Do you Play PC JRPGs?

Do You Play PC JRPGs?

  • Yes

    Votes: 30 47.6%

  • No

    Votes: 33 52.4%
  • Total voters
    63
Sadly, Square Enix decided Star Ocean 5 will be Playstation (3&4) exclusive. The teaser is available on their site.
 
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Never played them, apparently 1&2 were superb, 3 was so-so, but 4 was so bad that it killed the franchise... Temporarily.

Since 5 is console exclusive, I can only guess it'll be dumber than 4. :evilgrin: :p
 
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joxer said:
Never played them, apparently 1&2 were superb, 3 was so-so, but 4 was so bad that it killed the franchise… Temporarily.

Since 5 is console exclusive, I can only guess it'll be dumber than 4. :evilgrin: :p
Click to expand...

It's all in the eyes on the beholder + rose tinted glasses. I didn't play 1 or 2. My first Star Ocean was 3 and I found it extremely good. One of my favorite RPGs I played at the time. I played Star Ocean 4 in my PS3 and liked it, not as much as 3, but certainly enjoyed it and don't think it killed the franchise at all. But you know what they say about opinions...
 
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Well I played every star ocean game on consoles and handheld devices. All of them were enjoyable except for the crazy plot-line in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time begins on the planet Hyda IV where a young man, Fayt Leingod, and his childhood friend, Sophia Esteed, are on vacation with Fayt's family. Fayt is the son of Robert Leingod, a famous scientist in the field of symbological genetics. For an unknown reason, the Vendeeni — an alien civilization with highly advanced technology that spans only a single planet — attacks Hyda IV unprovoked, thus initiating a war with the Pangalactic Federation. Fayt and Sophia escape on the starship Helre, but are separated from Fayt's parents, Robert and Ryoko Leingod. The Helre is also attacked by the Vendeeni, and the two are separated.

Fayt's escape pod lands on the "underdeveloped planet" Vanguard III, a planet with technology equivalent to 16th Century Earth, and discovers an off-world criminal, the exiled Rezerbian Norton, plotting to take it over. Cliff Fittir, a member of the anti-Federation organization Quark, then lands and helps Fayt defeat this criminal. Fayt learns that Quark's leader wishes to speak to him and plans on rescuing his father, though Cliff does not reveal the reason behind this interest. After getting off the planet with Cliff and meeting his assistant Mirage, the Vendeeni again attack them — but they escape and crash-land on another underdeveloped world, Elicoor II. Elicoor seems to be around 17th Century Earth in terms of technological advancement. Fayt, Cliff, and Mirage crash-land into the capital of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, who believe that their ship is a weapon developed by the country they are at war with, Aquaria. Fayt and Cliff are imprisoned as a result Mirage escapes, though they are soon rescued by an assassin-like agent, Nel Zelpher, who believes they are engineers from the technologically advanced continent of Greeton.

She rescues them under the condition that they aid her country, Aquaria, with their technological knowledge or that she will kill them to prevent them leaking secrets to Airyglyph. This leads the two directly into the war between the two kingdoms and eventually into a great final battle between them. Then a new — at least to the Elicoorians — foe appears in the skies above, a Vendeeni battleship that has found their quarry. However, Fayt destroys the battleship with a previously unknown power of his, though another battleship remains in orbit. During the distraction, the leader of Quark, Maria Traydor, manages to arrive on Elicoor. It seems that both Quark and the Vendeeni knew of Fayt's unusual abilities, and he had been their target the whole time. The party vies with the Vendeeni over control of an unusual "out of place artifact" and Fayt's father, who is killed before Maria can finish interrogating him over his "crimes."

Fayt finds himself space-borne once more, and the galaxy has not stood still. Shortly after the apparently unprovoked attack on Hyda IV, a threat of destruct-full magnitude emerges in the form of ultra-powerful space-borne beings calling themselves "Executioners." The best ships of the Federation and the Vendeeni are nearly powerless against these new beings, and are quickly being forced into full retreat. The party, acting on a hint from Fayt's father, venture to the Moonbase research station, and Fayt is reunited with Sophia. While on the station, they are confronted by an angelic-looking Executioner that calls itself Proclaimer. It launches itself to attack, telling them that they must be destroyed.

Investigation of the Moonbase records reveals the truth behind the Executioners and their appearance. During the charting of a planet called Styx, explorers encountered an extremely advanced and extremely old Time Gate. When activated, it informed them that their forays into the field of symbological genetics had angered the Creator, and that they were to be destroyed. Even if they were to abandon symbological genetics, the reins would be taken up by another soon enough, and that they were not being warned — they were being sentenced.

The explorers beat a hasty retreat and informed the Federation of what they had found. Studies soon suggested that the statement came from another plane of existence; an entirely new universe. Further study revealed that symbology might be used to access this universe. The scientists agreed to use their own offspring; the subjects were Fayt Leingod, Sophia Esteed, and Maria Traydor. Fayt was the son of Robert and Ryoko Leingod, while Sophia was the daughter of Clive Esteed. Maria was an orphan who was later adopted by the fourth member of the team, Jessie Traydor. The three were symbologically altered in such a way that if they worked together, they could gain entry through the Time Gate.

Maria was given the power of Alteration, which would allow her and those with her to remain in physical forms in the new world. Fayt was given the power of Destruction, as it was assumed they would need to physically defend themselves. Two years later, the younger Sophia was given the power of Connection - the key ability needed to make contact with 4D space. (This process of creating humans with inherent symbological power is quite similar to Nede's creation of the Ten Wise Men in Star Ocean: The Second Story, though this did not draw down the wrath of the Executioners due Star Ocean: Till The End of Time being out of continuity with other Star Ocean games.) The Vendeeni had been attacking in hopes of handing over Fayt to the Executioners and staying their wrath.

The party goes to Styx and finds the area flooded with Executioners. Escaping their ship in a small shuttle, they witness the mysterious beings and their awesome might first-hand as the Federation battleship Aquaelie which had escorted them is destroyed. Reaching the Time Gate, the party enters "4D space," a dimension higher than their own. According to the 4D beings, their universe is actually not real in relation to 4D space; rather, it is a computer simulation developed by Luther Lansfeld, the owner of the Sphere Company. Dubbed the "Eternal Sphere", it is similar to a real-world massively multiplayer online game for the inhabitants of 4D space.

Fayt and his allies learn that the Executioners are anti-viruses sent to delete anomalies in the Milky Way section of the Eternal Sphere. With the help of Blair Lansfeld, programmer and sister to Luther, the party manages to find Luther. Blair and the group believe that the residents of the Eternal Sphere have managed to achieve a level of intelligence equal to that of 4D citizens; Luther, however, considers them "mere data." Luther then decides that the only way to delete them is to delete the entire universe (apparently ignoring that he is currently in the Eternal Sphere). The party fights and defeats him, causing him to be deleted himself, but fails to stop the deletion.

However, the world is not destroyed for not entirely clear reasons. Blair mentions an "Eternal Sphere backup" earlier, but there's no evidence that it was applied. The characters decide that even if they really are just programs, they have achieved "consciousness" and therefore cannot be deleted. Alternatively, others suggest Maria's power of Alteration has something to do with it, perhaps even implying that their universe has truly become a reality unto itself and therefore not subject to deletion.

The ending slightly changes based on the "affection level" of the other characters for Fayt, derived from the player's choices during the game and in Private Actions. Fayt has an ending for each character if that character has the highest affection level with him, as well as an "alone" ending if no one has sufficient affection level with him.
 
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Couchpotato said:
Well I played every star ocean game on consoles and handheld devices. All of them were enjoyable except for the crazy plot-line in Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time begins on the planet Hyda IV where a young man, Fayt Leingod, and his childhood friend, Sophia Esteed, are on vacation with Fayt's family. Fayt is the son of Robert Leingod, a famous scientist in the field of symbological genetics. For an unknown reason, the Vendeeni — an alien civilization with highly advanced technology that spans only a single planet — attacks Hyda IV unprovoked, thus initiating a war with the Pangalactic Federation. Fayt and Sophia escape on the starship Helre, but are separated from Fayt's parents, Robert and Ryoko Leingod. The Helre is also attacked by the Vendeeni, and the two are separated.

Fayt's escape pod lands on the "underdeveloped planet" Vanguard III, a planet with technology equivalent to 16th Century Earth, and discovers an off-world criminal, the exiled Rezerbian Norton, plotting to take it over. Cliff Fittir, a member of the anti-Federation organization Quark, then lands and helps Fayt defeat this criminal. Fayt learns that Quark's leader wishes to speak to him and plans on rescuing his father, though Cliff does not reveal the reason behind this interest. After getting off the planet with Cliff and meeting his assistant Mirage, the Vendeeni again attack them — but they escape and crash-land on another underdeveloped world, Elicoor II. Elicoor seems to be around 17th Century Earth in terms of technological advancement. Fayt, Cliff, and Mirage crash-land into the capital of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, who believe that their ship is a weapon developed by the country they are at war with, Aquaria. Fayt and Cliff are imprisoned as a result Mirage escapes, though they are soon rescued by an assassin-like agent, Nel Zelpher, who believes they are engineers from the technologically advanced continent of Greeton.

She rescues them under the condition that they aid her country, Aquaria, with their technological knowledge or that she will kill them to prevent them leaking secrets to Airyglyph. This leads the two directly into the war between the two kingdoms and eventually into a great final battle between them. Then a new — at least to the Elicoorians — foe appears in the skies above, a Vendeeni battleship that has found their quarry. However, Fayt destroys the battleship with a previously unknown power of his, though another battleship remains in orbit. During the distraction, the leader of Quark, Maria Traydor, manages to arrive on Elicoor. It seems that both Quark and the Vendeeni knew of Fayt's unusual abilities, and he had been their target the whole time. The party vies with the Vendeeni over control of an unusual "out of place artifact" and Fayt's father, who is killed before Maria can finish interrogating him over his "crimes."

Fayt finds himself space-borne once more, and the galaxy has not stood still. Shortly after the apparently unprovoked attack on Hyda IV, a threat of destruct-full magnitude emerges in the form of ultra-powerful space-borne beings calling themselves "Executioners." The best ships of the Federation and the Vendeeni are nearly powerless against these new beings, and are quickly being forced into full retreat. The party, acting on a hint from Fayt's father, venture to the Moonbase research station, and Fayt is reunited with Sophia. While on the station, they are confronted by an angelic-looking Executioner that calls itself Proclaimer. It launches itself to attack, telling them that they must be destroyed.

Investigation of the Moonbase records reveals the truth behind the Executioners and their appearance. During the charting of a planet called Styx, explorers encountered an extremely advanced and extremely old Time Gate. When activated, it informed them that their forays into the field of symbological genetics had angered the Creator, and that they were to be destroyed. Even if they were to abandon symbological genetics, the reins would be taken up by another soon enough, and that they were not being warned — they were being sentenced.

The explorers beat a hasty retreat and informed the Federation of what they had found. Studies soon suggested that the statement came from another plane of existence; an entirely new universe. Further study revealed that symbology might be used to access this universe. The scientists agreed to use their own offspring; the subjects were Fayt Leingod, Sophia Esteed, and Maria Traydor. Fayt was the son of Robert and Ryoko Leingod, while Sophia was the daughter of Clive Esteed. Maria was an orphan who was later adopted by the fourth member of the team, Jessie Traydor. The three were symbologically altered in such a way that if they worked together, they could gain entry through the Time Gate.

Maria was given the power of Alteration, which would allow her and those with her to remain in physical forms in the new world. Fayt was given the power of Destruction, as it was assumed they would need to physically defend themselves. Two years later, the younger Sophia was given the power of Connection - the key ability needed to make contact with 4D space. (This process of creating humans with inherent symbological power is quite similar to Nede's creation of the Ten Wise Men in Star Ocean: The Second Story, though this did not draw down the wrath of the Executioners due Star Ocean: Till The End of Time being out of continuity with other Star Ocean games.) The Vendeeni had been attacking in hopes of handing over Fayt to the Executioners and staying their wrath.

The party goes to Styx and finds the area flooded with Executioners. Escaping their ship in a small shuttle, they witness the mysterious beings and their awesome might first-hand as the Federation battleship Aquaelie which had escorted them is destroyed. Reaching the Time Gate, the party enters "4D space," a dimension higher than their own. According to the 4D beings, their universe is actually not real in relation to 4D space; rather, it is a computer simulation developed by Luther Lansfeld, the owner of the Sphere Company. Dubbed the "Eternal Sphere", it is similar to a real-world massively multiplayer online game for the inhabitants of 4D space.

Fayt and his allies learn that the Executioners are anti-viruses sent to delete anomalies in the Milky Way section of the Eternal Sphere. With the help of Blair Lansfeld, programmer and sister to Luther, the party manages to find Luther. Blair and the group believe that the residents of the Eternal Sphere have managed to achieve a level of intelligence equal to that of 4D citizens; Luther, however, considers them "mere data." Luther then decides that the only way to delete them is to delete the entire universe (apparently ignoring that he is currently in the Eternal Sphere). The party fights and defeats him, causing him to be deleted himself, but fails to stop the deletion.

However, the world is not destroyed for not entirely clear reasons. Blair mentions an "Eternal Sphere backup" earlier, but there's no evidence that it was applied. The characters decide that even if they really are just programs, they have achieved "consciousness" and therefore cannot be deleted. Alternatively, others suggest Maria's power of Alteration has something to do with it, perhaps even implying that their universe has truly become a reality unto itself and therefore not subject to deletion.

The ending slightly changes based on the "affection level" of the other characters for Fayt, derived from the player's choices during the game and in Private Actions. Fayt has an ending for each character if that character has the highest affection level with him, as well as an "alone" ending if no one has sufficient affection level with him.
Click to expand...

I'm just going to quote Judy Tenuta here and say, "It could happen!" :p
 
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wolfing said:
It's all in the eyes on the beholder + rose tinted glasses. I didn't play 1 or 2. My first Star Ocean was 3 and I found it extremely good. One of my favorite RPGs I played at the time. I played Star Ocean 4 in my PS3 and liked it, not as much as 3, but certainly enjoyed it and don't think it killed the franchise at all. But you know what they say about opinions…
Click to expand...

Well, if you didn't play 1 and 2, your expectations would not be as high for 3 and 4 :) I am sure it is not bad games per se… but compared to the earlier ones especially 1.. well… probably not as good.
 
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If I ever start playing JRPGs,

FF (from FFVII onward)
Chrono Trigger
Xenogears
perhaps Megami Tensei (heard they're like crawlers, I'll just need to find one for the PC)

Anything else?
 
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Persona 4 Golden isn't currently available for PC (Vita only, I believe, though ROMs of the original Persona 4 can be had…Golden is just a highly improved version), but should it ever come to PC, I highly recommend it. It does just about everything right, which is incredibly rare. It keeps the grind to a minimum (uncommon in JRPG's), battles are fun, voice acting is top notch, music is great, and its RPG mechanics are actually incredibly well designed and put together. It lays the atmosphere on thick, too.

Until then, Valkyria Chronicles is a good, solid JRPG title. Even a lot of hard-to-please cynics here on the Watch have liked it. ;)
 
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Aubrielle said:
Until then, Valkyria Chronicles is a good, solid JRPG title. Even a lot of hard-to-please cynics here on the Watch have liked it. ;)
Click to expand...
Maybe I should remove them from my ignorelist then? :D
 
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I would recommend the first Shin Megami Tensei game on the SNES. Brilliant stuff. Still very playable today, has a great art style, interesting story, huge atmosphere and great RPG elements. Recommended!

I have yet to really dive into the Persona games on my PSP. I know they are the follow-ups to the Megami Tensei stuff, but I just haven't had the chance to play much PSP lately. I did play the PSP version of Tactics Ogre, and liked it a lot, although I could do without some of the streamlining features in the PSP version.

Am I rambling here? I'm pretty sure I am, so I'll stop. :D
 
I think the original shin megami Tensei games were for the NES ( and it was a remarable accomplishment to get it on there :) )

I agree it is great games and the Playstation version of Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togheter is probably the nicest one... well, it depends some love the more modern features... none should miss that game though!
 
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Fluent said:
I would recommend the first Shin Megami Tensei game on the SNES.
Click to expand...
And on PC?
I mean... Sorry but I don't want to buy phones, consoles and other "gadgets".
 
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These are the PC JRPGs I own for PC (though they are mostly made outside Japan):

Knights of Xentar 1994
Blaze & Blade 1999
Final Fantasy VII 1999
Legend of the Ancient Dragon - Das magische Zeitalter 1999
Septerra Core - Legacy of the Creator 1999
Eternal Karma (Karma - Wrath of the Gods) 2000
Final Fantasy VIII 2000
Anachronox 2001
Grandia II 2002
Breath of Fire IV 2003
Neverend 2005
Gods: Lands of Infinity 2006
Gooka - Das Geheimnis von Janatris 2006
Vampire World - Port of Death 2007
Falling Stars 2008
Last Remnant, The 2009
Faery - Legends of Avalon 2011
Moonchild - Calypsos Suche nach der verlorenen Tochter 2013
Asguaard - Die Büchse der Pandora 2014
Book of Legends 2014
Child of Light 2014
Final Fantasy XIII 2014
Final Fantasy XIII-2 2014
Skyborn 2014
South Park - Der Stab der Wahrheit 2014

I love how these games are made for people who want their games to be ABOUT something, have a deeper meaning and let us discover something about ourselves.
Grinding, respawns, random encounters and bad translation are a different beast, though...
 
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joxer said:
And on PC?
I mean… Sorry but I don't want to buy phones, consoles and other "gadgets".
Click to expand...

Well, it's your loss, jox. "Gadgets" can be fun little distractions with some great game experiences on them, if one has an open-mind and doesn't close themselves off to new ideas. :)

For example, my PSP is awesome. I can, *ahem*, load many different RPGs and games on to it, and play it while laying in my recliner or in bed. It's not a PC, no, but it can still be good times. :cool:

And if you simply *must* play on PC, then I suggest looking into a good NES/SNES emulator, and download some ROMs (only if you own the game cartridge itself, too, of course). :)
 
And Shin Megami Tensei may have started on NES, but I played the SNES version. It was fun and a very unique experience. :cool:
 
Fluent said:
And Shin Megami Tensei may have started on NES, but I played the SNES version. It was fun and a very unique experience. :cool:
Click to expand...
Correct me if I wrong but although the first Megami Tensei is on NES the first Shin Megami Tensi is on SNES. Semantics :p .

I tried the first SMT and while the atmosphere, characters and gameplay ideas are quite unique even for today. The gameplay is quite bad in my opinion (ultra repetitive dungeon crawling and combats with no information whatsoever on what to do and a lot of frustrating randomness in demon recruiting and fusing).
 
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The gameplay isn't bad. At least, not to me. I don't remember the entire game but from what I played, I liked.

I got pretty far before giving up because I didn't know where to go. The game doesn't give great direction in that regard but I remember exploring a bit and not being able to progress, so I tried a different game. :)

Yes, there was randomness in demon recruiting and fusing. I had no idea what I was doing, but still figured out enough to get by.

It's a game made before the days of the internet, so you have to take it for what it is. :) I don't believe that just because a game has gameplay that is older means it's a bad thing.

If you need help figuring out what to do in the game, buy a GamePro magazine or something. :lol:
 
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