JRPGs I Played in March 2017

Currently my Persona 5 hype is very, very high, probably due to the fact that it's almost April (or because I changed my PS4 theme to the Persona 5 one). Thankfully, there were a lot of JRPGs in March to keep JRPG fans busy, in fact more than I could keep up with. What I did play, I really enjoyed. There was the breath of fresh air that was NieR Automata and its amazing story, my addition to Final Fantasy XV continued thanks to Episode Gladiolus and I got a little further into my own personal side quest of catching up on the Kingdom Hearts series by playing more 1.5 HD on PS3. I might not have played all the new JRPG releases this month, but these very different JRPGs I played in March I am overall quite happy with. Here are all the JRPGs I played a little and a lot of in March, before Persona 5 takes over my entire life.

JRPG Jungle's 5 Favourite JRPGs of 2016

My favourite games this year were surprisingly easy to choose. While there were a lot of good games I played in 2016, after many months have passed there are five games that stand out as truly great JRPGs to me. There are games I would've loved to include on this list that were supposed to come out  in 2016 (Hi Persona 5!), but there were some major delays in 2016 that mean certain games will hopefully make the list next year. Regardless, I had a lot of fun gaming experiences in 2016 and this list represents the best parts of my JRPG year.

In order to keep things fair and to show why I included certain games, here are some rules I gave myself when making this list:

• The game must be a full game or at least a full experience (no demos or DLC, but finished mobile games that get updated are okay)
• Since this list is based on what I've played, JRPGs from any year can be included as long as I played it in 2016
• Games from previous year's lists cannot be included unless they were remade or remastered.

So without further ado, here are my top 5 favourite games I played (in order) in 2016!

5. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (iOS, Android)

Last year in a move that was a little odd to me, I made Final Fantasy Record Keeper my favourite game of 2015. I thought it would be something I would play for a really long time, until I played Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius features a similar character collection system like Record Keeper, but also adds its own story and mechanics that are much closer to the ones on console Final Fantasy games. The main thing I thought Record Keeper was missing was a decent story and playing purpose, and Brave Exvius fixes that for me with gameplay that is genuinely better, incorporating the Espers, spells and classes that Final Fantasy is known for. While I don't have so much smartphone gaming time these days, I still enjoy opening up Brave Exvius when I can and hanging out with the charming characters and exploring my way through the fascinating pocket-sized world.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is available for free on iOS and Android.

4. X-Tactics (iOS, Android)

X-Tactics is my favourite smartphone JRPG of 2016, which is kind of amazing to me since two of my favourite series released multiple mobile games this year. Since being heavily updated and improved throughout the year, X-Tactics has become my go-to tactical JRPG experience for on the go because of its smooth, quick battles and unique characters that are free from many common tropes seen in Japanese games. There are extra missions to find based on your location, regular updates and an incredibly fun touch mechanism that make executing attacks kind of addictive. With its quick and quirky story and gameplay style, everything about X-Tactics works perfectly for a light mobile experience and for a quick tactical fix. It's the first thing I open up if I have time to play a mobile game and with my trusty Kuu by my side, I'm sure I'll be having mobile tactical fun well into the New Year!

X-Tactics is available for free on iOS and Android.

3. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (PS Vita, PS4)

I played this back in March and I still regularly think about picking up Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth to catch and digivolve more Digimon because it was so much fun. There are so many reasons to love Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth - the dialogue is hilarious, the evolution mechanics were really smart and all the characters are highly entertaining, along with the Digimon collection itch leftover from my childhood Digimon World days finally being attended to. I became heavily invested in its digital world throughout my 50+ hours game and I look forward to platinuming this one day because it’s a world I don’t want to leave alone.

You can pick up Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth at Play-Asia.com!*

2. Final Fantasy XV (PS4, Xbox One)

Ever since Final Fantasy XV was announced for this year, I truly hoped it would be good enough to be one of my favourite games of this year and I’m so glad it was. The best way I can describe my love of Final Fantasy XV at this point is that its the open-world Final Fantasy x Skyrim I always dreamed of. It’s the big wide world I love from Final Fantasy XIV combined with the usual Final Fantasy story I like, complete with more side quests than I ever expected and a group of four guys that I feel surprisingly connected to all packaged in a fun road trip. I’m having so much fun exploring the wide world of Eos and I hope it keeps giving me great surprises as I continue playing.

You can pick up Final Fantasy XV for PS4 and Xbox One from Play-Asia.com!*

1. World of Final Fantasy (PS Vita, PS4)

What a great surprise World of Final Fantasy was to me. Originally described as an experience for a younger audience, World of Final Fantasy brings back the charming characters from old Final Fantasy games and the tried and true turn-based battle system Final Fantasy does best with a monster hunting twist that can appeal to fans of old and new. And somehow World of Final Fantasy feels like the best monster hunting game I played all year, taking advantage of all the wonderful creatures in the Final Fantasy universe by making them capturable. On top of being the best monster hunter I've played this year, it's also my favourite JRPG of this year. I’m in love with the skill tree upgrading and transfiguration systems for upgrading my mirages, I've had new favourite moments with some of my favourite Final Fantasy characters such as Tidus, Yuna and Vivi, and I found myself moved to laughter and tears thanks to the well-written story on multiple occasions. It’s an absolutely wonderful game that I hope Square Enix turns into a series of its own, with Lann and Reynn being my new favourite twin protagonist duo and the world of Grimoire being one filled with magic that I wished would never finish.

You can pick up World of Final Fantasy for PS4 and PS Vita at Play-Asia.com!*

________________________________________________________________________________

What were your 5 favourite JRPGs of 2016? What did you play in 2016?

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

Any link marked with * is an affiliate link that helps supports the site, so if you use it, thank you!

The Pros and Cons of Mobius Final Fantasy (First Impressions)

I've been feeling really positively about most smartphone games I've been playing recently. Final Fantasy Brave Exvius has become a new staple in my smartphone game roster and I'm also having fun playing Kingdom Hearts Unchained X and X-Tactics at my own pace. I was so ready to add Mobius Final Fantasy to my smartphone game roster and love it like I had all other Final Fantasy mobile games I've played so far. I had all my pre-registration rewards ready, I tweeted about it and I was genuinely keen. Unfortunately, being keen for something leaves you open to being let down. After downloading Mobius, I played it for one night, tried to jump back in the next day and found I didn't have the immediate hook I’d gotten from my other recent smartphone JRPG discoveries. This was (and is still) strange to me, since I thought Mobius had some very cool ideas in its trailers and I liked the idea of having a version of Final Fantasy similar to the modern ones on consoles on my smartphone. There are things that make Mobius both good and bad which set it apart from other mobile Final Fantasy games, sometimes to its benefit and other times not.

Pro: Modern graphics

Con: Not as good as console Final Fantasy games

Final Fantasy’s more recent mobile games like Final Fantasy Record Keeper and Brave Exvius both boast a more retro, sprite visual style reminiscent of older Final Fantasy games. In contrast, Mobius Final Fantasy uses a more modern Final Fantasy art and production style in the vein of Final Fantasy XIII or XIV with 3D character models and enemies, along with the text box being replaced by voice acted 3D story scenes. The production style gives a nice variety to the Final Fantasy games already available on smartphone, being the only modern Final Fantasy game like this available in the west.

The only downside to this is that if you're like me and you've played the modern Final Fantasy games, while the graphics are great in Mobius they don't reach the smoothness that console Final Fantasy graphics do. This is a problem that other Final Fantasy games like Brave Exvius don't suffer from because they use simpler graphics for the most part and save stunning 3D animations for the opening movie and summons. The art style isn't terrible for Mobius, but I wish they incorporated the stunning Square Enix animation that's usually on display to make the visuals feel better in quality.

Pro: Voice acted legitimate cutscenes…

Con: ...on my smartphone

I love and hate the fact Mobius uses voiced cutscenes. I actually vastly prefer games that are voiced because it adds another layer of immersion to the narrative and I think Mobius is no exception. What I do have a problem with is this on my phone. It sounds a little silly, but I feel like every game I've played on my smartphone prior to Mobius has trained me to rarely play with headphones (despite Final Fantasy's wonderful music) because it's all in text or I'm playing in situations where it would be rude to play the music or shove my headphones in my ears such as the small moments I find to play at work. Meanwhile, voiced acted console games have trained me to listen to them and enjoy all the cutscenes available to me. I treat Mobius more like a console game, but this means I require a quiet spot and some time to play just in case I stumble upon a cutscene by chance. I love the idea of this style of Final Fantasy in my pocket, but that's also time I could be playing a game on Vita with a bigger world and more story to find.

Pro: Complex gameplay

Con: Tough to manage on smartphones

Mobius features some very interesting classes that are chosen through making a card deck. This is quite different to any Final Fantasy equipment and ability system I've ever played and on the surface it seems complex enough to be overwhelming. In saying that, I don't ever think having a deep system in a game is bad, but on smartphones it is a little tougher to manage. The battle system is also complicated, but a little more successful than the equipment system. Capturing Elemental Orbs to help get better defense against an enemy or to encourage the right elements to come to cast the perfect Elemental attack is an interesting system that’s intuitive enough on smartphones after some practice and those who find it difficult can just hit the Auto button and play out a near perfect set of attacks anyway. I can get into the battle system but learning all of the cards, what classes they make and the ins and outs of which works best against which enemy feels cumbersome on my smartphone. Not only that, but the multiple small somewhat non-responsive (at least on my phone) buttons just look too overwhelming the get the hang in five minute intervals during my day. This is probably a more personal gripe, but it puts me off nonetheless for what seems like a decent system I can't get motivated to try.

Pro: An interesting story premise
Con: Not being driven enough to experience it because of other elements

Mobius may not be a perfect game, but I can't knock it has a cool story premise. The protagonist awakens with amnesia as one of the many ‘blanks’ brought to Palamecia. One of these blanks is said to be a hero and they all must train to prove their worth, especially since the city is being attacked by Chaos. The story seemingly will follow the protagonist through his journey to either become or find this hero, all the while training to become strong enough to be worthy either way. I like this idea and it does tempt me to one day just hit ‘Auto’ to play the story. I honestly just wish I was more motivated to play it, but my frustrations with the equipment system, the art and setting aside time in case cutscenes show up are currently keeping me away from it.

This is the first Final Fantasy mobile game that I haven't been jazzed about and despite my frustrations, I’m genuinely bummed about it because I wanted to like it. The trailers for Mobius looked great and there are plenty of good ideas in Mobius, such as the story and the battle system, but in its current form on smartphones it feels too cumbersome and with other high quality Final Fantasy smartphone games and with so many games available on smartphones, I feel the need to stick with what I know is good and worth my time. I say this now with great hope that some of the things I mentioned such as the interface with small buttons and even the animation will be upgraded or edited in a way in future that attracts enough good attention to it to make me come back. But for now, I can’t see myself playing much of Mobius in the near future in favour of spending that time with my Vita and other smartphone games, unless I hear amazing things about the story.

Mobius Final Fantasy is free and  available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

_____________________________________________________________________

What do you think of Mobius Final Fantasy? Want to sell me on it? (I genuinely want to like it, so feel free!)

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

Review: X-Tactics (Reviewed on iOS, also available on Android)

X-Tactics is a unique game from the moment you read it's description. By a Japanese indie studio founded by veterans from Square Enix, Sega and Capcom, GAMKIN, Inc's X-Tactics combines fighting game and tactical RPG mechanics in an location-based world full of government spies and secret agents. As someone who plays a lot of JRPGs but hasn't quite ventured much into the tactical side of the genre, I was worried this kind of gameplay initially may be too complicated for my turn-based RPG mind at first, but X-Tactics' use of original and innovative game mechanics made the gameplay intuitive and most importantly, fun. Using a variety of gameplay mechanics, everything blends together into a seamless experience full of challenging levels and humourous characters in X-Tactics' entertaining tactical experience for players on the go.

When I first booted up X-Tactics, seeing the somewhat intricate mechanics in X-Tactics initially had me worried this game was quite complicated. For RPG players, X-Tactics adds a layer of complexity to the usual choose an ability and cast fare, but in a smart and surprisingly intuitive way. Battling with a team of up to four characters, your party works towards various goals, such as clearing a field of enemies or staying alive for a specified amount of enemy waves. When targeting an enemy, a fun timed mini-game begins where you use the touch screen to link together combinations in order to attack or use abilities while dodging any moving blocks from the enemy that could cancel your attack. After this, you need to hit a target at the right time in order to determine how much you'll pierce the enemy's defenses. The rush to get the right combo in the small amount of time was much like the thrilling experience of frantically trying to execute a combo in a fighting game. Thinking about which ability would be easiest to cast for each random boost layout within the time limit was a fresh and exciting approach that felt really unique and I loved how well this kind of system took full advantage of the smartphone's touch screen.

Another unique aspect of X-Tactics is the way it incorporates time and weather. When playing during the daytime on a sunny day, enemies like zombies have Sunburn and are much easier to tackle than if you play at night or on a rainy day when they're stronger. I thought this was another unique and interesting gameplay feature, although it wasn't something that really effected how I played the game. I didn't feel compelled to play at a certain time of day, but I did consider the effect either a welcomed boost or challenging handicap depending on if the effect was in my favour or not.

Missions in X-Tactics are divided into two parts - Story Missions or GPS Missions. Story missions explore the fun adventures of X-Tactics' cast of agents in short conversations between the characters that give context to the missions they're used in. Because of the small length of these pre-mission conversations, the story is fairly light in depth but what's lacking in depth is made up for with lots of quick and amusing humourous banter from the eccentric cast of characters. Every character is a little quirky in their own way, such as Goicci the alien who randomly sprouts Italian phrases like 'Mamma mia!' or the ever so feisty opera singer-turned-agent Astrid and her pet panda KuKu who just so happens to be assassin trained. All characters are complemented by really nice visual character designs that perfectly suit the game's aesthetic and their individual personalities. I usually prefer a deeper story for my RPGs, however I found the shorter scenes charming and better suited to a handheld device since I was usually playing the game on the go.

There's a full party of characters to unlock and enough Story Missions in X-Tactics to amuse those playing the game, especially when you count the extra story missions included in the regularly updated Event Missions. GPS Missions can also be played, which utilize the smartphone's location to generate missions, sometimes including special event missions. Some of Event Missions cost in-game Cash, which can usually be earned from missions, signing in regularly or as a reward for watching small video clips (usually ads for other games). Event Missions give you a chance to try extra characters that can be purchased with X-Coin, the far rarer in-game currency. X-Tactics is playable without paying any money since the app is free, but characters featured in events tended to be Premium Agents, which required spending X-Coin. As of recently, X-Coin can be obtained from GPS Missions or bought with real money. Since X-Coin is uncommon enough that I didn't find any in my time playing, purchasing some of these extra agents may be challenging for those who want to play the game entirely free. However, I do like that it's an option rather than a necessity to pay money for in-game extras, but I hope that more free agents (or ways to win them) are added in future.

My time playing X-Tactics was 90% bug free, which was great since most of the time I played I could enjoy the game without issue. In fact I only encountered my first bug a few days ago after a recent update, specifically a bug that caused a description box to stay on the screen longer than it should have. I'm not too worried about this bug sticking around though, as the game noticed and reported the problem itself. Since X-Tactics is being actively supported with updates and extra missions, I'm confident this shouldn't be an issue for too long and as it was my first error within 6 or more versions of the game (I played between version 3.8 to 4.4), I would still say it's a mostly bug-free experience.

X-Tactics' unique spin on RPG mechanics and it's quirky characters make it a standout mini-RPG for mobile devices. The addicting thrill of putting boosts on my attacks and the fun humour made it an enjoyable experience that had me excited to play it every time. Since the game is regularly updated, I'm excited to see what other eccentric characters and challenging levels will be added in the future. X-Tactics is a great, innovative experience for anyone looking for deeper style of gameplay on smartphones and fun, tactical RPG missions on the go.

Score: 8/10
With it's unique gameplay and colourful character banter, I really liked the way X-Tactics gameplay blends genres into something original. I can't wait to see what's added in the future (and to get KuKu into my party)!

X-Tactics is available on iOS and Android for free!
Click here to find it on iOS and here to find it on Android.

_____________________________________________________________

Will you try X-Tactics? And if you have, what did you think?

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

Notes: In the interest of transparency, information about this game was sent to me for review consideration, but I can promise this review 100% honest and written without bias.
Also, smartphone games are regularly updated and changed. My opinions about this game are based on the condition of the game at the time this review was released and may not cover any future important changes to the app.

Six Months Later: Coming Back To Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Last year, I made Final Fantasy Record Keeper my favourite game of the year, simply because I got incredibly addicted to it and a mobile phone game had never had that effect on me. The fact a game I loved playing lived in my pocket at all times was really cool. It was like having a baby Final Fantasy with me at all times and it had enough of it's own deep mechanics to keep me interested for months. It's nostalgic story summaries also pushed me to finally play the classic PS One game Final Fantasy IX, another one of my favourites from last year. I got so into Final Fantasy Record Keeper that I actually banned myself from it, because it was taking time away too much from my real life and I was getting behind on my Japanese study because that's what I usually did on my phone before Record Keeper entered my life and my phone.

I'm back on the Record Keeper bandwagon again, thanks to one of the recent events presenting the opportunity to win one of my favourite Final Fantasy X characters Rikku. What I immediately noticed coming back to Record Keeper was that the interface has been upgraded to be so much simpler but smarter than it was before. There are also a lot of new features, such as Augmentations, Soul Breaks and Shattering Abilities, which make the experience so polished that I'm genuinely impressed at the game's growth while I've been gone. Since all the changes were a bit overwhelmingly different at first, I didn't play it enough to win Rikku in time, but staying in the game has made me see that all these changes have tremendously improved the game's interface and most aspects of playing. If you haven't come back to Final Fantasy Record Keeper for awhile, here's some of what you can enjoy in the game now.

Shattering Abilities and Combining Materials

As a player for a significant amount of time before, a problem I had a lot was having too many weapons or abilities, which mean needing to expand my inventory space often with Mythrils (Record Keeper's alternative currency to real money). The problem also wasn't as simple as just having too much in my inventory, but also having doubles of abilities and weapons too. Doubles of weapons don't serve as such a big issue as they can be combined or used as upgrade materials for weapon upgrades. Double abilities however, especially of lower level abilities, are somewhat useless. They are sellable, but the profit made off them is low. It wasn't a great system, but it wasn't a big issue until I realised how great the new Shattering Abilities mechanic is.

With Shattering Abilities, you can get half the materials that were or would have been used to create the Ability. This is extremely useful, as some five star materials are more difficult to make than others. Not only that, but you can now combine materials to make higher level equipment, making it a little easier to get high level orbs and abilities now. The ability making, inventory and orb collecting situation is at the best place it's ever been and even as a smaller aspect of the game, it's a great change.

Equipment Materials Are Separated From Equipment = More Inventory Space!

Another constant problem with Inventory space was gaining upgrade materials for weapons and armour tended to fill up the inventory very quickly. I'd be doing the daily equipment material dungeons, only to be constantly told my inventory was full. Then I'd have to take a few minutes before entering each dungeon to see what I have doubles of. It was a bit of a chore, unless you have a ridiculous amount of space or were willing to use some Mythrils to get it.

Fear not now though! Upgrade materials seem to count as separate to equipment now. This meant that when I logged in for the first time in ages expecting to be overloaded in my inventory, I had a decent amount of space because my materials weren't there. I've only recently needed to sell or use equipment to enter some dungeons and my inventory fills up much less quickly, a much appreciated change! Also, it's easily to browse when choosing equipment too. It's just better!

Plenty of Rewards, Plenty of Dungeons - Now Well-Organised and Prettier!

So many dungeons have been added to the game and frankly I'm still overwhelmed by the sheer amount I need to tackle. The Realm Menu has added a bar to the bottom where you can tap which dungeon you want, a much more efficient system than just scrolling through. It also lists above each world how many dungeons you've completed and mastered, making it actually possible to keep track of what you need to do without entering each world like you had to before.

Dungeon rewards have also leveled up. You can now win crazy equipment upgrade materials and even some character's Memory Crystals from the Elite Dungeons, along with extra characters being available to win in the Class Dungeons. And this is only in the Realms Section, events are still giving out more and more rare gear as usual.

New and Improved Menus

All of Record Keeper's menus have had a bit of overhaul to be smarter, more efficient and intuitive. Both Event and Realm Dungeons can now be accessed on the same screen. This isn't just any menu though - you can see your pixelated party jump eagerly towards whichever option you choose, which is such a charming addition and makes me grin every time I see it. There's a separate menu for adding and charging party members and what they have equipped, which is so much better than using the old equipment screens that I remember to be separate. Upgrades have their own section to and you can see every kind of possible upgrade on the one screen. I didn't have an issue with the menus previously, but the new ones are perfect to get the player into what they're thinking of doing much faster.

Newcomers Are Well Looked After

Even as a past player, I'm overwhelmed by all of Record Keeper's additions and things to do, let alone gathering equipment, abilities, Gil and leveling my characters for the first time. But Record Keeper knows it's a big, deep game, so it's making Growth Eggs and good equipment available in events regularly and making events cater to both new and old players. There's also mechanics like Roaming Warrior that allow a fellow Record Keeper playing to assist your party with two Soul Break attacks, which I can definitely say has been useful to quickly kill certain bosses and get exp very quickly.

At the moment, on your first Rare Mythril Draw, players can also grab an extra piece of Soul Break Equipment during the One Time Only Beginner's Choice event which is running through September, so I recommend that to anyone who is interested in starting or returning to these.

It's Still Easy To Pay For Free

Yet again, I still haven't spent a single cent on Record Keeper. I probably will to support the game because I like it, but there's still no pressure and no paywall and I respect the upgrades even more because of this. If anything, Mythril is being given out more frequently and with the inventory space fixed up, there's even less reason to pay. Good one, Square and DeNA.

_____________________________________________________________________

With the free game being fun half a year on, Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a game still worth playing for those without the time for a story game. It's fun gameplay is still great, but now it's menus and upgrade systems are up to an equally great standard and new features and constant new events keep things fresh for a long time. Just don't get addicted like I did. (Or do. It's pretty fun!)

You can read my original First Impressions of Final Fantasy Record Keeper here and you can purchase Final Fantasy Record Keeper for phones on the App Store for iOS or on the Google Play store for Android users.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Are you still playing Record Keeper? Which Final Fantasy characters would be in your dream party?

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

My Five Favourite Games I Played in 2015!

Somehow, I managed to play next to no new JRPG releases this year. In some ways, I regret missing new games such as Tales of Zestiria and Sword Art Online: Lost Song. On the other hand, I caught up on some classic games, along with others I'd been curious about (I'm looking at you, Conception II). With this in mind, my list of favourite games this year includes the favourites of what I played this year, regardless of release year. I love these games all for very different reasons and each minute playing them is a fond memory from this year.

With this in mind, I hope you enjoy this list and Merry Christmas dear readers!

5. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3 and Xbox 360)

Persona 4 Arena was fun, but Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's character roster and streamlined story make for a polished and fun experience that made it fly right into being one of my favourite fighting games ever. I never fully the finished story mode of this game (I want to finish Persona 3 before going deeper into it's part of the story), but it was my go to game to play with friends and my boyfriend after a long day of work. With plenty of modes to play, there will always be many reasons to come back to this game.

It's not a JRPG, but fans of either Persona 3 or 4 and fighting games are highly likely to enjoy the game because of the new chapter of the story and the return of many important characters from Persona 4.

You can pick up Persona 4 Arena Ultimax from Play-Asia.com!

4. Persona 4 Dancing All Night (PS Vita)

Persona 4 Dancing All Night is the Persona spin off that shouldn't have worked, but it excels as a rhythm game and has a pretty nice story too. I didn't want to wait for the localisation, so I bought the Japanese version so I'm not as well versed with the story as I'd like to be, however Kanami and Nanako made an adorable duo and the rhythm game portion had me tapping and pushing buttons to trump all my high scores over and over again. I'm excited to put this game in my Vita and try platinum it sometime (91% so far!) and the soundtrack was great enough to make me buy it as a standalone after I'd finished playing it.

I love rhythm games anyway, so this game was easy for me to digest but if you have any love for Persona 4's soundtrack, this game is a must try and as probably the last spin-off of Persona 4 since Persona 5 is coming, it's a fun end to a great series.

You can pick up Persona 4 Dancing All Night from Play-Asia.com!

3. Danganronpa 1 + 2 (PS Vita and PSP)

As a huge fan of deep, JRPG stories, Danganronpa's complex story was more than enough to satisfy me in it's visual novel form. Both the first and second games are full of intricate mysteries, colourful characters and enough game mechanics to make it satisfying for fans of both visual novels and exciting storytelling. Not only does it have a great story, the class trials feel incredibly satisfying with the variety of game mechanics incorporated, making it more than just a visual novel. As a series I had never delved into, Danganronpa has become one of my all time favourites very quickly and I'm very excited for the third installment to hopefully come out next year.

Fans of the mystery aspect of Persona and Phoenix Wright should find many reasons to love this game and I honestly can't recommend it's story enough.

You can pick up Danganronpa 1 and 2 from Play-Asia.com!

2. Final Fantasy IX (PS One Classic for PS3, PS Vita and PSP)

I really want to play all the old Final Fantasy games, especially since I started my journey into Final Fantasy from X meaning that I missed out on the classic Final Fantasy games before it. I began my journey backwards into the series from IX and it was well worth it to find this gem of a Final Fantasy game.

What it lacks in modern day graphics is made up for by a solid story, fun battles, cool equipment mechanics, side quests and beautiful music. The story's strong characters are just as interesting without voice acting - it's hard not to fall in love with characters like Vivi, Zidane, Garnet and even Steiner!

If you missed this one and you're a fan of long, old style JRPGs, go back and play this game because good golly it's worth it!

You can pick up Final Fantasy IX as a PS One Classic from your local PSN store!

1. Final Fantasy Record Keeper (iOS and Android)

Final Fantasy Record Keeper has a special place in my heart this year. Record Keeper came out when I was very, very tight on money after moving and became my addition very quickly because it's free. There's in-game purchase options of course, but it's extremely easy to enjoy the game without spending a cent, like I did for months. Basically a JRPG without the story, Record Keeper's equipment system, perfectly timed new/weekly dungeons and level challenges keep me on the game on the go and in my house. It manages to be both very involved because of it's many systems (and they're only adding more) but also easy enough to pull away and jump back in later. It has a decent nostalgia factor, thanks to the game being filled with the best boss fights, characters and music from the main Final Fantasy series. There's many reasons to love this game if you're a Final Fantasy fan and if you don't have time to play or money to purchase a long JRPG, this is one of the best substitutes out there.

I stopped playing this game only because after four months of playing, it inspired me to go back and try the older Final Fantasy games. It's my top game of the year (although I love the other games on an extremely close level) thanks to it's additive and fun nature, it inspiring me to finally (no pun intended) play older Final Fantasy games again and it being the only mobile game that has ever inspired me enough to put down my consoles for awhile. It doesn't replace a full length JRPG, but it's extremely satisfying on the go!

You can pick up Final Fantasy Record Keeper from the App Store for iPhone users or the Google Play store for Android people!

_______________________________________________________

What were your five favourite games of the year? Leave a comment below or send @JRPGJungle a tweet 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: This article does contain affiliate links to Play-Asia to help support this site. You can read our Affiliate Link Policy here.

A Bite-Sized Banquet: Final Fantasy Record Keeper (First Impressions)

When hearing about a game trying out to condense what could be called a banquet of 13 console games into a single bite-size experience, I don't think it's strange that my initial impression on Final Fantasy Record Keeper was that it was trying to do too much with a small, handheld experience. This was until it's strategical battles and loot collecting system slyly pulled me into an addictive state and kept me hooked with constant new dungeons to play and it never asking me to pay for the app. Final Fantasy Record Keeper may not be an experience with the same breadth of a console game, but as a sucker for rare collectibles and RPGs battle systems, it's a nice substitute for when I'm on the go at the price I like to pay most - nothing.

Record Keeper begins with what could be described as a throwaway story premise comprised of something about a museum, a Moogle and a boy needing to dungeon crawl to restore said museum in order to save the world (seriously). Despite this, I'm happy to say the game's 8-bit dungeons are not to be tossed aside. As a miniature version of the original Final Fantasy battle system, Record Keeper's battles see your team of five characters taking turns to attack, defend or use one of two abilities to defeat enemies and bosses from previous Final Fantasy games. Partnered with the familiar Active Time Battle system that is featured in some of the main Final Fantasy games (Final Fantasy IX comes to mind), the battle system is easy to understand and each battle is short and sweet, usually lasting just a few minutes. With so few options and easy to use touch screen mechanics, this makes it easy to concentrate on enemy weaknesses and finding the right strategy to win and getting the highest score in each battle. Record Keeper thrives with many different enemies and strategies that are reminiscent of Final Fantasy games of yonder and even if you haven't played every Final Fantasy game, every boss is varied in ways that are fun to figure out for the first time.

Along with working out strategies for unfamiliar bosses, I found it equally as satisfying to recognise enemy strategies being incorporated from some of my favourite Final Fantasy games. When in the Final Fantasy X dungeon Sinspawn began using Demi on my party, I remembered the wasn't going to kill me immediately, but realised that the Sinscales could knock out my party quickly, so I changed my strategy accordingly. Record Keeper rewards players for exploiting the right weaknesses with a rank from 1 to 3 chocobos decided by how well you did in each battle, with 3 chocobos being the best and giving you double experience and better loot so it definitely pays to know how to handle each boss.

With a choice between classic and elite dungeons, even from the initial install, Final Fantasy Record Keeper has enough regular content to keep players busy for awhile. On top of this, there's plenty of replayability to be found in the game's daily and limited weekly events, giving players chances to win hard to find upgrade materials and gil in daily events along with new characters and rare items lurking within the depths of the event dungeons that are usually added on a weekly basis. The best part about these events is that they almost always include different difficulty settings so that all players can find enjoyment in these challenging settings. I found myself striving to finish each weekly dungeon to the highest rating as fast as I could so that I could begin preparing for the next one. The satisfaction of getting new characters and seeing my weapons giving me a totally new edge in battle kept me so busy that the only thing keeping me from spending days on the game and cutting off contact to the outside world was the stamina bar that depletes everytime you enter a dungeon, which I almost become thankful for.

On the topic of the stamina bar, Record Keeper does have in-game purchases in the form of an in-game currency called Gems. These Gems allow you to do things such as recharge your stamina instead of waiting for it to recharge over time, add more item slots to hold weapons and abilities or having a chance at winning a 3-5 star weapon in the Rare Relic Draw. But here's the thing – I never needed any Gems, because the game's alternate currency of Mythrils can be used instead of Gems. Since Mythrils are usually won by completing battles in main and event dungeons, I've never felt the need to buy any Gems and the game has never tried to push their existence upon me. Rather, the game takes an approach I think all games should by letting you enjoy the game to it's full potential, but if you want more chance of getting better equipment and less time waiting for stamina, you have the option to pay. As I've said, I haven't put a single cent into the game, but may do so in the future purely because I like the game so much.

Although it doesn't replace the stories or large immersive worlds that RPGs are known for, Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a free and good alternative for on the go that has a fair payment model along with hours of free gameplay to keep player's of every budget busy for hours. I love opening the app, turning down Record Keeper's soundtrack of original Final Fantasy tracks just low enough so I can hear any podcast I'm listening to while playing a fun miniature dungeon crawler that is strategical enough to keep me logging in daily and trying to get all of the relics for my favourite characters (And goddammit, someday I'll figure out right strategy to take down Forza from the Final Fantasy V dungeon). With a wealth of replayability, bosses, collectibles and dungeon varieties, I'd say Record Keeper is a quality addition to any RPG player's smartphone and a great reminder of the original Final Fantasy games.

Score: 9/10

Honestly, I'd still be playing it instead of writing this review if I hadn't broken my phone last week.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper can be downloaded for free from the App Store if you have an iPhone or iPad or the Google Play store if you are an Android smartphone user. Thanks for reading!
____________________________________________________________________________

What did you think of Final Fantasy Record Keeper? Does it make you want to go back the old Final Fantasy games?

I love hearing your thoughts, so please comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and follow if you want to keep up the content we post. Thanks for stopping by!

Note: Smartphone games are regularly updated and changed. My opinions about this game are based on the condition of the game at the time this review was released and may not cover any future important changes to the app. Thank you for understanding!

Be Afraid - Corpse Party: Book Of Shadows Released In English On iOS Worldwide

Ever wanted to play the high school horror game, Corpse Party? Now you can! Xseed Games has localised 5pb's Corpse Party and it is available now on iOS worldwide. The localised game has been previously available on PSN, but this is it's first appearance on iOS.

Corpse Party revolves around a group of Kisaragi Academy students who find themselves trapped in the Heavenly Host Elementary School, an alternative dimension that was sealed by a mystical charm. In order to escape, the students must unravel the the mystery of the Elementary School or be doomed to join the corpses trapped inside the dimension before them.

_________________________________________________________

Will you play Corpse Party? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and let us know!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Revealed

After the Final Fantasy Record Keeper website's countdown finished, the rest of the website for the smartphone game was revealed, along with details about the game.

In Final Fantasy Record Keeper, players can access battles from older Final Fantasy games. Each Final Fantasy game will a feature a world that can be accessed through paintings in the game. After clearing the world's dungeons, you can unlock playable characters from each game.

The game will be released in Japan for smartphones and will be free, but will also feature microtransactions.

Source: Siliconera

Read more about Final Fantasy Record Keeper on JRPG Jungle here

________________________________________________________________

Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Teaser Site Appears For Final Fantasy Record Keeper

A website has appeared for a new Final Fantasy title called Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Not much is known about the website or Final Fantasy Record Keeper at all, except for that Square Enix and DeNA are the ones who opened the site. DeNA is a mobile phone game provider, so it is highly likely that this title will be featured on mobile. To be sure, you can check the site in roughly 21 hours.

The site features screenshots from many different Final Fantasy games and features the main Final Fantasy musical theme as background music. There has also been high speculation about why the numbers in the 'Days' countdown are pixelated, but there are no official details at this point in time.

My current theories? I used to use an app that helped me keep track of all my Final Fantasy games called FFgames, so I briefly considered maybe it was an official Record Keeper of all of the Final Fantasy games....although I can't think of any reason why they would make that. My other thought is that it's a mini game, but of course with the lack of information, I can't really come to any detailed conclusions to what this mini game would involve. Leave a comment below if you have your own theory and want to share it!

_____________________________________________________________________

Have something to say about this news article? Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle!

Have a story about a Japanese game or something else you think we should cover? Email jrpgjungle@gmail.com to let us know!

Final Fantasy's Creator Is Making A Free-To-Play JRPG For Smartphones

Famitsu and Hironobu Sakaguchi have recently revealed that Sakaguchi's new game will be a role playing game called Terra Battle. The game is scheduled to be released on both iOS and Android in Japan, an English release has not been announced as of yet. Sakaguchi was expected to speak in more detail about Terra Battle at Japan Expo in Paris, so more information will hopefully be available soon.

Enthusiastic fans of the Final Fantasy series have most likely heard of Hironobu Sakaguchi at some point. Sakaguchi is responsible for the creation of the Final Fantasy series and he worked with game developers Square on the series until the end of development of Final Fantasy IX. Sakaguchi since went on to form his own game company called Mistwalker and created games including Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

__________________________________________________________________

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

BlazBlue....the Card Game?!

In a completely unexpected turn of events, Alliance Digital Media will be releasing the official BlazBlue Battle Card game for iOS in Fall 2014 (Australian Spring). It is worth noting this game is the first BlazBlue game that will not need localisation as it will be developed in English.

The card game will allow players to play online and will have leaderboards. Not much of the gameplay has been revealed, but in the trailer you can see the characters special combo's displayed as cards and the layout of the game looks very similar to BlazBlue's console game fight layout.

Players will be given the option to choose from 12 characters. As you can see in the trailer below, Hazama and Ragna are (of course) in the game, so only time will tell who the rest of the characters will be (characters like Jin and Noel are probably a good bet).

_________________________________________________________________________________

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

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.

__________________________________________________________________

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