Despite the ludicrously steep learning curve (it's easy to get annihilated if you're not careful – so save often!) it's an interesting approach to battling, and there's as much fun to be had tinkering with your unions to maximize their potential as there is taking to the battlefield. A word of warning though, this isn't an RPG for everyone, as it was intended to be. It's often brutally tough, inaccessible and a massive grind. But, if you have the patience, at a whopping 80 hours of play, you'll find plenty to enjoy!
You'll love:
* Original and brilliantly tactical battles
* Streamlined traditional RPG elements
* A massive amount to it
You'll hate:
* Not Square-Enix's best-looking game
* Not really user-friendly
* Some bits are rock hard
Many overlooked RPGs lie dormant in the catalogues of gaming, but players can pick up their swords and shields with these amazing JRPG hidden gems!
Game Rant - "From Star Ocean to Final Fantasy, there have been a number of JRPG's that have been unfairly undervalued by their Metascores. Here are 10 examples."
While I agree that the combat in Star Ocean 5's combat is pretty fun, saying that its story is more enjoyable than its predecessors is highly debatable. Also, it's not just the technical issues the game suffers from.
Completely disagree the games I played from the list all deserve their scores (Star Ocean, Nier, Tales of Zesteria, Type-0). While there are certainly people that love these games, they have flaws in many categories, that justify those scores.
Star Ocean especially bored the hell out of me. Lame story and face roll battle system (I finished the game anyway). These games are really niche and when rated by a broader public, fall short. In my opinion even in their own genre.
I personally have not played any game below 80 and thought wow this should have been 80-90 game. The only game I thought should have been 90 was Shadow Hearts II: Covenant. I am pretty sure there will be some games but average score usually is pretty good indication.
do you recommend any JRPG which you think were good/amazing but it didn't score well? I just purchased Tokyo xanadu but it seems way too slow like trails game but trail at least has good story. I will give it a shot
I think there were quite a few JRPG games that got hit with lower meta scores last gen when all these reviewers were on their anti-anime tropes kick. Not that they should get up there into the high 80s or 90s, but they weren't 60-70 games either.
That's mostly died off this gen, thankfully
I think Ni No Kuni 2 combat is pretty generic but if you add all DLCs then its combat is pretty awesome. I purchased the complete edition so I can say DLC changes the combat completely
Useless to argument troll, but e.g. Eat Lead is hilarious and extremely funny, yet mediocre on metastupids.... Lords of the Fallen, Strange brigade... I could name hundreds
In this episode, we explore The History of The Last Remnant. A game the recently received a remastered release and had an interesting development cycle.
It's a good game, but the story is only okay. The gameplay is where the game really shines, but the game itself does an atrocious job of explaining it's own systems. Basically, you need to read a "what I wish I knew before I started" somewhere online, and then the game becomes great.
Fun game, sure. If you can put up with the absurd amount of loading screens, screen tearing, texture pop-in and molasses-like slowdown.
I'm too lazy to parrot off what I've already said about the game, so here's a blurb from my last post on "The Last Remnant".
"Honestly speaking, it's not a bad game, but it's not a good one either.
It is technologically flawed. You can argue however you like, but the slowdown (even AFTER a HD install) is really unacceptable. Like a slideshow in places.
The loading screens that occur between EVERYTHING except opening the menu - in-between the various cutscenes, when the camera/ environment changes - are really irritating. What's worse, is they opted for an actual screen that says "Loading" and supplies some random game tip - i.e. "Press "A" when whatever...". It breaks the immersion, especially when it occurs in the middle of a story moment. They could have just opted for a fade to black, cue new scene, which would have been much less jarring.
The texture pop-up is also ridiculous. Example, I select my character's actions, the battle begins to play out. As the camera zooms in on Rush (the lead character) while he is hitting the boss, the boss is gone, replaced by some shapeless lizard shaped slug. Oh, wait, then his scales, and then eyes pop onto the model. No word of a lie, the pop in is THAT bad and this is something that actually happened in the first 15 minutes of the game.
The story is quite fresh, vivid and engaging. It is a shame that the game is so crippled. Clearly they released it in a hurry. Little to no optimization was done. This is evident, as the game was made with the Unreal Engine 3, something that MS' box handles very well.
If the PS3 version has enhanced graphics and features when it comes out, I'll probably trade up. Did the same with Eternal Sonata.
If you're craving a JRPG, then give it a try. But if other games are taking your fancy right now, wait for a more polished version."
Still holds true today, even as I've re-shelved the game for a bit and moved onto more interesting, less frustrating titles. What saddens me about this game, is that with a little more time in the oven, it really could have been a fresh new IP. As it stands it feels hurried, awkwardly paced, and poorly coded and is a bit of a mess. A fun mess, if fantasy JRPGs are your thing, but still a mess.
Cheers,
- C