Need some JRPG recommendations please!

Howdy all! So Steam is having a "JRPG sale".

Now, those of you that know me on here know that I am not a fan of JRPG's, but not because I want to be. I know they're good games and they give a lot of joy to a lot of people, so I feel compelled to keep trying to like them provided the game is unanimously liked...

...or there is a sale :D and I can afford to take a gamble.

So anyway, got any recommendations? Link to the Steam sale to see what they have (not trying to make an advertisement here mods :D just linking for reference)

Specific ones that catch my eye are:

• Dragon Quest XI "S"....what's the "S" mean?
• Octopath Traveler. Looks old school, but it's new?
• Valkyria Chronicles 4. The strategy and war aspect looks kind of cool, and I actually sort of like the art direction in this one.
• Scarlet Nexus seems neat. Sort of a modern setting it looks like?

Also if you know of any that are on Game Pass (PC) please let me know! I don't mind spending 10-25 dollars but if there's one with my subscription that'd be cool too :)

Thanks all!

Also, how is FF XIV? I'm in a bit of an MMO slump right now, what with WoW being pretty terrible with Shadowlands crap.

I'm thinking of going back to EVE Online for a change of scenery (sci-fi space), but I hear really good things about FF XIV.

@mrbojangles25: DQXIS have a 10 hour demo on consoles and save is tranferable. Try to check if its on PC. Overall game is good but start extremely slow. Does takes around 20 hour tho for the story to take a very good twist.

For VC I actually recommends you play VC remaster first. VC1 story is simple and pretty realistic. The character designs is not as "anime" as the later entries they all wear that setting standard uniform. Also holds up incredibly well you will barely notice any upgrades when you play VC4 . VC4 story later on can be in "that is pretty stupid" territory.

For my recommendation, of course you got to have Persona 4G, FFXII, yakuza 7, MH Stories 2, FF7R and Chrono Trigger. All newcomer friedly and all highly acclaimed game but do have to warn on FFXII the system can be very complex.

@sakaixx: Sweet, thanks for the suggestions. Didn't know there were so many Monster Hunter games! Stories looks pretty neat.

FFXII looks pretty old school, too, which appeals to me. I tried the FF (XI maybe?) where you look like you're in a boy band and you drive around in a car and didn't like it.

@mrbojangles25: That was FFXV. XII is good, but considering I am still in the beginning, it is time consuming. I had to put it down when I was playing it.

• Yakuza: Like a Dragon - Great game. I think it is on Game Pass tho.
• Disgaea PC - 80% off. Awesome turn-based strategy JRPG

Why is Octopath expensive compared to other JRPGs released around the same time?

DQ S version is the switch version, with worse visuals unfortunately. I have the original on steam, it was replaced by the former that was the definitive edition that landed on Switch first and was the one ported.

Thanks for the responses everyone, you've given me some good directions to go in.

Been wanting to revisit the franchise, I might check that out. Last time I spent any real time with it was when I was a little kid, I think that was when the OG FFVII was released. Graphics blew my mind then.

Wait what? So they put the crappier version up?

I mean no big loss the visuals were never really a selling point right? But still that's kind of messed up.

@mrbojangles25: If I may, I would recommend FFX, To be clear, outside of XV, I have never completed a mainline FF, but X so far is my favorite. It was the one I started with after learning about FF through Kingdom Hearts and I got stuck on a boss. I have the PS3 and PS4 versions as I thought that I was going about the PS3 Version wrong only to find out by the time I got the PS4 version that I was right where I needed to be. It is Turn-Based, so for someone like you who played the OG VII, this may be a good start.

As well, I do recommend Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal. Both turn-based, and where I felt the genre of JRPGs finally "clicked." Both great games and became an immediate fan of.

Get these...

Final Fantasy 6-10

Chrono Trigger

Octopath Traveller

Dragon Quest XI S

Grandia HD Remastered

The above are JRPG icons

I stopped in November and haven't gone back since. Something about Shadowlands turned me off. Maybe more than just something come to think of it.

I'd play Scarlet Nexus. For some reason it reminds me of Astral Chain.

@omegamaster: I second Grandia. Not usually big on turn based battle systems, but the Gandia games play out in a way where positioning and timing mater. Makes it feel more like a tactics game.

Any experience with FF XIV, though?

And yeah Scarlet Nexus caught my eye.

I've tried FF XII and it's a bit slow for me but I'm giving it a solid go, going to try at least five hours. The combat seems similar to KOTOR, you just click (or select) a target and let the auto-attacks go.

Would recommend on Steam-

• Final Fantasy IV - XII
• Valkyria Chronicles
• Disgaea series

Omg I forgot to recommends Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel. Trail in the sky is classic JRPG stuff while Trails of Cold Steel features the persona styled time management.

The 10 best JRPGs you can play right now:

1. Chrono Trigger. (Image credit: Square Enix)
2. Final Fantasy 7. (Image credit: Square Enix)
3. Persona 5 Royal. (Image credit: Atlus)
4. Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
5. Earthbound.
6. Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
7. Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition.
8. Tales of Arise.

Get YS8,

dragon quest, scarlet Nexus , octopath I think are all on gamepass

@mrbojangles25: Don't know about the rest of I highly recommend Valkyria Chronicles 4. Its a fantastic game through and through and there were plenty of tense moments. It introduces a few new cool things the first game didn't have but overall the game play hasn't really changed much, but the challenges provided are very diverse, dynamic and pretty darn epic with a rich cast of interesting characters. Definitely one of the best JRPGs I have played since Persona 4.