This is kind of a follow-up to my Final Fantasy topic.

I haven't played a good console JRPG for a while, and I'm looking at my current options.

I wrote in the earlier topic that I was somehow tempted to play Final Fantasy XIII-2, but I wasn't sure if it would hold up well. I suddendly had a flash from an era mostly gone by now: game demos! I loaded up the Playstation Store, and sure enough, a trial version of the game was available! A quick download later (almost 2 GB o.o), I was able to play through a scenario from the game. It handles quite well, I must say. The series definitely evolved since the last FF I played, but I could still recognize some elements. Battles are fun, and the quick Paradigm Shift system does a great job to allow one to change strategies at any time without needing to assign specific actions for each character. The demo area wasn't as linear as I was fearing, which was one of my main concerns with the game.

Moving on, there are two other games that I'm also considering: Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story. These have been a long time coming, and they're apparently some of the best titles in their category released this generation. They were both scheduled to take a pass on North America, but repeated fan requests finally turned things around. Nintendo will be taking care of Xenoblade, while XSeed will be the force behind The Last Story. Buying one (or both) of the games would not only leave me with something probably enjoyable to play, but also send the signal to the publishers that we want more great games released around here.

So, which of the above should I go with? Do you have recommendations? Or perhaps you'd like to ask questions of your own? Let's use this topic to talk about those Japanese RPGs that so many of us played over the years!

I said console.

I'm mostly considering recent games for the next one to play, but I'm opened to the idea of going back to some classic that I might have never played. I know that the platform had several releases, but the Playstation 2 is off-limits for me: I don't have one, and my PS3 isn't backwards compatible.

Chrono Cross is a little gem, true. I had a lot of fun playing through it a few times!

Breath of Fire; Dragon Quarter
Best RPG out there, except perhaps TWEWY, as I haven't played it.
It's for the PS2, made by CAPCOM. Their only good RPG besides Battle Network(and possibly Command Mission), and it's a masterpiece.


Edited by Daveris on March 26, 2012 at 12:51:24

I shake my fist at you for ignoring the Battle Network series and Command Mission!

*Edits*

I now have Xenoblade Chronicles on preorder. If I understood correctly, my shipment will include a bonus art book. If the game's design is as nice as some early reviews suggest, this should be a nice treat.

I still have some store credit that I must spend in the coming weeks, so I'll keep an eye out for other ideas!

I received the game yesterday! Those courier clowns decided there was no point to notify me that I had a package waiting at their office...

As expected, I've received the collectible art book. It doesn't have a lot of pages, but it's very well produced with thick pages and an embossed cover.

I'm hoping to find a bit of time to play it soon!