JRPGs with great plot and characters

I already created a topic about JRPG masterpieces here before, but this time it's only about storytelling in games. I'd like to learn which console JRPGs, especially older ones about which I'd have trouble learning today, have great storytelling.

As means to clarify I want to say that great storyteling for me means that there's a lot of it in the first place. There are many games with stories, in fact none of them without a story of some kind, but if a game is 90% about wandering around dungeons, then it doesn't excel in storytelling, it excels in wandering around dungeons. If we go by PC examples, a game like Dragon Age: Origins or Planescape: Torment are naturally great examples of storytelling playing a very important role in the game.

The storytelling formula can be any type: main plot + side quests, or more linear as one continuous main plot (a la Xenogears). I would just love to learn about games with lots of good storytelling! I've always thought that there should be more JRPGs with it than Western RPGs with it.

Let me see: ( not in any particular order )
Valkyrie Proflie ( don't miss this one! )
Chrono Trigger
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Eternia
Lunar Silver Star Story
Lunar 2 Eternal blue
Phantasy Star 1,2,4
FF VI
FF VII
FF IX
Star Ocean 1
Trailis in the Sky series.
Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together
Romancing Saga 3

I might add more later... I probably forgot some really good ones!

From the main forum summary page it only showed me part of the title of this post, which was "JRPGs with great plot". Give its "JRPGs" and "Plot" I came in for a different kind of thread but this is pretty good too

Most of jRPGs have good, sometimes even great plot.
But they never ever go risque. It's always soft drama, soft thriller, soft horror, soft this, soft that, never a hot sauce, never a gamechanger, always safebets.
I have yet to see a jRPG that'll cause some industry turmoil.

Almost posted that and then I remembered.
The only jRPG that got me unprepared for what's coming and hooked me hard with the unbelievably crazy story that feels like not written by any being from this planet is Chaos Rings 2 on phones. To this day I'm not sure why Square Enix refuses to port this game on PC, such story belongs on PC.
Marked that number so you don't search for prequels and sequels.

Only one entry for me: Suikoden 3. It's the only game where near the end I didn't want to finish because I would miss the characters.

joxer said:

Most of jRPGs have good, sometimes even great plot.
But they never ever go risque. It's always soft drama, soft thriller, soft horror, soft this, soft that, never a hot sauce, never a gamechanger, always safebets.
I have yet to see a jRPG that'll cause some industry turmoil.

Almost posted that and then I remembered.
The only jRPG that got me unprepared for what's coming and hooked me hard with the unbelievably crazy story that feels like not written by any being from this planet is Chaos Rings 2 on phones. To this day I'm not sure why Square Enix refuses to port this game on PC, such story belongs on PC.
Marked that number so you don't search for prequels and sequels.

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Try Valkyrie Profile......

Sorry, no such game on steam/uplay/origin nor on iphone/bluestacks.

However bluestacks will definelty put it's sequel on iphone/bluestacks:
http://www.androidauthority.com/square-enix-new-valkyrie-profile-game-android-687170/

Note: the first comment under that article was not written by me.
Note2: Bluestacks is emulator of google's OS on PC. I'm not writing android because there is a creature android inside Valkyrie Profile game and because Bluestacks works on PC.

Don't forget Final Fantasy Tactics! It should be in that list of absolute musts for heavy story.

Aubrielle said:

Don't forget Final Fantasy Tactics! It should be in that list of absolute musts for heavy story.

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It also has excellent gameplay and mechanics, for those who dig those as well. Perhaps a bit on the easy side compared to something like Tactics Ogre, but I love both of them.

I'll add the 2 Mistwalker masterpieces (made by the creator of the Final Fantasy series with music by the Final Fantasy music-maker, Nobuo Uematsu), Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon.

Lost Odyssey is a bit more of a mature story, Blue Dragon features kids as characters but has the feel of something like a 3D Chrono Trigger with all the charm. I love both of these and wish they'd get PC ports someday, however unlikely.

Final Fantasy 4 is also really, really good. Actually, it's one of the first RPGs I played for the SNES when I got to the age to walk to the video store myself and rent games. I remember renting it and since you saved your file on the cartridge itself, someone before me had a save near the end of the game. I remember my jaw just dropping as my 7 year old self (or however old I was) looked at how FREAKING cool everything in that save was! But anywho, great game, great story, all-time classic.

Enchanted Arms is an interesting game as well for the Xbox 360. I played some hours and it had a pretty interesting world to explore and cool story. Recommended.

I mean, I can't really think of a JRPG I didn't like the story in. Hmm.

Also can think of a few more:

Oh god! How could I forget the greatest (to me) and most innovative (to me) RPG series ever - the Suikoden series!!! Seriously, Suikoden 3's storytelling is so good, you will laugh, you will cry, you will ask yourself, who the heck designed this amazingly good plot and story!!!

Not only is the story great, but it has a "Trinity" system, in which you play through the personal stories of the 3 main characters, yet all their stories interweave in a way that forms one huge, epic story, but you start by seeing it from 3 unique perspectives. There is also a 4th character with chapters as well. So innovative at the time, I wonder why more games don't use that system today.

Suikoden 3 to this day has some of the best characters in any RPG, ever, in my opinion.

But I'll stop rambling now. Enjoy!

Thanks everyone! I will ask about particular games:

Is Final Fantasy Tactic difficult? I'm not very good at tactical JRPGs, especially those that require grinding. I heard a lot about it and I like political plots, but I'm a bit intimidated…

Blue Dragon, is that the one for XBox (which I saidly don't own)? Searching shows another game Blue Dragon Awakened Shadow for DS, with a kid as main character.

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together, what kind of story is it? Political, like FF:Tactics? And since it's tactical, I'd like to know how difficult it is… for newbies and people lame in tactical games.

I see Suikoden recommended alot, it's actually on my list already. After I was so delighted with Trails in the Sky: SC (its plot revolves around politics and hidden conspiracies), people kept saying that the game is like a cross between Lunar and Suikoden. Since then Lunar and Suikoden games have been on the list of games I'll definitely play.

OK, other games require further investigation.

I played Suikoden 3 but I actually can't remember the plot or any characters at all. I had fun with the game (and there were so MANY characters!) but the story was certainly forgettable to me.

Xenosaga 1 and 2 had great stories and characters. 2 had an awful combat system, unfortunately, which I presume hurt the series so bad that they had to cram the stories for the next four games into one, final game. That led to 3's story being a bit crazy (you couldn't sneeze without resolving a major plotline!) but the writers managed to hold it together well enough to be entertaining. I expect by now you can watch the story for all three games on YouTube. {Yep, sure enough. Total playing time for all the cutscenes together is over 20 hours!}

And Shadow Hearts: Covenant had a good story and some great characters.

Joxer, everything playing safe?? Hmm.
Albido and Momo from Xenosaga 1: https://youtu.be/Xg_dqkPiBww?t=4m20s
I don't think I would call SH:C's Man Festival 'playing it safe', either. https://youtu.be/j_gI1pHaplg?t=21m42s

Elel said:

Is Final Fantasy Tactic difficult?

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Unfortunately difficulty level is this wonderful game's biggest flaw -- it swings from hard to too easy.

The first few levels can be annoying as you work to build up your lowbie team, but all too soon you gain access to overpowered special characters who make the battles a cakewalk.

The game plays best when you sideline the named characters as much as possible and just use your basic classes. And don't grind! You'll wish you hadn't.

Zloth, shut up!

There are many characters in all Suikoden games. 108 playable, recruitable characters, to be exact (the 108 Stars of Destiny).

Suikoden 3 does have a ton of them, but each of them is fleshed out in a way that gives you enough information to fall in love with some of them, but doesn't overdo it, either. But, you can also use the investigator NPC to investigate background traits of each character as well, which does a surprisingly good job at giving them a bit more personality.

Soooo many good characters in Suikoden 3. All the main characters are great, their comrades, too. I mean, I think you guys will love it if you play it!

The story is great but I think it's also the way they tell the story via 3 or 4 unique perspectives that really draws you in. There are a lot of twists, turns, and you will *think* you know something for sure, only to experience the same series of events from a totally different perspective and change what you think you know! Awesome!

I'm really surprised more games didn't copy that system. Heck, even future Suikoden games don't use that sytem. I wonder why? Must be pretty hard to develop, I'd say!

Elel said:

Thanks everyone! I will ask about particular games:

Is Final Fantasy Tactic difficult? I'm not very good at tactical JRPGs, especially those that require grinding. I heard a lot about it and I like political plots, but I'm a bit intimidated…

Final Fantasy Tactics is on the easier side of the scale, with an occasional tougher battle, I guess, but it's not masochist level or anything. Fairly easy game with a rich story and lore.

Blue Dragon, is that the one for XBox (which I saidly don't own)? Searching shows another game Blue Dragon Awakened Shadow for DS, with a kid as main character.

I haven't played the DS game yet, but that is in the same series as the original Xbox 360 Blue Dragon game. Blue Dragon does feature kids as main characters, but it's not really a kids game, in my opinion. Again, it reminds me of a 3D Chrono Trigger in a way, with a ton of charm and even the same art designer, Akira Toriyama, as Chrono Trigger.

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together, what kind of story is it? Political, like FF:Tactics? And since it's tactical, I'd like to know how difficult it is… for newbies and people lame in tactical games.

Very, very political-based story. Interesting, very interesting, with a rich history and some branching choices and decisions to make, that can lead to very different endings. However, it's not an easy game. Play the PSP re-make, for one, since you don't have to manually train your soldiers after each battle. But again, some battles are really tough and you may have to replay them a few times. When I spent some time with the PSP version it wasn't *too* bad, but the original game can kick your butt!

I see Suikoden recommended alot, it's actually on my list already. After I was so delighted with Trails in the Sky: SC (its plot revolves around politics and hidden conspiracies), people kept saying that the game is like a cross between Lunar and Suikoden. Since then Lunar and Suikoden games have been on the list of games I'll definitely play.

Suikoden games usually have a strong political-based story. Suikoden 3 is no different. Countries/regions are at war and you will be placed smack in between a bunch of crooked politics, political schemes and full-scale war. Suikoden 3 is my favorite in the series, followed the by the original, then 2, then 4, and I haven't played 5. Really great series, though, highly recommended!

OK, other games require further investigation.

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Responses in bold!!

wolfing said:

Only one entry for me: Suikoden 3. It's the only game where near the end I didn't want to finish because I would miss the characters.

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Yup, absolutely this, 100%!! The characters are so good!! <3

Elel, FFT isn't overwhelmingly hard at all, at least except for one or two ridiculous bosses. My advice would be to play it, even if it's just the emulated PS1 version! The political intrigue is thick, and the music is grand and epic. It doesn't go super heavy on the tactics, but do yourself a favor and check out a guide to beating the hardest bosses in the game so you can see where you should save ahead of time. If you save too close to one boss, then find out you didn't bring enough potions/whatever to beat him, he'll be nigh impossible. Though thankfully there's really only one boss I can think of like that, about halfway-ish through the game. It's some kind of demon pig thing.

It's amazing. Don't be intimidated at all. It's such a great game.

(oh, and spend a while in the soldier office. I assume you're like me in that you'll want lots of women for your party, so hire enough to fill out a party of five or so…so your main hero guy and four soldiers you hire and name yourself. As was said above, don't worry too much about the named characters. All that matters is that your girls get the right levels/job points in the classes you want.)

And ninjas armed with two swords and the Hamedo skill from the monk tree are badass. Some mob steps up, tries to attack your ninja, so she strikes first, hits them twice, really hard. Boom, boom, dead.

Zloth said:

Albido and Momo from Xenosaga 1: https://youtu.be/Xg_dqkPiBww?t=4m20s

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That's some majorly over-the-top voice acting.

Unfortunately, that seems to be a characteristic in many JRPGs. That, and the writing, is why I can't get absorbed into most of them the same way I get into Western RPGs.

I always meant to play the Xenosaga trilogy. I purchased them a long time ago but they got lost in the backlog. Still have factory-sealed copies of all three games.

Never understood the love for FF Tactics. In fairness though, I should probably give it another try someday. I played the original PS1 release when it was new and quit after getting stuck at a tough battle early on. I think I was disappointed at the time that it wasn't like other FF titles.

Elel said:

Tactics Ogre: Let us cling together, what kind of story is it? Political, like FF:Tactics? And since it's tactical, I'd like to know how difficult it is… for newbies and people lame in tactical games.

.

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I'll reply to this one, since it is one of my favourite games like ever. Fluent already made a good reply, so I'll just add a few things. Yes it is difficult, so unfortunately might not be something for you

But everything else is just so amazing, also to get the easier endings is not as hard as to get the "best" ones. It is like the only game I know where your characters can turn on you if you make choices against their opinion, and this can totally change the way and difficulty of the battles, so you can actually make the game easier by making good choices. It is also the only game, where I really enjoyed the different endings, they are so amazingly well thought out, and relevant in the wars of modern society today!

Elel said:

Is Final Fantasy Tactic difficult? I'm not very good at tactical JRPGs, especially those that require grinding. I heard a lot about it and I like political plots, but I'm a bit intimidated…

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If you hate grind, stay far far away from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Even if you don't have to do much grind by the definition of just repeatedly slaying the same enemies over and over again to level up without progressing through the story, you'll end up playing a lot of very similar battles which ends up feeling just like any other grind. It's also really bad in the actual tactics department, just sending your troops forward and attacking and using healing spells when someone is damaged, with little actual though given to the situation, is the norm. It's very simplistic in how you actually play it, despite there being a bit of complexity under the hood.




As for JRPGs with great plots & characters, I'm with JDR13

Unfortunately, that seems to be a characteristic in many JRPGs. That, and the writing, is why I can't get absorbed into most of them the same way I get into Western RPGs.

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This holds back most JRPGs to me, but there are some that I've enjoyed quite a bit.

Final Fantasy 9 for an example is a game I found managed to strike a very good balance between its serious moments and its more lighthearted ones. There's some depth to the story, and it has its darker moments, and it contrasts nicely with the lighter moments. In the end, by daring to be more lighthearted and showing its nearly childish side, without it being some almost out of left field strangeness, FF9 manages to be the more mature of the PS1-era Final fantasies. The main character is still not great, but I liked him far more than Cloud or Squall.

If the main thing you're after is a good story & characters, stay away from the "Tales of" series. While they're not bad, they are not great either. What makes that series of interest is the actual gameplay, which is more true for the 3D ones than the 2D ones (though I'm currently playing Tales of Zestiria, and it's showing a surprising amount of restraint for a Tales-game, which plays to its favour, at last up to the point I've got to, which is about 10h into the game). This comes from someone who actually quite like Tales of Symphonia. Do stay far away from the PS1 title "Tales of Destiny", it's, to put it gently, crap.

*edit*

Ever played the Mario RPG series? This might seem like a strange recommendation, because the plot is not exactly deep, and the characters are not complex, but they are immensely entertaining.

Fnord said:

If you hate grind, stay far far away from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

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I do hate grind. Only Advance, though? Are the Playstation and the PSP port better in that regard?

If the main thing you're after is a good story & characters, stay away from the "Tales of" series. While they're not bad, they are not great either.

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GothicGothicness recommended two of those in this thread (second post). Now I'm confused. Maybe those two are exceptions?