Guilty_AI
Gold Member
Which ones have you played?
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Your Top 5 Indie JRPG's
- Thread starter German Shocks
- Start date
SilentSpecter
Member
Reducing JRPGs to just turn-based combat is silly. By that logic, Baldur's Gate 3 would be a JRPG too. The genre has its own distinct style, tone, storytelling sensibilities, and cultural identity that Expedition 33 simply doesn't have. It's a European turn-based RPG through and through.
The game also has a major publisher behind it (Kepler Interactive), a sizable budget, full voice acting, and very high production values. It's much closer to a AA title than what most people would typically consider indie.
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German Shocks
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
Falcom is 100% not indie.
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Hudo
Member
Then I guess I can't name top 5 indie JRPGs.
Lokaum D+
Gold Member
SilentSpecter
Member
"It's just your opinion" is usually what people say when they've run out of actual arguments but still want the last word.
JRPG isn't a synonym for turn-based game made anywhere on Earth. If it were, we might as well throw Baldur's Gate 3, Divinity, and half of western RPG history into the same bucket and call it a day. There are design traditions, pacing, narrative structure, and cultural roots involved.
And the indie label also isn't a vibes-based aesthetic choice. Once you've got a major publisher (Kepler Interactive), a sizeable team, full VO, cinematic presentation, and production values clearly aimed way above the small-scale indie space, calling it indie becomes more of a marketing fantasy than a useful classification.
Wouldn't say it's indie, but E33 is a JRPG, because it follows all the design concepts of a JRPG.
What's that you say? Someone who isn't Japanese can't make a JRPG?
Can a non-Belgian make Belgian waffles?
Can a non-French make French toast?
Can a non-Danish make a Danish pastry?
Can a non-Swiss make Swiss chocolate?
Can a non-Italian make Italian dressing?
Can a non-Scottish make a Scotch whisky?
Can a non-English make an English muffin?
Can a non-Austrian make a Viennese whirl?
Can a non-Turkish make Turkish delight?
Can a non-Turkish make Turkish coffee?
Can a non-Hawaiian make a Hawaiian pizza
Can a non-Jamaican make a Jamaican rum punch?
What's that you say? Someone who isn't Japanese can't make a JRPG?
Can a non-Belgian make Belgian waffles?
Can a non-French make French toast?
Can a non-Danish make a Danish pastry?
Can a non-Swiss make Swiss chocolate?
Can a non-Italian make Italian dressing?
Can a non-Scottish make a Scotch whisky?
Can a non-English make an English muffin?
Can a non-Austrian make a Viennese whirl?
Can a non-Turkish make Turkish delight?
Can a non-Turkish make Turkish coffee?
Can a non-Hawaiian make a Hawaiian pizza
Can a non-Jamaican make a Jamaican rum punch?
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SilentSpecter
Member
Yeah, that analogy really doesn't do what you think it does.
Nobody is arguing "only Japanese devs can make JRPGs" - that's a strawman. The point is that JRPG isn't a magical ingredient list where you just tick turn-based combat and voila, genre defined.
By that logic, we should probably start calling anything with dice rolls a D&D game and call it a day. Or just label every turn-based RPG a JRPG and retire the term entirely, since apparently nuance is optional.
And yes, food analogies are doing a lot of heavy lifting here… but unfortunately for them, game genres aren't cuisine recipes. They actually have design lineage, structure, and cultural context that matters.
Lokaum D+
Gold Member
Yeah, that analogy really doesn't do what you think it does.
Not all turn based games are JRPGs. I think most people know that?
But if we played a guessing game and the clues were: turn based combat, 3/4 party members, world map/towns/dungeons, story-driven structure,- it wouldn't be hard.
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Bernardougf
Member
Chained echoes and sea of stars..
Both are great
Both are great
SilentSpecter
Member
Glad we agree on that part.
The disagreement was never all turn-based games are JRPGs, it was what actually defines a JRPG beyond combat. That's where the distinction matters, otherwise the term becomes pretty meaningless.
Fbh
Gold Member
I've only played Chained Echoes and Sea of Star.
Chained Echoes I absolutely loved, was an easy 9/10 game for me and better than 95% of the JRPGs coming out of Japan these days. It's honestly still in my top 5 games of this gen.
Fun turn based combat with an interesting twists, a likable cast of characters with a pretty cool story, and IMO one of the most fun to explore worlds in any modern JPRG. It was also nicely paced with solid side content that went for a quality over quantity approach .
Sea of Stars was more like a 7/10 for me.
Beautiful pixel art and some pretty fun dungeons. The combat was decent, I liked the real time elements to it, but IMO it suffered from a lack of progression and skill variety. You also had to build up a meter for the stronger skills but most normal fights are over too fast, so many of your already limited number of skills are only really usable during boss battles. But it was mostly the story and characters that I found very underwhelming. Also locking the true ending behind finding collectables is a shit idea IMO.
I've had Cross Code on my backlog for a long time. I need to play it one of these days, specially with the new game from the studio coming out soon. Anyone know how it runs on the Switch 1?
Chained Echoes I absolutely loved, was an easy 9/10 game for me and better than 95% of the JRPGs coming out of Japan these days. It's honestly still in my top 5 games of this gen.
Fun turn based combat with an interesting twists, a likable cast of characters with a pretty cool story, and IMO one of the most fun to explore worlds in any modern JPRG. It was also nicely paced with solid side content that went for a quality over quantity approach .
Sea of Stars was more like a 7/10 for me.
Beautiful pixel art and some pretty fun dungeons. The combat was decent, I liked the real time elements to it, but IMO it suffered from a lack of progression and skill variety. You also had to build up a meter for the stronger skills but most normal fights are over too fast, so many of your already limited number of skills are only really usable during boss battles. But it was mostly the story and characters that I found very underwhelming. Also locking the true ending behind finding collectables is a shit idea IMO.
I've had Cross Code on my backlog for a long time. I need to play it one of these days, specially with the new game from the studio coming out soon. Anyone know how it runs on the Switch 1?
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
touchfuzzy
Gold Member
I bounced off Chained Echoes pretty early back when I tried it, maybe I should give it another go.
I played CrossCode on Switch 1 and can confirm it runs pretty badly. The first half of the game is okay when you turn off the environmental effects but it's like they gave up on optimization halfway through -- there was a boss fight I must've been getting 15 fps on.
GravityMan
Member
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes felt more like an actual JRPG to me than the other indie games mentioned here. However, it's not that good of a game - only decent.
Out of the other games mentioned, CrossCode is my favorite (and one of the best indie games in general). Fantastic combat, great moment-to-moment gameplay, cool protagonist, interesting important NPCs, nice setting and exploration, solid puzzles, good music and art. Only the main story was a bit lacking...it was ok, but nothing special. Strong SNES-era vibes with this game. I played it on PC so performance was good. Too bad about the poorly optimized Switch 1 version.
Chained Echoes started off really strong, but started to go south after a certain critical story moment about halfway through the game. Also its combat system, while conceptually interesting, led to many battles especially later on that felt like a slog. And the Elrant DLC was even worse in that regard.
Sea of Stars is very pretty artistically, but way too easy. The combat system was neat, but it's held back by too many uninteresting and samey enemy encounters. Also, aside from one island about 30% through the game...Sea of Stars's story is pretty dull from start to finish. And none of the characters are interesting. It felt like a game made for a very young audience that is new to RPGs.
Out of the other games mentioned, CrossCode is my favorite (and one of the best indie games in general). Fantastic combat, great moment-to-moment gameplay, cool protagonist, interesting important NPCs, nice setting and exploration, solid puzzles, good music and art. Only the main story was a bit lacking...it was ok, but nothing special. Strong SNES-era vibes with this game. I played it on PC so performance was good. Too bad about the poorly optimized Switch 1 version.
Chained Echoes started off really strong, but started to go south after a certain critical story moment about halfway through the game. Also its combat system, while conceptually interesting, led to many battles especially later on that felt like a slog. And the Elrant DLC was even worse in that regard.
Sea of Stars is very pretty artistically, but way too easy. The combat system was neat, but it's held back by too many uninteresting and samey enemy encounters. Also, aside from one island about 30% through the game...Sea of Stars's story is pretty dull from start to finish. And none of the characters are interesting. It felt like a game made for a very young audience that is new to RPGs.
WhiteWaterM00se
Member
Does Blue Dragon and Fantasian count?
Hudo
Member
According to the definition of this thread no. Blue Dragon had Microsoft as publisher and Fantasian was bankrolled by Apple.
Chuck Berry
Gold Member
I don't think I can come up with five indie JRPGs I enjoyed because they're so few and far between but I really, really had a good time with Cosmic Star Heroine
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WhiteWaterM00se
Member
Right, but the argument would be, it is a smaller "indie" studio that developed it. Similar to how Hollow Knight was funded by MS.
This is why I asked the question. I think it could go either way depending on who is asking the question.
touchfuzzy
Gold Member
No, definitely not man, lol. Both games are directed by Sakaguchi himself. Would be like calling Death Stranding an indie game.
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
dark souls
WhiteWaterM00se
Member
I agree. But technically, Death Stranding and games like E33 are considered "indie". Just not low budget indie.
But for the sake of this thread, it appears OP is looking for lower budget indie.
There are many great options.
I was just asking because the level of polish on an E33, or Sakaguchi game hits different usually.
NeverYouMind
Member
Only indie JRPGs to actually draw my attention are:
Fear & Hunger
Sea of Stars
Fear & Hunger
Sea of Stars
Notorious_Roy
Member
I think they heard me. Their blog has an update with photos of Switch games including CE.Cosmic Star and Sea of Stars were okay, like 7/10. I would really like to play Chained Echoes but my copy is coming from First Press Games so yeah...
Switch Games Assembling/Shipping Update
Dear customers, First of all, some good news: We have now received the slipcases for all of our Nintendo Switch games. In fact, almost all components for all of the Regular Editions are ready on hand, with only a few minor items still missing, such as quick instruction cards or individual coins...
firstpressgames.com
thereisachance.gif
ClanOfNone
Member
Only indie JRPGs to actually draw my attention are:
Fear & Hunger
Sea of Stars
I want to play Fear and Hunger so freaking bad, I've watched a buncha lore videos for it and Termina. Alas, the themes and graphical depictions meant it wouldn't ever see a console release.
When I finally get back to pc gaming, either via a Steambox or something else, F&H and Termina will be my first purchases for it.
cartman414
Member
Crystal Project looks tempting. Just afraid it will leave me wanting somehow.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
It's a very cool game. Instead of being very linear and story focused like most JRPGs, it's open ended and allows you to explore the world at your own pace, with lots of secret places to find and jobs to unlock along the way. Plus the battle system has a lot of strategy to it, and some boss fights can be a real challenge. I really enjoyed my time with it.
Oh and they just announced a sequel lel.
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DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Expedition 33 is the same kind of game as Final Fantasy X. I don't see how anyone can define JRPG in such a way that one of those belongs and the other doesn't. Unless you consider retarded writing and characters to be a defining characteristic of JRPGs
DonkeyPunchJr
World’s Biggest Weeb
Nice, I've been meaning to check the first one out.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
My take on the JRPG definition is that it's a matter of style and design and not a matter of where it has been developed.
Dragon's Dogma is an RPG made in Japan, but that doesn't make it a JRPG.
E33 is a JRPG made in France. It plays just the same as Paper Mario, which is a JRPG made in Japan: quite linear, low agency when it comes to role-playing and turn based combat.
Dragon's Dogma is an RPG made in Japan, but that doesn't make it a JRPG.
E33 is a JRPG made in France. It plays just the same as Paper Mario, which is a JRPG made in Japan: quite linear, low agency when it comes to role-playing and turn based combat.
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
It's not a Indie JRPG but I love Eastward. Always gave me the feeling of playing a modern Earthbound. It's still one of the prettiest Pixel Art games I played
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
Your take is the correct one. People understand that if you are making french onion soup but you're a Japanese person doing it in Japan....it's still french onion soup. But when you change the recipe a lot so that it becomes something different from the french style, that's when it's no longer French onion soup, or FSoup as we call it on the soup message boards
Haven't picked it up yet but I wishlisted it because of the amazing art style
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
It's in my Top Ten Switch Games. The game has whole package. Amazing gameplay, great story/cast, beautiful graphics, great OST, awesome world building/setting etc. I'm surprised this game is considered indie
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
wow that good huh? I really dont hear a lot about it so I didnt think it would be the whole package even though the pixel art is top tier
I might look up some vids again
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
Yeah it's one of the few games I
Percented. I played it on my Switch OLED and the colors really popped. And yes it's that good
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Durin
Member
In alphabetical order I'll pick 5:
Don't care if any fit how people wanna take the term, each one is obviously inspired by different RPGs made in Japan. Also, I'll get Alabaster Dawn when it gets out of early access, demo was fun.
- Cassette Beasts
- Chained Echoes
- Crosscode
- Undertail
- WitchSpring R
Don't care if any fit how people wanna take the term, each one is obviously inspired by different RPGs made in Japan. Also, I'll get Alabaster Dawn when it gets out of early access, demo was fun.
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OuterLimits
Member
Shadows of Adam. Fun combat, good music, okayish story. 12-20 hours which is perfect for an indie game. I think this same dev just released the indie jrpg game "Quartet". It also has good reviews on Steam. Will eventually buy this as well
Dark Deity 2. If you like GBA era Fire Emblem, then you will likely enjoy this. Pretty long game with a ton of battles. Story is merely mediocre but the voice acting is quite good for an indie project.
Dark Deity 2. If you like GBA era Fire Emblem, then you will likely enjoy this. Pretty long game with a ton of battles. Story is merely mediocre but the voice acting is quite good for an indie project.
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