My RPG Journey
Tracking all the RPGs I have played with my thoughts!
342 Games
"Don't judge a book by its cover" has never been more true in this wacky and stylish beat 'em up RPG. An impressive replica of the Akihabara streets, phenomenal attention-to-detail in NPC behavior and a plethora of customization options (down to walking style, nickname called out by pedestrians, and strip style). Hoping for a third game in the series some day!
This is what I wish more Action RPGs were like; action combat that rewards those skilled but also options for those who want to level up and adjust their play-style to their liking. Gorgeous environments mixed with satisfying "sword dance" and heavy action combat shine Genji as one of a kind in the genre!
An "Alternate RPG" that tells about the people around you, the world as a whole, and understanding growing up as an individual. A work of art that I want to see to the end one day...
Refer to SoulSilver note.
My introduction to RPGs and Pokémon series. A cozy game of my childhood that offers a ton of activities to do, areas to explore, and a refined presentation that holds up today!
Fast-paced combat mixed with rewarding exploration in lush environments won my heart in this excellent action RPG!
One of the coolest games to ever be released on the Famicom! Nonlinear sandbox to explore, tons of moves to unleash, stunning inertia and water current physics ALL on a Famicom cartridge. Slowdown can be atrocious, recommend the Kunio Collection to remove that and the great localization. Best played directly after River City Ransom.
A complete reimagining of River City Ransom that goes above what a remake should be. Explore a brand new, yet familiar open world as you brawl high school baddies, shop at vast locales, and suit your best equipment in this beat 'em up RPG! Multiple endings and secrets encouraged me to replay this hidden gem for Nintendo 3DS.
Hunter RPG with magic combat blended together with a dark fantasy style, how awesome is that? This updated version of Soul Sacrifice refines the varied combat system with new spell & combos to master, dynamic arena effects to alter battles, and a new faction to leave fate to decide a monster's grieving. So much potential to create an original action RPG out of this underappreciated title.
Suburban Action RPG with a touching story about individuality and loss in life. Love trying out and experimenting with new pins, exploring the vast Shibuya area, and the "dualscreen action" combat system is phenomenal. Can't imagine how my experience would have been if I played the mobile or Nintendo Switch port, the DS original is the way to go!
Choose your own adventure samurai simulator. From start to finish, you choose the weapon, factions, clothing, and fight style to create your samurai adventure. Even without the DLC, the multiple endings and activities to do is staggering! Wacky humor may not be of the best taste, but what's here is an action game that kept me busy for hours upon completion.
Observe your surroundings and learn the ham ham language in an unexpected title developed at Nintendo. Some of the best visuals on the system, a cute RPG-lite conversation that has you learn new words to solve hamsters' demands, and perfect portable play for quick or long sessions. For a kids' licensed title, this is one of the best you can find!
"Free-Roam RPG" perfectly describes this revolutionary title in the Mega Man series! Watch as your actions have consequences in the town, discover interlinking dungeons, and equip many parts to power up the blue bomber! It's like an OVA as a video game, with an excellent art-style that holds up today.
High school is prison, and so is Persona. I enjoy the social aspects and time management as someone who was playing this before high school. I felt that even with its controversial issues, I would become more open about myself for peers during high school. Thank goodness for being on Vita, I don’t think I would have ever finished it if it was on another system.
A beginner friendly introduction to the Pokémon series. There's a good balance of exploration, monster catching, and battles in this JRPG that others in the series do not capture. The smooth performance and catchy soundtrack elevate this great remake! Postgame could have been a bit better though...
Despite the corny localization, the game holds up pretty well. Roam the streets to make money, eat food to level up your stats, and have a friend join you as you beat up those baddies! PLEASE use save stats or the modern collections, 20+ character passwords is absolute insanity!!!
This is what I wanted from a Zelda game after my love for Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask. A fully open world experience where you can go anywhere and engage in tight action combat. The physics interaction, stunning cel-shaded style, and rewarding exploration made this an unforgettable experience as my first proper open world RPG!
Charming spin-off to the Mega Man Legends series. The different subgame styles are fun to play, upgrading and customizing the mecha and Servbots incentivizes what your preferences. Writing and dub is phenomenal, I feel this game is much closest to the original Legends vibe than the sequel dropped off for a more story driven game.
Marigul funded Mecha Action RPG left in Japan. I like the premise of being a new kid in town who wants to become the ultimate Custom Robo master. Adorable presentation of pre-rendered sprites exploring small 3D hubs as you fight battles for new pieces to customize your mech. Custom Robo’s meat is the battle system, and while it is pretty fun, that meat wears dry when the skeleton of the experience is alright. I played about two hours before I closed my adventure. It even has VS mode locally, which is an awesome feature! Hopefully V2 gets translated some day, I like what is presented here over the latter titles in the series.
Will be reevaluated.
How music and visuals can save a game. Setsuna was a rather boring title to play, there was not much to explore and the story was lame. However, the solo piano soundtrack and bright visual style won my heart in this Chrono Trigger inspired RPG. Vita port is a disaster, a shame since it fits the portable nature perfectly more than the Switch/Steamdeck.
Another multimedia project from Level 5, which is lame. It basically feels like 13 Sentinels with the hybrid 2D exploration and 3D action combat. Every line is fully voiced and features a handful of anime cutscenes. Language barrier makes this title difficult to play, plus action combat is a bit simple for my liking. One button action (with tilts and aerial chains), skill system and guns, it’s like a step above LBX. If it ever gets localized, I would play it.
Stumbled this one while looking for action games on iOS. It was better than expected, but not enough to grab my attention. It’s more involved than most idle gachas and cramps my fingers since I used touch controls. Bayonetta style action gacha can only go so far. Visuals are a looker, and drain the battery depending on your phone…
Stumbled across a demo on the PSN Store for this game published by Sony. Little did I know it would be a pretty cool experience. Visual fidelity I have not seen in other Vita games, a cool grim fantasy aesthetic and decent action combat. Nowadays Delta is the way to go, but I still enjoyed my time with the original Soul Sacrifice.
I miss this gacha a lot. It was a simple battle simulator of the Star Ocean series, but it looked phenomenal for mobile devices and the gameplay was addicting. The doll model style worked in its favor here, with collabs with Valkyrie Profile & Persona for the Japanese release. Story was typical isekai oc meets characters from series, yet that gameplay is probably the slickest of all the Star Ocean games I’ve played.
What a weird game, in a good and bad way. It’s been years since I last played it, I doubt it holds up with the basic platforming and pace becoming a drag. I don’t feel inclined to replay, it’s a title I’d rather leave as rose-tinted glasses. Writing is funny, the pixels were alright to use, and the motion aspects weren’t too bad.
What a strange yet endearing game. It's like a platformer with adventure elements, such as quests, leveling up, and town exploration. Wonderful soundtrack, beautiful visuals, charming style, it was difficult to have a sense of direction though. I made it through a few areas before I got lost, might return to it another day...
My introduction to the Yakuza series and wow, talk about a first impression! I love everything about the game…except the combat unfortunately. It’s because of that, I have not finished the game. I tried it recently and nah, this combat stinks. So much to do around the cities, one of the best maps in a video game.
I remember discovering Yo-Kai Watch before plans for a localization were announced. I watched subbed episodes of the anime, loving the Japanese culture and humor. Come time the game came out and I tried the demo, I hated it. It felt so misguided and confusing, like was this really the game that won a huge following in Japan? I would later buy a copy to see if I would like it, it would change my life forever. Explore a dense Japanese city filled with secrets and key locales, find wacky yo-kai to befriend, and enjoy life as a youth in a large world! This game gave me an opportunity to experience freedom that I wish I had as a child.
Unexpected gem in modern JRPGs. Thought this was going to be some life sim where you watch the yo-kai interact in school, but it is an action rpg sandbox game. It basically takes the Blasters combat system with different weapons and mixes it with a large world to explore. The Live2D portraits are weird for this kind of game, but it does allow full voice-lines during battle and free-roam. I wish this game was localized or available as an English patch, it was pretty fun and cute.
What I expected: post apocalyptic JRPG with wild enemy designs and environments to explore.
What I got: choose your party JRPG with an aggressively boring battle system and linear hallways to travel. Hatsune Miku is here and is a central part of the story. Thought that was the most interesting thing 7th Dragon does.
What I got: choose your party JRPG with an aggressively boring battle system and linear hallways to travel. Hatsune Miku is here and is a central part of the story. Thought that was the most interesting thing 7th Dragon does.
The first Strategy RPG on PS1 and the first I ever finished! It’s alright, wonderful presentation beats out the meddling tactics gameplay. Poor balancing and many wasted turns just trying to get near an enemy, it is a fast paced tactics system thankfully. Orchestral soundtrack, data transfer, and FMV cutscenes all elevate this SNES style tactics rpg, I only wish it was better to play…
So this game is based off a multimedia IP that has mostly faded away from pop culture. Battle system is like a third person shooter mixed with some action, think Mega Man Star Force. It was a bit of fun, but the mission structure and empty exploration made this difficult to catch my interest. It works for a PSP game, but for a title so late into its lifespan (2011/2013), I expected a bit more here.
All style, no substance. It’s a Hunter RPG where you fight giant colossus bosses between both screens. Phenomenal 3D models and 2D sprites evoke a 5th gen aesthetic akin to Xenogears. Gameplay comes down to tapping spots on the monster to attack, it gets tiring fast. Even with multiplayer, I can’t imagine this game having longevity with the sheer repetition of basic quests to proper boss quest. Makes me wish this was a Shadow of the Colossus style game instead.
