Six Dragon Quest Games I Want To Try

Somehow, I’ve been writing and talking about JRPGs on the internet for a few years and I’ve still never played a Dragon Quest game. This might be because one of the first JRPGs I fell in love with in high school was Final Fantasy X since Final Fantasy is much more popular in Australia and since Final Fantasy X is a more of a modern-looking RPG, it definitely influenced the kind of aesthetics I like in JRPGs. Despite being a big fan of what some consider to be its rival series, Dragon Quest seemed interesting the first time I heard of it. Akira Toriyama’s art looks great in it which makes its aesthetic more appealing, it's got a cute slime mascot, turn-based battles and I’ve always wondered how its fantasy stories and worlds compare to others in the genre. With the English release of Dragon Quest XI coming up soon, I’m strongly reminded again that I still haven’t touched this series, so here’s a list of games in the series I want to try to help me get into this classic JRPG series.

A Definitive Ranking of the Square Enix Cafe Tokyo's Takeout Drink Menu

If you’re coming to Japan, forget maid cafes. Seriously. They’re overpriced and you can just look at the maids on the streets like everyone else does for free. You can also do this with a Tapioca drink in hand that you damn well know Ifrit spit a fireball into for about 600 yen if you take a detour and go to the Square Enix Cafe first.

Regardless of whether or not fireballs are actually in your drink*, if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, NieR or other big Square Enix titles, the Square Enix Cafe in Akihabara is worth a visit if you’re looking for exclusive merch that you won’t always find in other stores. It even is a restaurant with regularly changing themes and corresponding foods based on their games, such as Ignis’ recipes from Final Fantasy XV or the fish caught in NieR Automata. But these are more expensive and require a booking and well, do you really want to spend your money on a delectable dish that's price is the same cost as a Moogle plushie? Of course not! Thanks to the takeout menu, you can have a little Square Enix Cafe and your Moogle too.

5 Things I'll Be Considering When I Upgrade My PC for Playing Games

Let’s be real for a minute here - my PC setup for gaming (and other tasks) is not ideal. I’ve been using the same laptop for almost five years and while it gets the job done for some games, blog writing and video editing, it’s generally my last choice when it comes to playing games, especially long ones like JRPGs. I would, however, like to upgrade my PC one day to experience more high quality JRPGs on PC and improve my PC experience in general. I may not be rushing out to get a new one soon, but here are 5 things I’ll be considering when it’s time as a long-time console player looking deeper into buying a PC.

Why I'm Not Ashamed of Playing on Easy Mode

Booting up most games these days, I’m met with a decision. A decision that affects important parts of my game experience, such as challenge or the time it takes to play, which has a large effect on my overall game enjoyment. This decision is choosing a difficulty mode. I find changing difficulty modes along the way distracting, so I want to get it right the first time and there’s a very easy way to tackle this decision - choosing Easy mode.

There may be a slight stigma towards playing games on Easy. I imagine some people have thoughts such as "It takes the skill or challenge out of playing", "It’s not really playing the game", "It’s for weaklings" etc etc, or at least that’s the internal dialogue I had with myself the first time I made the switch into easy town. But playing on easy mode has allowed me the opportunity to try more games by giving myself a little speed boost and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting a relaxing experience in one’s gaming downtime.

The Story of How Map Markers Ruined Me

When playing Persona 2 and Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD recently, I noticed I felt a little lost. Not in a deep, emotional way or anything, but much more literally, at least in my gaming life. Both Kingdom Hearts and Persona 2 are over 15 years old (let that sink in) and in these 15 years, there are certain things I've apparently come to expect need in what I play. Aside from the beautiful graphics and smarter UIs found in modern video games, there's a little tiny thing I'm lost without - map markers and map points. It's exactly what it sounds like: I am saying that among the many fantastic JRPGs I was catching up on that I missed or hadn't played for a long time, before noticing how wonderful the story is or how good or bad some of the pixel art is, my biggest problem becomes how lost I find myself navigating these old worlds.

It's important to mention that I don't usually blame the older games I'm playing for this. While yes, the older games could have put in more or better maps and could have made their destinations clearer, and in some cases there's but a small hint about where I need to go. But this was much more normal in those older games because the current standard of ‘spell everything out to the player’ wasn't there. Games could be much more subtle and could hint at destinations rather than just plunking a marker on a map. When I played Kingdom Hearts as a kid and was in the Jungle and it asked me to find and save someone, I happily ran around until I found them, no matter how long it took. I accepted it all as part of the task. Now when that happens, I start to feel a weird frustration, like the game is wasting my time. When I actually think about it, if I was the actual protagonist inside the game, I wouldn't have a little map marker showing me around. Protagonists may follow a map in some games, but in a map-free experience like Kingdom Hearts, the player is exploring and finding things just like Sora would and there's nothing wrong with that. So why do I feel frustrated?

The root of my frustration most likely comes the large amount of games nowadays that feature comprehensive maps or are criticised if they don't have them, a sentiment I can understand. There are so many games to choose from nowadays that if it's between two similar story games with varying ease of navigation levels, it's logical to pick what's going to get to the story and gameplay paid for rather than just running in a circle. And with open worlds becoming more and more common, it's rare for a quest not to include a map point to run to because that circle running is a quick way to lose the gamer retention an open world provides.

Although I can't navigate my way out of a paper bag without a map point or marker, I kind of understand why things have to be like this and why map markers and good maps in general are a very important part of making a world as engaging as possible. My free time, like most people's, is limited and map markers get me from A to B much more easily than I could more by myself. While it's a small bummer that it's now highly novel I explore an open world without a map point and I'm destined to find myself running in circles every time I play an older game, I understand the games are just trying to keep things interesting.

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Are there any troubles that you have when playing older games? Can you live your JRPG life without a map marker?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list and Youtube Channel for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Persona 5's Confidants and Unlockable Mechanics (#JRPGAppreciaton)

One of the first things that stood out to me about Persona 5 when I tried to play it in Japanese last year was the way that gameplay mechanics kept unlocking, even 40 hours in. Playing the English version now, I'm still having the same experience five dungeons in, thanks to the Confidant system in Persona 5. This constant unlocking of new mechanics keeps gameplay varied and gives more benefits than just interesting conversations and Persona EXP for spending time with NPCs, and it manages Persona 5’s depth well. It's one of the many things that keeps Persona 5 deep in its JRPG roots, with the polished gameplay Persona fans know and love.

My Hourly Stages When Playing JRPGs

In the last few JRPGs I’ve played, I noticed something interesting: my general feelings during JRPGs remain almost the same throughout my hour count. If a game is good, I’ll usually know around the same hour count I realised other games were good. If a game isn't great and I decide to keep going with it, I can also see similar thought patterns based on how long I've been playing. I'm genuinely curious if other people have these, so here are mine and feel free to leave yours in the comments!

The first 10 hours: Learning the game

No matter whether a game is good or bad, I feel I never truly understand what the story or mechanics are until I'm coming up to the 10 hour mark. Personally, I'm not someone to get good at mechanics straight away, especially with JRPGs having different systems to learn among other things. While I can of course play the game before this, it takes me around 10 hours to feel like I’ve truly got the hang of the system (unless it’s really simple). There is something magical about the first 10 hours of learning a game though, such as learning about the characters and watching the game’s system slowly open up. I love the curiosity I feel in those first 10 hours and when I think back to my favourite games, often it’s these moments that spark my interest and love in a game.

10-30 hours: The honeymoon period

Now that all the systems are learned and the story has been established, it's time to enjoy them to their full potential. Since it’s still early days, this is the point I really feel like I'm in a game. I can understand everything going on, but it's still fresh enough to be exciting.

I call this the honeymoon period because it's the part of the game where my excitement is at its peak. Everything is unfolding, and mechanics and stories haven't had a chance to become tired. It's just fun, especially if the game is particularly good. This is also the stage where I get a clear feeling of my general feelings on a game. If I'm going to really love a game, I usually know at this point. If I'm not crazy about it, this is usually where it starts to annoy me.

30-50 hours: The “Forever or Please Finish” stage

This is probably the most general thing I'll say, but this is usually where something really important happens in the story and it either motivates me to keep playing or is the peak of my frustration in a bad game. I feel like this stage is the climax because the story should be at its most exciting, I should be good at the mechanics and the game should be showcasing its best moments at this point.

If a game isn't so good at this point, this is probably where I start considering bouncing out. Note that I say considering, because my completionist heart usually pushes me on as I pray the game will eventually get better, with varying results.

50+ hours: Point of No Return

There's no bouncing out at this point. Major things have happened in the story by now and I'm invested in seeing where they go, no matter how much I’m actually enjoying myself. By this point I usually have some grinding routines in place for leveling if needed and I can feel the end of the game on the horizon. If a game is really good at this point, this is probably where I feel like I don’t want it to end. I specifically remember this feeling from when I played World of Final Fantasy and Persona 4 Golden (and it usually guarantees I'll cry when it ends).

If a game has begun to either bore me or really annoy me at this point, I am powering through it as fast as I can so I can be done with it as soon as possible. The most significant time I can think of where I had this feeling last JRPG with was Conception II as I was so over the tropes in the story and dating portions of the game but had committed so much time into it that I had to keep going.

80+ hours: Either this is my life or I’m stuck

If I'm playing past the 80 hour mark, it usually means I've digressed from the main story multiple times, usually with end game quests. Doing that probably means it's because I like the game and its setting and characters enough to immerse myself in its little tasks and it probably means I'm a pretty big fan. I’m currently at this stage with Final Fantasy XV, tying up loose ends in quests and considering what things I want to do 100% (such as quests and leveling).

Alternatively, being at the 80+ hour mark can just mean I'm playing a big game or I was bad at the mechanics. If I'm still playing a game that's grating on me at this point, it's probably because of a tough boss battle. This may not necessarily be a game I hate (I'm usually done by this point because I rushed to the end), but at this point I will be itching for it to be over.

Finished the Game: Relief or True Emptiness

Many people talk about the feeling of emptiness after finishing a book series and I get this frequently with JRPGs. If I love a JRPG and I finish it, I usually have maybe an hour where I’m in a happy state before the emptiness sets in. Then I realise I can play something else and if I thought a game was just okay, this probably is fine. But if I was in love with a game, such as my recent love of Final Fantasy XV, this will not seem possible. I’ll consider platinum trophies, true endings, anything to keep me within the game. This is one of the many reasons games are my preferred form of media - there’s almost always a reason to come back.

I’m sure most people have had the experience of finishing a game (or anything) you dislike and feeling glad that it’s finally over. Thankfully, this isn’t a feeling I’ve felt for some time (let's not tempt fate) and I don't like feeling happy to be done with a game to be honest. The short term empty feeling is much more worth it for looking back on a good game experience in the long term. For good and bad games though, there's at least the satisfying feeling of having finished something to look forward to!

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How do you feel at different hours of a JRPG?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list and Youtube Channel for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

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Previews and Spoilers: Where Is The Line?

Note: This post was meant to go up ages ago and for some reason I never edited it until now, hence a lot of what I discuss in this post happened many months ago in 2016. However, I decided to put the post up very close to its initial form as I wanted to show what fueled me writing this and since I still feel the same way about previews and spoilers. Enjoy!

Here's something I never thought I'd say: I've seen enough Final Fantasy XV and Persona 5 footage.

The release of Persona 5 in Japan put a spanner in the work in the everyday social media lurker in the form of potential spoilers. In the people I follow on Twitter, I saw multiple of them declaring that they will unfollow anyone who posts spoilers of the highly-anticipated JRPG. With plans to post a Persona 5 First Impressions, these points seemed extremely important to pay attention to and also as a fellow Persona 5 fan it made me think about how mad I would be if someone threw an extremely blatant spoiler in my face right now. It wouldn't be good and it would kill some of the magic gained from a high quality story.

On the other side of this, official video game YouTube accounts are posting previews with varying amounts of gameplay length shown. I've seen various videos, such 18 minutes of Persona 5 or 50 minutes of Final Fantasy XV. I don't mind these necessarily, especially when they're below the 30 minute mark. But when I see videos like 45 minutes of Final Fantasy XV, I feel confused. I understand that the strategy is to sell the game to those who need more convincing, but 45 minutes is a sizable portion of the game. That's half a movie. That could be the length of my first night of playing after work and suddenly when I eventually do, nothing is new and it makes the first playthrough much less exciting. I experienced this a little with Persona 5 since I watched the 18 minute preview before I played. I still enjoyed the start of the game since I could get to new material quickly, but I wonder how this would feel if I'd watched one of the longer previews.

These preview videos are kind of a small dilemma as there's a very easy solution - don't watch them. But if photos or things are said on Twitter, it's much harder to avoid without blocking hashtags and making a special effort. I'm slowly playing Persona 5 in Japanese myself, but I find myself doing the quick scroll when I see screenshots on Twitter because I want to find it for myself in my own playthrough of it. I love sharing funny screenshots with my fellow JRPG friends but I'd hate to ruin a joke for someone too. I like to think context is everything, but everyone’s personal line is different.

For me and what I try to stick to is that a spoiler is something that directly spoils an important plot point beyond the game’s description and advertising. In the case of Persona 4 Golden, I would post about the existence of the Midnight Channel, but I wouldn't post who I found inside the TV world. Posting party members would be okay, but posting their last social link conversation or the final forms may be too much. For some people, my spoiler rule might be too much and for others it won't be enough. Personally, I would never watch an hour of gameplay that involved story, but I might watch half. I try keep the magic of the first playthough as high as possible but in a day of social media, it can be hard.

Since writing the bulk of this article last year, the best solution I’ve come up with is just not watching that content. I’m lucky that a majority of my Twitter friends don’t spoil things for me, but I also am now in good practice of quick scrolling when I see a game I haven’t finished yet. I don’t think long previews will stop, so I guess all I can do as a gamer stick to the solution that works for me as long as I can. I would be happier I think if instead of posting these gameplay video demos online, the footage shown was released as a demo instead. That way, everyone wins and no one feels spoiled and video publishers can still publish these hour long preview videos. But for now, I have my scrolling fingers ready for any Persona 5 or Danganronpa 3 spoiler I see on Twitter and it will have to do.

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What kind of spoilers bother you? Do you watch preview videos for games?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list and Youtube Channel for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

JRPG Appreciation Post: Discovery In Final Fantasy XV's Big Open World

Once upon a time when I was getting back into video games (thanks to Persona 4 Golden), I was a big fan of Skyrim. I’m pretty sure it was my first open world game, so being able to travel across such a large map and find new quests, towns and things to do outside the main story was freeing compared to the linear worlds I was used to. This isn’t to say I dislike linear worlds; I actually like having a clear goal and a way to get to it. But playing Final Fantasy XV has reminded me that open world games can combine the main story linearity that I’m used to with a giant open world sprinkled with quests, monsters and dungeons to discover to. The world of Eos in Final Fantasy XV is a great example of this and an open new backdrop to a great new story.

Usually Final Fantasy has a very direct path to a goal, with a world that aims to take you from A to B in a fairly direct fashion. Yes there are side quests, but in recent Final Fantasy games they generally don’t stray far from pushing you towards the main goal, at least until the main story is completed. Final Fantasy XV differs from this in that it gives the ability to stray pretty much immediately and best of all, run far and wide without much stopping you. Although I didn't mind recent Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy XIII, I really loved this freedom. Some Final Fantasy fans may remember being annoyed by how linear XIII was and then watching Square Enix try prove in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII that they’re not. Final Fantasy XV is open from the get-go and a world with the breadth of Eos is perfect to run around in while having the option to go back to the main story anytime.

The world of Eos isn’t just big, there is plenty to discover. My old favourite thing to do in Skyrim was to find a city I hadn’t discovered and just run to it. Being honest, I can’t do this perfectly in Final Fantasy XV thanks to some rock barriers and invisible walls that block my way but when I was trying to find a new area on the map, I discovered a bunch of element and resource farming areas, treasure and a secret dungeon with a quest inside, which is more than good enough for me. My Final Fantasy XV journey was mostly a story-driven one, but whenever I strayed from the map, I always discovered something and this discovery of random or pre-planned events made me curious to see what else I could find. I was always left with reasons to return to the area I was just in, hence why I've spent 30 hours post story completion going through the many quests and dungeons I had left to explore. I love the typical Final Fantasy experience, but having so many reasons on the map to come back to it when I'm done is really exciting.

Making the world even more fun is what happens along the way. A lot can be said for the areas inspiring the characters to react, whether it’s Prompto wanting to take a picture or Noctis finding a new fishing spot. There’s also the excitement of a huge monster appearing out of nowhere, especially at night when huge enemies tend to show up. While some landscapes tend to look very similar, I like that I remember each area by what happened or what enemies showed up there, rather than purely by the area's purpose.

I completed Final Fantasy XV recently, but I’m still not bored with everything in the world. There’s still plenty to find and discover, with unexplored quests still littering my world map. I love the linearity of Final Fantasy games like World of Final Fantasy and their story-driven nature, but having a more open JRPG is exciting too considering the amount of things JRPGs like to give players to do. It’s this big open world that encouraged me to jump into a quest every time I was told I wouldn’t be able to come back to a town for a bit, just to see what might've been out there. I look forward to the next random dungeon, picture spot or Tonberry I unexpectedly stumble upon in Eos and being engaged by the characters and the vast world they're in.

You can pick up Final Fantasy XV for Playstation 4 and Xbox One at Play-Asia.com

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What do you think of Final Fantasy XV's world? Do you prefer open or more linear JRPGs?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

The Ultimate Dilemma: Naming Your JRPG Protagonist

There's a part of JRPGs that is a small struggle and it's not a boss battle. It's a highly personal decision that subconsciously can affect the JRPG story experience considering how often it pops up. The decision I'm talking about it naming the character, whether it be using the name provided, creating a new one or making an all new name to embody your new character. It may seem like a small decision, but this is the character that'll be presented to a new world for potentially hundreds of hours. The right name must be chosen to go alongside a hopefully great gaming experience and although a simple task, there's nothing worse than going through character interactions saying ‘I hate my name.'

What made me think about this was my dictionary playthrough of Persona 5. Since my playthrough is based around story, I absolutely needed the supposed real name of the protagonist to witness the story properly in my eyes. I found myself Googling his name, which was a little strange to me because I’ve done all of the naming methods at some point but I’ve recently found myself looking for the Default button. Perhaps it's because I see games more now as individual stories as I play more, or I've gotten less creative with my naming. What I noticed most is that there was a certain mindset between each way I played. These are some of the mindsets I found myself go through when naming my characters and are what I think are the pros and cons of these methods.

Using Your Own Name

The way I started playing games with a naming feature as a kid was with my own name. Whether I wanted to actually be the person with the sword or not, I gave the character my own name as a way of putting myself into the game. This had mostly good results since a lot nameable of characters are designed with a blank canvas mentality. When a lot of customization is available, it can be a lot of fun to see your own name on the screen. Take Persona 4 Golden for example, the protagonist (known as Yu Narukami to some) has a little bit of his own personality in the game, but has plenty of dialogue choices that make it feel more like you. Being able to choose which girl I wanted to date or the answers to the questions on my school test really made it feel like I was in the drivers. When NPCs would say ‘You’re amazing, Tara!’ I really felt like it was more because of me than because of the protagonist.

A game I love that I don’t think suits the character naming is Final Fantasy, namely Final Fantasy X. Final Fantasy X was one of the first JRPGs I fell in love with while playing as Tidus, who I had given my own name. But Tidus makes it clear a number of times in the story that it's his story and because of the story is pretty linear, there are things he did that maybe I wouldn’t have. While it didn’t ruin my playthrough, the whole time I was playing I was very aware that I was a small part of the story compared to Tidus’ choices and always refer to my character as Tidus when I’m talking about Final Fantasy X, whereas when I talk about Persona 4 I find it much easier to talk about decisions as my own. When a game puts you in the drivers seat, using your own name feels great but when it doesn't, it feels a little strange.

Making A New Name

There was a small point in time where I didn't use my name or the default name in JRPGs. I made up a totally separate name, away from any characters I loved or usernames I had. I tended to do this for big, open world games such as Final Fantasy XIV or the Western RPG Skyrim where I really wanted to be apart of the huge fantasy world and using my own name felt too close to reality. I often went with the name Aurora because I thought it sounded cool, but I hit a point where that name felt so established in one world that I felt like I needed a different name for another. I realised how many names I’d have to think of if I kept doing this, so I abandoned this method mostly for that reason. It was a fun idea for big games where my decisions were a large part of the story, but in a regular JRPG I’m happy enough to use my own name or the default instead.

Using the Default Name

My latest method of naming characters is simple: just using the default name. I was pleasantly surprised in a recent Twitter poll I did that a majority of my followers also do the same thing. The creativity of inventing a name can be fun, as can the immersion of using your own, but using the default name definitely has its place, especially if you’re a fan of witnessing a story above all else. I talked about my experience with Final Fantasy X when using my own name and feeling strange, so in my second playthrough of Final Fantasy X I played as 'Tidus' instead. That way, the story felt entirely like his and while I was influencing his decisions, I knew that I was only a part of the story I was watching unfold. This is how I love to play through story-driven games and since a majority of JRPGs are more about experiencing a story than creating my own, I find myself using the default name much more often than not these days.

The most recent time I did this was with my new Persona 5 playthrough that I mentioned, although I’ve done it plenty of times in other JRPGs such as other Final Fantasy games, Conception II and Persona 3 and 4. Frankly nowadays, even if it’s a more customised game experience, I feel more comfortable playing as the default now. I’d miss being able to name my character if the option was gone, but since a lot of games have it, I’m okay with not choosing a more unique name. For me it takes out the careful consideration of creating a new character name while avoiding the decision influence if I’m using my own name. I think all the methods have their own value, but for now like most of my JRPG friends, I’ll be hitting that default button with no regrets.

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How do you name your characters? Is being able to name your character important to you?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Special thanks to those who took part in the Twitter poll!

What Draws Me To JRPGs

Whenever I approach the end of a game, even if it's an absolutely outstanding game, I start getting excited for something new. My backlog and my wishlist are both overflowing with so many JRPGs to play next and whether it’s Atelier, old Final Fantasy, Disgaea or Tales of, as vastly different as they are, they're all apart of this genre I love. I'm a fan of all genres of video games, but JRPGs are where I feel my happiest and most at home when gaming. Whether for the quirky characters, the long hour counts or the unique worlds to explore, these are some of the reasons I'm drawn to JRPGs.

Gameplay Systems and Mechanics

JRPGs feature a variety of gameplay systems and mechanics, with well-known ones including turn-based battle systems and skill trees. A lot JRPGs are for having unique stories, but gameplay is equally important and JRPG's focus on stat progression or skill acquisition is one of the most enjoyable parts of playing JRPGs for me. I find leveling and grinding really satisfying, even more so when paired with a good skill tree to pave through or skills to reach for as I level up.

Another big reason I love JRPG mechanics are the variety of them. I can go from playing an active battle system in Final Fantasy XII to a turn-based one in Final Fantasy X. I can play tactical battle systems like the one in Fire Emblem or an action ones like in Kingdom Hearts. There are a bunch of genres blended together in JRPGs and while there are definitely some common elements, the combination of these makes each game feel unique. Blending in different genres such as the visual novel aspect of Lost Dimension, the social sim part of Persona 4 Golden or the roguelike dungeon crawling in Sorcery Saga, it’s this kind of variety that makes playing JRPGs fresh and exciting to me.

Collectibles

Whether it's real life toys or in-game items, I love collecting things that interest me and JRPGs really cater to this. Most JRPGs feature plenty of items, weapons, monsters and even dialogues to collect and unlock through difficult but rewarding side and main quests. In my current platinum trophy playthrough of Final Fantasy X HD (that I'm really neglecting by the way), the hardest part so far has been trying to get the Ultimate Weapons, especially with tasks including dodging 100 lightning bolts and playing way too much Blitzball to wait for a rare item to pop. It might sound tedious, but knowing my characters will have the best weapons in the game and I will have gotten some extremely rare items through my own hard work and dedication is enough to keep me pushing forward in the hunt. This is what makes me what to replay so many JRPGs - I want to unlock all of the Dive scenes in Ar nosurge or try to get all the Digimon in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth one day, along with all the other various JRPG challenges that stick in the back of my mind. Whether you're a collector or a completionist at heart, JRPGs are an incredibly fun way to indulge in these tendencies.

Game Length

While I assume most people reading this blog already love JRPGs, a point I usually raise to non-JRPG fans who wonder why I’m so into these seemingly strange Japanese games is that I enjoy the length and value of putting 100 hours into one experience rather than putting 20 hours into many smaller experiences. My reason for playing JRPGs isn’t solely because I feel like I’m getting better bang for my buck out of them than other games, but I like really throwing myself into activities and 50+ hour JRPGs are a great way to do this. Some of my absolute favourite JRPG experiences have been games I’ve spent hundreds of hours in, like Kingdom Hearts and Persona 4 Golden, and their long length only added to my investment in the story and my enjoyment of their systems. For some people the length of JRPGs is daunting, but for me it’s one of the most rewarding parts of playing JRPGs.

Story

When choosing a JRPG to play, I'm usually first attracted by the story premise more than gameplay. While gameplay is no doubt important in a video game, the stories of JRPGs are usually one-of-a-kind. I think there’s no other genre of games where I can say I’ve played stories about medieval fantasy, high school students fighting monsters inside someone's heart, a great curry God, being a CPU or making star children in order to stop the spread of monsters. I’ve also had plenty of emotional moments with JRPGs where I’ve laughed or cried, since many JRPGs aren’t afraid to explore really heavy subjects all while mixing in humourous quirks such as talking bears, sometimes crude humour or awkwardness. When a JRPG story gets it right, playing for hundreds of hours flies and I leave the experience feeling like I learned or experienced something new.

There are many reasons to love every game genre, but JRPG's great gameplay, stories and fun collectables are the reason I play them for longer than I probably should without any shame. I love feeling like I’m progressing through an interesting world with complex characters and while you can find that in many genres, paired with JRPG gameplay, story length and scavenging, it definitely feels like the right kind of game for me. Whether it be for fun, an escape or a good story, I'm sure that with these things that appeal to me, JRPGs will continue to be a prominent part in my gaming life for a long time.

You can pick up the JRPGs mentioned in this article at Play-Asia.com!

(This link helps support the site, so if you use it or buy something from there, thank you!)

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Why do you play JRPGs? What was the first game that made you love the genre?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Smartphone JRPGs Are Better Than I Thought They Were

Ever since I started playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper last year, I’ve noticed mobile games becoming more and more a standard part of my gaming life. This is somewhat surprising to me, since when I used to bring up the topic of mobile games to my friends, they were regularly talked about as lesser experiences when compared to console games. Despite this, when the port of the original Final Fantasy became my first venture into the world of mobile games, my expectations of them became very high very quickly. I was completely addicted to the old school JRPG and the best part was that it lived in my pocket. As much as I love my portable consoles, there's a lot to be said about having everything on one device, so this Final Fantasy experience carved out the beginning of my enjoyment of smartphone games.

I had paid money to play the original Final Fantasy game on iOS, so when I saw Final Fantasy Record Keeper was free, I was ecstatic. With a majority of my Final Fantasy experiences on consoles, I had always paid for my Final Fantasy games up until that point so I couldn't understand how I was getting Record Keeper for free. The best part was that it was a great game and had hours and hours of gameplay, with more levels being regularly added even now. I thoroughly enjoyed Final Fantasy Record Keeper so much so that I gave it my Game of the Year last year, but there was one thing that the game was missing - story content. The simplified version of Final Fantasy was fun, but it had no chance of fully replacing a console Final Fantasy game. Regardless I played Final Fantasy Record Keeper multiple times a week because of its nostalgia factor, it's fun combat and just how easy it was to jump in and out of during my day.

My mobile game routine has changed a lot recently though. This year has seen the release of three mobile JRPGs I really enjoy - X-Tactics, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. While playing these three games, I noticed how whether it was innovative gameplay, great collectibles or finally having some form of story on my phone, there were deeper JRPG experiences available on smartphones, I just hadn’t looked for them yet. And again these experiences are all wonderfully free with optional payments for extras available that don’t interfere with the main gameplay.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius was released recently and really got me thinking about the quality available in free smartphone games. I’m not that far into the game but already I can fulfill my basic JRPG desires. I can explore towns and areas, complete quests, do boss battles and enjoy an interesting story on my phone. It remembers exactly where I am no matter how suddenly I have to close the app and with levels that are fairly quick, I can get quick satisfaction out of finishing a level during my work day. It has so much content that I can say with confidence if this was a cheap Vita game, I’d probably pay for it yet it’s available for free on my iPhone, regularly updated, made better and only costs me money if I want extra in-game items. I love huge dungeons, quests and levels as much as the next JRPG player, but smartphone games have made me realise there's plenty of fun to be had in small levels too and it's nice to have the option of both types of experiences.

Somehow we live in a time where we’re spoiled as gamers on-the-go. With payment being mostly optional on smartphone games, we’re somehow getting these great smartphone experiences for nothing, which is pretty amazing considering the price of any full-priced console game. They’re not fully at the level of console games since I can’t play any game as modern, elaborate and long as my favourite game Persona 4 Golden on my smartphone yet, but it makes me wonder if there will something like it on my smartphone in the future. For now, I’m glad to be trying out more smartphone games and hope to find more elaborate JRPGs to play on the days I don't pack my 3DS or PS Vita . I’m enjoying the direction smartphone JRPGs are going in and am excited to consider it in the same league as my portable consoles.

All games mentioned in this post are available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

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What's your favourite smartphone JRPG (Please let me know - I wanna try more)? What are your thoughts on Smartphone games?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

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Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

My Random In-Game Routines and Habits That Make My Hour Counts Way Too Big

Games give us almost free reign over a fictional world, yet my brain seems to use this as a strange excuse to make weird and wonderful in-game habits. Whether it's leveling up my characters or being a crazy item hoarder, I often find these time-consuming habits creeping into my play time. Some work as good strategies, others are purely habits I should consider changing. I don't know if this is standard for other JRPG gamers or not, but I thought I'd share some of the weird and wonderful things I do while playing JRPGs and other video games.

Training Equally

Training equally is probably my most consistent gaming habit for almost every game I play. If there's a team or party travelling with me in a game, I must train each character at an equal pace. If there's one character that's a higher or lower level than the rest, it's unacceptable and they'll be the first in line for training. I'm honestly probably my happiest in a game when I see a full party of Level 99 characters because I know I did my job right.

See that level 20 Garurumon? It hurts me a little inside.

An example of my training equally method is my current playthrough of Pokemon Diamond. If I catch a new Pokemon I want to carry with me, I'll set the starting Pokemon for battles to be the lowest level Pokemon, train it to be the same level as the rest of my party and switch to one of the lower level ones again and again in order to keep them leveling at a good pace. I remember starting this habit during my very first playthough of Final Fantasy X. I liked all the characters so much and didn't want to neglect any of them, so this seemed logical and proved useful in boss battles when I needed multiple skill types in boss battles or in moments of games when you can't change the party members. When I told my friends about this, they were a little surprised as they just leveled their favourite characters and would specifically not level ones they didn't like. This struck me as unfair and the habit stuck.

There is a minor downside to this kind of training. Games usually take me longer because my characters as a group may be powerful, but as individual characters they level up slower, causing me to be under leveled at points and in serious need of level grinding. However, I've come to find level grinding somewhat relaxing, so it's not something that bothers me much anymore and I feel good inside knowing I have a variety of skills to choose from in battle.

Training Routines

Probably stemming from my training equally habit is the need for training routines. I think this is probably a more normal habit, but it feels a little too in-depth when I do it sometimes. My best example of a training routine I use is from my current playthrough in Persona 3. Once I've gotten to the highest unblocked point of Tartarus, the remaining nights before the full Moon I'll grind from the bottom of the most recent block until the next exit point. From there, I'll go back down to the bottom floor, see if I have any new Persona's to create or party members to switch out and get back to it. While running through the dungeon, I'll also make sure to navigate my way through the dungeon by 90% of the time only going the direction an enemy of an enemy to to maximize experience gained (or something). I'll do this ever other in-game night in Persona 3 (when my character's not tired) so I can be as high of a level as possible before the Full Moon boss.

I don't think having a training routine is weird for JRPGs as grinding is usually an important part of the game, so it almost seems necessary sometimes.  I started doing my character training in this more rigorous fashion because in a lot of JRPGs recently when I've been a bit more relaxed about grinding, I get a lot of game overs when it's boss time. This kind of routine makes my boss battles go a lot smoother, although definitely ups my game hours!

Dailies

When I'm playing mobile or online games, I like to do my dailies before getting down to business in the game. I'm pretty sure this habit comes from when I was played Neopets as a kid as I used to follow a lot of guides that gave good ideas for things to do daily and it's how I got a lot of Neopoints, so my mind still assumes it works for every game. However unlike the other habits I've mentioned, this is something that as I've gotten older, I've gotten a little less strict about doing. Although I definitely still see the benefit of doing it, since I play mobile games for maybe 10 minutes at a time, I usually just want to get straight down to business. If I spent more time playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper these days, I'd probably do it because now if you do the daily dungeons, you can win both useful materials and points that are exchangeable for valuables which would probably help me get OP faster. But for now, I'm mostly giving this one a miss.

Trophy Hunting

I've talked about having completionist tendencies here before and trophies really appeal to those tendencies. If I can see an easy trophy or a trophy I'm coincidentally close to getting, I feel like I have to get it. Because why not? Even though I could save all this until I've finished a game, sometimes the quick thrill of seeing my trophy percentage go up takes over and I lose valuable time I could've been spending getting to the finish line. I have definitely improved with this more recently though, especially after playing PSOne and PS2 Classics that have no trophies. There was a time where I was trying to platinum Final Fantasy X HD on my weekends, but there's so much to do in that game for the platinum that for now, I'd rather spend that time playing more games considering my backlog.

My brain still can't help having a mental list of games I want to platinum though, including Final Fantasy X, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth and Danganronpa 2, but I want to experience more new games before I experience the same ones again at the moment.

Pointless Item Collecting and Hording

My inventory in Persona 3 is definitely full of things I either don't need and don't know what they do. So is my inventory in Final Fantasy X...And Conception II...And Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth...And countless other games.

I keep every item I may even have the slightest possibility of needing in games if there's no inventory space limit purely because I don't want to get to the point in the game where I desperately need a certain weapon or item for a quest only to find I sold it for sweet in-game currency. I think this habit comes from having experienced such a situation - from times where I've had an almost finished quest, but then the last part of the quest required something I definitely sold. It might mean I scroll through my inventory a lot when I need to find something, but I'm prepared for every possible situation now and I don't have to go looking for items I had in the past.

(To be honest, I think if my apartment didn't have an 'inventory limit', I'd do it in real life with toys and figures too.)

‘Jerk’ Save Files

This one's a little from left field. Playing Persona 4 Golden was the first game I'd played that had really important in-game conversation options that effected how the characters perceived you. I like to be nice to the characters usually, but deep down I was always curious about what they'd say or think of me if I said the bad options. So, a few times I've made a 'jerk' save file for when I feel like seeing what they would say if I use the conversation options that would make me seem (and feel like) a jerk.

It's really not something I've done that much though - I did it for Persona 4 Golden and felt really sad when the characters seemed really sad about what I said. I did it a little in Final Fantasy XIII-2 with a little more success and amusing responses and banter, but it is quite time consuming as you still have to fight boss battles to get to these interactive conversations. I'd like to do it more, but it's another time consuming post-game thing where I could spend my time playing a new game instead.

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Have you done any of these things? Do you have any of your own strange or random in-game habits?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on the JRPG Jungle Facebook page and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and like JRPG Jungle on Facebook for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

A Random Rant About Gameplay Time and Quality

Yesterday it was my day off. I played 4 hours of Persona 3 according to my game count.
Except I didn't.

Yesterday I played Hearthstone, read the Walking Dead comic, bought a DSi and some Pokemon games for it, went for a walk in the park, had multiple convenience store runs, did a bunch of chores....

I probably played an hour of Persona 3. Two if we're being generous.

This happens to me a lot, not just with Persona games, but with every console game I play. I look at my game counts and I feel like I really should be finished by now. Then I look at How Long To Beat and feel like this even more. It makes me question my gaming ability because it makes me think I'm taking too long because I'm bad at the game. It makes me question whether it's me or the clock or the fact I leave my console on way too much while I'm running errands. It's most likely the latter, but it's still something that has bugged me for awhile.

It's weird thing to write about, but I've been noticing this since last year I got back into playing games on home consoles. When I play with portable consoles such as my PS Vita, I can see exactly how much I played because if I need to do something or I get distracted, I can just lock my Vita and come back, meaning my game count remains pretty much 100% accurate. If I walk away, pause or anything while playing a home console, the clock keeps ticking as if I'm intently sitting at my TV creating strategies when in fact I'm probably on the phone or texting or just doing something else. All these times add up to make my game count seem highly inflated at points.

I am realistic about this problem though. I don't expect developers to spend time inventing a system that can tell the difference between idle gameplay time and actual gameplay time. I'd definitely love them to keep making the actual game as great as possible, so great that I forget the clock exists. And that's just it. From thinking about this more intently than I should've, the biggest thing I've learnt is that as soon as I google How Long To Beat for a game, I'm running out of enthusiasm for it.

I once played Persona 4 Golden for 8 months and platinumed it because I didn't want to leave that world yet and didn't pay attention to the clock until it was done (300+ hours by the way). If you play JRPGs, you know they're long and you go in expecting them to be long, but when a game's got it's hooks into me so deeply that I don't care how long it is and what game trailer or game in my backlog I could be playing instead, it's a true winner for me. My favourite time of looking at the time played is when you see the hundreds of hours sunk into the game and you feel a weird sense of pride because you were having so much fun. I want to feel as much of that as possible. This article doesn't have a lot of point other than serving as a reminder to myself and others that as much as I'd like to play and clock every JRPG ever because I love the genre so much, that quality is more important than wasting my own (and your) time playing a sub-par game or a game that's much for me. It's hard to manage this sentiment with my completionist tendencies, but it's something I think is important enough to keep in mind.

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What game took you too long to beat? What's the longest time you've spent in a game?

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

JRPG Anime Appreciation Post: Why Persona 4 the Animation Episodes 13 and 14 Are Good Filler

I usually have mixed feelings about Persona 4 the Animation. On one hand, it's entertaining and a fast way to relive the original story of Persona 4, which is pretty convenient considering the length of the game. On the other hand, I'm a total sucker for small details in fiction and Persona games in general are full of details. Anime and TV by nature are shorter mediums, meaning some of these details are forced to be omitted just because of time. But there's one great thing about the Persona anime series and it's that it uses filler episodes really well to give extra insight into characters, even expanding on the game's detail. Persona 4's shining glory are it's characters, so building upon the complex universe made in Persona 4 is the best way to use this 

I've been recently collecting the Japanese Persona 4 the Animation Blu-Rays from my local electronics store because the first few were quite cheap. I'm always on the hunt for ways to incorporate my love of JRPGs into my Japanese studies, so re-watching the series with Japanese voice acting seemed like a great idea. While doing this, I recently came across one of my favourite episodes from the series and it reminded me of why I enjoyed the anime even though it's not as deep as the game.

Episodes 13 and 14 'A Stormy Summer Vacation' (part 1 and 2) document Yu Narakami's busy Summer Vacation, where it seems like he's grinding his social links hanging out with new friends and creating memorable bonds, just like in the game. The episode is divided into two parts, but explore the same time period from different perspectives. Episode 13 is from Nanako's perspective and Episode 14 comes back to Narakami's.

My favourite of the two episodes is Episode 13, in which the adorable Nanako could be considered the star of the episode. She's missing her big brother while he's spending time with other people so she becomes motivated and excited by her favourite TV show to find out what he's doing. There's a magical girl detective show on TV, so Nanako decides to 'investigate' what her brother is doing and the episode takes a mostly comedic tone from there, with Nanako and the main cast of Persona 4 making outlandish assumptions about what was going on with Narukami's life, causing Nanako to become even more worried.

Mixed in with the comedic stance is also exploration of Nanako's feelings of loneliness. Nanako's loneliness is explored a little in the Persona 4 game (and Persona 4 Golden), but this episode goes much more in-depth by exploring it in a lighthearted manner. Nanako begins her adventure as a cosplaying magical girl with the intention of seeing what he's up to. The episode does a great job at portraying Nanako's childlike determination and also the potential misinterpretations made when snooping, especially by a child.

While Nanako's story is a tale of loneliness, Yu's story in Episode 14 is one of balancing friendships and responsibility. The title 'Stormy Summer Vacation' is most appropriate in this episode, as Yu is so busy trying to please as many people as possible that his life could be feeling quite turbulent. Although I enjoyed the comedy more in Nanako's episode, this episode is essential as it clears up all the assumptions made in Episode 13 and shows Narukami's true intentions and endearing struggles he goes through for his friends. Episode 14 also shows most of the side Social Link characters from the Persona 4 game, a great move for the show as these characters are sometimes overlooked in favour of the main characters, but are an enjoyable and important part of the game, so it's nice to see them getting some screen time in the show.

These episodes are a high point in Persona 4 the Animated Series thanks to the extra insight into both Yu and Nanako. I loved seeing all the side social link characters mixed in with the main ones and enjoyed the comedic change of pace in the series. As filler episodes, I think they're a good addition to the series for character development. Even though they kind of reiterate qualities of Nanako and Yu that most fans would already be aware of, it's done in a chaotic and humourous way that portrays it well for the people who haven't played the game and gives a new piece of story for those who have. The balance of these things create a valuable filler episode that's worth not skipping over before moving back to the main story.

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Which is your favourite episode of Persona 4 the Animation? What do you think of the series?

Leave a comment below or send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter for updates on content and random, shorter musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Note: None of the photos in this article are my own screenshots from the show. All watermarks have been kept in tact to show where these photos came from originally.