What is your other favorite JRPG series with Fire Emblem?

[Armagon]

On 5/24/2019 at 2:02 AM, Slyfox said:

I also liked X (special editioned that one too!), but felt it was very inconsistent and everything was somewhat inferior to Chronicles. I would have loved it had the story been more prevalent.

By any chance, did you go in expecting it to be like Xenoblade Chronicles? Because that's a mistake a lot of people made when the game first came out. In terms of main story, yeah, Xenoblade X's story is inferior. But if we compare things like the sidequests and exploration, it's like no contest, Xenonblade X nukes the rest of the series out of the water (except for Torna ~ The Golden Country in the sidequest department). If you did play through it expecting it to be like Xenoblade Chronicles, try playing it again but this time putting the focus on the gameplay, exploration, and sidequests.

All that said, it's totally fine if you prefer Xenoblade 1 over X.

Anyway, if you like the Xenoblade games, i definitely recommend checking out Xenogears and the Xenosaga Trilogy (i also recommend emulating these, for the sake of convenience). Playing through at least Xenogears would increase your appreciation of the Xenoblade games even more (especially Xenoblade 2 and Torna ~ The Golden Country).

On 5/24/2019 at 2:02 AM, Slyfox said:

I have hope for a sequel.

Monolith Soft already said they wanted to do it (and Xenoblade 3. And an original M-rated game.) so we probably will get a Xenoblade X sequel in the near future.

On 5/24/2019 at 2:02 AM, Slyfox said:

Following that, I would say Rune Factory 4. Lucky I got it to be honest. I started the Harvest Moon series with A New Beginning, and was left severely underwhelmed. And yet for some reason, despite hearing how similar Rune Factory was to Harvest Moon, I bought Rune Factory 4 against my better judgement. It completely blew my expectations! The most fun I've ever had with what I would call a time-sink game. There is just so much to do in this game, and it's all fun. Looking forward to the next entry.

Eyyy, a fellow Rune Factory 4 fan. Rune Factory 4 was also my introduction to the series and i'll definitely be sinking in time when the remastered Switch version comes out. I also look forward to Rune Factory 5 and i'm deciding if i should play any of the previous entries in the meantime.

[Slyfox]

8 minutes ago, Armagon said:

By any chance, did you go in expecting it to be like Xenoblade Chronicles? Because that's a mistake a lot of people made when the game first came out. In terms of main story, yeah, Xenoblade X's story is inferior. But if we compare things like the sidequests and exploration, it's like no contest, Xenonblade X nukes the rest of the series out of the water (except for Torna ~ The Golden Country in the sidequest department). If you did play through it expecting it to be like Xenoblade Chronicles, try playing it again but this time putting the focus on the gameplay, exploration, and sidequests.

All that said, it's totally fine if you prefer Xenoblade 1 over X.

Anyway, if you like the Xenoblade games, i definitely recommend checking out Xenogears and the Xenosaga Trilogy (i also recommend emulating these, for the sake of convenience). Playing through at least Xenogears would increase your appreciation of the Xenoblade games even more (especially Xenoblade 2 and Torna ~ The Golden Country).

Monolith Soft already said they wanted to do it (and Xenoblade 3. And an original M-rated game.) so we probably will get a Xenoblade X sequel in the near future.

Eyyy, a fellow Rune Factory 4 fan. Rune Factory 4 was also my introduction to the series and i'll definitely be sinking in time when the remastered Switch version comes out. I also look forward to Rune Factory 5 and i'm deciding if i should play any of the previous entries in the meantime.

I was expecting X to be similar to Chronicles, but I didn't go in unprepared. I had read from multiple sources how the story took a backseat to gameplay. I was still surprised and disappointed that the story was even more minimalist than I thought possible. I like the soundtrack, but it's inconsistent. Great songs, but they do not feel like they belong together. The difficulty was all over the place, exponentially more so than Chronicles. The environments were pretty, but still kind of bog-standard, especially in comparison to Chronicles. There wasn't any other hub besides New Los Angeles and you can't even rebuild it like Colony 6. And my list of complaints goes on.

That being said, I don't want it to sound like I'm bashing the game. I really did like it, it just doesn't do most things as well as Chronicles. Except the side quests and the exploration, I'll agree with you on those two points. The game is a diamond in the rough.

 

While I would love to try the older Xeno games, I'm a little iffy on emulation. Maybe one day!

 

Rune Factory fans unite!

[Armagon]

1 hour ago, Slyfox said:

I had read from multiple sources how the story took a backseat to gameplay. I was still surprised and disappointed that the story was even more minimalist than I thought possible.

I wouldn't exactly call the story minimalist. It takes a back seat, sure, but it's still solid enough to stand on it's own. It's better than Xenosaga Episode I's story. Xenosaga Episode I's story, while good, is pretty much a glorified prologue.

1 hour ago, Slyfox said:

The difficulty was all over the place, exponentially more so than Chronicles.

1 hour ago, Slyfox said:

There wasn't any other hub besides New Los Angeles and you can't even rebuild it like Colony 6.

Well that's kinda the point. You've crash-landed on a mysterious alien planet where 99% of the creatures there want to have you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I actually don't mind the lack of a Colony 6-type thing. I rebuilt Colony 6 once and never again because it's kind of a chore to do imo (*cries in ice cabbages and black liver beans*).

Not to denounce your opinion or anything, i think they're all perfectly valid. These are just my thoughts. Especially on things like the soundtrack, since music is extremely subjective. There was a time where i hated the Xenoblade X soundtrack (except for a select few) but in the past year, the soundtrack has really grown on me. I used to hate Black Tar but now i unironically think it's a banger.

Btw, since you like Colony 6, you'll likely be pleased to know there's a similar mechanic in Torna ~ The Golden Country, called Community. You aren't rebuilding anything but you bring together the lives of people through sidequests that have the quality of Xenoblade X's sidequests.

1 hour ago, Slyfox said:

While I would love to try the older Xeno games, I'm a little iffy on emulation. Maybe one day!

If you're iffy on emulation, you can legally play Xenogears if you have a PSVita or PS3. It's on the Playstation Network, you can get it for $20 on that i think. As for the Xenosaga Trilogy......your options are pretty much emulation. Copies sell for high prices and Europe has it worse, because they only got Episode II.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Armagon

[Slyfox]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

I wouldn't exactly call the story minimalist. It takes a back seat, sure, but it's still solid enough to stand on it's own. It's better than Xenosaga Episode I's story. Xenosaga Episode I's story, while good, is pretty much a glorified prologue.

Minimalist was a poor word choice. The story is there, but only the beginning and end (near end as well) are fleshed out to a satisfactory degree. Minimalist would be like Etrian Odyssey.

 

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

Well that's kinda the point. You've crash-landed on a mysterious alien planet where 99% of the creatures there want to have you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I actually don't mind the lack of a Colony 6-type thing. I rebuilt Colony 6 once and never again because it's kind of a chore to do imo (*cries in ice cabbages and black liver beans*).

I don't even think it's necessary to make us personally rebuild NLA. Colony 6 was a chore, but after all that time setting up infrastructure out in the world, getting resources, I just think it makes sense for NLA to grow as the missions go by. Or set up bases around the area.

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

Not to denounce your opinion or anything, i think they're all perfectly valid. These are just my thoughts. Especially on things like the soundtrack, since music is extremely subjective. There was a time where i hated the Xenoblade X soundtrack (except for a select few) but in the past year, the soundtrack has really grown on me. I used to hate Black Tar but now i unironically think it's a banger.

I am beyond angry that you dared contradict me! sdfiuyogbdfkhujygfebvwkevwf ARGH!

Seriously though, no need to apologize for something that hasn't happened. I really enjoy debating, as long as it remains friendly. You are doing a fantastic job of it, so thank you! People tend to forget that disagreeing with someone doesn't mean you have to treat them poorly.

[henrymidfields]

Honorary mention: Tokyo Mirage Sessions for introducing me to Atlus games in general and Persona 3/4 (and eventually 5 too) in particular, and especially Yu/Yukiko shipping and the awsomeness that is of Mina-cakes! For any of its shortcomings TMSFE may have, there is one argument that absolutely no one can deny/refute/dissuade me out of, and it is the above inspiration, full stop.

Edited May 26, 2019 by henrymidfields

[Faustino]

Final Fantasy, which is absolutely above Fire Emblem in many ways.

[Rapier]

Trails is my favorite RPG series of all time.

For strategy games, I prefer western ones. Fire Emblem is probably my favorite SRPG series, though.

[Ilboss]

Persona

Final Fantasy

Xenoblade Chronicles

Golden Sun

 

[TowerOfTartarus]

Persona (Never played the first two, but 3 and 4 are two of my favorite games ever)

Shin Megami Tensei

Digital Devil Saga

Drakengard/Nier (if that counts?)

Mother

Dragon Quest

Digimon

Bravely Default

Rune Factory

[Dark Holy Elf]

Final Fantasy used to be the blindingly obvious answer for me. If you'd asked me this question 15-20 years ago I wouldn't even have hesitated: FF was the king of the genre. But... it's had exactly one main-series game I've liked in the last 17 years (XIII). Hard to get enthusiastic about a series when its releases have slowed to a crawl and every other one is some MMO or MMO wannabe. From an all-time perspective, though, it's still right up there.

Suikoden's another one I'll mention. Has nobody else mentioned that yet? Wow. 2/3/5 have some of the best stories in gaming. They're usually not that great for gameplay, and the series has been dead for a while now, sadly.

I really liked the later entries of the Wild Arms series, especially 4 and XF, but it really only had a few good years before it too died off.

So yeah Fire Emblem kinda stands alone for me these days.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

There is no real any other round based tactical JRPG besides Fire Emblem I have played yet. 

Devil Survivor would come the closest series which fulfills these criteria. 

Project X Zone series is also roundbased, but the battles are live action likish. Still it features mission types like turn limit rout and pseudo defend missions. The addition of Fire Emblem characters definitely influenced the gameplay of the second part. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by Rosalina