JRPGs I Played in March 2018

In the period between finishing my main February JRPG and starting my March one, there was a big period of free time between JRPGs for me. This isn’t to say March was a quiet month for JRPGs, especially since the highly anticipated Ni no Kuni II that I wish I played came out, but I had my heart set on playing Atelier Lydie and Suelle that was due out towards the end of month. As I waited for Lydie and Suelle, I played catch up with many demos and experiences involving game series I love like Persona O.A., while being pleasantly surprised by series I tried for the first time like Yakuza 6. Whether it was the deep story of Yakuza 6 or the cute, slice-of-life adventures of Atelier Lydie and Suelle, there was a lot of variety in what I played, so here are all the JRPGs I played in March.

JRPGs I Played in February 2018

February was an interesting month in terms of the way my gaming time went. With Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory all finished, I was left with time to come back to my long term JRPG quest Persona 2 and time to catch up on Japanese demos like Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time and Atelier Lydie and Suelle that had been sitting on my hard drive for a while. There were also a few random delays, with Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s New Game+ mode that I’ve been looking forward to ever since I finished it getting a delay and the full version of Little Witch Academia not coming out in English when most people (myself included) expected it to. Luckily, the main JRPG I was looking forward to did come out towards the end of the month in the form of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet and I can look back on the last month and say I had a lot of fun with what I played, so here are all the JRPGs I Played in February.

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

JRPGs I Played in April 2017

I said last month I’d play a lot of Persona 5 and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for almost the entire month of April. In fact, I’ve barely played any other games as between life and enjoying the time sync that is Persona 5,  I just haven’t had the time. It’s lucky that Persona 5 is such a good game however, as I haven't minded at all. I’ve downloaded a few demos of JRPGs I’m quite sure will be good, but I don’t want to leave the friends and confidants I've made in Persona 5 yet. So although the list of JRPGs I’ve played this month is a short one, the amount of hours I put into my main April game is certainly not. Here are the JRPGs I Played in April.

Feel free to watch the video version here!

My Favourite JRPG of April:

Persona 5

If you’ve seen my recent content or my March JRPGs I’ve played post, then Persona 5 being my favourite game of April is probably no surprise. But Persona 5 is highly deserving of this month’s title, as it’s really really good. I intend on making a full review of Persona 5 (plus plenty more content because there’s a lot of good things to talk about in it!), but my first 70 hours with it have reminded me very much of the deep and addictive JRPG gameplay that was in Persona 4 Golden that sucked me right back into JRPGs to begin with. There’s something really fun about the freedom having so many different options and mechanics given, and partnered with the improved dungeon and social systems, I hate when I have to put it down. At the time of writing this, I’m in Persona 5’s August and I don’t know how far I am from totally finishing it and I honestly don’t mind not knowing, as long as I can spend more time with the fun characters and dungeons.

NieR Automata

There were four days before Persona 5 was released this month, which gave me a little bit of NieR time. I’m a little into Route C and a lot of story revelations have already occurred, even a few hours in. I’m amazed route by route by the sheer scope of NieR Automata and I’m pretty sure each new route proves to me I’ve never played anything like it. While I’m loving my Persona 5 experience, there is a piece of me that still has Automata in mind as I’m curious about what will happen next. I hope I can get back to it a least a little in May, as I’m sure it has plenty more story to tell.

Fire Emblem Heroes

Fire Emblem Heroes has been my main portable game of May, although I haven’t really played that much. I did really enjoy the Easter event with it’s cute story and costumes, even if I did three gatchas and didn't win a single Easter character. Every time I log into it recently, there are a bunch of Orbs and gifts waiting for me which have been nice for gatcha draws, although I think I’ll be stockpiling them until they do a character draw for a Fire Emblem character I know better. I do think Persona 5 and NieR have put me into more of a console game mood recently, but Fire Emblem Heroes is still enjoyable if I have nothing else on me to JRPG with.

(Also, chapter 10 is finally out for anyone who didn't know!)

Persona 2

I only played Persona 2 once this month for a couple of hours, but after playing the newer Persona game, it did become interesting to me in a few different ways. I’m gonna do a full post about this, but there a few small elements such as demon negotiation in Persona 5 that seem inspired by Persona 2 which was cool to see on the go. I’m fairly sure I still have a lot of Persona 2 to get through at 15 hours in, and I hope the story amps it up a bit soon as I slowly continue my way through it.

My May JRPG Plans

May is an interesting month to think about right now, as I don’t know if I’ll have fully finished Persona 5 by the first of May. I was really interested in the Caligula Effect for its interesting aesthetic, but it releases on May 2nd so if I’m not going to be done in time for its launch, so I might wait and let the price goes down. This leaves me with the options of Fire Emblem Echoes or Summon Nights 6, where I think I’m personally more interested in Fire Emblem. Because I’m currently living in Tokyo with access to an Australian 3DS, I would have to import the Australian version for that one (or finally set up eShop), so hopefully I’ll be bothered enough to go through the import hassle to play what’s probably a good tactical JRPG.

On top of May’s new JRPGs, if I have time I would love to get back into NieR Automata as its story still has me intrigued, especially where I left off before Persona 5 took over my life. I also am really enjoying the gameplay of Persona 5, so there is the thought of Platinuming it in my head as well. My May JRPGs are a little uncertain at this point, but I’m excited to see what ends up in my console next month.

Most of the games listed in this article are available to buy or pre-order at Play-Asia.com!

(This is an affiliate link that helps supports the site, so if you use it, thank you!)

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What JRPGs did you play in April? And if you're playing Persona 5, how far are you hours-wise?

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

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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

5 Times JRPGs Kicked My Ass

As much as I love video games, I don’t claim to be the best at gaming. While I can pick up most mechanics, my varying degree of skill with some games has made me no stranger to the Game Over screen and I've had to hit the Retry button in some of my most played games (such as my complete inability to complete the Omega Ruins in Final Fantasy X). Recently I’ve been playing the Roguelike JRPG Sorcery Saga: The Curse of the Great Curry God, a fun but tough dungeon crawler that has found me sent back to its town without my items on multiple occasions with a small bit of my dungeon confidence eaten away. This made me think back to some of the many fails I’ve had while playing JRPGs and while these are only a small selection, these are some of the biggest fails I’ve had while playing or more accurately, times I’ve had my ass kicked while playing JRPGs.

Note: I’ve kept spoilers to a minimum by mostly not mentioning boss names and story circumstances, but there are some minor spoilers about significant boss battles in this article. Proceed with caution!

Final Fantasy X’s Final Boss

If there’s one thing Final Fantasy is good at, it’s bosses with multiple forms or stages. I’m not referring to the final boss battle that you pretty much automatically win, I’m talking about the true final boss of Final Fantasy X, the one with more than one stage and an overdrive gauge that can quickly wipe out any unprepared party. There are a bunch of bosses like this in Final Fantasy X but when I played the HD Remaster a couple of years ago, I was reminded of that feeling of total horror when you think you've won the boss battle, but oh no, let's put multiple status ailments on all your characters, shatter a couple for good measure and knock some out because I'm definitely out of Phoenix Downs. It was horrible, but the satisfaction I got after grinding a little more, taking advance of any possible status vulnerabilities, winning and crying like a baby to the ending was definitely worth the struggle.

You can pick up Final Fantasy X HD Remaster from Play-Asia.com*!

Persona 3 FES’s Final Boss

Persona 3’s boss battle is one of the absolute harshest boss battles I have ever experienced. If Final Fantasy X was bad for bosses with multiple forms, Persona 3’s boss is just plain unreasonable. When I played Persona 3 this year, I assumed that it would be harder than the previous bosses I’d faced, all of which had been difficult but not impossible, but the absolute uphill struggle I faced was definitely beyond my expectations. The final boss really ramps up the difficulty, with over 10 different forms to fight and without a proper strategy, any party will be quickly annihilated. I can’t even begin to tell you how many online guides I read and Youtube videos I watched just to check if winning was a possibility and to work out how to defeat that thing with what I had. I must have tried it over 20 times and definitely saw a lot of Game Over screens, which are just a little more crushing when you're almost at the end of the game. It took a lot of persistence and a little grinding, but eventually I did it. I hope to never face a boss that slays me that hard again.

You can pick up the original Persona 3 FES for PS2 from Play-Asia.com* or pick up the PS2 Classic from the Playstation Network Store!

Final Fantasy IX’s Plant Brain

I think I had a lot of luck when I versed Final Fantasy IX’s Plant Brain for the first time, because I had no problem beating it. However something happened - either my Vita ran out of power or I turned it off without saving - and somehow, I lost my save, meaning I had to do the boss battle again. Fine, I said. Piece of cake, right? Wrong.

Older JRPGs are different to the standard beginning of a modern JRPG. They don’t try to make you feel like a god in the first few battles so that you keep playing. They’re not scared to kick you around and knock out a majority of your party, which is exactly what happened to me. I wasn’t expecting to use any healing items because it was one of the first boss fights in the game and I repeatedly kept getting knocked down and finding myself at the Game Over screen thinking I was a better gamer than this. Going from winning on my first try to absolutely struggling was kind of a shock, but I accepted it was going to be a tough battle, put my pride aside and healed my party. It did however let me understand that Final Fantasy IX was going to be a little more challenging than other Final Fantasy’s I played, so it served as a good introduction for what was ahead.

You can pick up the original Final Fantasy IX for PS One from Play-Asia.com* or pick up the PS One Classic from the Playstation Network Store!

Sorcery Saga: the Curse of the Great Curry God’s Chapter 4 Dungeon

Ah, my week long dilemma. Every dungeon in Sorcery Saga is a little punishing, but with the amount of potential enemies that can surround you, surprisingly strong bosses and devastating traps in the 25 floors of this fourth dungeon, Sorcery Saga is definitely working against me in my quest to win this dungeon. Since Sorcery Saga is a Roguelike JRPG, I’m also starting fresh each dungeon run so if I lose, my next run is even tougher because I may not have my best sword anymore. And even if I go in with the best equipment in the world, there’s potential for it to get cursed or eaten by an enemy or Kuu (your friendly dungeon pet) if he's super hungry. It seems like I need a lucky run and to use Kuu and the area as perfectly as possible. For now, my dungeon crawling confidence is waning, but I will not give up!

(Fun fact: before this article went up, I won the dungeon through excessive grinding on each floor and risking dungeon collapse. Yay! Currently slowly going through the last dungeon so I don't you know...die.)

You can pick up Sorcery Saga: the Curse of the Great Curry God from Play-Asia.com*!

Persona 4 Golden’s ‘Legend of Inaba - Max Out All Social Links’ Trophy

I’ve spoken mostly about getting my ass kicked in battle in this article, but there are plenty of ways JRPGs can make things hard for the player, such as the simultaneously heartwarming and patience-testing Legend of Inaba trophy from Persona 4 Golden. Social Links are an enjoyable part of Persona 4 Golden, but to max them all out in one playthrough requires thorough planning and execution, something I failed at multiple times. This trophy pretty much took me three playthroughs, and with a playthrough of Persona 4 Golden being over 100 hours on average, I don’t need to tell you it was hard work. I had to make sure I said the right things to each character or else I may not be able to fully get them to the next Social Link rank in the next interaction, which would cost more time. Memorising what days characters were available, on top of keeping the dungeon crawling part of the game afloat was a true challenge, but at least it was a fulfilling one as it's probably the most immersed I've felt in a story. Persona 4’s well-written characters thankfully made this worth it and I’m forever happy about the 300+ hours I spent with Persona 4 Golden, even if it was tough.

You can pick up Persona 4 Golden from Play-Asia.com*!

Some JRPGs might be ruthless difficulty-wise, but I never think it’s a bad thing. It’s the persistent battling and desire to beat challenges that make completing a JRPG so rewarding, like I truly worked for the experience I gained. I honestly think sometimes the persistence I’ve had encouraged in JRPGs has also become apart of my everyday life, as I look to be challenged in real life situations and in a weird way I enjoy the struggling challenges presented to me in JRPGs as working them out feels truly satisfying. Knowing that all the challenges in JRPGs are conquerable keeps me going and I’m looking forward to whatever the next JRPG struggle I face is, even if it's a temporary kick to my confidence as a player. In the end, it's worth it.

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Have you had a memorable JRPG ass-kicking? What was your biggest JRPG challenge?

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!

5 JRPGs I Should've Really Played By Now

It honestly wasn't until I finished Persona 4 Golden that I understood I wasn't just a fan of weird Final Fantasy games, I understood there was entire genre of these Japanese Role-Playing Games I loved, I just hadn't been paying enough attention to them. I love this genre enough now to talk about it as much as possible, but there's a catalog of classic JRPGs and highly relevant series that I haven't touched yet. I always intend to get back to them, but it's not that simple sometimes because of life getting in the way and the sheer length of a JRPG, not to mention keeping up with the franchises I already love and want to continue playing. It's hard to balance both. So, as a reminder to myself of my backlog of shame, here's 5 JRPG games I definitely should've played by now and hope to play sometime soon.

Tales of... Series

The Tales of series is one of the biggest JRPG series at the moment, both in popularity and series entries, with 16 main entries in the series and no sign of stopping. I used to see Tales of Graces f in the discounted PS3 games section of my local game store and thought it looked interesting and pretty, but I never really went beyond just looking at it until games media sites like IGN started hyping Tales of Xillia. Now I own a few Tales titles, including Tales of Xillia 1 and 2, Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Graces, but I don't really know when I'm going to play them as of yet. I love a great story and the Tales of series is known for having great stories, so it's something I should probably try more of. I have tried Tales of Xillia, but I didn't finish it because I started another playing another game. It'll probably be the first one I try to concur and I hope that sparks a big love of the series that'll make me play the ones I own.

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Trigger is legendary in the world of JRPGs, so having not played it yet almost feels like a sin against my love of JRPGs. I was pretty damn young when Chrono Trigger was out, so I missed it but it's one of those must play JRPGs as it was revolutionary for it's time and has definitely had an effect on JRPGs now. With time travel and multiple endings being featured in the story, since these are some favourite features and kinds of story, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, dated graphics and all.

Suikoden Series

Yet another series I became intrigued about due to many people on Twitter and in games media being hardcore advocates for the game. It was people like them that are the reason I signed the petition to bring Suikoden to the PSN. The petition was a great sucess, with Suikoden 1-3 now in the PSN store. I bought Suikoden 1 from the PSN, so it's sitting in my backlog waiting to be played. I hear the story is incredibly touching and if the trailers anything to go off, it looks like an intriguing game that's been loved for a reason.

Wild Arms Series

Wild Arms is yet another legendary series I hear so many good things about, but I have mixed feelings about playing it. It's meant to be one of the best JRPGs of all time, but I've never been interested in Wild West themes in movies or games and that's one of the premises for this story. However, I've also never played a JRPG with a Wild West theme so maybe I'm missing something and I just don't know it yet. With a mix of puzzles and JRPG mechanics, it's probably worth checking out as an education on the JRPG genre, but if anyone could sell this to me in the comments, please do!

Dragon Quest

I used to not want to play Dragon Quest, purely because it was once Final Fantasy's rival, but nowadays I really don't think that's a reason to not play something! A lot of the games mentioned in this article are ones I'm curious about because of what other people have said and while many people say nice things about Dragon Quest, I'm mostly listing it here because of my own interest. For starters, turn-based battles and hero saves the medieval looking town is one of my favourites, even if it's a bit cliché. It looks like Dragon Age does this in it's own way, with cool cartoon monsters and characters. Also the interesting things being done to the series such as Dragon Quest: Builders show that the creators of Dragon Quest are paying attention to what's going on in the world of gaming, but it's a series that seems more faithful to it's roots than Final Fantasy. It's hard to know where to start with a series like Dragon Quest, so perhaps I'll wait till the next one!

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Which of these games should I play most? What's a JRPG you wish you'd played by now?

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

All of the photos used in this article are not my own and are property of their respective creators and companies

Final Fantasy IX Review (PS One Classic)

In a period of time where we are truly pampered by graphical beauty and high quality stories, voice acting and gameplay (most of the time), when I decided it was time to finally visit the realm of older Final Fantasy IX games, I wondered how much I'd actually enjoy the somewhat older game. When I started playing the Final Fantasy series, I began from Final Fantasy X. Since then, I've only briefly played through I and VIII, so I haven't experienced most of the beautifully pixel-based graphics of the PS One Final Fantasy games yet. Thankfully though, gaming is much more than just graphics and finally playing Final Fantasy IX totally affirmed any thoughts that I'd been missing out on a fun game with a plot worth visiting.

Final Fantasy IX is full of charm, with it's medieval fantasy feeling and unique characters and is topped off with some smart systems that tie into the game's battle system, is worth playing nearly 15 years after it's release. Even with it's old school graphics and feeling, thanks to the story, characters and gameplay, I definitely regret not playing it sooner.

Set in a medieval world complete with a Queen and activities such as watching plays, Final Fantasy IX is firmly set in a perfect setting for a fantasy adventure, heightened by the world's painterly look that makes it look like it's set in a fantasy picture book. The story's hero Zidane is cheeky and strong-willed and is just as humorous as he is kindhearted (and feels just a little like a prototype for FFX's Tidus). He's the perfect leader for the story's oddly fitting group, which includes the knight Steiner, who is far to devoted to his duties, the innocent black mage Vivi who is trying the find his purpose in life and Princess Garnet, who becomes more admirable as the game progresses because of her genuine drive to protect her people. The odd group set out on a journey to find out and resolve many of the problems in the kingdom, including investigating the behaviour of the kingdoms leader, the princesses mother, but they also find more enemies along the way. The story explores deep themes such as life and death and one's purpose and it's villains are just as complex as the main characters.

FF9 Screenshot sourced from IGN

The flow of the story ties in with the game well, opening up new features to benefit the gameplay and to continue on the story as each disc/chapter is completed. Without being too specific, I truly enjoyed the growth of all the characters throughout the game, with many of the characters being effected by moments in the story and growing their own story throughout the 50+ hours of the experience. While Zidane is the main character of the story, optional Active Time Events allow the other characters to be followed almost just as closely, giving a depth to the effects of the main story.

Returning in Final Fantasy IX is the familiar turn-based battle system is featured in many Final Fantasy titles, but this time with an option to make things move a little faster with the active setting found in the menu. The active setting allows you to make commands while enemies and characters are executing their moves, a much needed option considering the slow pacing of most battles, due to the long animations for each attack. I usually really love a turn based battle system, but the long animations killed the pace for me. When there's cool characters, great summons and a pumping battle track, I expect to have a fun, satisfying battle. Final Fantasy IX had all of these things, but the pace made some battles feel off and a little laggy, especially by today's standards.

FF9 Screenshot sourced from IGN

This kind of a battle pacing is a shame, as the battle system had a few cool additions, such as the trance system for each character which could be built up to change into a stronger form and some of the unique status ailments, such as the spinning status ailment that was a lot like 'Confusion' from other Final Fantasy games, but uncurable. Unfortunately though, these were not without fault either, with other status ailments sometimes being visually difficult to notice and trance on occasion not being usable at all. Because Trance automatically activates itself once it's fully changed, a character's Trance would often become triggered at the end of a battle,  just as another character was executing their attack and defeating the enemy, rendering the trance meter 'used' and empty for the next battle. Battles are definitely still enjoyable for those who like a turn-based battle system and enemies are challenging enough to make things enjoyable, but I can't say it's my favourite version of the turn-based battle system used in many Final Fantasy games.

Surprisingly, what I found more fun than actual battles was the equipment and ability preparation process. Rather than using a skill tree-like system seen in other Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy IX's equipment system is built around the marriage of equipment and abilities. Each weapon, armour and accessory has an ability that the user can learn after winning the battle with it enough times, helping to create a 'bank' of abilities that the character can use throughout the whole game. When I go into battle in a JRPG, I'm used to typically prioritising strength, so this mechanic quickly added a totally different dynamic to my strategy. Sometimes I really needed strength, other times I was using low power equipment just for an ability. I was also pleasantly surprised when good equipment suddenly became weaker in some areas and I had to switch to lower level equipment because that was how equipment worked in that place. For a genre where in most games you can just level up to become totally overpowered (which I'm sure is also possible in this game too), this was a good dynamic that made the acquisition of new equipment much more interesting.

FF9 Screenshot sourced from IGN

The game features a few side quests, although I will say the story was so big and interesting that I didn't feel the need to explore them too much. The main side quest I tried was Chocobo Hot and Cold, a fun yet time consuming hunting game used to find items and gain points to buy some of the games rare weapons. There's also the game's card game (pictured above), which was fun enough if you're a fan of Final Fantasy's card games (which I usually skip over in favour of other side quests, unless there's a trophy involved).

Despite the battle system's speed needing work, the rest of the game is sprinkled with great music, quality visuals that make the most of the technology of the time that make the experience feel fairly polished. The music is one of the best Final Fantasy soundtracks I've ever heard, spanning beautiful emotional pieces like 'Melodies of Light' along with fun, carnival-like feeling pieces for more comical scenes. Each piece truly helps to create the appropriate mood to each scene. The visuals have of course aged a little when compared to today's Final Fantasy's, but it's obvious when looking at the beautiful, storybook like landscapes and the great cutscenes that the game is still beautiful in it's own way now and made a beautiful looking game for the technology it used.

FF9 Screenshot sourced from IGN

Final Fantasy IX may have some problems with being a little laggy during it's battles, but a majority of the experience resonated with me 15 years after the release, thanks to the strong story, the smart equipment and abilities mechanics and the beautiful environment and musical decisions. For fans of the Final Fantasy series who haven't played the game or older Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy IX is a great reminder of the brilliant stories Final Fantasy is known for. If you're willing to give up some of the visual and speed luxuries of today's video games, Final Fantasy IX's story is a touching story and beautiful medieval world that is worth experiencing for those with a little patience.

Score: 7.9/10

A little laggy at times, but a wonderful that is worth experiencing with a smart equipment and battle system.

You can buy Final Fantasy IX as a PS One Classic for PS3, PSP and PS Vita digitally on your local Playstation Network Store.
If you're a collector of PS One games or happen to have a PS One or PS2 lying around, the physical version of Final Fantasy IX (and other Final Fantasy IX related goods) are available at Play-Asia.com.

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This Week's PSN EU/AU PSN Releases, JRPG Style! (2/7/15)

Why hello! Welcome to this week's edition of Europe and Australia's new PSN releases, which pulls each week's PSN additions related to the JRPG genre and other Japanese games into one post for your convenience.

This week we see two releases hitting the PSN in their localised forms. First is Ar nosurge Plus, the enhanced PS Vita version of the PS3 game Ar nosurge that was released (and I reviewed) last year that boasts extra content and DLC for those who didn't play the game and for those who loved it. Second is the cool Japanese fighting game J-Stars Victory VS+ which features a ridiculous cast of characters from anime ranging from Dragon Ball to Assassination Classroom to To Love-Ru to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Anime fans will probably want to pick this up this fun game!

For those who aren't interested in the new releases or who enjoy saving money, the Big In Japan sale is still going, so if you need a new JRPG, you can probably find one at a great price.

Enjoy your week and happy gaming! 

New Releases

• Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star (PS Vita)
• J-Stars Victory VS+ Digital Edition (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)

DLC

Ar nosurge Plus (PS Vita)

Free:

• Amenomirai Vestments (Free until 29/7)
• Sports Wear (Free until 29/7)
• UNITY-CHAN! (Free until 29/7)

Deals

• Agarest: Generations of War 2 (PS3)
• Akiba's Trip (PS4, PS Vita, PS3)
• Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!!!! (PS3)
• Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star (PS3)
• Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk (PS3)
• Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of the Arland (PS3)
• Atelier Shallie with Bonus (PS3)
• Atelier Shallie ~Alchemists of the Dusk Sea~ (PS3)
• Catherine (PS3)
• Child of Light (PS3, PS4, PS Vita)
• Child of Light - Complete Edition (PS Vita)
• Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars (PS Vita)
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PS Vita)
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (PS Vita)
• Deception IV: Blood Ties (PS Vita, PS3)
• Demon Gaze (PS Vita)
• Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (PS Vita, PSP)
• Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention (PS Vita)
• Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited (PS Vita)
• Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness (PS3)
• Dragon's Crown (PS Vita, PS3)
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)
• Fairy Fencer F (PS3)
• The Guided Fate Paradox (PS3)
• Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F (PS Vita)
• Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd (PS Vita)
• htolNiQ: The Firefly Diary (PS Vita)
• Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart (PS Vita)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia ReBirth 1 (PS Vita)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia ReBirth 2 (PS Vita)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection (PS Vita)
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (PS3)
• Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PS Vita, PSP)
• Maken Shao: Demon Sword (PS3)
• Malicious (PS3)
• Mind Zero (PS Vita)
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PS Vita, PSP)
• Muramasa Rebirth (PS Vita)
• Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution (PS3)
• Natural Doctrine (PS Vita, PS3)
• Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3)
• Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita)
• Okami HD (PS3)
• Omega Quintet (PS4)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PS3)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors Grand Line Edition (PS3)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 (PS3)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 Prestige Edition (PS3)
• One Piece Unlimited World Red (PS Vita)
• Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines (PS Vita)
• Resonance of Fate (PS3)
• Rune Factory Oceans (PS3)
• Senran Kagura Bon Appetit! (PS Vita)
• Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus (PS Vita)
• Short Peace: Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day (PS3)
• Soul Sacrifice Delta (PS Vita)
• Suikoden (PS3, PS Vita, PSP)
• Suikoden II (PS3, PS Vita, PSP)
• Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (PS Vita)
• Tales of Graces f (PS3)
• Tales of Graces + Tales of Xillia Combo Pack (PS3)
• Tales of Hearts R + 6 Tales of franchise Costume set (PS Vita)
• Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (PS3)
• Tales of Xillia (PS3)
• Tales of Xillia 2 (PS3)
• Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overload (PS3)
• Time and Eternity (PS3)
• Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters (PS Vita, PS3)
• Toukiden: The Age of Demons (PS Vita)
• Toukiden: Kiwami (PS Vita)
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late (PS3)
• Valkyria Chronicles II (PS Vita, PSP)
• Virtue's Last Reward: Complete Collection (PS Vita)
• Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita)
• Zone of the Enders HD Edition (PS3)
• Zone of the Enders HD Collection (PS3)
• Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD Edition (PS3)

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Pick of the week: J-Stars Victory VS+ for it's ridiculously diverse cast. Seriously. How are characters from Dragonball Z and Nisekoi in the same game? Brilliant.

What's your pick of the week? Will you be picking up anything from the PSN this week?

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

Please note the content available is subject to change by region and the content listed in this post is based on the European/Australian PSN at the time of writing.

Things I Love and Things I Don't Miss About Old RPGs

After playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper and nothing else for a month straight, I decided that with a ready PS Vita and no HDMI enabled TV (what is my life?), it was time to hit the backlog of games on my PSN account. I've always promised myself that I will play all of the Final Fantasy games someday, as it is the series that got me into video games and more specifically, JRPGs. With this in mind, I decided to hit Final Fantasy IX because I heard the story is really interesting and since Kingdom Hearts, I've wondered what on earth even is Vivi (he is a Black Mage by the way, which I should've guessed).

Playing a PS One Classic really made me think about how much they differ from both RPGs and JRPGs of now, so here are a few things that were running through my head throughout the beginning of playing Final Fantasy IX. For the record, I'm still playing and loving the game, but I'm sure I'm up for at least another 100 hours of gameplay. And I'm so keen.
So.
Very.
Keen.

We Are Absolutely Spoiled For Visuals In Video Games Now

Saying that a PS One Classic's visuals are terrible compared to the PS4 or even PS3's graphic capabilities is pretty darn obvious, but it was the first thing I noticed and took some time to get used to, initially putting me off continuing the game for more than five minutes at a time. Even with Final Fantasy IX's cinematic cutscenes, for it's time Final Fantasy IX's visuals were of a high quality and are simply dated because the PS4's cinematic visuals have of course improved thanks to time.

Upon booting up Final Fantasy IX, I see lots of blocky, spikey graphic textures and I have trouble finding treasure chests because everything on the map sometimes blends together, but as with anything, you do get used to it and this is likely why we had no problem with those visuals at the time of it's release. I've come to accept Final Fantasy IX's charming spikey visuals and 10 hours later, I have no problem with them.

This Game Is Longer Than Most Games I Play Now...And I Love It.

I remember playing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII around this time last year on a very tight work schedule and completing it in around a month. It was a good experience, but when I think back to that game, it's almost like a blur. Even though 30-40 hours of gameplay is a decent amount of time and definitely still a longer game when compared to games such The Order: 1886 or Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes being mainstream examples of shorter games, I've been playing Final Fantasy IX for about 10 hours and I can tell I've barely scratched the surface on the main story and I've just started to get to know the characters.

Of course longer games do exist today (Persona 4 Golden being one of my favourites of all times) and maybe this is personal taste, but I love the slow pacing of Final Fantasy IX so far. It feels like I'm actually getting to know the characters at a normal pace and I'm already seeing characters like Steiner who originally annoyed me begin to grow on me. JRPGs are known as a longer genre because of games such as Final Fantasy IX and it's because the stories in this medium are usually good enough to keep someone involved for that long.

I Don't Miss Save Points or Not Being Able To Skip Scenes

Oh man. There is nothing like trying desperately to find a save point to use a healing while your characters are on extremely low health and you're out of both Phoenix Downs and Potions. The tension!

Save points may provide a challenge to more sadistic gamers who don't mind playing through levels again and again, but personally I seem to have the kind of luck where if I'm low on health, I run into the rare area enemy that can kill all my characters in one hit. The good thing about modern RPGs is you can either save at any time or save points are extremely frequent, so I don't lose an hours gameplay because the next Save Moogle is extremely far away and hidden by long cutscenes.

Games Don't Always Need To Feel Cinematic To Be Good

I remember when Final Fantasy XIII was released and it looked more like I was playing a movie than I was a video game. With high quality visuals in modern Final Fantasy and the mainstream RPG Destiny, it sometimes feels like RPGs are something else entirely to what they were in the PS One era and that with all the polish, they lack charm.

But, there is hope. JRPGs are evolving too, with games like Persona upgrading their visuals but still keeping that JRPG quirk. Or games like Danganronpa who keep a minimalist approach so that the story can still shine.

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Final Fantasy IX definitely has a story worth experiencing. I will admit I'm yet to get to the magical JRPG twist or story hook that means I can't put my Vita down yet, but I'm still enjoying this trip back into the PS One era. If there's one thing I can say about this PS One Classic is that it's reminded me that good gameplay can make low level graphics blend into the background of a good experience. Hopefully I think the same thing after 100 hours, but for now, I'm loving this trip down memory lane.

You can purchase Final Fantasy IX digitally from the Playstation Network Store.

Got a PS One lying around? You can pick up the original PS One game or some sweet Final Fantasy IX from Play-Asia.

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What are your favourite PS One Classics? Would you revisit your favourite old-school JRPGs or are you happy enough with the current selection?

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!

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