Modern Hidden Gems YOU WILL LOVE! ft. JRPG YouTubers!

[@orbalology]

Thanks for having me in this one, David! I'm glad I could put a new game on your radar too :)

[@davidvinc]

I'm definitely going to have to check it out now!

[@n8ivegogo1]

I love when I see KZbinrs I like make a collab!!

[@Jumpsuperfun]

I wish there would be another phisical besides the limited run version

[@kgravey]

Anno Mutationem is a little messy in some areas, but I couldn't help being engrossed in the world. It really is a great game. Fingers crossed for a sequel!

[@whiteiswong]

Unlike previous collab videos, there are a lot of contributors who I haven't heard of before. Way to promote more of the community!

[@davidvinc]

I always try to do so, and I enjoy bringing smaller channels into the limelight!

[@loveandscience3989]

Agreed. I've subbed to a few more JRPG KZbinrs just now. 😊

[@femtrooper]

What a fantastic video!!! So glad to be a part of this and loved everyone's picks too! Really cool pick from Emily - never heard of it!!! Gotta look into that for sure. Thanks again, David!!! :D

[@davidvinc]

You're always welcome and yeah, her pick completely flew under the radar for me too!

[@staticbonez]

Harvest Stella is back on my radar again. Hope it's good like secret of mana style

[@overleveledgames]

Thank you for having me on David! And thank you for the compliment! That made my week haha

[@davidvinc]

Thank you so much for coming on!! I almost went back and deleted what I said, but I’m glad I didn’t since I made your week! LOL

[@JhakceMorgan]

I love these collab videos! They help me find lesser-known (AKA hidden gem, if you will) channels to follow. Not to mention learning about new (to me) games!

[@davidvinc]

Glad you like it!

[@joeypeat]

Great list from the collaborators! I'll be honest, I did NOT expect to see ANNO: Mutationem mentioned! It's a hidden gem that hardly gets brought up and I'm glad to see it bathe in the limelight a little bit here. Otherwise, great vid!

[@WolfPhoenix0]

Strongly agree with Voice of Cards, Eastward and Chained Echoes being on this list (I still need to play Chained Echoes). But I think Emily nailed the best "hidden" title since I've barely heard anything about Anno Mutationem beyond the title.

[@selfeffect]

Such a wonderful comp with such wonderful people🧡 loved hearing everyone’s opinions and different takes! Definitely changed my mind on a few

[@aldoushuxleysghost]

I put so much time into Atelier Marie. I'm excited about the product to finally getting a localization of the entire Salburg trilogy. It took a while for the Atelier series to grow on me. It wasn't until Ircha Gaming turned me on to it. As a result, I'm never running out of Atelier titles to play. I'm working on playing through them all

[@siekensou77]

need my elfir..... i hope they also continue onto gramnad after salburg. i hear Judie is good. i love Viorate though. i havent completed Viorate yet on the psp(?) i think?.... but i remember loving the whole thing.

[@HellFireRPGs]

Thanks for having me! There's some other really awesome looking games that I haven't played yet!

[@davidvinc]

Thanks for coming on board!!

[@Lovuschka]

Your knowledge about JRPGs is so vast and detailed, it is always a great pleasure to find some hidden gems through your channel! Thanks also to your friends who helped with your video!

[@davidtimmer596]

Monochrome Mobius. Rights and Wrongs forgotten. Sure, it's based on the long running Utawarerumono franchise, but thankfully, you don't need to play the other ones to understand this one. What I love about it is the ancient, Edo, Japanese aesthetic, based on something you'd see in anime like Inuyasha, and many others. The story is nothing to write home about, but for what it is, it gets the job done in a decent manner. The four party members play off each other in very funny and heartwarming ways, that annoying doll notwithstanding. Sometimes, the wheel doesn't need to be reinvented, nor does everything need to be big budget AAA, photorealistic graphics. All you need is a bright, colorful, eastern atmosphere with a simple samurai adventure tale.

[@davidvinc]

Oh yeah, I included this one at the top of my own personal top 10 hidden gem list :)

[@gavinh1819]

Great video 👍 What a great lineup of guests and games! Harvestella arrived in the post today coincidentally. Will have to check out some of the others!

[@domfabio8850]

I got a few picks, Scarlet Nexus, Blue Reflection Second Light and Oninaki (god i hope we get more TokyoRPGfactory games in the future). Glad to see somebody pick Voice of Cards, although the one gripe i have with that series is i found it to be too easy and there wasn't any higher difficulty setting.

[@RwnEsper]

Thanks for hosting this, David! Great picks all around! Just shows how great 2023 was for RPGs, and games in general!

[@123masterbate]

This is exactly the kind of thing I love about your channel. Its great hearing you talk passionately about RPGs but you give others a voice too

[@SchwarzmagierLuemml]

Thank you very much to missbubble and overleveledgames, I really love your picks and wrote them down. I'll play them in the next month and will have a great time! For the Chained echoes pick: I played it already it was great too and I can say u dont do anything wrong with this title!

[@overleveledgames]

So happy you're inspired to pick these games up!

[@BacklogBattle]

That's right! I'm representing a hidden Yoko Taro gem! Thanks for having me again! Also, have to edit this and give a shoutout to the Fisherman dude from the first game hahaha

[@domfabio8850]

Voice of Cards definitely deserved more attention so cheers mate!

[@davidvinc]

The fisherman absolutely made the game for me!

[@phoenicia1313]

cool one for bringing exposure to these creators

[@bicenhower7]

New fan here! I am so happy that the youtube algorithm decided to recommend your channel to me about a month ago. I love your charisma, energy, and the passion you have for RPG’s and have been enjoying watching all your videos. Keep it up and expect to see me around here often!

[@davidvinc]

Welcome aboard!!

[@leolightfellow]

Love seeing so many great youtubers collabing together. This time I already know most of them. :) Also glad to see Chained Echoes getting more love, credit to HellFireRPGs. :)

[@johntrex1742]

I'm super glad ANNO: Mutationem got brought up. One of my favorite cyberpunk titles with stylish action and really engaging story. Check it out if you haven't, it's incredible.

[@JRPGLife]

Thanks so much for having us, David! This list is awesome 😊

[@davidvinc]

Thank you both so much for coming on board!

[@RwnEsper]

@JRPGLife My wife and I played Diablo 3 for hundreds of hours, on PS3, PS4, and Switch. We have too many issues with EA/Blizzard to play D4, but I wouldn't fault anyone for enjoying the experience, especially co-op!

[@JRPGLife]

​@RwnEsper that's great! 😀

[@RwnEsper]

@@JRPGLife Yeah, we agree with your motto! These last few years our co-op fix has been Genshin Impact.

[@Dracobyte]

Also, thank you for an awesome collabotation video!

[@quezcatol]

One of the best hidden gem I ever played (and is a SRPG) is the indie game "Halfway" on STEAM. sci-fi srpg in 2D sprite taking place up in a space ship as its been hijacked the marine survivors has to stock up on healthpacks, ammo and weapon to survive this horror story. I really mean it, look it up!

[@jobi1kawobi317]

It’s awesome getting to hear all these different JRPG KZbinrs share their hidden gems as I get to find new channels and also new hidden gems 💎 awesome video David!

[@uppernimbus]

Great collab David, good to see Femtrooper and Taylor from The Gaming Shelf in the mix! Hope this video does well for you guys ❤️

[@michaeledwards8472]

David, first I love your channel. I am a lifelong RPG fan as well. They are my therapy. What a great idea to bring in other RPG KZbinrs for this video! Awesome collaboration!

[@michaelmacorso4479]

Neo world ends with you deserves more love. Such a phenomenon beautiful game with a touching storyline.

[@SheIsTheOneNameSailorMoon]

I love the callab from other gaming channels. Some of these games I see as hidden gems and the others I want to explore. Some really great suggestions. Thank you. ❤

[@davidvinc]

Glad you like them!

[@CalebByRamen]

Amazing video David! I think "moden hidden gems" should be an annual topic.

[@momintim]

Chained Echoes is really up there with almost being a masterpiece to throwback jrpgs

[@bandrew1442]

Chained Echoes is definitely my favorite RPG I've played in the last few years so I'm glad to see it get a shout out.

[@predarek]

Ohhh I'm definitely going to checkout Anno Mutationem! I was looking for that kind of games. Thanks for the video as usual David!

[@lucbauer]

My hidden gem: Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology. Best battle system ever made.

[@doctahp123]

My hidden gem of the year wasn't a JRPG, but more of a puzzle adventure game: A Space for the Unbound. An incredible pixel art journey through an amazingly detailed version of late 90s Indonesia. It has one of the best and heartwrenching stories I've ever played, and some great puzzle and gameplay elements. It is a true 10/10 game, and my personal favorite of 2023.

[@retrogamedreamer8761]

This was such an amazing video. Thank you so very much 🙌🏻

[@davidvinc]

You're so welcome!

[@GalanOfTruth]

I think Eternights is good game, though Ive seen David's opinions on it. It's very rough around the edges, no question, and I wouldn't say the combat is anything amazing, but it didn't overstay its welcome and I had an ok time with it. It was a decent first game for the single dev, and as a bright side it gave them the support and funding to start a team and put a lot more into their next project and I have faith that with the extra support they'll make something special.

[@Terranigma23]

What I like the most about these videos it's to discover other/smaller jrpg content creator. And also of course the games ahah. 😁

[@ArveEriksson]

Completely agree about Voice of Cards! ... Only the final battles were too difficult for me and I rage-quit, but hey. It was a wild adventure up until that point.

[@Eagleknight815]

Excellent video from some of my favorite community channels in JRPGs. Awesome Job David!

[@davidvinc]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SH-ci4je]

Can triangle strategy count?! So glad voice of cards got some love.

[@Dynastybladeb]

ANNO: Mutationem was amazing absolutely stunning loved that game so happy it’s got some love 😊

[@Igor-jz9kc]

Wow, I really like the way you let other people express themselvs on your channel. This video was really fresh and interesting and the reviews were all different but full of care and passion for the games. It's great to be a part of such community. Hope I can be a part of it too.

[@davidvinc]

Thank you so much!

[@Zexxion1]

Hidden gems, and diablo 4 in the same list. Yeah, I don't get it.

[@GalanOfTruth]

Well they explained their reasoning as that most people know about diablo but they think most havent played it thinking its for hardcore diablo fans, and I'm not sure the numbers support that. However I can say there are probably a lot of people who stopped playing due to the rocky launch and the game has made a pretty good turnaround so it's becoming more and more worth taking another look at so weirdly enough despite it selling very well it's becoming a postlaunch hidden gem since most people already quit. That all said, too little too late for a lot of players and hidden gem is still a bit of stretch but I tried my best here 😂

[@domfabio8850]

@@GalanOfTruth Even though Diablo is one of the highest played/selling franchises ever...

[@thehoff3189]

​@@domfabio8850tell me you didn't read GodofTurtles last sentence without telling me you didn't. Lol

[@GalanOfTruth]

@@thehoff3189 Or my first lmao, I literally said the numbers dont support it being a hidden gem. And we also aren't talking about the franchise, we're talking about an individual game.

[@domfabio8850]

@@thehoff3189 Yeah i did give up reading their excuse half way through. 2nd half of their excuse still really undersells how big the franchise currently is regardless.

[@zetram00]

An entire video of games to add to my backlog? I’ll take that as a yes

[@SethWilson]

Love the Chrono Cross music playing behind this video!

[@Valkerion]

Love collab videos like this, nice and cosy while turning us on to others who also like rpgs. Good stuff

[@Scuzoid_Melee]

My hidden gems would be 9 years of Shadows and Lost Eidolons. Both have an estimated 45k steam purchases, one is a metroidvania (I consider most metroidvania's to be a type of action rpg) with a lot of color and elemental swapping. The other is Fire Emblem but using an ancient Chinese myth between two legendary generals only the setting is medieval Europe instead of China.

[@ReapsVsTheWorld1]

I love these collab videos. Thanks David and everyone. I am always looking for games to add to my backlog.

[@gustaveriksson113]

Best choice of thumbnail

[@Yeshua-gb5nk]

Pleased to see both Harvestella & Chained Echoes, 2 of the best discovery I made in the last few years. And it's good the video is actually about hidden gems for real, especially the last (1st time I'm hearing about this game). Very nice video.

[@cozyfeji]

Loved this collab! Awesome picks from everyone! ☺️

[@davidvinc]

Thanks so much! Yeah it was a blast!

[@fredsorre6605]

never been a fan of tactical RPG's with a few exceptions as I have never liked seeing small characters whacking each other in a small grid but I do immensely enjoy those that has great animated battles like Fire Emblem and Shining Force been playing those since the SNES and Genesis era but right now my absolute favorite is the Super Robot Wars series as Alpha and anything that came after that was pretty awesome.

[@rune9055]

Loving these collab videos David.

[@SkinnyGaming81]

David, thanks for letting us know about those games, buy mostly the other youtubers. I subscribed their channels thanks to you.

[@threeswordssama]

Some really good recommendations here. I want to check out Harvestella and Diofield Chronicles. I also have Tactics Ogre Reborn and Disgaea 7 in my backlog though so maybe I'll start there.

[@HybridAngelZero]

Always love seeing everyone come together in these collab videos. Man, just need to go ahead and buy Chained Echoes xD

[@dreadcthulhu1439]

Finished it yesterday, and I would recommend it.

[@Ranemoraken]

One for the jrpg fans would be the snack sized “Jack Move”. Neat art, easy to jump in combat. Snappy story. Doesn’t overstay its welcome. That said, chained echoes may be the greatest rpg in the last ten years.

[@DSG0805]

Voice of cards needs a physical

[@MissBubbles]

Thank you so much for having me, David 🫧🫧

[@davidvinc]

No, thank you so much for joining me!! I love your energy, it’s always so positive!

[@Lovuschka]

"The Longest Five Minutes" looks good also. Another hidden gem?

[@ethanhunt3242]

Tactics Ogre reborn is awesome. The other three Ogre Battle games could use a remaster collection since everything else is getting one, theyre a pain to find.

[@reikooters]

Most of these weren't really "hidden" I think, even if they may be good, but a few of these people understood the assignment at least. Eastward and Anno Mutationem look interesting - apparently I already own the latter on steam, must have been in a humble bundle. I'll have to check it out some time.

[@Eagleknight815]

Just added Anno to my wishlist. That looks interesting

[@dcrediah]

Hey it’s Femtrooper!!!! Now that’s a cameo I can get behind

[@kaykeyora]

My hidden gem game last year was monochrome mobius Rights and wrong. I absolutely love and enjoyed the game. I hope we get a part 2.

[@creekandseminole]

I'll go out on a limb and say that Mato Anomalies is a hidden gem. It has about a 50/50 ratio and probably leans more toward the negative side for a lot of people but dang man, it really tried to do something different and I feel like it'll become a cult favorite later on and one of those deep picks from the Switch library once the console is long over and collectors come about. Also there was the Baten Kaitos 1&2 Collection, Dragon Quest Monsters Dark Prince, and all the amazing Trails / Kiseki games we've gotten.

[@adrianvictorv]

I'm really surprised not to see Irchagaming. Big bummer. I'd love to hear her take on this as well. Out of the ones shown here, Chained Echoes is amaaaazing.

[@ohitsdannie]

this video is so good! the list is many i have played and a surprising few i have yet to that i was unsure of

[@Welshy974]

Good mentions in this video!

[@SpaceCat1111]

Hey David you absolute unit, you total beefcake, have you heard about Final Fantasy Renaissance yet? The original Final Fantasy on NES but recreated pixel for pixel in Unity and adding all new classes and abilities from future games in the series? It was totally up my alley, considering I was a 7yo who played the original back in 1990, and I know you're close to my age.

[@davidvinc]

Oh I’ll have to check that out!

[@Taranchule]

It's a little older, having come out in 2021, but I'll never stop pushing Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi as a true hidden gem. It's so hidden, in fact, that it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. So, why is it good? Well, it's a first person, party based dungeon crawler. Not all that remarkable at first glance, but it's everything around the core gameplay that caught my attention. For starters, it's set in 1979 Tokyo, at the beginning of Japan's economic dominance... sorta. You see, the main premise is that an enormous structure called Yomi appeared in the city (and several others around the world) sometime in the late 50s. For the last few decades teams of mercenaries called Undernauts have been venturing into Yomi on behalf of mining companies to clear out the resident monsters, allowing the extraction of a new form of energy called Argen. For the most part this is all setting fluff as the game takes place solely within the dungeons of Yomi, but it lays the groundwork for the second thing that sold me on the game: it's atmosphere. For all it's stereotypical location, Undernauts has this seedy, morally grey feel of corporate greed and questionable ethics. Everything from the threadbare suits some characters wear to the faint, discordant saxophone that forms the core of the soundtrack, the game OOZES that vibe! It's really cool! Finally, there's the fact that it's a JRPG that let's you create your whole party! That fact alone was enough to sell on me this game as I come from a Western and Tabletop RPG background. Round it all out with some quality of life features that elevate a lot of the annoyances of dungeon crawlers and you've got a pretty little package. It's on every modern platform so the only barrier to entry is your wallet.

[@kidrobot.]

really?i heard it was weaker than stranger of sword city and sapphire wings. i might give it a try when it's under $30

[@Taranchule]

@@kidrobot. I confess I haven't played any of Experience's other games, so I can;t judge on that part.

[@kidrobot.]

@@Taranchule no problem, thanks for the little write up/review of the game

[@nicoleshh]

I like these collaboration videos!

[@unlucky_thir13en]

Some great picks on this list. I'm mortified that no one gave the Fuga games a shout-out though.

[@dcloud3791]

ive been watching this channel for years but this is my fave video you've done yet! happy new year!

[@davidvinc]

Happy new year!!

[@marcustodd2910]

Chained Echoes is a great game. If anyone out there is on the fence, I highly recommend it for what it's worth.

[@eliotwildermann]

Ooo a collaboration video nice

[@AngelLeroy]

I own most of these and should finally get into them. I DID finish Chained Echoes, and completely agree with that one. So good, and the battle + boss music are in my Spotify rotation.

[@UpsetN3RD]

My hidden gem from last year was Monster Menu: The Scavengers Cookbook. Definitely a interesting game from Nis and one I enjoyed immensely. Very unique jrpg for sure. Another one I am mentioning because I absolutely love it is Raphsody The Marl Kingdom Chronicles.

[@Eagleknight815]

Femtrooper with the Harvestilla love! I just picked it up off Amazon last week and it was below 30 bucks. Looking forward to that one

[@TheGamingShelf]

Love me some hidden gems 🤩 GO PLAY DIOFIELD!

[@davidvinc]

Thanks so much Taylor, you and I agree on that one, it’s fantastic!

[@siciliangamer]

Great list. People dont realize how spoiled we rpgs fans are right now compared to ps3/wii U era..

[@PapaDragonMK]

You’re not alone @justTheGems! I like too Ethernights! 😅

[@loveandscience3989]

For me, a true hidden gem of the last two years would be Astlibra Revision. Yeah, it looks pretty ugly at times and could have a better localisation, BUT literally everything Else is top tier ARPG goodness. The story alone is insanely good!!

[@Kunisaki]

Tactice Ogre is not an hidden gem, is just a remake of an epic old game that was well know for its compelling story, being released in multiple consoles since the 90's. There's even a mod called One Vision for the PSP version of the game that changes and balances quite a few things. I did play this game back in the SNES, PS1 and PSP for long time.

[@wguevara86]

I have a video collaboration idea. Get with another (or multiple) content creators and have a debate. For example, you and The Gaming Shelf have sometimes opposite tastes. Some games you put on the best games list, he's put on the worst games list and vice versa. Have a debate on why they are the best vs worst games.

[@davidvinc]

Him and I did a debate once on modern rpgs v. retro rpgs and which was better, you should check it out!

[@sk45293]

That fisherman WAS amazing 😍

[@jrpgaddict7726]

Chained Echoes is the best jrpg I have played in a very long time, really want part 2 🤩

[@parsath_2584]

No offense to the folks involved but how is Diablo IV a hidden gem exactly?

[@isssma0]

Diablo 4 on a hidden gem list? Really? What else, Minecraft? Next they’re gonna tell me Diablo 4 is a JRPG? Absolutely no hate for you David, I like your stuff, and you’re often the guy I watch for jRPG news! But that Diablo 4 slot could’ve been for another actually hidden gem, but they really used it to promote Diablo 4.

[@danperalta8952]

Loving the collabs

[@Tikku4ever]

Some excellent games but there's no timeline I'd ever put Diablo 4 and Chained Echoes on a hidden gem list. CE was one of the biggest indie RPGs in years.

[@Omar_Little]

For future please add the game titles in text onscreen when being discussed. Especially as these being lesser known games and some titles containing words that aren't in the dictionary, i struggled to decipher the names without playing slower. Or perhaps list the titles in the description or a pinned comment. It would help with accessibility for hearing impaired too. Thank you

[@chickenfillets]

HARVESTELLA!!!!!! YASSSSSS!!!! great Collab everyone!!!

[@YennyStark]

Harvestella finally getting the recognition it deserves!!

[@JamesBantz]

Great list I have Harvestella, Anno Mutationem, and Eternights in my to play in 2024 list. I also do want to check out Diablo 4 at some point once its under $20. I do recommend picking up Diablo 3 on switch it can be pretty inexpensive.

[@Bargadiel]

Random and unrelated comment but I think I would love to see you visit Japan and make a video about it, I think you would really enjoy some of the game shops there, in addition to the culture/historical sites in general.

[@ashesfalldown7068]

“Virgo Verses The Zodiac” was mine

[@endisbegun27]

Chained echoes is the gem of gems on this list but dayyyyum any fans of nier and it's music will not be upset by harvestellas music