4 RPGs that NEED to be Studied
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- These are a selection of RPGs that I feel need to be studied by devs or aspiring devs. I found them unique and different and would love to see more stuff like this. I appreciate you taking the time and watching. Thank you.
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The fun thing about Live A Live is that it came out in the late SNES and early PSX era where Squaresoft was incredibly experimental. In addition to Live A Live, you had stuff like Treasure of the Rudras which had three parallel storylines that you could hop from one to another at any given moment, and had a spell system that was entirely freeform. By which I mean, you make a 'word' or amalgamation of letters. The game will give you a rough idea of what this word will do, and you can see what it will cost. But you need to cast it to see how good it actually is. In addition, as you explore, you can find books that will give you words with more guaranteed effects. And as you go along you can learn the rules, like how to change a core word in order to consistantly get a certain effect.
I loved the gameplay of Rudra no Hihou
On paper TOTR's magic system sounds cool, but in practice you're just filling out the same spell list across all 3 parties, and it becomes really bland. It's a good concept with bad execution, and it sacrificed things like a job system or at least character-specific abilities that could've made the characters feel like something besides sacks of HP/MP. Wild Arms did a better version of this in its first game.
honestly too experimental. I love the bouncer and all the saga frontier games but they sold like crap in the states and even the remasters didnt get much popularity
@@attackofthecopyrightbots Yeah. Going overboard on the experimental stuff really killed the old Squaresoft (well, that and the movies). But I miss the days when the big studios made it a thing to make budget games where they could let newer teams just make weird ass games with completely experimental systems and ideas and see what sticks.
There is also some like Treasure Hunter G which are less interesting in term of story.
It has lot times it tried to be humorous and emotional but sadly not really being memorable.
The combat system is on other cases,it was much very much polished and fun, G is a tactics game, played out on small environments with different starting condition.
Also the overworld area and dungeon stage is identical to Chrono Trigger with enemies leaping out from bush and stuff.
In battle phase, the grid that affects your move range and action points(such as using item,throwing it to enemy or friend)
Different enemies cost your characters more AP to attack than others.
So you'll find yourself switching up combat strategies frequently. Characters use different weapons and have different magical abilities. So Red fight style is different than Blue,Rain(healer and magician)or Pongo. And you can change weapon during battle, devise strat using traps, or just throw anything at the enemy(Blue)
Rudras has better story wise but Treasure Hunter G was more fun to play.
Why is it always well after 12am on a worknight when I stumble upon fantastic gaming content?! Kudos!
lol Thank you, I appreciate it
Wow! Valkyrie Profile really impressed me with the flying around the overworld like that. Really nice implementation
Valkyrie profile is absolutely fantastic. There is a cheap way to cheese a lot of it, but the atmosphere is great. A great “twist” and out of the box thinking.
a pity getting the best ending is completely unintuitive; you have to sabotage your recruitment and then send a specific character to Valhalla at a specific time and then do specific things with no indication of any of it
@@ChibiKami it was at the tail end of the supremely frustrating "moon logic" era. That sounds just like some early 90s Sierra adventue game lol. I appreciate well conceived puzzles but when the player cannot find the solution using logic or in-game hints, that just really hurts the game's reputation. I'm glad that it's still being given a chance though; like in my first comment, the game has some really neat features that deserve some love. Sorry if my grammar is not perfect.
So happy to see Crystal Project make this list. That game doesn't get talked about anywhere near enough. Never played another RPG quite like it - to anyone reading this who hasn't played/heard of it, please don't sleep on Crystal Project based on the voxel graphics!
I totally agree. It's such a fun and unique game, glad I got it!
It's ugly. so I won't play it.
@@phi9387no one cares 😊
It was the only one on the list I hadn't already played or at least heard of.
This is a very good video and I think a point to be made is that even though the focus was put mostly on nonlinearity, these games prove that it's not necessary, considering they all stay great even with a guide. Nonlinearity is difficult to design because it's basically never "true" nonlinearity, it just leaves the right blanks for you to fill in to feel more of a connection with the world and tone of the story (generally). These games all reward the curiosity that exploration can beckon in meaningful ways, giving you what feels like a unique experience even when you're doing the only thing you can.
I agree in the sense that it's not about the destination, but the journey. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and kind words, I appreciate it.
I really appreciate these videos. As an amatuer dev, it helps me to see what features get other rpg lovers excited. Also, busting my brain with the few free hours I get, there isn't a lot of time for me to sample all these myself.
Panzer Dragoon Saga, the fluid combat. Relaxing exploration and rewarding in the way you perform in a battle (the more efficient you are, you get more money and points). Is something I havent seen replicated since... And those lo-fi graphics 👌
Pretty sure final fantasy 13 does this as well
Grandia 2 has one of the best RPG battle systems I've ever played. Octopath Traveler and Sea of Stars are both interesting with their weakness break mechanic
Grandia 2's combat is way too easy. you can just skip all of the complexities of the system by using area of effect magic to finish every encounter in the first turn. What grandia 2 does best is party dynamics. The main party constantly banters with one another which makes them a whole lot of fun to adventure with.
The Grandia mainline series is my favorite of all time. Their battle system is solid.
Lunar feels like a precursor system to Grandia’s and is also solid.
@@dangox3370 that's an issue of balance then, not the mechanics
@@KugutsuYushiro you do have a point. Only in boss battles does the gimmick of delaying enemy attacks come into play. But even then, it rarely does any good.
Ever
Cool video! I think it's interesting how many different areas RPGs can excel in. It's clear that you value exploration and open-endedness, but there are other things an RPG can focus on that are just as valuable: role-playing options and combat, to name a couple.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate it.
Grew up with Saga Frontier as a kid and after barely playing FF7 and a few other JRPGs it was like chaotic madness. I delved into all the weird systems, talked on forums about how systems worked in the game, incredible. I love the sparking skill system from SaGa games, Frontier 1 with all the different characters, eras and technology levels and the ability to just do what you want in almost any order is so refreshing on subsequent playthroughs.
Live-A-Live is something I played a long time ago with a translation patch and loved, and its really hard to answer people why I love it so much or why a certain group of people were so hyped about it's remake announcement without spoiling it. All I can say is that I just do and they should try it too, you wont forget it. If I can still vividly remember everything about a game I played more then 15 years ago when I have short term memory, then its well worth the play. 😊
Dude, what a combination of good taste and variety. You've got a subscriber outta me.
Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it.
Same! Great vid. Subbed!
@@IKilledYourDude thank you, I appreciate it 👍
As an avid JRPG fan, I tried hard to like Chained Echoes, but couldn’t gel with it. The bad dialogue killed the immersion and the battle system made every encounter feel like a boss battle.
looks a Final Fantasy and Xenogears inspired game but with a hint of increased difficulty. my kinda thing where you actually use your head to strategize things
Mechanics/content wise a RPG that SHOULD be studied by any new dev is Lufia 2; It has a great equipment system with loads of depth(special abilities for gear, special stats and resistances etc). It has great Puzzles. The way it handles enemies in dungeons is very creative and so much better then random battles and the best/most fun system in any rpg I have seen so far. The minigames are awesome(casino, Ancient Cave). It has so many secrets and things to discover. It has monster training. The guys making this took every cool thing from the peak RPGs in the 90s and gave it a creative spin.
Love me some Lufia and I love the puzzles in 2. Good call!
Lufia 2 is one of the best unpopular games from the SNES era. It'll never supplant FF6 as my favorite RPG, but it definitely makes the list
I'd say BOF DQ despite its reputation for killing the franchise for being so different actually had some interesting ideas and honestly as a BOF game if may not have been what the "western" fans wanted as it did well in Japan but if you take it as its own thing its Very unique even by todays standards and that story... What an ending
I def had a hard time trying to get through Dragon Quarter 😅 But I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, thank you.
Totally agree! Dragon Quarter was a Great Game with a lot of originale Idea, a cool plot, and with a lot of very good scene!
I really couldn't stand BoFDQ when I first played it. But I went back to it and tried to understand it and play it like it asked instead of how I demanded and really enjoyed it. It really does have a lot going for it and encourages failing and trying again, which is admirable.
I adored DQ. It forces the player to give their entire attention to each battle, so it's by default less boring than about any other JRPG. It's so difficult that unless you stop to think, you're gonna be filled with anxiety and fear. Wonderful game
Dragon Quarter has the most developed pre-battle tactical play, with only literal wargames and trap-based games like Deception or Orcs Must Die even close to competing.
The impact of your surroundings limiting movement combined with control over various baits and bombs makes enemy positioning huge, and the game is primarily limited by bad controls, old ps2 physics, and an incomplete implementation of everything else. Even so, it made players really look at the world around them from a tactical perspective, allowing the claustrophobic and worn down post-apoc world to sell itself with little effort.
The combo system also had a lot of potential beyond damage optimization, had they cleaned up stat debuffing, used more balanced status ailments, provided actually useful descriptions for skill combos, and simply had the budget to make and animate more diverse skills.
Blood Omen - Legacy Of Kain, the top down RPG from 1996 that set the gold standard for storytelling and voice acting in videogames, and spawned an awesome and sadly missed series that ended in 2003 after 5 installments.
I've always had a dream of a Legacy of Kain remade in a soulslike fashion, all with the same voice actors. Obviously that would never happen, as I'm sure we couldn't get many of the voice actors again, but its just something cool to imagine.
@@Slunked man that would be amazing
Soul Reaver was sick
Problem is with the VAs is Tony Jay is dead. So the Old One will be hard to replace.
@@Slunked man that would be dope af
Played live a live and absolutely loved it, the uniqueness of each storyline and the Oersted storyline specifically was amazing
I had no idea Chained Echos was that in depth, seems criminal they aren't bigger or more popular!
Great video, hope to see more!
It's a great game, imo, jumped into my top 10 after I played it. I hope you check it out. Thanks for the kinds words, I appreciate it.
Definitely a top 10 RPG for me as well
And it was made by 1 person
it would have been more popular had they made the char designs a bit nicer, I'd say.. there's really no particularly great artist behind it - and it's a small thing to do to hire a popular artist and goes a long way.
@@julz19 I mean I want to say you’re right about the one person, but he definitely hired someone else to do the music and that person hired 20 people to be musicians and singers. Easy to see during the credit scroll. But that does not take away from the fact that one man wrote an implemented the entire scenario
I am a child of the 80s. Why do I get that “sigh” moment wen there’s no “waypoint”? Getting lazy, I guess. Give me Mystic Quest🤪
I haven't played Mystic Quest in so long, I think about it some times. I always remember using the claw hookshot to traverse, that kind of stuff was fun for me.
My first RPG
Stumbled upon this channel, watched a video and then watched every other video. Keep up the great work!!!
Thank you very much, I appreciate it!
But i love linear games….
Ok that's your opinion but not everyone likes games like that.
Me too I'm so fucking sad they turned Zelda into another bloated direction less world
Chained Echoes is a fantastic game that really brought be game to yesteryear but with todays QoL implementation. Truly a modern classic.
I just beat it, everything was so seemless. Kinda wish the script was abit cleaned up, the dialogue wasn't as good as the plot, but still very enjoyable and I really enjoyed the exploration even when I usually hate exploring.
Valkyrie profile is the most underrated rpg in gaming history
It's def a good one more people should play
We're getting a Star Ocean 2 remake I think next month, and the series had a new installment earlier this year. So, my current hopes, is that this is the beginning of a come back for Tri-Ace classics. SquareEnix has gotten quite lazy over the years, and does a lot of remakes, usually releasing them on Steam. They could set their sights on the Valkyrie Profile series next, and maybe we'll eventually get a proper sequal (VP2 was kind of subpar).
I also just remembered that Valkyrie Profile had a DS spinoff that was really similar to the first game, but you worked for Hel and sacrificed recruits to her.
Yeah, SO2R, November 2nd. I liked the QoL improvements playing the demo, though all the battle enhancements made combat too easy, will def have to play on the tougher difficulty. I really enjoyed The Divine Force as well.
I still need the VP DS game, it sounds rad, the little you described.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Not entirely sure I'd call it similar. It's a strategy RPG where you get the classic VP combat when you picka fight, but you can only use the characters who are in range for that combat. Aside from that, the balance can be a bit wonky with the multiple endings, with the game wanting you to carry over skills from the other playthroughs in order to be able to beat the best ending's boss, but those skills making the rest of the game before it a breeze. Also, always keep the skill that gives you extra movement handy. Not only are the maps large, but they love their snow terrain way too much, which means that as you spend half your turns getting from one fight to another, your movement is capped to around two squares per turn. Those extra bits of movement that ignore terrain costs are a lifesaver.
I kinda disagree with squareenix being lazy. They may be doing lots of remakes but this year we got two games, octopath 2 and FF16, that can be called anything but lazy.
And we had a Valkyrie profile kinda-sequel last year. Valkyrie Elysium.
@@diersteinjulien6773 They don't do the remakes justice though. Everything is gutted and dumbed down, or they just do a full emulated port and charge like $40 for what should be a $20 experience.
I liked Octopath Traveler 1, but it was over-hyped. The game had ZERO balace, magic flat out broke the game, and was required to finish it, because the Bosses were all bullet sponges. The story was kind of padded with stereotypical plot devices, too. I'm definitely not getting the second game, or into the Brave series, because of it.
Star Ocean 2R came out, and I am having fun with it, but it's had a lot of the main features that made the game memorable for me dumbed down, or flat out removed. They made a lot of wanted improvements, but got rid of the iconic Killer Move leveling system, and replaced it with a point system, that only allowed attacks to go up to 3 ranks. Doing this gutted DOZENS of animations from the game. Along with some other mindless crap. Imagine if they did this to all of the Tales games, which are known for pioneering that kind of battle system?
I hated FF13 to the point that I couldn't bother finishing Disc 2, didn't understand the love for FF14's linear combat, heard mixed things about FF15 (which honestly looks like a button mash fest, apparently you need to buy a separate movie to understand the plot?), and FF16 didn't look interesting at all (basically looks like a medieval take on FF14 with Devil May Cry thrown in).
The FF7 Remake was split into several different games, and padded out the butt with pointless content, and battle look padded out the butt with HP Sponges. Most of their modern games are riddled with microtransactions.
So yeah. I think SquareEnix is lazy. The days of their revolutionary games they used to release from our childhood are long over. Their mostly a publisher these days, and their no even good at that.
Maybe I'm bias and have an overnegative take, but I've watched them devolved over the years, and as someone's who first game was basically Final Fantasy 1 on the NES, I'm disappointed at what they've become.
These are some BANGERS. Good stuff bro.
Thank you!
For me, the RPG that needs to be studied is Panzer Dragoon Saga. Made from a group who had never worked in a rpg before, making a entire battle system from scratch that's based on the same feeling of aerial battles from the other entries (rail shooters) + an unique setting you have never seen before, from story, world building and visuals all neatly tied together. That game is pure gold for me
I need to get me a Saturn. Thanks for you sharing your thoughts.
Yooooooooooo, glad to see someone talk about Crystal Project, checked the game out like a month after it released and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Sequoia. Glad to see that other people are finally recognizing it a bit more
The game definitely deserves more recognition. 👍
I'm definitely going to check it out.
Great video, I liked your picks and the editing! I am expecting awesome content from your channel in the future!
I appreciate your nice words, thank you for watching.
While I agree with the Chained Echoes point, I think it is worth mentioning that several of its exploration features/things that incentivize exploration were introduced in the Xenoblade games first
You're right! In Xenoblade X, you can fly around in a mech and explore a huge 3D world.
Nice to see _Valkyrie Profile_ in this list. The game was definitely AGES ahead of its time in every aspect. I miss when tri-Ace used to be experimental with their games. I'm really hoping it'll get a soft-remake treatment similarly to _Star Ocean: The Secont Story R._ Some misconceptions that I need to clear from your video: you don't actually need to send Einherjars to Valhalla with the best gear; the most important thing is that they meet the criteria established by Freya (Skills, hero-type, specific Traits), and ideally you'll want them to be at the highest Hero Value possible (by maxing out their Traits). Other than that, you can send them without a single piece of equipment and they'll perform well once sent to Valhalla.
_Chained Echoes_ is an absolute masterpiece. Crazy to think this game was spearheaded by a single dude. He managed to make the game feel NOSTALGIC while giving it a modern spin at the same time. Few devs can pull that.
Great video, really loved the angle you took speaking about playing games in order to learn good game design.
Thank you!
Glad you included Crystal Project, that game was magical. Definitely my favorite indie JRPG of the recent years.
I'm so glad I found that game, glad there are so many others that like it as well.
Valkyrie Profile is the goat. Goes against the grain of every RPG in almost every way.
I really enjoyed how different it was fo sho
You want exploration? Skies of Arcadia. One of the best RPG I ever played!
I'm always shocked no developers copy Panzer Dragoon Saga and make random battles that are super fun and fluid. It still feels like an RPG and even feels like turn based combat because it's based on timed meters...but it's actually really fun, almost like a rhythm game. That was a quarter century ago and when I played it upon release I figured it would just be the new type of battle experience...nope. It wouldn't have to be exactly like that, just something sort of like it. The rest of the game on a technical level wasn't really that revolutionary, just a very early 3D RPG, but the battles (and the general art direction) really are worthy of the game's legendary collector status.
Again, incredible first vid bro! Can’t wait for more :)
Thanks, dude. I appreciate all your support.
Wow, I did not expect Crystal Project to be on this list. Instantly Subscribed!
Right on, thank you! Love me some Crystal Project 👍
Loved the video and all the info about the games I haven't played yet. Live a Live is definitely an interesting and fun game .
Thanks dude, I appreciate it
Live-A-Live has held the title of my all-time favorite game full stop for a long time, but in October, I spent the entire month replaying SaGa Frontier, and I think that might've taken its place at least as my favorite RPG. It's very hard to get into, because it's very open, the mechanics have NOVELS written about how everything works, and you don't know which of the seven scenarios to start with, and even once you get past that, it can be brutally difficult at times. I couldn't recommend it to everyone, but those who are able to get into it will find some great characters, unusual stories, and an incredible world made up of dozens of smaller worlds with unbelievable detail packed into them. It's very open and pretty grindy, but it all fits together very well, because the story bits in each scenario each have a satisfying enough ending that you aren't desperate to get back to it, so grinding isn't torturous. It's so quirky you can't always tell what's a bug and what's a feature, but the core design philosophy is really solid.
I'd recommend Digimon World for the ps1. The sense of exploring an open world, the risk of losing your Digimon from death or neglecting it and rebuilding the town was pretty unique.
Also Outward. That is great for similar reasons. That great sense of adventure.
These are both imperfect games, but they give an experience like no other.
Only RPG to nail the feeling of looking for a rest stop on a road trip while someone in the car needs to poop.
You talked about Valkyrie Profile and DIDN'T mention the battle system! C'mon! It's the second best thing about it after character stories. And you didn't mention them either!
But the battle system's already been studied and done in other games, so I think it gets a pass.
@@benedict6962like where? Indivisible and not in a good way? Anywhere else?
@@vsolyomi ...damn, did you hate indivisible that much?
I think Project X Zone dipped a little in there too, with Shaman King being even closer to a fighting game.
@@benedict6962 No I don't, it's just pretty flawed overall to my knowledge. And all the games you listed are all obscure. The system was never used to its full potential.
The best and most underused mechanic I have ever seen in RPGs/JRPGs or video games in general is the equipment/skill system from Final Fantasy Tactics.
In those games, you had the cliché Final Fantasy classes, but they wouldn't just learn skills; the skills were tied to the equipment.
A character had to use the equipment for a certain time span to learn the skill to use it without the specific equipment and then would be able to also change class and use the skills from one other class.
I have no idea why this system isn't used more, ESPECIALLY because this could combine into some unholy things.
Imagine Monster Hunter-type looting and weapon systems combined with the one from Final Fantasy Tactics.
This would be groundbreaking.
Cool idea. I love Tactics and Monster Hunter!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Got me wanting to play all of these now, cant believe live a live came out in 94!!
Hell yeah! If you play'em, I hope you enjoy'em. 👍
Explorations one of those things that I always really valued in an RPG, especially since I grew up on Paper Mario and the like instead of Final Fantasy and more traditional RPGs. Another thing I really love are decently involved dungeons. Recently i've been playing Star Ocean 3 again and I only grow more and more appreciative of that games dungeon design as I grow older since you're never doing the same things in that game, almost every dungeon is something different and they tow that line of just being involved enough to not overstay their welcome with my only real issue with them being how many have shortcuts but only work one way.
Seems like the main points are:
-Exploration that goes beyond the limitations set by old hardware and spending too much RAM on graphics
-Meta Systems that add complexity
-Variety to completely change the dynamic of the story and/or gameplay
There's a loooot of games that fit number 2 but died because a really complex system can just fall flat and not resonate with a large market.
Number 3 is very nice, but can quickly spiral out of budget as you kill your ability to estimate the project's scope and pacing. A number of indie games can pull it off because they keep the base gameplay very simple, but even going up to Live a Live can make the choice dramatically more sweaty. Good luck with the investors.
Wow! This was a great video! Definitely subscribing!
Thank you, I appreciate it
Happy Birthday to Valkyrie Profile
Yo!!!! Live-a-Live is amazing!!!
Hell yeah 👍
Thank you for showing me Crystal Project
No problemo 👍
I didn't knew about these RPG's even tho it is one of my most love genre. Thank you for this video, i have seen wonderfull things!!
My pleasure 👍
this is a much more interesting "top X" list than just "my personal faves"
nice vid dude! keep it up!
valkyrie profile is the game keep coming back to my mind after playing it like 18-20years ago
@@lucaslui9665 Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it. You should def play it again!
that old capcom logo theme still gives me a chub, when i was a kid and heard that i new i was playing a top tier game.
I have to agree in part...but how do you create a strong structured narrative in a world where you can go anywhere at any given time. At least for me, the point of rpgs is more about the story and the plot rather than anything else, it's why I don't think Crystal Project lined up well with me, I Love the basic idea, adore job/class systems. Ect. But The plot from what I remember of the demo, was.... very light. and, that's just not going to hold my interest.
Yeah, there's a very basic plot in Crystal Project, it's not at all the main focus. For me, after years of playing RPGs, I really appreciate breaks in the pattern. I don't necessarily think a strong narrative has to be a requirement in an RPG, or any game for that matter, but, I can't disagree that the game could be even better with a strong narrative.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It's doable with a basic "get every elemental crystal" FF plot, but certainly tricky if you're trying to add depth and consequence to the order the story is done.
Strong, structure narratives for what reason? That's not a requirement for games.
Look at Terraria, Stardew Valley, Minecraft. Popular examples that prove you can have broad or deep games with little to no story, a focus on exploration, and yet be so popular that people still play them 10+ years later over and over again.
Lack of a story contributes to replay value as well because you're not sitting through the same dialog over and over. It's a blank canvas for you to make your own story in your head, if you wanted.
If storytelling WAS the core feature of a game, then yeah the rest of the game will have to work around that. That never happened here though.
@@MinecraftMartin Specifically the video mentioned RPGs I would not consider any of those games as RPGs. From the games shown I was thinking of JRPGs. Which are almost entirely story driven.
This was a great video. Also, one of the things that I've talked about for years (and always get shit on about) is how Final Fantasy 13-2 has a really fantastic time travel system, but lots of people I know didn't like 13 so they couldn't be bothered. Then there's the entire SMT series which thankfully is gaining popularity lately.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts, I appreciate it. 🙂
Yes I when played 13-2 was like "this feels better than 13-1", from what I remember it time travel was more of what I call "an x,y axis map" since you were traveling on time (x axis) and alternate dimensions (y axis), kind of how it was on Chrono Cross.
Good video, you gained a subscriber. Excited to see what you come up with in the future
Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
Parasite Eve simply for the pacing and storytelling techniques. A common complaint about RPGs are ones that take a giant story dump on you, forcing long stretches of nothing but dialogue.
Parasite Eve manages several sections of 15+ minutes that are entirely dialogue focused. A lot of effort to develop the relationship between Aya and her police partner (spacing his name) done with the same care and patience as a good film. Since things are happening around the player, it's hardly noticed, and the writing is legit enough to feel like substance, not filler.
Those long stretches free up much of the remaining game to focus on the combat and atmosphere while still adapting a massive novel into game form. 20 some years later and I've still yet to play an RPG with such deliberate pacing.
Parasite Eve is awesome, love that game.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 👍
Oh, and go Avs!
Absolutely loved Live A Live and Chained Echoes. My dude, you HAVE to play Monster Sanctuary if you like the metroidvania/turn based RPG battle mechanics. It’s such a gem, and the back half of the OST fucking SLAPS
I'll def research it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
While I absolutely loved Chained Echoes, it is not 100% original and not really a game that is necessary to be studied.
Instead, just like teachers tell us to check the cited sources instead of the Wikipedia article, let's study it's influences first, such as Chrono Trigger, FF7, Suikoden, and Xenogears. And especially Xenogears, I think Chained Echoes is the first Xenogears-inspired indie which is a great thing since Xenogears itself is kinda "one of a kind" among JRPGs.
crystal project is a gem. Some of the best explorartion in any jrpg-like RPG.
Maybe not exactly an RPG but E.G.G. (Elemental Gimmick Gear) for the Dreamcast comes to mind as a game that deserves a second look. It was such an amazing action/adventure game with RPG elements and unique puzzle/exploration sprinkled in. Hand drawn graphics/backgrounds gave it a (for the time) unique charm. I bought a dreamcast again a couple years back literally just to play this game 😂
It's wonderful that people are discovering the original Valkyrie Profile all over again. Very few games have done anything like it since. Credit goes to Indivisible for serving us the combat and the fun 2d navigation/puzzle solving I'd been craving.
I don't want to undermine your points in this video. We all need to shout about the things we love and want more of much more often than we do. So when I say that it sounds like you want more western style rpgs it's because I want you to get the stuff you're hankering for.
Your video reminds me of the old comparison between JRPGS and WRPGS, linear vs. non-linear, discovery vs. progression, that sort of thing. I'm not sure what your gaming background is, but Morrowind and some of the Ultima games (ask an expert which ones, IX is literally unplayable without fanmods) would hit a lot of the notes you're describing. Arcanum was _incredibly_ ambitious and suffered for it, but most of that ambition was achieved.
All that being said, I sure haven't heard of anything like what you've described coming out in the last decade. Some games really should be required learning for devs.
Monster Sanctuary. So good. So satisfying.
"Chained Echoes allows you to board a flying mech to explore entire maps"
Xenoblade Chronicles X: "Am I a joke to you?"
Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, ff10, Skyrim, Baulders Gate and the Space Quest series :)
Awesome video. Love to hear anyone gush about Crystal Project. I hadn't heard of Valkyrie Profile, I might need to check that out.
Valkyrie Profile is my lifelong companion, as well as the Gothic dilogy. Replaying every year, never gets old.
Valkyrie Profile stands as my fave RPG of all time.
Not a bad choice at all 👍
hello, just saying at first glance your thumbnail, the font you choose made me read "Studied" as "Stupid"
it got me to click and watch the video tho. =3
@35infinite follow up video!
Chained Echoes is truly a game of all time. Easily one of my games of the year, and I can't stop whistling the soundtrack around the house, months and months later.
Totally agree. I get the Rohlan Fields song stuck in my head all the time. Such a great OST.
Love the list, especially how you brought-up some more obscure games (to non-JRPG fans). I personally though like to study game's historical significance, in that regard I would bring up here in the west the vastly under appreciated Rance series. The Rance games are eroge and to some degree even the newer entries are a little clunky but the story, and gameplay contributions Rance has made over the decades the series has been around has been profound.
To my knowledge Rance 3: The Fall of Lezas (the original not the remake) was the first JRPG to have the "auto" battle feature thus greatly reducing grinding. Now this feature is standard in most JRPGs. Rance as a series also follows a borderline villain protagonist who is extremely proactive creating unique stories for each of the games often times even being derailed by the protagonist proactive nature. The series also introduced many tropes which are commonly utilized in Light Novels, Manga, and Games in Japan.
There's also the fact that Sengoku Rance (Rance 7) is easily one of the best Strategy RPG's ever made, it is also one of the very few with a story that directly impacts the gameplay. For instance at one point you can fully win a battle by sending the correct commander into battle which you would know who said commander is assuming you have been following along with the story, which is playing into a way to defeat a harder faction early that you may miss on a first playthrough. The game also has multiple story routes which can be accessed after the first playthrough, offering their own separate ways to go through the game's story often meeting extremely different endings on top of introducing new events unique to each route. Second playthroughs also offer the ability to make the game harder, to receive starting bonuses based upon your completion percentage of the game, and to access entirely new events even in the main route that were not on the first playthrough due to spoiler reasons.
Eroge is def not my thing, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and watching.
Live a Live is so special
This list reminded me of Eternal Eyes for the ps1, such an underrated rpg
I've never played it but I always remember the cover art. Appreciate you watching.
A game largely hindered by slow animations, obtuse gem upgrades not elaborated ingame, and painful xp loss if your puppets die.
You could do a lot more with it today. Human characters with gem-cost skills, more varied puppet movement and passives, etc.
This was beautiful. Thank you.
My pleasure 👍
Nice to see ppl acknowledge Live A Live
Played and loved VP and Live A Live prior to watching this video, but learned of, purchased, and can’t wait to try Chained Echoes as a result of this video. Thanks in advance!
That's awesome! I hope you enjoy it!
Very hard Pixel-style RPG games that really take a lot of time and thinking as well as skill:
1. Legend of Zelda Parallel Worlds (This game is incredibly difficult)
2. Sea of Stars (Wearing Red Relics Only)
3. Terraria (Legendary World Difficulty)
Crystal Project actually reminds me of the new-ish Pokémon clone Cassette Beasts, which also includes Metroidvania style progression, rewards exploration and actually has some skill based platforming to reach treasure
Sounds so much like another game called Monster Sanctuary!
Bro didn't even mention Kenshi.
A post-post-apocalyptic team based RPG, where you start out as a lone wanderer on a desert planet trying to not starve, be eaten by wildlife, or sold into slavery. The interesting thing about that game is that you aren't a chosen one prophetic hero, you're just a dude trying to live another day in a hostile world. You get stronger by not only fighting but by being defeated and knocked out, which trains your Toughness stat. Toughness let's you take more damage, reduces some damage, and helps with martial arts. You run around, recruit additional party members and you could choose to settle down and farm rice, or destabilize the region by kidnapping the Lords, or just be a simple trader. There is just something cool about a setting where technology has reverted back to using swords and crossbows, but also have sentient robots who remember the past. There is a story to the world, but it's mostly environmental, and only a few characters will tell you something, and even then you have to meet some criteria. Great game, lost too much time to it xD
Bro didn't even mention what platform Kenshi is on, kappa
I've played tons of RPGs, but The World Ends With You on the DS is one that I keep thinking about.
I agree with your picks and here are some of my additions:
1. Sea of Stars
2. Radiant Historia
3. Suikoden II
honestly this is a pretty great list dude , im 100% agreed with what you have here , valkyrie profile basically ruined me on the standard jrpg template , afterwards i would always crave something more creative ; i would add Xenogears and the Ultima series 4/5/6/UW/7/UW2/SI/8
Thank you so much, I appreciate it.
Legend of mana was in a class of its own. The house system along with exploring during certain seasons was brilliant. Also felt like every item in the game had a use which was fantastic along with the bridge data that allowed you to have a chocobo as a pet if the ps read that you had ff7 save data ...fking nuts
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth changed my life by introducing me to death at such a young age.
Since I finally got involved with Xenoblade Chronicles Saga in switch I can say I don't need other JRPGs anymore. Best of the best.
I noticed that a few other small RPG titles have used open-world elements recently, including Breath of the Wild, Elder Scrolls, and nearly every other major title to be released in the last 10 years.
There is an old "indie" game called "Three the Hard Way", where money is very difficult to come by. Just like in real life, haha ... Which makes powering up slow, and also feels very rewarding.
And, damn, LiveALife ... never completed it. Played it with an emulator maybe 10+ years ago, love the concepts, but ... because of the sheer ambition of the game, it could not be developed in time, and it showed. Just glad to see the game reappearing.
Coming by cash slowly sounds pretty cool, and also irritating, lol, I'll have to research that game.
If you ever see the remake of Live A Live for cheap, I highly suggest picking it up and giving it another shot.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
@Chengyuan79 Are u referring to the classic RPG Maker 2000 game “Three The Hard Way?” It’s really cool to see it get mentioned, it touches a special place of nostalgia and half forgotten memories for me.
@@MerkhVision Yes, sir~! 🙂
Chained Echoes, Crystal Project and Live A Live have been on my wishlist for a long time now.
I hope if you get them that you enjoy them. 👍
I hope so too. I'm sure it will be fine ;)
How do they stack up against the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on Steam? (If you've played those.)
Or games like Grandia/Octopath Traveller?
@@Khroniclas I'd say Chained Echoes and Live A Live are up there.
Sheesh I'm definitely buying Live a Live, I was curious about it for a while. I loved Chained Echos & Crystal Project when I played them.
Right on! I hope you enjoy it 👍
MAN, that crystal project system would make for good pokemon traversal.
Aside from all of this, however, I think you should definitely give Tactics ogre a shot, feeling almost like a Psuedo-dnd campaign before CRPG's even were a thing.
Golden sun for sure! Golden sun is the best rpg because of the puzzles and exploration.
I still need to play those. The eternal backlog lol
Thanks for your suggestion!
@@35infinite no problem! That was the one thing I wished that other rpgs would add are puzzles to their maps.
Crystal Project reminds of a 2D Minecraft. And you know what? Such game could be great as a Pokémon spin-off.
It's definitely a style worth looking into for other games.
Definitely would have been a good direction for pokemon if a majority of the fandom wasn't pushing for 3D graphics.
You study them the platforms right there
YOOOOOO! Banger first video!!!!!
Thanks, dude!
here I am having played a link to the past multiple times as a kid on my gba and I never knew about the dude under the bridge
Lol go get that bottle from him!
“What other rpg can you do this in?”
Dragon quest builders 2
What an incredible video dude! Thanks so much for sharing, makes me want to jump into RPG Maker again…
I love stuff like Valkyrie & Chained Echoes, but lately I been REALLY impressed with the “ Fear & Hunger “ games… Check them out if you like horror themes too
Thank you so much I appreciate it. And I do have Feed & Hunger on my radar!
Player freedom, exploration and non-linear storytelling are hardly rare in the industry, and frankly i'd like to see less of them. Those elements don't necessarily make games more fun, and they are already so pervasive that they're even creeping outside of rpgs into other genres. So why exactly should these games be studied again?
Valkyrie Profile is in my top 3 of all time, up there w/ Chrono Trigger & FF6.
GOAT'd company
👍
Symphony of War the Nephilim Saga is amazing.. take a look