoblade chronicles 2. I enjoy your concert have a great day 👍🏻
Oh man, as someone who does something similar, this is a very high honor - thank you!
The Atelier series is so legendary. I haven't finished all of them, but I have finished most and dabbled in all. I actually think Ryza is one of the weaker entries. Arland Saga all the way! Great video, brother! ❤️
Thanks man! I think I'm gonna go in order, finish out the Arland games first and foremost.
My blind spot is probably the ys games never touched on yet. They look really up my alley too.
I personally can highly recommend 8 and 9, though Origins is also a top contender in my book. 1 and 2 were sort of middling for me, and Celceta wasn't a favorite. Neither was 7. Felghana and Book of Napishtim are both pretty good, thouh.
IMO the only DQ spin-offs worth playing are the Monsters games. I had always *shrugged* at monsters too, but then I played the demo for The Dark Prince and fell in love. It pulled me into buying/completing the whole series (plus Jokers) and subsequently getting back into Pokémon games that I had dropped and burning my way through those (thought I was too old, but nah).
Tried all the other DQ spin-offs afterwards, but none of them hit like Monsters with its OCD-inspiring synthesis system. Have fun if you try!
Edit: This vid helped assuage my collection-completion anxiety. It’s good to know other JRPG fans have blind spots and bounce off of widely beloved “classics” and popular spin-offs. Thanks Brandon, I’ve enjoyed your content lately! And I’m glad you’re going to put out more Trails stuff, as I’m finally jumping into Sky FC for the big start.
Let me know how you're liking Trails!
I'm not sure you'd be impressed by Golden Sun's story, but I have to say I was beyond hooked with the cliffhanger at the end of the first one. That feeling has only been surpassed by the end of Sky FC. While Falcom is just everything, I still think what Camelot did in terms of world-building is incredible, so you should definitely give them a shot!
That's good to hear - I love a solid cliffhanger! It means they've done a good job of getting you invested in the story and the characters, so even though I know they bother some people, that's the main reason I've always been a big cliffhanger guy.
Honestly if a story is what you need to enjoy pokemon, the mystery Dungeon games are where it's at. They're so silly. My blindspots are also definitely Atelier. I have only the PS2 ones and I've never put in even the slightest effort to try them lol
The thing is, I actually was finding Iris 1 really charming, I'm not sure why I stopped playing it.
Star Ocean The Divine Force is a lot of fun because you can explore vertically with your Duma ball.
Oh yeah, from the trailers that looked pretty dang cool
Star Ocean First Departure R is good!
Pokemon Yellow is nostalgic, probably even if you don't have direct nostalgia yourself. After gen 2 it falls off but try those. It's pretty pure and adventurous.
I think Pokemon Yellow was a genius move, coming out after the success of the anime. It'd be interesting to give it a try now, since I didn't actually play it back in the day.
@@JustTheGems Yeah, I agree, they really capitalized on that opportunity, and it's a but curious they never really did something like that again, perhaps for their highly successful first film.
My advice is if you do go into the game I wouldn't expect anything mind blowing. It was to kids in the 90's but today just have the expectation of playing a historically significant, quaint passion project that still has charm.
@@Vulpas Yeah, I think approaching it as a curious piece of game history is the best way for an old fart like me to enjoy it when I didn't have that childhood experience with it. Then I can appreciate it for what it is, and not be irritated about what it's NOT.
I'd say my blindspots are many of yours. I haven't played either of the Chrono games. I finally got into Dragon Quest two years ago, and they have become a top 3 for me.
Oh nice - if you have a chance to try out Chrono Trigger, I highly recommend it. I feel like it holds up super well for such an old game, like it could have easily been made today as an indie game and people would still praise it I think.
@@JustTheGems i definitely need to play it. I've heard up and down about it the entire time I've known about RPGs. So we're working on like 20 years of Chrono Trigger breathing down neck. 😂 Also, Golden Sun is great! It's pretty nostalgic to me. The Djinn system is fun, and it definitely gives off that snes era rpg.
Excellent discussion! If you don't mind, I may also discuss this idea on a video of mine as well.
I was *exactly* like you with so many RPG and general game franchises not being played...until my gaming mid-life crisis in 2019/2020. Since then, I've actually played through over half of the series that you've mentioned here, but there are still others like Ryza (HATE that name due to personal reasons) and Etrian Odyssey that I have to play.
Yeah, by all means, I'd love to see your list! Doing a gaming mid-life crisis video would be pretty awesome, too. I had something kinda similar.
Funny enough, Ryza actually has a story with fairly high stakes. For an Atelier game anyway.
If you do start with First Departure R and dont care for it, don't write off the entire series as a result. The combat in FDR is simple, and there is a lot of back tracking. I reached a difficulty spike and realized I would need to do a lot of crafting to make progress, so I dropped it. I have not played the recent second story remake, but I have heard the combat is much more fluid and fun. I can say I played Divine Force and loved it. It's not as polished as AAA games, but the characters are likeable, the combat feels great, and the music is awesome. It made me interested in the rest of the series, and I intend to play the rest soon as I can while I continue to chip away at the backlog.
I've dabbled a bit in First Departure R, just like the first 30 minutes or so, and I think I'll at least enjoy it from a nostalgia standpoint (not nostalgia for the actual GAME itself, since I didn't play it back then, but just the vibes of a freshened up old game)
I definitely feel you on the traditional Pokemon games. Like I've always loved the concept of Pokemon in general but I never found the older games super engaging even as a child. That being said, I did really enjoy Legends of Arceus. While the story may not be anything to write home about (though better than the traditional games, imo), I found the new take on the game play style fun and more to my personal taste.
You should definitely give Dragon Quest Builders a chance! I absolutely loved those games! I've never played Minecraft and have no interest in it but the Builders have such fun stories and I personally like for my games to have more objectives/structure to follow (probs why Minecraft isn't my jam) while also offering tons of freedom to fulfill them.
Good point about the objectives and structure -- I think that's also a big reason I couldn't connect with Minecraft. There are elements of it that are really cool, but it sounds like DQB has those elements PLUS objectives, so that might make it more palatable for me.
I'd say you should play Golden Sun 1 and 2, and Dragon Quest Rocket Slime. You can ignore the rest ;). I played the Atelier games on the PS2, and like the idea of playing the modern games, but I'm replaying games instead of playing new cozy games during my busy season. I think they'd be fun, but not MUST PLAY. Star Ocean 4 is my favorite (haven't played 1 or 6 ye), but they have strong music and visuals, and pretty good mechanics, but horrible stories and characters. I really wish Tri-Ace would hire a real writer.
Yeah, I've heard they lack in the story department, which bums me out because that's the thing I want the MOST! But I'm still going to give them all a fair shot regardless.
Interesting take. My only advise is to play the one you want eg. Like a Dragon and then if you love it go back and play 1-6. I'm glad that I started with Trails from Zero and Azure. I loved them so much that I bought a Steam Deck to play 1st 3 games. I'm in the middle of 1st game right now.
I'm leaning that way, yeah. I just worry that I'll get used to nice quality of life improvements in later games and then miss them when I go back to earlier ones. But I suppose the earlier Yakuzas are different enough that it might not matter.
For me it's the SaGa series and to be honest I want to try the Romancing SaGa 2 Remake. I know about the perks of the series like formation matters and grinding will be punished because of level scaling even if you flee from battles. Hardcore Jrpgs scare me because I want to play games blind and not use guides so naturally Romancing SaGa 2 will probably give me much trouble so I avoided the series but it's time now to face the challenge and hopefully not hate it.
One of my biggest blind spots is the Trails games. I may pick up Daybreak, but up to now is just a lot of catching up to do, and having so many different games on different systems sucks too (I try my best to keep a series contained to one system as much as possible.) I haven't played any of the Golden Sun games either, but I want to. I played Yakuza 7 as my first game, and had fun for the time I played (I didn't beat it, but got about 50-ish hours in.) There wasn't much you miss in the story except maybe the lore and backgrounds of some characters if you start with 7. Otherwise, it's pretty self-contained.
If you do decide to start with Daybreak, I'd be curious to hear how your experience is (like if it's a good or good-enough starting point for newcomers). Hit me up on Twitter if you want to fill me in: @brandenjohnson
It's funny how many series listed here are also on blind spot list. As for ones that are on my own and how many JRPG fans would say I'm a 'fake gamer' most games from SNES, PS1 and PS2. Even though I grew up around then I just didn't know anybody who played games it wasn't until Highchool with a couple of my mates told me how many I missed. Most of my time on older PlayStation was spent on Tekken, Gran Turismo with my brothers and Ratchet and Clank. Now back to the list at hand: The issue with Pokémon is if you're not a child or have nostalgia with the series then it's difficult to get into them, I'd say try Gen 3 maybe 5 as for spinoffs possibly Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky because of the surprisingly good story. Atelier games are huge on the Lighter tones but the darkest of the series is easily the Dusk games which asks the question 'What happens when all the natural resources die off?'
I may try one of the recommended generations of Pokemon and see how it goes. It's just a matter of finding the time and motivation at this point.
Great video. My biggest blindspots are Suikoden and Xenoblade.
You are correct about:
Pokemon. It's just stayed really basic for a long time. Somehow we've had pokemon sounds but no voice acting for 25 years. Arceus is a bit better than the other Switch offerings.
Atelier. Sort of the archetype of cozy games. Not very challenging, no consequential decisions to make, get very repetitive quickly.
DQ Spinoffs. Monsters is really good for the breeding mechanics, on the other games I'd save your money.
Etrian Odyssey. Getting lost over and over isn't my idea of a good gameplay loop either.
You are incorrect about:
.HACK and sequel series. I love/hate how expensive the first series is, because it has a great story, only slightly limited by clunky gameplay. Sequel series has better gameplay (especially the remaster), but a derivative story. Worth playing.
Star Ocean. The remake on Switch is really, really well done. Can't speak to the other games in the series. I don't think playing in release order is necessary, there are only tangential connections between the games IIRC.
I can't speak to:
Golden Sun, Voice of Cards, Final Fantasy XIV, and Yakuza series, haven't played any of them. Modern Final Fantasy has kinda jumped the shark for me, and I never once looked at GTA and thought "What I really need is a game like this but set in Japan." Golden Sun I'd be interested in, if it weren't stuck on old hardware.
Thanks for the recommendations! Though I will say, if you have the Switch Online expansion thingy, they just put Golden Sun 1 and 2 up on there, so at least that's a bit more accessible now.
- Only DQ spinoff you need to play is Rocket Slime DS
- Ryza series is very different from traditional Atelier games. Play Ryza 1,see if you like it
- Only Star Ocean game worth playing is SO2. Second Story R is one of the best JRPG remakes, along with Live A Live.
- Do not miss Yakuza 7 Like A Dragon. It's fine if you skip 1-6.
All right, good to know! This is the second vote I've seen for only playing Rocket Slime, too 😁
I'd highly recommend starting with Pokemon Sun or Moon since you're so big on jrpgs. Sun is my favorite game in the series because it is the most traditional jrpg of the series. Just don't confuse them with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that completely botches the story and removes the best sidequest.
Very solid alternatives would be Black and White, Legends Arceus, and the gamecube games Coliseum and XD: Gale of Darkness.
I wish I'd kept Gale of Darkness... I had picked it up at a garage sale for really cheap, and then I saw how much it was WORTH, and I... got greedy and sold it. 😬
Play Golden Sun! The GBA duology is fantastic.
I'm also going to speak up for Dark Dawn; it's a good follow up to the first games thematically, with good characters and world-building. The biggest flaw it really has is that it probably won't ever be a finished story. DD ended on a cliffhanger and due to low sales they never got a chance to revisit it.
Oh interesting, I never knew it ended on a cliffhanger...! That would drive me insane.
We have some similar blind spots. Dragon Quest and Golden Sun for me. Also never played any Star Ocean or Etrian Odyssey, though I'm significantly less interested in trying those (my friends have been singing the praises of DQ and GS for over a decade now).
As for Pokemon, I'm a straight up fanboy. So take my words with a grain of salt.
Pokemon offers so much in regards to player choice. You're given a plethora of choices regarding builds for your pokemon (moves, abilities, natures, EVs, IVs). I also like the method of obtaining new pokemon. The tension in trying to capture an awesome rare pokemon without killing it is great. And the breeding mechanics are fun to mess around with.
The replayability is insane. With the exception of the gen 5 and gen 8 games, I've replayed every mainline entry at least once. You can replay the game using only water types, or only using eeveelutions, or only using baby pokemon, or only using starters, or going through the game with nuzlocke rules.
While the series hasn't been consistent on this, traditionally Pokemon games offer a lot of sequence breaking freedoms. The newest games Scarlet and Violet offer some of the most freedoms in this regard.
Another aspect of the games that draws me in is the creature designs. Imo Pokemon has some of the best monster designs ever - with a perfect balance of cute and cool.
Something I find underappreciated is Pokemon's atmosphere. Gen 1 has locations that are genuinely creepy. Gen 2 and 4 had such chill vibes that invoked feelings of walking through a rustic Japanese village or relaxing by a beautiful lake.
Relating to atmosphere, the soundtracks in these games are among the very best in gaming. The battle themes really give me that rush, especially the late game themes. And the overworld themes never fail to hit the mark when it comes to an appropriate atmosphere for the setting.
Personally, I love Pokemon's balance of strategy and RNG. RNG can really feel like a kick in the pants at times - especially in competitive formats, but with a solid enough strategy, you can always build a team that is prepared for bad luck (or build a team to maximize your own luck, with abilities like serene grace).
You could make the argument that most games allow you to play "how you want." But I'd say that Pokemon is one of the best examples of a series offering players a plethora of choices regarding how to play. And I mean independent of the 1000+ pokemon, 900+ moves, 300+ abilities. What you emphasize in your playthrough is totally up to you. Will you focus strictly on building an effective team for battling? or will you focus more on filling the pokedex? Or maybe hunting for shiny pokemon? Each game has its own accoutrements to distract from the turn based battling (gen 2 had thorough world simulator elements - especially for a GBC title, Gens 3 and 4 had pokemon contests - which were like beauty pageants and talent shows, and the latest entries have some mini games.
Something I often hear complained about with pokemon is its difficulty. I can guarantee the people that whine about these games are too easy can't even make it to master ball rank (not an impressive feat by any means - but if you're competent that should absolutely be "easy"). The difficulty level in Pokemon games are one of the series' biggest strengths. The main story is easy enough that young children (the franchise's primary demographic) can get through it with a reasonable challenge. While simultaneously offering immense challenges, even for seasoned adults, in the multiplayer and postgame content.
Pokemon is totally awesome. From the visuals, the music, the myriad of choices thrust upon the player, this is definitely one of my favorite series of all time - and I am not the type to give such praise lightly.
BUT, let it be known that I am an OG. I got my first Pokemon game - Pokemon Yellow Version when I was 6 years old. Despite all the objective (and subjective) praises I can give, this is a series that has been so extremely boosted by nostalgia for me. I remember sifting through playground rumors prior to widespread home internet. I was something of a liaison between the older kids and the younger kids. I'd learn glitches from the big kids then bring my knowledge to the other first graders. Pokemon Yellow is the only game to this day that made me cry real tears. I was playing through the game at a time when most of my friends couldn't read well if at all. My longest lasting friendship is with someone I met when we were 3 years old. And when Pokemon came out the two of us were HOOKED and we both still play to this day. The hype back then was beyond the games. I collected cards, toys, watched the show. Pokemon is THE nostalgia game for me, so nobody should get into the series expecting to become as obsessed as I am.
Sorry for being so excessive. Hopefully nobody burned out their retinas reading my novel.
PS. Your channel started popping up for me about a week ago and I've been crushing your videos. You have excellent delivery. I love the lack of spastic fake hype. And your humor really hits. Your videos make you come across as very genuine. Digging the content; keep up the good work 👍
Wow, thank you so much for this, both the kind words and for sharing about your Pokemon experience. See, it's stuff like this that makes me legitimately want to really give it a try. Even if I don't have the nostalgia, there's enough in what you said that should genuinely and easily supersede nostalgia. I have several Pokemon games in my collection (cart only DS/3DS mostly, from garage saling over the years). I'll take a look at what I have and give it a shot. Thanks again!
Dragonquest is by a landslide my favorite jrpg series. But the spinoffs are hit or miss. I share some of your blindspots but mostly because i just dont have any interest in playing the games. This is also true for anything tatics based my brain just does not like it. Haha. Solid video sir! Also still been really enjoying trails of cold steel! Bought the other 3 on the steam sale. So im ready to go!
Nice!! I'm glad that all the Trails games are on Steam, makes it SO much easier for people to dive into the series as a whole. I'll be curious what you think of the whole arc!
@@JustTheGems I'll keep you updated. I'm on chapter 5 of the first one. So slowly but surely. Haha.
Please give Pokémon a shot. Not mainline Pokémon, though. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Explorers of Sky is my favorite game ever, and my namesake on nearly every social is a reference to that game. One of my favorite stories in gaming.
Oh interesting, I haven't heard much about those, but they are definitely on my radar now!
As someone who has similar gaming tastes to you, and agrees with most of these skippable series, I will vouche for FF14, it's one of the best FF Stories on par with FF9 IMO (but not better than FF9). It's better than all the modern FFs, but you do need to get through the original release first which is Main Story Quest Lvl1-50. Fortunately, recent patching trims that content down and speeds up leveling. The "good" story that everyone is talking about are in all of the Expansion Content, so you just gotta slog through those Intro Zones and it will pick up afterward. It's totally worth it to play through those Main Story Quest Lines, you do need to partake in some Multiplayer Content but honestly you can Solo probably 75% of the game if you focus only on the Main Story Content.
The Yakuza Series is another good one that is worth playing, you can Skip the 6 games because Like a Dragon is a total Reboot with a new Main Character. Obviously you have to enjoy Crime Dramas for Yakuza, since it's not your anime power level battles but it's really about the very serious Organized Crime Drama Storyline juxtaposed with those hilarious comical side quests that create a very special, very japanese story and setting.
I also played .hack recently, on Steam, not the Original but the other 3 games that came out afterward and I will say they age poorly and are not worth it. The storyline is not that engaging at all by modern standards. It definitely would have been so awesome back in the PS2 days when I was a younger lad, but as a grown man with much better Video Game Storylines nowadays, it's very juvenile and just not that interesting anymore and the gameplay is incredibly, incredibly repetitive.
In conclusion, I Personally give you the Thumbs Up on FF14 and Yakuza, but agree with Thumbs Down on all your other picks, even Atelier which I say are only good as "palate cleanser" between your other main big releases you want to play. (I 100% agree I just can't sit down and devote large amounts of time into a game that is just about making potions and moving up in the alchemy schools ranks and slice of life style)
That's interesting, I'm so not in tune with the way FF14's story is told, but it sounds like sticking it out until the expansions is the way to go. I may have to just try playing it on my PlayStation 5, I think part of the issue is I'm not a big PC gamer and sitting down to try and play it there just never feels quite right. As for Yakuza... I'm leaning toward just playing Like a Dragon and then maybe jumping back to the others if I like it enough.
I've played the first two Voice of Cards games. They're really fun games and about 25-30 hours each. I've been meaning to play the third one for a while now. I also skipped Yakuza 0-6 and played Like A Dragon as my first Yakuza game. I enjoyed it without having any past experience with the first 7 games.
Nice, I'm glad to hear that you can jump right into Like a Dragon. And Voice of Cards at around 25 hours feels right to me, like it wouldn't want to overstay its welcome, but they just seem so charming.
Well, Im new to the whole RPG world. I got on late....like, 2 years ago. Lol. Sooooo, technically, every amazing RPG game that exists is currently in my blind spot. But I am diligently working on correcting this mishap of mine, now. :)
I'm always available for recommendations if you're ever in need! There are so many great ones!
A lot of my blindspots are being fixed by you. so thats cool. I honestly shouldn't buy any new JRPG's as there are so many old ones that are already amazing - but i think i like buying games more than actually playing them, or maybe I just dont have enough time now. Either way, cool video.
Same, I feel like I get a significant rush from buying a new game, and then the task of making TIME for all the games I bought ends up feeling more and more unobtainable.
I was sure we’d see Fire Emblem on this list! You’re missing out.
I just started DQ Builders 2 this week and it was immediately incredibly addictive. And I say this as someone who dislikes Minecraft. I highly recommend it.
Oh believe me, I have enough games that fit this description to make 2 or 3 lists...😅
That's good to hear about DQ Builders, I've heard good things in reading about it in general but it's always better when I hear from someone directly.
It’s SMT ( including persona) for me. I own 5 and it’s on my list, but haven’t gotten to it yet.
Atelier feels like the perfect palette cleanser cozy game. I just started Ryza as my first foray into the series and it’s so delightful and relaxing.
Skip to the Yakuza you want to play!! Life’s too short. Play what you’re excited about.
Play what you're excited about is a good mantra for people in our hobby.
For which ones of those to start. Definitely the golden sun games. They are fairly short too so you can get through quicker. Star ocean first departure r is fun too if you’re like me and have a compulsion to play games in order.
I never played a persona game until last year with p4 golden. Now I own 3,4,5 and their spin-offs. Just gotta play them. I’ve also never played a shining force game so this year I got the first two and the dungeon crawler before, shining in the darkness. And this one is hard to say, but I’ve yet to play chrono trigger. I need to rectify that and own it on steam, but I just haven’t yet.
Oh definitely, Chrono Trigger (and I think this is true and not just me being blinded by nostalgia) actually holds up REALLY well. Like, an indie dev could release that game today and people would think it was fantastic.
You question the Atelier games because of the relaxing low stakes stories, but you really like the Blue Reflection games, right? The Atelier games, especially the Ryza trilogy, are more action-oriented than the Blue Reflection games and have great characters.
That's good to know. And I know the Atelier games have similarly excellent music, so that helps a lot too.
your first order of business is to play any atelier game. I've only recently heard of the series and would love to see more people on yt talking about the games to help me figure out how good atelier is (it looks great I just need to figure out which one to start)
Uh. Please.
also, you can't get hung up on playing all the games in a series unless you really think you like it enough. so unless yakuza has a sequential story that starts in the first one and continues all the way into LAD, I don't see why you should worry about skipping entries
FF14 is a great passion/ timesink of mine! It really is fantastic- been playing for years. It starts very simple but as you get more levels and job unlocks etc, the game really opens up. Its biggest downside for me is it easily saps my time away from playing other JRPGs. If you really did want to get into FF14 the community is the best of the MMOs I've played and I'm sure many people on this channel would help. Myself included although I'm on EU servers!
Help might be good, actually, since I know there are some parts still where teaming up is basically a requirement. We'll see what progress I can make!
I genuinely love Pokemon so much but you're right about Pokemon not having a very enthralling story lol. I only really like the stories in Gen 7 and 9. I really like Voice of Cards as well - it honestly doesn't have anything to do with card RPGs, it's just a standard turn-based RPG with a card aesthetic.
my blind spots are Yakuza, Mana, SMT, any dungeon crawler, FFXIV, and any Mario RPGs. while I have watched entire playthroughs of Xenogears and Xenosaga, I haven't actually played them. I also have only played the basic bitch Tales (Arise, Vesperia, Abyss, Berseria. not even Symphonia) and only Star Ocean Second Story R. and the only Shining I played was uh Shining Resonance Refrain (I actually liked it don't at me). haven't played Kingdom Hearts since 2 came out when I was in college (falls to dust). I also haven't played any DQ spinoffs, Digimon, or Yo-Kai Watch. I'm a basic Pokemon bitch.
Oh interesting, it's cool to hear that you enjoyed Shining Resonance Refrain! I have that one, haven't played it, and I know the reputation it has, but it seemed cool to me.
@@JustTheGems it's a pretty stupid waifu collector game with budget Tales combat. and yet... I enjoyed lol.
Atelier peaked with the Dusk trilogy, IMO. I used to review them every year for RPGFan, and I genuinely looked forward to each one. “The Madden of JRPGs,” I called them. They used to be gentle, breezy, and pastoral. These days they tend to be more straight male gaze-y, with a fair bit of fanservice. It’s not to my taste anymore, but it might be to yours. Either way, I’d recommend trying either the Iris trilogy on PS2 (Iris 2 is especially good) or Atelier Ayesha. Cheers!
Nice! Was always a big fan of RPGFan. That was one of my two main sites for JRPGs growing up.
Yeah, the creep factor of some of the Atelier games is a little... much sometimes. It wouldn't necessarily keep me from playing if it's otherwise good, but... yeah. 😬
I typically don't like jrpgs, at least for their stories, and you've hit on 3 of my faves. So, for what it's worth...
The Atelier series, which I'd guess you're familiar enough with having Rorona under your belt, has less of a strife-based approach to their games, but still prides itself on character interactions. I feel the later ones do add some strife into the mix, but I've always been more into the crafting system, so I'd be a poor judge of that. All I'd add is that the Ryza series has actual time-based combat instead of turn-based, so if you want a little more chaos in your gameplay, that's the way to go.
Golden Sun was pretty much hit spot-on. Story was there, but the scale of the game and puzzles, as well as combat system, made for a crazy adventure. 3rd one wasn't as good, though, feeling lackluster on puzzles and especially the scale. I did feel like the characters were harder to get invested in. Overall, they are great games that have mostly held up today, even the story, I'd argue.
DQ Monsters, and other spinoffs, are usually good in their own ways. I don't think of them as story-rich, and as very gameplay centric. That said, The Dark Prince may be enjoyed by you since you actually gave DQ4 a go (I didn't), it follows the storyline from the enemy perspective, I'm told. I didn't get far into builders because of backlog issues, but the 2 monsters games I played lacked story(at least to the scale of the mainlines I played), did play like a unique Pokemon off-shoot, but had what felt like a decent collect-in-your-own-way system, where you can sometimes find a monster in the wild, sometimes get the same monster by direct synthesis (DQM breeding), and sometimes complete long synthesis lines with very low-level monsters. Very interesting to me, compared to the Pokemon systems I was used to. DQ Treasures is hard to speak for, though. I sunk way too much time into that, and really don't have much nice to say about it.
I suspect that if I were to introduce, say, 1 Atelier game into my rotation every several months, that would be a good way of experiencing them without getting burnt out. I do like the chill vibes quite a bit, and the character interactions, so they're ones I definitely want to experience.
Yes, i also I'm pretty nerdy when Harvestella is on the table. I'll say how brilliant is the twist with the amnesia any other day.
Atelier i entered recently, a year ago. Ryza is pretty good, also Atelier Sophie 2. Ryza dies have some stakes, especially 1 and third, the island where rhey live is on the line. In the Dusk series there are some risk for the world, but yeah, they're chill; definitely I recommend the Ryza trilogy, Atelier Sophie 2 (the story of the first is very simple and the last boss is annoying, so for me is not that recommended, but the second is amazing), Atelier Escha and Logy has a fun battke system and i recommend that One too.
I have the hack GU last recode pack in digital, pretty cheap in sales. I'm yet to indulge in them tough.
Part of me is afraid to go out of order in the Atelier games, just because I do eventually want to play them all, and if I play a later one that has some good quality of life improvements over previous entries, it might bum me out to have to go without this features. But I do want to get to Ryza...
Aaah , I love this man 😔💜
Anyway, as a 29 years old male
I agree with majorty of your list I'm not interested in any of them
Except for:
-Pokemon (played a few entries, and im like a 6/10 fan. it's fine. it's comfort food game-like)
-The Atelier series is interesting to me, and I'm afraid that it will suck my wallet and time (I don't have a lot to begin with), but I'm really interested I've heard that it's comfy addictive and funny so I'll see
- I'm still planning to play DQ11. I already bought it and I know it's like a vanilla RPG, but still I think I will love it. also Golden Sun and yakuza I wanna play both
- tried the furst voice of card .. it was alright... not playing the other 2
Thank you for your amazing content keep it up
And excuses the bad engRish
Thank you! Your English is pretty good I would say! I do recommend DQ11, it's an excellent game for sure.
Not sure I'd count the rest of Yakuza as JRPGs but those are definitely top tier for me.
At least until Sega pulled a Sega and paywalled basic features behind paid dlc.
Oh yeah, I heard about that! That's insane...
With your love of Blue Reflection you will feel right at home with the Ryza trilogy.
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime on the DS was super fun.
I love Etrian Odyssey on DS, I recently imported the Origin HD Collection physically for Switch and fell in love all over again.
I picked up the .hack G.U. Collection for Switch, still haven't finished the 1st.
I'm about halfway through Golden Sun 1 on the GBA NSO, it's really good, I missed them originally
I'm really glad Golden Sun is on Nintendo Switch now, though I may still play it on the Pocket. But I'm happy more people will be able to get to it now.
Of the whole list definitely you should play golden sun 1,2, if you have any interest of the spin off of dragon quest ,builders 2 , heroes 2 and the latets monsters are the best to me. But really dude not playing golden sun being a jrpg lover is THE SIN.
I know!!😭I'm gonna play it! Enough people have recommended it to me here that I almost HAVE to, you know?
Sorry to say but you got to play all the yakuza games in order. Cant skip the first 6 but it’ll be worth it. To get through it quickly would put it on easy and do plenty of side quests. It’s so quirky and fun.
Of course you can start with whichever Yakuza game you want. Who's going to stop you from doing it? Sure, you might not know some of the characters or maybe some references will go over your head but the stories of the games are very much self contained.
Your procrastination issues sound as bad as mine. I get excited about adding a game to my collection but when it comes to actually playing them I'll always find some excuse not to.
For sure, getting new things is awesome! HAVING things, though, is like... that's just normal. Nothing to get excited about there. 😅 I should probably try a no-buy year or something and try and catch up, but I don't think I'll have the guts.
I’ve never played an Atelier game or gotten into any tactical/strategy RPGs. I do however own Triangle Strategy that I plan to try at some point and Unicorn Overlord looks intriguing. With the exception of Pokémon, just about everything on your list are games/series I’ve never played either.
Yeah, I'm also sitting on copies of Triangle Strategy and Unicorn Overlord, I really want to get into them but I know they're going to be massive timesinks!
All the ones you mentioned I've missed out on too except Pokemon and some of the Star Ocean games. I've also missed out on the Trails, Shining, Nier, and up until recently; Persona games. I would recommend playing the first Pokemon game, it's pretty great, but other than that I haven't really felt the need to play any others.
Oh really, the first as in Blue/Red? I wish I had a physical copy of one of those, to be honest... Or any of the GB/GBA ones. Alas, all I have are DS/3DS entries (though I've heard good things about most of those)
I am going to sound like a broken record as I have suggested Ryza in a few other videos by various creators. It's great one to play after a long jrpg with a heavier story (you know what I am talking about--- great heavier jpgs that leave you drained when beaten). Although different, if you liked Blue Reflection and its sequel, then you will probably like Ryza. My blind spot is the Xenoblade Chronicles games... I have them all, but haven't gotten around to them for various reasons.
I think you're right that there's going to be significant taste cross-over between Atelier and Blue Reflection. I think the BR composer may have even worked on some of the Ateliers? Maybe? Either way, I know the music is super great in that series.
An argument to play Pokémon? If you want something with a bit more serious story, the Gen 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald) and Gen 5 (black, white, and their sequels) have a more involved story to keep you hooked if you want. I think something that could really sell you on them is the music. Pokémon music is iconic. I know for myself it’s not uncommon for me to enter a new area and such sit to soak in the new track. The route music is so adventurous and the battle music goes hard. Maybe this will be the motivation you would like?
Music IS definitely a way to my heart, so I'll have to make an effort to check it out!
First, I would like to say that you are like the Ryan Reynolds version who plays RPGs, and that's a compliment!
Second, about Yakuza, I played Like a Dragon first and was totally fine. That was like two moments that would have been more impactful if I had played all the games before(and a little spoiler too), but overall is it a solid complete game and a great start for the series.
The big question is the sequel Infinite Wealth have two protagonists, Ichiban (the guy with funny hair and protagonist from Like a Dragon/rpg) and Kiryu (the guy who stars all other games, from 0 to 6 and the extra "The Man Who Erased his Name").
So to continue into the new(and probably best) RPG game of the series, we need to see Kiryu stories through all the other games. You can start with Like a Dragon, have a taste of the series, and go back to the Yakuza 0, or just play the games in order.
Anyway, thanks for the video!
Thanks for the advice (and compliment)!
Persona is my most notable blindspot. The main reason I can't get into them is their presentation, which is one thing that can make or break a game for me. Characters all wearing the same outfit (school uniforms), the bright and sparkly lighting and animations look really silly to me, I don't like the music... there's more to it, but I don't really know how to put the rest of my thoughts into words.
It also doesn't help that people look at me like I'm crazy when I say I have no interest in the series. Telling me I can't let something so "unimportant" stop me from playing the alleged "greatest games ever conceived by man." Nothing ever lives up to that kind of hype. Makes me want to play them even less.
I don’t actually think persona is for everyone. You have to be down for the high school and dating sim aspect of it and the dungeon crawl aspect of it. But presentation? I invite you to reevaluate that stance. These are pinnacles of the genre for presentation. I understand the reservations around uniforms but there is still enough personality to make each character design iconic. Aside from that there is no series aside from maybe final fantasy that can truly compete with Persona ok presentation.
Yeah, I think your instinct is probably right -- it seems like there would be too many hurdles for you to really enjoy Persona as a series. And that's okay! There are SO many dang games out there, there's a ton for everyone.
@@joelman1989I never said the presentation was bad, I only said that I didn't like it. Those are two different things.
I beat the first Star Ocean and enjoyed my time with it. Gave up on the 2nd one when i was about halfway through because i found the plot and characters too annoying. Also, if you want to have an easy time with these games i think you really have to be open to engaging with the (complex/convoluted?) crafting system. It wasnt my jam and i think it made my playthrough challenging.
Im playing Golden Sun right now and enjoying the hell out of it so far. Interesting story set-up, fun puzzles, interesting turn based combat, and cute friends to collect!
I think you're probably right about how to make Star Ocean more easily playable. I know for a certainty that back in the 90s, I definitely did NOT engage with the crafting at all, and that end-game difficulty spike was just not going to be surmountable without it.
How did you get that trails tapestry or cloth poster in the background?! That looks so cool and Trails merch is so hard to find it seems!
Oh yeah! I think that came with my Trails of Cold Steel 4 collector's edition, I wanna say.
@@JustTheGemsahhh, i just got into the series and have beat sky 1, cold steel 1. But working on sky 2 and loving every bit of it, even have an Estelle pvc figure coming in August!
@@JustTheGems Do you have a Trails collection video? I took a look and i cant find anything on the subject. Always like seeing peoples collections!
@@kylecaswell1969 The closest thing I have is probably my video on the best Trails entry to start with, but that's not really "collection" specific and more just series in general.
DRPGs like SMT and Etrian Odyssey, even JRPGs, all descend from the legendary Wizardry franchise.
Looks it up, it's single most influential series of all time.
Absolutely. I just read the Complete Guide to Japanese Roleplaying Games recently and they went into a good amount of detail on all the devs who found direct influence from Wizardry. That series might have even been more powerful in Japan than it was here, to be honest.
I've also never gotten into Pokemon, which is weird because I was able to get into other monster-catching games. Yet never that one. Oh well! 😅
P.S. you calling yourself middle aged made me realize my brother and I are also not far off from there and that was a "whoa" moment 😂
Us middle-aged and nearly-middle-aged people gotta stick together! 🤣
What? You didnt mention Disgaea?
LoL.
You definitely have a type of game that you like, but its also good to know you like to stretch that once in a while. Etrian is a game inspired by the old crpgs of the past, which is why I love it so much. Someone at Atlus played them, and felt the genre was top tier.
I think the key to enjoying games like that is you habe to engage your imagination and be an active participant, sort of like in a pen and paper game. Most JRPG's are passive games...you play, but the world and characters are given to you, maybe a decision once in a while, but for the most part it takes you for the ride. Its like riding a rollercoaster...while playing a open game, crawler or roguelike is like driving a race car.
On FF14, and mmos in general...I tend to put gameplay first before story, so a key to enjoying those games is enjoying the gameplay, and not feeling like you are "digging" or "grinding" to get to the good part. People that enjoy the general gameplay will think an MMO with a decent story is the best thing ever, because the fun time investement has a payoff. If you dont enjoy the gameplay however, its probably best to do something else. Lifes to short to not have fun for hours just to get a payoff.
Well that was fun as usual Brandon. Im having fun with Eiyuden...though sadly, I think the people talking about the localization do have a point. Still its a solid game.
Thanks for this, solid points! Also, believe me, I have a list of even MORE blindspots, and Disgaea is already on it...😅
tales of series , i dont now ,and the best are rare or only in japan . maybe the newest tales i should play
I definitely enjoyed Tales of Arise, but I know it was sort of controversial for some long-time fans
rpg's ive not gotten into
1. Xenogears
2. atelier series (this series burnt me multiple times, I think its something about the deadlines made it extremely hard)
3. .hack (sadly this series was expensive to get and hard to find which made me give up quick)
4. star ocean (dunno why just felt confused)
5. xenoblade (dunno its that one game that people don't shut up about which makes me lose interest
6. sword art (I dunno no english dub and jank gameplay)
7. golden sun (gba games just never had a sticking appeal)
8. lunar (dunno I tried it didn't stick)
9.trails of (I keep trying and I really like what I've seen but like a good novel I put it down and come back months later)
as for the Yakuza games I really didn't click with them until Like a dragon ichiban as a character really drew me in and like about half way through the tone of the story changes and I was actually left feeling a world of emotions and it was legit fantastic
I do truly believe Pokemon Black and white 1 and 2 really are peak Pokemon storytelling
Black and White are currently the Pokemon entries I'm most interested in... We'll have to see if I can get my hands on them.
Even though I played almost all the Pokemon games, I don't recommend them for newcomers. The story is boring compared to other JRPGs and if you don't have nostalgic feelings toward the creatures, it won't be as fun. But if you REALLY want to try one, the 3DS ones or the Let's Go are my recommendations (even though you already played Let's Go Eevee.
And for the Voice of Cards games, I only played the first one (but bought all of them...) and it's a pretty generic story for a Yoko Taro game but if the visuals are appealing for you, you'll enjoy it!
Yeah the visuals are really cool in those, and the MUSIC too (from what I heard in the demo at least).
The EO series is one of my favorites, but I almost never recommend them to people. They are crazy difficult, slow, and have minimal story, all of which are usually turn offs for me...but I love them anyway. If you want to get into the series, I'd recommend EO3 from the recent HD collection. If you just want to play one and you don't think you'll be interested in the series as a whole, I'd say stick with the PQ games or maybe try Nexus on the 3DS
Sorry, too many comments by me for the lose!
But I should mention my blindspots. I definitely have a prejudice against cute girl games like Neptunia, Nlue Reflection,Atelier...kind of for the same reasons you described earlier...even near 50, im still grimdark..LOL. but Im going to give some of those games a try. My best friend loves them, and swear by them, and i should challenge my own perceptions once in while. Cheers!
For sure, I can at least vouch for Blue Reflection 1&2, just incredible games.
Definitely know the feeling about blind spots. I have a few of my own.
Yakuza - just never interested me.
SMT/Persona - I tried P4G and hated it. I finished Soul Hackers 2 and it was just okay. Not an impression that leaves me wanting to continue the franchise.
Plenty of others, but I think those are probably the biggest names. Also never played Golden Sun or Etrian Odyssey. Just haven't gotten to them yet.
From your list - I personally love the Atelier series. These aren't generally "big epic story" games. They're much more about small scale character-focused stories. Ryza is probably the easiest to get into. After that probably the Mysterious trilogy but I thought those were boring. The Dusk trilogy is great, and if you're looking for big epic story, this is the closest you're going to get. Arland is my personal favorite, but not something I'd recommend to a first timer to the series.
The original .hack quadrilogy has quite the interesting story, at least as far as I played. But the gameplay is just not there and so I've never finished them all. I've heard .hack//GU is much better, but I want to finish the originals before I play these.
Star Ocean - I can wholeheartedly recommend Star Ocean 2. As you're surely heard, the remake is supposed to be excellent. Star Ocean 4 is a great game, though I really dislike the lead character. Star Ocean 1, the SNES one, is not that good, and I don't know the rest.
Yeah, from what I've been able to gather, the Dusk games are definitely the ones with the biggest "scope." But I'm honestly okay with a smaller scale story that has significant CHARACTER stakes at least. I did really enjoy Rorona quite a bit, and I think it'd be fun to play through all the Arland games in order.
@@JustTheGems Well I would say that's the franchise's stock in trade. That and cute girls I suppose.
I think that's probably I didn't like the Mysterious games. No stakes.
Because...game too hard, bwahahaa. The amount of grinding I had to do at the end of that game as a kid to beat it was borderline insane. It's too bad you skipped 3 though. That and Suikoden 2 are my all-time favorite games. DQ3 introduced class changing and I couldn't get enough of it. Hopefully that remake comes out soon and you'll have another shot at it.
Oh for sure, I'm DEFINITELY hyped to play the remake of 3. I honestly probably would enjoy the GBC remake of 3 if I gave it a fair shot, but I was also kinda burning out on DQ having played so many in quick succession.
Early Atelier games didn't come out in the West at all (5 or so I think), I believe they want to remake the PS1 entries and release them worldwide at some point. They're all rather 'cozy', though there are more serious elements in a few titles. As for Dragon Quest - DQ III was 'massive' in Japan and basically kicked off the JRPG craze for good, but in the US it sold very poorly by comparison back then. Shame this series rarely does that well in the West, even some spin-offs are solid. FF 14 is the most profitable FF for Squeenix apparently, but I haven't tried it out yet either - it's certainly on my bucket list though!
I think it'd be cool if they redid the OG Ateliers (I know they did Marie already, still haven't grabbed that, so actually whoops, I forgot, I don't have that OR Annie on DS...)
Hey Brandon! thanks for the video, yeah you got a social life with us here, like me! lol Yeah did only play Atelier Annie, but like you I own most of them lol
I love Etrian Odyssey, ok I love Dungeon crawler, but this one can be hard, so if you like grinding and fighting hard boss, this could be for you, but I guess not!
You can skip ahead, but I know you are like me and love to do series in order...
Yeah you need to invest ton of time in FF XIV to get to the good stories part, did play a ton back in 2020, you know when a world event given us some free time lol
For me you should go and play the Golden sun first! I need to go back and beat the second one myself, but I did have lot of fun with the first one!
Thanks for the recommendation! Golden Sun keeps coming up as the one I should probably tackle first, so I may have to do just that!
Golden sun and persona series is where I would start, Golden sun is just pure rpg fun. persona is very unique, as long as your not turned off by relationship building type gameplay its got great complex stories. I love the first couple star ocean games but yea they do get a bit .. meh.. by the end. Its not that their bad, its just that their a little TOO similar in alot of ways. Maby play it, but instead of doing them in a row, intersperse them between other series or something would help keep it fresh. They also suffer from being a bit heavily punished if you dont already know some things. IE if you sell the master sword or whatever in star ocean 2 (a relatively early weapon) then you just strait up cant craft alot of the better weapons. And crafting itself has such a high failure rate with unique items required means alot of soft resetting unless you want things to get more challenging than they really should be.
I struggled with the crafting and all that in the original release of SO2. But from what I hear, it's pretty dang important to ensure you're strong enough to handle the endgame....
@@JustTheGems it definitely makes things more difficult if you dont keep up with the crafting and yea SO many resets to get the stuff to turnout right (Eternal Sphere is the most important). You can actually do alot to help the odds, but alot of it is not clearly outlined or explained, for example theres music you can play if you have someone learn that specialty that raises your odds of success while the song lasts. If you know all the tricks and what items are important to the crafting chain its reasonable and even kind of fun. The issue is that for a first time through your NOT going to know all that stuff that without alot of research. Latter instalments did improve the crafting in alot of ways to make it less annoying. I dont think chronology actually matters at all for the star ocean games, maby try one of the more recent ones and see if you enjoy it then its probably worth doing the whole series eventually?
Star ocean games are not too hard. You just need to craft equipment. It's way more important than levelling.
That's what I'm getting from people's comments today... Guess I'm gonna have to git gud at crafting...
Omg i absolutely feel you on Pokémon. I have never played it or even watched the anime.
The crazy thing for me is, the anime was on back when I was just starting to get OBSESSED with anime. Like, I watched anything that was anime back then, even if it's not something I was really into. So strange that I didn't get caught up in the Pokemon hype at all somehow...
@@JustTheGems I was team Digimon for sure. I watched the hell out of it but hated the games.
Can't believe you've never played a Pokemon game! 😮 Well I'm that one guy who's never played a Final Fantasy game in return 😂 And I feel the same with dungeon crawlers, to me personally they're a little more on the boring side of JRPGs, but maybe I'll change my mind one day! Awesome video as always dude, enjoyed this one a ton 😎
For dungeon crawlers, I had the impression that they were all really light on story, but I'm starting to find some examples where that isn't the case, so I'm becoming intrigued....
With Pokemon, just play Heart Gold/Soul Silver and you will never have to play another one if it doesnt click. Do not start with the newer entries on switch. Theyre too easy and are buggy as hell. They do not give you a good impression of what a good pokemon game is.
With Atelier, the Ryza trilogy feels like a very different game to the older ones. The older ones can be quite punishing with strict time limits whereas Ryza feels more like a tradition JRPG that happens to also have a deep alchemy system.
Golden Sun is an awesome series and one of my most wanted for remakes/successor. At the time, the graphics were phenomenal (especially the summon animations) but they can be quite jarring now if you play on a bigger screen.
Yeah, I think handheld on the Pocket is probably my ideal way to play Golden Sun now. Which is great, it gives me an excuse to bust that thing out, it's so cool.
people might have already said this but just go play Like a Dragon. you can just jump in there without missing much
Perfect - thank you!
A comment I made on another of your videos that I'll re-post here: you do know that the last three Star Ocean games (4, 5 and 6) are prequels right? I played Star Ocean 3, till the end of time, which is the last game in the timeline, and it holds a special distinction for me: it is, at the same time, one of the best games I've ever played and also the one game that I will absolutely never play again. I got all the way to the very end, but what they did with the end-game was just disgusting to me, and I stopped playing the game right as I was about to get to the final boss because I couldn't stand the plot. Star Ocean 2 is good, but be warned: the plot of 3 is very controversial, some people absolutely love it to death, and others hate it with a burning passion.
Star Ocean 3 is, in short, the Last Jedi of Video Games. I played Second Story R a few weeks ago and that game is really good.
I get that you stopped playing Dragon Quest 8. 8 and 5 are probably my two favorite Dragon Quest games, but it's clear that 11 is the better entry point because 11 has a very smooth difficulty curve. 8 is not like that, it has massive difficulty spikes all throughout the game. I finished it years ago, but there's no denying that the game is grindy as hell in a lot of places. It's a fantastic game, but it's also a game that will stop the story progression and force you to level up a bunch before you can continue. I loved it, but I'm also pretty sure it's a game I'll never replay.
Don't worry about the first however many Yakuza games, Like a Dragon is a whole new story with a brand new protagonist. It's like starting trails with the Calvard arc, sure Kiryu is still there, and he does show up at one point towards the end of the game, but Like a Dragon is Ichiban's game, and Kiryu shows up to guide Ichiban and offer the sage and wise advice of a veteran when Ichiban most needs it. You don't need to have played any of the previous Yakuza games; there will be a point where some of the previous games heavyweights show up for a boss fight (it's helpful to know who the mad dog of Shadaloo and his brother are) and also there is that aforementioned part of the story where Kiryu shows up to mentor ichiban and pass the torch, but this isn't the trails series, the connection between like a dragon and the previous games is very, very small.
Oh yes, I've heard all about the twist in Star Ocean 3... I'm hoping that knowing it's coming will lessen the negative impact.😅But anyway, I think I'll enjoy DQ8 more now. Back in the day, I did NOT like to grind, but now I find it soothing.
I'm not sure how you feel about emulation but hear me out... Pokemon Unbound is a Pokemon fan game that actually has a great story. For a Pokemon game.
Anyway, I haven't played a lot of these too but you know I'll bring up Golden Sun any chance I can. I have no idea if this will help motivate it you or not, but the first game has a maybe a 20 hour main story so it's not a huge time commitment. I haven't played a lot of the biggest JRPGs (Xenoblade, Persona, etc.) because the time commitment is so daunting. I have three kids and a job, how on earth can I put in enough hours? Shorter JRPGs are my favorite.
I LOVE shorter JRPGs. I'm glad to hear Golden Sun isn't an enormous time sink. Also, I'm totally onboard with emulation, I think it's generally fantastic!
You don’t have to complete a game to play it. Except 13 sentinels. You have to complete THAT game.
I actually think this is valid for many JRPG’s, especially story-lite games like Pokémon.
Seeing my wife play the newer Pokémon made me boot up scarlet and played 5 hours. I played and beat red and gold back in the day and “video games have come a long way since pac-man”. I don’t have to beat the new one to enjoy it.
I personally played 10 hours of Ryza and I’m unlikely to go back and finish it. Really great game though. I haven’t played Rorona, but I bet it’s a good game too.
Regarding golden I think it’s worth playing 5-10 hours to get exposure to the djinn/class system and environment puzzles. I don’t think it’s actually necessary to play through both games to understand what is beloved of the game. This is coming from someone who has 100% both games and replayed multiple times.
Of these games on the list, I would put Golden Sun at the too assuming you haven’t played it at all. Really just be confident that you can speak on games you haven’t sunk 100 hours into.
And yeah play like a dragon…one yakuza game is better than no yakuza games
Honestly, for me, the biggest reason I play is the story, so not completing the game isn't an option -- that is, unless the story isn't working for me. In that case, I will drop a game without completing it (I think the most recent game that happened with was Astria Ascending. I would have probably kept with it, but I wasn't SUPER engaged by the story, and the gameplay wasn't working for me besides that, so it was kind of a double-whammy). But outside of RPGs where story is the main focus, I do feel the same - like I haven't "beaten" Mario Wonder, but I played a good bit of it and enjoyed the heck out of it, so I feel like I "played" it, you know?
@@JustTheGems I completely agree on the importance of story and share the same “not completing the game isn’t an option” mentality. My comment was from that perspective and how I try to approach my blindspots.
Golden sun has a good story but the dialogue is a bit drawn out sometimes. It makes it hard for me to recommend. Nowadays I imagine the game with punched up writing.
The biggest issue with FFXIV as with most MMORPGs, on boarding later in it's life can be hit or miss. The free trial is quite generous but it cannot save you time unfortunately. They have streamlined a lot of the fetch quests and I'd say from 2.0(where one starts in the story) it doesn't get truly good until one starts getting past content from say patch 2.3 or so. The story is a slow burn and it's tough to put a time estimate on it because it depends on your reading speed, how long you wait for dungeons and if you skip minor cutscenes and side questing. I'd say side quests add to the world but are far from needed. If you burn through everything the story gets real good around Heavensward or the towns to the north but heats up after dealing with a lot of the original releases content. Maybe 30 hours?
Okay, that's good to know. Maybe if I just immerse myself in the lore and get into it... But we'll see!
So I haven't played Harvestella yet......I'll do my walk of shame now. #shame
Hey, no shame! I look at it as, you're lucky -- you get to experience it for the first time! I'd love to have that experience again!
In regards to Pokémon, I’d posit that looking to the newer games to try and “get into Pokémon” is not the way to go. Especially for someone like you that has no problems playing older/retro games, I’d really recommend generations 3-5. Those would be the games on the GBA and DS. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald for gen 3, Platinum for gen 4, and Black/White for gen 5. There are also the first remakes of gen 1, FireRed/LeafGreen, but that’s the same general setting and story you played in Let’s Go Eevee so probably skip those, and then the remakes of gen 2, HeartGold/SoulSilver which many consider among the best Pokémon games ever.
The games aren’t just about catching ‘em all, that’s not really the goal. You can just get a handful of Pokémon you like to make a team and never catch anything again for the most part. For me the appeal of Pokémon, at least on the gameplay side, is similar to the appeal of a job system in a Final Fantasy game. You get to pick and choose from among many jobs/Pokémon to make a team that can face any challenges you will face. “Physical resistant enemy? Better pull my Knight back and use my Black Mage” turns the same gears in my head as “Fire-type Pokémon? Better pull my Grass-type back and use my Water-type”. As the game goes on you get more options for jobs/Pokémon and can tweak and improve your team as you wish.
On the story front, they aren’t the deepest RPG narratives you ever played or anything, but they have some stakes and interesting plots. Gen 3 for example is all about extreme environmentalists using legendary Pokémon to try and either flood the world or dry out the oceans to make more habitats for Pokémon, consequences for humans and the planet be damned. But really the main plot is usually not the biggest draw, it’s more about the smaller stories and lore and such of various legendary Pokémon or particular trainers, and your character’s overall journey to go out into the world and have an adventure with Pokémon.
Overall I’d say it’s more of a gameplay-focused RPG than a story-focused one. If RPG systems and combat mechanics and figuring out weaknesses and party balancing and stuff appeals to you, then Pokémon has immense depth to give you that.
Based on this and some other comments, I'm thinking I might try Black. That seems like a good mix of all the positives people want to highlight and very few of the negatives.
@@JustTheGems I think that’s a great place to start. Those games also did a really neat thing where they took out all the old Pokémon from previous gens and only had a brand new 150 available until after you beat the game. It put everyone on an even playing field of learning new Pokémon and what they are capable of.
I also think Black/White were the pinnacle of sprite based Pokémon. Those are good looking games!
Our taste is almost identical down to our obsession with harvestella. Even our back log is similar I hated dungeon crawlers until undernauts recently that changed my opinion completely it was incredible and so dark. Just started the atelier riza games and thought what’s the point is it dark enough but actually really enjoying them I’m hoping for them to get a bit dark but not sure 😅. Also the Hack series I have started the soundtrack is incredible and the world is actually addictive I just seem to start stuff but kinda move on and forget.
Oh good to hear, I have Undernauts on my to-buy list because the premise just sounds super intriguing to me!
@@JustTheGems such a great game I didn’t like first person dungeon crawlers but the premise intrigued me also then I looked at my time and I had no idea where the hrs went plus such a epic title screen song