I'd played Mass Effect about 4 months ago and I absolutely loved the game; it was the first single-player game I played this gen that actually compelled me to play on primarily for the story. Generally I've steered clear of any kind of RPG within the past, but my interest in that game had me decide to look into JRPGs as well as Western... I played a good deal of JRPG demos a few weeks ago because of this, and the only one that actually seemed worth getting solely for the game itself (rather than achievements or just to show off me being an eclectic gamer :-P) was Eternal Sonata... Despite this, this game I can get for really cheap though, so I wanted to ask if there's more beyond the demo that would appeal to general gamers, or otherwise is this game really exclusive regarding who it appeals to?

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I don't care about this thing, so why should you?

sonata is very linear/boring, you follow a straight path the whole game and it tries to teach u childish morals.

Try Lost Odyssey/blue dragon or tales of vesperia

Well like I said, I played the Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata demos, and the former I found kind of boring, the sound to be somewhat grating, and the character design really cheesy and contrived... Anyone who's played more than 5 games in their life can tell Eternal Sonata is a very linear game, but I really loved the general presentation more than anything, especially regarding the music, and stage design.

I also played the Tales of Vesperia demo, and despite everyone saying this is the most must-have of all the JRPGs of the 360, I really didn't care for it that much... The combat was overly chaotic, and while I think completely turn-based combat is kind of archaic, having 12 - 15 charcters on a screen engaging in real-time combat is just daunting... That was actually another trait that drew me to Eternal Sonata, referencing the great blending of real-time and turn-based combat elements. Regarding things of other nature within Tales, the story didn't seem interesting, and the general presentation just didn't seem as alluring as Sonata...

Lost Odyssey I didn't play, though that one I think I might enjoy, I watched the IGN video review on it, and it has some really great visuals, apparently some well defined characters, and just seems like a solid title... However, the length of the game turns me off a bit, and the load times definitely seem like they could get annoying.

To get back to the original point though, is there much within Blue Dragon that the demo doesn't depict that's a key seller for this game? If so I guess I might pick it up, but I don't want to make a decision I'll regret.

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I don't care about this thing, so why should you?

 venomthanosfan wrote:

Well like I said, I played the Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata demos, and the former I found kind of boring, the sound to be somewhat grating, and the character design really cheesy and contrived... Anyone who's played more than 5 games in their life can tell Eternal Sonata is a very linear game, but I really loved the general presentation more than anything, especially regarding the music, and stage design.

I also played the Tales of Vesperia demo, and despite everyone saying this is the most must-have of all the JRPGs of the 360, I really didn't care for it that much... The combat was overly chaotic, and while I think completely turn-based combat is kind of archaic, having 12 - 15 charcters on a screen engaging in real-time combat is just daunting... That was actually another trait that drew me to Eternal Sonata, referencing the great blending of real-time and turn-based combat elements. Regarding things of other nature within Tales, the story didn't seem interesting, and the general presentation just didn't seem as alluring as Sonata...

Lost Odyssey I didn't play, though that one I think I might enjoy, I watched the IGN video review on it, and it has some really great visuals, apparently some well defined characters, and just seems like a solid title... However, the length of the game turns me off a bit, and the load times definitely seem like they could get annoying.

To get back to the original point though, is there much within Blue Dragon that the demo doesn't depict that's a key seller for this game? If so I guess I might pick it up, but I don't want to make a decision I'll regret.

It's hard to say if a non-JRPG fan will like JRPG's

I loved Eternal Sonata, yes it's linear but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I also loved Blue Dragon, but i'm a huge fan of turn based combat.

Star Ocean is good once you get into it, but can be very short or extremely long depending on what you want to get from it (I've played it for 152 hours currently)

Lost Odyssey is by far the best RPG i've played in a LOOOOONG while.

I have Tales of Vesperia but have yet to play it, am playing Final Fantasy DISSIDIA on the PSP atm.

I would suggest buying Lost Odyssey, although it might be worth investing in a guide or looking one up online, a few of my friends have had real troubles with the bosses in that game, they are all quite challenging if you're not prepared for them correctly.

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Some people just want to watch the world burn.

exactly LO and if you still want more after it id say blue dragon, stay away from sonata

So Lost Odyssey is it turn based like Blue Dragon, or does combat have a completely different flavor?

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ZenHak Y'All

Based off the review I saw it is turn-based, though there are some quicktime elements as far as I could tell... Despite being turn-based it did seem more dynamic than Blue Dragon to me, for whatever reason (it's too bad there's no demo for that game; I'd thought there was when I made reference to wanting to try it).

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I don't care about this thing, so why should you?

its exactly the same as blue dragon but a bit more complicated

My thoughts;

ES - "ok".  Characters were ok, but the cut-scenes got a bit much in places.  As others have said, very linear.  Didn't particular care for the combat system's blend of turns and action.  It had potential for shaking things up with the light/dark dynamic until you see that every combat zone in a given area has one, maybe two, different light/dark configurations.  Some of the interfaces were annoying like trying the music pieces out.

LO - great RPG.  Turn based but with a timing element on some attacks that varies how well an attack or effect works.  Not childish like the other RPGs mentioned in this thread.  Lots of party management with the learning/linking/skills system.  Some tough bosses too.  Downsides were the fact that there was nothing in the game to help stop or reduce random encounters and the time between an encounter starting and the fighting starting will drive you insane.  Maybe downside for me was that disc 4 was corrupt... :(  Alas this was before the update when you can load all discs to your HDD to check they all work.  Looking on forums it seems that dodgy discs are a common fault.  Massive rpg too, I was on 100+ hours.

ToV - kind of a mix between Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata.  JRPG, fairly childish characters/enemies/setting.  The real-time combat means for some quick and sometimes fun battles, but overall I prefer turn-based.  The combat is a bit too "Mortal Kombat" for me with you having to experiment a lot with combos etc.  I know...some think this is great....but I just don't like it.  With ToV there is little incentive to use and master all your characters.  You don't even need to worry about healing as your AI controlled characters do all that for you (I know for the arena it's different).  Good story though and with enemies on the field so there are often ways to avoid combat if that's what you want, and there are items to stop enemies attacking you if needed.  I'm about 75% through the story and I'm really enjoying it.

BD - in my eyes this is the best of all of them.  Yes the characters are annoying...but as a game it is great.  Obviously there is way more to it than the demo, at the end of each disc something fairly major happens which opens up a whole new aspect of gameplay.  Traditional turn-based combat with a good speciality training system.  Also a skill that automatically kills weaker foes so you don't even need to fight them....YES!  It's a really great game.  If you can't stand the characters/story or whatever and think it's a bit childish then my next recommendation would be LO.  Then ToV and ES if you're desperate.

 Zenfar wrote:

So Lost Odyssey is it turn based like Blue Dragon, or does combat have a completely different flavor?

Turn based but some weps/items/skills etc have a timing element where you hold then release the right trigger at a set time to see how affective it was.

One good thing about LO is that "Attack" is top of the menu and it supports you holding the "A" button so for weaker/trivial encounters you just hold "A" and everyone attacks, you can even ignore the timing stuff if you know you'll kill them without it.

The timing system in LO seems like rolling dice back in the P&P days, interesting. 

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ZenHak Y'All

 Aidy360 wrote:

My thoughts;

ES - "ok".  Characters were ok, but the cut-scenes got a bit much in places.  As others have said, very linear.  Didn't particular care for the combat system's blend of turns and action.  It had potential for shaking things up with the light/dark dynamic until you see that every combat zone in a given area has one, maybe two, different light/dark configurations.  Some of the interfaces were annoying like trying the music pieces out.

LO - great RPG.  Turn based but with a timing element on some attacks that varies how well an attack or effect works.  Not childish like the other RPGs mentioned in this thread.  Lots of party management with the learning/linking/skills system.  Some tough bosses too.  Downsides were the fact that there was nothing in the game to help stop or reduce random encounters and the time between an encounter starting and the fighting starting will drive you insane.  Maybe downside for me was that disc 4 was corrupt... :(  Alas this was before the update when you can load all discs to your HDD to check they all work.  Looking on forums it seems that dodgy discs are a common fault.  Massive rpg too, I was on 100+ hours.

ToV - kind of a mix between Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata.  JRPG, fairly childish characters/enemies/setting.  The real-time combat means for some quick and sometimes fun battles, but overall I prefer turn-based.  The combat is a bit too "Mortal Kombat" for me with you having to experiment a lot with combos etc.  I know...some think this is great....but I just don't like it.  With ToV there is little incentive to use and master all your characters.  You don't even need to worry about healing as your AI controlled characters do all that for you (I know for the arena it's different).  Good story though and with enemies on the field so there are often ways to avoid combat if that's what you want, and there are items to stop enemies attacking you if needed.  I'm about 75% through the story and I'm really enjoying it.

BD - in my eyes this is the best of all of them.  Yes the characters are annoying...but as a game it is great.  Obviously there is way more to it than the demo, at the end of each disc something fairly major happens which opens up a whole new aspect of gameplay.  Traditional turn-based combat with a good speciality training system.  Also a skill that automatically kills weaker foes so you don't even need to fight them....YES!  It's a really great game.  If you can't stand the characters/story or whatever and think it's a bit childish then my next recommendation would be LO.  Then ToV and ES if you're desperate.

I'm not a JRPG vet unlike most people who would be posting here probably are... If I'm looking for something pretty accessible for someone that's not generally into these games, Eternal Sonata probably is my best bet correct?

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I don't care about this thing, so why should you?

lol no there sayin LO or blue dragon, both are very simple combat systems but in LO theres a really really hard boss at the very begining which might put you off. TOV and sonatas Combat isnt as fun, sonata has fixed camera angles(cant look around), repetitive combat and long lame cut scenes about love/sharing with others

 venomthanosfan wrote:

I'm not a JRPG vet unlike most people who would be posting here probably are... If I'm looking for something pretty accessible for someone that's not generally into these games, Eternal Sonata probably is my best bet correct?

Yeah, it's the most "accessible" in that it's fairly uncomplicated as things go....but it's not that great a game.  None of the RPGs mentioned in this thread are hard-core like Oblivion for example.  They're all fairly accessible if a little confusing to start with (it takes a while getting to understand LO's party management and the boss the person above is referring to is only hard if you haven't grasped the management stuff before you fight him.  This boss is basically teaching you...."if you want to play this game you'd better learn how the game system works" albeit in quite an unfriendly manner).  From what you've said I think Blue Dragon is maybe the way to go if you like turn-based combat.  If you prefer slightly more real action then maybe Tales of Vesperia.  ES is a game you get when you've played everything else and don't want to buy Forza 27.

Blue Dragon is definitely a gem for rpg enthusiasts, but for the non-rpg gamer, I'd definitely give it a miss. I absolutely -loved- Lost Odyssey. The rpg elements are done to perfection, and you actually end up caring about most of the characters. I couldn't say if a non-rpg gamer would like it, but it's one of the best rpgs of this generation. As for the easiest to get into, I'd say Infinite Undiscovery. It's got a lot of flaws, from having too many characters and not enough development, to being really short compared to other rpgs. It's very very accessible though, the battling system is great, and I think it's probably the best gateway into j-rpgs on the 360, even with all of its flaws.

Well my 360's disc drive is actually damaged right now, so I'm holding off on getting any disc retail games until that's fixed up, but thanks to the reception I'm bound to get some JRPG sometime I guess :-P.

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I don't care about this thing, so why should you?

fallout 3 would be a good game to get.

I was a HUGE fan of JRPGs back in the day.  Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana are two of my favorite games of all time.

This game was boring and tedious.  I still haven't finished it and I doubt that I ever will.

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