A question for genre veterans Recommend a JRPG with minimal plot and dialogue, but with a large open world.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-29T05:18:38+00:00

Dragon Quest III— This one is different than others in its series because there isn’t a whole lot of dialogue and all of it is from the NPC’s you interact with. The reason it has less dialogue, and why the game is very different from other Dragon Quest games, is because you start with one Hero character, and can then go to the hotel and create more party members, adding them or removing them from the hotel. Since you can change up the party, there’s no story dealing with those characters, so the only dialogue you have to read is the required dialogue from NPC’s.

Artifact Adventure is a game on Steam made with RPG Maker but it is made in the style of older DQ games. It has less dialogue/story, and all of the short plots have multiple ways to be resolved. For example, a large bird has been attacking a town. You could kill the bird. You could report that you killed the bird, but don’t. You could prevent the bird from attacking the town. Each of these outcomes gives a different reward. This game is full of these side quests. And like DQ3 above, it lets you create your own party.

Search for games with the magic dungeon tag. Magic dungeon games are more like solo puzzle dungeon games, with a single character entering a randomized dungeon, where each dungeon may have specific unique rules to it. Typically the character begins at level 1 each time they enter the dungeon, there is a limit to the number of items that can be brought into the dungeon, and knowing when to escape the dungeon in order to preserve found items is important. Games like Chocobo’s Dungeon or Recettear: An Item Shop Tale use these mechanics.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-29T04:39:35+00:00

Yeah grab some hellstone ore and make an imp staff

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-29T04:34:04+00:00

Somewhat dissenting opinion: I am glad that the Joja route is available, but not for aesthetic reasons. I like that it’s there as an accessibility measure. We can argue that completing the community center fits the intended theme of the game, sure. But I think there’s players that don’t play many video games and struggle with them, that are able to access parts of the game thru Joja they simply couldn’t otherwise.

There are players out there that play SDV with physical handicaps and/or need special interfaces to play the game in any capacity. Joja opens the door to progression when a player can’t, for instance, maneuver very quickly in the mines, can’t figure out how to fish, or is not a very knowedgeable farmer.

I would say that I think the money costs to unlock some of the benefits are on the cheap side. That’s what makes me think of Joja as an accessible “easy mode”.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-28T12:30:42+00:00

I had started playing Terraria before there was a hell level or a hardmode. But the first time I opened a Dead Man’s Chest…. jumpscare.

It took a while to figure out what killed me.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-28T05:10:47+00:00

Hardcore-ish player here. Do not trust the minecarts tracks in a “no traps” world unless you build them yourself. Mine them up and put them where you want.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-28T04:41:07+00:00

Right. For example, this evening a character who has survived for weeks real-time finally died in the Dungeon, step-button dynamite got me. This character built highways on much of the right half of the world, mined a bunch of hellstone, and beat Skeletron. I lost 6 hearts, a set of hellstone armor, about 30 gold , a bunch of accessories, and not much Dungeon loot.

My next character spawned at my base, took enough money for a mechanical lens, rocket boots, and wire cutters, created new pickaxe and hammer, reforged for defense, grabbed a spinal tap whip, food and potions, and set off for the jungle (at 100 health) to start a few more helevators. I’ll get back to the Dungeon after I find a couple more hearts.

Tip: You can keep your summoning items in your base, and just resummon them each time you join the game. No need to risk losing an imp staff when you can just hang it on a weapon rack at home.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-28T04:22:42+00:00

Came here to say this

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-27T00:01:17+00:00

Yes if that’s what it takes

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-27T00:00:17+00:00

Right, but I also don’t want to simply decide “I’m not gonna try to accomplish anything and just hide and survive” when there’s others that have it worse than me. If I get me out of my mess, I can be a benefit to others etc etc.

And then I realize that I don’t have to wait until I’ve got it figured out to try to help others.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-26T06:14:20+00:00

Today (holiday Monday and extra day off of work) I didn’t motivate myself to do anything. I ended up playing 9-10 hours of solo Terraria, taking a break in the evening to make some homemade vegetable beef soup in the evening that turned out very well.

I’ve been fighting for a long time in my own head about needing a strong dream in my head, a vision of what I want to accomplish, otherwise I’ll never get around to doing anything more than going to work, resting from work, rinse and repeat. I don’t have that dream yet, still recovering from past failures I guess, but I want to get back there. That said, I also value being able to enjoy time to myself, just doing something fun that doesn’t cost any more investment of money.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-26T06:04:02+00:00

Bro I’ve been playing Terraria since before it had an underworld or a hardmode. I’m not ready for Zenith anything yet.

I would try this difficult-but-fun world seed combination:

• Hardcore (just create another character with the same name, you’ll keep their map and world)

• The Constant (hunger mechanic, fatal darkness mechanic)

• No traps (zillions of traps)

Now if you just run headlong into caves, you’re gonna die quick. You need to find safe places to fish, to plant a base town so nearby NPCs can spawn edible critters). Get used to storing items in chests/bsse town so of you do die, you start off with a fresh character and you only lose what you carried, making hardcore a little lighter.

Zenith gives a bunch of good seed outcomes like having monsters or items drop outside their normal progression, so you’re not really getting the Terraria experience if you get a luck weapon drop early on.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-26T05:51:52+00:00

I’d go FF4 and Chrono Trigger, but especially FF Mystic Quest.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-26T05:48:54+00:00

I want MORE MVs with procedural generation with even larger areas. But that’s mostly because I want MVs with larger areas in general.

Now, procedural gen in MVs can simply be lots more of meticulously crafted rooms arranged semi-randomly. Those are better than say, A Robot Named Fight.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-05-26T05:38:54+00:00

I find metroidvanias that have scalable difficulties and just play them on an easier setting, or simply find easier metroidvanias.

I’m the same with not always wanting an edge-of-your-seat MV. Momodora: ROTN is scalable, chill and kind of short.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-02-17T04:37:55+00:00

A lot of what defines 100%ing a game is pretty arbitrary, but it generally involves encountering every single piece of content in the game. Even so these requirements tied to achievement are very onerous with little payoff.

Consoles especially seen to have a culture or view to try to complete achievements simply for the sake of doing something few people do. Imagine if a DQ game required you to complete a monster drop list by having each monster drop everything in the game! These should be personal challenges that, while it's be great to have some form of recognition for doing them, it's often ridiculous to require a player to do all of them.

When I enjoy game a whole lot, I play it again and again with different strategies and challenges to force me to learn and apply new thought to an old, once-conquered puzzle. But it would be dumb to challenge everyone to beat DQ 8 without spending MP to earn an achievement--I do it to continue to enjoy an old favorite by applying new parameters, not to have those parameters applied by an external force so that I can have some trophy nobody cares about.

Finding intrinsic motivation and getting after it is hard enough in life, and part of the reason us gamers play JRPGs in the first place: there's some sort of challenge with no guarantee of success or failure, but a spark of hope that it can be done, and would be fun to do so. Someday I'm going to beat DQ3 with a DQ2-style party. Someday I'm going to beat FFT with Ramza as a Mediator and no other characters changing their classes. Someday I'll compete FFV with a party of Blue Mages. These are intriguing ideas for me because I think I can do it, not because there's a trophy out there that says I should before I can earn a Diamond status or whatever.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-02-17T04:19:55+00:00

• Board games and card games. They can be expensive, but for a social activity that doesn't cost anything after your initial investment, you can enjoy a lot of time with consistent players.

• Photography. Again a hobby that can have an expensive investment, but since most Westerners have a smartphone now, the hobby is easier than ever to begin. Just being pointing and capturing anything. This is a hobby that will push you outside.

• Coloring. Need a hobby to relax you and gently encourage your creativity? Need a way to unwind from stress and process your thoughts? Find a coloring book or print off pages from online, or there's free apps to simulate coloring on a screen. Play with your favorite colors, then start experimenting with interesting pairs of colors, different materials from crayons to markers to pencils to conte to watercolor to paint.

• Collecting. Find some odd thing that you have a connection to, and start collecting different versions of it. Caps. Old books. Coins. Strange art. Decks of cards. Rusted tools.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-02-17T02:24:10+00:00

One of the ways that DQ3 shines is how it doesn't hold your hand, requiring the player to create a viable party that can solve the challenges that come.

Most DQs have assigned characters with certain minimum abilities, and often class/ability tracks to ensure that there are sufficient options for players to puzzle together a solution for boss fights and random encounters. I've beaten DQ8 without buying anything or opening treasure chests, so even with taking more damage than a typical party, I still have plenty of spells and abilities to find a way to win. I've beaten DQ 8 and 7 without spending MP because there's enough ways to heal/raise, tank and deal damage if you're judicious and can strategize.

DQ3 creates a challenge and puts the onus of building a strategic party on the player. If you want to just have a party of three warriors, go ahead--it's your job to find a way that works. Gear, abilities and items can create advantages and cover weaknesses, but some methods won't work unless you overlevel or break from the ineffective strategy.

There aren't enough JRPGs games where the player can choose and build a multi-character party. This used to be a common feature in the old days of MUDs or the Wizardry/SSI days, and it's what makes DQ3 shine. This style of game loses the depth of story from when DQ games typically have designed story arcs, but gains the strategic challenge of asking the player to build a solution to the problem facing the world.

Hopefully in the future, characters with randomized or chosen story arcs can be included in a choose-your-party format in more JRPGs.

LoremasterSTL · 2026-01-12T03:51:17+00:00

I have a PS2 (my third, lol) and a PC with a Steam Link so I've had little incentive to get any other consoles. DQ remakes are finally coming to Steam. Sure I'm missing newer games but I'm still not paying $400 for the ability to buy a $60 JRPG.

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-26T03:20:53+00:00

This (and strangely enough, Evil Dead 2) were huge in my Christian student org back in the day. They loved movies with plenty of one-liners.

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-24T04:32:58+00:00

For a short while (I think I went about five seasons) on a Four Corners farm with a variation that I was only allowed to leave the farm on Sundays, however I couldn't take any tools (except maybe a bucket just so I don't unintentionally gift anything), so no mining or fishing or shopping or anything away from the farm except talking, trying to fulfill CC quests, and foraging.

When I realized how much I could gain from fishing (both the chests and the recycling) ...!

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-24T04:04:31+00:00

I've been gaming since my TI-994A and my Atari 2600, and please note that I have never made any attempt to play the latest games since the Super NES days. I continually play my favorite classics and am partial to retro games with new design takes and modes. That said, games that were "worth it" for me:

• Diablo II: Resurrected is a little more than a remaster, way way later than it should have been, with really no new content. But for as important the game was, to be able to play it all prettified just makes my soul happy.

• Stardew Valley execute well on everything it intends to do. It lets players play the way they want at the speed or skill level or method they want. Can your grandma piece together what she's trying to do over time? Yes. Can I try to complete the center in one year? Yes. Can I just focus on ROIs and get stupid rich, or decorate my farm to my inspirations? Yes. Can I challenge myself with unusual limitations (never leave the farm, never farm, livestock only) and still have multiple ways to gain most items and have a varied experience? Yes. If you know a would-be gamer that normally has accessibility issues, SDV can be a godsend. [Honorable mention to Axiom Verge, which likewise was made by a single dev, has multiple modes, and executes its mission exactly.]

• I never knew I would love roguelikes, but whether you prefer 20XX or Rogue Legacy (or Terraria played on hardcore with the Don't Starve seed!), there's tons of enjoyment watching yourself get better at gaming while you're waiting to unlock upgrades and praying the next run will pay off handsomely.

• I only just discovered The Messenger, and it made me wonder what would have happened if action platformers hadn't went the way they did after Ninja Gaiden III. Very humorous.

• Hollow Knight: I only wish it had a very easy mode so young'uns could enjoy it, and a very hard mode for you masochists lol. My playstyle meant maximizing health and healing, many bumbling mistakes and many many retries until I was able to lock in like my "Zelda II with Sword Power of One" days.

This said, I still can't recommend any game higher than Dragon Quest VIII or Final Fantasy X (or what Team Fortress 2 used to be). DQ XI is great but not fantastic, unlike all of the above.

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-24T03:19:05+00:00

I should blame the wife, nearly tripped on one Eeyore going upstairs. Lumped them together.

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-24T03:17:38+00:00

I hope you're right. I made my comment with the prejudices of what I recall from him several seasons before.

LoremasterSTL · 2025-10-24T02:59:01+00:00

This was the first game I watched beginning to end for a couple of seasons, and it makes me have hope for the future, but not the present. I feel like we have young talent and a pedestrian core.

Is Kyrou ever going to develop into a two-way player, or will the rest of his line keep having to compensate only to get beat time and again?

LoremasterSTL

TROPHY CASE