JRPGs. Am I missing out?

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I’ve been playing games for many years now. I like many different types of game, but have never actually managed to keep engaged in any Japanese RPG enough to complete one. I’ve finished many western RPGs and thoroughly enjoyed them (e.g. Oblivion, Skyrim, Witcher 3, Fallout 3, Deus ex games) but despite trying some classic JRPGs over the years (FF7 & 10, Skies of Arcadia, Y’s 8 etc) I have always just stopped bothering.

So, should I accept that these games aren’t ever going to be for me, or am I missing out on some gem of a game that I should give one final chance to? I’ve all the modern consoles and a decent PC.
 
Dunno how you managed to finish Oblivion. Main mission line on that was utterly insipid.

Try Chrono Trigger or Earthbound. Brilliant games, both.
 
The western RPG's you seem to like are all fairly open ended in terms of what you can do and in which order. The vast majority of JRPG's are simply not like that, it could just be that the games aren't for you.

I say this as a long time fan of JRPG's, probably my most played genre.

Xenoblade Chronicles might fit the bill, as there's a lot of side quests and stuff you can do outside of the main story. The SaGa games tend to have a lot of branching story options if my memory serves. You could always try the Persona series, 5 is one of my all time favourite games and there's a ton to do, would highly recommend looking up a review on it though.
 
You could always try the Persona series, 5 is one of my all time favourite games and there's a ton to do, would highly recommend looking up a review on it though.

Persona 5 is one of my top games of this generation, and I've got bored of most JRPGs within a few hours. It's also on sale on the PS Store at the minute, so if it does seem appealing, it's the perfect time to grab it.
 
Dunno how you managed to finish Oblivion. Main mission line on that was utterly insipid.
Yes, I can’t say the storyline was terribly inspiring, but I loved the atmosphere of it.

Thanks for the suggestions. If I ever get to the end of one, there’s many hours in any one of those, so it’s just a matter of deciding which one to try first!
 
Here are some of my recommendations for modern JRPG:
Turned-based:
Persona 5
Dragon Quest 11
.//dot hack GU
Grandia
Wild Arms
Star Ocean
Mana series
Xenoblade Chronicles

Action:
Kingdom Hearts 1-3
Tales of Xillia 1+2/Berseria/Vesperia/zestiria etc
Zelda Breath of the wild
Demon/Dark Souls & Bloodborne
Nier Automata
Sekiro Shadow die twice
 
If I’m bored and have utterly nothing to play then I usually turn to dragon quest which will keep me occupied for a good 75+ hours. The main ones being DQ8 and DQ11.

DQ8 is amazing, probably in my top 5 games of all time. Amazing story, orchestral soundtrack, play style, combat, exploration, crafting etc. Last time I played it was emulated in 4K on the pc with ps2 controller which looked and played amazing. The piggyback guide is a must though as it is an extremely tough game otherwise.

Last time I completed it was probably some 2-3 years ago now so I am really considering playing it again.

Same with DQ11, amazing story. starts off a little slow but once it gets going again it’s another 100hr game from start to true ending and both games in my opinion are a must. DQ11 needs the orchestral mod if played on pc though.

I recently completed BOTW a few months ago too and I thoroughly enjoyed that. For whatever reason I just could never get into it since launch, then I said I’m just going to play it and couldn’t put it down after that.
 
Thoroughly recommend Lost Odyssey. It is backwards compatible from the X360 on Xbox One.

Anything from the Tales series. Symphonia is brilliant - cell shaded art and still holds up today (went back to it on Dolphin a while ago) worked flawlessly with an Xbox pad.

Shawrey
 
I have very limited experience of them but they all seem to be starring mopey androgynous teens with endless dialogue.

I’d be happy to try something that was more adult orientated.
 
There are more mature ones out there, but the focus is very much the younger/teenaged crowd.

Lost Odyssey is a good example of a JRPG with a more mature protagonist and theme, although it is heavily story driven (lots of dialogue) and very depressing.
 
There are more mature ones out there, but the focus is very much the younger/teenaged crowd.

Lost Odyssey is a good example of a JRPG with a more mature protagonist and theme, although it is heavily story driven (lots of dialogue) and very depressing.

Very good game, finished it a couple times. Really enjoyed picking up the little stories about the main characters life.
 
I have very limited experience of them but they all seem to be starring mopey androgynous teens with endless dialogue.

I’d be happy to try something that was more adult orientated.

I think this is part of the problem. So much Japanese material is full of teenage angst and waffle!
Not all of it thankfully. Lost Odyssey looks like an interesting suggestion which I'd never even considered.
 
I think this is part of the problem. So much Japanese material is full of teenage angst and waffle!
Not all of it thankfully. Lost Odyssey looks like an interesting suggestion which I'd never even considered.
I would recommend the Xenoblade Chronicles series, i played X and 2 and loved them and can't wait for the remake of the 1st one to come out. Not everyone's cup of tea but I really enjoyed them, especially 2 I even bought the expansion full price and didn't regret it one bit.
 
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