Popularized for their emphasis on narrative and intricate combat systems, series like Final Fantasy and Tales have earned global followings over the past few decades. The Japanese role-playing game genre evokes thoughts of fantastical worlds and emotionally-driven stories, and after sampling the show floor at Tokyo Game Show this year, there's a lot to look forward to coming in the next year.
Through the week, I went hands-on with new RPGs from developers including Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Atlus. While some notable upcoming titles were not playable including Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV, intriguing experiences were not hard to find. If you call yourself a JRPG fan, you’re in luck; there’s a lot of new experiences coming in the next year. Here are best JRPGs I played at Tokyo Game Show.
Tales of Zestiria
Developer: Bandai Namco's Tales Studio
Release Date: October 20 for PS3, PS4, PC
The latest from Bandai Namco’s Tales Studio borrows much of its narrative and visual sensibilities from anime tropes. Tales of Zestiria--out already in Japan and coming to West in October--is the story of Sorey, a young boy with a gift for seeing supernatural beings who accepts the burden of leading a holy war. Things get a little cheesy at times--the angel the boy bonds with lives in his body and is a quirky, eccentric young woman--but those anime-esque sensibilities lend Zestiria much of its charm. Fans of the Tales series will find familiar ground here, with lengthy animated cutscenes separating missions and witty banter between characters that humanizes them and makes them more believable. As for those who haven’t played a Tales game before, this might be a good place to start; Zestiria eases you into its world and story, giving you time to adjust to the somewhat dark tone before throwing you into combat.
The most recognizable feature of Tales games--other than the anime-esque visual style--has been its battle system. The linear motion battle system, which was first introduced in inaugural series title Tales of Phantasia, is still at play in Zestiria. But even after 20 years, it’s still an engaging system. Reminiscent of 2D fighting games in that characters are tied to planes allowing movement in one direction of a time, the linear motion system sets all hero characters into motion in combat, with players controlling only one. The moves of supporting characters can also be controlling by assigning them commands before and during battle, tasking them with either supporting your hero, healing, or attacking enemies aggressively.
An engrossing combat system with a charming story pitting characters against fantastical beings and disheartening odds--it’s a recipe for an epic JRPG.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Developer: Atlus/Vanillaware
Release date: Jan 14, 2016 in Japan; international in 2016 for PS3, PS4, PS Vita
Yes, Odin Sphere initially came out eight years ago, but its HD upgrade is well worth a replay. For one thing, it looks absolutely gorgeous; director and artist George Kamitani’s trademark illustrations look beautiful with a new coat of paint. Those PlayStation 2 graphics have been upgraded into a smoother, brighter visual experience, making Odin Sphere Leifthrasir worth it for the eye candy alone.
When Leifthrasir was announced earlier this year, publisher Atlus stated there would be upgrades to the game’s combat and role-playing mechanics. These changes are not small; combat feels more fluid and the HD bump given to special effects makes it an exciting experience. But the most striking change to combat is the fine tweaks to the way you attack. You can now string together long chains of combos as you battle enemies, making battles feel more like that in Kamitani’s 2013 action role-playing game Dragon’s Crown. The addition makes this classic side-scrolling RPG feel a little more like side-scrolling beat-em-up, adding a dramatic touch to the game’s already epic fairytale story.
Also, let’s be honest here: Odin Sphere is a JRPG classic. Fans of the genre adore this game, which was critically acclaimed for its excellent melding of engaging story and combat. If you love JRPGs, or are just getting into JRPGs, and have not played Odin Sphere, now is the perfect time to give it a crack without having to procure a PS2.
Dragon Quest Builders
Developer: Square Enix
Release date: Jan. 28, 2015 in Japan; international TBD for PS3, PS4, PS Vita
Dragon Quest Builders is the latest Dragon Quest spin-off title to foray into other genres. The game is reminiscent of Minecraft in that your main task is to build things, with a dash of Don’t Starve’s survival elements and creature encounters mixed in. The game takes place in a world of cubes, except all characters and creatures are in the visual style of Dragon Quest. So when you encounter slimes out in the field, they’ll look the slimes you’ve come to know and love in Dragon Quest.
Something I adored about Dragon Quest Builders is that when it comes to building, it doesn’t leave more unimaginative players out in the cold. Personally, I’ve never been very good with level editors and have no real finesse when constructing my own buildings and areas in video games. Builders gives players free reign to construct whatever they want however they want, and allow them to upgrade the rooms in their dwellings by placing more objects like torches and beds inside. But Builders also provides blueprints for players who may need a little more help in constructing homes; blueprints allow you to drop a two-dimensional template of a structure on the ground and shows you where to place each block, which I found helpful.
Another major element of Builders is crafting. You harvest materials from the world around you by beating objects with a stick. Poking at earth yields earthen or stone blocks, while battling birds and slimes give you feathers and jelly to make better building materials and consumables. For example, collecting gold dust and flowers I was able to make a large batch of salve that restored my health.
As for what makes Dragon Quest Builders an RPG, many of the things you will be tasked to build come from quests given by NPCs. And when you’re not collecting quests to complete, you’ll be out exploring the wide world, harvesting materials and searching for new plots of land on which to build. It’s a creative way to adapt the Dragon Quest franchise to the popular sandbox genre, and hopefully Square Enix will localize it for the West.
Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness
Developer: Square Enix
Release date: Feb 26, 2016 in Japan; worldwide 2016
The Star Ocean series has always been challenging; random encounters are nothing to wave off and bosses are notoriously difficult. Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness is no exception. Combat remains a significant challenge, and while the demo I played didn’t give too much of the story away, the charm of party banter already has me interested in its characters.
Part of what I already love about Star Ocean 5’s combat is that not only does it preserve the aforementioned challenge, it’s that my companions are competent. Sometimes in RPGs, assisting characters you can’t directly control will be unhelpful, failing to attack or heal in your time of need. Star Ocean 5’s party goes in guns blazing at every opportunity, and sometimes landed the killing blow if my character was incapacitated. In a game this challenging, it’s good to know my AI companions won’t derp around behind me while I fend off hordes of enemies; they actually help.
There’s also something good to be said about games that let you attack repeatedly by holding down one button. Star Ocean 5’s controls let you quickly switch between attacks without missing a beat, letting you beat someone with your light attack one second and then sliding into your special attack the next. It’s satisfying to crunch through hordes of enemies and watch your characters dance across the screen in swathes of light.
The demo wasn’t long enough for me to get a sense of the sci-fi/fantasy feel of the Star Ocean games, but it was a treat to look at. If you’ve been with the series for a while, the new look on more powerful hardware is a good reason to check out Star Ocean 5, but again it’s mostly that challenge you’ll want to check in for.
