Title says it. Every time I've seen videos of JRPGs, they always look railroady or that you spam the same "Attack" button or one spell over & over. They also seem grindy too & I have yet to see one that isn't turn based. Many lack customization in builds. Whats the best entry-point into JPRGs?
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lunar silver star story/lunar 2 eternal blue
chrono trigger
chained echoes
breath of fire 4
final fantasy 9
(mostly going off of the least grindy aspect you mentioned)
FF7 (no, the remake doesn't count)
FF6
FF5
FF Tactics
Chrono Trigger
Give those a look. I'd constrain your search to between the years of FF4 to FF10.
dunno if I'd consider tactics entry-level though. even if it was it's much more in depth/different than your standard jrpg fare. also, I forgot a few other mentions for OP
>legend of dragoon
>xenogears
>dragon quest 8 or 11
OP asked for entry points, not "scare me the frick away from the genre in 1 game"
I've played half of these and tactics is an rpg like xcom is, but none are rpgs
Liar.
There are no jrpgs that are relatively nonlinear, not grindy, not turn-based, and have customization with appreciable depth. There might be a few that tick a couple of those boxes.
Legend of Mana
I played it for an hour so I can confirm everything except the last point.
There are no crpgs like that either
They're all trash. TJD.
SaGa
Metal Max
Uncharted Waters
Lunatic Dawn
It depends on what games u like but I have some suggestions.
Dragon quest 11 - tons of qol, grinding optional, auto battle, fun story. Dragon quest 11 simply IS a jrpg. If you want to experience all the tropes and systems the japs love it's all there.
Ni no Kuni - real time battles but it's pokemon ish and has good story + graphics.
Ff12 is a unique and fun game worth a try, probably the best fit for you. Ff12 zodiac edition let's you dual class each character with 12 total classes. Tons of combinations and items to optimize. No other jrpg has this.
If you want build customization you aren't going to get it from jrpg. Everything is doled out on a schedule and you follow a pretty planned route for everything from main story to endgame bosses including skills / gear/ level / money / items.Try a d&d crpg if u want that.
Romancing Saga 2 and 3
Lufia 2
Super Mario RPG
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 6
yeah these all have the "issues" that you speak of, but that seems more like a personal preference thing rather than a problem with the games.
Romancing Saga 2
>OP asks for jarpigs that aren't movie games with no difficulty or character building
>nearly everyone recommends a bunch of movie games with no difficulty or character building
Etrian Odyssey because it's likely the type of grognard that thinks JRPGs aren't RPGs has played Wizardry at some point in their life.
III > IV > V > II > I
>You fundamentally don't understand what the OP is looking for.
No, I understand just fine. OP is simply wrong however.
bloodborne
knights in the nightmare
shiren the wanderer
ys origin
castlevania aria of sorrow
valkyria chronicles
JRPGs aren't RPGs. That's why JRPGs can be good
Xanadu Next
Tales of Symphonia, the Abyss, Vesperia, Berseria. Maybe Arise but I haven't personally played it.
Star Ocean 2 (remake soon)
Final Fantasy Type 0
Dragon's Dogma
Souls series from Fromsoft are Role Playing Games made in Japan, thus they are JRPGs, so stuff like Bloodborne, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 1-3, Elden Ring.
Mana Series, especially Secret of (Mana), Legend of, and Trials of.
Steambot Chronicles.
Dark Cloud (I prefer Dark Cloud 2)
Stranger Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins
Shit man that's all I can think of off the top of my head, others in this thread have had good recommendations too. Metal Max is tight. Dungeon Crawlers are ok, like Shiren or Izuna. My true statement over Soulsborne games will make people flip their shit but don't listen to them, if they disagree with me they're liars. Most JRPGs are movie games with four homies standing in a row taking turns to smack enemies with a linear plot and simple gameplay, and the only ones that even do that good are Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII (7 if you can't read Roman Numerals) and maybe Final Fantasy X (10).
And, hey, maybe JRPGs aren't for you, that's cool too, don't get FOMO for a genre of games, dude. It's not worth it. Enjoy your western games and just be happy, no biggie. It's your life man, don't let Ganker tell you how to live it.
Oh yeah, I forgot two games: The remake of Final Fantasy 7, while linear and a movie game is not just four homies standing in a row. It has action combat mechanics.
And another that bears the question: what is an RPG? A game that tells a story, and which you increase your stats. These increases can be the form of visible numbers, or represented by icons like bars. You could also upgrade your equipment, and your characters abilities advance over time. Therefore, in my personal opinion, two RPGs that you should check out are The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom.
Oh, frick, also Parasite Eve games, Vagrant Story, and Resonance of Fate. Actually, a shitload of TriAce games are good recommendations: Radiata Stories, the aforementioned Star Ocean. If you have a high tolerance for Japanese Bullshit™ then they're all worth looking into, not just 2. Infinite Undiscovery. One game that I've only seen on this board, like, twice is Rogue Galaxy. It's absolutely FANTASTIC, and, I think, exactly what you're looking for. Someone also recommended Ni no Kuni and I back that. Also check out Digimon World: Next Order.
Now that I really think about it the games you're looking for will be from the PS1 and PS2 era because that's when JRPGs really began to experiment with the formula. The hardware was better so the games could expand beyond Wizardry like games and come into their own. The only reason that they still resemble their NES/SNES era (and even then in that era they were pushing limits) is because that's what sold. Everyone knows that a Jarpig is three/four homies standing in a row taking turns wackin enemies because that's what Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Phantasy Star is. But people who actually look will know that JRPGs are actually as varied as WRPGs. Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, Secret of Mana, Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Kings Field, Phantasy Star Online, Rogue Galaxy, Radiata Stores, Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2), Dragon's Dogma, Dark Souls, Elden Ring, all of these ARE JRPGs. The genre isn't defined by its two biggest names, no, in fact I think it's stifled by them.There're tons of games I'm forgetting because nobody remembers them. They've gone by the wayside in favor of FF and DQ. Those two series have done irreparable damage to the way people see JRPGs as a whole; and now that I think about it it kind of pisses me off. I honestly hope that some of these games that I have listed, and that other people have listed are to your liking. They were to mine when I first got them.
How in this long-ass diatribe did I forget Nier and Nier: Automata? Play those too. And speaking of robots, Custom Robo for the GCN. And the Ys (pronounced as if you were referring to multiple Kayne Wests: Yees) games, I can personally attest to Ys VI, though they're all pretty good. I guess that wraps it up unless you want me to count stuff like Dragon's Crown, Oden Sphere, and other more action oriented games like Monster Hunter. Oh, also, I think everyone has been dancing around Kingdom Hearts because it kinda sucks but it fits the bill. This is the last I'll respond to this thread unless I forget something extremely important, like a half remembered game from my childhood, but I think I already mentioned Steambot Chronicles.
GTFO Ganker, homosexual.