5 JRPGs TGS 2016 Got Me Excited About

5 JRPGs TGS 2016 Got Me Excited About

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 (Im sorry Final Fantasy XV, but Im 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 havent finished 1.5 Remix so I assumed I wasnt going to play 2.8 until long after Id 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 and Clean from the first Kingdom Hearts had some gorgeous footage, bringing in some familiar Kingdom Hearts motifs including the star fruit, falling from the sky and of course, keyblades. Adding to the pretty trailer was the game footage from Kingdom Hearts 2.8, particularly from Back Cover and Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage being newer additions to the series so getting an extended peak of those is always welcomed. I was particularly excited since it showed gameplay from the latter which will likely be a peek at Kingdom Hearts 3�s (one of the main reasons I bought my PS4) visuals and most importantly, the gameplay. The whole trailer was a great tribute to the three games featured in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 and I hope it keeps me hyped up for its January release.

You can pre-order Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue from Play-Asia.com!

NieR: Automata

Where Kingdom Hearts 2.8�s trailer got me interested with what it showed, NieR: Automata was dynamic thanks to what it didnt show. NieR: Automata�s trailer shows glimpses of footage backed by lots of screaming and yelling, a very mysterious and dynamic way to introduce NieR Automata. Ive never played a NieR game but Ive been curious about the series for awhile. After seeing how interesting the trailer looked, Ill be paying attention to this game more.

You can pre-order NieR: Automata from Play-Asia.com!

Granblue Fantasy Project Re:Link

Granblue Fantasy has had a lot of magazine coverage in Japan recently, so when it was announced in the PS VR portion of Sony�s conference I was quite surprised to see it was coming to VR as I was under the impression it was a smartphone game. The idea of a JRPG (VRPG?) being available on VR without any gimmicks such as gunplay is kind of refreshing since JRPG gameplay is good enough on its own. I�ve never played Granblue Fantasy and there isn�t a lot of information to elaborate on I wouldn�t specifically buy a VR headset for it, but I would definitely play this if I got the chance as itd be a cool new way to experience JRPGs.

Digimon World: Next Order

If you enjoyed Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth as much as I did, you may want to try Digimon World: Next Order now that it�s been announced for PS4 next year. Although the trailer was too short to show Next Order�s main gameplay, since Im currently playing Next Order on my Vita, I can say a few hours in Im liking it and is had all the raise-your-own-Digimon nostalgia from the original Digimon World games. If you like the idea of raising two Digimon to fight together, feeding them meat daily, taking them to the bathroom after training and filling a city with Digital friends, this is the Digimon game to play.

You can pre-order the localised version of Digimon World: Next Order at Play-Asia.com!

World of Final Fantasy

As the potential final trailer before World of Final Fantasy�s late October release, the TGS 2016 trailer gave a cute extended look into the story and more of the characters well get to play with in the fun spin-off game. My favourite part of this trailer was seeing all the summons and enemies of Final Fantasy in the unique art style which somehow even makes Malboros look endearing and cuddly. Cuteness aside, its nice to see World of Final Fantasy will have its own plot full of emotional ups and downs while still paying homage to the Final Fantasys before it. Im looking forward to it more than I expected and Im sure itll be a nice game to play before Final Fantasy XVs release.

You can pre-order World of Final Fantasy from Play-Asia.com!

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What were your favourite games from TGS 2016? Was there anything you thought was missing?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up Facebook or Instagram and lets talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. Youre awesome! <3

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5 JRPGs I Shouldve Really Played By Now

5 JRPGs I Shouldve Really Played By Now

It honestly wasnt until I finished Persona 4 Golden that I understood I wasnt just a fan of weird Final Fantasy games, I understood there was entire genre of these Japanese Role-Playing Games I loved, I just hadnt been paying enough attention to them. I love this genre enough now to talk about it as much as possible, but theres a catalog of classic JRPGs and highly relevant series that I havent touched yet. I always intend to get back to them, but its not that simple sometimes because of life getting in the way and the sheer length of a JRPG, not to mention keeping up with the franchises I already love and want to continue playing. Its hard to balance both. So, as a reminder to myself of my backlog of shame, heres 5 JRPG games I definitely shouldve played by now and hope to play sometime soon.

Tales of... Series

The Tales of series is one of the biggest JRPG series at the moment, both in popularity and series entries, with 16 main entries in the series and no sign of stopping. I used to see Tales of Graces f in the discounted PS3 games section of my local game store and thought it looked interesting and pretty, but I never really went beyond just looking at it until games media sites like IGN started hyping Tales of Xillia. Now I own a few Tales titles, including Tales of Xillia 1 and 2, Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Graces, but I dont really know when Im going to play them as of yet. I love a great story and the Tales of series is known for having great stories, so its something I should probably try more of. I have tried Tales of Xillia, but I didnt finish it because I started another playing another game. Itll probably be the first one I try to concur and I hope that sparks a big love of the series thatll make me play the ones I own.

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is legendary in the world of JRPGs, so having not played it yet almost feels like a sin against my love of JRPGs. I was pretty damn young when Chrono Trigger was out, so I missed it but its one of those must play JRPGs as it was revolutionary for its time and has definitely had an effect on JRPGs now. With time travel and multiple endings being featured in the story, since these are some favourite features and kinds of story, Im sure Ill enjoy it, dated graphics and all.

Suikoden Series

Yet another series I became intrigued about due to many people on Twitter and in games media being hardcore advocates for the game. It was people like them that are the reason I signed the petition to bring Suikoden to the PSN. The petition was a great sucess, with Suikoden 1-3 now in the PSN store. I bought Suikoden 1 from the PSN, so its sitting in my backlog waiting to be played. I hear the story is incredibly touching and if the trailers anything to go off, it looks like an intriguing game thats been loved for a reason.

Wild Arms Series

Wild Arms is yet another legendary series I hear so many good things about, but I have mixed feelings about playing it. Its meant to be one of the best JRPGs of all time, but Ive never been interested in Wild West themes in movies or games and thats one of the premises for this story. However, Ive also never played a JRPG with a Wild West theme so maybe Im missing something and I just dont know it yet. With a mix of puzzles and JRPG mechanics, its probably worth checking out as an education on the JRPG genre, but if anyone could sell this to me in the comments, please do!

Dragon Quest

I used to not want to play Dragon Quest, purely because it was once Final Fantasys rival, but nowadays I really dont think thats a reason to not play something! A lot of the games mentioned in this article are ones Im curious about because of what other people have said and while many people say nice things about Dragon Quest, Im mostly listing it here because of my own interest. For starters, turn-based battles and hero saves the medieval looking town is one of my favourites, even if its a bit clich�. It looks like Dragon Age does this in its own way, with cool cartoon monsters and characters. Also the interesting things being done to the series such as Dragon Quest: Builders show that the creators of Dragon Quest are paying attention to whats going on in the world of gaming, but its a series that seems more faithful to its roots than Final Fantasy. Its hard to know where to start with a series like Dragon Quest, so perhaps Ill wait till the next one!

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Which of these games should I play most? Whats a JRPG you wish youd played by now?

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle and lets talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games. Youre awesome! <3

All of the photos used in this article are not my own and are property of their respective creators and companies

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5 Times JRPGs Kicked My Ass

5 Times JRPGs Kicked My Ass

As much as I love video games, I don�t claim to be the best at gaming. While I can pick up most mechanics, my varying degree of skill with some games has made me no stranger to the Game Over screen and Ive had to hit the Retry button in some of my most played games (such as my complete inability to complete the Omega Ruins in Final Fantasy X). Recently I�ve been playing the Roguelike JRPG Sorcery Saga: The Curse of the Great Curry God, a fun but tough dungeon crawler that has found me sent back to its town without my items on multiple occasions with a small bit of my dungeon confidence eaten away. This made me think back to some of the many fails I�ve had while playing JRPGs and while these are only a small selection, these are some of the biggest fails I�ve had while playing or more accurately, times I�ve had my ass kicked while playing JRPGs.

Note: I�ve kept spoilers to a minimum by mostly not mentioning boss names and story circumstances, but there are some minor spoilers about significant boss battles in this article. Proceed with caution!

Final Fantasy X�s Final Boss

If there�s one thing Final Fantasy is good at, it�s bosses with multiple forms or stages. I�m not referring to the final boss battle that you pretty much automatically win, I�m talking about the true final boss of Final Fantasy X, the one with more than one stage and an overdrive gauge that can quickly wipe out any unprepared party. There are a bunch of bosses like this in Final Fantasy X but when I played the HD Remaster a couple of years ago, I was reminded of that feeling of total horror when you think youve won the boss battle, but oh no, lets put multiple status ailments on all your characters, shatter a couple for good measure and knock some out because Im definitely out of Phoenix Downs. It was horrible, but the satisfaction I got after grinding a little more, taking advance of any possible status vulnerabilities, winning and crying like a baby to the ending was definitely worth the struggle.

You can pick up Final Fantasy X HD Remaster from Play-Asia.com*!

Persona 3 FES�s Final Boss

Persona 3�s boss battle is one of the absolute harshest boss battles I have ever experienced. If Final Fantasy X was bad for bosses with multiple forms, Persona 3�s boss is just plain unreasonable. When I played Persona 3 this year, I assumed that it would be harder than the previous bosses I�d faced, all of which had been difficult but not impossible, but the absolute uphill struggle I faced was definitely beyond my expectations. The final boss really ramps up the difficulty, with over 10 different forms to fight and without a proper strategy, any party will be quickly annihilated. I can�t even begin to tell you how many online guides I read and Youtube videos I watched just to check if winning was a possibility and to work out how to defeat that thing with what I had. I must have tried it over 20 times and definitely saw a lot of Game Over screens, which are just a little more crushing when youre almost at the end of the game. It took a lot of persistence and a little grinding, but eventually I did it. I hope to never face a boss that slays me that hard again.

You can pick up the original Persona 3 FES for PS2 from Play-Asia.com* or pick up the PS2 Classic from the Playstation Network Store!

Final Fantasy IX�s Plant Brain

I think I had a lot of luck when I versed Final Fantasy IX�s Plant Brain for the first time, because I had no problem beating it. However something happened - either my Vita ran out of power or I turned it off without saving - and somehow, I lost my save, meaning I had to do the boss battle again. Fine, I said. Piece of cake, right? Wrong.

Older JRPGs are different to the standard beginning of a modern JRPG. They don�t try to make you feel like a god in the first few battles so that you keep playing. They�re not scared to kick you around and knock out a majority of your party, which is exactly what happened to me. I wasn�t expecting to use any healing items because it was one of the first boss fights in the game and I repeatedly kept getting knocked down and finding myself at the Game Over screen thinking I was a better gamer than this. Going from winning on my first try to absolutely struggling was kind of a shock, but I accepted it was going to be a tough battle, put my pride aside and healed my party. It did however let me understand that Final Fantasy IX was going to be a little more challenging than other Final Fantasy�s I played, so it served as a good introduction for what was ahead.

You can pick up the original Final Fantasy IX for PS One from Play-Asia.com* or pick up the PS One Classic from the Playstation Network Store!

Sorcery Saga: the Curse of the Great Curry God�s Chapter 4 Dungeon

Ah, my week long dilemma. Every dungeon in Sorcery Saga is a little punishing, but with the amount of potential enemies that can surround you, surprisingly strong bosses and devastating traps in the 25 floors of this fourth dungeon, Sorcery Saga is definitely working against me in my quest to win this dungeon. Since Sorcery Saga is a Roguelike JRPG, I�m also starting fresh each dungeon run so if I lose, my next run is even tougher because I may not have my best sword anymore. And even if I go in with the best equipment in the world, there�s potential for it to get cursed or eaten by an enemy or Kuu (your friendly dungeon pet) if hes super hungry. It seems like I need a lucky run and to use Kuu and the area as perfectly as possible. For now, my dungeon crawling confidence is waning, but I will not give up!

(Fun fact: before this article went up, I won the dungeon through excessive grinding on each floor and risking dungeon collapse. Yay! Currently slowly going through the last dungeon so I dont you know...die.)

You can pick up Sorcery Saga: the Curse of the Great Curry God from Play-Asia.com*!

Persona 4 Golden�s �Legend of Inaba - Max Out All Social Links� Trophy

I�ve spoken mostly about getting my ass kicked in battle in this article, but there are plenty of ways JRPGs can make things hard for the player, such as the simultaneously heartwarming and patience-testing Legend of Inaba trophy from Persona 4 Golden. Social Links are an enjoyable part of Persona 4 Golden, but to max them all out in one playthrough requires thorough planning and execution, something I failed at multiple times. This trophy pretty much took me three playthroughs, and with a playthrough of Persona 4 Golden being over 100 hours on average, I don�t need to tell you it was hard work. I had to make sure I said the right things to each character or else I may not be able to fully get them to the next Social Link rank in the next interaction, which would cost more time. Memorising what days characters were available, on top of keeping the dungeon crawling part of the game afloat was a true challenge, but at least it was a fulfilling one as its probably the most immersed Ive felt in a story. Persona 4�s well-written characters thankfully made this worth it and I�m forever happy about the 300+ hours I spent with Persona 4 Golden, even if it was tough.

You can pick up Persona 4 Golden from Play-Asia.com*!

Some JRPGs might be ruthless difficulty-wise, but I never think it�s a bad thing. It�s the persistent battling and desire to beat challenges that make completing a JRPG so rewarding, like I truly worked for the experience I gained. I honestly think sometimes the persistence I�ve had encouraged in JRPGs has also become apart of my everyday life, as I look to be challenged in real life situations and in a weird way I enjoy the struggling challenges presented to me in JRPGs as working them out feels truly satisfying. Knowing that all the challenges in JRPGs are conquerable keeps me going and I�m looking forward to whatever the next JRPG struggle I face is, even if its a temporary kick to my confidence as a player. In the end, its worth it.

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Have you had a memorable JRPG ass-kicking? What was your biggest JRPG challenge?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram and lets talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. Youre awesome! <3

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