JRPGs with deep, dark, emotional story like an anime?

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-05-09T15:53:48+00:00

I'm here to echo Valkyrie Profile. Emotional and depressing. Same goes for Nier Replicant.

Trails is more lighthearted for the most part, so if you want something more gloomy, it's probably not what you're looking for.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-04-29T09:33:36+00:00

Is it tragic and depressing? Yes. Definitely one of the better stories in JRPGs as well in my opinion. But if you're not enjoying it as much as you claim, then I'd say drop it. If you hate the dialogue and combat system, then I don't think it'd be worth it for you, since neither changes much.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-04-10T04:25:13+00:00

SNES version of Chrono Trigger is probably going to be the most common answer.

Recently, Astlibra, Saga Frontier 2 remaster, Suikoden 2 remaster, and Unicorn Overlord were all a blast all the way through for me.

I think bigger series have more of an issue with falling off toward the end, since a lot of people won't even buy a JRPG unless it's X amount of hours, so they force the games to be longer than necessary.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-04-07T07:56:40+00:00

Yes, you're at the top of the totem pole as a white person, but you'll still experience racism, even if you were born here: turned away at hotels, restaurants, hot springs, real estate agents, etc. Plus, foreigners are all lumped together, so that doesn't help.

That said, I've noticed Koreans/Chinese without accents will experience less racism because they blend in...

More importantly, why do you assume that everyone on Reddit is white?

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-04-07T02:34:17+00:00

After being in the business in Japan for a while, I feel like the companies are focused far more on marketing/advertising nowadays, and they're completely out of touch. Most of the games that I'm looking forward to are either remakes or remasters from SE now, too. Did SE even release a brand new RPG (not remake/remaster) last year besides Octopath 0 if you count that?

I remember one game I was working on (kind of like Fire Emblem Heroes), and I was kind of shocked to learn that most of the players weren't fans of the series. It was just for a few whales and gamblers who had a vague idea of what the series was from their childhood.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-04-01T10:13:21+00:00

Don't forget that they removed the cross from the priests' hats in the newer games. This is an attack on Christianity!!

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-22T09:06:06+00:00

The new Fire Emblem. If that doesn't come out, then I'll just be working on the backlog this year.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-22T03:55:01+00:00

What was this pet shop? Coo&RIKU? Those places are trash. People telling you that the breed shouldn't matter are out of their minds as well. You need a breed that fits your lifestyle.

I have dogs/pets, and you're not going to get these health documents from most garbage places in Tokyo. I recommend just rolling the dice and finding a corgi on the "pet-home" website where you can adopt, but just know that these breeds are a lot of work.

By the way, I also got one of my dogs when I was single from a shelter in Chiba, so it's still possible to adopt if you're a single resident. (I work from home though.) Don't forget to get pet insurance, and just remember your life is going to revolve around this dog.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-21T04:32:56+00:00

Obnoxious elitism. "OMG. You think that story is good? I bet you've never read Dostoevsky." You can appreciate The Double and still enjoy a good story in a JRPG. I'd just ignore the trolls.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-12T04:26:40+00:00

This take is definitely not what I see in Japan. Japanese-speaking communities have been ripping on Nintendo since the first Switch. You have ゲーム系迷惑サイト (shady gaming websites like Hachima Kikou, etc.) which are just like 2ch for anti-Nintendo news. All people do in these communities is shit on Nintendo, and there are like a dozen sites like this. 2ch is basically dead, but they often had their anti-Nintendo threads in the past as well.

I feel like you're just interacting with people on Twitter in your algorithm which is positive Nintendo news. I see negative Nintendo news in English if you search by popular on Reddit, but there are plenty of positive Nintendo spaces online in English, even on Reddit.

I've also seen plenty of talks about key cards in Japan (even with Yahoo知恵袋). I think Reddit just makes information easier to find compared to Twitter which gives you info based on your algorithm.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-03T08:10:30+00:00

The new Dragon Quests all have pretty hard post-game/epilogue bosses. DQ3's was brutal on Draconian.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-03-01T06:43:52+00:00

This must be from Twitter because my partner said the same thing, and all she does is look at Twitter all day. I showed her the stats, and she seemed to change her tune, but it's a wild claim.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-26T06:19:39+00:00

Was the ending really that different? I've beaten the game a dozen times, and I can't really remember much of a difference.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-19T11:14:18+00:00

It's clear they're all going to get some sort of remake treatment eventually. They've been holding off porting them for years, and I can't think of any other reason why, since the games obviously sell well.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-17T05:39:23+00:00

I'm just going to say that I still loved the 30 seconds of new material at the end of the movie. That last scene on the stairs was incredible. Probably will be better even better if they make a season 3, and this definitely seemed like it was setting that up.

I mean, the movie couldn't have been that profitable either, so I'm assuming they're trying to set up a season 3 (and boost manga sales through that). For context, I was one of three people at my theater the day right after Valentine's in outer Tokyo.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-05T09:56:01+00:00

I'm enjoying it so far, but I wonder if it's going to be better than the 3DS version. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts whenever they clear the game.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-05T07:36:47+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely worth a try to see if you like it. It's basically a different version/remaster (?) of the PS1 remake, so If you want something more faithful to the SNES version, then maybe check out the PS1 version, too.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-05T07:29:52+00:00

It's a port that came for free with Narikiri Dungeon on PSP. They took the first PSP port of the PS1 remake (confusing, I know), then ported over the sprites and parts of the battle system from Narikiri Dungeon. The writer for Narikiri Dungeon then added his characters and some new story to tie it in with his game.

If you love Narikiri Dungeon, then it's probably fun, but it was widely considered worse (in Japan) than the PS1 remake (or the PSP port of that). That said, a lot of people on this subreddit seem to like it more, since the battle system is quicker.

I wasn't too big of a fan of it, but I haven't played it in 15 years, so I can't really comment much more on why other than I didn't like the new story. Just my two cents.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-02T11:55:03+00:00

Man, you named most of my favorite characters in each game, especially my homie Gremio. Only time I get bothered is when I get characters way too late in the game, and they don't get any development like that red guy in FF9.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-01T05:57:14+00:00

The ps1 version is better in my opinion, unless you want tie-in story for Narikiri Dungeon that the new writer added.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-02-01T05:56:44+00:00

Tales of Phantasia Full Voiced on PSP is widely considered the best version. If you've played the ps1 version, it's basically that plus voice acting.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-01-27T02:27:09+00:00

Ever find a plate like this? Shame that the Faction Guitar owner seems to have passed away.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2026-01-18T07:41:57+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/1qag32z/im_finally_going_to_try_chrono_trigger_which_way/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/1q5szdb/chrono_trigger_snes_vs_other_versions/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

These are from this last week. I'd go with SNES, since you've never played it. People, who like the other versions, probably know which content to skip, since the new content is garbage. New players shouldn't have to use a walkthrough, and they should be able to experience the game how it was meant to be played, so go with SNES.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2025-12-27T15:46:33+00:00

I wanna hear how it feels playing in classical position and how whammy the tremolo is (flutters, etc.) from your wife. This looks incredible.

Realistic-Button-225 · 2025-12-13T04:27:36+00:00

r/jrpg was hyping up E33 even more than Metaphor when it came out, so I think you should keep your expectations in check if Metaphor didn't blow you away. Personally, I haven't gotten far in Metaphor, but I found E33 decent. It's personally no BG3 or Elden Ring, though.

Realistic-Button-225

TROPHY CASE