When Atsushi Hashimoto was a kid, he loved role-playing games. He’d settle in front of the television for hours, controller in hand, lost in quests full of magical spells and powerful evils. He was particularly enamored with the works of Squaresoft, now known as Square Enix, the developer behind 16-bit classics like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. As he grew older, classic-style Japanese RPGs largely went out of fashion, replaced by a combination of big-budget action games and smaller mobile titles. But Hashimoto never forgot about the games that helped define his relationship with the medium. In 2014 he had the chance to bring them back as the director at Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory studio.
Last year, under Hashimoto’s guidance, the studio released I Am Setsuna, a game that was designed explicitly to evoke the same kinds of feelings Hashimoto had had playing RPGs as a child. It featured a sorrowful story, memorable characters, and an acclaimed soundtrack. And its success resulted in a follow-up, Lost Sphear, which launches early next year
From Xfire: "The golden era of JRPGs has long since passed, with more traditional RPGs having planted themselves firmly under the spotlight for the better part of the past two decades. However, while there's not been as many JRPG games released in recent years, there's still enough of them being released that results in certain titles slipping under the proverbial radar."
Highly recommended if you like FF Tactics. I believe it was Colin Moriarty's (Last Stand Media) GOTY last year.
Most of these are the weak story jrpgs which is why its an easy pass for myself. I don't have love to turn based or tactics battles systems but I enjoy the other aspects of jrpgs. The most important aspect to me is the story. I have put up with playing horrible battle systems and mini games that should never exist to enjoy the lengthy and amazing stories these games have. For some reason around the PS3 days they seemed to think, who cares about story just worry about battle system and crafting. So if those are the things you're looking for then this list is for you.
I’ve been trying to get back into playing JRPGs lately. With the recent release of Persona 5 Strikers, I finally decided to start playing Royal. I don’t know if I can make the time for just any JRPG though, and Persona games are always an experience and a half.
I Am Setsuna came out in 2016 but does Tokyo RPG Factory's debut still scratch that 90s nostalgic itch? Jump Dash Roll lines has ATB in its sights for today's Brutal Backlog.
There are certain smaller studios out there making Japanese games that are gradually growing in notoriety. One of them is Tokyo RPG Factory, a developer that most people probably know as the one that is owned by Square Enix. (Other acceptable answers include “the one that makes sad games” or “the one where all the games look a lot alike.” It’s been five years since its founding in 2014, and the company has kept on trucking. In fact, it has a new game coming out this year! Which means now is the perfect time to figure out more about it and why you may want to take an interest in the team’s games.
