Five JRPGs I Ruined For Myself By Taking Too Long to Finish Them

Taking my time with games like Persona 2 and Kingdom Hearts at the moment has made me remember something about myself: I’m not the best at playing games over a long period of time. I fall in and out of wanting to play them, trying other smaller experiences in between, even if I'm enjoying what I'm playing. Mix it in with life taking up time and it really prolongs my time with certain games. Attempting to get my reviews out faster this year has seen me play and finish some great JRPGs more quickly, proving the fact that if I immerse myself in a game, I'm more likely to enjoy it or more quickly find out which games I'd grow tired of. No matter how long I take to play games nowadays, there are a few games I can look back on and say I temporarily ruined them for myself by playing them at a slow pace and this list is just a few of them.

Some Screenshots Showing Why Conception II is Awkwardly Hilarious

Last year, I purchased Conception II after picking up the free demo cause I enjoyed the dungeon crawling and the characters seemed like they could be interesting. While I will be writing a full review soon (35+ hours in and I've still got over four dungeons to conquer), I wanted to touch on how awkward and hilarious this game can be, because over the past 35 hours, I can safely say it's been one of the stranger games I've played (which, let's be real here, is saying a lot in the JRPG genre). As this is my first proper dating sim, some of the overtly flirtatious and creepy dialogue caught me off guard and has mad me laugh just as many times as it's made me cringe. Using screenshots to preview some of these, here is a summary of some of the awkward moments you can expect to find if you play Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars.

Note: some minor spoilers are ahead, so proceed at your own risk!

The Girls are 'Unintentionally' Inappropriate

In Conception II, there are seven different girls to choose from, all with different personalities and different looks to provide variety for the player's preferences. What they all share though is the ability to randomly sprout surprisingly innuendo-filled or completely straight forward lines without even intending to, because dating sims.

....a logical conclusion after someone says "I want to get to know you.", Torri.

Does anyone even say 'in the buff' anymore?

Okay, that one was completely intentional.

Admittedly, this probably wasn't her fault, but this was so anime I had to include it.

Chlotz, in general

Chlotz (a character I actually enjoy) is the definition of hormone-filed teenager. He is never subtle and often just creepy, although for the most part manages to pull this off in an endearing, weird friend kind of way.

Narrowing things down in a dating sim.

A reply to the protagonist going to photography club.

The thing I appreciate most is Chlotz's trademark grin when he says most of these things.

Classmating and It's Brother, Classmanting

Now I have absolutely nothing against same-sex relationships, but Classmanting is the worst part of the game. None of the guys seem like they want to do it, rumours get spread about them and it's all round only for the benefit of science and for Ruby to get totally weird.

#chlotzgrin

Initially, I shamelessly chuckled at this

....Until this happened

The adults are pretty crazy too

Most of the adults in the game do seem like they're just trying to do things for science and for the better of the universe...usually. Other times they remember they're in a dating sim and say really strange things to high school students.

Could be said about most of the game really

Who let this guy run the church?!

Mattero is the church's priest, who serves no purpose as a character for the most part other than to be a helpful NPC or a total creep.

This was one of the first dialogues in the demo. Pretty much if you survive/continue after reading this line, you're ready to play Conception II

No hate, just amusement Conception II. Pure amusement.

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If you want more strange dating sim amusement, you can purchase Conception II for 3DS and PS Vita from Play-Asia.com now.

Leave your favourite awkward Conception II moment below!
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This Week's PSN EU/AU New Releases, JRPG Style! (7/8/14)

Ever wanted the weekly PSN update tailored to your Japanese gaming needs? Our weekly PSN update has you covered! Not much to report this week, but One Piece and Mugen Souls have at least been consistent with adding DLC for the last few weeks. Also worth noting, for those looking for a new game to play, the Winter Sale is still going. Happy shopping!

DLC

• Everybody's Golf - Various DLC
• Mugen Souls Z - Various DLC
• One Piece Unlimited World Red - Various DLC

Discounts

These discounts will finish next week (14th of August), so if you want these games, get them before they're full price.

• Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
• Mind Zero
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors

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Did I miss something important? Or maybe you found a game on PSN that you think fellow JRPG fans would enjoy? Comment below, send a tweet to @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let me know!

This Week's PSN EU/AU New Releases, JRPG Style! (3/8/14)

From Phantom Breaker: Battlegrounds

Are those two localised games I see released on the PSN this week? Why yes! This week you can either enjoy two new games or look at the Winter sale. Here's what's new!

(Side note: I haven't posted on here in like 4 days. Boy does that feel strange. Good to be back!)

• Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland (PS3 and PS Vita): I'm throughly confused here as I posted about this release weeks ago! But the date says it was released 30/7/14 and it's in the new releases. I can't be crazy - other sites also reported it's release on PSN earlier. But here's a quick description anyway:
  Atelier Rorona Plus is the first game in Atelier's Arland series. Rorona is working with a master alchemist to pay off her parent's debt when she is challenged with the possibility of the alchemy shop closing if she does not prove herself. The game revolves around three years where Rorona attempts to complete the tasks to prove her worth.

• Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds (PS Vita): Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds is a side-scroller/beat em' up game by 5pb. The game features 18 characters and two unique fighting styles to explore.

DLC

• Atelier Rorona Plus - Various DLC
• Destiny of Spirits - Destiny Orbs 1000
• Mugen Souls Z - Various Paid and Free DLC
• One Piece Unlimited World Red - Various DLC

Discounts

Oh me, oh my, it's Winter Sale time! Not a lot of Japanese games to talk about, although half price on these games is never a bad thing!:

• Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
• Mind Zero
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors

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Did I miss something important? Or maybe you found a game on PSN that you think fellow JRPG fans would enjoy? Comment below, send a tweet to @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let me know!

Deals Ahoy!: Play-Asia's Weekly Special (Includes Tales of Graces, Conception II, Bravely Default and more!)

I posted my first 'Deals Ahoy!' post and then more amazing deals appeared on Play-Asia. Pro tip: if you like JRPGs, check Play-Asia every Monday/Tuesday (depending where you are in the world) for their weekly deals. There's always something I want and for us English speakers, it usually involves localisations!

Here are the deals!:

Eternal Sonata
(Playstation 3 - English)

Price: $19.99 US

Save: $10.00 US

Buy Eternal Sonata for PS3: Play-Asia

A JRPG using and based on the music by famous classical composer Chopin. The story revolves around a dream that Chopin has on his death bed involving a girl with a terrible fate and the boy who is trying to save her.

(Fun fact - I have the Xbox360 version of this. I don't own an Xbox. If anyone wants an Xbox version and wants to do a game swap, email me: jrpgjungle@gmail.com)

Tales of Graces F
(Playstation 3 - English)

Price: $29.99 US

Save: $13.00 US

Buy Tales of Graces F for PS3: Play-Asia

Tales of Graces F is a remake of the original Wii game. The story revolves around Asbel who makes friends with a girl called Sophie who has amnesia. He witnesses her death , but then years later, he meets her again when she protects him from an attack. Once Sophie is healed, her memories return and her motives are revealed.

Demon Gaze
(PS Vita - English)

Price: $34.99 US

Save: $10.00 US

Buy Demon Gaze for PS Vita: Play-Asia

Demon Gaze is a dungeon crawling JRPG that revolves around Oz, who holds the power to seal demons. He awakens in the land of Misred, which holds labyrinths full of demons and treasure. Playing as Oz, you will go between dungeon crawling in labyrinths and building relationships at the inn.

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
(PS Vita - English)

Price: $33.99 US

Save: $13.00 US

Buy Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars for PS Vita: Play-Asia

Half dungeon crawler and half dating sim, Conception II revolves around the new students at a school that specialises in creating Star Children to battle the threatening monsters in Dusk Circles. You happen to play as 'God's Gift', which basically means you are the most likely student to create and battle with strong Star Children. The game will having you going back and forth between bonding with girls and battling in a fun turn-based battle system.

Read my First Impressions/Demo review for Conception II here!

Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
(Playstation 3 - English)

Price: $36.99 US

Save: $16.00 US

Buy Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky for PS Vita: Play-Asia

In Atelier Escha and Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky you can choose to play as Escha, who deals with the day-to-day alchemy activities or as Logy, who deals with more complicated situations from the world.

Bravely Default
(Nintendo 3DS, US Region - English)

Price: $34.99 US

Save: $10.00 US

Buy Bravely Default for the US Nintendo 3DS System: Play-Asia

Bravely Default provides the essence of old school JRPGs with new mechanics such as the Brave or Default system and a charming story. With over 20+ jobs to explore, Bravely Default is perfect for anyone looking for a beautiful game that stands up to the quality of classic RPGs.

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Did you find some good deals you'd like to share? Comment below! Or you can tweet @JRPGJungle or email jrpgjungle@gmail.com

Please note: This post does include affiliate links. To read JRPG Jungle's policy on affiliate links, please read our 'About' page.

This Week's PSN Store EU New Releases, JRPG Style! (13/6/14)

No new releases, whatever will we do?!

Most likely because of E3, there are no new JRPG releases this week. However, if you own the latest Conception, Hyperdimension Neptunia and Mugen Souls games, there is DLC for you, including free stuff! All of the new PSN content can be found at the European Playstation Network Store.

Here's what's in the store this week:

DLC

• Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars - Various DLC
• Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection - Various DLC
• Mugen Souls Z - Various DLC

Avatar characters:

• Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa - Various Characters

PS2 Classics

• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2

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Follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter to keep up to date with our news, reviews, articles and J-RPG musings!

This Week's PSN EU new releases, JRPG Style! (6/6/14)

Your weekly PSN update, as promised! Not a lot to boast about in J-RPG land this week, with one new game and unrelated DLC only. But if you're into localised, Japanese Idol games, go play the new Neptunia game!

New Releases

Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection: Ooooh, I'm so jealous of anyone who buys this one!

The CPUs of Hyperdimension Neptunia's stocks fall due to an 'Idol boom' so the girls decide to join in on the musical fun. Your job is to produce them by polishing their performance skills and keep them from becoming stressed so that they become the best Idols and their stocks boom.

This game isn't for everyone - you only have to google the game's reviews to see that. If you're a fan of the Neptunia games or Idol simulator games, I think this is for you. It's a fun idea that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, sounds like it will fit well as a portable game and I can't wait to play it.

PS2 Classics

• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

DLC

• Conception II - Various DLC
• Drakengard 3 - Various DLC
• Mugen Souls Z - Various DLC
• Ragnarok Odyssey Ace - Various DLC

All of the new PSN content can be found at the European Playstation Network Store. If physical copies are more your thing, Play-Asia and Amazon definitely have the new Neptunia game.

This week's notable EU PSN releases...JRPG style! (29/5/14)

Every week a heap of games and DLC are released on PSN. In this post, I like to put all the JRPGs and Japanese games to make it easier for you to find them!

PS. You might have noticed I didn't put one of these posts up last week. It's because I didn't really see anything notable. But this week is somewhat better!

New Releases

Mugen Souls Z (PS3)

I always see the original Mugen Souls for cheap and have still never bought it. It does look interesting, even if it got a lot of mixed reviews.

In the first Mugen Souls, Chou-Chou wanted to conquer the whole world. Now she wants to conquer the universe. Also includes a battle technique called 'Fetish Pose' which is both amusing and worrying.

Mind Zero (PS Vita)

The first time I heard about this game, it was being called a Persona rip off so I now have a natural curiousity as to what this game is.

I couldn't find a heap of info about this game, other than the main character makes a contract with someone or something called 'Mind' and there are two worlds, the real world and the crazy world. It does sound a tad familiar, but I'd like to give this game a chance at some point.

DLC for these games:

• Conception 2
• Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
• Ragnarok Odsessy Ace

And a pretty cool game demo:

• Ragnarok Odsessy Ace (PS Vita and PS3)
  Note to self: Download this

Please let me know if you pick up Mind Zero and what you think. I guess Mugen Souls Z too. But I really want to know if Mind Zero is good or if I should just play Persona 4 Golden again.

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These new PSN things can be found in the European Playstation Network. Physical copies of these games and many more are available at Play-Asia, Amazon and various other retailers.

Sunday Musing's: I finished Child of Light!!! Back to Final Fantasy X HD

Welcome to my Sunday Musings!

This week was a good week - I only worked three days, I played more games and I feel more relaxed then I have for the last two weeks, even though there was a lot of JRPG news to cover on here. I actually have to be careful about feeling relaxed - I start to become lazy and find it hard to focus. I need to balance my work and play. But I love playing!

Since I don't really have anything 'social' to talk about this week, here are the games I played. And good news: it's a lot more than previous weeks!

Child of Light (Played on PS4. Also available on PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC)

Can you believe it took me over two weeks to finish a twelve hour game? I need to get my priorities straight.

I won't spoil too much of my review right now, but I feel very positive about this game and I felt a little sad to finish it. Child of Light is a stunning experience, I'm so thankful that it exists to give such a fulfilling story to the people who play it. Seriously, just go play it - It's $20 and if you're reading this blog and love a good story, I don't think you'll regret it.

Oh and I got 100% in trophies. #justsaying

(You can read my somewhat more structured feelings about Child of Light in my First Impressions post)

Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend (Played on PS Vita. Also available on PS3 and X360)

This week I finished Rachel and Jin's story modes and began Makoto's. And I still haven't unlocked the 'true' ending! I'm really enjoyed Jin's story, so far I feel his showed the opposite side of the story and even involved some battle handcapping which was challenging. Makoto will be interesting as she's one of the characters that were new to Blazblue in Continuum Shift Extend. But I really want to get to the end and see the rest of everyone's stories - Arc System Works' story modes are very good at creating suspense!

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (Played on PS Vita. Also available on 3DS)

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this game! Before downloading it, I truly thought the game's concept (no pun intended) of a dungeon crawling dating sim with classmating (Atlus definitely did intend for this pun) and giggly girls to be crazy. Too crazy, even for a JRPG! Conception II so far isn't a groundbreaking game, but it is fun and humourous and I want to buy the full version. Try the demo on PSN if you haven't already!

(You can read more about my feelings on Conception II at my Demo Review/First Impressions post...complete with screenshots!)

Steins;Gate (iOS)

Barely worth mentioning this week, but I thought I would anyway. I got through one line of translating and finally got up to Okabe saying something. This will not be a short playthrough, that's for sure.

Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (PC via Steam)

Alright, here's where things get slightly more interesting. I had a crazy urge to read a Visual Novel yesterday! I have no idea where it came from but it was there and it was powerful. This also resulted in my finding the Visual Novel Database this week.

Anyway, I began the free demo of Cherry Tree High Comedy Club and played for about 15 minutes. It reminds me a bit of Persona with it's activities - you have lunchtime, afternoon and the evening as the time periods of a day where you choose what you can do. The things you do during these times either raise stats or help get someone to join your club. Your stats are basically what you can converse with other people about (music, video games, fashion etc.), which will ultimately help you get more people to join the comedy club. So far it's a cute concept, but I'm only 15 minutes in so I probably can't give a professional opinion yet. :)

Narcissu (PC Via Steam)

I daresay this is my first proper Visual Novel. I've played games with Visual Novel elements (Blazblue's story mode and a lot of the dialogue in JRPGs are good examples of this), but never just a pure visual novel. Narcissu is free on Steam and is a very moving story. The tale is through the perspective of a sick person who is admitted to hospital with not a lot of hope of living. However, instead of being constantly grim, the story is moving in another direction. I have no idea what's going to happen, but let's just say I'm hooked for now.

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What have you been playing this week? Did you play any of these games?

Next week I'll be back to Final Fantasy X HD. Maybe even tonight - I'm excited to get back to it. I love me some Final Fantasy! Have a good week everyone!

-Tara

PSN: guittaraxx

First Impressions/Demo Review: Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars

When you look at Atlus' and Spike Chunsoft's Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars as a story, I understand if it might inspire some raised eyebrows and a dash of cynicism. The story of Conception II follows the game's protagonist who receives a mark on his hand from the Star God. This mark means he has to go to special school and fight monsters that are plaguing the world. Standard J-RPG material thus far. But at this special school, he finds out he has a ridiculous amount of Ether flowing through his veins, allowing him fight inside the Dusk Circles where the monsters are coming from. Oh, this Ether also means he has a 100% chance of making Star Children during Classmating (which is exactly what it sounds like) with the top ranked females of the school. This crazy amount of ether also has an added bonus - it allows him to the fit the title of 'God's Gift'.

Oh, there's that too.

Sound crazy? I thought so. In fact, this crazy concept nearly scared me away. But the free demo got me in and I'm glad I didn't miss out on a taste of this fun and unique game.

Immediately noticeable from the second you open the demo is the slick style. Much like in Persona (another Atlus game), what Conception II games lack in ridiculously high def characters and cities is replaced by an overall consistent flare throughout cities, dungeons, music and menus and decent character models with their own unique touches (stars in the eyes, etc). I would much rather this approach and a huge, good running game than stellar graphics and a subpar experience. The game also boasts amazing anime cutscenes that are worth being excited for, complete with Sailor Moon-esque transformation scenes. It is also noticeable that the 3D character models are a step above previous Atlus games and we are treated with regular close-up face scenes as opposed to the usual 'text and anime drawing' presentation of modern JRPGs.

Insert 'God's Gift To Women' joke here.

Social interactions with the characters are required in order to play this game well - after all, you need bond points in order to classmate and without classmating, you won't have the maximum star children to battle with! I didn't personally find myself emotionally engaged with any of the characters, but I hope the characters further in the game have a little more depth. In the demo they seemed like your stereotypical characters - the smart one, the shy one etc. This isn't to say these conversations aren't fun: I did have fun employing the different choices given to me in these interactions to impress the girls, particularly with Chloe as she seemed to appreciate it the most while not being annoying about it. There is a certain type of fun to be had running around and knowing how to make all the girls love you and seeing the results. I hope this is just my inner kind person trying to make people happy and not my inner harem fiend. :)

My lady of choice in skimpy dungeon mode.

Speaking of harems, if you like harem anime or beautiful women, you'll enjoy the game's upskirt references, potential for 'touch' action, skimpy clothing, girls constantly falling in love with you and before, during and after classmating events. I found them rather humourous above all. Classmating is a funny concept in general and I couldn't take it seriously with the singing of 'Touch my heart' in the background. The classmating element gives the game a flirty flavour which is seen in the occasionally risque humour that I'm sure future cutscenes will push further.

The dungeon gameplay was very enjoyable and easy to learn. I found it somewhat similar to the dungeons in Persona due to certain dungeon elements like monsters that can chase you, sneaking up behind the for a preemptive strike, secret treasure etc.. But again, Conception II improves on this with little added bonuses such as healing fountains hidden in the dungeon and the improved maps. Due to the demo's dungeon being a low level dungeon, I wasn't blown away by the in-battle combat. You can position your characters in different spots to avoid attacks and hit weak points which was cool, but the dungeon was already easy, so using these techniques didn't make a huge different. I'm sure in higher level dungeons the positing will be more vital but for now I won't be gushing about it.

What I feel is most important to note is at the end of my playthrough of the Conception II demo, I was highly impressed by how long I had been playing for. If that was just chapter one, then this game must be huge which I LOVE in my portable games. During my 3-5 hours playing the demo, I was introduced to a lot of different gameplay functions and concepts so by the end of the demo, I had a good judgement on whether or not this would be a game I would purchase. Which is exactly what a demo should be!

I never realised how sad this screen would make me until I saw it.

While this was such a big demo filled with many gameplay elements, the story has a lot of room for growth and if I hadn't played this demo, I probably wouldn't have cared to find out. Conception II's fun social interactions, interesting concept and easy to learn battle system will satisfy dungeon crawler, dating sim and harem fans alike so I recommend trying the demo out and if you enjoy it, definitely try the full game (which I'm currently stashing my pennies for.)

Screenshots!

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Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars is available now on 3DS and PS Vita from Play-Asia, Amazon and the PSN Store. For this post, I played the PS Vita version.

Notable PSN EU releases this week! (15/05/14)

Every week, the Playstation Network gets updated with cool new games, discounts, DLC and more. Each week, I cross my fingers for new J-RPGs and Japanese games and write about what I find. This week, we got two new localised games!

You can check out and purchase these updates at the European PSN Store via the internet, Mobile app or your Playstation device.

New Games:

Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars

Children, class-mating and dungeons, oh my! I played the demo for Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (first impressions soon, demo is in the Playstation store for free!) and it's an enjoyable dating-sim/dungeon crawler that fans of either genres will enjoy. Expect lots of in-game choices, multiple endings and a strange yet interesting story.

Soul Sacrifice 

I'm sure this is a big deal to some, however I won't be getting this because the first one wasn't really my favourite game ever. However, if you're looking to take a dark story and battle arch-fiends on the go, you may enjoy this!

Game Bundles

• Tekken 6 + SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny
• Tales of Graces f + Tales of Xillia

New DLC Available for:

• Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars
• Ragnarok Odyssey ACE

Discounts:

• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
• Toukiden: the Age of Demons
• Okami HD
• Sonic Adventure 2
• Muramasa Rebirth (if you didn't get it free with Playstation Plus!)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 5
• Tekken 2

Dynamic Themes from:

• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Avatars from:

• Trigger Happy Havoc: Danganronpa