JRPG thread

[Anonymous No.4425948]

Been playing Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes. This game is grindy as fuck.

[Anonymous No.4425953]

It literally isn't. Unless by grindy as fuck you mean actually having to grind from time to time.

[Anonymous No.4425967]

I need a comfy rpg game to play
something i can explore the world in, a world that isn't super edgy, and a story that doesn't involve everyone dying and lots of traumatic stuff

bonus points if it has stuff like fishing or plant growing and harvesting

[Anonymous No.4425973]

>>4425953
When you get to the resistance base you need to level up to level 8 before it even lets you continue the quest. Each encounter gives you like 4 EP and you need around ~300 EP to get from level 5 to level 8. Later encounters give around 10 EP but that still means you need to spend a while just randomly killing monsters. Unless I'm doing something wrong.

Auto battles are pretty quick at least.

[Anonymous No.4426016]

Should I finish Panzer Dragoon Saga? I'm 3 disks in and not really feeling it.

[Anonymous No.4426028]

>>4426016
Finish your life.

[Anonymous No.4426314]

>>4425967
Play Dragon Quest. Make sure you avoid being one of those mouth breathers who have to play every series in order and skip 1 and 2 (2 is great but depending on what you're into it may not be the best point of entry into the series.)

[Anonymous No.4426326]

>>4426314
If you're looking for comfy the SNES and GBC versions of DQ3 may be your best bet.

If you want a game with fun peripheral stuff DQ5 has rudimentary monster collection I guess. It probably has the best story in the series too.

[Anonymous No.4426340]

>>4426314
I think it's fine to play 1 in fast forward mode. Just takes a couple hours, max

[Anonymous No.4426376]

>>4425967
It sounds like you'd love Breath of Fire 3 on the PS1. Its story takes a leisurely pace, does not really get heavy until the climax, and has an overworld filled with sidequests and non-serious things to do, like training a wimp to beat up a Chad and get the girl, fishing, finding cooking ingredients (some hate that part, ha!)... There isn't much "urgency" in the plot, at least for the first half of the game. Some don't like that aspect of the game, but it has its charm.

Alternatively, if you like roguelikes/roguelites, Azure Dreams on the PS1 has you mixing up dungeon-crawling (in a randomly-generated dungeon), town-building, monster-collecting, all with a rudimentary dating-sim built into it.

[Anonymous No.4426381]

>>4426340
I don't hate it but it's little more than a historical curiosity really. Every other entry has so much more to offer.

[Anonymous No.4426623]

What are the mandatory retro JRPGs? I’ve played the basics as a kid (most FF games, Chrono Trigger, Legend of Dragoon) and most of the SMT series. Just started Breath of Fire 3, and plan to give Valkyrie Profile a shot after that. What else should I plan to play?

[Anonymous No.4426625]

>>4426326

Comfy DQ

[Anonymous No.4426638]

Have been playing Shining the Holy Ark. I like the music and sprites. The framerate is atrocious though and battles take a very long time. Overall, a solid game though not one I think I'll ever replay.

>>4426623
Play Phantasy Star IV and Lunar Eternal Blue on the Genesis/Sega CD. They are Final Fantasy tier.

[Anonymous No.4426698]

>>4426623
Romancing SaGa
Lunar: Silver Star
Dragon Quest IV
Phantasy Star IV
Metal Max Returns
Sweet Home
Tales of Phantasia

[Anonymous No.4426731]

>>4425973
The nice thing about auto battles is that you can still issue commands like retreat.
Choosing how to continue after a lost battle is also a boon.
The game didn't really do anything new but it handled things more comfortably than the rest.

[Anonymous No.4426737]

>>4426381
I think it's comfy in its simplicity. So few variables, only one party member and one enemy at a time, makes for a relaxing experience.

[Anonymous No.4426738]

>>4426623
live a live
lufia 2
treasure of the rudras
suikoden 2
grandia
super mario rpg

[Anonymous No.4426774]

>>4426314
Fuck that's me.

Is that why I can never get into DQ?!

[Anonymous No.4428903]

>>4426774
Best entry points are 4 and 8.

[Anonymous No.4429031]

>>4426314
It's the other way or me, I started with VIII (PS2) and IV (DS) and didn't understood the appeal until playing I (SNES).
Having a party to control slow the game down too much whereas DQI plays like one of those 2 hours flash games. (and kaeru no tame, kane ni naru on GB)

[Anonymous No.4429050]

>>4425948
セレオスさまが
この国の 王さまになる日が
楽しみで ございます

Does this mean
"Serios, one day you will be the king of this country. I am looking forward to it!"

[Anonymous No.4429094]

>>4425967
Breath of fire 3
Comfy
Fishing

[Anonymous No.4429097]

>>4429050
They aren't directly addressing him.

I'm looking forward to the day Selios becomes king.

[Anonymous No.4429102]

>>4429050
looks like it

[Anonymous No.4429107]

>>4425967

legend of the river king series.

[Anonymous No.4430509]

>>4425948
Great game on Turbo Duo.
MAXIMUM COMFORT

[Anonymous No.4430527]

>>4426376
>>4429094
>>4425967

Comfy as fuck opinions.
The whole BoF series fits your request.

[Anonymous No.4430584]

>>4429050
The best translation.

>>4429097
In my opinion, it’s a literal translation, and that translation itself is right, but in this case that day is not important. It’s more important for Selios to become the king one day, and he is looking forward to it.

[Anonymous No.4430774]

>>4429094
>>4426376
Seconding this, currently replaying BOF3. As a kid, some of the puzzles and side quests were pretty frustrating but they're not as bad as I remember them. Crossing the Desert of Death is still a huge slog though even if you know the extreme shortcut.

Also Momo is cute and best party member.

[Anonymous No.4430815]

>>4428903
You mean 5 and 8 right?

I'm sure you meant 5.

[Anonymous No.4430835]

>>4430527
The SNES ones are can be ridiculous at time with the encounter rate, and you're constantly popping those items that make you avoid random encounters if you want to explore anything on the map. It eventually gets to the point where you're stressed out that you might run out of those items and the encounter rate means it'll be 40 minutes before you can get back to buy some. A lot of the elements are there for being relaxing comfy games, but that falls apart with the encounter rate. Stick to the PS titles for what op sounds like he wants.

[Anonymous No.4430845]

>>4430835
In BOF2, does the "smoke" spell even work? Last time I played it I spent some time wandering around areas and it seems like the random encounter rate stays exactly the same. I think the ITEMS work, but they barely reduce the encounter rate at all.

[Anonymous No.4430846]

I knew that there's also a Sega version and a playstation version. Anybody got them?

[Anonymous No.4430849]

>>4430835
>To add on to this you'd have to grind A LOT in BOF2 in SNES. It takes you out of the game.

[Anonymous No.4430858]

>>4430849
Yeah no kidding, last playthrough I spent an entire afternoon grinding on Monster Island and it was still barely enough.

[Anonymous No.4431005]

The true translation.

[Anonymous No.4431102]

>>4430846
Not sure if I have a PSX one

[Anonymous No.4431259]

>>4425967
I want a RPG that is the opposite of this

[Anonymous No.4431265]

>>4431259
Shin Megami Tensei

[Anonymous No.4431275]

>>4431265
Non-SMT
I've played all the mainline games

[Anonymous No.4431278]

>>4431275
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
maybe try some of the non-Persona spinoffs

[Anonymous No.4431527]

What's the best Phantasy Star to start with? Or what are some other good scifi rpgs?

[Anonymous No.4431568]

>>4431527
Always go with release order.

[Anonymous No.4431573]

>>4431568
That is certainly not true of every series.

[Anonymous No.4431584]

>>4431573
Name one series for which it isn't true.

[Anonymous No.4431597]

>>4431584
I wouldn't recommend it for the FF franchise

[Anonymous No.4431604]

>>4431597
But I would.

[Anonymous No.4431609]

>>4431604
So you'd also recommend pic related as the best entry point for the SMT franchise? I don't think I agree with you.

[Anonymous No.4431619]

>>4431609
That's the game I used and it found it fun.

[Anonymous No.4431623]

Been playing Xak 1 on MSX and having a lot of fun, might do the MSX versions of Ys 1 and 2 next since I’ve never played them and Xak is apparently a clone.

[Anonymous No.4431624]

Just started FFXII. Why does it get a bad rep? The setting's been awesome the first couple hours.

[Anonymous No.4431635]

In my eyes
Indisposed
In disguise
As no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
And the sun
In my disgrace

Boiling heat
Summer stench
'Neath the black
The sky looks dead
Call my name
Through the cream
And I'll hear you
Scream again

[Chorus:]
Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun
Won't you come?
Won't you come?

Stuttering
Cold and damp
Steal the warm wind
Tired friend
Times are gone
For honest men
And sometimes
Far too long
For snakes

In my shoes
A walking sleep
And my youth
I pray to keep
Heaven send
Hell away
No one sings
Like you anymore

[Chorus 2x]

(Black hole sun,
Black hole sun)
Won't you come?
(Black hole sun,
Black hole sun)
Won't you come?
(Black hole sun,
Black hole sun)
Won't you come?
(Black hole sun,
Black hole sun)

Hang my head
Drown my fear
'Til you all just disappear

[Anonymous No.4431648]

>>4431609
That's a great game.

[Anonymous No.4431680]

>>4431584
Phantasy Star.

[Anonymous No.4431797]

>>4431648
And FF1 is a good game. I just don't think either are the best entry games for their franchise.

[Anonymous No.4431876]

>>4426638
This game is a masterpiece but certainly not a relaxing comfy game. The towns and music are somewhere between comfy and sad. The rest of the game is a pretty hardcore dungeon crawl, especially if you haven't been grinding, expect to spend hours manging your resources to explore the first third of the labyrinth, leaving going back to the town to heal up, go back in explore more, leave again, go back in solve some puzzles, etc.

Are you playing on an emulator btw? Frame rate shouldn't be that bad.

[Anonymous No.4432065]

>>4431527
1 if you're a truly bad dude, 4 if you just want a fun, comfy, easy game that makes FF look real cheap.

[Anonymous No.4432069]

>>4431527
Phantasy Star is a decent RPG that you'll need to make maps or look them up. It might be too archaic if you are less inclined towards 8bit RPG conventions.

PS4 is the most streamlined and easiest to jump into. It's more typical of the 16bit RPGs of the era.

[Anonymous No.4432161]

>>4431619
Did you play the Famicom version or the SuFami remake?

[Anonymous No.4432271]

>>4431527
Phantasy Star 1 like everyone else who grew up playing the series

[Anonymous No.4432281]

>>4431876
No, playing it on hardware. It can really chug. I just defeated Rilix the witch after a few unfortunate enemy blizzard attacks caused some game overs.

[Anonymous No.4432282]

>>4432065
>1 if you're truly a bad dude
What's this meme about 1 being some hardcore RPG? Because you have to make your own maps? That's a pretty standard RPG experience. Other than that, there's barely any grinding compared to other games of the time, it's highly detailed graphically and very easy to know what's going on around you compared to other games of the era, and the encounter rate is not unusually high, just standard. If you want an archaic hardcore grindfest go with Phantasy Star 2.

[Anonymous No.4432363]

>>4429094
How are you getting that aspect ratio?

[Anonymous No.4432597]

Been having fun with Lufia: The Legend Returns on GBC. It's an honest to god decent followup to 2. Some people might miss the puzzles in dungeons, seeing as they're all randomly generated floors, but it makes up for it with the battle system and skill learning system. 9 chars at once battles are fun, even if only 3 act per turn, you can keep others on standby so they can unleash IP attack hell. It's also somewhat a downsized PS1 game and looks great, and of course Ancient Cave is back and bigger than ever.

I've overlooked this because it's on the GBC and I didn't expect much, but it's great. The writing being incredibly rushed and engrishy at times is the only downside, but it makes sense and hits the right notes.

Not retro but I hear incredibly mixed things on Lufia GBA - how is it?

[Anonymous No.4432603]

>>4430584
The crucial part is the first が. He could be talking to Ryunan or Rô and it wouldn't change anything.
セリオス様、貴方がこの国の王様になる日が楽しみでございます

[Anonymous No.4432624]

>>4432597
GB has some of the best sequels, or maybe "spinoff" type games, of great RPGs. Stuff like Dragon Warrior Monsters, Star Ocean Blue Sphere, Lufia Legend Returns, all would make my top 50 list, great games. Pre GB Advance RPGs are often overlooked because of how much memory the carts have, a lot of people go in with the preconceived notion that you can't fit a good proper RPG on there. These games often are more quirky than the main quest games of the series, you can feel that the developers had fun making them, there's a lot of love there.

Thanks for reminding me about Lufia Ruins, it's been on my backlog and I didn't know what to play next.

[Anonymous No.4432739]

>>4431259
Xenogears?

[Anonymous No.4432805]

>>4425948
>This game is grindy as fuck.

Isn't this game where the battles are skipped and you just get the exp and gold without fighting the enemy if your level is higher than theirs?

[Anonymous No.4432845]

>>4432805
sounds like earthbound

[Anonymous No.4433028]

>>4432597
I enjoyed TLR much more than 2, the combat is way better like you said.

4 feels like it has never been playtested. The game balance is completely all over the place. But what's worse is that the combat is all primitive again.

[Anonymous No.4433051]

>>4431005
I have the GBA cart of Tales of Phantasia laying around my room; I think my older brother got it from a friend who moved or something. I never really tried it, but I've heard bad things about it in terms of censorship/translation. Is this true, or blown out of proportion?

[Anonymous No.4433075]

>>4433051
>or blown out of proportion?

It's really not.
From what I've read, back when the game was localized (early 00's), they used a spell-checker to correct any typoes.
Since the spell-checker couldn't recognize some stuff like "Ragnarok" and "Einherjar", the game end up with stuff like the "Kangaroo War" instead of the "Ragnarok War". It's kinda funny, actually.

[Anonymous No.4433212]

>>4426625
What are you playing those on?

[Anonymous No.4433223]

>>4433212
Looks like a hacked SNES Classic Mini

[Anonymous No.4433387]

>>4433051
The translation is incredibly stiff and wooden, and has dumb changes as >>4433075 mentioned. Additionally, the battles are actually slower and clunkier than the original SNES version. If you want to play it, play the Playstation version, with the most recent translation patch it's a good time.

[Anonymous No.4433853]

>JRPG thread
>ctrl + f every title that matters
>all pop up
>already Dragon Quest discussion over where to start
>>4433051
>GBA Tales of Phantasia
IT ENDS HEA
IG DAY NATION

It's good to be home.

[Anonymous No.4433947]

Legend of Heroes really only picked up from 3 and on (Gagharv saga).

[Anonymous No.4433950]

>>4425967
play anime licenced RPGs

[Anonymous No.4434442]

>>4432282
>Because you have to make your own maps?
No, THIS is the meme. You can realisitically play it without the crutch of mapping. It really annoys me to see you lot claim it as neccesary to play the game. If anything is going to scare people off it's the absolute lie that they need to bust out a pen and paper to make any sense of the game's smallish dungeon levels.

[Anonymous No.4434485]

>>4434442
>All those pit traps
>All those fake walls
No way you're gonna get far without mapping.

[Anonymous No.4434556]

>>4434485
I beat the entire game without mapping, twice. Don't exaggerate, non-goldfish memory and basic direction sense is all you require.

[Anonymous No.4434584]

>>4434442
I guess you could theoretically beat the game without mapping, I don't know why anybody would want to, part of the fun of playing games is mapping them. I remember playing it as a kid and not taking into account how many squares I progressed while mapping and wound up drawing an endless maze that I couldn't get out of. Turns out I was walking around the same square shaped corridor over and over again. I can't imagine what a nightmare it would be without a map. I'll take your word for it that you beat it, but the original point still stands that it isn't a particularly hardcore game unless you're comparing it to today's gaming industry. It's far more accessible than most RPGs of the day while still offering a decent bit of challenge. One of the great games ever made.

[Anonymous No.4434587]

>>4426314
What's wrong with 1 and 2?

I know they're super-grindy, but their simplicity is charming. Along with FF1-3 I feel like they're the quintessential retro JRPG's.

[Anonymous No.4435770]

>>4426314
3 or 5 first?
I have both on my SNES Classic
I have Fire Emblem 4 but it won't start

[Anonymous No.4435779]

>>4425967
Harvest Moon

[Anonymous No.4435783]

>>4435770
3 is a good jumping point, and 4-5-6 I consider those to be played in order just because you might miss the little nods it gives to one another.

[Anonymous No.4435787]

>>4426638
You know that looks an awful lot like Golden Sun, right down to the font used.

[Anonymous No.4435803]

>>4430846
>Hybrid fucking Heaven but no Quest64
I'm not even memeing why isn't Quest64 on there but Hybrid Heaven somehow is?

[Anonymous No.4435807]

>>4433051
I don't know how people can even play the GBA version, the battles are not only dumbed down to hell but there's a huge amount of slowdown happening even if it's just 1v1.

[Anonymous No.4435874]

No good endings for our heroes.

[/spoiler]>Arc the Lad II has Elc being forced to kill Mariel under the playground where they played as children. Even worse, she breaks free from her mind control, only for a bomb wired inside her to detonate and kill her anyway.

>Arc finally finds his father, after literally years spent looking for him, going into exile while being branded a terrorist. He dies 4 minutes after that. Finding his father was the reason he started his quest.

>Arc's father, Yoshua, disappeared 10 years before the beginning of the first game. By the end of Arc 2, we learn that the spirits granted him the power to time travel, in order to set everything right. He failed, and dies right after reuniting with Arc.

>The utterly screwed up backstories of most playable characters, and the events before the last boss. The characters have destroyed bit by bit the Romalian War Machine, freed most if not all of their puppet states, and have conquered its capital. Cue the king of Romalia breaking the seal of the big bad and snapping because his kingdom is collapsing under his feet. The Dark One then proceeds to kill the King of Romalia, kills Arc's loved one, and unleashes the apocalypse over the world.

>Then you see a scene of the cities explored by the heroes being flooded and burned down, while most of the world's population dies. Not only were all the good deeds of Arc, Elc & co for nothing, but you are at the end of the game. No opportunity to fix anything, and if this was not enough, Arc commits a heroic sacrifice after the last battle.

>Elc: "It makes me wonder what we were fighting for. Arc died, and for what? So we could inherit this desolate and hopeless future? We didn't stop the world from ending, we survived it. And now we are left with nothing."

>After you defeat the Dark One, the camera shows all the towns that he destroyed, as well as the villagers' dead bodies.[/spoiler]

[Anonymous No.4435880]

No good endings for our heroes.

>Arc the Lad II has Elc being forced to kill Mariel under the playground where they played as children. Even worse, she breaks free from her mind control, only for a bomb wired inside her to detonate and kill her anyway.

>Arc finally finds his father, after literally years spent looking for him, going into exile while being branded a terrorist. He dies 4 minutes after that. Finding his father was the reason he started his quest.

>Arc's father, Yoshua, disappeared 10 years before the beginning of the first game. By the end of Arc 2, we learn that the spirits granted him the power to time travel, in order to set everything right. He failed, and dies right after reuniting with Arc.

>The utterly screwed up backstories of most playable characters, and the events before the last boss. The characters have destroyed bit by bit the Romalian War Machine, freed most if not all of their puppet states, and have conquered its capital. Cue the king of Romalia breaking the seal of the big bad and snapping because his kingdom is collapsing under his feet. The Dark One then proceeds to kill the King of Romalia, kills Arc's loved one, and unleashes the apocalypse over the world.

>Then you see a scene of the cities explored by the heroes being flooded and burned down, while most of the world's population dies. Not only were all the good deeds of Arc, Elc & co for nothing, but you are at the end of the game. No opportunity to fix anything, and if this was not enough, Arc commits a heroic sacrifice after the last battle.

>Elc: "It makes me wonder what we were fighting for. Arc died, and for what? So we could inherit this desolate and hopeless future? We didn't stop the world from ending, we survived it. And now we are left with nothing."

>After you defeat the Dark One, the camera shows all the towns that he destroyed, as well as the villagers' dead bodies.

[Anonymous No.4435915]

>>4435880
The fuck, I always thought this was supposed to be a happy kid friendly series.

[Anonymous No.4435962]

>>4435880
Don't forget when you finally encounter Chongara in ATL3 and the poor old man is a husk of his former self.

[Anonymous No.4437229]

>>4435880
Jesus Christ, those last three.

But really, is Arc the Lad a good game? The PS had so many strategy rpgs that I missed a lot of them, this one included.

[Anonymous No.4438135]

>>4435787
Same game devs

[Anonymous No.4438428]

I haven't played that many JRPGS (or at least haven't finished that many) and out of all the Final Fantasy games the only ones I've finished are 7 and 10. I really would like to play the series from the start but I've heard that FF1 is really buggy and some call it unplayable (no idea why). Is this true and should I start with FF1 or a later entry? Is it even good?

[Anonymous No.4438460]

>>4438428
Just play the PS1 version. It's the same game but less buggy and faster.

[Anonymous No.4438495]

>>4435803
Hybrid Heaven at least is pretty unique and unlike anything else. Even if sort of rough nothing is really like it.

[Anonymous No.4438726]

There's a couple different types of JRPG fans and the types have vastly different preferences. Some people like games with engaging battle systems where they need to prepare and plan out their moves carefully, treating the combat as a sort of puzzle. Others dislike being bogged down with combat mechanics and prefer simple monotonous repetition that offer a feeling of progression as they invest time. For the former group something like Dragon Quest 1 is an absolute bore, while for the latter group playing a tactics-focused game would feel like a chore. I don't think there's anything wrong with having either preference but since the genre is so broad it's helpful to think about what exactly you're looking for when searching for a JRPG to play.

[Anonymous No.4439275]

>>4438460
Alright thanks buddy

[Anonymous No.4439338]

>>4438460
>loading times
>fmvs
>faster

>>4439275
Play the original like most people

[Anonymous No.4439969]

Just started Alcahest. Pretty simple and fun game desu, but when I read "1.0 Beta" i thought it meant some obscure text in japanese, not a bunch of glitched text EVERYWHERE. FUCK.

[Anonymous No.4440196]

>>4439969
>1.0 Beta

Dude, patch the addendum over. It translates everything else.
It's on romhacking.net

[Anonymous No.4440220]

I'm playing Suikoden 1 for the first time. One thing that I immensely appreciate, compared to other JRPGs, is just how damn fast battles are. The encounter rate in dungeons dangerously flirts with being annoying, but at least most battles with mooks are over in seconds. The fact that most party members gain levels so fast at least keeps progression at a steady pace.

I am only about 5ish hours in though, so I only recently got the castle and am now going around the world, trying to "catch 'em all"... those 108 stars of destiny. I don't really want to ruin things with a FAQ, so I hope there aren't "missable" characters.

When they asked me to name my sweet new castle, I decided on Odessa Castle. Those who played the game might know why; I felt it was appropriate!

Oh, and that dumb wheel of fortune in the rich dude's house? FUCK THAT AWFUL PIECE OF SHIT. Who thought having a random wheel be the gatekeeper to FINISHING A DUNGEON was a good idea??

[Anonymous No.4440225]

>>4431259
>>4431275
Try the Shadow Hearts games.

[Anonymous No.4440229]

>>4440220
>I don't really want to ruin things with a FAQ, so I hope there aren't "missable" characters.
Guess again.

[Anonymous No.4440236]

>>4440229
masaka

[Anonymous No.4440263]

>>4432363
PSP version..

[Anonymous No.4441307]

>>4439338
Origins didn't have loading times.

[Anonymous No.4441772]

>>4440220
Suikoden 1 and 2 are both quality games.
Highly unlikely you will find all characters on your own.
Don't look at a faq, do stuff on your own.
If you really like it play it a second time with a faq.

[Anonymous No.4442118]

>>4430846
The picture for Fire Emblem you've the there is for Thracia 776 instead of Genealogy of the Holy War. But to be honest Genealogy is only praised for the story and not the gameplay while Thracia does gameplay better than nearly any other game in the series.

[Anonymous No.4442225]

>>4430846
A little annoyed that Parallel Trippers is there in the GBC section but not Lufia TLR.
I had the game for most of my GBC's life and never managed to get everything. Crazy amount of content.

[Anonymous No.4444581]

>>4435962
Chongara hits the hardest because it's presented in a kind of light hearted way on the outside, but to anyone who played since Arc1 and knows him it's basically a kick in the balls.
The only ones who got some sort of decent closure to their lives from Arc's gang are Tosh and Boco.
>>4437229
I wouldn't say they're good games, the gameplay is only serviceable and in the case of the first two games it's slow as all hell.
The story and characters are pretty great though, especially since it's not the usual tripe like FF, and 2's graphics are pretty damn great if you like 2d games, 3 is the weakest link of the trilogy though, it's pretty subpar in everything compared to the first two but if you don't mind to have one last kick in the balls for Arc's suffering train you have to play it because it's still a decent closure for both Arc and Elc's stories, it's just the new cast that's pretty bad.

You also get to play as Commando Ninja Char, so there's that.