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JRPG Backlog

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 6:35 am
by parappa
So... I'm guessing that, like me, a lot of users here have a backlog of unfinished JRPGs haunting their shelves. What's on yours?

On the PS1 (played on PS3) I'm working on Suikoden II. I actually managed to snag this one way back in 2005 for $40, used. It's not even that long of a game, but I never played more than the first couple of hours of it until this year in spite of repeatedly hearing from friends how amazing it is. Currently I'm sitting at about 10 hours of playtime. When that's done I would like to play Vanguard Bandits or perhaps Kartia: The Word of Fate, neither of which I played back when they were recent. Kartia was a random used game acquisition.

On the PS2 I'm working on Shin Megami Tensei 3: Noctourne, although it's in some danger of lapsing. SMT is one of those series that I've admired for a long time but never find the time to play. I've also got Persona 2: Innocent Sin for PSP collecting dust--not even opened yet. I want to try and get through SMT3 first.

On the PS3 I've got Final Fantasy XIII-2. I don't much care for the characters or story, but the game mechanics are a step up from FF XIII and that might be enough to carry me through it, maybe. Once that one is done with, I'm going to crack in to Valkyria Chronicles, which I own but shamefully have never played.

For the PS Vita, I'm working on a playthrough of Lunar: Silver Star Harmony. I've already played some of it on the PSP but it looks so great on the Vita that I had to get it again. I've also pre-ordered Persona 4 Golden.

On the NDS, I'm staggering my way through Dragon Quest V. I've owned a copy for a couple of years (I was scrambling to get it after being hooked on DQ IX), but my NDS is seeing less use these days due to being old. DQ V is amazing, though. I'm also playing Solatorobo which is a genius game except that the difficulty curve is far, far too shallow so there's basically no challenge to it at all--at least not for many hours of gameplay. There's also Radiant Historia, which is great, but I keep forgetting about it.

On the Wii I'm playing The Last Story. I enjoyed it a great deal at first, but now that I'm 10+ hours in, I'm finding that the plot is dull and the characters are too generic. The gameplay is still pretty decent, though, and I'd like to take a stab at finishing it. I've also have a long-standing saved game of Shiren the Wanderer to polish off.

On the PSP I'm not currently playing any JRPGs actively, but if I were, I'd probably be trying to complete Zettai Hero Project and maybe The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Also the previously mentioned Persona 2. And I just ordered a copy of Growlanser IV off of Amazon, so when that arrives it might spur a flurry of PSP gaming.

I'd be making better progress on all of this stuff, except XCOM: Enemy Unknown is eating up all of my time right now. And before that it was Guild Wars 2, and before that Dialbo III... this gaming thing never stops, does it?

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:45 am
by Aaron
I envy you. The pleasure I had playing Suikoden II the first time was only comparable to the first time I played Lunar 1 or 2. Suikoden II is such a great experience especially if you beat the first one and have found everyone to recruit. Then bring your save file over. There is a very special secret in Suikoden II if you do that. The only gripe I have against the Suikoden series is that most of the characters are flat. In Suikoden II I ended up sticking with a core group of 6 or 7 people. The rest I used maybe once if at all.

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:52 pm
by Werefrog
I still haven't finished Xenogears.

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:19 pm
by Sonic#
What does it say about me that I finished Xenogears but haven't finished a Final Fantasy? (Oh, I've gotten close on every single player game from IV to XII, excepting V and IX.)

Here are the ones I could conceivably go back to soon:
I'm working on Xenoblade Chronicles now after a few months of hiatus while I traveled and then got back into the swing of writing. I'm about two-thirds of the way through, and I spend a lot of time exploring and fighting with different class combinations according to who prefers who.

Persona IV is currently on the backburner. I love that game, but I'm not too much of a fan of the random dungeons, so I often stop for a few months in the middle of a particularly steep grind.

I'm in the middle of Pokemon: Black and White. It's gone unplayed since I traveled. Because I drive or read on the bus, I don't set aside much time for portable games of any sort.

I haven't played Radiant Historia, but have an urge to play it after I beat Xenoblade Chronicles. I need some timeline action.

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 12:05 am
by Dark_Fairy
I have a backlog that is way to large, lol. I get distracted easily and stop games for stupid reasons sometimes. So I'll just list some of the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Legend of Dragoon - This game would have been completed a long time ago, but both times I started playing it, I got stuck on disk 2. The first time I wasn't strong enough, and the second time my disk would not load one of the dungeons I needed to go to on disk 2. So I bought the game off of PSN, and plan to start it over again once I get the time.

Disgaea 3 - Love the game, but I grind way to much and try to do everything, so it's taking forever to beat.

Disgaea 4 - Same reason as Disgaea 3

Lunar Silver Star Harmony - I forgot why I stopped playing this, actually. I need to eventually go back and beat it. :P

Final Fantasy XIII - I got distracted with another game and didn't get back to it (dunno if I will)

Skyrim - I stopped playing because I got busy, and now I want to restart it because I don't like what class I chose.

Persona 3 - Same reason as Disgaea 3

Persona 4 - Same reason as Disgaea 3

Pokemon White 2 - School has been keeping me busy ever since it came out, but I plan to play some of it again this weekend

Believe me, there is tons more than that, but I'm only listing the ones I've played recently or the ones I plan on revisiting soon. And this doesn't even cover the games I have that I haven't even started yet like Xenogears and Vanguard Bandits. You don't want to know the whole list of that either.

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:30 pm
by Nobiyuki77
I need to get back to Atelier Iris 2 and Atelier Annie. Been procrastinating!

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:43 pm
by parappa
Nobiyuki77 wrote:I need to get back to Atelier Iris 2 and Atelier Annie. Been procrastinating!
I have no experience with the Atelier series, aside from reading about it. Which one would you say is the best?

Dark Fairy: I feel your pain re: Disgaea. I've played a lot of NIS games, but the only I ever finished were the first two that I played, Disgaea and La Pucelle. After that I tend to play anywhere from 10-20 hours of their games before giving up because it's too long.

I do especially like Disgaea 4, though. The HD sprites are nice and what little I've seen of the story was funny.

I was under the impression that Mugen Souls is an NIS game (because they're the publisher), but it's actually an Idea Factory game. That's pretty much all you need to know about it right there. :) Best to steer clear unless you're an RPG masochist.

The God and Fate Revolution Paradox looks like it might be good. No Western release date yet, though.

Re: JRPG Backlog

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:12 am
by Lord Yggdrasill
I pretty much finished all JRPGs, except for Tales of Eternia but I am close to the final battle.