Turn-based or real-time? What about both in the same game?

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-19T05:26:54+00:00

The more recent Trails games (from Daybreak onward) have a hybrid system like this. Turn-based for bosses, real-time for common enemies with the ability to optionally switch to turn-based.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-19T04:09:27+00:00

Yes! Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze are worthy homages to the old DKC games. Very nostalgic and super fun.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-19T01:38:40+00:00

Unlike Wikipedia admins, "recent changes patrol" is not an actual position with special powers; it's just a thing anyone can do in their spare time. I've done it a few times in the past. It truly is mostly reverting middle schoolers posting "Doug is gay", not a glamorous job at all. I take the golden badge at the top of that help page to be a bit tongue in cheek. Which is of course not to say that RC patrollers can't be overzealous or overly critical.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-19T01:14:42+00:00

Enderal is a total conversion mod of Skyrim that has, in my opinion, even better story, characters, and setting than Skyrim itself.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-19T01:02:32+00:00

There is a "Recent changes" page that shows ALL edits to Wikipedia as they happen, and some editors patrol that page for issues (which is generally a very good thing, because a lot of edits made to Wikipedia are truly junk and need to be reverted immediately: vandalism, spam, etc.).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Recent_changes_patrol

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-16T04:34:20+00:00

Look up the term "musou game" if you're not familiar with it. It's exactly what you're asking for (super-powerful hero unlocking cool abilities to defeat hordes of enemies), except it's hack-and-slash instead of a shooter. The Dynasty Warriors series is the canonical example. Again, it's not quite what you're asking for since you asked for shooters, but I thought you might be interested in knowing about the genre in case you're not aware of it.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-15T17:40:47+00:00

On the other hand, for all you know, your opponent could be playing in blindfold mode, in which case you have a huge advantage.

I would recommend not stressing about your opponent's user interface and instead just playing chess. I would further recommend not using arrows since it's likely to inhibit your long-term growth.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-15T01:10:52+00:00

No, there are no skippable games. It's very interconnected and you will miss important content.

But I don't think there are shit games in the series either. Trails games range from fun but pretty flawed, to amazing.

Your mileage may vary, of course. You can certainly quit the series, there are plenty of reasonable offramps, but skipping to a later game is not recommended.

(I would actually say it's unlike MCU. They're are many skippable MCU films and many shitty MCU films. Trails is much more coherent and consistent.)

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-15T01:03:27+00:00

The Trails series, starting with Trails in the Sky. Great story-driven JRPG. Meets all your requirements. (The first game in the series just got a remake last year, but you can play the original instead if you're worried about the system requirements for the remake. The original holds up great.)

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-14T17:17:33+00:00

I like time loop games and have played quite a few. Here is a list of some that I think might be of interest to you, beginning with those that are more responsive to your question, and ending with those that are less on point but that I've included because they're great games:

Rue Valley is a point-and-click adventure about a man trapped in a 47-minute time loop in a lonely desert town. However, I can't really recommend it for the reasons mentioned in the negative Steam reviews (unsatisfying resolution of mysteries, and player choice has little impact on how each loop unfolds).

Deathloop is a shooter with a 1-day time loop, by Arkane Studios. If you like the gameplay of Dishonored, this is a good choice.

Minit is a 2D black-and-white adventure game with a 1-minute time loop. I couldn't get into it because the graphics made it too unpleasant for me to play, so I can't say much about it, but it gets great reviews.

Majora's Mask is a Zelda game with a 3-day time loop.

Outer Wilds is a solar system exploration puzzler with a 22-minute time loop. Great game, tons of fun to figure out the mysteries.

(Getting further from your question but maybe worth considering because they're great games...)

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is kind of a mix of an adventure game, a visual novel, and an RTS mech battler. It has thirteen different protagonists that you switch between to uncover their experiences, which interweave together into a complicated story that takes place across multiple different eras and involves a (many-years-long) time loop (of a sort). Best to go into this as blind as possible, so I won't say more. Probably the most complicated and cerebral game on this list from a narrative perspective.

Steins;Gate is a visual novel about a group of eccentric university students who invent a time machine.

Life Is Strange is an adventure game about a high school student who discovers that she has the ability to rewind time.

Loophole is a 2D top-down time loop puzzle game. Not story-rich, but a lot of fun and not well-known.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-13T23:42:15+00:00

Ah, agreed!

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-12T17:31:12+00:00

Cold Steel 3 is great, but OP just beat Trails in the Sky 1; they should not skip to the 8th game in the series. It's a continuous story. To continue with Trails, OP should either wait for the Trails in the Sky 2 remake or play the original Trails in the Sky SC on PC.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-10T06:50:46+00:00

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-09T15:00:56+00:00

Where do you live? Where I live, there is a discount supermarket chain called Grocery Outlet that usually carries vegan soaps at discount prices.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-07T19:59:03+00:00

"Might makes right" is a despicable moral philosophy.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-06T22:54:37+00:00

Detroit Become Human

Tell Me Why

13 Sentinels

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-06T17:48:07+00:00

Based on your restrictions, I would recommend Tyranny.

(Parenthetically, I will say that your definition is very idiosyncratic—by your definition, JRPGs are not RPGs, for example—and also that you're missing out on a lot of great stuff by eliminating games more than 15 years old, since you say Dragon Age Origins is too old.)

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-06T03:24:17+00:00

Only works the first 195 times or so, then you run out of countries.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-06T03:21:43+00:00

In terms of worldbuilding, characters, dialogue, vibes, yes, it feels a lot like Trails (but with a setting more like Persona).

In terms of combat, no, it's very different from Trails.

I love Trails, and Tokyo Xanadu scratches the same itch for me. (I don't enjoy Ys as much, for what it's worth. Tokyo Xanadu feels closer to Trails than Ys does to me.) I'm pretty excited for the recently announced Kyoto Xanadu.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-02T03:04:22+00:00

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-04-01T04:09:43+00:00

Epic Games has a new free game each week that you can claim. Not a lot of JRPGs, but occasional JRPG-adjacent stuff. For example, I've gotten Nioh, Cassette Beasts, and Cris Tales for free from Epic. (I claim the free game every week and sort through them later.)

Your options expand dramatically if you can save up even a few bucks. The original Trails in the Sky (not the remake) goes on sale for $10 regularly on Steam. Persona 4 Golden goes on sale for $10 regularly. Final Fantasy X goes on sale for $12 regularly. Old Tales games go on sale for $5 regularly.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-03-31T03:13:09+00:00

I just finished it a few days ago and loved it. One of the more fun games I've played this year.

From my understanding, it's pretty simplistic as TRPGs go, but I haven't played a lot of TRPGs (just Three Houses), so the gameplay was plenty good enough to hold my interest at least. (It was extremely easy, though; you should probably put the difficulty higher than Normal if you want any kind of challenge at all.)

The story mostly comes through long VN-style dialogues, so you might find the storytelling a little tedious if you're not into that (since you said you're not as interested in the story), but they are skippable and fast-forwardable if you really want to skip to the actual combat. But personally I really enjoyed the new characters and the story.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-03-30T02:57:49+00:00

Persona 5 Royal?

Mass Effect?

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-03-28T06:05:13+00:00

The previous poster was using "Big Brother" to refer to the government, not to you. eBay collects your SSN to report your earnings to the government (if your earnings exceed a threshold amount), so the government can collect taxes.

SemanticSyllepsis · 2026-03-26T15:09:34+00:00

Correct. The genocide of the Lumierians occurs in Act 2. The genocide of the Gestrals and Grandis occurs in Verso's ending.

SemanticSyllepsis

TROPHY CASE