Post-TGS 2017: My Favourite JRPG Trailers and Announcements

Tokyo Game Show this year was pretty good. Even if there wasn't an announcement that particularly blew my mind, there were enough trailers of games I was already keen for to keep my hype going hopefully until the end of the year. TGS 2017 for me is mainly just a reminder that the next 12 months are already looking fantastic, with interesting new IPs coming out, great remasters and spinoffs, and some of my favourite series getting new additions. With plenty of hope that it's given me hype that will last, these are my favourite announcements and trailers from TGS 2017.

Episode Gladiolus Review (Final Fantasy XV DLC, PS4/Xbox One)

Spoiler note: Due to the nature of when Episode Gladiolus is set in Final Fantasy XV's story, mild spoilers may follow

Although the core Final Fantasy XV game is Noctis’ story, Gladiolus’ small departure from the group in the main story made his character feel less complete compared to the other guys, until now. Episode Gladiolus finally gives Gladio and Cor the character development they need in the hour long strength testing journey. The Episode surprised me with the evident thought put into making Gladio's combat different to Noctis’ and switching from warps to brute force was a cool new way to tackle XV’s foes. With new story and fun challenges, Episode Gladiolus is a pretty decent experience that rounds out Final Fantasy XV's characters more and will likely be enjoyed most by those like myself who haven't moved on from XV yet.

Feel free to watch the video version here!

Gladiolus’ solo journey starts pretty much just after he breaks away from Noctis, Ignis and Prompto and takes place in a brand new dungeon. Gladiolus’ goal is to acquire more power to help him in his role as the King’s Shield by doing the Blademaster Gilgamesh’s challenge. He is accompanied into the special dungeon by Cor and must complete each trial to both prove and improve his strength. The path to the Blademaster is fairly direct, although there's a lot of conversation along the way between the two which fills in the gaps about the history of this quest and shows Gladiolus’ resolve. Gladio is likeable in his Episode, showing both strength and humility at the right times. The character I found the most interesting in Episode Gladiolus however ended up being Cor, a character I previously didn’t care much for at all. I always felt like I never learnt much about Cor in the main story, other than that he'd been through some stuff. The conversations between Gladiolus and Cor tell interesting tales about Cor’s past and while Gladiolus is appropriately the star of this Episode, because I knew Gladiolus so well already from the main Final Fantasy XV story, the rounding out of Cor’s character was appreciated.

While Episode Gladiolus’ story does manage to fill in that gap of when he leaves the party and gives more of Cor’s backstory, it doesn’t do much else. What you see is what you get with Episode Gladiolus and there isn't a lot of surprise outside of what was in trailers or already known about Episode Gladio or the character himself. Before going into Gladio's story, we know he had a struggle, became stronger after fighting a guy and came back and well, that's pretty close to what happens in Episode Gladiolus. There is Gilgamesh as an added point of interest and I did enjoy seeing him challenging Gladiolus’ resolve, but I almost wish they didn't announce him as the big boss because maybe this episode would've had that wow factor that I felt it was missing. I enjoyed the extra backstory added to underdeveloped characters as someone who is still into XV, I just wish it was as surprising as the other character Episodes seem (the extended and emotive Episode Prompto footage at the end of Episode Gladiolus being a good example of this). As much as I enjoyed it, it does make me wonder how appealing it would be for someone considering coming back to XV.

Luckily, Episode Gladiolus is more than just story and what I was genuinely surprised about was how much I enjoyed playing and battling as Gladiolus. Compared to Noctis’ combat style of warping and multi-weapon wielding, Gladio uses punishing blows and an interesting Rage mechanic that raises damage based on the amount of successful shield blocks, all appropriate for the King’s Shield. Blocking was always apart of XV but with Gladio’s Rage multiplier, it felt much more involved. I found myself carefully trying to time my blocks to get my Rage up and unleash fully-charged super attacks with four times the damage stored up thanks to my Shield Blocking. On top of Gladio’s unique base combat style, he has some cool moves such as hitting enemies with pillars and jumping on huge enemies heads to do some cool-looking big attacks. Gladio's more involved combat style is such a refreshing take on Final Fantasy XV's already good action combat and is easily the highlight of my Episode Gladiolus experience.

Episode Gladiolus’ gameplay is also interesting in the way it plays with JRPG mechanics. Instead of leveling, the completion of trials is rewarded with special stronger attacks, which are needed because you don't have the same access to items and shops as you do in the core game. There are also two special challenges in Episode Gladiolus, including the Score Attack mode which allows you to fight the trials for points, and also a special Final Trial mode. These modes are a fun way to play more with Gladio’s fun combat and considering the story of Episode Gladiolus can be completed in an hour or so, the added value from the mini-games is appreciated.

Episode Gladiolus might not go very far beyond what it offers in its trailer, but the added character development and fantastic new take on XV’s battle system were things I really appreciated from it. I left the experience feeling like I understood Cor and Gladiolus a little better and thoroughly enjoyed hitting enemies with pillars and unleashing my inner King’s Shield rage. While Episode Gladiolus’ story didn’t have the wow factor I was hoping for, it’s given me a lot of hope for the next few Episodes and how their own individual combat styles and more mysterious seeming stories will pan out. But for now, Episode Gladiolus is a nice start to the deeper look at Final Fantasy XV’s story and was enjoyable enough for a Final Fantasy XV addict like me.

Score: 8/10

Really didn’t expect to love the combat as much as I do. Having urges to go back and play Score Attack.


Episode Gladiolus is available as paid DLC for Final Fantasy XV on the PSN and the Microsoft Store. It is also included in the Final Fantasy XV season pass.

__________________________________________________________________________

Will you play Episode Gladiolus? If you have, what did you think of it?
Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and let's talk!

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

Review: A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV (Reviewed on PS4, also on Xbox One)

Final Fantasy XV loves retro games. The boys of Final Fantasy XV are always playing the retro-style smartphone game King’s Knight and there's also the mini-game Justice Monsters Five in XV. A King's Tale Final Fantasy XV is another nod to this, but adds story into the mix to make the side-scroller a little more than just a side experience. I had fun with the short side-scroller but as a fan of Square Enix’s usual ambitious and cinematic storytelling, A King’s Tale was fun for a free experience but isn't all that memorable in the long run.

Feel free to watch the video version of the review here!

A King’s Tale is part visual novel and part side-scroller. It begins with an adorable exchange between King Regis and a young Prince Noctis sharing a lovely father-son bedtime story moment. Noctis requests for his dad to tell him an epic bedtime story about Regis’ own travels and Regis obliges, with the story being told through the side-scrolling adventure (which I like to think is how the retro-game loving Noct imagines the story). The story told is a little old Final Fantasy with its crystal-chasing shenanigans and a little Final Fantasy XV, with an emphasis placed on the value of friendship.

Since it's shown and implied in Kingsglaive and in XV that Regis had his own hardships, the story is proof of the fact that he had a journey similar to Noctis’ one in Final Fantasy XV. He travels with a crew similar in personalities to Noctis’ group, with the exception of standout Cid being way grumpier than the four guys in XV could ever be, in a good way. It was cool to see Regis and his crew summon and fight well-known Final Fantasy foes together, but other than some nice father son moments and terrible dad jokes, it doesn't really add much to the Final Fantasy XV Universe like I was hoping it would. Other Final Fantasy XV side experiences such as Brotherhood and Kingsglaive were so substantial and I was a little bummed A King’s Tale didn’t follow this trend.

The gameplay in A King's Tale however was pretty fun. Side-strollers aren't something I play regularly, but the retro music and hordes of enemies to take on were challenging enough and I was often rewarded by a cool summon animation in the bigger battles. Seeing some of Final Fantasy XV's places in pixel art style was a nice touch and most of the familiar enemies all needed different combos or attack types which kept me on my toes.

One of my favourite and least favourite mechanics in A King’s Tale was the Armiger, a cool multiple weapon super attack that has the ability to attack 4 times if you use your teammates right. This created a good goal towards, as the Armiger breaks its charge if you get hit and to get maximum damage, you must have used all your teammates attacks at least once before using it. It created an interesting dilemma of sometimes prioritising hiding and running from the hordes of enemies until I could use of the teammates instead of defeating the ones before me and I couldn't help but feel a little mad when I was hit and had to start all over. While it might have been frustrating, I think it was frustrating in a fun arcade style way that made me want to keep challenging my way through until I could unleash my best attack and see Regis’ disco battle victory pose as a small victory.

As someone who isn't a huge side-scroller player, my time with A King’s Tale was fun enough. I enjoyed the challenge from the sheer hordes of enemies I faced and the quick peak into Regis’ past, even if it didn't really add much to the Final Fantasy XV universe. It's definitely no replacement for the core Final Fantasy XV game, but A King’s Tale is a fun and different experience for those with a little extra time.

Score: 7.4/10

Don't forget: Regis was hot stuff.

You can download A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV for free on the Playstation Network Store or the Microsoft Store.

____________________________________________________________________________

What did you think of A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV? Do you prefer retro or new style Final Fantasy games?

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

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

Final Fantasy XV's Moogle Chocobo Carnival - Is It Worth Playing? (Mini-Review)

While most people have finished with Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix is inviting people to come back and play in its world again with the Moogle Chocobo Carnival. The free event is a playground of Chocobo and Moogle mini-games for some good light-hearted fun, a noticeable departure from Noct’s dramatic story. It’s also totally spoiler-free, allowing players to jump in and have fun at any stage of the story.

I've technically finished Final Fantasy XV (review on its way!), but I haven't stopped questing and letting my inner completionist run loose in Eos, so I didn't hesitate to download the Holiday Pack DLC and enter the restyled version of Altissa. But I understand that other players may need a bit of a push, so here my thoughts on the DLC to help you decide whether you want to join in on the Moogle Chocobo fun!

Final Fantasy XV Carnival features the kind of minigames that took up my end game time in Final Fantasy X, X-2 and made a small return in World of Final Fantasy. There’s Chocobo racing, finding Chocobos around the city and a new real-time photo mechanic among other things. My favourite mini-game was a decoration one that involved decorating an area based on a riddle that cryptically described whether I needed to put down a Moogle or a Chocobo, which I enjoyed carefully reading again and again to find what I need. The mini-games are all totally silly and that's what’s great about them, especially since Final Fantasy XV’s core story is quite serious towards the end. I especially liked how some of the moments gave me a look at a happy Noctis, something I didn't realise was shown so little in Final Fantasy XV’s core story. With everything he goes through in the main story, it genuinely made me smile seeing him do silly things in a ridiculous costume.

Since I've finished Final Fantasy XV, I'm well past the phase of feeling disconnected between the dire feeling of the last few chapters and into the end game exploration part. But I'd be seriously concerned if someone played this Carnival through the infamous chapter 13 - I feel like it would really kill the tense vibe that should be carried through that chapter. I would exercise caution if I was someone in the last few chapters of Final Fantasy XV, but that may just be my personal preference for playing through story content.

I like Noctis, but I love the group of guys together more. As soon as I heard the words Chocobo and Carnival together, I thought of Prompto’s love of animals. And there would be so many recipes for Ignis to find there, and so many weird moments for Gladio to tease Noct about. But the event seems to understand this, so Noctis makes his own amusing jokes and is given the adorable Carbuncle as his new companion. Noctis is surprisingly hilarious when he wants to be, with his awkward dancing with Moogles and his Ignis impression (complete with spot on “recipeh”) making me genuinely laugh out loud. It's a compliment to Final Fantasy XV how much I missed the group together, but they did a pretty good job making up for it with Noctis.

There are more side quests than I could complete in my first day with the Carnival (granted I only played a couple of hours), which makes me incredibly excited. Final Fantasy XV has been a questing playground for me, so having even more to do in a limited time is slightly overwhelming but awesome and I plan to complete all the quests before the event is finished. I completed the main quest of collecting enough tokens for the nice hotel room and view of the fireworks and was rewarded with a cute cutscenes, but I get the feeling that's most of what I'll get. I'm not too bothered by this since I've finished the main story and I'm sure we’ll get more moments with the guys in their individual Episode DLCs, but if you care more about story than quests, this probably isn't the DLC for you. As for me, I'll take running around doing new quests with Noctis on top of a bird any day.

The Final Fantasy XV Carnival is an adorable tribute to two of the most well-known mascots in the Final Fantasy series. Questing fans like me will probably love the amount to do in the festive version of Altissa and meeting Noctis’ fun side is a nice cherry on top of the experience. I'm happy to have an excuse to play more Final Fantasy XV and hope Square Enix considers more of these kinds of events in the future.

To play the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, make sure to download the latest patch for Final Fantasy XV and get the free Holiday Pack (or the Holiday Pack+ if you're a season pass holder) on PSN or the Xbox store.

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

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

Will you play the Moogle Chocobo Carnival? Are you still playing Final Fantasy XV?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

____________________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

Review: Platinum Demo - Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV has got a lot of expectations to live up to. It's been floating around for almost 10 years, beginning as Final Fantasy Versus XIII and resurfacing at E3 a few years ago as Final Fantasy XV. For almost 10 years, myself and others have been waiting to find out when it'll be out, what it'll be and will it be better than more recent Final Fantasy games that a lot of fans didn't enjoy so much. Despite this, I walked into Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV with leftover hype and positive expectations for the game following the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event. The demo is only 20-30 minutes long, but it's a good teaser for the full game, showcasing some of what's to be expected from the game's combat, boss battles and interactive worlds.

Platinum Demo is a standalone story that won't be featured in Final Fantasy XV. It looks into a dream from Noctis' childhood where small Noctis is led through the game by Carbuncle, an adorable rabbit like creature that's featured in other Final Fantasy games. The goal of the demo is to get Noctis to awaken from the deep sleep he's in, so he must explore and survive this dream world in order to wake up. While there isn't any significant detail given to Noctis' character, the dream world is so incredibly stunning and the experience of just playing the game is good enough that it isn't really needed.

From the start menu to the landscapes, every character, every area and every gem is stunning in Platinum Demo. Maybe it's because I've been playing a PS2 classic recently, but I swear it's the most stunning game I've seen on my HD monitor. It's beauty makes exploring the world enjoyable from the get-go and each time a new area was unveiled, I wanted to explore all of it just to see how pretty everything was. Collecting gems from around the area have the ability to unlock coloured plates scattered around the world. These plates can do things such as change the weather or time of day, give gifts or change Noctis into something new. Because of how beautiful everything was, even being able to see the landscape go from Day to Night or from Sunny to Rainy was a little exciting, especially knowing the final game will feature these things in even bigger open world environments.

Aside from exploring the world, one of the most exciting things about Platinum Demo is finally being able to see the combat. Since I didn't play the Episode Duscue demo, I was most keen to see what kind of creatures and battle system would be used in Final Fantasy XV. Without separate screens for battles, battles are now completely active, which isn't a surprise considering more recent Final Fantasy games have been adopting versions of this style. Much like in Final Fantasy XIV or Kingdom Hearts, when you get close enough to an enemy, battle begins and enemies will begin to attack you. In this demo, you have the choice of a sword or a hammer as your main battle weapons, along with some magic items you can find as presents. Thanks to the active element of the battle, a little more skill is required now with locking onto enemies and aiming spells accurately as an important part of battle. Since these controlled similarly to Kingdom Hearts, I was able to pick this up quick enough thankfully, but this may be a surprise to some players. Another thing I really liked was the way it incorporated timed-battle buttons during the boss battle. At one point the boss was about to hit me, but I had the option of parrying his hit and making a counter attack if my thumbs were quick enough (they weren't). This reminded me of Final Fantasy XIII-2's version of this, but much better as it was apart of battle and could be used as a way to get an edge on an enemy for particularly sharp players. Even though I'm usually a fan of turn-based battle systems, I felt like Platinum Demo's combat was a breath of fresh air from previous games thanks to the way it required more skill and thinking on my feet.

I mentioned a little the Kingdom Hearts feel of the combat, but there are shades of Kingdom Hearts throughout Platinum Demo in more ways then one, perhaps due to how young Noctis is in this game. The second area available to explore has Noctis as a shrunk down version of himself, very reminiscent of the Alice in Wonderland world of Kingdom Hearts, the music is done by the composer who also composed for Kingdom Hearts and even the way Noctis wields a sword reminded me a bit of Sora from Kingdom Hearts with his keyblade. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little surprising. I didn't mind it in some senses as it made the battle system feel more familiar, but I do hope that when Final Fantasy XV is released, Noctis being an adult feels like a more original character.

Like a good bite-sized experience, Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV left me wanting more with it's brief teasers of what will be seen in the full game of Final Fantasy XV. While it doesn't feature a deep story or a lot to do, just seeing the stunning visuals, fighting enemies big and small and collecting gems was a nice introduction to what the game will feature. Whether or not the actual game lives up to the positive impression left from this demo and Final Fantasy XV Uncovered, I can say this demo has me excited and intrigued about what's to come, with plenty revealed in the demo but with plenty of mysteries still in tact.

Score: 8.3/10

Finding different things on my three playthroughs was really fun and was a good teaser for what's to come and everything about it was stunningly beautiful!


You can pre-order Final Fantasy XV from Play-Asia.com now!
(This link helps support the site, so if you use it, thank you!)

________________________________________________________________________

What did you think of Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV? What did you name your Carbuncle?

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.

The E3 2015 Announcement Summary For The JRPG Fan

While Tokyo Game Show is usually the big show for JRPG gamers, I absolutely love E3. The diversity of games is always vast and impressive and each conferences always has something for everyone.

There were some huge announcements this year, one of the biggest being the Final Fantasy VII Remake (what?!), but it wasn't the only JRPG announced during E3. Here is a generous handful of JRPG announcements that you may or may not have missed during E3 2015.

DLC Review: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Character DLC "Episode Adachi"

Warning: Spoilers for Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden are present in this review. Proceed at your own rist!

Confession time: this DLC is half the reason I was so keen for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in the first place.

Have we all played Persona 4 to completion? I hope so. I'm sure I wasn't the only one wondering how Adachi would go in a prison (see, spoilers guys!). Episode Adachi has the answers in it's six chapter addition to Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's story mode. On top of that, it also gives you the cool, pistol whipping Adachi character to add to the already stellar cast of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax's roster of fighters.

Episode Adachi begins while he's in custody, giving a humourous insight into Adachi throwing some shade at police officers. More importantly, it puts some much needed time into explaining why he's in this story and not as far away from any TVs as possible. If Episode Adachi's main role was to give explanation into just how his role in the story is done, it succeeds throughly, with the best parts of Episode Adachi based in the first few chapters that cover this.

The bulk of Episode Adachi is hearing his perspective on Ultimax's events, giving a behind-the-scenes version of the story's events. Adachi's personality from Persona 4 is in fine form, with him throwing out a lot of 'What a pain' type phrases around and finding everything a big, annoying effort. If you're a fan of Adachi, you'll find enjoyment in spending more time with his humourous, but highly apathetic character. If you've been following the Persona 4 series and it's anime, this is story addition is the cherry on top of Adachi's character being explored more deeply in the anime, as the Persona 4 game only gave a small amount of development into his character, mostly at the end of the game.
The only small criticism I can really give Episode Adachi is it's middle section feeling a little repetitive at points when you compare it to the Persona 4 story episode of Ultimax. However, this is to be expected as the middle section isn't giving much new content, just Adachi's perspective.

The best part of Episode Adachi was it's epilogue, which left me feeling content with all loose ends of Adachi's story being fulfilled. The epilogue was a very fitting fate and probably the best possible outcome and development for Adachi.

If you're not a big fan of Adachi as a character, but a fan of the Persona 4 or the Persona 4 Arena series, this DLC may be a bit hit or miss for some people. It's not an essential part of the Ultimax's story but it helped the story feel that little bit more complete. I think if you count the fact you get Adachi's character for fighting, style opinions and a story selection for about $7 (Australian price) is a good deal and is certainly the best value character to buy if you're looking to expand your roster of fighters in the game as Marie and Margaret's DLCs don't have an additional story mode (side note: they are still fun to play as though!). The story campaign lasted me maybe an hour or so, depending on how fast of a reader you are.

Even though it's not a must have for all players of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Episode Adachi provides the final piece of the puzzle into his character development from Persona 4 and the anime and also an insight into some of the finer points of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. If you're a fan of him, a diehard Persona fan or just want another character to play with, Episode Adachi is the best value DLC character you can get and while isn't a huge story mode, is worth tying up the loose ends left at Persona 4.

Score: 7.8/10
Fun content and interesting story for those diehard fans of Persona and generally good value. The only DLC character with a story mode and goddammit, he comes with pistol whipping action. Not necessarily a must have for all players of the games though.

The Adachi Character DLC is available from your country's PSN store. Prices will vary depending on your country!

________________________________________________________________

What were you thoughts on Episode Adachi?

Comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle and start a discussion. Thanks for reading!

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Finally Gets A European Release!

Creeping up to the North American release date, it was looking like European Persona 4 Arena Ultimax fans may have to import the game if they wanted to play. But Sega has instead come to the rescue, announcing they will publish and release Persona 4 Arena Ultimax both physically and digitally in November for the European region, according to Eurogamer's post.

While the game isn't region locked in North America for any fans who don't want to wait till November, I'm sure this solves some importing costs and troubles for some people *raises hand*.

Meanwhile, North American fans can look forward to the game's release on September 30th for PS3 and Xbox 360, which can be pre-ordered via Amazon or Play-Asia.

______________________________________

European fans: Will you be waiting for the EU release or importing the game from the US?

We'd love to hear your thoughts, so comment below or send a tweet to @JRPGJungle. Thanks for reading!

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Rated By The Australian Classification Board - Could This Mean It's Coming To PAL Regions?

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has been rated by the Australian Classification Board, suggesting that the game could come to Australia and possibly other PAL regions, including Europe. While no confirmation has been made by Atlus or Arc System Works, it would be rather strange to have a game classified if there were no intentions to release it. The rating can be viewed at the Australian Classification website (or here).

This wouldn't be the first time the Australian Classification Board has revealed an unannounced game. Atelier Rorona Plus was rated by the Board around a week before it was officially announced.

Even if this game doesn't get announced for PAL regions, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax can still be imported and pre-ordered by fans from these regions as the game has been announced as region free.

Pre-order for PS3 or Xbox 360 (in English): Amazon, Play-Asia

Pre-order for PS3 (in Japanese): Play-Asia

____________________________________________________

Are you also crossing your fingers for an European/Australian release? 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!

Margaret Has Been Confirmed As A Playable Character In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax + Official Release Date and New Japanese Trailers

After rumours surrounding a recent Persona 4 Arena Ultimax poster, Margaret has been confirmed as another playable character for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Players of Persona 4 will remember Margret as the game's Velvet Room resident, who will join her sister, Persona 3's Velvet Room resident Elizabeth in the Persona 4 Arena Ultimax character line-up. Margaret will be available in the game via DLC, though it has not yet been revealed whether she will be free in the first week like the Adachi and Marie DLC.

In the game, Margaret will use the Personas Yoshitsune, Cu Chulainn and Ardha in regular combat and her burst arrack will feature the Persona Lucifer. Here are some photos of Margret in action (courtesy of Famitsu):

Also in recent Persona 4 Arena Ultimax news, the release date for North America has been announced as September 30th. No European date has been announced, meaning that European fans may have to import the game this time around.

(Side note: I will be importing the game from Amazon and trying to get the DLC to work on an Australian Playstation. According to Google, this is possible so if I'm successful, I'll post an article here on how you guys can do it too!)

Finally, here are the latest character trailers from Japan featuring Akihiko, Aegis and Mitsuru.

Pre-order it! (English version released 30th September for PS3 and Xbox 360): Play-Asia, Amazon

Pre-order it from Japan! (Japanese version released 28th August for PS3): Play-Asia

Check out JRPG Jungle's other Persona 4 Arena Ultimax coverage here!

____________________________________________________

Will you be downloading all the DLC characters for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax? 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 with details for consideration!

Digimon All-Star Rumble Coming To The West Soon!

Did you play Digimon Rumble Arena as a kid? If you did, then you understand the intense race to Digivolution first in a battle with friends. If you didn't play Rumble Arena on PSOne, then you can experience what a Digimon battle game has to offer in Digimon All-Star Rumble.

Digimon All-Star Rumble promises to remain true to it's title by featuring an all-star cast of Digimon from different series of the original anime. It also features the all important Digivolution, which allows players to Digivolve their Digimon into a stronger form during battle, giving the Digivolved player a serious edge against competitors.

The game offers battle with up to four players, so if you're a Digimon fan or you're looking to revisit your childhood, this looks like a fun game to play with your friends!

Digimon All-Star Rumble will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 Fall 2014 (aka. soon!).

____________________________________________________

Which Digimon are you looking forward to fighting with? 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!

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Trailer Time! Japanese Marie Trailer + The First English Trailers: Yukari, Junpei and Rise

This week in Atlus's Persona 4 Arena Ultimax trailers, Marie takes the stage in this week's Japanese trailer. We get a look at her attacks and her Persona Kaguya in action below.

(There may be some slight out-of-context spoilers for Marie for any Persona 4 Golden fans who haven't finished the game!)

You may have noticed I specified that this was the Japanese trailer. This is because AtlusUSA posted it's first round of English character trailers for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Complete with English voice acting and translations, here are the trailers for Yukari, Junpei and Rise. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Pre-order Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out Fall 2014): Amazon, Play-Asia

Pre-order the Japanese version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (out August 28th 2014): Play-Asia

See the other trailers on our Persona 4 Arena Ultimax posts: Elizabeth and Teddie, Promo Video, Naoto Shirogane and Kanji Tatsumi, Chie Satonaka and Shadow Labrys, Game Trailer, Yu Narukami and Tohru Adachi, Sho Minazuki, Yukiko Amagi and Yosuke Hanamura, Ken Amada and Koromaru (at the bottom of the linked post), Labrys (at the bottom of the linked post), Junpei Iori and Rise Kujikawa. For some reason I didn't do a post on Yukari's Japanese trailer, so here's her trailer on Youtube.

____________________________________________________

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 Type-0 HD Vs. The Fan Translation - Kotaku Reveals Some Details From Behind The Scenes

It was recently announced by Sky that the Final Fantasy Type-0 fan translation that him and his team had been working on had been removed due to legal threats. Game site Kotaku has published an article that delves much further into the drama behind Final Fantasy Type-0's fan translation and the HD remake.

The article mentions that Square did have an official translation in the works in 2012, however it was never announced and completed due to business decisions surrounding the end of the PSP console. Shortly after, SkyBladeCloud and his team began working on the translation. The translation was scheduled for an August 2014 release, but Sky pushed it forward without notifying his team as after legal conversations with Square Enix, he had a feeling that Square Enix was going to announce their own Final Fantasy Type-0 translation.

I'd really like to applaud Kotaku on this one and urge anyone interested to give it a read. Their article is full of much more detail than I can give and gives some much needed insight on what would usually be swept under the rug. You can read their article on the matter ("Final Fantasy Fan Translation Has Become A Fiasco") here.

Pre-order Final Fantasy Type-0 HD for PS4 and Xbox One: Amazon, Play-Asia

Read more about Final Fantasy Type-0 on JRPG Jungle

__________________________________________________

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 Type-0 English Patch Removed Due To Legal Threats

Fan translation creator Sky created an unofficial fan translation patch for Final Fantasy Type-0 on PSP just before E3. During E3, Square Enix announced that they would be making an official translation and HD version of Final Fantasy Type-0 for PS4 and Xbox One. This announcement was well received, although there was some anger among fans when the game was incorrectly also announced for PS Vita by the Playstation blog.

Adding more drama to the release, Sky has been asked to remove his long worked on translation patch of Final Fantasy Type-0 and any posts about it. Sky said he has received legal threats and will post more detail at a later date.

I think this is a massive bummer. Translations aren't an easy task, especially when you're a fan and not being paid by as company to do it. As I mentioned in my original post about Type-0, I'm sure fans who have been asking for a Western release of the game from Square Enix would have supported the official release anyway.

Source: Sky's RomHacking Nest

Pre-Order Final Fantasy Type-0 HD: Play-Asia, Amazon

Click here to read our other posts on Final Fantasy

________________________________________________________________

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!

Marie Will Be A Playable Character In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Marie in the recent first episode of Persona 4 the Golden Animation

There's a lot to smile about for fans of Persona 4 Golden's character Marie recently. Along with her appearance on Persona 4 the Golden Animation, it has also been announced that Marie will feature in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax as a playable character. Unlike the Adachi DLC, Marie will not come with the game and will instead be released as paid DLC for the game.

Her tagline for the game (as translated by Gematsu) is "Hollow Forest Tsundere Poet".

Marie's fighting style will be using melee attacks and will involve using items from her bag. Her Persona will be Kaguya, which is the Persona you can obtain by maxing out Marie's Social Link in Persona 4 Golden.

A brief look at the new Lobby feature from the game's most recent trailer.

The announcement of Marie also included some details on the lobby feature which was very briefly shown in the recent Persona 4 Arena Ultimax trailer. Lobby is included in the game's online mode and will allow players to battle and chat with other players. It will also allow players to explore some of the game's locations, such as Junes and the school.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is due for release in Fall in the US (region-free this time!) on PS3 and Xbox360. The game will be released in Japan on PS3 August 28th.

Pre-order the English version from the US: Amazon, Play-Asia

Pre-order the Japanese version from Japan: Play-Asia

_____________________________________________________________________

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!