6 Tips to Overcome Your JRPG Gaming Backlog

[@painfullyaware5221]

Great tips!. If I may add one; for games with difficulty options, don't feel obligated to play on a harder difficulty just because others do. Play on the difficulty you enjoy. There's no shame in story mode.

[@Ashtarte3D]

Definitely agree with this one. Some series I want to play for the story but find the combat to be lackluster, such as basically every Tales game so I always crank them down to easy. Meanwhile the combat in Trails or Xenoblade are so good I want to play on hard mode to test myself.

[@japandi780]

I definitely found this recently. Some games I’m not really interested in difficulty and I just want the story, with others I want the challenge. I’ve definitely completed games I would have dropped if I didn’t pick story mode.

[@waltlock8805]

Absolutely. Personally I play Atlus turn based games on the hardest difficulty, other turn based on normal, and a lot of action games on easy.

[@zayxen9346]

If you play on easy you’re a wimp

[@GrandRobo]

This is such an underrated advice. I only play hard mode on my favorite series and play easy on the rest. Making larger progress on the story is much more enjoyable with my limited time.

[@ashleyward3277]

Some good tips here, particularly dropping games I am not enjoying after a certain point and not treating the backlog like a job. I've got a pretty huge backlog (spanning multiple systems) to get through, but it's definitely important that I am enjoying what I am playing and not just soldiering through out of obligation.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Exactly - games are there to have fun. The day gaming becomes a chore is the day I quit for an indefinite amount of time.

[@Goldenkitten1]

For near on fifteen years of my life I treated it as if I bought a game it *HAD* to be completed. I think it was rooted in the fact that as a kid I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I had very little money aside from $1 a week in allowance so buying new games simply wasn't an option so when I did get my parents to buy me a new game that game was getting played and replayed for hundreds of hours no matter its quality because there was no other choice. And I think even as I grew old enough to purchase games for myself to the point of having an obscene backlog I carried that "Finish your meal, kids in Africa are dying of hunger right now!" mentality towards JRPG's far longer than I should have. Recognizing I could just...stop playing a game if it was terrible was one of the biggest revelations in my gaming life and really rejuvenated my interest in the pastime.

[@ashleyward3277]

@@Goldenkitten1 I can definitely relate to that. I used to only get around 3 games a year growing up (one for my birthday, one for Christmas, one from my savings) so I used to try my best to squeeze as much value out of my games as possible (as the gap between games was pretty big). Nowadays I can pretty much buy any game I want, so there is no need to finish games I am not enjoying as I will always have something else to play.

[@Jack-nj9pi]

@@TheKisekiNut exactly I learned real quick that it shouldn't be homework and that I don't need to play them all just what peaks the interest and what gets me in the mood even if its a throwback

[@TheKisekiNut]

This one's been on the back burner for a while, it was meant to be out 3 weeks a go. But then Sophie 2 happened, and then Soul Hackers 2 was announced, and then Elden Ring... You get the idea - anyway, I've been making pretty good headway on my backlog lately, and these are the methods I use that work for me. Edit - Some people are asking what the games in the footage are, so here they are in order: Scarlet Nexus Dragon Quest XI SMT 3 Nocturne Blue Reflection: Second Light Agarest: Generations of War (sucks) Nier Automata Ys IX: Monstrum Nox Cosmic Star Heroine Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim Atelier Sophie 2

[@oxtim394]

Ironic that your backlog video was in your backlog. Some really great points here

[@Tombbistol]

Great tips ! For me I also tend to play jrpgs at easy mode if I don’t have much time , there are just too much grounding and leveling ups in rpgs and when I find myself short of free time , I don’t feel ashamed switching the difficulties to easy to reduce the grounding time .

[@twostepghouls]

Learning how to let go of games that I wasn’t really enjoying was a huge thing. Fighting with the desire to have things be “finished/done” is hard sometimes but it’s healthy to move on if something isn’t working for you.

[@vigil8400]

Good relationship advice

[@hovasaxa]

This was a really helpful watch. I tend to beat myself up for not getting through my backlog, but as many of the games in it are *long* JRPGs… I just end up feeling overwhelmed instead. Thanks for the tips! A healthier mindset is the best place to start.

[@alexsanderivan6511]

It's funny, I learned pretty much every tip in this video naturally throughout the years, and I can attest, they work really well. It's only recently that I am having a hard time playing through multiple games at a time, but for good reason: I am playing through the Trails series. I've been interested into the series for a while now, and with all the localizations coming out this year, I decided to finally jump in, and I gotta say, it is nigh impossible to play a Trails game and then go play something else, even for a single day lol, you just can't put them down

[@mohamadshehab4162]

No joke. This is littrally what I have been going through past 2 days. Work/hobbies/no time etc. I wasted my weekend just thinking that I want to play alot of games and what to play and not enough time to play and it really got me down and depressed and in the end I didnt play anything. On that note, your video really came at the right time for me. No joke it really cheered me up. I can only say thank you. Your videos always gives out positive energy. I think I will be trying that blasphemous "playing multiple games at the same time" and see how it goes from there.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Glad it helped you mate! Mindset is damn important for a backlog, at the end of the day we play games to have fun. If you're not having fun, then what's the point. Hope it helps you with your own!

[@ussfrhni8085]

This is very relatable. The tips were incredibly helpful, thank you!

[@Kenko_4]

Some great tips here that I’ll definitely consider implementing myself. I too have enjoyed the habit of playing multiple games at a time. I usually have an action RPG balanced with a turn based game. Or opposite tones of story work as well. I sometimes play a Platformer or a metroidvania for a quick play through. Right now I’m playing Elden Ring along with Triangle Strategy.

[@vlonewolfv]

Nice list! It's always great to hear how people find ways to keep their love for games alive without burning out. A couple years ago, I myself had to create a similar list because I kept burning out and was actively avoiding returning. Now I am glad I did. Not a complete list but the two biggest rules for me are: 1) Only play 1 game at a time- I had the exact opposite reaction as you did which I think is kind of funny. I was playing multiple games but couldn't sink me teeth into any. Once I switched to one game at a time, I found myself flying through them. 2) Don't play new releases- I have found that since I don't care about online competition, or going online at all, there is no reason for me to play a game right when its released. I am happy to play a game 6 months to a year later. Not only are the games a bit cheaper but they often times have been patched and run better than ever. You do have to get rid of that FOMO though. Luckily I also don't care about spoilers so I never have to worry about a game story getting ruined for me. But yeah, great video. Hopefully it can help a few people enjoy games even more.

[@andres.5204]

i don't play new releases either and i used to not play multiple games at once BUT now that i've gotten better at jrpgs i decided to try the more grindy ones and if i only played one game rn i'd be doing a couple hours a day of just resetting the game over and over again for like a week but if it's not one of those (typically more old school) slow grindy games then i only do one at once

[@raven.4815]

I feel like 1 game at a time can get boring af, especially with JRPGs as usually their final parts are grindy and repetitive as all heck. Besides that, I agree with everything you've said

[@vlonewolfv]

@@raven.4815 Yeah, I have noticed I am pretty much in the minority on that part of my approach. But it is what works for me. I just get too distracted otherwise. Haha

[@raven.4815]

@@vlonewolfv More power to you! And I personally have that approach with lengthy titles like Persona games or so. I think that the ideal balance is: 1 big JRPG and then 2 or 3 smaller games (could be JRPG or not) to give variety

[@HighYouseF]

My favorite one is playing more than one game at a time, makes gaming really refreshing and more enjoyable.

[@TitusKingdom]

This is a great video of a topic I think many of us struggle with but nobody really talks about it. I used to focus on 1 game myself but have experimented with playing a few & do think it works but I like to keep it no more than 3. I think just making progress every day is key. Even if it's 30 minutes like you said, it's still progress. Lastly, not trying to beat every game under the sun is important. I don't often do this but if a game hasn't hooked me but I still want to know what happens I may just watch the rest of it on KZbin

[@TheKisekiNut]

I think that's the key issue, a lot of people feel they HAVE to get their money's worth on a game. The way I see it, the money is spent. It's gone perpetually. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but it gives you an idea of what to look for in the future.

[@thecognitiverambler8911]

I love that your character is named TKN! What's amazing about this video is actually the fact that most of these tips are good life tips generally. Budget your time, variate your downtime activities to prevent staleness, abandon things you don't like (this is an important tip for reading books in my experience too), and just having a proper mindset and strategy. Amazing content as always man.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Thanks bud! I think having a balance especially as you get older is ever more important.

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

Tip #2 -- I've been doing this too...just like how we were taught in school during a test to not get yourself "stuck" on hard question but rather pass it for now and come back to it later. Just like how if you get stuck on a hard part of a JRPG, you don't have to just stay "stuck"...you can work on another JRPG and then come back to that hard part in the other JRPG later, if all that makes sense.

[@spotter93r6]

I did this with the Trails series and it was so hard to break. I got into cold steel 1 and 2 right before Covid hit and when I was furloughed in March of 2019 I was able to go back and start the series fresh from the sky trilogy. It was bliss! Waking up, the fresh smell of coffee in the house, then HOURS day after day of immersing myself into the world of Zemuria. Then I went back to work and I tried so hard to replicate that dopamine rush by doing that on just my weekends (because I didn’t want to play for only 2-3 hours after I get home from work during the week) but it just became such a slog and had to break that habit because I found myself less interested in playing or that it was more of a chore and I DID NOT want that beautiful series to feel like a chore.

[@H2O_Addict]

Funny, I already did all these things and for the most part it works. But then I only have like less than 3 hours of free time a day to play, one game can easily took me a whole semester to finish lol. Hence why I only play the game with top notch story quality that is worth my time and that is The Legend of Heroes series :)

[@acebreaker7]

I'll be honest that second tip is usually the opposite i would tell people to do but i see your point and it makes alot of sense actually

[@TheKisekiNut]

It doesn't surprise me that some players would frown on it since I also used to do the same. But actually putting it in to practice, I found it helped my playthroughs significantly, so I stick with it now.

[@Iamtheamazingmrg]

So many people talk about their backlog like its an obligation. They seem to forget that the whole point of games is entertainment. You need to play what you feel like, not what you're forcing yourself to play. I agree with the things in your list. I was doing them anyway, on the whole. I do need to get better at going back to games I've enjoyed but put to one side to play soemthing else. Magpie syndrome is real!

[@martinrusso409]

The one thing I struggled with was your first point. For a time, I felt like I was rushing assignments and forcing myself to finish x amount of tasks in order to free myself and that sort of strange feeling actually made me unwind less. I definitely agree with all the other tips

[@the_dark_soul_of_man]

Thanks man this really helped. I realised that I have been slowly but surely starting to look at my backlog as a burden and responsibility instead of options on what I could use to unwind next. Hopefully this new perspective will help me enjoy gaming again, and instead of an obstacle, my backlog will be a treasure vault.

[@deusexcellion1255]

Tip 2 and Tip 4 are definetly the hardest for me, I honestly don't know if I could ever alternate between games or no try to squeeze every piece of content from a game. Tips 3 and 5 I'm glad to see here since I already do those. I have pretty much changed to play mainly shorter games and leave the time consuming ones to games that I know 100% I'll enjoy (Elden Ring this past week basically haha). And of course Tip 6 is like I know I don't have to finish my backlog, but there is something about not been able to play all these fantastic games that genuinely makes me sad lol, tho I would say this is definitely the most important tip. Great video as always mate!

[@cw6132]

I needed this. I'm going through the same thing. I felt bad playing multiple games at once but hearing u do it too made me feel better lol thanks mate

[@mouser724]

Great tips man ! I recently picked up a visual novel which I play on my way to work, but I felt bad playing something else on my Weekend. This gave me a better perspective on things. I guess I got that habit of playing 1 game at a time from my childhood, where I could only get one new game every 3 months x)

[@strider6336]

I appreciate this a lot. Sometimes I stress myself out about the huge backlog I have and I'm not doing it. While idk about the more than one game at a time thing, I did play Xenoblade DE for a month or so and then took 3 months off cuz it was so long. I literally went back to it a few days ago and beat it with 120 hrs logged and I didn't even 100% it, but that's okay. I finally beat it and I enjoyed the journey. that's all that matters.

[@fartoplata308]

Alternating longer and shorter games has always worked for me. I used to avoid multiple games at a time, because I felt like it either took too long or one game would overshadow and ruin the other (comparison is the death of joy). But I started to realize that it was a good way of identifying games I was truly enjoying, and ones that I was not. Playing complementary games is good too. Currently playing Elden Ring and occasionally I jump into Shadowverse: Champion's Battle (brilliant Switch exclusive, btw), or Xenogears. Next will be Monark and Triangle Strategy.

[@Bulkynemesis4534]

Tip 4 is something i used to fall for. i dont anymore. I literally agree wit all these tips and will try to follow them from now.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I used to as well. I thought I was doing something wrong or missing something big, but no, I just find in the majority I finish games faster than the average player.

[@GordonGordon]

This is a beautiful counterpoint to completionism. Thanks!

[@dddddddddddddddd6368]

Awesome tips. I really resonated with the first one. I normally always play 3 JRPGs at a time coz like you said it helps to keep things dynamic. Right now I’m playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 which is my main game, Yakuza 0 which is my alternate game when I need to catch a break from my main game and Final Fantasy VI pixel remaster, which is a game I play when I don’t want to think too much since I’ve already played the older version of the game around once or twice. The only exception though is when a game has my full attention like Persona games and Trails games.

[@Astherion]

One more tip: "If you're tired from JRPG/gaming, just try different genre game. Old-school FPS/hack&slach/adventure/platform etc." If you playing only JRPGs, especially big ones, or just complex/tiring like SMT series games - this tip never fails. It helps.

[@thisisacallforhelp3484]

A fun thing that I like to do when I can is play games on different hardware when possible. The magic of emulation and the variety of things available on steam makes it easy to have everything you could ask for on your PC. But sometimes playing a game on its original hardware or playing a game that isn’t on what you typically use can be a nice change of pace. When I was binging mainline SMT, I went from emulating Super Nintendo games on my laptop, to playing Nocturne on my switch, to playing Strange Journey on my 3ds. Sometimes the novelty of playing something on a different bit of tech or the console it was originally made for is all you need to stay engaged and excited.

[@SilverShion]

I always thought I wasn't playing as much as when I was younger due to having a job and not having more free time. But here I am with over 30 hours of Elden Ring in less that a week. So it's mostly my lack of will

[@RyanBancroft]

This is a fantastic list. I like how confident you are with your decisions, how willing to embrace what works for you. I've been adopting many of these for a while now myself; it is quite freeing, and places games where they belong - as a joyful hobby that exists solely for my pleasure, which I owe nothing, ever. It's not always easy, though. I feel like, at least for me, everything comes down to balancing FOMO with personal interest and capacity. I've long held that, were I to commit to ignoring new releases from this moment forward, there are enough quality games already released that I haven't played (as a handheld-only gamer for a decade until the Switch, I basically skipped three console generations), intermixed with revisits important to what gaming means to me, to tide me over for the rest of my life. Many of these games I've not yet touched are genre defining, positioned as exemplars of quality and experience, or are almost perfect fits for my preference mix. So, when a new game that calls to me is released, I feel I can basically KNOW that choosing to play it is, on some level and eventually, a rejection of something extraordinary already released. I don't know if I love or dislike this realization. On the one hand, I will always be immersed in quality. I cannot escape it. That is a beautiful feeling. On the other hand, a game I know is great has sat in my heart for years; do I prioritize seeing it, or do I embrace the new experience? And if I play the new, which perhaps introduces me to QoL improvements I find extremely compelling, might it mar the beauty of the older but perhaps clunkier experience? I do know that this realization is tough to reconcile. I can't seem to land in a single place and stay there. Maybe the tension is the whole point. I don't know yet.

[@nathanf9582]

I feel validated-I came to these exact same conclusions in trying to tackle my own backlog. Thanks!

[@kissmint25]

I've just gotten back into JRPGs after a long break and was overwhelmed by the amount I felt I had missed. Thanks so much for this video, really helped clear that stress, these should be fun! I was going to soldier through all the Trails games but now I know to best enjoy the series I'll pace it out. Great tips!

[@shadowsquid1351]

I love having a backlog & I know my taste so I rarely make bad purchases. Anyway I'm glad I like other genres besides RPG, juggling an RPG + platformer + a shmup is kinda neat! Respect to anyone who can juggle 2 or 3 RPGs 👍

[@braddye4983]

This is eerily similar to what I do as a full time employee and father of 2. The only thing that’s different is choosing which games to play for me it’s 1/3 planned 1/3 an idea of something I’ve thought about playing and 1/3 random. That’s helped me than sticking to a straight list.

[@Tvdiet]

I’m the opposite when it comes to tip 4 Because of how many times I’ve replayed and Enjoyed the Persona Series and Especially the Cold Steel series I feel a little let down if isn’t as long as those games. Unless those shorter games offer good Replayability

[@ankr3w1]

My backlog has it's own backlog at this point.

[@AngelofAmbrosia]

I’m saving this video so I can come back to it later. Your points are very valid and reassuring. I got caught up in trying to make myself play all these games within a month or two forgetting that they’re actually *60+ hours long* and that I have other things I’m trying to accomplish IRL. The most validating thing you said was to just drop a video game if you’re not having fun. I have a bad habit of pressuring myself to play something just because I either purchased it or others said it was amazing. Just because a game gets high marks doesn’t mean that I have to force feed it to me, especially when I know I’ll rebel and end up not playing anymore.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I rarely buy a game on release, so most of the time I'm getting it at a discounted price anyway. And even if I don't like the game, I at least get 10 hours out of it regardless. 10 hours for about 40 quid isn't too bad, so I find it quite easy nowadays to let a game go if it's not grabbing me.

[@toddclawson3619]

These are nice tips thank you. The worst is looking at my backlog and realizing just how many games I have bought over the years that I never touched. It comes more from knowing I spent money on it so I need to play or I will have waste my money. It doesn't help that I often just want to replay older games that I know are fun and a good way to unwind rather than trying to figure out how to play a new game. I am trying to get over that mentality and just enjoy what I do play and avoid sunken cost fallacy. As for getting through my backlog,, my strategy is generally is to have a few different games going from different genres. For example, I have being playing MS: Saga a new dawn right now and hitting a bit of a rut. So I am taking a break and having been playing Starcraft 2 arcade maps and Resident Evil for a different experience. Once I am done with those, I will jump back into MS: Saga again.

[@statesminds]

Some good tips. I have an insanely large backlog since I started earning disposable income to buy more games. Not just jrpgs. So I personally do a jrpg and a non-jrpg at the same time. I could not do 4 games at once tho 😂 i do the long game vs the shorter game afterwards too. Thing is I'm also behind in shows. So I have to balance games and anime or movies in my free time lol. I have a goal of 50 games this year. Already at like 14 or so

[@DarkPhoenix89]

This is why I balance JRPGs with smaller games. I get more done with the limited time I have. I can't even make other people's streams these days because work is hectic, I have limited free time, which is dedicated to gaming and timezones are an issue too. On my days off, I try to cram in as much gaming as I can. I liked the part when you said play games that you enjoy, not games that you think you should be obligated to play. If I don't like it, I will drop it. Some great tips, man.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I can relate to that man, it is hectic at times and finding time for gaming is ever more difficult. But I'll always try and make it happen.

[@justanotherrandomontheyout4791]

I have what I call "pallette cleanser" games when I'm done playing a 100hr long rpg I'll switch to something like Resident evil or Sonic so that way when I start up the next rpg I'm not getting burned out

[@digidark2556]

Yeah, I can relate to this list. Especially when it comes to releases that come back to back. Especially when I get close to beating one, I would focus on that game until I beat it. Some platinums are worth it because I love the game, Ys IX, I do plan on going back just to get it because I KNOW I can! Thank you for the video, because I got a backlog I’m love going to work on! 👍🏾😁

[@metalinitiate9006]

One of the best of these types of videos I've seen. I think it has some pretty unique ideas and tips instead of the typical "don't be a completionist" type of rhetoric. Will be trying some of this stuff out for sure like playing multiple games at the same time.

[@holly.5440]

I felt the same about Dragon Quest XI. I bought it when it first came out and I just couldn’t get into it. Recently, I felt like playing FFX but instead of playing that for the third time and decided to play DQXI and I’m loving it. Especially because I wanted to play something lighthearted. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to play it! Also great tips! I also started to play games on easy. I used to play on the hardest difficulty but I really don’t have time to keep trying to beat a boss time and time again.

[@louvella-sama]

I really agree with your last sentiment. I feel the same way. I play games because I love the games, I enjoy them and I want to see the world that the devs created unfold before my very eyes. If a great game comes out and I can't play it right away because of other games I'm still playing - we can just look forward to it in our backlog. I don't wanna play a game because it was newly released or because it's popular. I wanna play games at my own pace without being pressured to play or pressured what games I should play. Personally, what I play depends on what I feel like playing (gaming mood). I might be in the mood for some srpg, some hack & slash, or just unwind with animal crossing ❤️

[@robertatwell694]

I have an extremely massive RPG backlog across 2 consoles and a gaming PC...I too thought that playing the games one at a time was normal..but I would lose focus after a while and proceed to either buy a new RPG or start another in the backlog. Playing 2 or 3 titles at once never occurred to me lol...but after watching this video that's exactly what I'm going to do from now on!

[@jethrohopkins550]

Love your content always positve even with negatives in a game. One other tip i would add is have a fallback game that you always enjoy. For me that is ff8 and ff14. If i need a break i can always play those games and get a bit of gaming fun in something i am comfortable with.

[@Walamonga1313]

I agree, I always go back to my fav games. Sometimes when I just don't want to play anything in particular I just go to those types of games I can play whenever (used to be Dark Souls 3 or Resident Evil REmake 1) and its a good palate cleanser

[@nightadmin283]

I really recommend these. It can make you progress every game smoothly and by the time of 20-30 hrs you will end it all of of them.

[@VelvetKitsune]

I already do the 'Don't like the game? Drop it' thing, I have culled tens of games this way already- sure it's a bit of a waste, but, eh-- but I still can't quite get the 'play more than one game at a time' thing, but I can definitely see how it could work, like your interest starts to waver a bit, coming back later could indeed cause you to love it again. Still, uh... for me this is games in genera, my shorter games are just basically everything that isn't an RPG so there is quite some choice there. Anyways, these are rather nice to know, thanks!

[@thothscorner8025]

This video really helped me. I have Tales of Arise, Tales of Breseria, Trails Zero, Witcher 3 Complete Ed (Replay), Ryza 2, & Sandland. They all tick a different attitude, but I felt guilt at not completing them. Now I feel fine playing one for a couple hours, & it is fine if I want to switch to another one. I often switch to Witcher 3 for the viceral kills. Though Breseria tickles that too. Thanks for this, I look forward to your posts.

[@kirindas4691]

Agreed. I've pretty much incorporated all of these tips into my normal habits regularly to keep things fun.

[@MrAnca]

This are rlly good tips, I wish I knew them before I played P5R, I forced myself so much to finish it that I didn't enjoy it until the Royal content and also it took me like a year to get there lol, ever since I was afraid of picking up a jrpg bc I thought they were not for me, but xenoblade chronicles definitive edition and tales of arise prove me soooo wrong.

[@neodav00001]

I'd add another tip to these, one that dovetails with a couple of the ones you mentioned: Just because you start playing something, that's not an automatic commitment to play it to completion right then and there. I just went back to Cold Steel 4 after several months off today, and a big part of why it took me so long to go back was that feeling of "but it's so long, it's a lot, I don't want to commit myself to that right now." I have this problem with the Yakuza games too; I take a break, but when it's time to go back, I don't always want the time investment, so I push it off longer. The trick, I think, is to realize that it's *okay* to take a couple weeks off of a game midway through, come back to it, take another day or two off later on, then finally finish it. No matter how much you like a given game, variety and suiting your mood is important, or you won't enjoy it as much. On the other hand, realize that once you start playing it again, you might actually *want* to commit to finishing it again! There's a reason you liked the game to begin with, after all. Like I said, I finally went back to CS4 a little ways into act 1, and I loved it so much that I plowed through the first half in a single day. Now that I finally made myself pick it back up. I'm wondering what took me so damn long. It's kind of like pushing yourself to go out with friends on Saturday night: You might have to overcome the "but I'm enjoying just being lazy at home" factor and actually make yourself go out, but you'll love it once you're actually doing it.

[@veSnow]

Good tips! Just to share my own experience, I typically have single-player game time and then game time with friends (Destiny 2, LoL/DotA, etc...) so I found focusing on one game at a time to be easier for my memory when coming back to it after 3-4 days of gaming with friends. I also do extensive research before buying a game, ideally avoiding the need to drop a game or force myself through it. Just finished Ys VIII for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. It's going to be hard for the next game to top it!

[@shinmegamitalks]

Huh... thought I was the only one who did all these tips. Great video man!!!

[@mhasemore]

Good tips overall - I sill have the Ys series in my Backlog, along with a few other JRPGs I haven't tried yet. With your tip about multiple games, it's similar to my situation but instead of playing multiple JRPGs at any one time I play multiple genres at any one time. Worked pretty well so far.

[@TheEyemanChannel]

I really appreciate the video. This is a theme that frustrates me, not enough time to play my favorite games. It takes me a long time to beat a JRPG, thanks to a full time job that can take part of my time even at home, because of my position, and thanks to my beautiful baby. I mostly shift videogames in between my JRPG's, like a Platformer or Fighting game, just to change a little bit. I thought it was unacceptable to been playing Tales of Arise since December and still not beaten it, even though I really love the game, even though is my favorite JRPG series. Thanks for making this video.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Family always comes first in my eyes! Play games when everything else is dandy, they'll always be there.

[@stevenanderson7620]

This is a weird tip I have for people: Find which games you play for the story, and which games you play for gameplay. JRPGs tend to be very story driven, but there’s no doubt in my mind some of them have better gameplay than storylines. Some games imo strike a perfect balance. Anyway, the point is to know when you need to blow off steam, and when you want to be engrossed with a storyline. For example, some games I play for gameplay are: Fire Emblem games, SMT V, Final Fantasy XII, the Napishtim-engine Ys games, etc. Games I play for story include: Xenosaga trilogy, FFVII original, Trails games (not that I’ve played a ton.), Mass Effect. There are games that I personally think strike a near if not perfect balance: FFVII Remake, all Persona games since P3, Digital Devil Saga duology, the Tales games, Dragon Age Origins, Xenoblade Chronicles, Dragon Quest. I haven’t gotten to them yet but the newer Ys games seem to strike a good balance between story and gameplay. The older Ys games were pretty light on story, although said stories were pretty good. I’m playing the Ys games in release order, and I’m on Origin rn. I have Seven next, def excited.

[@MagikarpUsedOmnisplash]

Very smart words and thoughts. There's no need to be a slave to your backlog. I personally have a 50+ JRPGs I wish to try, but haven't played one for two months. Instead I am taking a break and playing NHL 22 on PS5

[@TheKisekiNut]

Exactly - the games will still be there if you take a break, gaming should never be an obligation.

[@Ashtarte3D]

I can speak for a lot of these myself, though they aren't bulletproof at getting me out of a funk since I suffer from clinical depression. The one bit I'd add that is kind of an addendum to #2 is Don't Be Afraid to Jump to the New Hotness. I finally got around to playing Ys 8 because of this channel back in February shortly before Elden Ring came out. I was enjoying it barring it feeling a little long winded and grindy at bits so I decided to jump on the Elden Ring bandwagon. I enjoyed the hell out of it and came back to Ys 8 with a fresh face and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the game. I just needed a breather.

[@crazymarc420]

Good tips. I have a gigantic backlog of games and I started doing one game on switch and one on PlayStation to alternate because I had a huge problem of not finishing anything. Started just playing one game at a time and finished some but I did start to get a feeling of burnout/feels like I’m playing this as a chore. I think I’ll start SMT 5 or P5R as well as I’m playing Horizon forbidden west and XC: DE. I think I’ll start Ys 9 back up after horizon as well.

[@Regola_]

Great video and great tips. It's also incredibile how I reached the same mindset with, somehow, a similar game. I spent, in fact, over 150 hours on the first Agarest game and at the end of the journey I decided it was not a worthy experience. That's why I started dropping games after that and never finished titles like Star Ocean 3 or Dark Rose Valkyrie. Switching games it's also what made me complete the Yakuza series: I love those games but it's easy to get burned out by the secondary stuff.

[@xEppy033x]

I beat Blue Dragon and Infinite Undiscovery this year. Currently working my way through Darksiders. Not sure what I'm gonna play after that, but I'm enjoying the journey.

[@KangQi]

Very good video for people who really wants but dont know how to start thinning down their backlog. Tip 2 is important for gamers just starting out especially on their first few sales. Regarding tip 3 especially if you already have a massive backlog: Make sure to check reviews and gameplay properly before buying even if the game is 80% off on sale. Dropping the game which you will drop eventually before it even gets into your backlog saves you more time too. In addition, dont buy a game which you are not going to spend most of your time playing on release date. Just add it to your wishlist. Your backlog really should not consist of more than 5 full priced games. Saves your money and lowers your backlog. Tip 4: Anyone who is trying to be a completionist in every game they play while questioning why their backlog is getting larger and larger need this advice the most. Time is just too limited for us all.

[@Galebreth]

Knew this channel had good content! That's why I subbed awhile ago! Thank you ☺️

[@maou842]

Dropping games you don’t enjoy is the most important one. Playing one game can be a torture and playing another one is so fun you just can’t stop.

[@adriangutierrez7686]

Great tips!! What is the game shown at 0:40 ? (Nvm I found it scarlet nexus) I have plenty of unfinished Jrpgs, Smt Nocturne (ps2 version) and tales of Symphonia being big examples. I also tend to replay jrpgs or other games I finished in the past. Another tip that works for me is to not play "lifestyle" games, ones that give you bonuses for loging in daily or focus mainly on online play. I also have a huge backlog to play, a huge ps2/ps1 games, 3ds, and Ds library. I currently dont own ps4/5 yet, as my backlog is huge enough. I do have interest in Ps4 for some "exclusives" thst aren't on switch. I will wait as there is nothing "must play" for me yet.

[@gyrotyger]

Thanks for all these tips! They sound super helpful and I’ll definitely adopt them into my backlog

[@SupriceSupplies]

I find myself agreeing with basically everything listed (although tip #1 is going to be difficult for me to hold onto in the future because, dear lord, planning). I generally don't play games if I don't feel like playing because I don't want it to be an obligation, and going for 100%'s I only do in games I either A: *REALLY* enjoy and B: where getting 100% isn't tedious. (Again, I don't want it to feel like an obligation.) Playing several games at once is probably something I'm going to do more of from here on, although I have to be wary of me falling into the trap of getting so immersed in one game I completely forget about the other, even when I'm having fun with both of them. But yeah, I fully agree with basically everything you've said and I learned something from this. I'll probably still find myself binging one particular game on occassion, but that probably means that the game has really hooked me. Great video!

[@wolfinapocalypse1169]

In highschool it was always for me to complete pretty much every game that came my way. Though they came at a slower pace. Now i tend to pick up any interesting game i see, especially one on sale. So my backlog has been growing pretty exponentially, and for longer games like jrpg's ive been struggleing finish them, before i get sidetracked my some new game that comes out. Im starting to limit my self more on buying new games before i beat some of my backlog.and playing a couple games at once is definitely helping, though i still cant resist picking up games i see on sale lol.

[@oOPrettywinxOo]

I feel you on the multiple games at a time so much. I used to only play one game to immerse myself etc etc, but I often found myself burned out with that game and wishing for it to end so I could Starr q new experience mostly around 75% of the way in almost EVERY TIME, with very few exceptions. I stopped enjoying the games, even though they were good. Now I play 2 sometimes 3 games at a time I always have a variety of gameplay styles, stories and tones at my disposal in order to fit my needs of the day. Eg. currently, I am playing Horizon Forbidden West and Trails in the Sky SC (yes, for the first time, I got into the series with CS and now that the CB games get an official localization I figured this is the time to finally play the other two arcs). Now, whenever I feel like amazing character interactions, but a structured gameplay experience, I play Sky, whenever I feel like open world exploration, I play Horizon. Works wonders.

[@frozenfury0]

I wish I'd done this I put 100hrs into persona 5 stopped playing because people told me I should have played royal instead I'm now 150 hours into that game. With 250hours total into persona I'm really wanting to play something else but I know at this point If I do I won't come back to finish Persona 5 royal. Still though I'm very impressed with this game even if my experience is a bit hampered.

[@Walamonga1313]

If you like open world and exploration, you should try Elden Ring

[@oOPrettywinxOo]

@@Walamonga1313 Trust me , I would. The souls gameplay is putting me off

[@BBCGreanOnline]

Nice suggestions. To be honest, I'm not bothered that much about not able to clear up my backlog. For me though, the main reason my backlog keeps growing bigger and bigger is because I'm struggling with getting the time needed to play and finish the game as I'm getting older. I might say mobile games are partly to blame for taking some of my time away. Anyway, I'm quite happy with the life balance I have. I've accepted that I don't have much free time I used to have to play every game I want. Life has changed, and adapting to that is how I want to live. Wish I could play the game while sleeping LOL.

[@masspinki2425]

Gave this a watch. I know so many people said similar things to me in the past and ngl, these feel super hard to do for me at the moment. Especially tip 2-4. So yea kinda need help with that haha. This is pretty lengthy but I just tend to be long-winded like that. Tip 1 is fairly easy. Granted I should do more important things before I game but setting aside time for games is very easy for me atm since I have no kids or a partner to attend to. Tip 2 is aaaaaaaa. I just get so scared of playing more than one game at a time, especially RPGs since I feel like I can't juggle between them. I just get so captured into a game so easily I just forget I playing other games plus I just feel like I gotta beat it as fast as possible. Plus I feel like I might forget things about the game if I play multiple games. I tried doing this earlier this year and I ended up putting Alan Wake in the backburner just to hyper-focus on FFXIV and I put FFXIV in the backburner just to hyper-focus on Atelier Sophie 2. Tip 3 is also aaaaaaaaaa. I always had difficulty dropping anything. So many people think I'm dumb for not dropping stuff. But I just feel obligated to see through the end of everything I start no matter what. I pay for the game, I don't want to waste my money or my time. I rather just finish a game I start and don't really like it than drop it halfway because I will feel like I wasted my time starting the game and I don't know how the story end. So it's an unhappy middle point. I wasn't really enjoying Tears of Tiara 2, I force myself to finish it. I saw the ending and complete the game but I just flat out did not want to play any JRPGs until Sophie 2 came out since it just put that much of a damper on my enjoyment of the gerne. I am just really obsessed with finishing anything. Tip 4 is also aaaaaaaa. I feel like I got to get the most out of every game I play since I pay for the game and just doing main story is unsatisfying. Even if I end up turning a 50-hour game into a 100-hour game. I want to do all of the content to get the most out of the characters, setting and gameplay. If I don't do everything, I just feel like I can say I "truly" played the game and can really talk about it in great detail. Granted I don't mind how long it takes to complete a game, even if it takes weeks just to work on a single game. Tip 5 I can kinda agree. After playing 100+ hour games all last year. I was so relieved that I finished Sophie 2 within 54 hours. I wouldn't mind pumping in 100 hours for that game. But at the same time deep down. I'm just happy I could move on so soon. I think 50 hours games is the perfect balance between getting the most out of a game but you don't have to commit your life to the game for weeks either. Agree with Tip 6. Sometimes the best way to overcome a huge backlog and burnout is to not play any games at all. I barely play anything between Tears of Tiara 2 and Sophie 2 and that period lasted like a month. It was a great way to recharge myself and not feel drained out. I'm planning on taking more gaming breaks this year to avoid burnout. Also yea I never feel obligated to clear my backlog. I see it as a pile of options to see what to play next rather than an endless list of chores I must clear out. I do want to cut down my backlog sure but it's never something I'm actively worried about clearing out.

[@macthemeh]

It took me a while but I've adopted most of these as well. I like to alternate between short and long games. I have a google doc that lists all the games I own that are 10 hours or less (according to howlongtobeat). I also like to alternate between more tactical games and more actiony games. And if it's a particularly long game I like to figure out good break points to go to other games as well. For instance, right now I'm playing Octopath Traveler and Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition. The way I play now is every time I'm done with everyone's chapter, I switch over to DMC and play through as one of the characters. So I played as Nero and then did everyone's First chapter, played Dante's missions, then did everyone's second chapter and so on and so forth. I've also started watching let's plays of games that I'm intrigued by story wise, but don't really grip me gameplay wise. I'm doing that with the Souls series right now as well as Resonance of Fate.

[@esu]

Fantastic idea for avideo and some solid and simple tips. Thanks for sharing. One more in the vein of varying games of different lengths, is to vary by subgenre. I tend to switch between turn-based rpgs, hack-and-slash, and more miscellaneous types like strategy- or monster-tamer rpgs.

[@baptistemulton7728]

Thanks for those very helpful tips, I tend to be a perfectionist who wants to finish all yet does very few, which can be hard on the mind sometimes

[@MysticMountainNebula]

DQXI took me a while to get into as well. I agree with you about playing a few games at a time. I’m currently doing Atelier Sophie 2, SMT V, and Neo: TWEWY. Plan on playing the Nocturne Remaster after beating SMT V

[@eggzinbedz7187]

I have a decently sized backlog of games to go through that I’ve purchased on sale. As someone who has been increasingly getting into jrpgs this video was helpful. To go on a small tangent here, I recently played and beat fire emblem 7 and was excited to move on to 6 because 7 was a prequel. However I found 6 to be a lot more difficult and after having to restart countless times I decided to just move on to sacred stones. Mind you, I played fire emblem 7 multiple times (a total of about 50-60 hours across saves) and enjoyed it thoroughly and plan to do the same with 8, but I’ll have to return to 6 another time. I just couldnt do it Anyways, I’ll definitely try your tip of playing multiple jrpgs/multiple games at once. Im currently playing ffx (11 hours in) and im having fun but the sheer amount of cutscenes in that game tires me out sometimes. So I think I’ll start up a shorter game alongside it. Thanks for the great video!

[@BenBom2013]

Some of your tip is what I am using for my life of gaming. I am playing more than 2 game to keep myself bit refresh and not to burn out on single game. On the timewise, I played game A on one day and game B on the next day and back to game A. I do play my switch at work on my lunch break, only short game, with playing long game at home. I do have a bad habit of not completing the game, sometime when I am near the end of game, I just move onto the next game and forgot about other game, I am trying to break this habit.

[@wingchild4446]

Jrpg with class/job system and showable customizeable is a heaven

[@Luxaron]

Great video, man! I loved the points you made here and really relate to them myself. Personally, I am often driven by the narrative (especially if I'm engaged with the characters). That being said, I do find that if the gameplay mechanics are really engaging for me that can be the motivating factor for my experience with a game.

[@ophidianmind333]

Those are some good tips and it's nice to see that you got to experience Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. That game can be brutal, but it is also one of the best games I have ever played and it has become one of my absolute favorites over time. Though I must be a masochist because I took the opposite approach from yours in alternating to playing something easier after SMT III and instead obsessively played any SMT game I could find. I've been a huge fan of the series ever since then and I make it a point to track down all of the games with an English translation available.

[@TheKisekiNut]

SMT V just arrived today! Won't be playing it for a while, but it's there if the itch suddenly takes over. The one area I remember in SMT 3 is that second Kalpa with the labyrinth that puts you down to 1 HP, that was horrible since I had pretty much done everything in the dungeon and hadn't saved, that was stressful as all heck.

[@ophidianmind333]

@@TheKisekiNut Yeah, that part of the Labyrinth of Amala can be tough, but having items and spells that avoid random encounters make navigating those cursed areas much easier because healing will be mostly futile until you're back in a non-cursed area. SMT V is a bit friendlier than SMT III in that it doesn't have as many areas where you take mandatory damage or run into numerous pitfalls or teleport traps. However, it also presents new challenges such as having giant areas in the game to explore that are sort of like huge dungeons and contain numerous bosses that will try to ambush you even if you're way too low of a level to fight them. At least there are plenty of healing/saving/teleporting spots in those areas. Overall, I would say that SMT V is the most player-friendly of the mainline SMT games that I've played, but it's still a difficult game unless you play it on one of the easier difficulties. The challenge in SMT V comes mostly from the combat and navigating some complex areas in the game where it is easy to get lost rather than having any infamously brutal dungeons like some of the earlier SMT games.

[@encrypt2344]

thanks so much for this video, I found a lot of similarities in your video. I found myself buying less and finish more after I made a month by month schedule with excel. I have Chrono Cross, Soul Hackers 2, Xenoblade 3 and Trails of Azure on my schedule. I have been slowly progressing through Persona 5 and Fire Emblem Three Houses. just finished first Playthrough of Three Houses last night and will start another house route soon.

[@tinbapakk]

I can get the 10 hours rule, I sometimes do that (even if it's still hard to drop a game). But I also think of Tales of the Abyss, which hooked me after 12h. But still, good advices 👍🏼

[@NemoPropaganda]

Newer subscriber, really been enjoying your work and happy I found ya!

[@TheKisekiNut]

Welcome aboard bud!

[@darknesswave100]

Another tip I would like to give out is to take your time with games. In the past I've played through games at a breakneck pace cause I wanted to move on to the next game that was coming out. It really took away my enjoyment and appreciation of the games I was playing. Now I take as much time as I want with each game. I'm playing Horizon Forbidden West right now and by now I would have finished it already before. Not this time. I'm taking everything in and I'm enjoying the hell out of it

[@TheKisekiNut]

My mindset is if you're rushing through a game, then you're not actually enjoying it. That's where it borders on the obligation part, hence dropped.

[@uhmyself11111]

I definitely play multiple games at once. I'm playong both FFVII and Ys IX now, but I've made progress much farther in Ys IX. I have other games also I'm in thr middle of, but Ys IX is absolutely dominating my time. I don't really find myself leaving behind JRPGs much. I only ever really stop playing if I hit some sort of roadblock.

[@Walamonga1313]

I stop playing games if I just don't find em interesting or fun. Chrono Trigger being the latest. I don't think it's bad but I just didn't end up caring about it. Ys Oath in Felghana is another that I dropped, but that's more because I didn't find it nearly as fun as other Ys games (dungeons and bosses are super annoying/boring imo). I always see people who put it on their top 3, but from what I played its one of the lower tier ones

[@uhmyself11111]

@@Walamonga1313 That doesn't tend to heppen... Although, I think FFVII might be where it actually does.

[@Sheda_Vedne]

I just recently discovered your channel and it's just great! Thanks for the interesting content

[@TheKisekiNut]

Thanks buddy! Nice to see you around.

[@K1ttyCass]

Hard agree on the points about not considering 100% completion or even the backlog itself as obligations. Especially if that's just not enjoyable to you in that moment. Games should always be entertaining to you, in my opinion, and souring that for myself as I have in the past is something I'm trying not to do anymore, and it's a blast.

[@takatsukiban4195]

Another tip: If you would like to try out a game you dropped, by all means do it. I've dropped Golden Sun: The Lost Age when I felt really bored with it (despite the fantastic gameplay). So I thought I would drop it forever... But another video in which it said you should complete a game if you're halfway through it or something, I picked it up again... And I was hooked, that also contributes to the fact that you experience it through fresh eyes again... I recommend also SuperDerekRPG (?) on the matter. And also... GUYS YOU SHOULD PLAY GOLDEN SUN IT'S SOOOOOO GOO-

[@MrRaichu12]

personnally the tips i always followed since i understanded that i have a insanely massive is : "eh don't bother about completing the more game possible, video games are not fast food, take the pace you want, take a little time to digest during and after the playthrough if the game was specially stellar or for some reason annoyed you." Because yeah i'm honestly someone who can abandon a game but there's some big disaster that i can't restrain myself to see how bad he can be (my most recent example in that case would be Ace Attorney Dual Destinies). And also it's because of the tips that i decide to usually play one game at the time since well i don't want to disparate myself, specially long games. I struggle if i play multiples games at the time because my attention span i already fully occupied by the game that i play. But there's exceptions of course, like when i play chusingura who's an extremely long visual novel that i really enjoyed, i take break between "chapters" since the game has the genius idea to present itself as a linear separate by 5 big chapters so in theses conditions i have played yoshi wooly world. Also if i want to play another game, the best would be playing a game from a completely different genre.

[@gamesbloke]

Thank you for this. Helped me a lot. Fell into all these traps and issues. I'm 40 this year and I'm still discovering new things. My personal goal is to experience (Not necessarily complete) as many games as I can before I die. Sometimes I fall into that trap of 'having' to finish a game. I love Bravely Default 2 but I was really struggling and dying a lot. Took a two month separation from it and at first it really frustrated me because I felt I was better than that. I've dealt with harder RPG's I kept telling myself. Anyway I came back to it and recalculated my jobs. Did some senseless grinding. And I finally beat the game earlier today. It was an amazing experience but it was a challenging one and I was on the brink of dropping it like a bad habit. One thing that might be controversial. I don't like Persona 3 on PSP very much. It bored me... But every SMT game I've played so far including the SNES games had been a result good time for me. It's put me off playing Persona 4 tbh... I know I'm in a minority there. All the best and much respect on the vid!!

[@BenBom2013]

Is that Persona 3 portable you playing? As it is on PSP and it is very different style to Persona 3 and FES, which both on PS2.

[@gamesbloke]

@@BenBom2013 Yeah... It just made sense to play PSP as that was the console I was playing... Never figured the other P3 games would be so different on other formats. Just assumed they were similar. Will give them a go! Appreciate the reply!

[@PhenomUprising]

Playing multiple games at once is a no-go for me, or I end up forgetting about playing good games that I actually like. And sometimes I get really absorbed in one game, I don't feel like playing something else and that's when I end up forgetting about the other games I'm currently playing, even if I really liked them. And also, while it's true it's easy to get back into a game, it's hard to remember all plot points, especially if it's been like a year or more since you last played it. I already do the trick of alternating between a long and a short game. I also alternate between game genres (as I don't play only jrpgs). And I try to wait at least an entire year between games of the same series (though if I *really* feel like it I break the rule once in a while - but rarely).

[@Matthew7772005]

Thanks for these great tips. I'm gonna try them out.

[@chirabi_rpg]

I really appreciate these tips. Somehow since I found the Atelier series recently I had like 15 games in the backlog.. I've gotten through 5, wooh! So 10 more! I just can't get over how this strikes me as a first world problem tho ◑﹏◐ When I didn't afford many games I just played whatever I could afford, and loved it whatever it was. Or maybe that's because I was new to games at the time and everything woed me. Well, here we are, with too much fun on our plates!

[@alexc4820]

Wow, very good video ! I have exactly the same tips as you, but I can perhaps do a little more about playing multiple games at the same time, and I perhaps take a little more time than you before quitting a game that I don’t enjoy. 10h like you say is a good advice, I will try it !

[@haride7]

great video as always, thanks for the tips! im that type of player who likes to get all the trophies, but i dont feel "obligated" to do it in every single game anymore :]

[@TheKisekiNut]

We all have our own ways of playing games! Trophy hunting has never really caught my fancy though - I'll do the side content that interests me and move on, last thing I want is to burn out.

[@radretro3777]

I try to determine whether or not I like a game before I even purchase it. Other than that great video. Couldn't agree more.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Naturally I'll do my research, but the age old saying is you don't know fully till you try it yourself - I know the feeling all too well.