I came into jrpgs quite late compared to most people. Didn’t get into them until I was a senior in high school. Still, I wanted to play the greats when it came to the genre. One of my earliest Jrpgs I played was kingdom hearts on my ps3 through the final mix collection. Funny enough, my first kingdom hearts game was chain of memories on my game boy advance.

First booted up the game and I got nostalgic for it even though I never played it. The opening, going through traverse town with the music feeling like home, and going through all the Disney locations. Felt like I was a kid. Smiling seeing all the Disney characters I saw along the way. Like man, I was having a great time. The combat was fun and I loved going around the Disney areas. Felt so surreal to go through them when I was so use to watching them on my tv. Seeing one of my favorite Disney movies Hercules was so cool! Like we get to fight Cerberus? Awesome! Was nice being a kid again.

After the credits rolled and wiping my tears off (man that ending got me), I was thinking back on the title. Even saying out loud “man, I wish I grew up with this game. I would have loved it!”. Had everything I loved in a game. Heck, maybe would have been a final fantasy fan earlier than I was.

I just adored my time with the game. Wishing I did have it back when I was a kid. Even then, I still appreciate I even did play it. Better late than never right? Glad I got to play it and became a fan of the series afterwards.

I played a lot of ps1 games when I was young. Your crash bandicoot wrapped, ape escape, and maybe to spice it up I would play jet moto. Fun titles, but one game I played a lot was Spider-Man! As a huge Spider-Man fan as a kid, I adored this game. This probably was the first ps1 game I could ever beat back then now thinking about it.

I loved Spider-Man’s quips and things he would say to the bad guys. Found it so cool swinging around to buildings. Webbing up enemies in a sneaky way felt so cool. My favorite part was the costumes. Would always dress up. Make stories up about why I was in each costume. Was fun to do! My favorite costume was probably the unlimited since I could go invisible. My second was armored Spider-Man.

I had others I remember playing a lot like Toy Story 2, ape escape like I mentioned, and blasto. Made me wish at times I played other ps1 games others had, but I’m happy with what I had as a kid. Won’t change what I had. Have to thank my folks for all the games they were able to grab at the time for me. Was a happy camper with Spider-Man that’s for sure.

Oh look another person about to glaze chrono trigger. Pack it up boys nothing to see here. I mean thanks for showing up! Jokes aside, I been going through a lot of retro titles. Definitely not because of prices for modern games. That’s silly! For real though, I been going through my bucket list. Finally playing some amazing titles for the first time or finished like trials of mana, Spyro the dragon, and many others. One title I went through was chrono trigger.

I never had a game that shot up to being one of my personal favorites this fast. I knew about chrono trigger. Not my first time with it since I did play it on ps1, but never finished it. Same when I did it on the ds. Can’t explain why I dropped it. So, I made it a mission to finally go through the game properly. Now, I went in with low expectations. Why? Because I see so many people write off games due to being overhyped. Didn’t want to experience that. So, I went in the game thinking I hope it’s a fun game.

All I got to say, after finally going through the game, it ended up being one of my favorite rpgs of all time. It’s amazing. Best pacing I have seen in awhile for a jrpg. Loved the characters for being so charming to be around. The music man oh that music! End of time, battle theme, the over world music, and so much! I love it! While the game is easy I still loved it! I was like wow, this game is amazing. Ok ok I got my glazing out of the way.

Do I have issues with the game? Not really? Yeah I wish we got more character from certain people in the cast. Yeah, I wish the game could be a bit harder and maybe wish certain moments got extended. Didn’t like the force encounters at times. Made me miss my holy water like items to remove encounters at points. But all those complaints are me wanting more with one preference to the encounter. If most of my complaints are I want more! That’s a good one to have. This game is still amazing. It’s shot up to being a top 10 rpg of all time.

So, yeah chrono trigger is amazing. Who knew? Actually most people knew. Can’t wait to replay this game for years to come and curious what retro titles people loved lately.

As much as I love looking far and wide to play new rom hacks, I sometimes want to go back to rom hacks I enjoyed. Those comfortable games to play when I want a good and easy time with. For me that’s, crystal legacy.

I adore this game for how much it made me love going through johto. Making certain mons so much fun to play with due to stats or move sets. Giving that comfort level of challenge where I don’t have to change my team around to beat, but enough to make the fights enjoyable. I admit upfront I have a bias for gen 2. Funny enough though, not much through the originals. More through the remakes since I adored this so much. Legacy has that cozy gbc feel that I can never get sick of.

Whenever I want a Pokémon title that I want to relax and sit around listening to the music, I always got crystal legacy to go back to. Some of my fond memories with the title would be sitting around each town enjoying the themes. Just soaking in the atmosphere. Going back to a gen with some nice improvements is enough to make it one of my favorites to revisit.

Some years ago, I was going through some dragon quest games to see what I haven’t gone through yet in the series. While doing that, I realized I haven’t replayed any of the games in the main series. So, I decided since it’s been awhile to replay some of the dragon quest games.

Thought why not start with the first game? I remembered in my first play through that I thought it was fun. Like ok, that was fun to go through. Nice simple rpg. So, I went through it again by going with the snes version this time around. I did that and man, i don’t know what happened, but I started to love this game a lot more.

The simplicity of the game was so refreshing after playing so many games that had deep stories, characters with backgrounds, lore, a lot of big environments, and so on. With dragon quest 1, it’s not like that. It’s you’re a knight and you got to save the princess then stop the dragon lord. I loved that. Was great to go through that. Sometimes, that fairy tale like story felt so new to me. Loved the combat being you attack, use magic, or an item. No having to get the excel spreadsheet to make sure Craig got his plus 2 in strength. I loved it.

I don’t want to go overboard. So to wrap it up, when I did eventually beat the game, I came out of it adoring the title way more than I originally did. Not kidding when I say this game was a top 5 favorite dragon quest game for me. Makes me excited when I eventually go through the remake.

What a great rom hack heart and soul was. Was so cool to go through Gen 2 with the Gen 3 engine. It did some good stuff like the quality of life stuff you suspect but I loved the amount of customization it gave you! So many options especially with nuzlockes ranging from a randomizer built in all the way to making the game harder with prices be so high even exp being so little. Loved that! Made me want to go on a second playthrough.

My only two issues would be one, that some of the Pokemon need more love move set wise. Like why can’t jigglypuff learn moon Blast? Or if rhyhorn can learn dragon pulse why not claw? Would have been cool to give some of the mons some more love in that way. Second thing is just the level sets for some mons are still bleh or bad. Was disappointed that wasn’t touched up some. Would have been nice to give rhyhorn a rock or ground move before way back in the 30s. Was kinda of ridiculous.

Still, I had a great time with it. Definitely thinking of going back to do the kanto stuff. Can’t wait to see more updates for the game as well as some ideas the fans will make with this rom hack.

Was fun going back to Hoeen with this rom hack. Was so cool using mons I never would have used and becoming new favorites of mine lile Camrupt and grumpig. It was a great time and makes me happy to experience a generation I haven’t had played in a while.

I had a pretty fun time with this game! Definitely made going through fire red different at points. My team was a lot of fun to make and I admit I wish I got to use even more! Maybe next time I will do another run. The team was in order of the picture

Aqua neo, Dark paladin, Silent magician LV 8, Valkyrion, blue eyes ultimate dragon, and Gilford the lighting.

With the release of the amount of jrpg ports coming to the switch 2, got me thinking of ports of jrpgs that tend to double, triple, and whatever ble amount of times I bought the same damn jrpg. Now, why waste money on buying the same game again on a different platform? Well, show support that people are wanting this, collection reasons, love the game that much we want to tattoo it to onto are own heart, and because we want to. I do remember at times there was an actual reason to buy different versions due to the content. However, that isn’t really a thing anymore. Hell, I remember a time when a game would be ported they would get all their dlcs with a price cut and I better shut up before I go on. Anyways, here is a jrpg i tend to anytime i see it.

Final fantasy 4

Simply put, I love how much of a classic game this is. I can boot it up and always have a good time with it. I legit have almost played this game on everything due to how fun it is and short. Love how every version does have difference. Even love it more with the ds version being a new game basically with the graphics, voice acting, augment system, and being pretty hard to beat when I last played it. Playing this title is never dull to me. Reminds me of how much I love final fantasy. Was cool to see differences with the ports.

An example would be you couldn’t change your party in the snes and pixel remaster near the end of the game. You were stuck with those 5 characters. Unlike the psp version which let you switch party members out! Was so cool to have Yang on the team with the twins. Like heck yeah! More of this please! Hearing the music differences depending on the system was always a treat. Got to give the ds version its roses. Such lovely tracks especially the final boss theme and the theme of love. Having the augment system giving your characters more customization was such a cool idea! Made me wish it was more of a thing in other games.

I can go on and on about why I will spring some cash to play ff4 again and again until the end of time. It’s just I also like to buy the game to signal to the company that I want more of these games in the future. So, yeah what are come jrpgs you tend to buy on different systems? Any reason why? If so then share. Love to hear it!

We all love the PS1 and a lot of the games on it. Sometimes, you just love having the games on more than one console. Like for me, I love knowing that I can play final fantasy 9 on any console i lile and same for symphony of night. Able to quickly play it without always having to pull out the grey box all the time.

Man, I remember playing final fantasy 9 on the go way back on my psp and it was great. Able to grind for skills while waiting in class to start was great. Also was relaxing to grind in general while on the go. Think that’s why I adore playing jrpgs most of the time on handhelds.

With SOTN , it’s just a fun game to play. Would have it on my ps4 and play music. Not play the game just simply listening to the music due to how beautiful it was. Though, I do admit with that version of SOTN it didnt have the cheesy voice acting which was solely missed. Still, was nice to play this amazing classic on modern systems.

With ape escape, I just love catching the apes on my free time when I didn’t want to do anything that required a lot attention like a jrpg. Was kinda of cool to see how much I could push the graphics on the emulator i had on my old ass laptop. Even with those graphics, I would always switch back to the old native graphics at 4:3. Would always be my favorite way to play PlayStation 1 games.

So yeah, these are some games i try to have on any game system if possible. They are just great games simple as that. Wonder what everyone else’s games you love to have. Maybe it’s Digimon world on you steam deck or love having rival schools on your hacked ps3. Love to see what people’s game of choice they always want available.

Since we’re half way into the year, I want to ask what jrpg or jrpgs have you been enjoying so far this year? Could be playing a classic for the first time, a new modern title, or replaying final fantasy 9 for the 10th time.

This year so far has been a busy one. Finally hitting the mile stone of 100 jrpgs. I was looking back at some favorites I enjoyed a lot. Yes, I could go glazing that finally finishing chrono trigger for the first time was amazing, I wanted to shower a different game with praise. That one would be Ys origins.

What made this game my favorite so far this year? Well, there is quite a lot actually. First, I love the music. Hearing more rocking tunes from Ys is always a treat. Making going through this tower and boss fights so much more enjoyable than with pure silent. Looking at you Xenosaga episode 1! The music is just great.

The second thing is the gameplay. It’s while simple, is enough to become super engaging. Getting upgrades to your weapons, finding ways to make your spells better, and searching around for better equipment reminded me a lot of Zelda or even a metroidvania of sorts. It was a blast to go through. Beating enemies to see all the gems aka exp drop made me a grinding machine. God I love how fun the gameplay feels. Making each attack have a big impact. Was super addicting. Would legit just go into combat due to how fun it was.

Lastly, for me was the characters. For 8 hour campaigns for each character, I grew attached to some of them especially Yunica. Not many games can make me want enjoy characters this quickly. To see each one get their own happy ending. It was just a joy to see how much I loved going through the stories and even got me a bit emotional at points. Makes me excited to see more what the Ys series has in store for me. Seeing origins makes me wonder how I will react playing the first game.

Those are my thoughts on the game. Overall, was a great time. Playing each character that felt different with stories that were really well done, with a soundtrack keeping me want to play more, and a good length to play the game for future playthrough. Playing this game makes me pumped to play other Ys games.

I was looking through my ps1 collection, feeling nostalgic and wanted to see what I had. Going through them, I came to realize I didn’t beat many ps1 games as a kid. Only one that comes to mind is Digimon rumble arena and Stuart little 2 maybe? After thinking about it, I wanted to go through one. After some thinking, I went with Toy Story 2 as my first choice.

Toy Story 2

As a kid, I adored Toy Story! Buzz light year was my favorite! So, knowing a game that you can play as buzz sounded so cool! I remember loving this game. Then I did remember always dropping the game around back alley level. Couldn’t tell you why. Haven’t played the game in years after that. This year, I booted the game. Just hearing the few notes of the opening song intro made me feel like a kid. I start playing the game. I was so cool to finally see everything! Getting those booster scooters, seeing levels past where I was (Al’s toy barn level was my favorite), and getting to see ideas that didnt make it to the Final Cut of the movie was so neat! I was having a blast!

Playing the game put a big smile on my face. Yeah it has issues with some weird physics issues at times affecting my jump. Having to back track at times to get a character I needed to get the token and other minor stuff. Even then, I adored this game. Happy knowing this game didnt age poorly.

Crash bandicoot 2

Crash 2 was my very first crash game. Probably my first ps1 game ever i played. Going through the game was the same with Toy Story 2. Nostalgia and good times. One thing I did forget was how good this soundtrack is! Legit, I would put the controller down to simply listen to the music. Was that good! I wasn’t good enough to beat the game or even go through zone 1. Still, I liked it when I played it back then. Going through it really showed how much I have gotten better with gaming. Seeing platforms I know would make little me feel it’s impossible to now going through them with ease. Such a crazy thing to see for me. It’s crash 2, what is there to say? I had a fantastic time! It’s up there with Toy Story 2 has being one of my favorites. Still prefer 3, but damn does 2 come close .

Twisted metal 2

God! This game was so badass to me! Seeing my big bro go through this with my dad is a fond memory I have with this title. Seeing all the cool cars with weapons on them was so different to me! Remember laughing that an ice cream truck was used. I wasn’t good at the game even then, or didnt stop me from watching my brother play it sometimes. Eventually, I went through the game on easy. Only getting to the Paris level as a kid. Remember being shocked seeing the Eiffel tower blowing up. Picked up the game recently and man, this game kicked my ass! Was so hard for me to adjust! I did get acquainted with it. Still lost a ton especially against minion. I didn’t quite enjoy my time as much with 2 in the later levels. Swear those cars had a death warrant for me or something, because I barely did much before everyone was on me. Though, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the last two, I still had a good deal of fun. Makes me want to check out the other games in the series.

Ape escape

The last game in my marathon of games. Thing is, I have beaten this title through the remake on psp. Yeah, there is a lot of ps1 games that got remakes on the psp I wasn’t aware of like medievil for example. Remember enjoying the remake a lot when I did finish it. Now, I did play the ps1 version first as a kid. Catching all the apes with time travel was such a fascinating idea to me as a kid. Reminded me of my favorite movies with each time period I went to. My favorite level as a kid was funny enough the swimming one where you get the net catching gadget. Ngl, as a star wars kid, I liked the stun bat due to how it reminded me of a lightsaber. Would always have it on my buttons. Acting like I was a Jedi in the game.

Memories aside, I went through ape escape ps1 and I got to say that I enjoyed it a lot more over the remake. That was extra button helps so much! I just found the original to more charming graphic wise to boot. Going through the game was so cool to me. Also showed how the original just had a better look to me. I don’t mean to rag on the psp, but damn did I notice a difference. My only one issue i had with the game was it did feel repetitive to catch the apes. Had to set down the controller to enjoy it in small pieces instead a big meal aka playing it for hours. Even with that issue, I had a blast with the title. Would highly recommend it for anyone fan of PlayStation or enjoyers of 3D platfomers.