Hi there everyone!
My name is Joesephyr, but you can call me Joe, and my channel is here to chat all things Final Fantasy! Here on KZread, I've been well known for covering games like Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia, Final Fantasy XIV and the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, and I'm looking to broaden my horizons even further to the wonderful community the Final Fantasy franchise fosters!
I've been very fortunate to work with Square Enix on many occasions (including being their official commentator for FFTCG events in 2017-19, and working for them as a Community Manager in 2019-2020) and adore their products, so you can also expect video reviews and commentary on some of their other games as well!
I am a full-time content creator, also streaming 5 times a week on Twitch, primarily playing FFXIV, Dissidia and my Final Fantasy Countup, playing each game in order, and more too, so be sure to come and find me on there!
For business enquiries, please email: [email protected]
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i would trophy boost with you for Dissidia NT
hey please let me know, where would you put FFVII Rebirth on this tier list??
Definately high, but not quite as high as IX, X or XIV :)
@@Joesephyr so hard tier, nice! i definitely agree it should be there! johnny 7-star can thank itself for that 🤣
thank you for making this video 🙏 i'm trying to do my own plat journey of the final fantasy games
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Finally got around to watching this. One series I can think of that would fit here is Disgaea. I’ve only played the first 3, but was kinda put off by how convoluted and deep they are.
hsr, genshin, wuwa are not jrpgs, they are chinese(ur recommending not playing games, that arent even in a category of the topic (its like casually saying yea btw fck this game)). yes those are gachas but are ftp friendly and their stories and worldbuilding are amazing(for me atleast) those games have meaning in it. the gacha aspect can be ignored, there is no real pvp in this game. with time, the endgame is going to be clearable. a lot of latest quests(WORLD QUESTS like those arent even main stories WHICH ARE ALSO VERY GOOD) have left a deep impression to me, that i cant remember when i felt that with ordinary 60 bucks games and even classics like the witcher, good fallout or tes series. genshin and hsr touch onto a lot of philosophical and existential things and can be seen as a yapping session, so if its not ur taste, ok. the complexity of the mechanics is unique and indeed a bit hard, but its fun to figure out how it works and get to know it. those games deserve protection of fans like me.
For me the Lunar games, and Persona; my bf doesn't really like JRPGs, but fell in love with Persona 3-4-5 :)
It’s suck I really enjoyed the game
SMT V is not for the faint of heart for sure. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was actually pretty accessible from a story perspective until pretty much the very end of the game. I was pretty lost in the DLC though so I'll probably go play the first 2 games at some point
interesting, i was on a platinum streak including FFX, FFXV and WoFF, but FFXII with tiamat and the boss rush mode was where i decided the game could f**** off
Remember folks, the reason gaming is the biggest entertainment industry on Earth is that there is something for everyone! If a game is not for you, that doesn't inherently make it bad. If you don't love the art, gameplay or story of a given game, there are 1,000s of other options out there, go explore a bit! I personally love the Bravely series, and consider it one of my favorites from the 2010s. I think the dollhouse/diorama presentation gives it a distinct personality, and seeing it try to present itself as something like FF16 would totally kill the vibe IMO. I'd LOVE to see a Bravely Third, personally (I miss Ringabel and Edea!), but realistically ports of the first two games and a Bravely Default 3 are high on my wishlist!
I 100% agree that Trails is a series for people already into JRPGs. The sheer amount of content and games you have to digest to get properly into the series can be intimidating for sure. As you said though, if you do get into it it can be one of the most satisfying payoffs you'll ever get from a JRPG franchise! One other note about it: Each of the games are broken up into pairs so to speak. One game builds up a particular region or country by introducing you to it, characters you'll love, gameplay you'll enjoy, etc. The very next entry always expands on that world in a very compelling way. It'd be better to suggest the games in duologies than the entire franchise because frankly it is a lot to remember across so many games that are interconnected. The newer games do a good job of presenting who someone is or why you should care if they were from a past game that it makes it easier to get into the series tho! There are plenty of "If you know you know ;)" moments in the games for fans that have gone through all the games but it's not required to get into the series thankfully!
I actually agree with all of your recommendations. I only tried Trails in the Sky and Trails of Coldsteel, but didn't like them. Knowing how many hours you need to invest in to get the full story is a big no-no to me. The only SaGa I played is also Unlimited, and it was just plain horrendous to try. I didn't even play an hour. I am a big player of HSR as well, but... well, it is a gacha. And no matter how people will say it, I still think it's a kinda bad one. The gacha elements are bad. I stay purely because I have a lot of free time and I like turn based RPGs. But the farming and grindind is awful, and always having to downgrade your expectations as what you can have as a F2P is harsh. For Xenoblade, my take is different : I just hated the beginning of the first one, so I never played it much. And finally, as far as SMT5V is concerned, I can't say. I only have played the OG SMT5. But I sure liked it a lot. It is a bit too hard imo to recommend to newcomers, though, I agree. I think many franchises are not for newcomers, actually, but from the most popular ones, I think that's kinda it. For example, not sure an Etrian Odyssey would be ideal for a first experience, cause it's too hard. Great video, Joe, and have a nice day :D
Loved discussing this a few days back on stream. What you said about Atlus and their differing versions resonated hard - I didn't even know there were two versions of Persona 5, I just played the free copy I got for buying a PS5 when I did but enjoyed it so damn much I bought Royal anyway and loved it even more - though I do wish I had simply just started with Royal for 2 reasons; The game is insanely long and requires NG+ to get the most out of it, which was a LOT of hours. The second is Royal has so many gameplay refines just completely change how you play, such as your guns automatically reloading after fights instead of having a limited supply for the entire dungeon run that needed to be used sparingly. Despite all that I still hold P5 and Xenoblade Chronicles (original) as 2 of the singular greatest RPGs of all time, both are in my top 5 they are simply that good. And I agree about waiting on SaGa 2, or even starting with SaGa 3 since it's much more forgiving - 2 and 3 are widely considered the best games, but 2 is notorious for also being the most difficult in the franchise which is seriously saying something - I kinda gave up on it personally because it's extremely overwhelming even with a guide.
How to play Trails is highly dependent on how much you value story and how upset you will get over spoliers and continuity. Play release order if those things bother you, if youre only interested in gameplay, play whatever grabbed your attention. Its really that simple.
You made mention of it in your video as a better recommendation but I actually think the Persona series (especially P5 or P5R) should also be on this list. They are so meaty with strange concepts and terms that we fans of the games and SMT games just come to understand, but not only do they drag on and on in the beginning before you get into the gameplay, they are not very beginner friendly in their systems. I don't know if there are any newcomer friendly Atlus games off the top of my head lol. Great list though and couldn't agree more with these series.
I did actually think about this after I posted the video, and think maybe Persona WASNT the best idea, as youre right, the time management can be really stressful and it's super easy to miss things, so I definately second guessed myself on that after the fact!
Yeah definitely want to go with maybe some older completed games you can’t really fully enjoy a incomplete product ie mobile games I love HSR btw day one but still definitely not a great entry point
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Concerning the Trails series: I'm not gonna try to get anyone to play it, but if someone does want to play it, I would like to make a correction regarding the play order. I know it's difficult to keep track of this for the non-veterans, so hopefully this will clear up some misconceptions: You definitely don't have to start with Trails in the Sky, which is correct. It's sort of okay to start with the first game of any of the sub-series, however, it's extremely important to play all previous games before going to Cold Steel 3 and everything beyond, because that's where the plot threads converge so strongly that you won't understand anything otherwise. That leaves Sky, Zero and Cold Steel to start with. However, I and most other people who have played all the games would also strongly recommend not starting with the Crossbell games, which are Zero and Azure, because they contain spoilers for other games and depend on previously established characters and lore the most out of the pre Cold Steel 3 games. Reverie, although major parts of it play in the same geographical locations, is actually not part of the Crossbell Arc at all. If anything, it could be considered an extension of the Cold Steel series and absolutely cannot be played as your third game like you suggested. That's a lot of don'ts, but if someone's asking themselves where to actually do start: Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel are definitely the best starting points. Just make sure not to proceed past Cold Steel 3 before playing the previous games, if you decide against playing in release order. Unfortunately, both those games have really slow pacing and could be considered somewhat boring at first, especially Sky, which is why I'm not 100% excluding Zero as a starting point. It's the least "slow burning" way to start, but also the least optimal if you do decide to play the whole series. One final thing to consider: Even when starting with the Sky games, there is an argument to be made to play Cold Steel 1+2 before Zero + Azure, as they play basically simultaneously from different perspectives, but the Cold Steel games, being the more naive perspective, get spoiled somewhat heavily by the Crossbell games, but not the other way around. Personally, I would recommend this, but it's just my opinion. Unlike my other points, this one isn't supported by an overwhelming consensus and is rather a point of debate, which I'd like to clarify, so don't just take my opinion as the truth here. I hope the wall of text doesn't bother you guys too much, but it is a bit of a complicated topic, so it had to be. Have fun, if you do decide to play the games.
You know, I never thought about that. I just recently started Trails and have only played Sky FC but I loved it so much I have purchased every single other game. I was planning on playing them release order but it is real interesting to think about jumping to CS 1 and 2 before Crossbell.
@@cenbu, definitely do consider it. Since you've expressed interest, I can elaborate a little more, which I didn't want to do in the main comment for the sake of debloating it. Since they play at around the same time, there are a couple of events which will be witnessed by the player twice, but it's an extremely consistent pattern that the Cold Steel perspective will provide both quantitatively less and less emotionally relevant information. Usually, the CS cast will be completely unable to make sense of certain happenings or determine their causes. Often times, they will pay little mind to them anyway, as they're preoccupied with different problems. The provided information, in my experience, doesn't interfere at all with the enjoyment of the Crossbell arc. It's moreso that you'd first experience mysteries on a surface level in CS and then get behind the truths through further investigation in the Crossbell games, if played outside of release order. If played in release order however, major plot points of Cold Steel (mostly CS2) will be spoiled, including scenes that are meant to have emotional impact like the ending of CS2. Azure not only spoils an important plot twist at the end, but also does it in a completely mundane and unemotional manner, which really takes away from the potential of the reaction that plot point could invoke within a player. And in my personal opinion, this is just completely awful game design, because Azure didn't even need to go into these things and would have been perfectly fine leaving out certain information about what happens in Erebonia. It contributes almost nothing to Azure, but ruins important parts of CS2. This is just one example of course, but there are multiple such instances. On the other hand, one argument for playing in release order is that there is a pretty short section towards the end of Cold Steel 2, in which there is a perspective switch and you actually play as two characters from the Crossbell games. It's designed in such a way that you will understand the gist of who they are and what they're trying to do either way. After all, the Crossbell games actually released after Cold Steel in the West, perhaps even specifically because of this spoiler-ridden relationship between the Crossbell games and the CS games, which they wanted to focus on more, I suppose. But even then, that short section would undoubtedly mean more to the player, if they had played Zero and Azure first, because they'd care more about the state of Crossbell, as well as the characters tied to it. I imagine there's nothing particularly wrong with either order, to be honest, but you have my opinion on which is best already. It may also depend on how much you think you're going to like Cold Steel 1 and 2. People generally don't have great opinions of them, but I personally think CS2 is among the better games, at least, so it'd be worth delaying the Crossbell arc for greater enjoyment of it for me. But since you won't have a worse experience with the Crossbell arc if you do play Cold Steel 1/2 first, there's at least no big downside to delaying Crossbell. It's really up to you.
I love Honkai Star Rail and I'm deeply into it. Ad yes, you are absolutely right about it.
The worst part about games like the Trail series is how hard it is to have all of them accessible on the same platform
I only play Trails on PC for that reason.
@@mrpyrostorm3165 Yep - The PC platform (for now) is the best way to go through the whole series. You also have the advantage that you can mod in the Japanese voice acting in the first games. Originally the Trails games only have the "beepbeepbeep" sounds and no voice acting at all, but to be able to mod in that Japanese voice acting makes those so much more enjoyable. Yes - There is only Japanese voice acting and no English, but believe me - It makes a BIG difference. Even if you cannot understand what is said, you still can feel all the emotions and tie voices to a character, and that makes a world of difference.
@@jclosed2516 100%
Conversely, this is a great list of advanced JRPGs that are really rewarding for veterens of the genre to get stuck into
This is not supposed to be mean but why is HSR even on this list? Its not a JRPG. Second of all, I get you dont want to recomment a f2p gacha game due to gambling, absolutely fine but why then, instead of just not mentioning it, go the other way to be against it. And regarding the items, as someone who played all of Genshin, Honkai, Wuwa and many other gachas at launch, whats so complicated about it? You have mats to level your character, mats to level your weapons and skills, and relics/ equipment to give stats and all off them are clickable in the upgarde screen, they show the location and navigate you to it/teleport you directly to it.
When one talks about a 'Traditional JRPG' it conjures a certain image of a game style, in which HSR firmly fits, it's not necessarily about it's point of origin. To add to this point, Sea of Stars isn't Japanese either, and not a single person mentioned that in my last video about games I would recommend 😊
@@Joesephyr im not talking about it being chinese and not being japanese, I am thinking more in the lines of seperating Gachas and JRPGS, making Gachas their own category like open world gacha, turn based combat gacha, rpg gacha. For me, JRPGs need to have the flexibility in characters, teamcompositions, equipment which HSR does have but its locked behind a gacha paywall which for me does not make it a JRPG and instead a mix of RPG and paywall Gacha. I hope its more understandable now why I think that HSR isnt a perfect fit for this list
@@Joesephyr going over this a bit more in my head, what is a JRPG in 2024, the term feels somewhat outdated, lost its clear definition. Would you say Elden Ring is a JRPG? Is FF16 still a JRPG? This could be a discussion video in itself, defining what JRPG is in modern times
Agree with every entry in your list; however I must point out that Honkai Star Rail is not a JRPG entry, just an RPG one. Due to MiHoYo being a Chinese company.
According to Japanese people: JRPG is a derogatory term coined by western gaming companies to account for pretty much everything coming from the East. When using it in a non-derogatory manner it's used to represent a focus on story telling before combat mechanics and rich characters(including the protagonist, most western games are proxy characters). Outside of all that RPG is RPG. There is no common term for CRPG, and since HSR follows JRPG tropes more than western ones it's all semantics and inconsequential 🤓 *This comment is just as pointless as yours*
I love SMT, but I wouldn't recommend it to newcomers either. Newer players may not use buffs or stay on top of fusions, leading to a hard time. The series also doesn't focus on characters and story like many other JRPGs, so I agree that Persona is a better start even though I like SMT more
i love honkai star rail but 100% should not be your entry JRPG.
absolutely, it's my 3rd favorite video game but it has SO much going on I would never do that to someone new to the genre
The thing about SMT is that, out of the mainline series, only 1 and 2 are directly connected but playing them through legitimate means is close to impossible. Especially 2. From Nocturne onwards, it's all connected through a sort of multiverse system known was the Amala Network that makes every route and ending canon (even if the series as a whole picks some endings as more canon than others). An example of such connections is how Shin Megami Tensei If... is connected to both the Devil Summoner and Persona series and is the origin point for both.
Also gotta say newer ff games are not a great starting point no matter what ff 15s opening screen says. If you want to start into ff I'd say the pixel remasters or 9 or like you said 10.
great vid. wholeheartedly agree with SaGa series as it is basically made for hardcore gamers and even then, you better have a walkthrough or guide in hand when tackling this series. It stand next to SMT as one of the most hard jrpg so recommending them to newcomers is a sure way to make them jump ship.
I have felt the same way, not just about RPGs but all games. I am just not into gaming right now - it's been this way for about a year and a half and I'm not sure why. I get excited about games and start them and get bored really quick. Last year I picked up Octopath Traveler 2 and fell in love. The music, stories, combat - all so fun and refreshing. After I was done, I felt empty.....so I decided to go through it again and two more times (with different combos of jobs and parties). It's hard to find games I can really sit and play nowadays because I just get bored quick.
Fair list, I disagree with you on HSR but I get your thought 100% the hoyo fans tend to be nuts. I don't think HSR is that hard to get into or mechanics to understand but I will agree with you that if you aren't going to take time to really dive into it, you can easily get lost. Genshin is a cluster. 100% agree with the gacha nerves. I recommend HSR but always warn everyone it's a gacha and you can absolutely have crap luck getting stuff.
First and yeah good picks I do agree with a lot of them as they are more daunting for newbies, and it’s only best to play them if they are more well versed with said JRPG genre after playing a couple of them.
Good picks, glad to see more of these RPGs videos for Beginners recently pop up Given that we’re now flooded with so many in this decade, it would make only sense
My most memorable time in DFFOO: Whole lobby spamming "Meow-meow, choco-chow"
Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest 11: S Definitive Edition and the Mario RPG'S; more so with Paper Mario 64 or TTYD, are fantastic games to get people into RPG'S. There simple, yet compelling and has an great way of balancing the difficulty.
I've add yakuza like a dragon to that. I would choose dq 8 over any of them. I would recommend atlus but their ether hard or on a clock
Great video, really encapsulates my feeling as well. I’ve been on this weird search to find what I really enjoy from gaming and this sounds like it aligns with my thoughts. This is first video that I’ve watched of yours, but I’d love to see a video talking more about games that align with this sentiment. Cheers!
Thank you! That's really very kind of you to say, I'd love to know what games you've found scratched that itch for you :D
@@Joesephyr I’ve been playing Honkai Star Rail a lot but Unicorn Overlord is my most recent pickup. I almost put it down after a few hours thinking it wasn’t what I was looking for, but I kept going and the gameplay, progression and team building has really hooked me. I like that the story isn’t too verbose, but the world building is still there. I’ve been wanting to play Eiyuden Chronicles, but I’m afraid that it might not have that x-factor that really keeps me engaged. I previously wrote off Octopath before, but this video makes me think that I might like it more than I initially thought, especially if I don’t prioritize the story too much like you said. I literally fell asleep when I played the demo haha
I've been wanting to get into the Octopath series for a while now, tried to play it on Switch when it came out but I don't really care for playing games on the switch so I was so happy to just turn on my PS5 one day and see Octopath Traveler 1 available to purchase. In respect to the Trails series I was also intimidated but I decided to play the first one (Trails in the Sky) and I'm hooked. Forget about the big massive story, just play one and see if you like the game itself, because at least for the first one, it was a fantastic story that had an ending, along with foreshadowing for the next game.
persona series - shin megami tensei v vengeance
I'm not sure if you're trying to avoid gacha entirely or not, but the Octopath CotC mobile game has a pretty great story and solid gameplay experience that feels pretty consistent with OT1 and 2. Towards the end game and late content it gets really grindy in kind of cumbersome ways, but there's a lot to enjoy prior to that.
I tried it, and honestly I didn't vibe with it, primarily because it was a gacha, I'm quite happy with the experiences I've had with 1 & 2, I'm not necessarily looking for more of the same (at least not from a mobile live service title), I just wanted to share the epiphany id had with this particular game :)
@@Joesephyr still appreciate you sharing! Thanks for the reply too. Definitely understand CotC not being for you!
DQ XI IS the best JRPG in existence.
I ADORE all of the Dragon Quest games and I cannot wait for the HD-2D remakes, but XI S will always have a special place in my heart ❤️
Great list. You could also title the video 5 JRPGs without stupid JRPG mechanics. I grew up on FFs and DQs and nothing makes me skip a game faster than relationship/dating sims and neverending waifu dialog. This junk literally ruined Disgaea, Star Ocean, Fire Emblem, Persona for me. The first few games were great and then now they are more sprite conversation than game... Luckily the FFs tried it in FF0 and then went bank to making real rpgs, except maybe 16, wtb turn based main line FF please...
I think the audiences tastes have largely changed and a lot of people do value those relationship aspects and the world building, but there are still just as many who want simply to play an engaging game and not necessarily feel bogged down by those things, but I don't berate the developers of these games for swinging big in a different direction, traditional JRPGs are still considered very niche nowadays after all! And I like being surprised by things I didn't know I liked 😊
@@Joesephyr I dont think their original fans tastes have changed. They have forced their flagship in anime directions to sell more copies which has brought new fans into a series they literally couldnt even experience totally until the pixel remasters. SE has been public about how 16 did not perform like they thought it would and that is because their turn based fantasy fans dont want any more steam punk whiney lead character action games. They brought all of these people into their franchise for the wrong reasons and now were forced to accept that there will never be another game like Chrono Trigger or FF6. I know you dont want to hear it but Yoshi P was the beginning of the end for me. He saved the MMO but ruined this generations Main Line game and I hope whenever 17 is announced theyve learned some lessons...
Definitely need a video on Tactical RPGs to go with this
I’d personally recommend Octopath Traveler 2 over the first game, not that the first game is bad, just that the improvements of 2 would seem more approachable to a newcomer to JRPGs, with more quality of life features (like more interaction between the party members outside of the main story, the 2x battle speed option, etc) For my list of newcomer JRPGs Octopath Traveler 2 Sea of Stars Chrono Trigger Pokémon Series For longer entries that if they have spare time and could take on such an investment The legend of heroes: Trails series (Sky to start off with, and since you can save at any point of the game, it could be a nice game to take at your leisure, while also implementing natural mechanic to keep track of the story (Bracer notebook for sky, Detective notebook for Zero/Ao, and Class VII Notebook for Cold Steel, so if they need a recap of the story and or quests, they can take a look inside it and be brought back to speed. Persona series (3,4 or 5) Though the school setting could be off putting to some, the games are full of character development and important theming in each respective game. And the games aren’t directly connected through story so you could play any one of them in any order, and all of them are available on modern platforms, if they like older styled games, you could recommend 4 golden,3 FES, if they like more modern looks, 5, 3 Reload, and so forth. Kiseki (Trails) will be a bit slow on their first games on their respective saga (Sky first chapter, Zero, Cold Steel 1&3) due to the setting up phase, but still have interesting events happen to keep you playing it and learning the world you’re playing in, slowly building up the tension and world building. And when you get to the games following up on it, it just gets to the point of the story, playing off of the foundation the previous game set, and still piles on it. That trend will keep building up since the series’ story is continuous, it continues further with each new game, the games will keep building up the story and world building, making this series one of the best pieces of story and world building in the Jrpg sphere of gaming (could also argue in gaming in general), only being held back by being intimidating to newcomers. The games are also made to be their own stories so you *Could* play in any order, just that you won’t understand some scenes/moments without prior knowledge
I am constructing a list of great RPGs I would not recommend to a newcomer, and as a quick preview, Trails is on there, not because it isn't a fantastic series; it is, but it's extremely daunting to recommend something which such a large time investment and slow burn to someone dipping their toes into the genre, I think Persona however would be a great way to gauge if someone has the capacity to engage with a huge story like that though!
Fair enough!
I quit Octopath because the story and party didn't make sense, and I couldn't suspend my disbelief. Sad because I love the music and gameplay. I remember quitting in Primrose Ch 2 because the party traveling with her made zero sense
This is very much covered in my previous video about Octopath, I'm not the kind of player that needs everything to be tied in a bow narratively if the game itself is good, and in Octopaths case, it most certainly is
Great video and glad I found this channel
I think I gotta try FFX again as an adult I always found it to overrated, but perhaps I just could not appreciate it when I played it
It may just not be for you, and that's totally ok! For what it's worth I loved it as a kid, then replayed it as a young adult and didn't love it, then went back to loving it again more recently, our minds change all the time, just gotta let it happen :)
I recommend Chrono Trigger to a friend who wasn't into RPGs, and she fell in love. The game may be old, but it still holds up wonderfully.
starting with probably the greatest RPG of all time nice
It's a wonderful game, but it's not something I'd recommend to someone who had never played a JRPG, simply because it's best versions aren't readily available on modern devices (the Steam version is hideous lol), but it's still a fantastic game
@@Joesephyr The remakes of FF games are fun but we all know a full 3d remake of Chrono Trigger would bring the house down.
That's a masterpiece.
Loving this output of content! great vid as usual, absolutely loved sea of stars
Thank you!
Great video! I would love to hear your thoughts of the FF franchise 😊