Good retro JRPG for somebody who has never played before

TerrySaw

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I have never properly played a JRPG and would really like to try and give them a fair chance. What would be a good one to start with that would help me break in to the genre without being overwhelming?

My preferences (not absolute):
  • Retro title for NES/SNES ideally
  • Do not want to play any of the Mario RPGs as my understanding is that those are pretty different than the average JRPG, and I am looking for something pretty traditional
  • Shorter playtime
  • Not insanely difficult
  • Good for learning the standard JRPG mechanics and turn based combat
  • Really value a great story (one of the reasons I am interested)
Hope that is all reasonable.

Thanks so much! ::peacemario
 
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV, V and VI, Earthbound, Dragon Quest III remake (it's only in japanese but there is a fan translation and a bugfix of that fan translation), Star Ocean (although I never played it), Breath of fire 1 and 2 (there are patches that both improve the translation and the encounter rate plus giving you 2x exp)
 
The very first Dragon Quest game is very simplistic in nature and also shorter than most jrpgs, but that may also mean as a good entry point for a newcomer.
 
Final Fantasy 4 and Chrono Trigger are probably the best options, as others have said.

FF 4 is a bit more basic and standard-JRPG (and it was my first JRPG), while Chrono Trigger often considered one of the best games in the genre.

Its hard to go wrong if you just choose a Squaresoft title for the SNES though, honestly.
 
Final Fantasy 6 was my first jRPG and I don't think it's hard to pick up at all. Dragon Quest V is another suggestion, since it's simple to pick up and has a solid story that spans generations. Breath of Fire 1 and 2 also comes to mind.

If you're willing to check out Action RPGs, I'd definitely suggest Illusion of Gaia and Tales of Phantasia on the SNES.
 
I'll pitch in based on the other responses.
Promise it's not my intention to sound rude - just want to be helpful as someone that views this as their comfort genre, yet has a love/hate relationship with it.

OP, just in case that you think that being new to the genre means you should go for a "simple" title isn't the best approach imo. I understand you want a taste of "traditional", but I don't think that should be confused with "rudimentary" or "barebones", even if they have fantastic historical value.
Sometimes there are cases of people not knowing what they're asking for, and I think the equivalent here is a vegan trying out meat for the first time by going to a traditional mexican restaurant and ordering grilled bull testicles.
I would avoid stuff with high encounter rates as well, so they don't sour your experience.

NES JRPGs can sometimes be good but back then devs weren't in any way thinking big story wise or making strides in gameplay besides attack/defend/item, so you might get bored either by mechanics or narrative. I very much disagree with some suggestions above such as the first DQs, BoFs, or the first FFs. Feels like some didn't read your post, considering I saw suggestions for Earthbound or Live A Live as well.

My best recs for starting points would be:
Chrono Trigger
FF6
Frue Lufia II hack

For traditional SNES action RPGs if you want to try your hand at that:
Terranigma
Illusion of Gaia

Afterwards (or now), I'd consider something like a PS1 jrpg:
- FF7/FF9
- Breath of Fire 3/4

Star ocean games aren't very impressive in my opinion, and I don't think they'd give you anything too solid to munch on that would awaken your curiosity to further explore the genre. They're light on the story, and focus on the characters, yet it depends on how much someone actually likes those characters.
 
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That's true, save for Breath of Fire - Dragon Quarter. That one is far too experimental to fit OP's criteria. The rest of them are good to go.
Yeah, I was referring to the original Breath of Fire for SNES (also the only one I've played) which is as barebones as it gets imo. Looking forward to play the rest when I have some time though

I was also gonna recommend Legend of Legaia, which other than its fighting-game inspired directional combo attack system, is an otherwise pretty traditional JRPG
 
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, i mean, to be the Devil's Advocate, the game was MEANT to be an introduction to the genre, it also has unique features for the time, such as enemies showing damage, jumping and being able to use weapons outside of combat for puzzles
 
Thank you all for the suggestions, especially Plumpodrome's detailed post. I am very appreciative.

Chronotrigger seems to be the most recommended, and the most appealing one form what I have looked into/heard of these games, so I think I will start with that one.

Please feel free to post more suggestions if anybody feels like it, as if I play more I will be using the posts in this thread as a reference on what to play.

Once again thank you all!
 
Chrono Trigger would be the best recommendation as it's relatively short, about 20-30 hours and is a flawless masterpiece for it's time.

Great music, has overworld combat instead of random encounters, not grindy either, great plot.

Honestly if you were going to play 1 NES/SNES JRPG, it would be this one, hands down.
 
I'll always recommend the original FF7 above most others because it was designed with the idea of bringing in new gamers to the genre. And these days running FF7 on PC with 7th Heaven, Ninostyle, Cosmos+Cosmo, and all the bells and whistles.. it's an amazing experience.

The psx version is okay too.
 
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, i mean, to be the Devil's Advocate, the game was MEANT to be an introduction to the genre, it also has unique features for the time, such as enemies showing damage, jumping and being able to use weapons outside of combat for puzzles
I personally think it's been too simplified to be a good indicator of what a jRPG can be, but it is a decent recommendation for a newcomer.
 
Dragon Quest 11, its a modern JRPG with that old classic design philosophy that made the series. Its accessible, fun, the story is your standart JRPG story but the characters and the world make it a great experience. That game was a journey for me and I cant recommend it enough.

Edit: I was sleepy writing this and didnt read the original post too close. Feel free to ignore what I've said ::cirnoshrug
 
First Dragon Quest is like 8 hours if you 100% it. Completely turn based and it lays the groundwork for JPRG genre. I would go with that.
 
If you're willing to go one or two generations beyond the SNES, I'd recommend Lunar: Silver Star Story, either the original Saturn/PSX versions or, even better, the PSP remake "Lunar: Silver Star Harmony".
 
I personally think it's been too simplified to be a good indicator of what a jRPG can be, but it is a decent recommendation for a newcomer.
HMMMM *Rumiates*

for something more "Mainstream"... why not Lufia 2? Average difficulty, Zelda styled puzzles, proper mechanics (Althrough unless you patch a retranslation the spell names will be nonsensical) and easly a memorable plot

If you don't mind patches worry not We have you covered with a needed update
 
Honestly, I am amazed that no one here has suggested the first Final Fantasy game. The NES version is very glitchy, but you can find great rom hacks that fix that, or you could play the GBA version. It's super simple, super traditional, not too long or hard. I wasn't really into JRPGs up until I played this game.
 

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