Maxie
Wholesome Chungus
fact - Earthbound or any RPG set in a real world-resembling secondary world is a social commentary at its heart, and as such cannot be terribly compelling
It's actually vastly, vastly different from Earthbound, in plot especially, in feel a great deal, and in setting a fair bit too. If you are superficial it will make you (I mean you personally) very angry (it even made me quite angry a few times), but if you are not superficial, you will enjoy it. It has a somewhat sophisticated take on the interaction between society and evil and IMO the evil is not very grey or anything like that, in fact if anything the quirky aesthetic is used to really drive things home, oft too far (e.g. the baddie brown shirts wear literal pig costumes).I didn't like Earthbound's setting after a few hours play, so will probably give Mother 3 a pass, despite knowing it has a good reputation.
I can second this. Never finished it but had trouble putting it down. Hate the art style thoTBH dunno if you've already played it but Radiant Historia (the original...) is absolutely fascinating story-wise, and not a cringe subversive story either
really? aww that's a shame I sincerely think it's one of the prettiest Atlus gamesI can second this. Never finished it but had trouble putting it down. Hate the art style thoTBH dunno if you've already played it but Radiant Historia (the original...) is absolutely fascinating story-wise, and not a cringe subversive story either
Looking back on it I shouldn't say style, the style is OK. It's rather the character designs. It's just personal preference and not a big deal. I repeat that I think the game is quite good (for a JRPG, ofc.)really? aww that's a shame I sincerely think it's one of the prettiest Atlus gamesI can second this. Never finished it but had trouble putting it down. Hate the art style thoTBH dunno if you've already played it but Radiant Historia (the original...) is absolutely fascinating story-wise, and not a cringe subversive story either
There is nothing in maturity that says you can't have "good vs. evil". For 6000 years good vs evil was considered mature storytelling, and 120 years of the "modern novel" ain't gonna change that metaphysical standpoint.
It's just I prefer something a bit more like a romantic sci-fi/fantasy canvas, along the lines of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, or say Suikoden and Trails in the Sky.
Our interaction with nature is a reflection of natural laws.There is no such a thing as 'good' or 'evil', it's a human construct specific to each individual, society and era. Just take animals, they don't have such concepts, the closest thing would be: 'reproduction good and dying bad', but that because survival and reproduction it's the only objective goal of life. They act on their instinct, they don't need to use metaphysical moral concepts to justifity their actions like humans do.
What kind of social commentary Earthbound makes? Bureaucracy sucks?fact - Earthbound or any RPG set in a real world-resembling secondary world is a social commentary at its heart, and as such cannot be terribly compelling
I don't know, any fantasy setting is not 'credible', because magic and unrealistic things exist there, even in fantasy novels with hard magic system, they only explain how magic works not why. Even in real life there are things that can not be explained yet like why everything exists, there is the Big Bang but what was before that? and before? and before?... so scientists can explain how things came to exist but not why.Back on topic however, saving the world is the highest order of motivation, but we are really talking about every interaction between now and then. If events are mere happenstance, it erodes the credibility of any action you take. If people have powers with no etiology, or teleology, like suddenly the boss can levitate for no reason, when it could have been useful earlier, it erodes verisimilitude. Likewise if a character is written in a way that does not show their credible standpoint, they are not going to ever seem like more than a faux character.
like suddenly the boss can levitate for no reason, when it could have been useful earlier, it erodes verisimilitude
It's just credible and grounded.
To be honest it sounds like a lot of people just automatically think of the modern redefinition of words, instead of their real meaning. Grounded to a modern audience is a marketing term employed by entertainment companies to mean their soap operatics. Grounded has an original meaning akin to verisimilitude, authenticity, realism, spiritual awareness and unpretentiousness.It's just credible and grounded.
Sounds like you still have some nihilistic brainrot to get rid of, friend.
OP asked for a well-developed, believable tale with solid characterization and compelling narrative. Chrono Trigger may be fun, but it's the wrong recommendation for the topic. His description alone should've been enough to tell you he isn't looking for basic JRPG narratives, and the fact that he derided FF games in the second sentence of his post made it even more obvious.What's wrong with Chrono Trigger (nobody's saying it's got better characters or story then Planescape here)?
Why are you looking for that in JRPGs? or even in video games in general? lol. Anyway, Front Mission and other mechas JRPGs is about as 'realistic' as you can get in a JRPG, since it's just soldiers in machines fighting each other.original meaning akin to verisimilitude, authenticity, realism, spiritual awareness and unpretentiousness.
you sound pretentious as fuck though.unpretentiousness
Imagine caring about what people 'sound' like instead of substance.you sound pretentious as fuck though.
That's just bullshit and it's not eben in the description.OP asked for a well-developed, believable tale with solid characterization and compelling narrative. Chrono Trigger may be fun, but it's the wrong recommendation for the topic. His description alone should've been enough to tell you he isn't looking for basic JRPG narratives, and the fact that he derided FF games in the second sentence of his post made it even more obvious.What's wrong with Chrono Trigger (nobody's saying it's got better characters or story then Planescape here)?
I know on other forums it's a common pastime for people to basically ignore the details of OP's request and recommend to OP the exact stuff he said he isn't looking for just because you think it's good, but we look down on that sort of behavior here.
So that's why you got the reddit rating. Because that's exactly the kind of shit reply you'd expect to see on reddit.
Grounded has an original meaning akin to verisimilitude, authenticity, realism, spiritual awareness and unpretentiousness.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I am getting some nice ideas.
So far then the list is something like:
I think for the sake of the internet I wanna clear up what I consider true "maturity" to be. It ain't neccecarily 'dark'. It ain't neccecarily 'grey'. It's just credible and grounded. There is nothing in maturity that says you can't have "good vs. evil". For 6000 years good vs evil was considered mature storytelling, and 120 years of the "modern novel" ain't gonna change that metaphysical standpoint.
- Phantasy Star IV
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 1
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 2
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3
- Grandia 1
- Grandia 2
- Valkyria Chronicles 1
- Valkyria Chronicles 4
I'm a Traditionalist, of course I want good vs evil in my JRPG. It's the only reason I even bother to enjoy fantasy. True fantasy is metaphysical by nature. Likewise moral ambiguity is not neccecarily maturity. Post-modern "intellectual masturbation" about character development ain't it either. I'm glad many people here understand shonen exhuberance is no less mature than cycical cringewank.
It's the most no-nonsense jRPG that I personally played, from people behind Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics. Narrative and writing are along similar lines. Main character is a stoic, adult male with a job to do.The game takes place in the kingdom of Valendia and the ruined city of Leá Monde. The story centers on Ashley Riot, an elite agent known as a Riskbreaker, who must travel to Leá Monde to investigate the link between a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Duke Bardorba. In the prologue, Ashley is blamed for murdering the duke, and the game discloses the events that happen one week before the murder.
The protag has a girl's name and runs around with naked ass cheeks, very mature, much characterization.The answer is always Vagrant Story
It's the most no-nonsense jRPG that I personally played, from people behind Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics. Narrative and writing are along similar lines. Main character is a stoic, adult male with a job to do.The game takes place in the kingdom of Valendia and the ruined city of Leá Monde. The story centers on Ashley Riot, an elite agent known as a Riskbreaker, who must travel to Leá Monde to investigate the link between a cult leader and a senior Valendian Parliament member, Duke Bardorba. In the prologue, Ashley is blamed for murdering the duke, and the game discloses the events that happen one week before the murder.