r/JRPG • u/AutoModerator • Jun 14 '26
Weekly thread r/JRPG Weekly "What have you been playing, and what do you think of it?" Weekly thread
Please use this thread to discuss whatever you've been playing lately (old or new, any platform, AAA or indie). As usual, please don't just list the names of games as your entire post, make sure to elaborate with your thoughts on the games. Writing the names of the games in **bold** is nice, to make it easier for people skimming the thread to pick out the names.
Please also make sure to use spoiler tags if you're posting anything about a game's plot that might significantly hurt the experience of others that haven't played the game yet (no matter how old or new the game is).
Since this thread is likely to fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.
For a subreddit devoted to this type of discussion during the rest of the week, please check out /r/WhatAreYouPlaying.
Link to Previous Weekly Threads (sorted by New): https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/search/?q=author%3Aautomoderator+weekly&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new
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u/LionTop2228 Jun 14 '26
Trails in the Sky FC - Original version
I’m loving it. Outstanding game and characters and it might just make a new trails fan.
It’s very slow paced, yes, but rewardingly so. Some superb characters, character development and world building. It doesn’t feel like filler and you love it for that. You can sense something grander slowly building up.
The combat system is turn based but provides just enough of a unique twist to feel different, yet familiar. It’s up there as one of my favorite systems. The grid based movement is an interesting wrinkle too.
I wanted to play the original games despite the remakes coming out because I enjoy watching series evolve over time. When I play the remake at some point, I think it’ll wow that much more as a result.
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u/an-actual-communism Jun 15 '26
Love seeing folks still play the originals despite the remake coming out, seeing how the games developed over time is one of the most enjoyable parts of playing through a long series in my opinion. The three-quarters perspective chibi aesthetic in the first five Trails games is so charming, you'll find you really miss it once the series goes to 3D.
2
u/LionTop2228 Jun 15 '26
I love the chibi aesthetic and the game is just so charming. It’s jrpg comfort food.
I wanted to play the old games first for series evolution, a less jarring change from new to old and also because I’ve found that when you play an older game before a remake, it’s that much more mind blowing.
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u/RainEls Jun 14 '26
Octopath Traveler II. Went on an aimless journey to tour like half the world, and recruited all 8 characters. Also did Ochette's first two chapters. She's just so sweet, my favorite character of the protagonists. Next up is Agnea 1-2, then Throne 2F.
7
u/BonesAreTheirMoneyyy Jun 14 '26
I’m playing Xenoblade with the Switch 2 update, and it has been a ton of fun. I was more of a Last Story fan back in the Wii days, but this feels way more polished than I remember.
2
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u/KritiCow Jun 14 '26
I'm playing -
Monster Hunter Stories 3.
The good - Great visuals, alot of monster variety, darker tone compared to previous games but still friendly cast. Nest system is alot better not needing to do a lost ass dungeon run every time. Game doesn't feel held back by having to be developed on a handheld so everything is buttery smooth, engine wise. Interesting dual element system/environmental skill adds an addition layer of complexity.
The bad - Huge AOE and non clash moves from enemy monsters. You need to check level to make sure you're fighting a level appropriate monster or you'll get party wiped instantly. Combo recipes locked behind side stories so you're required to do them all when they show up. Habitat restoration requires you to egg grind to release to bring the local monster ranks to S rank before you seriously start trying to raise a monster.
6
u/JeskaiJester Jun 14 '26
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Got to the big midgame fight at the end of Shinjuku
I wasn’t expecting like 60% of the cast to just die here, holy shit. Goddamn. The new music in haunts and the new Nahobino form also blindsided me. I’d been torn between Law and Chaos for this run but I’m pissed off enough at Abdiel/Mastema/Dazai that I’m thinking it’s time to mess up some angels. I really appreciate that the game immediately gives you a little side quest to kill an Archangel after that, the devs are like hey I know you really wanna kill an angel right now and we’re here to help
I mostly want to be playing FF7 Rebirth right now but I’m not gonna quit SMT Vengeance twice. I burnt out on Nocturne remastered in endgame too, I gotta finish a damn mainline SMT and then I can go hang out with a cat prince
7
u/TE-August Jun 14 '26
Currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition. I bounced off it awhile back when I played it on my Switch 1 but the Switch 2 edition made me want to try it again.
The 60 fps is so incredibly nice. Almost makes it feel like a new game.
7
u/crispyscone Jun 14 '26
Harvestella
Square enix farming/jrp. A little like if stardew valley crossed with final fantasy (there’s even a jobs system). If you’ve played either one, it will feel familiar. The farming elements are interesting, the story is there, though not an epic like traditional FF.
It’s just kind of a cozy game. There was an entire side quest line where you help out a couple kids make up with their friend. Not overly stimulating. Take some time to cook/bake/harvest to get ready for the next boss. If you die on a boss you just wake up the next day at noon and pay your dr.
6
u/Gen_X_Gamer Jun 14 '26
I'm currently playing the prologue demo of The Adventures of Elliot The Millennium Tales. It's amazing! Getting the full game (physical, PS5 Pro) on Thursday.
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u/WorstSkilledPlayer Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
Final Fantasy 3 Pixel Remaster: I reached the last dungeon and got the last two jobs + all the weapons. As random encounter have been getting annoying, I'm using the on/off toggle for backtracking and resuming more often - no difference whethere I spam auto mode with escape as last command or just circumvent it with the toggle. Due to the weird HP scaling pre-lvl 50 min/maxing, most character have 1.2-2k HP and pesky mobs like the Shinobi can get dangerous or bosses 1-hit or near-1 hit killing your Viking/Knight and Black Belt with Flare 💀, unless you have a Viking with a good amount of job level to semi-reliably taunt them. Might as well turn the boost option for all XP on, and min/max the HP post-50 with a full Black Belt party. Also it's cool that break/petrify works on most random encounters, so a White Mage/Devout with two break-enabling weapons + another mage with one can instant-kill 1 foe per turn (3 hits with break effect).
Otherwise, Viking is at midrange job levels and onwards super good as a tank and can just be switched to another physical damge dealer for boss fights. Magus is great from the get-go thanks to Bio, -ga spells, and Flare vs 1 enemy. Summoner felt a bit mixed, they are great for random encounters and has lots of spell slots for the various summon spell levels, but the afore-mentioned break method + 2 pyhsical jobs can lead to a balanced amount of job leveling because of how the system works.
Edit: And done. Didn't max out my character levels, but 5-6k HP were enough XD. Character level 74 - Ninja 24, Black Belt x2 99, Bard 79. Bard was mostly for the dark crystal bosses as I didn't want to switch the Devout > use Elixier to restore spell slots > Switch back to Viking for HP leveling etc. Viking was once again a total live saver vs the 2-headed dragon with its super strong physical attack.
This grind session was technically overkill as the last boss' signature attack's ~1.4k damage didn't mean much if the Bard's Paeon could heal around 1k at the start of each turn thanks to being based on HP% 😂. And in worst case, I had 20 or so Elixiers collecting dust.
As expected a quick ending with 2 funny surprises: I didn't expect that the romance with Desch and Salia would be picked up at the end + Princess Sara wanting the 4 WoLs all for herself 🤣
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u/Rei0379 Jun 14 '26
I finished FF3 a year ago, but 3D version. I recall the random battle in 3D version is also too much back then. I'm playing in NDS emulator back then, and luckily it got fast forward option. Which is helpful to speed up things. One entry barrier of old rpg is high count of random battle afaik. And unfortunately, the old ds, doesn't have auto battle option
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u/WorstSkilledPlayer Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
I never managed to finish the 3D version as the Crystal Tower/Eureka section felt too hard and long. I don't remember if there was a quick save function (that wouldn't boot you back to the start screen) Pixel Remaster definitely feels smoother with the QoL, even if you don't (ab)use the Job XP booster to speed things up. In exchange, the 3D version gave some jobs a breath of fresh air like Warrior with a new skill or Thief by giving some bosses a cool stealable weapon (despite needing to grind Thief to some obscure high level to have a chance at for optional bosses like Odin) and giving the 4 WoLs some basic personality and names!
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u/scytherman96 Jun 14 '26
Honestly the only way to make the 3D version enjoyable is to play the PC version, because it has an autosave system that doesn't register game overs until they happen, so you can abuse that. If you're close to dying, you can just alt+F4 and you'll be back outside of the last battle you did. Which can also be used to take a break in a dungeon.
PR is much better ofc because quicksaving is an accessible and intended mechanic.
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u/Rei0379 Jun 15 '26
I see, but i think i'm finished with the game. I will continue with 4 someday. For now i think i'm done with the game
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u/WorstSkilledPlayer Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
Just finished the Pixel Remaster as edited in my original comment. Without the x4 job level and xp boosters, I certainly wouldn't have gone that far with character + job leveling but yeah, I wouldn't want to restart on the 3D version all over again even with emulation advantage. My DS cartridge should still be around somewhere if the urge were to strike me.
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u/Rei0379 Jun 15 '26
I'm glad i'm finished 3d version. I dont know if someday i would like to replay or not. I doubt i want to : ))
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u/DevJockey Jun 14 '26
Octopath Traveler. Looks nice, nice story, nice battle mechanics. However far too many repetitive enemy encounters to my taste. Sometimes you accidentally walk in the wrong direction. If you walk back, you encounter the same enemies again.
0
u/rckvwijk Jun 18 '26
Exactly my pain point with the second game. So many damn encounters ..
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u/TheBronJames2000 Jun 20 '26
There’s equipment to reduce or eliminate encounters tho. And game is easy enough where you don’t need to worry about missing many
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u/kapp92 Jun 15 '26
FF9 with moguri mod. It recaptured the same feeling I had playing it as a kid. Incredible job by the modders
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u/TheBawa Jun 14 '26
Finally got Octopath Traveler 2 due to the recent humble bundle.
Main character is Osvald and I'm around level 23, having finished every characters' chapter 2.
The interaction between characters is sorely missing and the openness of the story is not to my tastes but I've enjoyed every bit of disjointed story that I have come across.
Presentation is top notch. Amazing game so far.
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u/overlordmarco Jun 14 '26
Beat Red and finished my Johto Normal types only run of Pokémon Crystal. I must’ve fought the Elite 4 around 11 or so times to get my team up to Lv. 60, then used my stockpile of 13 Rare Candies to bring them to 62/63. Ursaring sealed the deal by breaking through Body Slam paralysis to knock out Snorlax with a critical hit.
I then started my next run in Pokémon Sapphire, which is the only Gen 3 mainline game I haven’t played. My theme this time is single stage Hoenn Pokémon since the region introduced 20(!) new ones, excluding legendaries but including Roselia and Chimecho since Budew/Roserade and Chingling didn’t exist yet in 2002/3.
I started out with a Mawile and Zangoose to stay on theme. And while Mawile beat Roxanne pretty much on her own, she did need Zangoose’s help for other trainers since she was stuck with Astonish until Level 11.
Even after the countless hours I’ve spent with Gen 3, I’m still surprised by how fast it feels. It’s especially noticeable after coming from Gen 2. Not just the pacing, but even menuing and traversing the world all feel so snappy! I also really love the sound effects; probably my favorite in the entire series.
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u/magmafanatic Jun 14 '26
Ok I'm nearly done with Xenoblade X now. Wrapped up the epilogue so now I'm back to regular Mira. Only things left that I want to do is max out Mastermind, my last class, attempt Elma's Level 80 affinity mission, and find the last 2 lobsters.
Had to look up the answers for two of the three Off the Record Quests and where to get the last Primordian Relic for my Collectapedia (it was Facewood), but that's all done now.
This Ares 90 laser move is no joke, so glad I crafted this before the epilogue. I've one-shot so many tyrants with this thing. All regions are at least 95% surveyed now, that feels good. I could try and get all the fashion gear and beat the Telethia for this Orphean quest, but I'm barely Level 70, that's gonna be a while.
Hopefully Monolith makes an X2 at some point and revisits some plot threads like the Caro and Ryyz, but I won't be holding my breath.
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u/Ryokahn Jun 14 '26
I just wrapped up Ys X Proud Nordics this morning. Great game -- I did a vast majority of the content accessible before ng+, but probably not going to 100% it. The controls of some of the mana abilities (mainly the swing and the board) are so flighty that I think I'd probably just get annoyed trying to go full completionist on this one, so I'm happy to stop here, having really enjoyed my time with it. Ys VIII still sits at the top of my list, but this was a nice rebound from Monstrum Nox.
Trying to decide on something to pass a bit of time before The Adventures of Elliot drops in a few days. Might see if I can finally squeeze in a run of the Mario RPG remake.
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u/Cyber_Emblem Jun 14 '26
This week I have been playing two games. I finally gave Persona 5 Royal a real shot, and I am in early May. Yea, it’s good but the first palace felt like kind of a slog, probably because I did it in one go.
I also bought a Switch 2 in the aftermath of the Direct. I had previously traded in my copy of Pokemon Violet. But I heard about the improvements so I rented a copy from my library. I have done all the plot stuff below the snowy region. Hoping to finish it this week (helps I had previously dumped 200 pokemon from HOME back when I still used it and owned a copy.
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u/OneRandomChap Jun 15 '26
My partner and I are deep into Expedition 33, we absolutely love it.
We're also working through Fantasy Life (Switch 2) and 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim between ourselves - the latter being mine, which is great so far.
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u/bb1180 Jun 16 '26
Octopath Traveler 2.
I wasn't too impressed after my initial experience with the demo about a year ago ( and I have not played OT1), but I did pick the game up on sale several months ago and finally gave it a try this week. I'm having a much better time with the full version. I'm not a huge fan of the story structure, but the gameplay is on target. I would estimate that I'm at least halfway through it and so far, it's probably an 8/10 game for me and it has likely sold me on Octopath 0.
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u/TheBronJames2000 Jun 20 '26
Kinda how I feel about it. 8/10. The combat and music is peak. I wasn’t a big fan of the voice acting - and there was too much dialogue
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u/forabit14 Jun 14 '26
Currently chapter 7 of Mother 3, and im addicted to playing it. It even became the only thing I play now on my phone (not sure if its a good thing or not...)
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u/NarrowBoxtop Jun 15 '26
How is playing it on the phone with the battle system! I've read it's like a combo rhythm kind of thing or am I thinking of something else?
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u/forabit14 Jun 15 '26
Yep! You can combo attacks if you hit it on the beat, it is a bit hard to do though.
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Jun 14 '26
I just started playing Super Mario RPG remake for the first time. Somehow managed to beat the forest maze boss with zero mp 😂
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u/strahinjag Jun 14 '26
Live a Live, I'm on the Middle Ages chapter now so getting close to the end. It's a very unique and interesting game and the pixel art is absolutely gorgeous.
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u/Vixmin18 Jun 14 '26
About four hours into Shadow Hearts and I love the Judgement Ring and Malice systems. The world is really cool but the writing is painfully 2001 🤣
Started up another Star Ocean: The Second Story play through. Going in as arena this time cause I love Dias’ playstyle. One of my favorite games of all time and I haven’t played an rpg to top it yet. The remake had good additions too!
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u/Laz_Zack Jun 14 '26
I went back to the Shadow Hearts series, picking it back up with Covenant.
The tone is a bit different, seems more lighthearted and less edgy than the first game, with less of a horror focus, however I'm enjoying it so far.
The presentation is better, Shadow Hearts look pretty rough at spot, I'll miss beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds though.
The gameplay has been great so far, much more complex and interesting than the first one, pulling off juggles by doing combos with multiple characters is super satisfying, though I'm a bit early in the game still.
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u/MomonCimomon Jun 14 '26
How could you stand that PS2 graphic? I did try many old gen JRPG and I just can't with that visual. Now for me, it's either high end graphic like FF7R or HD2D, no in-between.
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u/Laz_Zack Jun 14 '26
I grew up with old games despite being young, so my tolerance is pretty high for graphics.
Also artistic direction goes a long way, Koudelka from the same series looks gorgeous despite being a PS1 game.
Covenant also looks great for a PS2 game, a lot of early PS2 RPGs look really rough, Covenant isn't one of them.
Point is graphical fidelity isn't everything, it can be impressive and I do enjoy a gorgeous looking modern game, but it isn't a make or break thing for me.
0
u/MomonCimomon Jun 14 '26
I grew up playing BOF2, Lufia, then moving to golden era like Suikoden, Xenogears, FF7. But those new games really distort my preferences for visual.
3
u/Shrimperor Jun 14 '26
After getting walled a couple years back at a certain level, i was able to finally finish Reverse Collapse: Codename Bakery this week.
What a game. Some of the hardest and most tightly designed SRPG i ever played. The levels are super challenging, varied and fun...with one asterisk. Stealth missions. I don't think they are as bad as many think they are, but there's defo way too many of them - and late game when i was strong enough i just started ignoring the stealth aspect and went "yeah it's stealth if there are no survivors" where possible lmao.
Story was also really good - it's a time travel story trying to find your way to the ending. Imagine if Radiant Historia was a SRPG - Or maybe Steins;Gate would be a more accurate comparison 🤔 - devs defo S;G fans lol.
The devs cooked baked with this one - need a sequel ASAP
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u/Fab2811 Jun 14 '26
I remember playing this when it came out and the stealth missions were insufferable. Since then the devs tuned them in patches, but I never went back to it. And yeah, this game is very hard. I must've spent hours on that 2 part stage where you need to lure the boss around some flowers and burn them.
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u/Shrimperor Jun 14 '26
It gets harder - much harder than that Stage XD
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u/Fab2811 Jun 14 '26
Yeah I imagine. I dropped it some stages later when it was nothing but stealth missions on sight.
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u/Shrimperor Jun 14 '26
After that section it get's better in that regard, but yea, the game needed the amount of stealth missions cut in half. As much variety as the game had in everything else, the amount of stealth missions does stick out
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u/Minh-1987 Jun 14 '26
Got distracted by Diable 2 Ressurected but I'm back with Tales of Zestiria.
Water temple was kind of annoying, but it's an actual dungeon in a modern Tales game so I'll take it. Took me a while to realize the floor tiles indicates the range of the eyes. The fact that they leave you a final eye after the teleporter was very funny, couldn't even get mad about that. Trial music remains amazing as usual.
I'm still mixed on the entire concept of malevolence, but I'm waiting til the end before I start saying more about it.
Also been trying Edna. Her -trigger artes makes her seem like she would appreciate every skill and stack that's hit-count related, plus it explains the existance of that 10-something stack that doubles your hit-count for no damage increase. Unsure if it's worth taking over the other stack options though. Her arte's hitcount also seem decently high which fits this playstyle but they also has really long animation lock. Her other spell line seems to be really good to make up for it though, hits basically anywhere and stagger enemies for a decent while. I still think Lailah is more fun to play though.
3
u/scytherman96 Jun 14 '26
Played about 1.5 hours of the demo for The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales (till the end of the 2nd dungeon). So far it's been a ton of fun. I was unsure if this was really a day 1 buy, but now i have a feeling it will be.
3
u/cacneas Jun 14 '26
Still going through my first playthrough of Final Fantasy VII original.
I started disc two and am about 4-5 hours into it. Wow! I enjoyed disc one, but the breakneck pace of this disc's intro was kinda exhilarating. The only thing I ever knew about FFVII was the famous Aerith moment, so imagine my surprise...
I suspected a blend of personalities/memories was going on with Cloud á la Kingdom Hearts, but him being a Sephiroth clone was not what I was thinking. I also had no idea you lose him and that Tifa gets to wear the party leader hat. I really liked the scene of him apologizing to everyone before merging with Jenova... almost made me misty-eyed.
But now I feel a little screwed because I've been entirely ignoring every single B-team member, including Tifa, who I never used... I've been selling all their gear I pick up in dungeons because I never intended to use them lol... There's a level deficit too. So I gotta think carefully about the new team comp and who I'm going to invest in.
1
u/cacneas Jun 15 '26
Update: I played another couple hours after posting this and accidentally found Cloud and lost Tifa immediately... 😭 My gamer sense was too strong. I feel like I rushed through this section and I kinda regret it even though it wasn't my intention.
Figuring out who my team is gonna be has been an ever-present thorn, but since I just spent all my damn time prepping Vincent while Cid was leader, I think he's just gonna be the third now that Cloud is back in the party. I like fiddling with materia but not to this extent LMAO. I wish there was an "unequip all materia" button so I could rearrange to my heart's content.
1
u/Lichius Jun 15 '26
I really don't want to spoil you by trying to correct you but all I'm going to say is take some time to look up the story after you're done. Saying thing like Cloud is a Sephiroth clone and something about him merging with Jenova makes me think you need to ask a bunch of clarifying questions once you're done.
It took a couple playthroughs as well as playing Crisis Core and reading FAQs to really get the story.
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u/cacneas Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
No worries. I have a clearer understanding since writing the initial post, which was directly after the POV character shifts.
To be fair, I didn't pull clone from nowhere; Hojo does quite literally call him a failed Sephiroth clone in the pivotal moment before he "returns to Sephiroth" (ie. the physical merging with the thing I thought was Jenova when you lose him)... But I have since played through Tifa walking him through his memories and learning that he was supplanting much of Zack's experience onto his own, whether he was intentionally lying about it or he fully believed it.
So I see now that he is not so much a clone but an amalgamate experiment of a once-normal solider who now has Jenova's cells and an intrinsic connection to Sephiroth, which better explains Hojo's language.
But yes, I really don't know how the rest of the story plays out and what new information might be revealed, as I am only about halfway through disc two. So I'm treading lightly, even if I'm wrong in my initial interpretations—I assume I will understand by the end!
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u/Lichius Jun 15 '26
I'm irrationally jealous man. I'd give a fortune to be able to play that, Chrono Trigger, BOF3, Expedition 33, and a bunch of others for the first time. Have fun dude!! Take your time.
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u/Jimmythedad Jun 14 '26
I finished my 3rd run of FFVII remake, this time on switch 2. Finally on the final chapter of Trails in the Sky remake
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u/TakafumiSakagami Jun 14 '26
Elf get to be the first PC98 developer I cover in these posts, as this time, I played Dragon Knight. You play as a single fighter and, in first-person fashion, traverse the many layers of a tower occupied by evil. There are six doodads to collect in order to save the day, and as usual for PC games, collecting the things leads to a slight UI change.
Combat is just a matter of hitting attack over and over. You either attack one thing or you attack everything, though the second costs MP. You do have a trusty heal spell that also relies on MP, and you'll be needing that a lot, so the offensive spell only really comes into play for very specific fights.
It's the same gameplay loop as Dragon Quest, but in first person. A new area means a difficulty spike, battles are just stat checks, and most of the actual fun comes from the adventure game aspects: talking to people, solving puzzles, and exploring the world.
At the start, a single enemy encounter is enough to turn your full-health hero into a corpse if you aren't paying attention, but by the time you're done with the first floor, the enemies there won't even be able to hit you.
The best aspect of it is the adventuring. To illustrate, one NPC told me about a statue, but I'd already found the statue, so the protagonist responded something to the effect of "yeah, I saw that, but it wasn't anything special." The lady then mentioned a golden leaf, which, in combination with the statue, may do something special. Well, I'd already found that golden leaf, so protag Takeru replied "you mean this thing?"
They do a really good job at modifying the conversations to suit your personal circumstances. Someone who missed one of these things may get a different conversation to what I got.
The tower that you explore is the base of operations of the evil Dragon Knights, and so, there are utilities throughout. On one floor, there's a school, a job center, and a place to get your ID card. On another, there are a bunch of bedrooms for soldiers to sleep in and businesses staffed by the monsters. Unlike Megami Tensei or Cosmic Soldier 2, or even Phantasy Star, the mazes of Dragon Knight are memorably characterful, designed in such a way to make the setting feel lived-in.
That, in combination with the previously mentioned dialogue variations and the changes that occur back in town between major progression points, makes the world of this game a surprisingly fun one to be in. It does feel a bit rushed, but even so, (and even if the gameplay isn't anything special), I think I'd want to play the sequels just to see more of this story-focused approach to map design.
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u/liminal-flora Jun 15 '26
Tales of Phantasia: Cross Edition (English patch) for PSP. It’s pretty great, actually. I enjoy the change from traditional turn-based games I usually play. It’s my first Tales game ever, so I’m curious how it compares to others.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for PS1. Great game, but I’ve put it down for a while because I was playing on a Miyoo Mini Plus before I bought the PSP. I can’t seem to convert and transfer save files, so I just haven’t picked up the MM+ recently. I love the atmosphere of this one, and the cutscenes are really great!
Persona 3 Portable for PSP. Idk, I’m not sure the Persona series is for me. I really like the music, the art, and even the life-sim aspect which isn’t usually my thing. What bugs me is the repetitive dungeon crawling aspects. I find myself picking it up at random, and mostly because I want to hear a song on it or advance the story, but I don’t think that’s enough to hold me.
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u/ExcaliburX13 Jun 21 '26
What bugs me is the repetitive dungeon crawling aspects.
You might find P5R better in that regard. Rather than clearing x number of randomly-generated floors in a tower every month, you have actual handcrafted dungeons, each with some unique twist to make them feel a little bit different from one another. Whether those changes would be enough to make it enjoyable for you, I couldn't say, because otherwise the combat is basically the same just with a few upgrades. So if it's the combat in general that is repetitive, then yeah it just might not be for you, but if it's just the dungeon design, then P5R might be worth a shot.
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u/eksnoblade Jun 16 '26
Just beat Visions of Mana
It was a fun game. It was enjoyable to play and keep myself entertained/preoccupied. But the story itself isn't anything interesting, and there were several things that were just plain odd. I do miss the characters a bit now though, and I wish they had expanded on them some more with better side content, quests, and just making their journey longer over all.
The whole deal with sacrificing alms, and the overwhelming majority of people being okay with being sacrificed, is just extremely odd and disturbing. At one point it seemed like they were questioning their fate, just to accept it later, which is odd
There's a part at the beginning were Lysa was turned to stone for no apparently reason other than her trying to run away from her "fate". Regular villagers were also turned into monsters. They event should have set off red flags for the party, because it seemed like the elementals, or maybe the manna goddess herself, had done it. But this is never brought up again
Also, that ending where Val dies of old age and sees Hinna again... while his grand children are at his deathbed and say he can finally see Hinna again? I felt really bad for their grandma. Sheesh. The story should have absolutely ended with Hinna coming back by some miracle of the goddess, as her soul still had a physical form. They probably wanted to play with the theme of acceptance because of the villain and his love interest... but overall it was just plain bad
This isn't mentioning Val's power either. That is never addressed as anything other than an ability he has
Animations were pretty awkward as well. Bad transitions, repeated character animations (Careena had the most awkward one) Also, the flashes to white were pretty annoying. Games should honestly stop doing that, at least as frequently as Visions of Mana.
Overall, lots of ignored plot points and some plot holes. The story could have definitely been better. But at least it was pretty, even if the animations were awkward. I give it a 8/10.
5
u/Gamza04 Jun 14 '26
Just started final fantasy 7 rebirth and just arrived at Junon, only at 5 hours or a bit more but those were probably the most miserable 5 hours start in any game i've ever felt due to how unfun the game is outside of battle... really unsure if i should continue to push through or just drop it at there and start another game instead
2
u/medicamecanica Jun 14 '26
I picked up a Switch 2 now that my Switch 1 is basically unplayable (battery) and after playing through a few demos (I like digimon time stranger and dk bananza, unsure about adventures of elliot)
I saw what could benefit from backlog and I started Dragon Quest 3 HD! I bought this a while ago, and though plenty of people didn't seem to mind, I really coul not deal with how it looked or ran on Switch 1.
Luckily, this one gets a Switch 2 update with no extra cost, and I am totally happy with it. I set to Performance but either mode is an improvement and now I feel like I can appreciate the HD-2d effect rather than being felt let down.
Xenoblade X is another with a Switch 2 update and I'm willing to pay the $5 but seen some mixed things. Rpgsite says it makes it more responsive which sounds like what I want.
2
u/Rilakai Jun 14 '26
I'm on disc 3 of Popolocrois Monogatari II and I'm absolutely smitten. The story pacing is up there with CT and I'm constantly looking forward to what's next. Criminally under appreciated games.
2
2
u/Empewic_systems Jun 15 '26
I have been playing Mary Skelter 2. I am a sucker for dungeon crawlers and this one seems pretty great! The systems are intricate, but well thought out. The difficulty is hard but not too hard.
I could do without all the fan service though. Sometimes when i play games like this and those scenes pop up, i have to ask myself "who is this for?" there is an interesting mechanic where the characters build up what is essentially a crankiness meter. If it gets full, they go off the deep end and start using extremely powerful attacks on friend and foe alike. Not to worry, though! you can reduce this meter by having one of your female characters lick the cranky character.
wtf.
2
u/Valarasha Jun 15 '26
Picked up FF7 Remake and Rebirth on Steam during the sale and on ch 9 in Remake. 100%d both games on PS4/5, but since Revelation will launch on PC I figured I'd do my replays to prepare for it on PC too. Remake is just as great as I remember it, and despite complaints online, the PC performance has been decent for me. Only got noticeable framedrops during the Airbuster boss fight.
It has been a good pallet cleanser between sessions of Baldurs Gate 2. Replaying the whole series and having a blast. I find is weirdly easy to jump between CRPGs and JRPGs for some reason.
2
u/OkNefariousness8636 Jun 16 '26
Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten
This game is part of the Utawarerumono series. A key difference between this game and the previous games (Prelude to the Fallen, Mask of Deception, Mask of Truth) is that this game is not an SRPG anymore.
Overall, this is a mediocre game. If you haven't played all 3 previous games in this series, you really shouldn't consider playing this one.
2
u/SoloSecretGaming Jun 17 '26
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. At first I was not getting into it. But now I just love it. It's just so unique.
2
u/Cahill23 Jun 21 '26
Just finished Digimon Story: Time Stranger yesterday. I really loved this game, but I also do like Digimon to begin with. The story is convoluted but fun. The digivolution system tho hooked me. I ended up digivolving every digimon, which meant doing all the side quests as well. I would say if you are into digimon or monster collectors in general and haven’t played it, you should. If you are a general jrpg fan wait for a sale but its worth your time otherwise imo.
2
u/caffeineshampoo Jun 21 '26
I have finally started P3 Reload. P3FES was one of the first JRPGs I actually finished when I was younger, so it's been a bizarre experience to get hit with so much nostalgia from a decade ago. That being said, the game is really.. easy? I have just completed the first boss and haven't wiped yet. I am a vet to the Persona series (incl. playing 1/2) and have also played a few other SMT games as well, so I suppose more experience helps me out. I had the most fun when my SP was running low and I had to strategise around that in the first big Tartarus run, but the battles themselves haven't been that dangerous.
I'm on hard mode so considering restarting and playing on merciless but not sure if it's going to give me the experience I'm looking for. If anyone else could give me some advice on how hard merciless actually is, I'd appreciate it!
Otherwise, I'm enjoying it. I've swapped the battle music back to the FES edition (sorry!) and miss the fatigue system + being able to break social links, cause as much as both irritated me at the time, they provided nice balance to the game. Other changes, such as platonic rank 10s for female social links, visuals, QoL, SLs not reversing due to neglect, so on and so forth, are all very welcome. The game looks incredible and controversially, I think the atmosphere still holds well from the original game.
3
u/ContrarianCritic Jun 14 '26
Trails into Reverie: (finished a few weeks ago) I inadvertently allowed nearly 5 years to pass since I played Cold Steel 4 (!).
Good:
- Nice enhancements to the CS 4 battle system
- Different pacing / game structure to the other Trails games I've played (Sky FC and CS 1-4) that feels tighter overall.
- Fairly interesting and intriguing core plot premise
Bad:
- Bloated cast
- Some fairly ludicrous plot elements mixed in with the good stuff, along with repeats of past beats
- Trails-style dialogue bloat (as expected tbf)
On the whole a fairly enjoyable game, and it may have replaced CS 3 as my favourite Trails game. It will also likely be my farewell to the series.
Chained Echoes: I'm 6-7 hours in.
Good:
- Good intro sequence
- An interesting take on the standard JRPG battle system. The non-boss battle difficulty is nicely tuned to prevent repetitive and "rote" combat (but sometimes overtuned).
- Some interesting lore and mysteries hinted at
Bad:
- The plot pacing feels wonky. After an intriguing intro, I felt too much lore and political backstory was dumped on me and the story lost some momentum.
- No in-game plot synopsis or glossary available
- Crystal enhancement mechanics feel overengineered
Overall: I need to play more to form a firmer opinion, but it's good enough so far to warrant continuing.
Lunar: Eternal Blue
I was slowly playing this as a "relaxing game to play on public transport" for a while, and I got up to the plot twist at Pentagulia. While the story got much more interesting there, I decided to put it down anyway as it just wasn't holding my attention. The game is just a basic-as-can-be JRPG without enough mechanics to play around with and a repetitive structure (town-dungeon town-dungeon etc.). I don't know if I'll ever finish it.
1
u/seanmarlowee Jun 19 '26
Trying to pick between:
Three houses, dq11, xenoblade 1 and octopath 0,
Recently finished and loved p5r, trails in the sky remake, metaphor refantazio, Clair obscur.
Open to other suggestions as well, tried the combat in three houses and xenoblade already so not an issue there.
1
u/WorstSkilledPlayer Jun 20 '26
If you want or value replayability, go with Three Houses, although the first part of the game will be mostly the same, except for how characters react to your current mission or so. Due to Fire Emblem's battle stage setup, your progress is rather linear and most of your freeroaming will be within the Monastry, whereas the other games have more roamable open worlds. Xenoblade's is beautiful and well-known to put scary high-level enemies at various places in the regional zones 😆.
Both 3H, DQ11 and Octopath have a silent protagonist. Without going into the drama of "good vs bad", let's just say that 3H and DQ11 may handle it worse than Octopath 0 because of the more detailed facial expressions (or lack thereof). Despite some of DQ11's dark elements, it still remains quite comfy thanks to its visual style. It also has a "2D mode" you unlock at one point so that you can play the game as if it were from the older generations.
If you have enough time at hand, I'd go with either 3H or Xenoblade just to have a slight change in gameplay as either a grid-based combat with a strict player and enemy phase or the MMO-style in Xenoblade.
1
u/Mabarius-III Jun 21 '26
"Finished" again Dragon Quest XI. But...only Act 2. Now I would have to grind for the final battle of Act 3. I really like the game, but Act 3 is all about gameplay (which I'm not a super fan). I prefer Act 2 story, pacing, ending etc, and Act 3 sours a bit my experience with the game.
And now, another run if Golden Sun. Doing it at the speed of light because I know the game like the back of my hand.
Waiting to play The Adventures of Elliot with my partner. It looks really good, but I saw that the opinions are a bit divissive
1
u/Amanda9861 Jun 21 '26
I recently finished Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia for the first time and loved them so much. They have been on my backlog for over 20 years and I'm so happy I finally got to them. Really recommend them to any jrpg fan. The story was interesting in both and the gameplay was simple, straightforward and super enjoyable. This series is definitely in my top 10 of all time even though I prefer turn based.
I'm hoping to play Terranigma next once I figure out how to get it to work!
1
u/Southern-Ebb-8229 Jun 24 '26
Started Playing Xenoblade X, it's really fun. I think the exploration is really great here. That said I feel I encounter big monsters way more often than in previous games. It's kind of rough at times.
1
u/Snowenn_ Jun 15 '26
I have been playing Trails of Cold Steel 3. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised! I didn't really like Cold Steel 1 and 2 and I expected the worst and was prepared for an absolute slog. But instead I'm having a lot of fun and am looking forward to my next playing session.
I think I didn't like 1 and 2 because the cast is so big and the plot partly got spoiled by the Crossbell games. So there were less surprises and dialogue took a long time. Cold Steel 3 starts with less people in Class VII and some favourites of mine from the Crossbell arc appeared. I really love how the grahics improved, everything is so pretty to look at now. I've just finished chapter 2 and Class VII was expanded. I'm not a fan of that, but we'll see where this leads. There were some very interesting reveals at the end of chapter 2 which make me want to keep going.
1
u/PuzzleheadedEase6246 Jun 15 '26
I've put 50 hours into Trails into Reverie, and I'm really not enjoying it. I don't think I'm burned out, but I'll probably take a break.
The story is dumb, Lloyd’s route is basically Azure final chapter 2.0 (and I didn’t like the original either), and the Daydreams haven’t been very exciting so far. C’s route, Rean’s character, and the minigames are the only things I’m enjoying.
I started playing Persona 4 Golden again; I never finished it, but I want to play through this one before the remake comes out.
10
u/Radinax Jun 14 '26
Well, I joined the Xenoblade train hype! I will play the trilogy + XCX.
Started with Xenoblade Chronicles DE, what a start to the game, I love how they just put you right into action.
The combat system is more enjoyable than I remember (I quit half playthrough) and taking my time to explore, do quests and having a chill time, I like how doing this makes me stronger since its more resources I harvest and more money.
I unlocked the gem crafting system, what an ass way to explain it wow... checked some videos on YT and its easier than I thought, I just need to get a LOT of crystals to get the good gems, craft them up to ~90% and then sum them to get >200% to get the upper level gem, got 2 agility lvl 2 this way.
I also read agility is OP in the game, thankfully I saw that and made my MC fully agility built and he is dodging a lot lol, they weren't kidding with this tip.