Jrpg Jungle

Whenever I approach the end of a game, even if it's an absolutely outstanding game, I start getting excited for something new. My backlog and my wishlist are both overflowing with so many JRPGs to play next and whether it’s Atelier, old Final Fantasy, Disgaea or Tales of, as vastly different as they are, they're all apart of this genre I love. I'm a fan of all genres of video games, but JRPGs are where I feel my happiest and most at home when gaming. Whether for the quirky characters, the long hour counts or the unique worlds to explore, these are some of the reasons I'm drawn to JRPGs. Gameplay Systems and Mechanics JRPGs feature a variety of gameplay systems and mechanics, with well-known ones including turn-based battle systems and skill trees. A lot JRPGs are for having unique stories, but gameplay is equally important and JRPG's focus on stat progression or skill acquisition is one of the most enjoyable parts of playing JRPGs for me. I find leveling and grindin...

Lost Dimension combines a lot of things I love: JRPGs with tactical elements, visual novels and finding a suspect from a group of likable characters. In fact, on the surface it draws a large influence from a few of my favourite series, such as the Trials from Danganronpa or the Materia concept from Final Fantasy, which initially gave me some concerns about how original Lost Dimension would be. But after playing Lost Dimension, I found the combination of these elements plus its own mechanics and its story of traitors make Lost Dimension a unique tactical 30 hour experience that remained enjoyable throughout my time with it, even with some imperfections. As someone who likes stories that make me feel like I need to constantly look over my shoulder, Lost Dimension is right up my alley. Lost Dimension mixes suspicion into the usual ‘save the world’ JRPG plot. The world is being targeted by a man called The End (no really, that’s his name), who gives the world an ultimatum: defeat him at th...

It's not an easy time to be a spoiler-sensitive Persona fan. If you're wanting to go into Persona 5 in February with a clear head, there are hashtags, wikis and preview videos to actively avoid (seriously, avoid the wikis!). My initial plan was to be part of the spoiler-free crowd, but when Final Fantasy XV was delayed I decided to give into my Persona 5 impatience and bear the spoilers in order to fill my September gaming void and play a great game. But as someone only studying Japanese rather than fluent in the language, I was quickly reminded that Persona isn't a light JRPG. I found Persona 5’s story getting hazier as I spent my time focusing on merely getting through Persona 5 rather than fully and easily experiencing it like I normally would in English. At its core, buying Persona 5 before release may seem like a good idea, but if you’re like me and love Persona’s story, getting it in Japanese when you’re not fluent won’t give you the same experience the English releas...

If you've ever had a completely overpowered party member in a JRPG, you'll probably know what it's like to wait each turn for your strongest character’s turn in order to cause some havoc on the battlefield. This is also evident when an enemy has a weakness and only one character has the right attack - suddenly the only character that matters is the one with that attack and the other party members become unimportant compared to the one related to my actual strategy. Lost Dimension’s Defer mechanic plays with this idea, essentially allowing party members to give each other their turns if they don't need them. This considerably changed how I thought about my battle strategies in Lost Dimension and gave me a new perspective on turns in tactical battles and how having access to the right skills at the right time can truly be the ultimate battle tactic. The Defer system in Lost Dimension pretty simple in practice, but makes a pretty significant difference to strategising in b...

After a long wait for Persona 5, I can barely believe that it’s out and inside my PS3. While plenty of people are still waiting for the English localisation, other people like myself have bought the Japanese version to get a peek before the slow-approaching February localised release and/or to play it out of sheer impatience (I’m in both parties). Persona 5 has plenty of high expectations to live up to thanks to the generally high quality of Persona games and after playing Persona 5 for over 26 hours (at the time of writing), I think most Persona fans will be pleased with Persona 5 for many different reasons. The gameplay, story, music, artwork and UIs shine in true Persona style and with every character design, transition screen and new game mechanic, it seems like a lot of love was put into crafting the incredibly fun JRPG that is Persona 5. If you're a Persona fan that’s missed changing Personas on the fly, Social Links or deciding what to do with your after school time, you’ll...

Tokyo Game Show last year left me with the biggest grin on my face and so much video game hype that I could burst. While I feel TGS 2016 left less of an impression on me due to the discussion of games that have been shown excessively (I'm sorry Final Fantasy XV, but I'm looking at you), there were a few games that did catch my eye and got me excited for their release. Ultimately, TGS 2016 showed quite a few games and these are some of my favourites of the JRPGs announced and given trailers this year. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Being honest, my hype level for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 had really gone down since made it my top game for TGS 2015. This had nothing to do with the game itself, rather that I haven't finished 1.5 Remix so I assumed I wasn't going to play 2.8 until long after I'd finished the 2.5 Remix. This year’s TGS Kingdom Hearts 2.8 trailer may have changed that. The new trailer backed by a nostalgic, fun remix of Utada Hikaru’s Simple a...

Persona 5 has been getting plenty of hype lately. Leading up to it's Japanese release yesterday, there were plenty of preview videos appearing online and it couldn't look more stylish and fun. What hasn't been touched upon much is the story of Persona 5, most likely to avoid spoilers since story is typically one of the best parts of a Persona game. But for those like me who don't mind a little extra context before playing a game, a special episode of Persona 5 the Animation was released last week which gives the first extended insight into Persona 5’s story. It's a fun episode that shows off Persona 5’s characters and story premise all while maintaining enough mystery to carry the hype train forward and to satisfy those who wanted a little taste of what's to come in Persona 5. Warning: Mild spoilers for the episode follow in this article. I've included as little as possible, but I'd still advise proceeding with caution! Also, despite Persona 5 being out ...