How Do We Choose What JRPG to Play NEXT? | GEMS 4

Choosing which game to offer the next big chunk of our lives to can be a daunting task. You take in reviews, trailers, the opinions of your friends, and everything just becomes this cacophonous mess. So how do you finally make your decision? Let's talk about it together, shall we?
Check out our JRPG Podcast, The JRPG Pursuit! New episodes every Wednesday, where we cover a multitude of topics related to our favorite hobby. @JRPG_Pursuit
My Reynatis review that I reference in the video is here: • REYNATIS Review - A Ba...
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[@mechaswool]

For me, I try to play a demo because that's the best thing to understand the game before fully committing my money to it. If a demo isn't available, then I try to look at gameplay and review videos. Gaming is an expensive hobby, and I don't want to think I wasted my money on something I didn't like.

[@louradean9293]

Sometimes even demos aren't reliable, just look at ff16, it started out strong only to devolve into the most boring and repetitive gameplay, with a very forgettable storyline that didn't deliver anything. The most forgetting final fantasy villain to date. And wasted the potential of its characters.

[@accountfor1reason]

I just open up the ol' backlog and see what I feel like. Tower defense? Open world? Roguelite? Who knows. Not me.

[@bigumamitaste]

This is sage advice. This is exactly how I am Setsuna became my favorite JRPG.

[@chaser952]

I just finished the first Trails of Cold Steel so this is a very timely video. Thinking I might hold off to start the second one and play a palate cleanser first…

[@SuperSupersoda]

Please do, Trails game are a lot, pace yourself. After I finished Cold Steel 4, I needed a break, and it was six months before I was ready to start Reverie. What you're experiencing is extremely normal.

[@khfreak5531]

I crammed 1 and 2 then took a long break. The first game is essentially an 80 hour long prologue. With the 2nd one being the actual meat of the story. That being well over 100 hours. That also ending the first arc. I was fatigued as much as I wanted to play 3 and 4. So yeah, definitely pace yourself with those ones.

[@XfitNerd]

I follow a pretty standard process: 1. Gain awareness of a game from somewhere. 2. Look into that game more. Previews and reviews, maybe looking up rumor content. 3. Decide if I'm outright purchasing the game. This is usually reserved for those games I want to see more of. I throw a lot of support behind new SRPG games unless they really look iffy. 4. If I won't outright buy the game, play the demo or wait for gameplay from an independent source I trust to show what I'm getting into. 5. Buy the game and add it to my stack of shame. 6. Revise my list of games to play this year for the (insert excessive number of instances) time. 7. Play the next game on the list.

[@JustTheGems]

Haha yes to the stack of shame. 😱😅

[@sasuke11457]

I have such a strong sense in what i like i can look at a game and know i will like it. Helps that i have a low barrier to entry that ill try anything that looks good. Find good youtubers has helped me branch out even more. Nice to hear more people liking Harvestella even though it wasnt the game i was thinking it would be. It made up for it in music and story which were so good.

[@Dynastybladeb]

I’m really enjoying Reynatis Im just finishing up on it. I just get games which I like the look of which is most rpgs haha so I just get all of them 😅

[@Dynastybladeb]

Next week Metaphor and Thaumaturge on the 15th plus silent hill remake then more later in the month then ends with dragon age it’s the dream month 🙌🙌

[@NemoPropaganda]

I remember when I crossed over 10k, I'm happy for you, you make some really great content!! This was a message I needed to hear to some degree. I try to keep my polotics centered but man it feels like the world is trying to radicalize all of us and I can find myself ignoring certain games for certain reasons. Buuuuut I will not play any of the sweet baby nonsense, polotics aside the characters are just too ugly lol.

[@JustTheGems]

The world is definitely trying to radicalize everyone (you're much easier to monetize that way). I try to keep a level head as well.

[@vorpal22]

I have an ever-increasing backlog: I usually buy about three games for every game I finish because I'm a physical collector and I ike collector's editions. I doubt I'll ever get to, for example, Persona 3 Reload: I don't doubt that it's good, but I already played Persona 3 Portable as the male and female main characters. One of my biggest influences are a couple very close friends who know my tastes better than I do, and a couple online acquaintances that post how much they love a game, and I consistently find my tastes mostly in line with theirs. I don't keep up with gaming news that much with the exception of certain developers, so that's why much of my exposure to new games comes about through those people. When one of my best friends tells me to buy a game, I always buy that game, and with only two exceptions to date out of dozens, I end up loving it. The term "AAA" just turns me off of a game: it sounds so contrived and structured simply to have mass appeal, often at the expense of substance. I love JRPGs, strategy games, and visual novels predominantly, and I like old school games.

[@khfreak5531]

Reynatis is fun. I’m enjoying it a lot myself on the Steam Deck. That being said I had realistic expectations on the quality of the game. I was well aware that the game was AA/Indie. Especially since it was being made by a new small team. Unfortunately a lot of people overhyped it for themselves and for some reason were expecting a AAA experience. This has lead to reviews being fairly mixed. The people expecting AAA gave the game overly harsh reviews and kind of trashed it. While the ones with more realistic expectations gave it fair reviews. Along the lines of saying it’s not perfect, but they still had a fun time. I kind of blame the current KH fanbase for blowing it way out of proportion when it was announced. I’ve always been a huge fan of the series myself. So I get it. But some of the fans can be a bit much nowadays. Not attacking the fanbase at all. Especially since I’m a part of it. lol

[@whatismyname5151]

Hey Brandon here's a video idea: how do you choose which next JRPG to play from your own Backlog?? I swear I have been paralyzed by that decision for over a day before, just scrolling through the back log trying to choose which one I want to install next. For me I eventually just have to force myself to choose one install and start it. once I start I usually get into it but those in-between moments when you have like 20 to choose from can be rough!

[@terrjackson9283]

I agree that it is easy to tell when someone is simply trying to tick representation boxes, or is desperately trying to not get cancelled while not understanding the content they're including, and I personally agree that can have a detrimental effect on an artwork, regardless of what politics are represented (cuz ofc same thing goes for art that goes out of its way to exclude or be hostile towards a group of people). though I can't speak to Horizon as I haven't played it, I have seen my fair share of art that has that kind of dishonest and performative aspect to them, and I agree, it makes me roll my eyes. however, I would never qualify something as "woke" as that immediately casts a very limited political perspective on things. some of the best stories in games I've experienced wud be categorized as "woke" by many right-wing ppl, and others would be too problematic for many leftists to engage with, both bring written off by the other political side. what you're talking about seems to be more about your subjective perspective on what makes the writing/experience of a game enjoyable or not for u, am I correct? basically, I guess i'm curious, if u hear that something is either "woke" or problematic, does that affect whether/how you engage with it?

[@terrjackson9283]

lol hard relate, especially for JRPGs and other games that can just be sooooo long. one thing I did recently is post a "recommend me games" list on backloggd and added a bunch to show the vibe I was interested in. that has helped a lot, many ppl pointed out certain games alrdy on the list & then others recommended others & now I have a lil list of games that are connected to ppl, and that sense of accountability motivates me to play so I can let them know what I thought

[@JustTheGems]

I'll have to think about that - I have the same problem tbh!

[@xalt255x]

Sometimes (all the time) a simple "I LOVE THIS GAME EVERYONE GO PLAY IT RIGHT NOW" works better for me than 1 hour long analysis of game mechanics and story bits. I prefer to trust random people on internet (not even youtubers but anonymous commenters on backloggd) rather than spoil to myself every detail. I don't even read synopsis. And sometimes one trailer is enough because visual style (not fidelity) is the most import part for me

[@xalt255x]

Also demos feel like a waste of time if you can't transfer your progress (I did play hundreds of demos before forming this opinion). There are at least two hundred games I want to play (average length 27 hours) after all

[@Morraak]

For me, I'm very visually oriented so one of these things that's a major deciding factor is the trailer/a video of the game. If I dont like the way it looks I probably wont buy it just because I wont be into the art style. The good thing though is that I'm into almost every art style so it depends on the game itself. For example, I like the pixel art on Chrono Trigger a lot, but not so much for Undertale. Both are great games I hear but I'm more likely to play Chrono Trigger. It's also good though because since I'm more visually oriented then that means I'm more open to differing styles of gameplay. I do take reviewers opinions into consideration, but if I don't like how it looks I probably wont play it since I'd be forcing myself to.

[@JustTheGems]

Visuals sometimes get talked down about in critical circles, like "Oh, how dare you overlook this game because it doesn't look like X" or whatever - but in my mind, it is definitely a legitimate point of criticism and it can make or break a game for some people.

[@AntiRiku]

I'm wired the same way. A good artstyle along with well designed characters goes a long way for me. I can even put up with somewhat mediocre gameplay if it delivers on those fronts.

[@nivekviking9633]

My favorite thing to hear is someone telling me how how to act/think/talk, "cool the temperature of the conversation", "try to get along"... I mean, your Reagan comment in an earlier video tells me where you stand so no question there. The current climate of games is a certain way because people have been "cooling the temperature on the conversation" for too long, and when an inch was given, a mile was taken. Now there's a struggle to coming back to the middle and games are the focal point. If that's a factor in decision making, and people are out there exposing the underbelly of gaming and want to stand for something, then more power to them. For every game I don't buy, if people want to buy 2 or 3 copies to compensate, then go for it.

[@JustTheGems]

Just making suggestions my man. Live your life the way you want. I think it's silly to get up in arms about entertainment, but then again, I don't derive pleasure from being angry like a lot of people do.

[@nivekviking9633]

@@JustTheGems I see entertainment as representing culture. Culture is what's looked to, to determine normalcy. Therefore, I interpret this climate as a battle over cultural ground and the pushing of abnormal in front of normal. I think sitting on the fence, being a voice of reason is a noble position. You seem like you could fit that role. I am a bit weaker, less articulate, and less knowledgeable.

[@TetraMaster-f8s]

​@@nivekviking9633 well said, and I get what you are really saying. And whole "just accept" is very pointless argument, I dont wanna see politics at all, and is just forced anyways.

[@Jod1Breeze]

The only portion that reviewers affect in my gaming, is perhaps when I play a game. If I see a new game that I like, I research it, look into it, watch short gameplay, and then make my decision on whether to buy that game or not. For Reynatis, I saw the trailer, did some digging, and pre-ordered. It seems right down my alley, and I have other FurYu games as well. The negative reviews haven't dampened my excitement (I pre-ordered with Ys X, so I won't get it until this month), and I don't know when I'll get to it with this backlog, but I will play it like all my other games, with an open mind and zero expectations. If I have a game that reviewers are championing, I might move it up my list to play. This happened with Harvestella. You, along with 2 or 3 other people I watch, were all boosting the game. I finished what I was playing, and started Harvestella. LOVED IT! But I didn't love it because others loved it, I had my own experience with it and enjoyed the game. I've been gaming for over 30 years, and I am also confused about everyone talking about a game being "woke." If you don't like it, don't buy it and let your money do the talking. If I didn't play games because the main character didn't look like me, I wouldn't have a lot of games to play. I don't complain, I just buy what I buy and move on with my life.

[@WyvernRadamanthys]

This was a very interesting video. Personally, trailers are what give me a good idea if a game is for me or not. After being interested in the trailer I start digging a little bit more to see if it checks more boxes. Does it have a single player story-driven campaign? Is there going to be a physical edition? Etc etc. I don't really pay too much attention to the pedigree of the developers because in my case it's not a guarantee. What comes to mind immediately is Hideo Kojima. I love Metal Gear but Death Stranding doesn't really appeal to me despite the incredible cast, awesome graphics and all of that. And finally, reviews are never a point of consideration for me. It's fun sometimes to watch or read reviews for entertainment, but I never decide to play or not something based off on that. I have had a really fun time with many games that I'm sure I would have missed out on had I listened to opinions on the internet (Time and Eternity, Mugen Souls, Resonance of Fate, White Knight Chronicles, etc.). Anyway, sorry for the lenghty post, just wanted to share my thoughts. Take care! P.S. It's funny that after watching this, KZbin recommendation is a video called "Buy these now!!" 😝

[@FletchMo7]

Yes Brandon! Keep rolling out the content my friend 👌 Just started trails in the sky the third after playing FC and SC back to back! Feel like I need a break (even though I’m looking forward to the crossbell arc) so I’m going to be in this predicament. Dragon Quest 11, Octopath Traveler 2 are leading the way in my backlog! Heard DQ11 is very long but heard the story is good so that’s all good!

[@SuperSupersoda]

I've finished both of those games in the last 12 months, and you can't go wrong with either. They're both really good. I would also recommend Yakuza Like a Dragon if you haven't played that before. Please feel free to take a break from trails. I love it to death, but it's also a lot.

[@FletchMo7]

@@SuperSupersoda thank you for the recommendation. Iv never played a yakuza game however I did see a review for one which was turn based and it looked amazing (which I just googled and that is indeed the one 😂) Yeah I been loving trails but because I know there is so many I am guilty of rushing although SC was amazing and I’m actually enjoying the changes they have made in the third. But yes a break is needed 😂 I think DQ11 is leading the way only because DQ3 is coming out soon and feel iv not really given DQ games a fair go. I know octopath 2 will be amazing regardless and it’s nice knowing I have that bad boy as an upcoming adventure 😂 What games are you currently playing?

[@SuperSupersoda]

@@FletchMo7 I finished Witchspring R a few days ago, really amazing game. The one I'm working on right now is the first Utawarerumono game, and I'm only a couple of hours into it, but it's good so far. I found trails in 2020 during the pandemic, and starting playing it then. I've slowly worked through every single one of the 11 English language games. I beat Daybreak back at the end of August and it was the game I played before Witchspring R. Trust me, once you get caught up, the gap between releases works in your favor, as it gives you enough time to take a natural break between games. I finished Azure, Cold Steel 3 and Cold Steel 4 back-to-back-to-back last year upon Azure's release in March, and after that, I needed a 6 month break before I felt like I could do another trails game. Reverie was in January and February of this year, and Daybreak in July and August when it released. Three trails games in a row is a lot, and not something I'd want to try again. I played Dragon Quest 11 last year and I really loved it, after 11 games and close to 40 years of DQ, the formula has been refined into a completely seamless experience. DQ 11 is extremely Dragon Quest-y, in the best possible way. I'm planning on picking up DQ 3 when it comes out, that game looks amazing.

[@JustTheGems]

Yeah, HIGHLY recommend DQ11 for sure

[@xalt255x]

On the pedigree note it's almost funny that I have 0 interest in upcoming projects from creators of my top 10 favorite indies (Spiritfarer, Unpacking, Chicory: A Colorful Tale). I didn't have any desire to play Flock (big fan of I Am Dead and Wilmot's Warehouse) either but it turned out great.

[@bryongalindo]

Great video!!

[@luyckxolivier]

Excellent video. I think it should have been named like this "How do we choose what rpg to buy next" instead of "to play" but the content is great. I tend to buy games like I buy books : by genre, review, cover 😅 and overal looks, price (low risk and sometimes great value : indie games, older games, etc.). But I choose the game I will be playing next in a different way : sometimes randomly, sometimes by "personal duty" (game I force myself to play to discover a serie by it's beginning : trails in the sky, metal gear solid, etc.), sometimes by style and lenght (short and then long game to avoid burnout), etc. Two different topics but I agree with you : it's good to try different games (AA, AAA, etc.) to have a personal opinion on them, to develop our tastes. Thanks 😊

[@sonofwotan]

Regarding the buying process, I tend to bookmark games that look interesting on one of those sales tracker sites. Minimal research at this point,no wasted time, just bookmark it. Then, my choice of next game is based on which ones go on sale next. At that point, before buying, I’ll check some reviews or gameplay footage and play a demo if available. There’s an element of serendipity to this process. Never know exactly what kind of game will come up next on the sales roulette machine. I also have a step when’re I look through my old games library and see if there isn’t an old favorite I might like to replay. If it’s been a few years, it’s often fun to revisit the classics. Regarding the woke stuff, you are aware that the, “I’m so tired of this, just yield to them…” is pretty much what they count on to push progress in the culture war, right? The woke are borderline mentally ill, and they have no problem screaming, gnashing their teeth, and scraping bloody lines across their chests and faces day after day until a normal, balanced person ultimately gives in and says, “Ok, jeez, fine, just stop doing that..” and they get what they want. This is true not just in culture, but in politics. For me, it’s not so much political as aesthetic. I simply find most woke values unaesthetic, and avoid games or other media that has those things in it. There are something like 10,000 games that come out every year, so there’s plenty of choice. Even if there weren’t though, and all game development stopped, there are enough older games to keep one busy for the rest of one’s life.

[@andyreichert499]

I have such a HUGE backlog, that keeping track of interesting looking games becomes a challenge. There are games I own that I wanted to try, and can forget that it exists. Otherwise a lot of games live in wishlists, but then I lose track of what interested me about a game in the first place. I pick up very few games near launch. If I'm still interested once its 50% off or more, then maybe I'll pick it up.

[@Eagleknight815]

When it comes to buying, your three methods makes sense..... But for which game I want to play next is time to beat. In September, I tackled my backlog and handled a few shorties. I got two more left and then I move on to Ys.

[@rkclinite]

I have 11 more JRPGs in my backlog before I'll decide on another one. Persona 4, Trails from Zero, there are so many choices!

[@H0j0vinskie]

Thank you for taking the statement from your reynatis review and doing a deeper dive on the RPG genre spectrum. Very insightful and balanced.

[@Raphtor13]

I like demos. Here's a funny thing I tend to prefer Indies though I do force myself to try a triple A game now and then. It seems that mainstream in just about anything never suits me well - music, literature, art...hobbies and the same with games in general. I listen to reviews of people I respect but often still choose to ignore games they like and buy games they hate.

[@antoniojsanchez7892]

for me when is not a franchise that I know or the trailer blow me away is that amazon give me a recommendation base on what I had bought and other people also buy these and 70 to 80 percent of the time is a hit (but there is miss like monark from furyu who make exp points the in game currency and its share by the whole party I had to grind for hours to level up my team)

[@H0j0vinskie]

Thank you for taking one of your statements from the reynatis review and doing a deeper dive on the RPG genre spectrum. Great job!

[@uppernimbus]

Definitely some relatable advice in this one. If there's a game I'm not sure about, I'll check out reviews before making a decision of purchase or not. And having that limited time as an adult plays a huge role in said decision making as well like you mentioned in the video. Good stuff man!

[@JustTheGems]

The limited time is such a killer.... I would be way more well-rounded in my experience if I could just play games full time. 😅

[@ILoveThisBlank]

This is a great video - and I really respect the way you're so measured and honest about what you said. I held my breath when you started talking about the political stuff, because I was afraid it would make people mad, but I think you said it all really well. There are a few reviewers I follow - moreso in music than in games - that I use more to just make me aware of new things. I think, if this reviewer took the time to make a video about it, that probably means it's worth discussion in some way. Sometimes I don't even watch the video, I just use it as a way to encourage me to check something out if it's in a genre I like. The games reviewers I follow I do tend to actually watch the video, though! Focusing mostly on retro stuff on my channel has helped in making the decisions about what games I'll eventually play, but I'm also glad that we've been going through things at least mostly in chronological order - helps me decide what game I'll play next out of the far too many on my list.

[@JustTheGems]

Thanks, I do try to be evenhanded when talking about sensitive subjects. Not looking to make anyone mad, but hoping I can encourage people to think critically.

[@aaronmayfield6581]

For myself, I tend to keep a better open mind about games depending on some KZbinrs I follow. Most times I tend to pick games based on tone and current mindset. I bought Cold Steel because of the story and school setting. Not knowing a thing about the lore of Trails. I bought Persona 3 because I was hoping for another censored swear word in it like Persona 2 Eternal Punishment. I stayed for the story and themes. Rhapsody (PS1) came into my collection because I was big into music games and saw that it was a RPG musical. Just make sure you can walk away with feeling some sort of value in your picked game counts as a win to me. The only game I’ve played is the line counter to that is X-Men Destiny. lol

[@JustTheGems]

Exactly, there's no wrong way to do it - I'm always pleasantly surprised when I pick up a game for one reason and then end up loving it for a bunch of other reasons.

[@TigerTT]

Reynatis is the definition of a bargain bin game, I wouldn't pay more than $20 for it.

[@JustTheGems]

I'd argue you'd need to play it to make that determination, but hey, buy it at whatever price

[@chuckhaynes9166]

When deciding to purchase a game, I watch gameplay, read the description and generally see if it interests me. I have a bigger emphasis on gameplay than story, so thats generally the deal breaker for me. FF16 being an action RPG and being worked on by an MMO developer made me decide against its purchase...after trying it from a friends copy, im pretty happy with that decision. As that shows, i do try the games, and never "not try" something. I fell on love with mass effect by just playing it...when I had no interest initially. Aa for the "woke" stuff...I think the meaning of that word is deliberately obscured to attack gamers, and I have a serious problem with that. Of course there are bad people out there...but most people are legitimate in their criticisms, and I think too many youtube people are taking the publisher/journalist line on this. Brandon, you dont have to agree with that commenters, but at least resist this temptation to attack and denounce. It isnt true. Baldurs Gate 3 is widely praised and isnt attacked as "woke" because the people who made it are not trying to lecture the gamers or alter their game for a corporate checkbox. I implore to at least listen, rather than dismiss. Though we disagree, I appreciate Daveinc not being dismissive, and neither should you just because you are closer to the sun, so to speak. I think Yuji Horii spoke for a lot of us recently on DQIII...and I may buy the game...but altering someone elses art is a big issue for me...and should be for anyone that supports expression.

[@JustTheGems]

Oh, I didn't feel like I was attacking anyone. Everyone should feel free to FEEL, you know? I'm just speaking from a position of wanting people to enjoy more games and help them find a way to remove the barriers that have been constructed between the games and them. As a culture war, I just think so much of what is being shouted about just doesn't really matter. If a game is good, everyone should be able to play it. Boycotting a game because of a social/political stance seems like such a waste to me is all.

[@borrellipatrick]

My copy of Reynatis came in yesterday and im enjoying it sofar. It's msrp is my only concern, think most people wont give it a shot untill it gets a discount. Didn't mind paying $59.99 for the physical with a digital soundtrack download but thinking digitally, it should've been $49.99 or less to get people to give it a chance

[@JustTheGems]

Yeah, I think it could potentially help them gain a bigger audience by launching at a lower price. On the other hand, I guess I understand the desire to maximize the return on investment

[@ChristopherAngeles]

There are so many good games that are not rated highly or a 10 or a 9 or even an 8. I found lots of amazing JRPGs flying VERY under the radar. I tend to just watch gameplay, if it looks fun i play it. If it doesnt, i dont.

[@JustTheGems]

It's a very solid strategy.

[@Seiren_Hermit]

My thought process is probably a bit too simple for this kind of discussion. At its core, my mindset on games can basically be summed up as: If it's single player, the art and music please me, and it's either high fantasy and/or sci-fi: I'm usually willing to at least take a closer look at the game. If the game itself seems fun to play based on a demo or a very brief look at early game footage, that's usually when I'll fully commit to getting the game. Bonus points if the story looks good. However, if any of the first three conditions are a no-go, then I just don't engage with the game or discussion surrounding it at all. There are extremely rare exceptions to the rule, some of which are among my favorite games, but something about the game really needs to catch my attention to get me to budge from my usual criteria.

[@JustTheGems]

That's a very good way to go about it. Sometimes it helps to tier our criteria like that, which I think gives us a wider pool of good games to choose from.

[@felipefelix8650]

Great content

[@sogeidplays]

Why do birds suddenly appear Every time you are near? Just like me, they long to be Close to you Why do stars fall down from the sky Every time you walk by? Just like me, they long to be Close to you On the day that you were born the angels got together And decided to create a dream come true So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold And starlight in your eyes of blue That is why all the girls in town Follow you all around Just like me, they long to be Close to you On the day that you were born the angels got together And decided to create a dream come true So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold And starlight in your eyes of blue That is why all the girls in town Follow you all around Just like me, they long to be Close to you Just like me, they long to be Close to you Wa, close to you Wa, close to you Ha, close to you La, close to you

[@sogeidplays]

Have you played through Death Stranding?

[@EriesAston]

Just let your heart be your guiding key

[@mercutiolavantine5584]

I'm having a blast playing reynatis. I just wish it run better on the Switch

[@JustTheGems]

That was my experience with my AX demo, it just was pretty sluggish.

[@engineerofthemachine]

When the video started I thought, “this feels like a GEMS episode.” 😂

[@JustTheGems]

Haha it has that distinctive flavor

[@sjstronghold9238]

1. Is it a trails ? 2. Was it made by Yoko Taro ? End of questions.

[@JustTheGems]

💯💯💯

[@roxas7295]

I mostly just go by gameplay footage and interviews once I’ve spotted a game that seems appealing. But I’ll watch reviews out of curiosity over what people think. I like to know who made a game and what they have to say about it. A one-on-one with the director is 100000x more valuable than a journalist’s review. I know what appeals to me, and if I think the game seems interesting and I like the creator’s philosophy behind their work, then I’m interested. Also worth noting that reviewers and the general gaming public get things wrong. Using Furyu as an example, people tend to have weird impressions of what their games even are. Like how Monark was billed by many as a game by “ex SMT devs.” Which is very misleading. It’s got some ex-SMT staff, but it was really just the next project by the producer and director of Crystar, Fuyuki Hayashi. And it shares more similarities to that game narratively than it does SMT. If you read interviews you quickly get the impression that he’s the main creative force here. You can see that same creative style in Crymachina too. Now like you touched on earlier, political stuff can be a factor. For me it’s more tied to my personal principles than a team, and I am less likely to play something I object to. But only less likely. There are cases where I might miss something good because of this, and I’m willing to hear people out when they say it’s worth it despite whatever it is I don’t like. I’m ultimately just trying to find an enjoyable game after all. I draw the line at stuff that’s so full of stuff I object to that I clearly wouldn’t like it. Or outright censorship, which I choose not to support financially. But if it’s minor I may go with a used copy.

[@terrjackson9283]

I love that u brought up principles! I think when we approach things while grounded in our own personal principles as opposed to politics, we are way more likely to have a grounded perspective, as opposed to a groupthink one yknow?

[@JustTheGems]

Yeah, I mean if a game in its totality is offensive to a person, it makes sense to skip it. But a ton of the controversies in games right now revolves around how we "label" things, and like, that seems so trivial compared to much more significant things.

[@Skimmer951]

My economy decides it a lot, big ones are often saved up for when they have a sale. It also depends A LOT on mood, when i want it grindy, or hopeful, or more fluffy. It decides a lot when i buy a thing and the thing often needs to be played very quickly so i dont loose the mood and interest.

[@terrjackson9283]

yess mood is huge for me too! it also leads me to tend to play many games concurrently, so I have a kind of "mood palette" to choose from so I can increase the odds of resonance.

[@JustTheGems]

Mood is a very big and often overlooked metric

[@Terranigma23]

Chained Echoes is so good 😁

[@AlastorShadow0]

If the thumbnail is anything to go by then i guess i choose indie no contest maybe look at reynatis, but yea.

[@JustTheGems]

People have been getting on me to finally play Chained Echoes, so it's gonna be soon...

[@AlastorShadow0]

@@JustTheGems I just have no interest in Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, and I have a slight interest in Chained Echoes, but I don't know about Reynatis.

[@SuperSupersoda]

I think one of those three factors, who the creative team is, doesn't work as well in video games as it does in something like comic books. The issue is that when it comes to games, you might love a certain writer or director or composer, but they rarely do all the work alone and the quality of their work will be influenced by who they're working with, what their teammates are like, how much budget does this game have, do they really like the project's premise or do they need a paycheck? While there is still someone useful information to be gleaned from this, it's nothing like it is with comic books. I follow writers, and I don't have the "eye" to follow artists. I know a lot of fans who will buy anything with Jim Lee's name on the cover, or Alex Ross' name and they don't care about the writer of the book. They buy comics purely for the sequential art, and that's what they're into. I follow writers. In 2005, I walked into my comic shop, and I saw a new Captain America comic book for sale. I had never purchased a Captain America comic ever before, and there were plenty of copies of this one on the shelf, it wasn't selling. I impulse bought it, because the writer was Ed Brukaker, who I loved from his work with DC on Batman and Catwoman. That issue was the first appearance of the Winter Soldier. No one had any idea how big a deal it would become. In comics, one writer writes the entire issue, one artist draws the entire issue, and one editor edits the entire issue, so following a single writer or artist makes sense because comics are small enough that one person can do it all. A Geoff Johns Flash or Green Lantern, a Brubaker & Rucka Gotham Central, a Bendis Spiderman or Avengers, or a Roy Thomas Conan are guaranteed buys for me. It's not quite the same thing in video games. I tend to rely most heavily on reviews. The entire reason why I bought and played FUGA Melodies of Steel is because Tarks Gauntlet did an awesome review of it on his channel that convinced me to give it a shot. The reason why I played Witchspring R and why the game I decided to play after that is Utawarerumono is because they both have top-tier reviews, from both youtubers and normies alike. Steam reviews are particularly helpful, because Steam only allows people who bought the game to review it, the reviews tend to be on the positive side, but they also tend to be authentic. I also use reddit and other forums to source my list of things to play. I tend to avoid the AAA experiences as much as possible. I do plan to play Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Persona 5 Royal eventually, but I'm fine passing on most AAA experiences. For the record, I feel like the political angle on these things is misunderstood: politics isn't the reason gamers are passing on some games, it's the excuse developers use for why bad games failed. Concord didn't fail because of politics, Concord failed because it took 8 years to make, cost $500 million, and had ugly character designs that no wanted to play as. Star Wars Outlaws didn't fail because of politics, Star Wars outlaws failed because the hit detection was awful, the game wasn't fully finished and the thing looked like a bloated mess. Cyberpunk 2077 initial launch wasn't a failure because of politics, it was a failure because the launch was riddled with game crashing bugs. The Last of Us part 2 didn't launch to controversy because Ellie was gay, it launched to controversy because people like Joel and the game had Joel die like a bitch and bastardized the first game's story. Games with loot boxes, microtransactions, early release windows, games with key content blocked by a DLC pay-wall and other malicious and abusive monetization schemes will never get my money, ever.

[@JustTheGems]

Politics is only one reason why people avoid a game. I'm not even saying that any particular game "failed" due to some sort of controversial political take. My position is, look, especially social-cultural political things, they're so transient. The things people are so up in arms about today, ten years from now? They won't even care. They might not even remember that whatever it is bugged them at one time. So my advice is to just give the game a try, even if you're bugged by "Type A or B" or some other thing that people are upset about. Most of these things aren't really a big deal is all.

[@SuperSupersoda]

@@JustTheGems The overwhelming majority of fans agree with your take here. The question is: how do you tell which end things are coming from? Did you know that most conservatives really, really like Star Trek? They really like the stuff made before 2005 (TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT), they just don't like the stuff made after 2005 (JJ Abrams and Bad Robot Trek). The older stuff appealed to universal human principles, classic Trek was humanist, not liberal. One of my favorite Star Trek episodes of all-time is TNG Season 4, episode 15 "First Contact". At the end of the episode, the "conservative" position is considered the correct one. However, it's not really "conservative" or "liberal" in the classic sense of the word, rather it is a common sense position: too much change too quickly is destructive. One season before this, in "Who watches the watcher" from season 3, in a somewhat similar situation to "First Contact", the "liberal" position is the one that is considered correct. Here too, it is not really a liberal or a conservative position, rather it is a common sense position based on the available evidence. Similar situations have vastly different value resolutions because the situations are similar, not identical. Classic Star Trek wasn't bound to an ideological straight-jacket, it was nuanced and evidence based. The original series is largely about the Cold War and deals with a lot of contemporary issues related to the late 60s, but because of its humanist approach, it's able to abstract something from a point in time and make it a universal. Everyone can watch and appreciate that, the problem with modern Star Trek is that it tackles the problems of today directly, with no sense of abstraction, which is what leaves it feeling dated. It also always comes down on one side of the political aisle with no understanding of context or evidence. Ten years from now, classic Star Trek will still be relevant, ten years from now, as you said, no one will remember what modern Star Trek was about. That's a failure of writing and show-running, not the political sensibilities of the fans. The single entity that is the worst at this in the modern world is Lucas Film. I don't know if you followed the controversy around the recent Star Wars show The Acolyte or not, but the controversy isn't really that important. In December of 2017, following the release of The Last Jedi in movie theatres, the Star Wars fanbase split: there were people who liked the film and remained Star Wars fans, and there was half the fan base who fell to the Dark Side of the Force and started to hate Star Wars. I was amongst those who fell to the Dark Side of the Force. I watched the Rise of Skywalker after that film, but I've not seen anything else Star Wars since then. I've loved Star Wars, passionately, for most of my life. Hell, I'm a giant Falcom fan-boy, a company that was literally named after the Millenium Falcon. The reason for this is not political. Politics is just the cover story. Politics is what Lucas Film blames the divide in the fan base over, when really, the divide is not political at all. The hatred for the Last Jedi has nothing to do with Rose Tico, which is who the media framed the fan backlash around. She's not remotely the most hated character in the film. Blaming the fan backlash on politics is an attempt by people to avoid having uncomfortable conversations. The Last Jedi is poorly written, to the point of being insulting, and all of that is intentional. Remember Final Fantasy 6? Emperor Gestahl = Supreme Leader Snoke, Kefka = Kylo Ren, and Rey = Celes. Now, compare the Throne Room scene in the Last Jedi to the confrontation on the floating continent from FF 6. It's the same scene, why does the one in FF 6 work and the one in The Last Jedi not work? Two reasons, first, the scene in FF 6 was heavily foreshadowed, and second, Kefka replacing Gestahl as the big bad was an escalation of the threat, Kylo Ren replacing Snoke was not. These are the kind of problems people who identify with the Dark Side of the fan base have been raising for years, but it's been hand-waved away by Lucas Film and its media allies as toxic fans (ie, political differences). The Acolyte was, however, different. With the Acolyte, Star Wars Theory, the biggest Star Wars youtuber on the internet, turned to the Dark Side of the Force. Lucas Film directly went after its biggest, most influential fan, for not liking a tv show. Star Wars theory has a huge audience, and he's massively influential even with people who never watch his channel. Lucas Film should be doing everything it can to court Star Wars Theory, but he didn't like the Acolyte so they attacked him. Star Wars Theory has never been political, Lucas Film made this a political situation, not him. His monetization was attacked shortly thereafter, but he's fortunately big enough and popular enough to be able to survive these attacks. It's deeply troubling that a company went after its biggest fan for not liking a show. There absolutely is a lot of "I'm not going to try this because it's political" amongst fans, I am not denying you're right and that it needs to end, but this is just as often a very poor product where politics is used by the makers of that product to avoid taking responsibility for the product being awful and to silence fan complaints about the awful product or the abusive monetization schemes by reducing a valid complaint to a political thing that is was never about in order to avoid blame for a bad product that no one wanted to buy.

[@JustTheGems]

@@SuperSupersoda I'm with you on your points, but I just want to be clear that I wasn't saying anything about games failing and then blaming politics for their failure. I'm speaking from a purely personal position, in that to me, none of the issues raised by people concerned about certain politics in certain games strike me as anything actually important. Like, sure, there are plenty of games out there so it's not like anyone who boycotts, say, DQIII-HD because of Type A&B is going to be without games to play. But in my mind, it's so silly to base a decision to play or not on something like that, something that someone feels strongly about in this present moment but that I pretty much guarantee they won't care one bit about ten, twenty years down the road. That's all. It's so much more enjoyable to enjoy things, and a lot of this feels like people looking for reasons to be mad. I just can't comprehend that, it sounds completely awful to me.

[@SuperSupersoda]

@@JustTheGems I don't think we really have any disagreement here, as I'm totally with you on passing on something just because of politics. The only thing I want to bring to your attention is that all the political cover for a bad product stuff comes from one side of the political spectrum. The "I won't play it because it's woke" is a learned behavior; people have been so burned by creators who make art silencing critics with "you don't like the thing I made because of (insert right-wing political belief)" The anti-woke reaction doesn't happen in a vacuum, in other words, it exists as a defense mechanism to the, frankly, abusive practices these companies are using. In other words, if stuff like Lucas Film going after Star Wars Theory didn't exist, or stuff like Ubi-Soft going down in a blaze of glory didn't exist, or stuff like Concord flopping hard didn't exist, and if all of that wasn't blamed on alt-right trolls, maybe people would think "eh, so what if it's woke, let's give it a go." If people hadn't be viciously attacked and insulted and reviled for not liking something and been labeled alt-right, when that isn't the case at all, maybe there wouldn't be such a violent reaction to woke. Poisoning the well is a thing, I'm not disagreeing with anything you say, all I'm saying is maybe take a step back and understand that the "If It's woke I'm not touching it" is not a reaction that exists for no reason. It's not random. When you take a step back and take in the full context of a situation, you will come away with a better understanding of why things work how they do, and that understanding will provide you with insights you won't get any other way.

[@WahWahWaaahhhh]

Hey yo, keep it up my guy! Great vid.

[@JustTheGems]

Thanks, will do!

[@RavenousSpectre]

Nope im not giving money to the woke machine...

[@JustTheGems]

Lol wut

[@RavenousSpectre]

@JustTheGems when you mentioned one of the reasons about folks not playing certain games because of them having woke content.

[@JustTheGems]

@@RavenousSpectre My point is that people pass up good games because of how things are "labeled," and that's very odd to me. Like "Male/Female," "Type A/Type B" -- who cares? Big whoop, imo.

[@landonstallings2891]

I care, I also care because I have children that play games. They do not need to be exposed to all that stuff. They can decide on their own as they get older who or what they are. I'm still buying dq3 because it's one of my favorites but there would be no controversy if they just would have left the game alone in it's original state but with remastered graphics.

[@JustTheGems]

@@landonstallings2891 I guess I just don't get what is corrupting about a label. Seems overdramatic to me.

[@whatismyname5151]

Hey Brandon good video but I have to disagree on the political point (of course) Although I agree with your general sentiment, I think that the idea that disliking Woke is just due to Team Politics is reductive. For me (and I think most others as well), although Political Ideology obviously does play a role, the main factor is quality and immersion. I believe we (rightfully so) identify "woke" works (or products with particular "consulting groups" hired) as being of overwhelmingly lower quality and having a negative impact on the work of art as a whole. For example, I recently played through (and put in 100H) to Horizon Forbidden West which is undoubtedly "woke." The graphics are great, the gameplay is pretty okay albeit repetitive (Ubisoft formula) but the story/setting/writing is HORRIBLE! It has such great potential, but the NPCs and dialogue is insufferable. I am not going to get into specifics, but it is so boring and immersion breaking that it ruins the experience. This should be an 8-9/10 experience but just because of the poor writing and dialogue I seriously feel like it is about a 5/10 experience for me now and by the end I just was completing it for the achievements and completion sake. In the past almost all Movies or TV Shows were still written by those with a Left Slant and there was undoubtedly political messaging encoded into some of the greatest films, but it didn't matter because the Art was good. I am someone who is very capable of separating the Art from the Artist. So for me it is not Team Politics - but the overall quality associated with these shoe-horned in and overtly blatant political messaging which waters down what should be amazing experiences into essentially a Degrassi Episode. It's the destruction of quality in our favorite medium that is what upsets us far more than something as insignificant as team politics. Well at least that's my 2 cents.

[@borrellipatrick]

My biggest complaint are Japanese games that get political messenging inserted into them when they get localized. I just want a faithful translation that aligns with the developers original intentions

[@whatismyname5151]

@@borrellipatrick Yeah 100% that as well - taking liberties with translations is a sin. I know that we all love flavor text like the Chest Text in Trails in the Sky but it's different when that inserted flavor is ideological or political. It cheapens the art.

[@terrjackson9283]

I agree that it is easy to tell when someone is simply trying to tick representation boxes, or is desperately trying to not get cancelled while not understanding the content they're including, and I personally agree that can have a detrimental effect on an artwork, regardless of what politics are represented (cuz ofc same thing goes for art that goes out of its way to exclude or be hostile towards a group of people). though I can't speak to Horizon as I haven't played it, I have seen my fair share of art that has that kind of dishonest and performative aspect to them, and I agree, it makes me roll my eyes. however, I would never qualify something as "woke" as that immediately casts a very limited political perspective on things. some of the best stories in games I've experienced wud be categorized as "woke" by many right-wing ppl, and others would be too problematic for many leftists to engage with, both bring written off by the other political side. what you're talking about seems to be more about your subjective perspective on what makes the writing/experience of a game enjoyable or not for u, am I correct? basically, I guess i'm curious, if u hear that something is either "woke" or problematic, does that affect whether/how you engage with it?

[@JustTheGems]

I know what you mean about things that are overly influenced by committee. No doubt that does happen, but I don't think it happens as often as some people think it does. Like, at this point having a woman as a main character gets people SO upset, and it's like ... I think it's fine. There's all sorts of people starring in games, of various levels of attractiveness, and that doesn't have to be a central focus of criticism. My argument is that we should take down these walls we've built out of pre-conceived notions -- even if we feel those notions were originally constructed legitimately -- and try to experience games for what they are. If we get mad because we hear a character mention pronouns or something, like... That to me is a losing battle to fight. The culture is definitely changing, and whether it's ultimately for good or ill is probably going to be up to the future to decide for sure. But anyway, thanks for thoughtfully engaging, I appreciate that.