/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.4610113]

I'm getting into retro jrpgs. Other than square games, what are the essential pre-ps1 jrpgs?

[Anonymous No.4610178]

>>4610113
YS IV Dawn of Ys

Tengai Makyou 2 and Anearth Fantasy Stories still need translations

Legend of Xanadu I and II should be out by the end of the year

[Anonymous No.4610194]

lufia 2

[Anonymous No.4610354]

>>4610113
Dragon Quest series is the most essential JRPG series, even considering Squaresoft. Wizardry series if you count them as that, since they are the main inspiration for the genre.

[Anonymous No.4610372]

Pool of Radiance, Ultima Underworld, Terranigma, and Shadowrun.

[Anonymous No.4610376]

>>4610372
>jrpgs
>PoR, Ultima Underworld...
Cool games, but man...

[Anonymous No.4610403]

Phantasy Star

[Anonymous No.4610408]

>>4610113
Phantasy Star IV
Lunar Silver Star and Eternal Blue

[Anonymous No.4610542]

[Anonymous No.4610546]

>>4610542

[Anonymous No.4610548]

>>4610542
>SMT2 but not SMT
2 being the better game is sheer memery.

[Anonymous No.4610559]

>>4610548
Not him, but what about this:
SMT2 can have more than one enemy type at the same type in battles. This improves them (well, unless you're abusing the typical stuff that breaks these like charm bullets).
Having the map accessed with one button is quite convenient, for instance.

[Anonymous No.4610564]

>>4610559
I'll definitely concede that the map being more convenient makes the gameplay inherently better, I just liked 1 more and think it's kind of sad to see a chart for JRPG recommendations skip it completely.

[Anonymous No.4610572]

>>4610564
Why do you think SMT1 is better? Usually people prefer its structure: SMT2 relies a bit too much on backtracking.
The combat system improvements are definitely a thing as I've mentioned, though. I just want to know why you feel that way.

[Anonymous No.4610576]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've played through the NES FF1 already and enjoyed it, i've never really played many jrpgs before.

[Anonymous No.4610579]

Dragon Quest/Warrior III is the most essential JRPG

[Anonymous No.4610581]

>>4610572
Maybe it's just my nostalgia (1 was my first SMT title), but I found the story and atmosphere way more immediately gripping. It has a very logical start, and slowly keeps building up more and more until the apocalypse happens, and then it keeps building up even further to its exciting conclusion.
With SMT2, it starts off kind of weird and then you're suddenly whisked away to a science lab and you're the (manmade) chosen one and you have to go on a mission and stuff, it was really jarring.
2 definitely has a lot of fun stuff to it, but I just like 1 more in the end. I also thought it was really cool how you could bring Pascal with you and fuse him with a demon to get Cerberus really early. Just little stuff like that.

>>4610576
If you enjoyed FF1 NES then you've got a whole big world of fun JRPGs ahead of you, anon. Any of them in particular piquing your interest?

[Anonymous No.4610583]

>>4610581
Rudra no Hihou looks really neat just from the screenshot I saw.

[Anonymous No.4610584]

>>4610579
I'm >>4610354
And yeah, that game is probably the best DQ.
If you play the original NES game emulated, get the manual online. You'll want it to see the weapons stats in shops, otherwise the only information you're given is their names and prices.
>>4610581
Yeah, if you preferred it for aesthetic / plot related reasons we're entering more subjective territories here.
I don't care about that stuff in games, but I'll say that SMT1 definitely feels more tight in that regard, which is helped by its structure.

[Anonymous No.4610585]

>>4610583
It looks neat but IMO its magic system is a bit too gimmicky and broken, and the game overstays its welcome a bit.

[Anonymous No.4610590]

>>4610584
Yeah, but that's the great thing about JRPGs: they're a much more diverse genre than people give it credit for, and there's so many different elements that can make each one worth playing. Even if this aspect of the game doesn't hold up, its other elements can push it through.
actually, come to think of it, I never played all the way through 2, so I'll move it a couple spots up in my backlog and see how I feel about it after I've properly beaten it

[Anonymous No.4610647]

>>4610113
Phantasy Star on SMS

[Anonymous No.4610652]

what do people think about Sweet Home on the famicom?

[Anonymous No.4610667]

>>4610590
>they're a much more diverse genre than people give it credit for
That's what happens when the only exposure most people have of them is only the most plot focused and popular Final Fantasy and Square games, as well as stuff like Pokémon.
>>4610652
Cool game! My main gripe is that its battle system is too simple and can get a bit monotonous after a while.

[Anonymous No.4610684]

>>4610652
It's a great adventure game, but a bad rpg. The battle system should have either been expanded or replaced with something different.

[Anonymous No.4610687]

>>4610113
Ogre Battle
Crystalis

>>4610652
I played it through to the end and enjoyed it. Having to switch back and forth between 2 separate parties is a pain in the ass, but I have no other complaints about it. Do yourself a favor and do not use FAQs if possible. You really want to avoid spoilers for a game like that. And just remember that it came out when RPGs were still supposed to be somewhat challenging, so it's definitely not a handholding game.

[Anonymous No.4610696]

>>4610113
I love the mother / earthbound games.
Does zelda on the snes count? Regardless that's a must play. Just for the epic title screen.

[Anonymous No.4610829]

>>4610113
For retro some stuff I suggest:
Metal Max Returns
Breath of Fire IV
Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers (3ds)
Romancing Saga
Live A Live

Not retro but I really can't suggest the ps2 and ds Shin Megami Tensei games enough, they're really why I love this genre so much in all honestly.
>>4610548
>>4610559
>>4610572
>>4610581
SMTI is better. Despite SMTII having somewhat better mechanics and interface that doesn't save the fact that it is ten time more tedious to actually play through. SMTII's backtracking is already shitty and when the combat is only barely better then SMTI it doesn't justify it as better. Both have shitty combat but SMTI doesn't have bullshit like the twelve pillars.

From a plot and atmosphere perspective both are excellent though.
>>4610652
Good game but its actual rpg mechanics are rather shallow. It does a lot of cool things and was the main inspiration for Resident Evil so I say give it a try.
>>4610696
>Does zelda on the snes count? Regardless that's a must play. Just for the epic title screen.
I feel like I was transported to 2005 after reading this. I didn't know someone could use epic unironically at this point.

[Anonymous No.4610839]

>>4610829
>Both have shitty combat but SMTI doesn't have bullshit like the twelve pillars.
Fair point. I haven't played these since '10 or so, which is why, even if I remember the tedium of II, it's not fresh in my mind and it's probably why I didn't feel it wasn't as bad.
Strange Journey is balling as shit indeed, barring the demon co-op mechanic I didn't care for and some other minor issues.

[Anonymous No.4610980]

>>4610839
SJ is, in my opinion, the best of the series honestly. Just a perfect blend of classic first person dungeon crawling and refinments of the later games.

[Anonymous No.4610982]

>>4610980
Most of the friends I have that have gotten into the series thanks to me seem to think the same. Definitely a strong game.

[Anonymous No.4611006]

>>4610982
>>4610980
>>4610839
it was my first in the series and I havne't played any of the others yet. i liked everything except the final boss

[Anonymous No.4611017]

>>4610113
Earthbound
Terranigma
Dragon Quest V
Shining Force II
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Illusion of Gaia
Dragon Warrior IV
Suikoden
Shining Force
Star Ocean [SNES]
Pokemon Red & Blue

[Anonymous No.4611019]

The Phantasy Star series (3 was pretty boring though, ignore that one) and Lunar 2 are the only 16bit RPGs I've played that I felt were on Squaresoft's level. I think the level of customization in FF6, along with the world of ruin second act, puts it ahead of them, but they are definitely on par with the excellent FF4.

I played most of the SNES library way back when, trying to find more RPGs as engrossing as Square's stuff, and I never found any until checking out Sega's library more than a decade later. And yes, Lunar 2 is best as a 16bit game. The level design, music and artwork is actually better than the 32bit Playstation version.

[Anonymous No.4611127]

>>4610652
>Sweet Home
best jpeg

[Anonymous No.4611218]

>>4610178
Oh are we counting all jrpgs and not turn-based ones? In that case OP grab the entire Illusion of Gaia trilogy for SNES, so that game plus Soul Blazer and Terranigma with an NTSC patch.

[Anonymous No.4611279]

>>4610376
My B, I missed the J.