I Wanna Get Into JRPGs, But I Don't Know Where To Start!

[@demikr8115]

FFX absolutely is a good starting FF, it just balances a lot of the strengths of the PS1 era FF’s while being very fast paced which helps a lot

[@jiggerypokery2962]

FFX/X-2 almost had me quit the Final Fantasy franchise. The end bosses were impossible and this was on the heels of Final fantasy 15 which i didn't like one bit. I was able to beat Yunalesca and Seymour's final form in 1 try yet the end boss's difficulty was so far above and beyond that.

[@mopeybloke]

Xenogears is a great candidate for a fan translation. It's too bad Alcahest seemingly stopped. It honestly needs one though.

[@pokekiller787x]

Honorable mention to the Mario and Luigi games. My personal favorite will always be Partners in Time.😊

[@daveb1930]

When trying to get my nephew into the genre, Super Mario RPG on the SNES was the breakthrough. The more recent versions of Dragon Quest 1 are great for people who are less familiar with gaming in general, the relative simplicity and short play time don't detract from the addictive nature of pushing for that next level. Also, the mobile version is perfectly playable, removing another barrier.

[@TJTheEmperor]

You know what - Super Mario RPG is such a good choice I’m kind of embarrassed I didn’t include it lol

[@Super_ATI]

Well, Earthbound?

[@kamikazilucas]

as someone who hates rpgs my fav are earthbound ffxv and persona 5 and also paper mario/super paper mario

[@squidyouknow]

Of course they are

[@kamikazilucas]

@@squidyouknow what does that mean

[@JEANS__]

phantasy star 4 pretty good i think and its on nso or tons of other collections that’s pretty much free for people who hate emulation.

[@zenone9698]

You should check out Valkyria chronicles 1-4 and Valkyrie Profile series.

[@TJTheEmperor]

I've played the first Valkyria Chronicles and I loved it! And Valkyrie Profile has been on my radar for a while, but I hear it's really hard without a guide lol

[@zenone9698]

@@TJTheEmperor All Valkyria Chronicles minus 2 are good war fiction and 1 and 4 are the best story and gameplay.For Valkyria Profile 1 is best in series.

[@certainlycity4906]

Very nice down to earth list. The restraint to put 10 here instead of 7 shows some thoughtfulness and maturity. 7 is also my favorite game I've ever played, but I've had multiple friends choose 10 over it as a starting point and they seemed put off by the graphics of 7. It's hard for me to see the ugliness through all the insane charm it has, but it's actually tough to get into for folks that didn't play it as teens. Golden Sun is also a great pick. That was one of my firsts personally. To add my two cents to the list, I think Undertale (although not actually Japanese) is a game that can lead to Earthbound and Mother 3. It's a route that can be a back door into the genre for someone that has bad preconceptions and is averse to JRPGs.

[@TJTheEmperor]

It was very hard not to include FF7, just because I love it so much and because it was the game that got me into the genre in the first place. However, I have enough critical distance to recognize that it probably isn't the best to recommend to someone new. Earthbound is definitely a great choice - the only reason why I didn't include it is because I wanted to go out of my way to include stuff on a wide variety of consoles. And I love Undertale as well, of course - if it was Japanese, it could've easily made the list.

[@certainlycity4906]

@@TJTheEmperor Nice. Yeah another good reason not to go with Earthbound would be that it hits so much harder when you've played a Dragon Quest game already first.

[@_nagazaki__]

Really nice list I myself started jrpgs with dragon quest xi and it was one of the best video game experience I ever had.

[@theletterm1787]

FF9 is great

[@FenixPJ_]

How could you make a JRPG video and not include Wild Arms? I mean, it includes a full-motion, animated opening sequence! 😂😂😂 But seriously, another game I would consider adding would be the original Grandia. It's a perfect encapsulation of 90's JRPGs. The story is a real adventure, the graphics are a wonderful mix of 2D and 3D, and the combat is excellent and a giant middle finger to anyone who thinks turn-based combat is boring. It's only negative is how long the game is (60 hours) but I still it's worth checking out for RPG newbies.

[@TJTheEmperor]

WiLd aRmZ hAs WhAt ChRoNo TrIgGeR cOuLd NeVeR hAvE

[@aarond82ueyd7e8wd.dhe8]

Legend of Dragoon mentioned! I think when that PC port is done it will be an even better choice for a newbie JRPG. Especially since it should make a re-translation of that game significantly easier!

[@TrynePlague]

I have yet to play Xenogears. that's what I'm reminding myself for the last 20+ years.. I would also have added Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology to the list with it's easy mode being perfect for beginners and a really good and mature story. My favorite RPG is Vagrant Story, which should probably be in the list of games to play after having finished a 100 other RPG's xd

[@TrevRockOne]

Dragon Quest VIII did the trick for me.

[@TJTheEmperor]

@@TrevRockOne That wasn’t my first RPG, but it was what made me a fan of Dragon Quest

[@acmnin2146]

And now our feature presentation 😂

[@TJTheEmperor]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds that entertaining lol

[@tsburgos]

Do you think Sea of Stars would be a good recommendation? It's easy to get into for someone who's looking to enter the world of jrpgs. The rest of its merits have been told and explained better than I ever can, and they're all well deserved.

[@Phil_597]

I would add Sea of Stars to that list. The mechanics are very simple and noob friendly, but it also has many difficulty options to turn it into a Dark Souls death fest, where button timing and tough decisions on scarce resources matter a *lot* more than grinding levels or spending time in menus setting up skills and gear before the fight even begins. Normally I play this genre for the story and aesthetics, suffering through boredom in its battle systems, but SoS had me enjoying every bit of it.

[@jesus_hairdo2062]

Found your channel while nosing around, as you do. Every now and then you’re rewarded with a gem of a channel As I have here Already subbed on the basis of this video. As I know I’m going to enjoy catching up on all uploads Keep up the fantastic work, it’s greatly appreciated

[@polymerclayfigure]

Great video. My first ever RPG that I finished was Final Fantasy VI a couple years ago and I really enjoyed it, and I've been looking for other ones to play next. Based off of this list I think I'll probably choose Chrono Trigger next.

[@nishquikpops]

Great list, but I'd swap Xenogears with Xenoblade 1. I know that doesn't fit with your prior criteria, but I think XC1 can stand on its own well without 2 and 3, and it's still a good taste of Takahashi's amazing storytelling.

[@jamesdelbridge7882]

Great video as usual bud!

[@juancarlosrodriguez5022]

Nihon Falcom's Trails series is the best in the genre.

[@derheadbanger9039]

I would reccomend FF9 for beginners to get the gist of JRPGs.

[@Boss_Fight_Index_muki]

It's not my favorite but og ff7 is the game which made rpgs blow up in the west. So that a good starting point

[@Chuck-Morris]

BRAVE FENCER MUSASHIIIII!!!! 😍🖤🖤🖤

[@TheRevengeOfKhat57]

Hot take - I think if I started playing the FF series with X, I dunno if I would have stuck with the rest of the series. I always found it kinda boring tbh 😂 But my tastes always leaned towards the eccentric so maybe I'm not the authority on what to recommend to other people, especially newbies lol

[@TJTheEmperor]

That is definitely a hot take lol. You might be the only person I know who doesn't like that game xD.

[@shadowrebels1623]

Many types of jrpgs and they are all different don’t compare them each of the games is its own genre with its own jargon items and game mechanics and graphic design i personally have chosen thanks to the one I chose more appealing graphic design

[@adamgribble3936]

I'll alqays argue that Legend of Legaia is under rated.

[@thecoolestfool7688]

by any chance do you have any tips on sticking with them? As much as I like JRPGs I also get distracted really easily by other things.

[@TJTheEmperor]

That's actually a really good question, and perhaps one that's worth exploring in its own video. Honestly, I can have the same problem, not just with JRPGs, but with basically anything I'm interested in (books, anime, etc). For me, a lot of it is mental - I just have to keep telling myself to focus. Those other things I'm interested in aren't going anywhere. Plus, if I get distracted, and don't put 100% into what I'm doing, it's almost as if I'm not really playing the game at all, since there's always other things on my mind. I don't want to feel like I'm wasting time, so I devote my full attention to what I'm doing so that I can get the most out of it. Hopefully that makes sense - I'm rambling at this point lol

[@thecoolestfool7688]

Thanks for the reply!

[@jiggerypokery2962]

Dragon Quest 11 is sooooo annoying. It is the perfect JRPG to suggest to younger people but there is 1 scene, just 1 scene. Maybe 15 seconds of time that is totally unsuited to young people. Did they have a meeting and say "We got an E rating" oh wait we got to do the thing.

[@electricant55]

I tried Chrono Trigger multiple times and couldn’t stick with it, don’t have anything to criticize except that I simply didn’t like it, am I lost

[@TJTheEmperor]

I mean, sometimes things just don’t click with you - I recently replayed Star Ocean: The Second Story (the original, not the remake) and I felt like I was missing something because I didn’t absolutely love it like most others seem to. That being said, I think you’re the only person I’ve ever met who doesn’t like Chrono Trigger lol. But hey, if it’s not your thing, that’s cool, there are so many other great RPGs out there

[@Spirit_Chaser]

>Persona 5 Should have said 2.

[@lookhowshegobbledthat]

FFX on pc or console, FFIX on mobile (preferably pc or console but for accessibility)