Jrpg Jungle

In terms of DLC, Episode Prompto is an experience of its own. It feels complete and fleshed out in its two hour play time and it delivers on its promise of giving a deeper look into Prompto. Episode Prompto is the strongest of the two pieces of Final Fantasy XV story DLC to date and gives much needed background to events that happen later in XV’s main story. Along with being able to play shooting mechanics very true to Prompto’s fighting style and having a decently detailed map to explore with different exploration methods, Episode Prompto feels like a well-rounded experience for a pretty reasonable price and this fleshed out DLC feels very much like a worthwhile chapter of its own. Spoiler note:  Due to the nature of when Episode Prompto is set in Final Fantasy XV's story, mild spoilers may follow Feel free to watch the video version here! Prompto’s journey takes place fittingly from when he is separated from the group after Ardyn’s trick leaves him stranded and questioning his fr...

(Before the localisation trailer, I knew this game as Mystery Gensokyo TOD Reloaded, hence the previous title and how I refer to it in the video and post!) When I saw Mystery Gensokyo: Tower of Desire -Reloaded-, I thought it’s main character looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Turns out after doing some research, Mystery Gensokyo is the first Doujin spin-off style game I’ve played and despite having no experience with the genre or the Touhou series it was inspired by, TOD Reloaded doesn't seem like a bad place to start. With Roguelike gameplay that’s just the right amount of complicated and plenty of banter I could only halfway understand, Mystery Gensokyo TOD Reloaded was an interesting roguelike I'd like to get to know better. Feel free to watch the video version here! TOD Reloaded begins with a pretty but strange scene that sets up its premise. Main character and shrine maiden Reimu is curious about a mysterious gold ball her friend Rinnosuke is holding, ...

E3 2017 wasn’t amazing for JRPG fans this year, but that doesn't mean it was without a few great JRPG announcements inserted between the usual E3 stuff. There were a few good surprise announcements in Nintendo’s show and other trailers for big titles sprinkled through the week of E3 that still made it a fun week to be looking out for game news. There are certainly some JRPGs deserving of hype that had me either excited for their story, gameplay or long off releases that I’ll be keeping in mind for awhile, so here’s a list of what I was personally excited by during E3 this year. Code Vein Code Vein is absolutely one of my top picks for E3, which is surprising since Microsoft’s conference usually isn't something I usually leave hyped. Code Vein has been described as ‘Anime Dark Souls’ by a few and I am completely okay with that as someone who hasn’t played Dark Souls despite being interested in it. Code Vein seems like the version of this game style that will get me in, with its ...

I didn’t know I wanted to see all of my favourite childhood characters turned sinister until the announcement of NieR Automata director Yoko Taro’s smartphone game SINoALICE. Partnering with successful developers of smartphone games Square Enix and PokeLabo games, SINoALICE has a lot of potential as a quick and fun RPG experience, with bite-sized pieces of dark story that are quick and easy to cycle through, along with weapon-based combat that combines familiar elemental JRPG mechanics with interesting new ones. Although it has a few technical bumps in its current form, what I’ve played so far has given me confidence that with enough support technically and events to keep it fresh, in good time SINoALICE could be the dark and unique smartphone JRPG that the smartphone world was missing. Feel free to watch the video version here! SINoALICE’s characters are all based off fairy tale characters that will be easily recognisable to most players. There’s Alice, Snow White, Cinderella and oth...

When I started going back and playing the old Persona games, I didn't realise how much more they'd make me appreciate Persona 5. Persona 5 takes a large amount of its influence from older Persona games in the series but makes what it takes way better, making Persona 5 still feel like a Persona game but at a higher than ever quality. The Persona series has a few key themes, such as the use of Demons/Personas, rumours and the social aspects that make Persona unique to its source material Shin Megami Tensei. Persona 5 takes what it can from its roots, whether intentional or not, and in my opinion masterfully succeeds in weaving them together into a fantastic experience of its own. Here are some of the things I noticed from other Persona games that may have inspired Persona 5 and how Persona 5 usually makes them way cooler. Feel free to watch the video version here! Rumours I'm currently playing Persona 2 on my Vita (at a snail's pace) and one of the first things I thought...

Remember how last month I was tossing up between three JRPGs? What if I told you I played none of those games and spent most of the month finishing Persona 5 and beginning a platinum run for it? Would you be surprised? Probably not. I eventually chose my May JRPG as Summon Nights 6, only to see it be delayed, which pushed me towards taking a little more time on my Persona 5 review and getting back to NieR Automata to try finish it properly. I also took some brief time to try some new experiences, such as Fushigen TOD Reloaded and some Japanese App Store experiences. Although I'm sure I'll have more of a direction in what JRPGs I play next month, I enjoyed trying new experiences and spending more time with some new favourites, so here's a look at what I played in May. Feel free to watch the video version here! My favourite JRPG of May 2017: Persona 5 Since I didn't play any new releases this month, and I fully finished Persona 5 mid-May, I’m putting Persona 5 as game of ...