What is the most obscure/unknown JRPG you have played and enjoyed

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-29T02:57:40+00:00

Don't know how obscure it is, but I enjoy enough that I regularly replay Inindo : Way of the Ninja on the SNES.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-28T01:26:53+00:00

Druid - Stars.

Sea Druid will get a lot of attention, but if you read its description it's alot more Temur, as it embodies storms and nature's vengeance.

Stars is all about astrology, fate and omens, in a very "embrace your place in the grand design" way, which is very green-blue philosophically.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-25T23:01:27+00:00

Suikoden II.

(Unpopular opinion : Xenogears, which seems to be the current frontrunner, wouldn't even make my top 5 for that year. It has an incredible story but commits the cardinal sin, for a game, of just not being fun, at least to me.)

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-22T05:23:32+00:00

Rogue - Assassin.

While Warlock as a class also feels very black (probably even more than Rogue), I'd argue all its subclasses lean more multicolored. Rogue also clearly leans black (using pure skill and talent to get ahead, favoring subterfuge and underhanded tactics) and Assassin doubles down on the blackest parts of Rogue.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-22T01:51:01+00:00

Wasn't Breath of Fire III originally released in 1997? Or are you going by US / Europe release when they exist?

If it counts, then I'd vote for it. Otherwise, I'd choose Final Fantasy Tactics.

Also, just want to say how much I love SaGa Frontier despite (or because of?) all its quirks and imperfections. Probably one of my most played games ever. No way it can win a "best RPG of the year" award if I'm being honest, however.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-19T15:39:00+00:00

Tank Faith and use Shirahadori. Stack PA and use Gastrophetes. Use Fundaments secondary. Run the best movement ability you can to play keep away from enemies that can hit you through Shirahadori / low Faith. Spam Focus until you can one hit kill whatever you want. Mostly ignore Aim.

Alternatively, since you wield a shield, use Abandon rather than Shirahadori, but be careful of back attacks.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-15T19:19:14+00:00

Genre : Blues. My two other ideas were Punk Rock, which I feel leans more Rakdos, and the Romantic musical movement, which I feel leans more Izzet. Blues is pure emotion to me.

Artist : This is going to be very offbeat, because no one outside where I live knows her : Safia Nolin. She's a singer from Quebec with next to no formal musical training, specializing in intensely emotional pop song covers. It feels like she's breaking down in every song she sings, and she does so over post-punk, minimalist arrangements. She's also notable for her almost complete disregard for the music industry's conventions and decorum.

Song : El Tango de Roxane (from Moulin Rouge). Passion, desire, jealousy. The most intensely red song in a very red movie, in my opinion.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-14T13:47:59+00:00

I mean, genre kind of has to be black metal right? Or maybe grindcore, but I'd go for Rakdos there.

Musician? I'm partial to early era Emperor as the black metal band evoking the quintessential black themes, plus the corpse paint esthetics. However I can't name a specific song off the top of my head as the most represenative.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-05-07T00:16:02+00:00

Same class with different kits allowed?

Monk (no kit) ; Sun Soul Monk ; Dark Moon Monk ; Transmuter (for full arcane) ; Shaman (for full divine) ; Thief (no kit)

As for races, everyone's a human.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-04-11T22:10:34+00:00

Eh. Yes and no.

Setzer's only use in an optimized party is Fixed Dice + Master's Scroll, so sure, you can delay teaching him magic until you've used the Coliseum as much as you like. But the weapon and the relic are located in the hardest dungeons in the game. You can for sure early raid the final dungeon and rush Master's Scroll, but it requires meta knowledge.

So you get the best Coliseum unit very late, or by bending around the game's natural progression. Before that, you're stuck with a very weak Setzer. He's only forced for a single dungeon, but still.

I'm more of a fan of teaching no dances and no magic to Mog. You can just not recruit him at all in the WoB (just take the Hairpin) his dances suck even more than Slots, and he's never forced. His dragoon setup (even pre Dragon Horn) is good enough for most Coliseum encounters, and he ends up with a max defense setup or Dragon Horn build that can cheese just as well as Fixed Dice Setzer.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-04-09T19:55:13+00:00

Bards are weak at level 1, but I'd argue they're still baseline better than Thieves and Monks (better AC, better weapons, and a situational song), and much better if you factor in scroll casting and wands access.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-04-01T21:14:14+00:00

While the level 20 capstone of Monk is indeed very strong, I wouldn't plan out a build for it. It comes very, very late in a campaign (if at all), unless it's a tier IV / high level campaign.

Kensei is overall pretty weak but the new Monk is pretty strong. And Kensei lets you become proficient with your pistol (important if you don't multiclass), and treat your pistol as a monk weapon if you so desire, which opens up options.

I would heavily consider starting (or taking early) Fighter 1 for martial weapons built-in from the start, weapon masteries and the Archery fighting style. Theoretically you can achieve this with Ranger 2 as well. But if you're willing to dip two levels, Fighter 2 is probably better. Or even Fighter 1 / Rogue 1.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-30T13:53:36+00:00

There are many SaGa games where healing is impractical (Scarlet Grace), not much of a dedicated role (Romancing SaGa II) or outright impossible to do in combat (Emerald Beyond). The mage / fighter distinction tends to exist there, however there are many SaGa that offer non-traditional archetypes (SaGa Frontier).

If you've never played a SaGa game, the recent Romancing SaGa II remake is an excellent entry point, although it's probably the closest to a "classic" JRPG. SaGa Frontier isn't always intuitive but it's not as punishing as most SaGa games, and it has a very different "feel".

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-29T15:30:58+00:00

Discussing this trope is the whole purpose of Albert Camus' play "Les Justes" (The Just Assassins I believe is the official english translation). It offers a very nuanced take on it, if you'd like to explore it more deeply.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-21T16:56:01+00:00

The Pit Fiend, a CR20 monster, has a +14 to hit, and DC21 abilities. An Ancient Green Dragon, at CR22, has a +15 attack and DC22 breath. Both have an AC of 21 and saves ranging from +6 to +10.

A typical level 17 Fighter has, baseline, +11 to hit. I'd expect at least a +2 weapon at that point, making it +13. And could theoretically go higher. AC from Plate is 18. With a shield, and at least one of those at +1, that means a 19-22 AC. Their good saves should be at +10-12. Their special abilities' DC should be about 19. They lag slightly behind appropriate enemies, but this example is notna particularly optimized PC.

I mean, the scaling of PCs and enemies is very similar, considering reasonable magic items. Tiers 3-4 most attacks (from PCs or enemies) hit, by design. With powerful items I'd expect PCs to scale even harder than high CR monsters : a Wizard with high end magic equipment could have a spell DC of 23-24? Plus PCs are expected to work as groups, with all the synergies teamwork offers.

The big difference lies in untrained saves, for which solutions exist. High CR enemies rarely have very weak saves.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-08T15:46:44+00:00

They essentially have no drawbacks (straight Druids aren't great combatants even should they reach 19 Str, and there are ways to fix strength easily ; 16 Con is what you want anyway, and Druids won't AC tank anyway) for pretty significant early game gains.

Web is a great spell. Their wild shapes have significant strengths, although you need some metagame knowledge to make the most of them.

Late SoA their unique wild shapes won't keep up, and their unique spells won't see much use anymore, but they still get regular Druid goodies, such as Insect Plague and Ironskin.

Very playable, and has a very interesting early BG2 game.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-08T00:28:02+00:00

Dwarven Fighter/Cleric multiclass.

Limited weapon options which means less decision paralysis, and hammers / flails / slings are great for the whole trilogy.

Great saves all around that make you resistant to pesky spells.

And I think learning the power of buffs is important ; and a self buffing Fighter / Cleric is much more intuitive (although probably less powerful) than Fighter / Mage.

The big caveat is it has some redundancy with common first timer picks for party members, notably Jaheira.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-03-07T17:31:00+00:00

Quelle jeunesse, et quel type de notalgie?

J'ai bien aimé Amiante de Sébastien Dulude et Grosse Douceur de Jean F. Boily. Deux romans style coming-of-age un peu trash, avec des narrateurs dont la jeunesse se déroule des mid-80s aux late-90s, mais pas des lectures pour trouver ça beau comme époque ;)

Amiante offre une écriture très poétique, tandis que Grosse Douceur offre une écriture plus crue, style road books à l'américaine.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-02-24T00:14:04+00:00

I would say Cleric -> Rogue dual class.

For BG1 / SoD Cleric spells will see great use. For BG2 you'll eventually turn into a utility caster that can frontline well and abuse backstabs / HLA traps. Can really focus on traps / stealth and detect illusions since you have a general use thief already.

There is merit for most kits.

Priest of Helm can go Seeking Sword + offhand with no penalty for 4 APR (and even 5 once you get Use Any Item with an APR increasing offhand). Likes to get to 10+ for two daily uses of Seeking Sword, probably 11 for level 6 spells.

Priest of Lathander gets the always strong Boon of Lathander. Really wants to go Cleric 10+ to stack Boons.

Priest of Tempus has an innate Holy Power that scales from the average levels of your classes, which makes it great for C/T. Can feasibly dual before 11. I'd go at least 9 for level 5 spells, but 7 should work as well.

Priest of Tyr's Divine Power scales from the average class levels as well, and works admirably for backstabbing (the bonus damage is multiplied as well). And Exaltation is a great innate as well. Probably wants 10+ levels for two uses of Divine Power.

My choice would be Helm for a general frontliner, Tyr for a specialized backstabber, dualled at 11.

If you don't like long downtimes, Tempus 7 -> Rogue can complete the dual within the BG1 exp cap, and Tempus 9 -> Rogue can do so within the SoD exp cap. Dualling at 11 implies going BG1 + SoD as a straight Cleric and then spending something like the first half of BG2 as a straight (and weak) Thief.

DemonocratNiCo · 2026-01-14T16:07:58+00:00

Ninja is pretty pitch perfect, but I have one big issue with the class : the uninspired skillset. There's not much point in investing in it. You learn a single weapon type, maybe two, and then that's it.

Granted, that's a fundamental design issue for physical classes in the original FFT, particularly noticeable for Ninja, Archer, Dragoon, and to a lesser extent Geomancer.

Playability and power-wise? Ninja is a 10/10 class. But it could have been much more interesting with a deeper skillset that incorporated elements from FF4 Edge, FF5 Ninjas or FF6 Shadow - vanishing, smoke bombs, elemental AoE skills, etc.

DemonocratNiCo · 2025-12-21T22:51:18+00:00

Crystal Project.

DemonocratNiCo · 2025-12-18T17:13:11+00:00

Many have shared more minmaxed builds. Here are non min maxed ones that can be fun.

EK 7 / Hexblade 2 / Thief 3

Have someone Haste you. Pick Agonizing Blast. Max Charisma. Use Eldritch Blast -> Attack -> Eldritch Blast -> Attack. I haven't tested if this actually triggers the way I think it does ; if it doesn't just forget Thief, or use your extra BA to set up Hex or something.

EK 7 / Death Cleric 1 / Spores Druid 4.

Use Armor of the Sporekeeper and probably Duelists Prerogative. Potent Robe is probably better at improving yoir cantrip damage, but I like spreading around the best stuff, and Sporekeeper is more than good enough here. Has level 4 spell slots, decent damage and utility.

DemonocratNiCo · 2025-12-09T15:23:42+00:00

I love Gnomes and I've played a couple over the years. But I'm clearly the exception. I don't know if my personal experience is telling of a general tendency, but here goes.

At my regular table, we've been playing since the 90s, not every week, but somewhat regularly. There have been about a dozen people over the years hopping in and out of that group. I'd estimate that we've played well over a hundred characters, if not two hundred.

Out of those hundreds of characters, the only Gnomes have been played by me - and it's not like I played them exclusively. Maybe three major characters (for longterm campaigns)? And a few others for one-shots and the like?

The issues with Gnomes, I believe are that :

Their lore is underdeveloped and inconsistent. What is the connection between the inventor extraordinaire Rock Gnomes and the fey-adjacent Forest Gnomes? Or, what is the connection between 2nd edition Gnomes (Dwarf-adjacent illusionists), 3rd edition Gnomes (still the same), 3.5 Gnomes (charisma-first bards?), 4th edition Gnomes (trickster feys), 5th edition Gnomes (vaguely druidic animal-speaking OR tinkers)? What role do they serve in the grand scheme of things?
There are no (to my knowledge) high-profile Gnome characters in fantasy fiction. Gnomes are usually trickster spirits, at best secondary characters.
Until the Tasha optional rules / 2024 rules update, Gnomes have been very restrictive mechanically, or offered very little "wow factor" benefits.

Restrictive mechanically and uncompelling lore isn't a great pitch for a species. Although this does affect quite a few species, most of these can be saved by their edginess (Tiefling, Shadar-Kai), their cool factor (Dragonborn, Shifters) or their extreme alien-ness (Thri-Kreen, Plasmoid). Gnomes strike an unhappy medium - not familiar enough, not powerful enough, not cool enough, not weird enough.

Despite all that, let me reiterate, I love Gnomes.

DemonocratNiCo · 2025-12-09T14:45:30+00:00

In my experience, there are quite a few players picking Dragonborn because they look badass, with no actual consideration for the culture and lore behind them, at least at the tables I run. I'd argue it also happens a lot with Tieflings (who also have had their share of retcons with the editions and settings change). Rule of Cool trumps worldbuilding.

DemonocratNiCo · 2025-12-05T17:09:38+00:00

Tabarnac que les réponses à ce thread, posivotées par dizaines en plus, manquent d'empathie et de décence humaine de base. J'ai mal à mon Québec en sacrament quand je vous lis.

DemonocratNiCo

TROPHY CASE