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Gaming - are jrpgs dying? - View Post

jarrod on 17 March 2010
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Faxanadu said:
jarrod said:
Faxanadu said:
jarrod said:
Faxanadu said:
jarrod said:
Faxanadu said:
On DS not, on Wii they just get reborn and I dont care for the rest.

Unfortuantely, games like Scret of Mana or the Soulblazer-Triology arent around anymore....

The death of epic single player Japanese Action RPGs in the late 90s is one of saddest events in gaming imo.  These days it's pretty much just Zelda, Ys and awful crap like Kingdom Hearts keeping it going. ;_;

I actually just played Ys for the first time on the DS and am surprised how much fun it is. I heard of it back then, but I guess it was never released in Europe - just like 95% of all JRPGs back then.

Zelda I would count as dead as well, as the shift to 3D has totally changed gameplay and hence its not the same anymore.

OMFG, that's like the worst version of Ys though! :X

Get to your Wii and download Ys Books I & II on the Virtual Console immediately! Unless you don't have it on VC in Europe, in which case I'll weep for you. ;_;

Is it different/better? How and why?

And yes, I think it is on VC.

Looks, sounds, plays better.  The TG16 version is generally considered the best of all the Ys I&II versions (at least besides the Eternal remakes). I have the DS version too (it's based off Eternal btw), and while it's not as bad as some say, it's still pretty janky and low budget imo.  I'd definitely recommend doing the VC versions first though.

Virtual Console's been my saving grace this gen though, with so many great ARPGs to replay though (Zelda 1-3, Ys I&II, Neutopia 1-2, LandStalker, Beyond Oasis, Monster World 1-4, Secret of Mana).  Man, I miss 16-bit.

OK, thanks for the info.

I guess I need to check the highlighted games out. And yes, VC has done me good as well so far.

I am still amazed that Secret of Mana is still as glorious today as it was back then - couldnt put it down.

Also, zelda 2 was fun until I screwed up and used some keys from Castle 3 in Castle 4 - am scared now to go back and find that missing key in castle 4 - stupid open world stuff....

Quick rundown if you're curious...

Neutopia / Neutopia II are slavishly faithful Zelda 1 clones for TG16.  Awesome games, and if you liked Z1, you'll LOVE these.

Beyond Oasis is a gorgeous looking overhead ARPG for Genesis.  It was made by Ancient (of Streets of Rage fame) and incorporates SF2 style special moves and combos, as well as a pretty complex elemental puzzle system.  Good puzzles, great combat, really challenging, but also kinda short.

The Monster World games are bit more confusing, and there's repeat games on the VC too, but they're (usually) sidescrolling Action RPGs.  I'll try to sort it out for you...

  • Wonder Boy in Monster Land (SMS) conversion of an arcade game, time limits, really hard, really linear, little in terms of RPG elements, no puzzles.  I wouldn't really recommend it.
  • Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (SMS) Amazing game, pretty ahead of it's time, best visuals on SMS, probably my favorite game in the series.  Highly recommended.
  • Dragon's Curse (TG16) Port of WBIII, with a different main character and new soundtrack.  This was released back when TG16 emulation on VC was filtered too, so beware if you're a purist like me. Honestly, the SMS version is better all around, get that one.
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Gen) Confusing title I know, but this is actually not a Monster World game, it's a conversion of a side scrolling arcade shooter, more like the original Wonder Boy game.
  • Monster's Lair (TGCD) port of the other WB3, again with swapped characters and music.  I'd skip both versions honestly, unless you're into shooter/platformer hybrids.
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World (Gen) 3rd game in the series, great visuals, huge world to explore, tons of secrets.  It's pretty difficult and the last boss is borderline impossible.  I've actually never beaten it without cheating. :(
  • The Dynastic Hero (TGCD) Port of the 3rd game, and you know the story, new main hero, new soundtrack.  I may actually recommend this version over the original though, as it's last boss is actually manageable, it has nice cutscenes added, it's soundtrack is better for once and the rest of the game is pretty much equal.
  • Monster Wolrd IV (Gen) Awesome final game in the series, main character's a girl (!), stunning graphics, but unfortunately only in Japanese, and I would it ever comes to the VC outside Japan. ;_;