The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered Unboxing :: SaGa Games :: Why I Love These Games

Why I love Legend of Legacy and the SaGa games. Simple!
I unbox the HD Remastered Limited Edition and talk a lot in between about these games with short gameplay clips for illustration.
And Filmia is my Prince. 🩷
LINKS
Backlog Battle: 10 Amazing JRPG Soundtracks
• 10 Amazing JRPG Soundt...
My old video on The Alliance Alive and Legend of Legacy:
• The Alliance Alive and...
Reviews:
noisypixel.net/the-legend-of-...
www.nintendolife.com/reviews/...
TIME STAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:40 Details of 3DS Legend of Legacy
02:19 3DS screen with Save Point
03:00 3DS not rendering graphics well
04:44 Original limited edition for 3DS
05:30 The issue of a lack of story
06:00 Is LoL flawed ?
06:50 environmental storytelling
07:20 SaGa series
08:05 I'm nuts about SaGa
08:35 I never stopped playing LoL
09:11 Gameplay clip
09:45 3DS Back cover blurb details
10:35 Gameplay clip: The Mystery of Avalon
11:15 Replayability and character carousel
12:00 The legends who worked on SaGa and Legend of Legacy
13:27 Short collab video on favourite soundtrack
14:40 LoL is for those who love Exploration and Mapping
15:08 Intro to maps in LoL
15:58 Original limited edition (3DS)
16:35 Unboxing commences
17:35 Choice of Switch for handheld gameplay
19:28 Look at the HD graphics
20:20 Deluxe Edition with soundtrack code and mini artbook
22:25 Art cards
22:57 Map position on Switch
23:30 Discussion about LoL gameplay and criticism
25:15 Patience and frustration
26:15 The Adventurers' Tale clip
27:00 How I experience LoL gameplay
27:50 Run for your life!
28:24 Difficulty spikes
29:20 Elementals and Awakening skills clip
30:56 Art book
31:40 Lucky Cat Save Point clip
32:48 Something extra - a cloth
33:52 Round-up of all items and thank you to NISA
34:50 Out-takes
#unboxing #Switch #3DS #JRPG

[@nerdzone]

"I am completely nuts about SaGa games" Yes! Preach!

[@YoshMaster]

I love these overview/review/unboxing videos of yours! They are so relaxing to me, almost asmr-like. I am always keeping your videos for when I’m in bed, just before sleep, to relax and enjoy thoroughly. Thank you for all your work and I wish the very best of health for years to come so you can keep talking to us about the wonderful world of jrpgs!! ❤

[@PowerSynopsis]

9:13 Bro's face on the left is killing me. He's got a look that says "Is this really a giant frog talking to me right now? That's the last time I eat mushrooms I foraged in the forest."

[@adam_antoise]

Hamauzu really is an excellent composer - I only recently discovered his Legacy/Alliance OSTs after listening to his Final Fantasy work for years!

[@ijlayugan4149]

You got a deluxe? YAY woah the cloth art! It looks beautiful! Artbooks always excite me. This game is totally a chill game I'd enjoy in rainy days or before bed

[@MiamiSunrise]

Unorthodox is a great way of describing this kind of experience. I'm a huge fan of Furyu. That different and unorthodox experience as you put it is a total plus for a guy like me. While divisive for many when it comes to Furyu, I really like their other outings like Cry Machina, Crystar, Monark, Lost Dimension, Trinity Trigger etc. Even though many of their titles are inspired by other things like Mana, or Persona and such, these games just hook me. The reviews of the games they put out are almost always middling and I would certainly not agree with most of those reviews, putting their titles in the high 60s or mid 70s on metacritic. Thank you for covering this one Britta, very cool you could draw on the 3DS experience to compare and contrast. I got the Limited Edition for PS5 and it showed up today. Thanks for all you do! 😸🐱🐈‍⬛🐈

[@Food4Dogs]

Lovely feedback, thank you!

[@nezahuatez]

Your intelligence and love for details around game design and, especially, history is wonderful! A developer’s ideal gamer for sure!

[@Bobson_Dugnutt_Esq]

As someone whose only exposure to the SaGa game were SaGa Frontier 1 and 2, I always find the insights from fans of the series fascinating. Makes me want to try Legend of Legacy and The Alliance Alive someday.

[@Food4Dogs]

I hope you do! 👍

[@eddiespaghetti7878]

Thank you for this! You are so relaxing to listen to. Feels like a nice and calm conversation.

[@WPFreeinternet]

I recently beat this game. I have my gripes with it but it's still a solid game. It makes me want to play Alliance Alive because it looks like it resolves what I had problems with such as an expanded party and not needing contracts for spell casting. On the other hand it'll probably have to wait after SaGa Emerald Beyond since I simply love that series. Always great seeing you make videos and appreciate RPGs of all kinds on different platforms. I'm still chipping away at my Vita ones.

[@EvilMike349]

I definitely decided to watch this video based on the adorable little frog knight dude in the thumbnail, but you just have some of the best vibes on KZbin. You seem so kind and thoughtful, and your passion and knowledge relating to JRPGs is staggering.

[@Food4Dogs]

Thank you kindly. Filmia is a most excellent frog prince and I'm glad he managed to attract your attention. 😊

[@EvilMike349]

@@Food4Dogs He looks like he does a fantastic job, I'd pledge my fealty without hesitation. I'm definitely gonna have to check this game out!

[@SAGEOFTHE6PACK]

i love the editing and transitions in this video! i also love your channel because you share games and other media that i would’ve otherwise not heard of/looked into. thanks as always for sharing!

[@Food4Dogs]

Appreciate the feedback

[@clementexcoffier9705]

As always, a really nice video ^w^ thank you for your work

[@kalingamble2156]

I started playing this game on the 3ds a couple weeks ago and have been enjoying my time with it. I was worried that I wouldn’t since all the reviews I had watched were mixed and talking about how much grinding there was, but I think there is just enough of a challenge to keep me hooked and wanting to get to the next area. I just made it to the bottomless pit and the light armour has finally appeared in the shop, so I think I may be nearing the end stages. Hopefully there are not many more huge difficulty spikes like the ship graveyard so I can finish the game.

[@Food4Dogs]

Yep, that's exactly how I feel about it - just the right amount of challenge. I was puzzled, too, about all the reviews bemoaning too much grinding. But in fact, if you grind endlessly, this can easily get counter-productive. You need to get into battles that will trigger the new skills/techs, continually. I can see that you worked all that out 😀 - and that's when people enjoy the game. I think you may have to face one more significant difficulty .. but I'm confident you'll get through that as well. 👍🏻

[@milliedaisy648]

I had never heard of this game before but this review makes me want to play it ❤️ thank you!

[@MikuSoda]

Thank you for keeping this videos coming Britta, I didn't know about this game at all but now I can't wait to try it next week tons of love

[@lapisdragon8]

Thanks for posting this! I love Legend of Legacy and I still have my collectors edition art book and CD from the 3ds version, but with no way to play the CD anymore. I added the PC version to my Steam wishlist when the HD remaster was announced, but I had forgotten about it completely until I saw this video pop up in my youtube feed.

[@ijlayugan4149]

Ooo very cool breakdown. ohmygosh a FROG character thats just amazing. Ah the concept of each character having a different story and different ending is pretty interesting.

[@Eagleknight815]

Had this saved so I can enjoy the full review. Was not disappointed! What a great review and unboxing.

[@Food4Dogs]

Thank you.

[@SweetMangoGaming]

2:19 Adorable! 😊 I loved listening to you "ramble" on about your love for this game. Your obvious enthusiasm had me enthralled from start to finish. Lovely video! 🌸

[@QueenViolet8]

Thanks for the video I am still waiting for my collectors edition in the mail I played this on the Switch and found the pop up backgrounds so cute and charming ❤

[@Food4Dogs]

I know - I was gob-smacked that some reviewers complained about the pop-up backgrounds as showing "inferior performance" on the Switch! 😲

[@user-kr5vm8nk1d]

Thank you for the very in depth review. I’d never heard of the game before but am now deeply regretting not getting it in 3DS when it originally came out. As a huge fan of mapping in games (Etrian Odyssey is one of my favourites) I think I’m sold. Have added this to my list despite my backlog already being full of nicely grindy JRPGs!

[@ningboch18]

Thanks for your video, I’ve enjoyed so much watching it. I’m duly intrigued by the Frog Prince, the save point lucky cat and the wonderful music of LofL. I do believe I will get a copy, Switch version.

[@shadowraygun4000]

This has been such a delight to listen to. Thank you very much! I’m not a fan of the randomness that comes in the combat but you’ve convinced me to pick it up again and try to beat a new map.

[@Food4Dogs]

That's the spirit! 👍🏻😎

[@sforza96]

I think you just sold me Legend of Legacy! I just played and really liked The Alliance Alive, especially for its originality but I was worried with the more gameplay focused approach of LoL. The exploration and "hidden narrative" you described seem very appealing. Thank you!

[@rpg_haven]

I adore the Saga games. You have great taste

[@Motley365]

Missed this one on the 3ds will defo be giving this one a go. Thanks Britta

[@avwarren]

Best review the game could get. Im very eager to play it now!

[@Bowflex2480]

thanks for the video on Legend of Legacy Britta. yeah i played the Alliance alive but i never finished it because of the difficulty spikes. But i might give this a go one day.

[@Matthew7772005]

Thank you so much Britta for this wonderful video. I have ordered this edition and it's in it's way. I love the art style and the music so much. I love exploring in games. I look forward with anticipation to playing this game. Thank you for sharing your love of this game.

[@Food4Dogs]

Let me know how you like it once you play it. 😀

[@Matthew7772005]

I certainly will.

[@Matthew7772005]

I'm really enjoying the game. The music is wonderful. Love the exploration and the graphics as well.

[@Food4Dogs]

@@Matthew7772005 Good to hear!

[@morgan_dushaun]

I remember watching the announcement trailer in September they had posted on the PlayStation Channel and adding it to my PS Store Wishlist for the PS5 in a heartbeat once I recognized Hamauzu-san’s signature sound in the background. His work on FF has always been an immense inspiration to me, but I was always particularly fond of his Sony a-CLOCK compositions and collaboration with Benyamin Nuss. It’s a shame I never got to try it on the 3DS so I’m excited to give it a go on Friday!

[@Food4Dogs]

Oh, I only recently discovered that Sony Clock!

[@1RacerXer]

Thank you for introducing this to me! Its available on Steam now.

[@Food4Dogs]

👍

[@ray2d277]

I ran into your channel this morning. Lovely content. I am actually playing this game on the Switch. I also Subbed ❤

[@Food4Dogs]

Hi Ray, thanks for the kind comment and welcome.

[@maesejesus]

You peaked my interest. I got a 3DS not too long ago, so I will try to find a copy and check it out.

[@Nikita_Akashya]

Looks like a nice little game. I hope you enjoy it. I never heard of it before. But I am also too busy with Trails at the moment. And Ys. And I also plan to read the Nasuverse. I do not have the money for all of that stuff.

[@ZombieGarou]

Finally someone who also love this game :D very good video

[@Food4Dogs]

It's a secret society. 😊🙋🏻‍♀️

[@infasis]

I haven't owned a 3DS for a long time and after playing Alliance Alive on PC a few years ago I've been hoping for this. It's pretty crazy even how few fans Alliance Alive seems to have. That game is great. (and perfect for handhelds if you have a 3DS or Steam Deck or something too)

[@Food4Dogs]

Yes, The AA didn't get the attention it deserved either. You reminded me actually that I don't have it in handheld format, so I'll get the Switch version.

[@continentalcosplay1243]

Love Romancing saga!! But it was a relationship 😂. It was definitely different. But I loved them. Replay ability is up there with final fantasy tactics, legend of legacy.

[@disakland4714]

Not for everyone, but it’s going to be for me! I never managed to save up for the extremely expensive original so I’m so excited they brought it over to Switch!Thank you for exellent video on it and SaGa!

[@FaerieFaye]

I played it when the game first came out. I was in love with as I dabbled in saga frontier 2 and romancing saga 2&3. However I eventually quit because the second half (i believe the battle ost changes then) was so punishing, the swamp area and later areas were a nightmare to get through. I think one QOL features is that the singingstones are now archived, before I used to screenshot on the 3ds so im looking forward to that. I was thinking of passing on this especially since Emerald Beyond is coming soon, but learning one of the designers did work on the saga series and Masato's involvement I think I'll double dip on this. I finished Urpina's story in SaGa Scarlet Grace and made it to the final generation in Romancing Saga 2, so now I have more saga experience to pull from when trying Legacy out again. Music is wonderful indeed.

[@Food4Dogs]

Urpina 🩷 - I'm playing her route in Scarlet Grace too. It is very exciting to get SaGa: Emerald Beyond next month! I agree about the punishing nature of some of the regions in LoL; I would have loved to see some QoL features added .. but alas. I can only think they had a very limited budget and that was mostly spent on doing a decent job on the graphics.

[@NP-ip3nj]

I'm also a big fan of Mr. Hamauzu, and if you like this soundtrack, I recommend checking out the Saga Frontier 2, World and Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy 13 soundtracks. He does excellent work on all of those as well. Definitely going to be picking this up in the future. Keep well also! Glad your eyes are better!

[@Food4Dogs]

I have purchased the FF XIII soundtrack (being a fan of 13 😊) and I should actually have the OST for WoFF since I have the CE .. But SaGa Frontier 2? Wow. Didn't think of that - but I see playasia has copies so it's on my wishlist now. Although I prefer having the game to go with the music - but that's gonna be impossible unless they decide to remaster SF2 like they did SaGa Frontier.

[@NP-ip3nj]

@@Food4Dogs There's been rumours of an SF2 remaster coming for a while, as that one and Unlimited Saga are the last two to need a remaster. Here's hoping!

[@Food4Dogs]

🤞🤞🤞

[@reksaiismaiwaifu578]

awesome I wishlisted it on Steam

[@kuraihiroma]

Woah, this was a surprise. I remember my parents got me the special physical edition for the 3ds and I hated it because of the party and revival system lol

[@Food4Dogs]

I don't imagine it's the kind of game to hook a younger player - but ofc we change as we grow up and older. It's always worth revisiting things we once put aside - I've had a lot of surprises like that over the years!

[@CSGraves]

Well now I have to go to Zophar's and download the original 3DS soundtrack!

[@zockeromi1970]

Very nice box

[@MaskedBishop]

I considered getting the Limited Edition, but already own the original soundtrack, which would have been the main reason otherwise. Legend of Legacy is very flawed imo, but just as I bought it back then because of Masashi Hamauzu's involvement (the composer), I'll buy it now again. ^^ Enjoy the game! I can completely agree with the observation starting at 24:10, and its very weird imo that people criticize the "old" style nowadays.

[@magganon]

Hi Britta, I just watched your "How I got into gaming" video so sorry if you have mentioned it elsewhere, but I saw you mention you loved Dragon's Dogma and was wondering if you plan to pick up Dragon's Dogma 2 or if you had any thoughts on it? Not sure if you have a ps5. Thanks!

[@Food4Dogs]

Hi, I'm one of those ditherers who is still using the PS4 Pro 😄 - no PS5 at this point. I may as well wait and see what Sony cooks up with the rumoured PS5 Pro. I do have the small Xbox and could play DD2 on that. I decided to wait a bit - plenty of backlog - since it seems Capcom still have some work to do cleaning up issues.

[@magganon]

​@@Food4Dogs Ah that sounds like the right approach RE: the PS5, it doesn't look to have many must-have exclusives even this late into it's generation. I'm lucky to have a PC that runs it well enough but performance looks pretty shocking on consoles right now. Issues aside i'm really enjoying it so far as a fellow fan of the first game so fingers crossed Capcom sorts it out so you console players can enjoy it properly too

[@Cage532]

I was going pass on this one but I may pick it up. I'm a fan of the SaGa games and I also enjoyed Alliance Alive HD. It will have to wait until after I get Dragon's Dogma 2 but I'll add this one to my list.

[@Food4Dogs]

Cool. Yes, as a SaGa fan, you match the "profile" for LoL. 😊 I am also a big fan of DD, but I'm gonna wait a few months on DD2 to give them time to fix some of the issues.

[@Lamar-jw4id]

Can you do a video showcasing all your cloth posters, if you haven’t already.?

[@Food4Dogs]

If you have a look at this video - just the beginning, about time stamp 00:20 - 00:30 - you'll see what my approach is: I don't show things out of *context*. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXTRgY2vYs2Spac

[@gosutodoggu9302]

MORE VIDEOS ! YOU ROCK !

[@Food4Dogs]

I have about 300 videos here on my channel. Most of my regular viewers tend to dive into the older videos if/when there is a lull. Most of my videos are not time or release-sensitive - meaning they last (like good wine, hehe).

[@MrOnepiecem7]

Nice video, i have the original 3ds version, the remaster have new content?

[@Food4Dogs]

No, it doesn't. It's a straight port. I didn't have enough time (it being an unboxing) to go into these details. But yea .. some of the annoyances about menu management (equipping gear means having to drag party members in and out of party selection!) are still there.

[@MrOnepiecem7]

@@Food4Dogs Thank you.

[@colebuschle]

I'm having to get my legend of legacy replaced. It didn't come with the extra stuff. It was taken out of the deluxe box and shipped to me game only.

[@Food4Dogs]

😨😦 I see more packing errors reported these days ... hmm.

[@rpghero46]

oh I love me some SAGA TOO!

[@borisdg]

I'm very excited for my Switch copy, but seeing the reviews, I'm bit skeptical now.

[@Food4Dogs]

That's the reason why I make my videos! There's plenty of advice in this one if you care to watch it. 😎

[@borisdg]

@@Food4DogsYeah I just finished it! :D

[@Food4Dogs]

@@borisdg Was it at all helpful? Reviews are important but aren't everything. Tbh, I see it a lot with reviewers pressed for time (they really are, I know iti only too well), trying to finish a game, and titles designed specifically for handheld gameplay just don't fare that well when you pound away at them for hours/days on end.

[@borisdg]

@@Food4Dogs Yeah it was! Thank you for the video as usual 😊

[@111olbap]

Hi Britta, Do you have any advice for someone to get good at JRPG's? I"ve always been terrible at them. I'm clearly missing something but I don't know what it is.

[@Food4Dogs]

Hi, I don't think I can give any "general" advice - after all, there will be reasons that are individual and personal to you. Let me put it this way: Is it so terrible to be bad at something (I actually doubt you're "terrible" at JRPGs - maybe you have high expectations based on how you're with other genres)? I am not good at platforming - but I still enjoy the occasional not too difficult one. I am really bad at stealth games - but I still sometimes try and I really want to play MGS, so I know I'll have to practice just to reach maybe "acceptable" average level to get me through the games. That's OK! I can't be good at everything - I accept that, it doesn't bother me. For me, JRPGs were simply the easiest genre to get into. Why? I don't know .. probably bc they tend to be heavily story-focused? Once you learn the combat system and other game mechanics/processes, you can usually find your way through, even if not every battle goes well or you missed a discoverable secret somewhere. You would need to explain why you think you're "bad" at JRPGs for me to be able to identify where the sticking point may be. Are you absolutely sure you really actually want to play them? What draws you to JRPGs? If you figure out what elements in JRPGs attract you, maybe we can figure out a particular game that should "tick the boxes". Are you more into action or turn-based?

[@111olbap]

@@Food4Dogs Hi Britta thank you for that incredible and detailed answer. I hugely appreciate you caring enough to write all of that. The elements that attract me to JRPGs are the battle systems and elaborate stories and relationships. I also enjoy the graphics of most of these games. I suppose what I'm bad at is learning the mechanics of how everything works-- especially the battle systems. My mind works best with simple games. For example, the latest Ratchet and Clank game was great fun for me because I was able to understand everything about it right away as the tutorials explained it throughout the game, and I ended up having great fun. But we all know that most games these days are more complex. The problem is that if I confine myself to the simple things I miss out on all sorts of things that I want to play. I do have a slight learning disability that followed me all through my school years and that might have something to do with why I'm terrible at JRPGs. Sorry for rambling. The reason I want to play JRPG's is that growing up my best friend was amazing at them and I tremendously enjoyed sitting and watching him play, all the while being bewildered at all the menu and item action, not understanding what was going on despite him explaining. He passed away at a young age a few years ago and ever since I've been trying to get into JRPG games not only to honor the memory of my best friend but also because they always fascinated me. I tried to play Persona 5 but there was one battle about 3 hours into the game that I couldn't get through so lately I've been playing the new version of Persona 3. I guess it's mainly the item usage and general combat that confuses me. It's hard to explain. Honestly a big part of me misses the simpler gaming of my youth, with things like Super Mario brothers 3, super mario world, megaman, contra. These games could be understood in seconds but were tough to master. Thanks for reading if you got this far and happy gaming from Canada :)

[@Food4Dogs]

@@111olbap I've got a much better idea now, of what it is you want to achieve, thanks! I recognise, also, that you have a strong emotional purpose (your friend) behind your desire to get into JRPGs. You have strong points in your favour: you like the stories, the battle systems and the visuals in most JRPGs. 👍🏻 You have one hurdle to overcome: getting used to and slowly mastering the mechanics of JRPGs. Notice how I said "slowly" there? That may be the key to this project. I was simply lucky that my brain seems to be ready 'wired' for RPGs/JRPGs. I love spending hours (!) sorting through the menus, contemplating whether to upgrade this or that skill and which items to hoard or dispose of. Your brain clearly is wired differently and excels at the things that I am usually not so good at. But as humans, we are set up to be 'omnivores' - we can eat almost anything 😄and with a bit of trouble our brains can cope with almost anything. I have to say that if you're trying to ease yourself into JRPGs, I would consider Persona games the wrong type to start with. Persona 5 in particular was made much more than previous games to look/feel more appealing to a mainstream audience; but that does not mean the systems under the hood are any easier to grasp and master. I don't think it would be beneficial if I overwhelm you with all sorts of advice and recommendations - let's try and focus on the basics and keep it simple. Which platform do you like playing JRPGs on? Playstation - Switch - PC or Xbox? Do you already own a number of JRPGs (apart from Persona) that you attempted or would like to try? Or are you looking for a JRPG that would serve as a good intro? Do you have a preference for action RPGs or turn-based ones (like Final Fantasy). There is one piece of advice I have, and I can't overstate how important I think this is: Use a Guide. A very good step-by-step guide that will show you how to navigate your way through the story and battles. Look upon it as a Teaching Aid. I wasn't "born" a JRPG player. While my inclinations all naturally went that way, I was also confused when I started out how to manage all that stuff. So I started teaching myself, or training: using guides to learn the skills I needed. It didn't happen overnight. It took a long time, actually. Well, we never stop learning, of course! But that foundation of learning from people who were successful at completing JRPGs gave me confidence and the knowledge I needed to succeed myself. I know a lot of gamers scoff at the use of a guide. And the for types of games you mention (like Super Mario) that are very simple to understand but hard to master, guides are often neither necessary nor useful. You're dealing mainly with physical control skills here. There's one thing I need to point out: With RPGs, I always joke that I spend 50% of my time in the menus. But that's not too far off the truth! You need to go through every detail carefully, systematically. Patience is required. That's an aspect of RPGs that does not appeal to everyone! I just want to be sure you know what you're letting yourself in for. 😎

[@111olbap]

@@Food4Dogs Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long and encouraging message. I greatly appreciate it, and it's so nice to be able to get advice from someone who is not only very knowledgeable, but also very giving of their time and terrific advice. I don't think I have a patience problem or a menu problem. I must have played 20 or 30 thousand hours of civilization in my lifetime, all the way from 1 to 6, and those are very menu heavy and tedious games where you often plan things hours or days in advance. My issue hasn't ever been "I don't want to wade through this menu" or "I don't want to watch another cutscene" or not having the patience, it's been more of, as you put it, "my brain is not wired for this". I grew up playing reflexes-first style games like Megaman, Super Mario, Contra, Donkey Kong Country, and various old action oriented games on my Commodore amiga which was a terrific machine in its time. I think you're absolutely right in saying that I should follow a guide. Perhaps not every single time but for the first couple of games to get myself moving and understanding the mechanics. I play everything on PC these days. I used to have an Xbox and a playstation but I've gravitated more towards PC. I have access to loads of RPGs both action and JRPG. I really would like to get good at the JRPG games first (though admittedly, the action type does my brain in as well. I didn't get far in Witcher 3). Also I've realized that its not just RPG games where the menus give me a hard time. Any kind of game with upgrade paths, heavy menu use, too many subsystems, they all cause my brain great deals of confusion and a sense of being overwhelmed. I think the only reason I'm good at civilization is that I've been building those skills since I was 8 years old and I'm 40 now. Thanks again for taking the time to give me a hand and I hope you have a terrific weekend.

[@Food4Dogs]

@@111olbap You must have terrific patience to play that much Civilization! I know they are great games, but I just wilt when I sit in front of them. 😂 So much planning .. 😬 I asked about action vs turn-based bc JRPGs can be either. It's not just Western RPGs that use the action format - Japanese developers have more and more explored that option in recent years. Final Fantasy famously made the jump to action combat. I think we have identified the type of game you're looking for: good story and a clean, uncluttered system where you don't lose overview of what you have to manage in terms of skills, upgrades, items etc. Let me know if you have a library of JRPGs maybe already sitting in your Steam/GOG account or whether there are ones that caught your eye. With any luck, I will know them and can tell you whether they might fit your criteria. I just thought about Falcom's Ys games and maybe you'd like to look into them. They tend to be very streamlined in management (no overwhelming menus etc.). They are fast-paced (being action, not turn-based JRPGs) and include elements such as platforming. I wondered if that might suit you, being a bit reminiscent of the fast-reflex type games you grew up with. I would suggest checking out Ys: The Oath in Felghana. I played it on the PSP and really enjoyed it. It has a few tricksy bosses, but if you have nimble fingers they won't give you too much trouble. There's also Ys: Origin, which is just slightly more complex. I see that has a demo on Steam. A demo would give you a feel for how the controls handle for combat etc., so that could be useful since all Ys games share a similar format for how they control. You may have seen my own Ys VIII playthrough videos - useful for checking out the gameplay. Whatever you do, I seriously suggest you stick to the lower difficulty settings (default/normal or easy) - the aim here is to get yourself accustomed to the gameplay (not win prizes for hardcore mode). And have a good walkthrough guide to hand.

[@jusuke1980]

i enjoyed the game enough, but hated those random battles against an especially difficult horde of enemies. difficulty was all over the place. i could never beat the final boss. i wish there were a few qol additions to this remaster

[@Food4Dogs]

I agree. I also tear at my hair over the menu awkwardness (equipment!).

[@jusuke1980]

@@Food4Dogs I do agree with you 300% that the music is fantastic. playing alliance alive especially, i just remember the music feeling so dreamy and atmospheric. also feel they really emphasize the sound effects, such as running or drawing weapons. its so satisfying