10 Underappreciated JRPGs! | Backlog Battle

[@MrHyonD]

Graces F is my favourite Tales of. The setting and atmosphere was charming and warm, the combat was incredible and the title progression system was awesome!

[@MrQ12elve]

i was actually enjoying Graces F, then something happened to my save file, where i lost a big chunk of it about 2+ hours and i just couldn't stomach redoing it again, damn shame i'm pretty sure i was far in as well, welp thats nearly 15 years ago, my memory bout that game is pretty much gone, time to go in FRESH ! hahaha

[@roberttingle1606]

As time has gone on, I have grown to feel the same way...for the longest time Symphonia was my favorite but it has not aged as well as graces f...while I prefer the story in Symphonia, my overall favorite is graces f

[@michaelcoffey1991]

Thank you for always going back too showcase the hidden gems so many of us missed. Fun watch

[@BacklogBattle]

You’re very welcome! Always fun to come up with creative ways to talk about older games!

[@christopherthomas9218]

FINALLY SOMEONE MENTIONS DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA! Bless you friend!

[@EhurtAfy]

I wish it was on Steam

[@agroah7236]

@@EhurtAfy i wish we get remasters ^^

[@HybridAngelZero]

It's an actual crime that Tales of Graces f still hasn't seen any kind of modern port. Some that I really think don't get enough love are Legend of Legaia (PS1) (another victim of never being rereleased) NEO The World Ends With You (PS4, Switch, PC), Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii) and lastly Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter, which is unfairly disliked for being such a departure from the previous games, but has so many unique innovations and ideas that it is absolutely worth playing

[@acidwizard6528]

Agreed. We should definitely prosecute Bandai-Namco for their crimes. I would absolutely 100% shell out some cash for a modern re-release of Graces, Hearts, or Xillia. Those games are stuck on old hardware that I don't own and won't be purchasing. Emulating is an option, but I always feel better about paying for a game unless it's one of those cases like Valkyrie Profile or Suikoden 2 where a physical copy goes for several hundred dollars.

[@arisenpai]

I loved Sakura Wars and Valkyria Chronicles. Got pretty obsessed at the time and even got Platinum trophies for both. The characters are extremely charming, even the most secondary ones. I'd say Vagrant Story deserves more attention. I really hope they give us a remaster or something in the future.

[@BacklogBattle]

Agreed on Vagrant Story! Though I mentioned that game already in a couple of lists, and people might get sick of me mentioning it lol

[@arisenpai]

@@BacklogBattle I'm aware. no worries, I did it for you haha

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

I’m playing Valyria Chronicles at the moment. Good story so far. They make the war feel real and down to earth. Interesting gameplay. Not my favorite gameplay so far but it’s growing on me, I think.

[@metalrob6713]

Grandia is great jrpg, likable characters and engaging adventurous story.

[@joshdavid9256]

Jack Move has been languishing in my steam library for months, I really need to get to it.

[@BacklogBattle]

It’s a quick one to finish!

[@ShadyPlatinum777]

I played Valkyria Chronicles back when it first came out on PS3 and still swear by it to this day. It’s a must play.

[@wolfy049]

Realy a good game, the IA doing goofy turn by running in front of your tank etc... but still a good game.

[@theirishgoodbye]

Grandia is one of my favourite games from my childhood. Not enough people played it even with the re-release

[@OGirst]

Grandia is AMAZING

[@RyanS406]

I’ve played both multiple times but as soon as the remaster goes on even a small sale on Xbox, gonna buy them again lol

[@Faustustopheles]

it's one of the very few RPGs I was ever able to get to the end of. I've never heard that the sequels were better. I've always thought the first was the only one that mattered in the franchise.

[@theirishgoodbye]

@@Faustustopheles the second one seems to be considered the best of the original two. The others were not as good or so I've heard. I think two was solid but it lacked the charm of the first

[@Faustustopheles]

@@theirishgoodbye I see. That's too bad. The first set a very high bar for me and I haven't met another RPG quite like it. I think charm is a perfect way to put it.

[@BlueGrovyle]

A small note, but thank you for using the word "underappreciated" where nigh every other content creator overuses (and often misuses) the word "underrated" instead.

[@BacklogBattle]

You’re very welcome!

[@BlueGrovyle]

@@thehater6189 not necessarily, which is the point I'm making. Something can be rated highly but relatively unknown and thus sell poorly. "Underappreciated" more indicates that something is being taken for granted, not that it is perceived to be worse or less valuable than it actually is-the actual meaning of "underrated".

[@thehater6189]

@@BlueGrovyle that is actually impossible. If something is rated highly, it is necessarily selling well. In this context, "rating" does not refer to like the score on metacritic. It refers to the overall place that the medium in question occupies in terms of its worth. If a game is thus of high quality but nobody agrees or nobody buys it, the game is underrated. Under appreciated would be either the same thing or it would refer to something that everyone agrees is good but not good enough from the perspective of the claimant.

[@thehater6189]

@BlueGrovyle for example, people say final fantasy 9 is underrated. People know of it, it was well-recieved, etc. However, the general convention is to say that final fantasy 7 is better. To someone like me, who prefers FF9, FF7 is overrated. It is still an awesome game, but the general opinion of the public does not match mine. Likewise, I think FF9 is the best game ever. Most people do not agree. Thus, to me, FF9 is underrated. Essentially, the argument is to its value or awesomeness as a game. Nobody says "ff9 is the game i appreciate the most!" They say: "ff9 is the best game ever"

[@BlueGrovyle]

@@thehater6189 I agree that no one says "I most appreciate this particular game", but do you agree that whatever you perceive to be the best game ever cannot be "overrated" in your eyes? If so, take the extreme (for the sake of an example): what if everyone agrees that it's the best ever but almost no one shows active appreciation for it anymore outside of acknowledging that it is the best when asked "what is the best game"? Take a sports player for example. The best athlete in a sport may not be the most popular athlete of the sport. Those things are naturally correlated but unmistakably different. I'm a fan of basketball. I don't think many fans of the game would say that LeBron is the best player in the league at this stage of his career, but he remains more popular and culturally relevant than whoever would be voted as the current best player in basketball if you were to take a poll-Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, etc. How could he be "overrated" if the general public agrees that he's not on top of the sport anymore? His declining value as a basketball player does not warrant him being any less _popular_ or widely _appreciated_ as a basketball player, however. People may not say "FF9 is the game I appreciate the most", but they _do_ say "FF9 is my favorite game", which absolutely is not the same as "I think FF9 is the best game". My personal favorite game is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, and it has been for more than half my life. Even my account name is a reference to that game. Do I think it is the "best game ever"? Not a chance. And I would hardly call it underrated.

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

Hell yeah Tales of Graces F mentioned! By far the best combat system in the series, its so good

[@GeminiSunrise06]

Sophie 2 to me is the best atelier overall to this day. Mh stories 2 is one of my fav monster taming game!

[@ophidianmind333]

The Digital Devil Saga duology is the second-greatest thing in SMT after the mainline games in my opinion. Not only is the premise of the story incredibly dark, but it also has one of the best tragic stories in the series and the second game rivals the latter part of SMT IV in being the biggest tearjerker in SMT because it's easy to get attached to the characters. Another interesting aspect of the Digital Devil Saga games is that they are heavily influenced by concepts from Hindu Tantra and incorporate a lot of symbolism from it both in names given to certain things in the game as well as in the themes in the plot. I really can't give any more details on that here without revealing plot spoilers, so I'll just recommend that players pay close attention when playing and you might be surprised by how much depth there is on multiple levels in these games.

[@xleaselife]

Also... the -combat- theme in Part 2. Holy CRAP.

[@skins4thewin]

I truly love coming across a new KZbin channel where the creator clearly knows their stuff & has likely been a diehard gamer their entire lives. Being of that same boat, those are the types of content creators I appreciate the most.

[@DMDave86]

Some solid choices on here- I feel like Breath of Fire 3 or 4 would have been a good choice as well with some of these gems.

[@sleepbeat]

YES!! The first Vandal Hearts is such a great game.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Got Valkyrie Chronicles on PS4, all I'll say more people need to play it.

[@AtlantisPrince]

I appreciate, that you are showing some love for Tales of Graces f and Digital Devil Saga. My personal addition would be Shadow Hearts: From the new World. A lot of people skipped that one, because it was much brighter and colourful than the game before it. But what stuck with me the most, are some of the characters.

[@BacklogBattle]

Shadow Hearts is a series that's escaped me from the PS2 era! I *have* played Koudelka though!

[@kythlyn]

Nice to see a shoutout for Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2! I actually enjoyed these more than any other Shin Megami Tensei game, including Nocturne and the Persona series.

[@toddplatinum1374]

I think Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity is a hugely underappreciated game. I played so many hours of it back on the PS3. Alot of people struggled with the game mechanics but once you understood them the game felt ao good

[@BacklogBattle]

We actually had Resonance of Fate at one point while we were developing the script for this video!

[@gpak03]

Grandia 1 and 2 were great! Baton Kratos and Skies of Arcadia is a must play as well

[@fairtoki1685]

Valkyria chronicle and VC4 are actually a successful game considering number of sale goes beyond million. The only one that got bad sale are VC2. the reason VC3 not get localized are bad sake of VC2 + slow development make game come out on late phase of psp, people already expect new handheld console by that time.

[@rexalidus3871]

For me Sophie is the best modern atelier series, and the 2nd one is just awesome story wise. Still hoping they remake Mana Khemia tho, best series for me with great characters like Frey and the concept of Manas that help you in alchemy

[@JuliaSin]

Ive only played all three ryza games. I plantiumed Sophie 2

[@gotaplanstan]

Like Vandal Hearts, Mystaria on Saturn is another srpg hidden gem. Really really atmospheric music, and pretty dark game overall. Just wish it wasn't the only srpg to join Dragon Force on the system in the West... Shining Force 3 was pretty great and so many srpg fans never got to experience it 😭

[@rossedwardmiller]

grandia 2 is the only game i finished on my dreamcast. i hope to replay it one day

[@ParasaurolophusZ]

12:05 I see what you did there! Fun list. I've heard of most of these, but haven't played any myself.

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

Very nice list :) thank you! I'm currently working through the trails series which is really something else and learning Japanese on the side. Jrpgs are just comfort for me and you suggested some interesting games that I now have on my wishlist. Very much appreciate it!

[@Wondermooses]

I really like the list. Actually have four of them and those I havent gotten around to play yet. So looking even more forward to playing them now! :)

[@sepulchral.]

Vandal Hearts, DDS and Grandia are all gems.

[@vitorhenriquebatista]

For me, Valkyria Chronicles is the most underappreciated JRPG of all time. It is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a video game.

[@BlackHazama]

Trails in the Sky: The 3rd is an absolute underrated gem!

[@Damackism]

Sakura Wars 2020 is more of of a visual novel/dating sim game with just an watered down action game element thrown in. Which is true to its earlier games that debuted on the Sega Saturn back in the mid to late 90,s. I don't consider Sakura Wars 2020 a true JRPG at all. Even still its a game that is very under appreciated. Its one of the few Sega published games that Sega actually put a lot of money and marketing behind. This game even had its own anime.

[@oblivioustouch9012]

Atliea Sophia 2 about to get a lot of playtime out of me with character designs like that!

[@MadelineMysterious]

Valkyria Chronicles is an amazing game. There’s so much interesting things going on - gameplay, story, music standing out the most. The story has A LOT of heart and there’s moments that you’ll take away from it for the rest of your life. Like cowboy bebop level , at least for me. Great game. Should be vastly more popular than the majority of triple a games which these days barely qualify as games in my opinion.

[@van_arkride]

I absolutely love Valkyria Chronicles series. Especially VC3 and VC1

[@AethQueen]

Atelier Sophie 2 & Monster Hunter Stories 2 ❤ So happy to see them so loved! But I have to say, I was really hoping to see Tokyo Mirage Sessions here too 😊

[@BacklogBattle]

I can't believe I forgot about TMS! It's been such a long time since I played that game! Also, thank you for being a subscriber for four years!

[@AethQueen]

@@BacklogBattle Happy to be here! And I'm not going anywhere ☺

[@Sonosuke]

I don't hear anyone talking about terranigma anymore. Still one of my favorite rpgs!

[@GhibliNova]

Great list! For me the most underappreciated are: Panzer Dragoon Saga, Falcons Trails of series, original Phantasy Star Quadrilogy, and Grandia, but you already picked Grandia 😁

[@saintsalieri]

@16:44 when she finally comes back to your place and you put on some music to set the mood: "Let's do this, Nickelback!"

[@BacklogBattle]

For a second there I forgot that I had renamed the Monsters in MHS2 after bands LOL

[@Edos512]

Atelier sophie 2 is a beautiful RPG, even though you can overlevel A LOT thanks to the side quests.

[@toolman4745]

I believe Vandal Hearts was my first tactical JRPG but wouldn't swear to that. I still have my original copy. It is easily one of my favorite tactical RPGs of all and maybe my number 1.

[@b00g3rs21]

Once the Atelier series got rid of the time/date system it got a lot more fun. It was fun before that too, but trophy hunting was rough. Also ToG is one of the best Tales period.

[@BacklogBattle]

I agree! The time stuff was tedious

[@ZanesZygot]

Awesome list of games. Funny that I just started playing Valkyria Chronicles recently and got 2 and 3 on my PS Vita. Also was already planning to go for DDS later!

[@redstratus97]

Voice of Cards has been on my radar for a long time now. I’m just waiting for the games to drop in price below $10 each. But if a physical comes out with all 3 games on one disc, I’ll get that instead.

[@HolyHadou]

Buffering Buffering: Brave Fencer Musashi Star Ocean Till The End of Time(I said it!) Mega Man Legends 1 & 2 are JRPGs in my head canon. Legends of Legaia Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology Tales of Legendia: just looked cool but I heard its bad but I never got to try it so it just sits rent free in my head. Legaia 2 Duel Saga/Musashi Samurai Legend: Lesser of their originals but a pretty good time. Tales of the Abyss was goated but hasn't gotten any new business for quite some time.

[@mindblockandroid]

I can attest that Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic game! My only criticisms: Scouts were massively OP, and for a history buff as myself, it took a while to adjust to shock troopers being far less mobile than their real life inspirations. Maybe naming them something else would have helped! The story was super cheesy but it was told with such earnestness that it ended up being very endearing!

[@kuroganeline8665]

Monster tamer turn based jrpgs are the genere I love the most, so I'm very happy you talked about monster hunter stories ❤ I would say that a jrpg that deserve a lil' bit more love should be Monark. I know it has some problems, it's really grindy and yadda yadda yadda, but I loved it, the combat is so much fun, and the stories are good too, with some nice plot twists.

[@PengWinDood]

My pick will always be Dark Cloud 2

[@oblivioustouch9012]

Dude Sakura Wars looks a Bleach RPG. Tite Kubo’s art style is iconic.

[@hightopdeluxe]

Tales of Graces is definitely on my backlog to play soon 😊

[@DragonKingX78]

I the two DDS games, wish we got more over the years.

[@Damackism]

As far as recent under appreciated JRPG,s I would add Star Ocean Divine Force to the list. Overall the developers took all the criticisms from previous Star Ocean game and addressed them in the Divine Force. As a JRPG and Star Ocean game its a very good game. Another game is Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet. Just a fun action JRPG. Decent graphics and fun gun play mechanics. Plus its sold for cheap often on the PSN store. You can get the base game and all the dlc for less than $15 bucks. The physical game is akso collectible. Because its rarely sold in stores these days.

[@natsuvega]

Thank you for the amazing videos! already had house of cards on my wishlist but maybe I'll also add in grandia since i've also been interested in it!

[@JeannieLove]

My mom bought Grandia 1 for a present and I was like "what the hell is this obscure looking game?" Now it's one of my favorite RPGs, the same happened with Final Fantasy IX. I already played them on 3DS and Switch, but I'm so excited I get to play them again on PS5 for trophies! The games are what I've wanted out of Pokemon, I highly recommend it. Under appreciated: Radiata Stories - It has a full 24 hour cycle for every single NPC and it has over 108 characters to get. It really reminds me of Suikoden is a lot of ways and the story and MC are goofy as hell. Which I would expect from a game where the mc is named Jack Russell. Star Ocean 4 - it gets a lot of hate and I have no idea why. It's my "Star Ocean 2" as I feel the characters and the story is the best in the series. If you look past a certain part in the game that mirrors a certain super popular Final Fantasy and actually have empathy for maybe the most hated character in the genre, it's really not that bad, 'kay?

[@tocs777]

Vandal hearts 1 and 2 are classics I wish more ppl played. I had a job back then I used to stop by every Friday to pick up new rpgs. There stories were the most mature, adult and dark stories back on the ps1. Strongly recommend both.

[@shoked99]

I definitely want to try some of these. Sakura Wars looks especially interesting to me. Thanks.

[@Genethagenius]

We need a “Valkyria Chronicles 3” remaster or remake! It’s probably the best story & characters outside of the excellent first game!

[@BacklogBattle]

That would be fantastic!

[@Cage532]

I was on the fence about Jack Move but I'll pick it up and keep my eye open for Voice of the Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars. Anyone who appreciates Vandal Hearts, Digital Devil Saga, Grandia and Monster Hunter Stories 2 has taste in JRPGs I can trust.

[@agroah7236]

thx for mentioning dragon island voice of cards has a prequel story demo XD i got every 3 games but didn't know

[@Senumunu]

Grandia 1 and Jade Cocoon are ps1 jrpgs that feel like they are carved from the same wood that movies like Princess Mononoke were made from Grandias OST especially is a stand out that even the sequels couldnt reach

[@corey2232]

Don't know if it's considered AAA, but Octopath Traveler 2 is better than pretty much any other AAA JRPG I've played in the last 5 years.

[@linkvagar2336]

One game i feel deserves more love is Tokyo Xanadu. Basically Falcom's version of Persona. I'm glad a new game has been announced.

[@ZephyrusRaine]

12:05 "If you're up for a Strange Journey, that is unlike any Shin Megami Tensei game out there..." I see what you did there.

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm so happy someone finally caught onto this!

[@tuanis90]

I personally would have added Blue Reflection 2, it did not get as much attention as the Atelier games but I enjoyed it so much more than Ryza 1 and 2 (haven't played 3) for example.

[@arkngt]

Excellent list. I so agree about Atelier Sophie 2 and Monster Hunter Stories 2. Awesome games. I must check out Grandia, hadn't heard about it.

[@BacklogBattle]

Grandia is a classic! From the same devs who made the Lunar series!

[@FriendsAndGamingYT]

Jack move looks insane!!!

[@LKTTRG]

Still waiting for Gust to make another Atelier Iris kinda game 🥲

[@kempvaughn1827]

Honestly I'm not sure if these are underappreciated or not, but I've been having a blast playing MS Saga New Dawn and Shadow Hearts.

[@femtrooper]

Great list and nice to see Sakura Wars! I also really need to check out Monster Hunter Stories 2! It looks like one I think I might like.

[@PAINNN666]

Rhapsody: A musical adventure or whole marl kingdom Trilogy. It's cozy. Vanguard Bandits - Tactical RPG with mechs... but in Medieval. Brigandine Duology - If Total War was japanese Tactical RPG.

[@xleaselife]

Thanks for this, Alex! I'd always wondered if Tales of Grace's F was any good. After your recommendation, I ordered a copy for my PS3. Can't wait to try it out!

[@MegamanNG]

I am taking notes. That much I promise you.

[@zoishiworld]

thanks for the list, new sub here!

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks for the sub!

[@kythlyn]

Today's vocabulary word is... interstice! an intervening space, especially a very small one. "sunshine filtered through the interstices of the arching trees"

[@thaiboypsp3000]

Still waiting for Sakura Wars 2020’s sequel 😭

[@PAINNN666]

About Sakura. 5 was officialy translated on ps2.

[@JBurky15]

Wild Arms. I feel like a decent amount of people know about this franchise, but it's extremely underappreciated. It's fairly basic as far as JRPGs is concerned, but it's just a great setting and a really fun series, especially the first game. It just sucks that the games are largely stuck back on the PS1/PS2.

[@GeoChad71]

Love your channel man!

[@acidwizard6528]

I nominate Hexyz Force as an underappreciated JRPG.

[@tzp2gameknight]

If you’re interested in Sakura Wars it’s on sale on PSN for $8.99 till 4/24. I may pick it up.

[@RyanFGNM]

The long forgotten by Sony Legend of the Dragoon. Hit here in the USA but faultered in Japan. They keep throwing us a bone by releasing it on digital but that's all we have gotten for 20 plus years.

[@Evolved-]

I was really surprised with Monster Hunter Stories 2. It was a super fun game!

[@alexjones50]

lol I saw the advert for class of heroes thinking it was one of the entries of the list.

[@Baoran]

I really like Ar Tonelico and I feel like it is very underappreciated in general.

[@Sleepgarden]

both Blue Reflections but especially Second Light

[@theoaremevano3227]

Graces is a game I want to like more than I do. Combat wise, I think they just made a couple of errors that can cause a lot of unnecessary frustration due to how dodging and certain stats actually work, so even its great-feeling combat can break down under the right circumstances, and unfortunately, that was my experience with most of the game. Story wise, I agree with the assessment that Sophie should have been set up as the main character instead of making Asbel do that job; both of their characters would benefit from it. It's also lacking availability, being one of those limited to PS3, I believe. :/ That said, I'd find it surprising if anyone could start up the game, see its title screen and not immediately want to give it a go. It's also known for having the most interesting and diverse collection of battle victory animations in the series. It's definitely in the pile of games I'd label "Just try it, there's a decent chance you will end up loving it."

[@ramsay2234]

I love Valkyria Chronicles. I still wish they’d bring 3 to the west. I have the fan translation on my psp but it’s not the same. I think 2 was my favourite cause it’s fun to just run up to machine guns with a big sword.

[@PuppyPawsGamingYT]

i LOVE the digital devil saga games.

[@ChadOfStats]

Yes! Monster Huntet Stories 2 needs more love!

[@Mockingbird7504]

About tales of graces - I sell my previous gen consoles. And I barely buy any console games anymore due to price policies. So unless it gets a PC port Iwon't look at it. WhatI am trying to say is that a game may be forgotten simply because it exists on unpopular platforms. Or old platforms.

[@eliotwildermann]

Tales of graces f was amazing i loved the combat and the story its sad it got delisted 😢

[@levitolle2605]

i liked the music in sakura wars too

[@colleend9976]

Just a note that the ps1 version of grandia has severely broken textures compared to the Saturn version, for those that choose to emulate

[@rodelcorton8815]

I actually prefer kartia but vandal hearts is also good its just very hard especially the 2nd vandal hearts since the enemies move the same time as you

[@oonaymanooblabla4812]

How to play digital saga nowdays? I tried to run an emulator and it didnt work on my pc, somehow it was kind of slow. Digital saga was my go to game at my childhood lol

[@Morbisus]

I really do wanna play Sakura Wars but unfortunately I don't have a PS4/5. Hoping that one day it will be ported to PC.

[@manulopez4697]

I recommend legends of kingdom rush is so good and challenging

[@sanjithechef]

Can we play voice of cards in any order

[@chrono_s9699]

Can't wait for Monster Hunter Stories 2 on PS5