Best JRPGs I've Played in 2021

[@TheKisekiNut]

Another year is over almost over, and I've had the fortune of playing some great games over 2021. Here's hoping next year's just as good, already got a few releases on my radar.

[@loiten7908]

That was some real solid short informative reviews 👍👌

[@TheCasualSubculturist]

Sakuna has such an accurate simulation of rice farming that agriculture website in Korea actually went down due to surge of people visiting low traffic website try to figure out how to farm rice properly. I think that's amazing level of detail for game like this.

[@Kenko_4]

13 sentinels was my game of the year last year and I’m happy to hear you loved it as well. I was able to finish a good amount of games from my backlog. Here’s my top 5 games I played in 2021: Utawarerumono Mask of truth, Hajimari no Kiseki, Ys IX, Tales of Arise, Valkyria Chronicles.

[@asaka616]

One of the most enjoyable JRPGs I have played this year was Yakuza Like A Dragon. Fun twist on a JRPG, compelling story and characters, plays homage to fantasy JRPGs through it's references. And the summoning system? Hilariously cool!

[@ryanclemons1]

The game reminded me of a adult earthbound game with how funny/silly it got at times :)

[@chris-098]

Finished my kiseki journey this year with trails to azure and what an fn game, chapter 2 and 4 were crazy good, some of the biggest highlights in the whole series are in this game and i hope when the game finally comes out in 2023 people can enjoy it as much as i did, both crossbell games are incredible.

[@widchaponjearaphunt5452]

I really love Sakuna, good music, good game play, only let down is the ending

[@RyeAkai]

Kinda funny to see this considering I'm going through Aegis Rim literally right now. I'm about halfway through, and I can certainly say that if the game keeps up, it will definitely be my game of the year.

[@Wiseman108]

I can't imagine what kind of "disappointments you had in Vesperia", it is literally one of the most acclaimed Tales games of all time. I sure hope you meant to say Zestiria, not Vesperia, at least that would be understandable. As for Arise I haven't played it yet, it's on my backlog along with over 100 other games, looks good though.

[@donaldzuramp4404]

I agree that ys 8 is the best in the series. Exploring a mystery island which is soo damn big is a blast. I also love that dana was from an ancient civilization and im just a sucker for ancient ruins and history. Story and character development is top notch too.

[@frozenfury0]

I only played 5 games this year and if I had to rank them they'd be; 1.Hollow Knight 2.Octopath Traveler 3.Ys Origin 4.Kena 5.Vanquish

[@journeysilvers9838]

You gotta hand it to Gust- even if their games aren't revolutionary, they do really good at slowly but consistently improving their games with each iteration. I dont think I've considered anything they put out to be worse than their previous titles, and I can't say that about most developers lmao

[@lordhades9759]

I already agree with the first 10 seconds of this video already ! Let's get watching 😊

[@chariothe9013]

Tales of arise is disappointing for me, i started trails in the sky fc and finished it just before Arise released, maybe that’s why my expectation about Jrpg is high, but that might not be the case, because i also play Caligula effect, Blue reflection 1and2, Ys 8 and 9(the best of all games i’ve ever played!!) and still playing Trails in the sky SC, but only game that disappointed me is Tales of Arise, it’s the only game that i think couldn’t deliver what other jrpg did well, i could say that I even like Tales of Zestiria more than it.

[@chris-098]

It didn't have the same charm of other tales games (yes even zestiria) and the story was disappointing compare to games like tales of berseria which i thought was fantastic, of course falcom has also pretty much ruined us when it comes to jrpgs but i don't think that's the reason, arise just wasn't that great.

[@chariothe9013]

@@chris-098 yeah, everything is so linear, i don't really feel like i have to make any choices while playing the game like other rpg, just walk straight to meet another 3 skits and a cutscenes. Which i feel like i'm watching anime instead of playing rpg. Talking about villain in Arise is a joke. all of them are bland and flat, only thing we know about them is that they killing people, and they are forgettable, unlike Artorius in Tales of Berseria, he indeed did a better job at leaving impression behind. Cringe dialogues, plot holes here and there keeps breaking my immersion. I love when games able to make npc memorable like in falcom games, but Arise really doesn't have that element and it made me feel disconnected with the world of it.

[@ndoelgalak5121]

Tales of Star Ocean. That game is Star Ocean instead of tales games for me just looking at that visual, environment (2nd half of the game though mixed with so much Alien stuff).

[@chariothe9013]

Recently i talked with a person on steam and that made me completely hate this series rn. Because he said games just gonna get westernized because they sell well. And yeah i imagine about it and really hate to see that future that is leaded by Arise.

[@outkastshadowking2719]

Played Trails of the Sky FC this year and the freedom it gives you is better than Cold Steel gated progression.

[@bokubaka]

That City is Monstrum Nox is awfully empty..

[@acheronrecusant]

Number 1 for me was NEO: The World Ends With You

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

I see you are a man of culture as well.

[@melissa10101]

I'm curious to know your top 10 jrpg on ps4/ps5 everyone? I've played: P5R, DQ11 and I am looking to play some new games

[@bernhardvonbarret1729]

13 aegis sentinels reminded me a bit of the anime Bokurano...

[@axsvue]

Do you guys finish a game in 1 year? my backlog is only increasing in size, while my time is always being cut down u_u

[@grebgames1989]

You better clean that cup up mate...Looks quite dirty.

[@danketsu-seyo]

Bro, you could have given these games at least some credit with putting the names in the description.

[@jonathandelrosario5843]

13 sentinels was one of the best games ive ever played. Ever

[@kermitwithamustache3885]

What? No NEO The World Ends With You? What have you been playing all this year?

[@TheKisekiNut]

A massive backlog and trying to balance that with a full time job plus YT. Still managed to get through over 25 games so I think that's good going.

[@giliathandtio]

Trails to Azure number 1 and then long, long long way nothing. Arise is one of the worst I have played this year.

[@TheKisekiNut]

Nvidia GTX 1080 (want to upgrade to a 3080 but you know the situation), 16 gig ram, I7-8700K 3.7GHz. Had it for about 3 years with no upgrades, it's done pretty well. And JRPG's aren't exactly the most graphic intensive so I can get away with running them at the higher end.

[@giliathandtio]

@@TheKisekiNut Yeah, I have been in EVGA queue for 3080 for over a year, 2 months ago or so I gave up on it, now waiting for 4000 series. Btw, can I add you to friends on Steam?

[@PersonalGoliath]

Ff xiv is great jrpg

[@johnnopeyy4129]

Number free... 😅

[@CarDaMax1770]

Seeing you praise 13 sentinels so much makes me so mad that I won't be able to play the game anytime soon because the devs have no intention of releasing a PC version of it T-T (cuz I invested on gaming pc and don't own consoles).

[@TheKisekiNut]

Who knows, that game is perfect for PC. They might do a 180 on it!

[@bearthewise8647]

Started watching and stopped the minute you said you did not play SMT V. Can’t respect your list if you have not played one of, if not, the best JRPG of the year.

[@eddie788]

These type of comments…😑

[@outkastshadowking2719]

Chill dude, he hasn't played every new game that comes out if he busy with the one he hasn't finished yet.

[@Real-jp7lm]

Scarlet nexus was trash

[@HistoricalConflict]

I don't like the games with cute little Characters I'm more of a Tales of Arise, Final Fantasy, Scarlet Nexus, Code Vein person. so basically I don't branch out much. I want a good dark Mecha based JRPG preferably turned based. I also have Shin Megami V but haven't started it yet

[@theoaremevano3227]

When it comes to the other Tales games, early ones use more chibi-ish looks, but post-Symphonia, the in-game models are more fully proportioned. (A bit more cartoony than Arise, but still more on the serious side.) If I were to point to another game in that series, I'd probably point to Xillia 1 & 2 if you have access to them. :)

[@dennisg.517]

Glad to see 13 Sentinels is getting the love it deserves, the Story had me hooked so much

[@stormfires]

I love that I've literally not played more than two of these games. Just means there's still so much good stuff out there.

[@Heccct]

SMT 5 was really good. Kind of a shame there isn't much to comment on it terms of its story though, at least for me personally. I'd still rate it a 8/10 and would recommend it to you.

[@Kumo_tk]

The gameplay as it's more customisable than even and the exploration are really well made

[@TheKisekiNut]

I'll get to it next year. I've just had far too much on my plate for 2021 in terms of games to play.

[@outkastshadowking2719]

The quests are really good and it helps with EXP!

[@garrettwilson9664]

I disagree. Smt V has more story than any other smt game besides IV. I think its the best in the series after replaying every mainline game in the days leading up to smt v.

[@dennisbergkamp17]

Great list my man, very similar to my own top 10 this year. 13 Sentinels was a helluva ride. I also remember playing for hours and hours despite how tired I was because I HAD to figure out what the hell was going on in that crazy ass story lol. I was so captivated, and they actually managed to pull off a satisfying ending as well (in my opinion). Those “holy shit” moments when you start putting the pieces of the story together is something I’ll never forget.

[@TheKisekiNut]

I think that's the best part, that they maintained a top tier story all the way though and managed to deliver an ending that's just so satisfying! It's really easy for a game to drop the ball near the end, but 13 Sentinels did no such thing. Masterpiece is the word.

[@gazman6562]

Some of the best jrpgs I've played this year are: Trails in the sky 3rd Fire Emblem awakening Ys 8 Shin megami tensei 5 Tales of arise Scarlet nexus

[@Haarwyvern]

Awakening is like the worst Fire emblem with FE Fates but I relate for 3rd I think it's the most underrated Trails game ! I want to play Arise and SMT V but it's not done yet.

[@TheFierburn]

@@Haarwyvern AAwakening definitely isnt the worst, typical contrarians hipsters in the community spouting this take are cancerous. It definitely has issues but it is head and shoulders above several others in the franchise. I am certain you coulndn't put into words what makes the game "the worst" without having to loop up what other people say first

[@Haarwyvern]

@@TheFierburn Nope I can, because I said it since the first day of release of the game. I don't know how you could talk about me when you don't know me and at the same time teach me a lesson. Awakening is bad because of a lot ot things. It's a pretty bad S-RPG, maybe not a bad game, but not as a tactical (what FE is). First the map design is awful (and it's probably the most important thing) you need to play NES or SNES games to find a worst than Awakening. Plus it's almost everytime the same objective.. The balance between character is bad too, higher difficulties are stupid, and easier ones too easy. It's not interesting to play this game from a strategic viewpoint. Characters are probably the most "cliche from a bad anime" with Fates, I think it's less ridiculous even to have no personnality characters. Their support are bad too they are like B rank : I like pineapple, A rank : I made a pineapple for you S rank : Marry me pls. It's because they want to open possibilities for waifu&children but it's a bad idea. In GBA games or 3H for exemple only units that have something in common with another would speak. And those supports are more natural. I don't like the fact that you could reclass unit too, I think that give them less personnality but it's not an obligation and it was at first in shadow dragon. The story is pretty bad too, probably one of the worst (if we except the first three games). The standard of the serie are average, I know, but it's more interesting in other games. There is a big problem about that, there is almost no world building in FE13 and I think it's one of the morst important thing in a fantasy universe. And it's a big lack here, introductions of places and new characters are almost inexistent. Overall there is a lot less of dialogues in the story, in PoR for exemple you have dialogues at the start of the map, after the prep', after the map. Here you have the strict minimum. At the end the good point are the OST and even if the map are bad and duos broken, the gameplay is still pretty solid as always. But at the same time one of the worst level design&story and for me characters too. + Artistic direction is average so the game don't have this little charm of some other games (even if they are all ugly if we talk about technical points) No I don't need to read other review to have an opinion. And it's pain me to see people trying to invent your life because they don't have the same view of something.

[@snipes503]

I am begging for a sequel to Scarlett Nexus. Kasane already said she wants to go to the moon. And Yuito is going to stay in the ISF as long as his powers are working. So please please give me a sequel I loved that game.

[@theoaremevano3227]

Given how fast we got DLC for it, I'm betting they're on it. :D

[@LOREWITHBLAZER]

Tales of Arise and Ys 9 are the best in this game this year

[@roeland1441]

I started playing Cold Steel in september 2020. This year I continued that journey by playing Sky trilogy, Zero and Azure and after that I followed with the rest of the Cold Steel saga all the way up to 4. After that, Ys Monstrum Nox, Ys Origin and now I'm in the middle of Celceta. 2021 was the year of Falcom for me :)

[@Iamtheamazingmrg]

Worth it!

[@Walamonga1313]

Got into Ys this year too and it seems like I had a Falcom year too. Already beat 4 of them and also got Tokyo Xanadu. I tried the first Trails game but not my style so refunded it

[@Mac13949]

@@Walamonga1313 :(

[@TheKisekiNut]

Good man!

[@Llortnerof]

Sadly gonna have to wait till 2023 till i can get back to that, but i'm not touching CS3 until i'm done with Crossbell. Thought about replaying the Ys releases from SEVEN onward, but it seems i still remember them to well for it to be interesting.

[@CrimsonG]

2021 was a great year for jrpgs indeed. Following the same rules, my list in no particular order is: Ys VIII, Tales of Arise, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Cold Steel 3 (or azure but I don't remember if I played it in 20 or 21), Utawarerumono Prelude to the Fallen, Parasite Eve, 13 Sentinels, Tokyo Xanadu, Suikoden, and Bloodstained.

[@rossedwardmiller]

I’ve just been playing p5r all year. Can’t wait to finish so I can play like a dragon

[@mystic865]

For me 13 Sentinels was terrible disappointment. Too many characters and many time leaps made this title too complicated.

[@Kumo_tk]

Same, I had a hard time being attached to some of the characters which I found very linear (can be explained by few traits and don't really change)

[@poompoom3495]

Big competition for me this year. Earlier in the year i played DQ11, then Tales of Arise when it came out. Both are great games. A month later I started CS1 as my first falcom games. Then I go CS2 and Sky. Right now I am half way through SC (just finished Ch4). Best I'd say CS1. While objectively it might not be as good as DQ11 or ToA, I enjoyed my time with it and love it the most.

[@neogamer6461]

I've played a lot of JRPGs this year but my personal favourites were: . Tales of Arise . Dragon Quest 11S (I know it came out in 2020 but I still really enjoyed it) . Ys IX Monstrum Nox . Nier Replicant . Persona 5 Strikers Played a lot of older games too like FFX/X-2 HD Remaster, KH 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch remaster, Persona 4 Golden and World of Final Fantasy. I technically finished Cold Steel 4 this year so that counts as well.

[@AndreaMusso99]

It' s kinda hard making a top 10 to me, Since I Played a lot of incredible games, so I am just gonna make a list without any specific order, they only thing I am gonna say is...these games I played were masterpiece to me Yakuza Like a dragon (also Judgment) Ys Ix (also Ys Seven and origin) Trails of cold steel 4 (also Trails in the sky) Omori Bug Fables (these two are indie rpgs, but they are amazing) Smt Nocturne (also SMT Digital Devil Saga) Lunar Silver Star Harmony Demon' s Souls Remake (I dont have a ps5, I played this game on Someone else console) There are other games that I loved, But they are not rpgs so I did not put them in the list

[@ryanthornton8038]

Wow you didnt like Vesperia lol.... No idea man thats my favorite game of all time.

[@WeirdWizzard]

Played through Trails in the Sky FC & SC this year (hoping to start Third Chapter after I finish Ryza 1) after catching the Kiseki bug last year with Cold Steel 1 & 2. I can't wait for the official release of the Crossbell arc as I'm wanting to finish those before continue with CS 3 & 4. Crazy that I've gone this long without even knowing this series existed.

[@TheKisekiNut]

In terms of world-building, there's no better.

[@Ragingspoon]

Ive only played Sakuna, FFVII remake and 13 Sentinels from this list. FFVII remake is great fun to play through but its story is a complete mess. I like the expansion to biggs wedge and jessie but everything else is terrible and just needless padding, new character drops in then drops out and does nothing, whispers do nothing, Sephiroth instead of being an obstacle for Cloud to overcome both mentally and physically is now not only much less established and has a completely different personality to the original he also poses no threat as he is dependant on Cloud emotionally as well as having been defeated by him physically something Cloud could not do originally until he had completed a long journey both mentally and physically. Its very disappointing from a story standpoint. The new songs arent great but the remastering and remixing of the old tracks are amazing as well as sound design overall. If you want gameplay id suggest this one over the original but from a story standpoint as well as an overall balanced quality and value standpoint id definitely recommend the original over this and if you want to experience FFVII then the original is the only option still as the rest is FFVII compilation which is something very different. 13 Sentinels is a masterpiece. I am not overkeen on sci fi stuff but when its done this well I cannot help but be impressed. Easily up there in my top 5 games ever made and for story purposes it would be top along with a couple of visual novels. Id even rank the story above games I love to death for their story like FFVII (og) Xenogears and Trails in the Sky trilogy. Gameplay wise its not amazing but its a damn sight more fun than I thought it would be and the whole presentation of it is just so damn good. I also played it this year and its also my game of the year.

[@koopakape]

I'm not a big fan of how you so matter-of-factly threw out the fact that you've never played, and have no interest in playing the original FF7 at the beginning of the Remake review. If you fancy yourself "the JRPG guy" and you obviously don't mind simpler, older-school style JRPGs like Legend of Heroes, you owe it to yourself to at least try the quintessential, genre-defining, generation-defining masterpiece of a JRPG that is FF7.

[@MrRaichu12]

My jrpg year was mainly about trails and ys So i'm just gonna mention my favorite from this year : Trails to azure

[@katherinewhyte1522]

Great top, good games! .. my top of best jrpg 2021 are: 1. Tales of arise, 2. Ys IX, 3. Scarlet Nexus, 4. Bravely Default 2

[@Ric_93]

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by SMTV so I'm taking a break to play through Ryza 2 again. It's such a great game! Doing a charismatic run and it's so much fun. Definitely one of my favorite games I played in 2021

[@aidankhaos7687]

@@sagepirotess6312 he obviously doesn’t think so. Shove off

[@zaemzoom6807]

Some of the best games I played this year would be: 1. 13 sentinels aegis rim 2. Tsukihime 3. Neo: twewy 4. Ys 9: monstrum nox 5. Ys 6: ark of napishtim 6. Growlanser 4: wayfarer of time 7. Ys seven 8. Smt 5 (still playing hence why it’s at the bottom)

[@Crashandburn999]

Are you talking about that old VN Tsukihime? if so, I read that many years ago. It was pretty good, one of the better VN's imo.

[@zaemzoom6807]

@@Crashandburn999 yeah the old one and man what a good vn definitely my favourite

[@user-wr9hc6gf2n]

Ys8 ? lacrimosa of Dana was my favorite Ys. Maybe you have played it in the last few years xD

[@outkastshadowking2719]

Growlanser IV! I loved it, but stuck on that angel fleeing away part.

[@zaemzoom6807]

@@user-wr9hc6gf2n yeah I played that a few years ago and it was my first exposure to ys and falcom in general and boy am I glad I played it

[@EddiePReacts]

Dude this list is fire. I added it to my steam wishlist.

[@herbertholland924]

I loathed the combat in FF7 remake. I much prefer the original turn based combat.

[@Felipe-oe5su]

My top 10 for 2021 is 9 Trails games and Ys VIII lmao (Azure on top ofc)

[@uhmyself11111]

I only just started playing Falcom games this year. It might seem a little foolish, but I'm waiting for Crossbell's official release. In the meantime, I've made my way through most Ys games. I'm right at the end of VI, and repeatedly getting my ass kicked

[@Densetsu13]

Hands down Trails of Cold Steel IV! I dropped 260 hours into and it lasted me a good 6 months from release date into 2021, so yeah that would definitely be my pick. :'D Close second would Fire Emblem: Three Houses; dropped 160 hours and still going strong. ❤️

[@theoaremevano3227]

Had a hell of a year playing Arise and Scarlet Nexus. :) I'm surprised you didn't care for Vesperia, but I have to say, your comment on the combat progression was very astute. That is definitely a problem with that game. Arise definitely made my favorite in the series so far, where Xillia 2 and Symphonia were my favorites before then. Glad it won the award, and though it may not be everyone's thing, in a year full of so many good games, it doesn't really need to be. XD Got Ys IX for Christmas so I look forward to starting that when I can find the time.

[@theoaremevano3227]

​@@drazgul1 : You mean Vesperia? My take on it is that it just took too long for a lot of important options to show up, being linked to the skill system. People learn how to play the game based on the least it has to offer, and by the time some options become available, they've already learned to deal with the limited functionality. Apart from extending combo length, the game didn't really explain many of the mechanics referenced in advanced Vesperia play, and I think a bunch of those skills deserved to be highlighted more. (It's also not the only Tales game to have issues with that. I think a lot of other games just barely start you off with basic mechanics and leave off some of the crucial technical things necessary to REALLY work with the combat.) For me personally though, I find Vesperia to be weighted pretty heavily on offense, and while that's a dead ringer for plenty of players, it's not really my preferred balance. I like more weight on defense. While I did use Yuri a lot first time due to him being the main, I tended to enjoy using Repede and Raven (style 2) the most. :D (Also used Rita more than most casters due to her spell combo.)

[@TrafalgarLaw2011]

Always wanted to check 13 sentinals out. With this glowing recommendation, I guess I really dont have any excuse anymore not too :) For me personally tho. Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker is the JRPG of the year (altho its technically an MMORPG). Its one of the best games I have ever played and is imo a perfect execution of the heroes journey.

[@first-law-fantasyabercromb7308]

Tales of Arise got only around 5 seconds on the game awards even though it got RPG of the year. the same with Nier Replicant winning best soundtrack, no snippet played, no live orchestra, just a 5 second mention... drag queens got around 2 minutes, what was wrong with the game awards this year? there was a huge anti-japan bias if you ask me...

[@theoaremevano3227]

I think it's just plain weird to have a category award at an award show that just gets glossed over. I know other awards shows do that in other industries too, but it still doesn't make any sense to me, especially for a winner of a primary genre. XD

[@milosmevzelj5205]

13 Sentinels is my best game played in 2021. Amazing work of art. I`m not in JRPGs, yet, but I allready bought Tales of Berseria and its coming son in my playing time. Besides that, I was playing Judgment and it was okej. Japan is great. Greetings from Slovenia.

[@punkdrum77]

I picked up 13 Sentinels when it was on sale earlier this year, but I've yet to start it. Strangely enough I want to finish either the first Atelier Ryza game (looking forward to getting the sequel after everything you've said here), Tales of Arise or Ys IX before I really jump into it. All three of them are in various states of not being complete and I while I've finished the main story of FFVII Remake, I've yet to dive into the Intergrade DLC. I also picked up the first Blue Reflection when the Playstation Store had it on sale a few weeks ago and I'm intrigued by what I've played so far. Overall a great list man. I really need to get around to playing that Crossbell Arc too.

[@TheKisekiNut]

They're not gonna disappear bud, plenty of time to play them all.

[@jdrobertson42]

My top 5 JRPGs for this year would be: 1. Azure 2. Zero 3. P5 Strikers 4. Inkenfell 5. Yakuza 4 Inkenfell isn’t Japanese, of course, but the lineage is there. I’m only 1/3 of the way through 13 Sentinels, but I expect it to jump onto the list once I’ve finished it.

[@EddiePReacts]

I like Tales of Arise but sometimes they talk TOOOOO much and i love RPGs. Like i beat person 5 and 5r like 5 times 😂. I just sometimes feel like stop if please!

[@Aubue]

13 sentinels is the best story game I have ever played.

[@TalesofCROWE]

(Opinion)I think everyone should play YS 9 before YS 8, because YS 9 subjectively feels like a downgrade in everything besides combat, it's still a good game though

[@mkarun8688]

My fav this year was scarlet nexus and tales of arise...loved both of them

[@Terranigma23]

Tales of Arise was in my top 5, but when I arrived to the "part 2" of the game, my god it feel so rushed and anti climatic. Quite sad because part 1 was a near 10/10 for me. PS: I can't wait to play the Switch version of 13 Sentinels. :)

[@chariothe9013]

It feel so rushed for me the whole game, too linear and bunch of plot holes, japanese friends of mine also dislike that particular lake scene in Menancia, he made me realized about how nonsense it is. For me what ruined it all are, bad dialogues and plot holes i found. The most cringiest scene for me is the one that Law stops Rinwell from attacking that murder bitch lol

[@Terranigma23]

@@chariothe9013 honestly the lake scene is one of my favorite. Maybe because the English voice actress of Kisara was quite good. My biggest dissapoinments are the revelation of who is the "dangerous girl in red" (really anticlimatic moment) and the fact that you can't really explore Rena. The final boss was also quite boring. I don't regret what I have played, but it's not the best tales of game like a lot of gaming media review have said.

[@chariothe9013]

@@Terranigma23 well the Renegis really shows that dev doen't care about immersion anymore, since immersion breaking moments are there since the first region, the Ulzebek(the main resistant base) you fled all the way from starting point 'Mosgul' just to ended up right next to it, Ulzebek is exist under the lord's castle ground and there even is an ELEVATOR prepared for resistance people to use for attacking the castle's front door.. what a convincing coincidence.... this game is not even a rpg for me just a hack and slash game

[@Veo87]

I just played Ys 9 and Tales of Arise this year and they are both good games, so I recommend them as well.

[@willjohnboy]

Original ff7 is awesome currently better than the remake and probably still will be after all of the remake is done.

[@dainiusvysniauskas2049]

For me, it's FF7 Remake, Persona 5 Royal and TWEWY: Neo. I know that not all of them were released in 2021, but that's when I played them.

[@skins4thewin]

Haven't played the original FF7 before? Sorry, but your RPG card has been revoked. Then again, the first three Trails games are your fav in the series which means you clearly have good taste, so your RPG card has been reinstated.

[@aeon3401]

It should be noted that the tales of arise game suffered from supply chain and shipping issues. Instead of telling their customers sorry you’ll have to wait Bandai release a PS4/PS5 code to all those who preordered the game off their site. That alone was worth getting the game. Not including it really was an outstanding game. I had high expectations and went in thinking they wouldn’t be met but was pleasantly surprised.

[@JamesDavis-nu5lx]

What about Bravely Default II, haven’t you played that game in 2021?

[@skins4thewin]

Lol found the FFXIII combat system to be too difficult? I absolutely LOVED it & mastered the shiz out of it. Sounds like ya just need to git gud.

[@leesasuki]

seeing how people play sakuna combat... now I kinda understand why people aren't a fans of it, it is suppose to be a beat them up/DMC action game, not metroidvania

[@markpfeffer7487]

why tf do you not intend to play ps1 ff7? I played it for the first time last year and it to date the best combat mechanics of any non strategy JRPG I have played. The materia system allows for so much freedom it's nuts.

[@jbot44114]

How can you say that FF7R takes a deeper look at the characters when you haven't played the original? Comes across as very artificial.

[@neoshenlong]

Scarlet Nexus was my surprise of the year. I don't even know why I installed it in the first place, I didn't really think much about it other than "yet another anime game". And damn, it may be yet another anime game, but it was pretty damn well made, the combat was really good. I also have to mention the Yakuza series since Game Pass got me to finally play through it, starting with Like a Dragon. What an amazing series.

[@babyoli]

Still gotta play Scarlet Nexus.. .on my to play list after Hades

[@CRUASSANFAN]

why there is no fucking game titles in the description so I could've just read the rating?

[@Dragonisable]

sorry to say but jrpg are dying since 2001 just bad storys and the games have no heart graphic isnt everything ffx was so deep i cant even get out of it.

[@Flossyvill]

Tales of arise is so good hope they make the next one multiplayer also nexus was really good

[@bernhardvonbarret1729]

Atelier Ryza 2 Relaxing?, *flashbacks of the ending* Fi noooooo nooooooooooooooooooo...(can't spoil the ending XD)

[@caravaneerkhed]

Woah… what do you mean you don’t intend to play ff7 og? You gotta go play that game my dude.. the remake does not replace it

[@SwankGodTenma]

If you loved Tales of Arise and Symphonia you'll love Abyss. Tales of the Abyss is the best tales of with the best story in the series to date

[@theoakty9242]

Scarlet nexus needs more love

[@Ditcher2]

Is it weird I subbed cause I enjoy your voice bro? Tales of Arise has been so much fun.

[@pufulin2010]

disapointed on nr 1 mabe its just me but i kinda dont see visual novers being games...its a visual novel...:P

[@drkmgic]

dang its criminal that u dint include smtv here.

[@mullucull3r]

Literally clicked for smtv

[@Flzw]

Have you played Endwalker yet?

[@TheKisekiNut]

Playing through it now, unfortunately the queue times are just a killer. So when I finish work, I just plug myself in the queue immediately and wait about 3 hours to get in.

[@Flzw]

@@TheKisekiNut Finished it today, it's the only other game I know where the story is on the scale of trails, the writing, the themes, the characters are spectacular. Queues have been brutal though alright.

[@jason137]

New to the channel and love your vids, just wanna say Luis Garcia goal in 2005 was immense...............................

[@skins4thewin]

Great job featuring best girl Estelle so much in your vids.

[@Anomander1]

hmmm, well, ..... it all depends on what you would call an JRPG....

[@zaemzoom6807]

Agreed 13 sentinels was also my best game I played this year and in general it’s just so amazing. Glad it’s going to the switch for more people to experience. The story, characters, music, gameplay, presentation, everything was just oh so amazing and the final battle had me really pumped up like damn I love this game to bits

[@TheKisekiNut]

The only thing I'm worried about on the Switch version is the Sentinel gameplay. It wasn't too hot on the PS4, and Switch isn't exactly a technical beast.

[@zaemzoom6807]

@@TheKisekiNut ah yeah I forgot about that since some of the battles especially the later ones can get get kinda laggy due to a bunch of kaijus appearing. Hopefully they could manage it well

[@bojox3m2]

nice line up. these gems are easily my top 10 this year lol. gj

[@nihilistictanuki6947]

13 Sentinels is such a rare masterpiece of storytelling and a grand homage to the whole science fiction genre. It completely blew me away. What Ys game would you recommend as an entry point to the series for someone who usually prefers story over gameplay, when it comes to JRPGs?

[@hylianheadache5856]

I played lots of great games this year. Nier Automata and Replicant, Yakuza 0, and all Trails games from FC - CS1. I started with CS1 in February - my first Falcom game - and went back to FC after that. I'm now replaying CS1 and can safely say its one of the best games I've played. Unpopular opinion, but it's (probably) my favourite in the series thus far.

[@Mingodough]

Good list but is Sakuna really an rpg? It has rpg elements but you said it yourself it’s divided into two parts. Farm sim/side scrolling action. I love Sakuna and agree with what you said about it but idk about “rpg”

[@ilyasbasuki3207]

I've played Atelier Ryza 2, Trails of Cold Steel 4, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Tales of Berseria, and FFVII Remake. I haven't quite finished Berseria or FFVII yet, but they're great so far, as are the other three. My favorite would probably be Cold Steel IV, because of how much it wraps up the previous 8 games.

[@Jalex8975]

8?! I purchased 1-4 (haven't gotten to them yet) I didn't know there was another 4 that tie to the overall narrative.

[@ilyasbasuki3207]

Yeah, before the Cold Steel series, there are 5 other games in the Trails series. While it isn't completely necessary to play all 5 before Cold Steel, they're all good games and the plot connects to Cold Steel. If you don't have the time to play all of them, I suggest at least reading a summary.

[@Jalex8975]

@@ilyasbasuki3207 good to know! I'll take a look at them before I jump into cold steel

[@ilyasbasuki3207]

@@Jalex8975 Good luck and have fun.

[@FallenSensai]

I do have to say, i did not really enjoy Ys IX. To me it was just disappointingly boring and repetetive. I mean, you basically just fill up that nox gauge by defeating lemures and doing quests, play tower defense in de grimwald nox, break into the prison and whoop, next chapter. That Grimwald Nox plot felt so far away, that i never felt that stuff was actually neccessary. It was told, that it is neccessary, but it never felt like it. In Ys VIII However, the tower defense made sense, since you were trapped on an Island and had to defend your base from monsters or regain controll of important places for ressources. All the Side or Main Quests in both games were good, but the main plot is what is bugging me in IX.

[@storm20111]

I enjoyed playing Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4, I want to get into Atelier Ryza 1 first before going into 2 as it looks like a really interesting game. I would like to do a blind playthrough of the other Atelier series if I get the chance on my channel soon.