Hmm... Last Dream looks pretty good. That's exactly the style I had in mind. Same for Artifact Adventure. The thing about RPG Maker is that any dumbass can whip together something and call it a JRPG, but HOW it's used can make all the difference in the world. The very first non-pen and paper RPG I ever played was Dragon Warrior on the NES. Granted, I was much younger, had a hell of a lot more time on my hands, and hadn't developed an angry cunt outlook on gaming, but I sunk so much time into that game, plus DW3 & 4, that I can still hear the music.
I evolved over time, like we all do. Got into the more traditional stats-based stuff, and then the angry cunt welled up. This game is a real RPG, that game is a shitty pretender, etc. etc. You know, true Codexian fashion. I've decided "fuck it", I'll play what's fun instead of trying to hold every game to some ideal. I'm too old to refuse to play something just because it misses a mark somewhere on some checklist of perfection.
Anyway, I saw someone playing Stardew Valley on Twitch and it got me thinking that there's a certain innocent charm to that style of game, at least aesthetically speaking. I don't think I'd enjoy SDV much, but I started to wonder if someone has taken that look and made a decent JRPG in the style of the old consoles. I know the newest Dragon Quest has a retro mode, but unless it's released on PC, I won't be able to check it out. I'll have a look a these suggestions and see if anything scratches the itch.
