Jrpg Jungle

If you’re like me and enjoyed the outrageous combat, outlandish villains and wide-range of mini games available in Yakuza games like the recent Yakuza 6, Yakuza Kiwami 2’s version of these things in its demo makes it look like an intriguing experience. With a new city to explore, Kiwami 2 features a lot of what’s made more recent games in the series feel good mechanically, along with a stylish visual flare that make it easy to forget that Yakuza 2 was originally a PS2 game. With a few new mechanics that save it from feeling too similar to the last Yakuza game and a wealth of new activities in this demo alone that keep the charm of the Yakuza series while adding plenty of new things to play with, Yakuza Kiwami 2 seems to be a satisfying new take on an older game in its series that is easy to pick up for those who’ve played the newer games in the series. Yakuza Kiwami 2’s demo begins in the second chapter of its story, scratching the surface of what will no doubt be a bigger narrative. T...

With colourful magic and an anime aesthetic, Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time’s unique 3D side-scroller cross JRPG gameplay is an eye-catching experience even for those like myself with no experience with its source material. It combines different gameplay elements to create a beat ‘em up with deep JRPG leveling systems that have the potential to put a thoughtful edge on running through trap-filled dungeons and complemented by eye-popping visuals that mimic the art from its original show, it stands out as a game based on an anime. With this and a group of fun characters made accessible even for first-timers to the series, Little Witch Academia’s first journey into the world of video games seems very promising so far. Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time revolves around a young studying witch called Akko and her friends during their summer vacation time at Luna Nova Magical Academy, a school where girls learn to become witches. It might be summer vacation, but a new mystery begi...

While I haven't played a full Ys game before, I've always heard good things about the series, but I never knew why it was good. Trying the Ys VIII demo and its highly explorable map as a fan of exploration in recent JRPGs really got me curious about the Ys series with its many collectibles and multi-floored areas. The demo doesn’t tell much about the story or its characters (probably for the best as I hear its localisation is getting an update) and it instead seems mostly focused on showing off its quick action combat and interesting landscapes. So far, these aspects made me really want to try more with smooth gameplay that was a fun peek into the full game, just like a demo should be. Ys VIII’s main character is Adol Christin, an adventurer who is accompanied around the demo’s interesting areas with his two companions. According to Ys VIII ’s website, Adol was on a boat heading to another place when it got attacked by a sea creature and after that, he found himself stranded o...