The Cast includes:

Kit - Mizuki Nana (Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto and Ann Takamaki from Persona 5)

Kaboodle - Imaruoka Atsushi (Winston from Overwatch and Rudolf von Stroheim from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

Gobbles - Takagi Wataru (Obito Uchida from Naruto and Okuyasu Nijimura from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

Flappers & Crab Girl - Fukuyama Jun (Joker from Persona 5 and Lelouch Lamperouge from Code Geass)

Warrick - Horikawa Ryo (Vegeta from Dragon Ball and Captain Falcon from F-Zero)

Miss Information - Koshimizu Ami (Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill and Holo from Spice and Wolf)

Fold - Chiba Shigeru (Buggy from One Piece and Emperor Pilaf from Dragon Ball)

Malice - Fairouz Ai (Jolyne Cujoh from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Power from Chainsaw Man)

Snappers - Anzai Ryuta (Landlord from Umayuru and Ruvinheigen Innkeeper from Spice and Wolf)

Crabbington - Uezumiya Takashi (Henchman from Chainsaw Man and Yutaka Shinshi from All Out!!)

Scratch - Shiraishi Ryoko (Hayate Ayasaki from Hayate the Combat Butler!! and Asuka Kazama from Tekken)

The Nimble - Kikegawa Asahi

Hello!

Last Time, we talked about the best JRPGs of 1995, and the winner of that question was (obviously) Chrono Trigger, for how it brought together numerous talented people to create a game with a unique, fresh take on the Active Time Battle system while also utilizing non-linearity to create multiple different endings, therefore popularizing New Game+. Other runner-ups include Lufia II, Seiken Densetsu 3, Secret of Evermore, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Tales of Phantasia, Suikoden, Terranigma, and Romancing SaGa 3. Also, I would like to give a mention to some games that I did not talk about last time (with thanks to u/VashxShanks for some entries), such as Thinking Rabbit’s Record of Lodoss War for the Super Famicom (One of the many games based on the Record of Lodoss War franchise), Softstar’s The Legend of Sword and Fairy for the MS-DOS (The first game in the LoSF franchise, which is bigger than Xuan-Yuan Sword with multiple different entries. Like Xuan-Yuan Sword, I don’t really talk about these games because my discussion is mainly towards JRPGs, with some notable non-JRPGs that relate to JRPGs), Alfa System’s Linda Cube for the PC Engine CD (This game is notable for being a bizarre JRPG with bizarre mechanics, and for being a rare 18-rated game on the PC Engine CD because of how gory and dark the game could get), and Climax Entertainment’s Lady Stalker: Challenge from the Past (A spin-off of Landstalker, but with random encounters and a female protagonist). Now, it is time to tackle 1996! This year was the beginning of the end of the 16-bit era of JRPGs, as more developers started to move on to 3D consoles such as the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, while consoles such as the PC Engine and the Sega line of consoles (Mega Drive and Game Gear) were winding down, with Nintendo’s consoles (the Game Boy and, surprisingly, the Super Famicom) somehow still making some games. However, it was also the start of many exciting new franchises on both the old and new consoles.

On PCs, Falcom had a weird year. After Ys V put the series on hiatus for 8 years (barring any remakes), and The Legend of Xanadu II ended the Dragon Slayer series, Falcom released their two final games on PC-98, Brandish VT: Fata Morgana Templum (Or Brandish 4: The Tower of Sleeping God) and The Legend of Heroes IV: A Tear of Vermillion (Or just The Legend of Heroes: A Tear of Vermillion / Represented by it’s PS1 box). Regarding the former, even though it kept the same graphics and gameplay (even though the game is in an isometric perspective instead of an overhead perspective), the story and characters are completely different from the previous game. It’s because originally, this game was supposed to be a different new IP titled “Victim’s Tower”, but Falcom turned it into the next Brandish game because the gameplay was similar to the games, with the VT being a nod to that original title. Also, this game took inspiration from Shin Megami Tensei with a morality system along with multiple endings based on the player’s alignment. Regarding the latter, the game continued the story of Legend of Heroes III while also keeping the gameplay as well. As mentioned earlier, these two games were the last Falcom games released on PC-98. That same year, they entered the Windows market with a port of Lord Monarch, and starting next year, they began working exclusively on games for Windows. 

Meanwhile, with Sega, a lot of their JRPG offerings this year were on the Saturn, as it kept getting more JRPGs this year, but there are a few on Sega’s older consoles. On the Mega Drive, Compile released Madou Monogatari I. Other than being a souped-up version of the Game Gear version, it’s also notable for being the last official game released on the Mega Drive. Speaking of Game Gear, this year saw the release of a spin-off of the Lunar series, Lunar: Walking School. The game was lighter in tone, with it also being a prequel as well. Moving on to the Sega Saturn, Climax Entertainment made the spiritual successor to Landstalker, Dark Savior. The game is split into different story routes, or “Parallels” as they’re referred to in the game, which can activate depending on how quickly the player finishes the prologue. Also, the most interesting aspect of this game would be the battle system, which takes inspiration from fighting games, features two rounds, and lets a weakened enemy defeated in the second round be captured and used in future battles. Treasure released Guardian Heroes, which was a mix of Action RPGs and beat-'em-ups, with the game also allowing the player to alter the story through their actions, with the choice of branching paths (which could lead to multiple endings), and also the use of a karma meter (which could change if the player kills civilians or shows mercy to enemies). J-Force and Sega teamed up to make the JRPG and RTS hybrid, Dragon Force. The most well-known feature of the game would be the battle system, which involves up to 200 soldiers fighting in real time. Sunsoft moved from the Super Famicom to the Sega Saturn with the next game in their Albert Odyssey series, Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean (Or Albert Odyssey Gaiden). As the Japanese title implies, the game is a spin-off of the Albert Odyssey series with different characters and a story that’s not connected to the main games. The most notable things about this installment would be that its gameplay is more reminiscent of traditional turn-based JRPGs instead of tactical RPGs like the previous games, and it’s also the first Albert Odyssey game to have an English release. The Shining series went back to its roots with Shining the Holy Ark, which, instead of being a tactical JRPG like the rest of the series, or even an action-adventure game like Shining Wisdom, the game is a first-person dungeon crawler similar to the first game, Shining in the Darkness. 

The two most notable Sega Saturn JRPGs this year were Game Arts’s Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Or Lunar: Silver Star Story / Represented by its PS1 box) and Red Company and Sega’s Sakura Wars. Regarding the former, the game is a remake of Lunar: The Silver Star on the Sega CD, but it includes improvements such as an expanded story, improved graphics and music, and more anime cutscenes. The game would later see much success when it was released on the PlayStation, with it selling over 267,802 copies combined on the console, and earning positive reviews. Regarding the latter, Sakura Wars is a unique type of JRPG with how it balances two different genres. For the battle system, the game played like a tactical JRPG with mechs that the characters piloted. Outside of fighting, Sakura Wars plays like a Dating Sim Visual Novel, where the protagonist explores the headquarters and interacts with the members of the party. A key feature of Sakura Wars would be the Live & Interactive Picture System (LIPS), which is a real-time branching system that gives out dialogue choices during events or conversations with a time limit, and the player’s choices during those bits can affect their relationship or battle performance with the other characters. When Sakura Wars came out, it was a huge success, selling 359,485 copies as of 2007, making it the 13th best-selling Sega Saturn game in Japan, and earning critical praise for its story, artwork by Kousuke Fujishima (the Mangaka for You’re Under Arrest and Oh My Goddess!), music by Kohei Tanaka (the composer for One Piece), and the voice acting by an all-star cast of Japanese VAs. It would also win the Grand Prize award at the first Japan Game Awards, along with Best Director, Best Main Character, and Best Supporting Character. Sakura Wars would later spawn a massive franchise with many different sequels, anime, manga, novels, and live musicals with the video game cast reprising their roles. Also, in Sakura Wars’ wake, numerous other JRPGs would later mix their gameplay with dating sim elements, such as Thousand Arms, Luminous Arc, and the later Persona games.

Going over to Nintendo, the Super Famicom was winding down as Nintendo was mainly focused on working on the Nintendo 64 (which didn’t have any JRPGs until 1998), but there were still plenty of great JRPGs being released on the Super Famicom (Half are from Squaresoft) while the Game Boy would introduce the world to one of (if not arguably) the biggest Nintendo franchise ever. Regarding the non-Squaresoft JRPGs, the Tales of Phantasia team’s new studio, Tri-Ace, would make its debut with Star Ocean. Similar to Tales of Phantasia, the game pushed the limits of the Super Famicom by having a 48 mb cartridge, while Star Ocean also had a special compression chip that had even better graphics than Phantasia, along with voice acting. The gameplay is similar to Tales of Phantasia, in that they’re both action JRPGs, but the difference between them is that Star Ocean was in a 3D Isometric perspective. A notable feature surrounding Star Ocean (other than its Sci-Fi setting) would be its Private Actions system, which allows the protagonist to talk with his companions in cutscenes while in towns, which can not only show character development and backstory for those characters, but it also affects the storyline, with the ending being changed. Star Ocean would later spawn the Star Ocean series, with it also putting Tri-Ace on the map. Banpresto would release Super Robot Wars Gaiden: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental, which was the first SRW game to feature non-super deformed units, a 45-degree view of the map, and be mainly focused on the original characters, instead of the characters from other mecha anime. The biggest non-Squaresoft JRPG on the Super Famicom would be the next game in Intelligent Systems’ own Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Featuring a darker plot than prior entries, FE4 was somewhat similar to Fire Emblem Gaiden in terms of deviations from other Fire Emblem games, along with the introduction of series hallmarks, such as big chapters that required taking over castles, characters unable to share their money and inventory with others freely, and the use of every unit being available to use in battle for deviations, while future series mainstays such as the weapon triangle system (a rock-papers-scissors system that shows the strengths and weaknesses of weapons), the skills system (which revolved around special abilities that changed the flow of gameplay), and the relationship system (which allows two different characters to start a relationship before getting married and having children who would appear in the second half of the game). A lot of key elements from this game would later pop up in future Fire Emblem games, such as the relationship system being a key feature in Awakening and Fates, and a lot of story elements would be echoed in Three Houses. Sadly, it was the last game produced by Gunpei Yokoi before he died in a car accident a year later. Before I move on to Square, I would like to give an honorable mention to Amccus and Pack-In-Video’s Harvest Moon (or Farm Story), as while I did not include it in the image because it’s more of a farming simulator than a JRPG, it is tied to JRPGs with it’s leveling up mechanics, and it would later spawn the Harvest Moon (or Story of Seasons) franchise. It would also inspire future farming simulators such as Farmville.

Regarding Squaresoft during this time, they made 4 JRPGs on the Super Famicom this year, but only one of them was ever released outside of Japan. First, they released Kazushige Nojima’s second and last directing work, the Tactical RPG Bahamut Lagoon. The game is notable for a couple of things, such as the sexually explicit dialogue, the inclusion of a gay wizard as one of the main characters, it’s numerous different ties to Final Fantasy (From spell and summon names appearing (such as Bahamut, Alexander, Leviathan, and Garuda), to it even influencing Final Fantasy X in terms of plot and characters), and it also being the debut title for Motomu Toriyama, who would later go on to direct games such as Final Fantasy X-2, the FFXIII Trilogy, and the FFVII Remake series. Next, Square would develop its last Super Famicom game, Treasure of the Rudras. The game's most notable aspects would be it’s hinduism inspired setting, the magic system (which has the player write and create their own spells by combining syllables with prefixes and suffixes), and (like Bahamut Lagoon), its ties to Final Fantasy (There is even a guy named Cid who rides an airship). Then, Square would team up with Sting Entertainment to release Treasure Hunter G. Other than its combat, which mixed turn-based combat with a little bit of strategy, it’s also known for being the final game Square published on the Super Famicom. 

Finally, let’s talk about the most famous Square Super Famicom JRPG (In that it’s the only one that was released outside of Japan) of 1996, as they teamed up with Nintendo to make the first RPG spin-off of Nintendo’s flagship Mario franchise, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. This game was the first Mario game to feature a full and extensive story, as most Mario games before only had a very simple plot revolving around saving Princess Peach from Bowser. It also featured extensive characterization as the game introduced new original characters with defined personalities, and it also fleshed out existing characters such as Bowser, which introduced the concept that the evil king is secretly more complex and potentially sympathetic. Also, the gameplay is also different from prior Mario games, as it’s in an isometric 3d view (a first for the series) for the environment and battles, and it also takes elements from Mario (The jumping and platforming with floating question blocks), and Final Fantasy (The turn-based combat), while also including new concepts such as the action commands, which are timed button presses that can enhance your attacks. Super Mario RPG was a success, with the game selling 1.47 million copies in Japan, becoming the third best-selling game in Japan in 1996, and selling more than 500,000 copies in North America, becoming the sixth best-selling game in North America in 1996. It also gained critical praise for its 3D-like graphics, humor, and soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. Even though it never got an official sequel, Nintendo would later go on to make Mario JRPGs in the future, such as the Paper Mario series and the Mario & Luigi series (which also shared some staff with Super Mario RPG, such as the directors and composer). The original characters in this game would also become beloved, as a few would become popular Super Smash Bros requests (especially Geno). Sadly, this game (along with the other Square games this year), would be the last Square game on Nintendo consoles as Square decided to move to Sony for work on the PlayStation, with the first Square game on the console being the fighting game, Tobal No.1 by DreamFactory (which released this year).

Before we move on to PlayStation, let’s take a look at the Game Boy. By 1996, while it was still popular, it seemed like it was showing its age, and it was nearing the end of its lifespan. However, on February 27th of that year, Game Freak would launch the two games that would not only revitalize the sales of the handheld console, but it would also popularize the monster collecting JRPG subgenre after Megami Tensei, Dragon Quest V, and Robotrek pioneered it, and it would not only become one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, but it would also become the biggest media franchise in the world. Those two games are Pocket Monsters Red and Green (By the way, Pokémon Gen 1 (Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow) will all be represented by the Japanese cover for Pocket Monsters Red. I’ll also do the same for most Pokémon games, except for some).  In these two games, the biggest selling point and the second biggest goal in the games (aside from collecting all 8 gym badges before defeating the elite four and becoming the Pokémon champion), would be to fight and catch all of the creatures known as Pokémon. In the games, there are 151 of them, with some being available through evolving them (by either leveling them up, giving them items like evolution stones or candy, or even trading them) or trading specific Pokémon that are exclusive in different versions. In battle, the best strategy for Pokémon to fight with would be a rock-paper-scissors-like system where different elemental types (There are 15 in these games) can weaken each other (Ex: Fire is weak to Water, Water is weak to Grass, Grass is weak to Fire, etc.), and the Pokemon could only know 4 moves at once before eventually trading one out with newer moves (which caused balance issues in these games). Another aspect of Pocket Monsters Red and Green that is very notable would be its multiplayer option, as with the use of a Game Boy Link Cable, players could link up their copies of Pocket Monsters to fight each other’s Pokémon, and (as mentioned earlier), trade their own Pokémon with each other. 

When Pocket Monsters Red and Green dropped, they became a HUGE success, with all versions selling 1.04 million copies in Japan, then 7 million the next year (making it the best-selling game of that year), before ultimately selling 10.23 million copies. Later in the year, Red and Green would get a third edition, Blue, which would update the graphics of the original two games and contribute to their sales. However, when Pocket Monsters would later hit worldwide stores as Pokémon Red and Blue in 1998, they would become a huge success over there, becoming the fastest-selling Game Boy game in the US, with them selling 200,000 copies in the first two weeks, before selling 4 million copies by the end of 1998, before going on to sell 6.1 million copies in the US and becoming the best selling game of 1999 in the country, and by 2007, they would later sell a total of 9.85 million copies in the US. In total, Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue would sell over 31 million copies, therefore making them (as of this writing) the best-selling Pokémon game of all time. As for critical reception, the reception was positive, with it holding a GameRankings score of 89% and winning “Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development” in the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards in 1999. Two years after 1996, Pocket Monsters would later get a 4th edition titled Pocket Monsters Pikachu (or Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition), which, in addition to updating the graphics, would take inspiration from the anime adaptation, such as the use of a yellow electric-type mouse Pokémon named Pikachu as your companion, and even an appearance from the Team Rocket trio. This version was also a success, with it selling 1,549,000 copies in 1998 in Japan, making it the third best-selling game of 1998 in Japan, before eventually going on to sell 14,640,000 copies in total, and getting positive reviews. The biggest achievement of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow would be that it would launch the biggest media franchise of all time, as not only did Pokémon get multiple sequels and spin-off games, but also a Trading Card Game that has produced 75 billion cards worldwide, multiple anime adaptations, with the most famous one being one of the longest-running anime of all time from 1997 to 2023, various manga adaptations, a ton of merchandise, and more. Because of this, Pokémon is not only the fourth best-selling video game franchise of all time, but the second best-selling Nintendo franchise, the best-selling JRPG franchise of all time, and the highest-grossing media franchise of all time at $115 million.

Going over to PlayStation, it was the year that PlayStation found its footing with multiple iconic games launching on the system this year. In terms of JRPGs, it was also a good year for the PlayStation as more JRPGs were made for the console. G-Craft returned to the world of Arc the Lad with Arc the Lad II, which expanded the gameplay of the first game with a bigger world and a more diverse cast. FromSoftware would make another King’s Field with King’s Field III (or King’s Field II), which was the last King’s Field on the PlayStation. Banpresto would make 2 Super Robot Wars games for the PlayStation, with one being a remake of Super Robot Wars 4 called 4th Super Robot Wars S, which added voice acting and CG movies to the franchise, and another would be Neo Super Robot Wars (Or Shin Super Robot Wars / not to be confused with the similarly titled Wii game), which was one of the few SRW games to have full-sized graphics while also including a few new inclusions such as new series like SPT Layzner, Voltes V, Gaiking, and Trider G7 and the introduction of the Super Machine Great War SRX storyline. G-Artists would make the first game in Yohsuke Tamori’s PopoloCrois franchise, PopoloCrois Story. Idea Factory (a developer made up of former Data East employees) would develop its first game, Spectral Tower, this year. Artdink would release the quirky Action JRPG Tail of the Sun, which revolves around cavemen trying to build a ladder to the turn with Mammoth tusks, while also raising their levels and collecting resources. The game’s director, Kazutoshi Iida, would later go on to direct the god simulator, Doshin the Giant. Konami would develop Vandal Hearts (or Vandal Hearts: The Lost Ancient Civilization), a mostly standard Tactical JRPG with the most defining feature being that the scenery was interactive with pushable blocks and kickable boulders, for example.

The two most well-known JRPGs to release this year on the PlayStation would be Media.Vision’s Wild Arms and Atlus’ Megami Ibunroku Persona: Be Your True Mind (or Revelations: Persona). Regarding the former, the game had a unique setting that mixed the usual JRPG settings of Fantasy and Science Fiction with the Western genre. The graphics use a mix of Overhead 2D graphics for exploration and Third-Person 3D graphics for battles. Regarding the gameplay, in dungeons, the characters can use tools to solve various puzzles to find paths or items. Wild Arms would later spawn its own franchise and would become a trademark JRPG franchise on the PlayStation consoles. Regarding the latter, Persona was designed to be an easier, more character-driven game than the other Megami Tensei games so that it can appeal to a wider audience. Persona was essentially an evolution of Shin Megami Tensei If…, with the setting being in a High School, and a similar system to the Guardian system, the Persona system. Inspired by Jungian psychology, Personas are spirits that help the characters fight in battle, essentially being the game’s magic system. Like prior Megami Tensei games, the player can recruit demons to their party with the negotiation system, and they can be fused in a room called the Velvet Room, which has inhabitants led by a mysterious long-nosed man named Igor. The gameplay switches between an overhead view for traversing the protagonist’s hometown, a third-person isometric view when in certain rooms to talk with party members, a first-person view when exploring indoor places or dungeons, and another third-person view in grid-based battles (which means that a character’s position on the grid determines what they can attack). However, the most infamous aspect of this game would be its initial localization, which changed all names from spells to demon names, being turned into generic RPG-sounding names, the removal of the Snow Queen quest from the game, and, most infamously, the Americanization of the characters and town locations, with the character of Masao (or Mark) being an infamous example of that happening. Even with that, Persona would later spawn the biggest subseries in the Megami Tensei franchise with multiple different sequels, spin-offs, anime, manga, stage shows, and more spawned out of it, with Persona arguably overshadowing the main Megami Tensei franchise.

All in All, those were the JRPGs of 1996. Which one was the best?

P.S. For 1997, I’ll be doing something a bit unique.

Hello!

Last Time, we talked about the best JRPGs of 1994, and the winner of that question was Final Fantasy VI, for how it was the pinnacle of the series in terms of Story, Themes, Character Development, and Gameplay. Other runner-ups include Mother 2, Breath of Fire 2, Live A Live, Lunar: Eternal Blue, Shin Megami Tensei II, and King’s Field. Once again, thanks to u/VashxShanks and also u/vokkan, I would like to give a shout-out to some JRPGs that I neglected to mention last time. Those were: T&E Soft’s Sword World SFC 2 (The last adaptation of Sword World for the Super Famicom), DOMO Studio’s Xuan Yuan Sword 2 (It is one of the many games in the Xuan Yuan Sword series, which is a Chinese RPG series. I don’t mainly talk about non-JRPGs unless they resemble or are linked with JRPGs), Koei’s Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons (One of the games in the Uncharted Waters series, which are Seafaring JRPGs. Also, this one was released in 1993, with its English release in 1994), and Shoei System’s Day of the Idea (A unique JRPG with bizarre scenes). Now, it is time to tackle 1995! This was an amazing year when the 16-bit era of JRPGs peaked, and when the 3D era really started with the PlayStation getting more JRPGs, and when the Sega Saturn started getting JRPGs after launching the prior year. Also, it was the year when Windows 95 launched, which dominated the PC-98 market, leading to many Japanese developers either jumping ship into consoles or moving on to Windows, with the latter focusing mostly on either eroge, dating sims, or complex military RTS games.

However, there were some developers who stuck to their guns, making JRPGs on PC-98, with one such example being Falcom. Even though most of the games they made this year were on consoles initially, with the only PC JRPGs being remakes of Xanadu and Scenario II with Revival Xanadu and Revival Xanadu II Remix (Which aren’t in the image), they still worked on PC-98 until 1997, when they fully switched to Windows. For the other two games that they developed this year, they were The Legend of Xanadu II on the PC Engine CD and Ys V: Lost Kefin, Kingdom of Sand on the Super Famicom. Regarding the former, the game had the same gameplay as its predecessor, with some adjustments, and its presentation pushed the limits of the PC Engine CD. Sadly, the game is not only the final Falcom game on the PC Engine CD, but as stated in the opening, it (along with its predecessor) is the final (until now) game in the Dragon Slayer series, as the creator of the series, Yoshio Kiya, left before the duology was completed. Regarding the latter, Ys V is similar to the last few Ys games in that it was distinct from the rest of the series (Ys III had gameplay similar to Zelda II, and Ys IV was split into two parts by different developers). This time, while the game went back to the bird’s-eye view perspective of the first two Ys games, the game also removed the standard bump attack system in favor of a gameplay system that included dedicated jump and attack buttons, along with defending with a shield. Also, the magic system was overhauled, with higher-level spells being cast when holding down a button. However, the game came with a weaker presentation due to being on a weaker system, with the game’s graphics looking similar to a Squaresoft game and an all-synth score that sounds weaker than most of the other Ys games prior. While there was a 2005 remake of the game by Taito and Arc System Works, Ys V is still the only non-spin-off Ys game to not receive a localization, with numerous fans wishing to see a modern remake of the game in the same style as the remakes for Ys III and IV.

With Sega, while the Sega Saturn was eventually one of the factors in Sega’s downfall in the console market, along with the Mega Drive add-ons (the Mega CD and the 32X), this year’s JRPG offerings from Sega were still pretty neat (I’ll be talking about the Atlus Sega JRPGs later)! Regarding the Shining Series, not only did Sonic! and Camelot make Shining Wisdom (Which I didn’t include in the list because its gameplay is less like an RPG and more like a Zelda-style Action Adventure game), but Sonic! also released Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict on Game Gear, which tried to tie the stories of the first two Shining Force games on the Mega Drive. T&E Soft returned to the franchise that made them famous with Virtual Hydlide. The game is a 3D remake of the first Hydlide with an expanded scenario and live-action cutscenes. However, it is currently the last game in the Hydlide series. Before we get into the last Sega Saturn JRPG in this section, let’s talk about Magic Knight Rayearth. Created by CLAMP, the Magical Girl series had a strong year in 1995, as not only did both the manga sequel and the second season of the anime drop this year, but there were multiple games for the series released this year compared to the single one that was released last year for the Game Gear. Among the multiple games for the series that were released this year (Which include another Game Gear game, two games for the Game Boy developed by Tomy, and a Turn-Based JRPG for the Super Famicom by Pandora’s Box), the most notable one out of them all (and the one that’s on the image) would be the Action JRPG on Sega Saturn. Like most of the other games, the game’s story is mainly based on the first half of the series, with it being presented as one complete story, with the FMVs being scenes from the anime. Other than that, the game is famous for being the last game to release on the Sega Saturn in the US because of the localization being delayed (Fun Fact: The release of this game predated the official English release of both the manga and anime.)

Once again, the Super Famicom reigned supreme in the JRPG Market. The two MVPs in the market were Squaresoft and Atlus. However, there were still plenty of other developers making a bunch of cool JRPGs. Banpresto released 4th Super Robot Wars, which introduced new features such as the ability to choose your own original character as the protagonist with a few customization options relating to their gender, love interest, and even which type of mecha they pilot, items that can be equipped to improve a unit’s performance, or restore HP, hidden items in stages, the ability to let the unit choose whether or not it could counterattack during enemy turns, and it was the debut of series like Daimos, Dancouga, L-Gaim, Zambot 3, and Shin Getter Robo (also, there was a remake of 2nd Super Robot Wars on the Game Boy with new UI and the addition of two new Gundam series, Victory Gundam and G-Gundam). Speaking of Anime JRPG adaptations, Angel released Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story. Based on the Manga and Anime of the same name by Naoko Takeuchi, it’s an original story that takes place between Sailor Moon S and SuperS, the third and fourth seasons, respectively. Hudson Soft would release a spin-off of their Far East of Eden series with Tengai Makyou Zero, which is known for being one of the most gorgeous games on the Super Famicom, thanks to a special decompression chip that allows for prettier graphics. Data East released a remake of the first Metal Max, with Metal Max Returns, which offered improved graphics and new bounties, areas, and items. However, it was the last Metal Max game for a while, as there were multiple cancelled games between the release of Returns and a Game Boy Advance remake of Metal Max 2 in 2003. 

However, there were 5 games (3 from different companies, 2 from Enix) that are more notable than the previous ones I mentioned, because of their notoriety. First, Neverland and Taito returned to the world of Lufia with Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (or Estpolis Denki II). Taking place before the original Lufia, Lufia II threw out the random encounters from the first game and replaced them with pre-existing encounters where the monsters in the overworld will respond to your footsteps like the Mother series. Also, Lufia II included an early version of the limit break system from Final Fantasy VII, where, when the characters take damage, their Ikari Points increase, which allows them to trigger IP techniques, which are usually offensive attacks. The biggest legacy of Lufia II today would be the Ancient Cave, which is a roguelike sidequest that has the player start at level 1 with little gear, with the items found in rare blue chests staying in your inventory when you die, which will allow the protagonist to venture deeper into the cave next time. Eventually, the ancient cave became a mainstay in future ROM hacks and mods of other RPGs. Next, Quest would release the sequel to Ogre Battle with Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. The game was very different from its predecessor, as it had a chess-inspired combat system inspired by Solstace, and a much deeper and focused story with heavier themes and more political intrigue. After the completion of this game, writer and director Yasumi Matsuno, and artists Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida all left Quest to join Square. Lastly, Wolf Team, Telenet Japan, and Namco collaborated to create Tales of Phantasia. The game was an action JRPG that used a system called “Linear Motion Battle System,” in which fights are carried out in a two-dimensional plane, in which the screen could scroll from left to right depending on which character or enemy is located. Also in LMBS, the player could control the protagonist, Cress in real time while the other characters can be set to either passive mode, active mode, or attack. Also, the game is a bit of a technical marvel for the Super Famicom as it included full voice acting for all the moves and spells, and even a full opening song. The game would later launch the Tales Series, with a few themes from this game becoming series staples (the racism against elves and villains being well-intentioned extremists), and after the game’s release, the original development team for the game mostly broke away from Namco to found the studio, Tri-Ace. 

Regarding Enix, they released two notable JRPGs this year on the Super Famicom. The first is their next game with Quintet, Terranigma (Or The Creation of Heaven and Earth). The game is the pinnacle of the Soul Blazer trilogy, with a more ambitious plot revolving around the resurrection of Earth, with the progress from the evolution of life to the present day, more enemies, dungeons, and puzzles, and even a little bit of town-building gameplay. The other game that Enix released this year on the Super Famicom would be the next entry in their flagship franchise, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (or Land of Illusion). Unlike the prior Dragon Quests, this game wasn’t developed by Chunsoft but rather by Heartbeat. The game (being the last in the Zenithian Trilogy) had improved graphics and inventory management, the return of the class system from Dragon Quest III, and a unique narrative involving a real-world and dream-world setting, which would later be expanded upon in JRPGs such as Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy X. Sadly, both games never saw an American release due to the closure of Enix America as DQVI was going to come out as Dragon Warrior V before the closure, and Terranigma was only released in english through PAL countries. 

Now let’s talk about the two MVPs of the JRPG market on Super Famicom, Squaresoft and Atlus. Regarding Atlus, they spent this year mainly expanding their Megami Tensei franchise. On the Game Boy, they released a spin-off to Last Bible, Another Bible (which isn’t in the image), which played like a tactical RPG similar to Majin Tensei. On the Super Famicom, they released the home console debut of the Last Bible series, Last Bible III, which introduced a feature allowing the protagonist to customize monsters by equipping them with items and having them level up. They made the sequel to Majin Tensei, Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis, which focused more on the story than the previous game. The last JRPG that Atlus made this year on the Super Famicom would be a remake of the first two Megami Tensei games, Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei (also developed by Opera House), which had enhanced graphics and music, redone dungeons, and a new terminal that allowed players to teleport and save their game. Outside of Nintendo, Atlus was also putting its games on Sega platforms. Other than a port of the first Last Bible on the Game Gear, which was released last year, they released the final original (non-Mobile game) Last Bible game, Last Bible Special, on the Game Gear. The game was very different from the other Last Bible games in that it had 3D dungeon exploration mechanics not unlike Wizardry. However, the biggest JRPG that Atlus released this year was on the Sega Saturn with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner. The gameplay was the same as SMT I and II; however, it took cues from SMT If by taking place in a contemporary setting and also detective fiction as the main character, Kyouji Kuzunoha, is a detective. Also, this was the first game for future Persona series character designer, Shingenori Soejima. The game was a success critically and commercially, with the game spawning the Devil Summoner Sub-Series, and it even spawned a TV show adaptation. Before we move on to Squaresoft, I would like to give a special mention to the Virtual Boy game, Jack Brothers’ Hee-Hoo at the Labyrinth!, as while it’s not a JRPG, it’s a maze game (hence why it’s not in the image), it’s famous for being the first Megami Tensei game to be released outside of Japan.

Moving on to Squaresoft, they had an amazing year as they released 5 JRPGs this year. First, they partnered with G-Craft to release Front Mission. The game is a Tactical JRPG that has mecha in it. The player can customize the mecha (or wanzers as they’re called in the game) with computers, backpacks, and weapons. Front Mission would later spawn a series of its own. Next, Square released the final part of the Romancing SaGa trilogy with Romancing SaGa 3. The game goes back to the traditional mechanics of the series compared to 2, but it adds a few new features, such as “command mode,” which allows a 6th party member to lead the others in an automated series of formations, which can allow for some powerful attacks. Speaking of third entries in Squaresoft franchises, Square would make the third game in the Seiken Densetsu/Mana series with Trials of Mana (or Seiken Densetsu 3). The game is notable for having 6 playable characters in which the player must choose 1 before choosing two other player characters, therefore leading to alternate paths and endings. As for the main gameplay, it plays like a more souped-up Secret of Mana, where the percentage meter is gone, letting the player attack as many times as they want, the charged attacks are replaced by techs, which are essentially Limit Breaks, you can also store items in your backpack and switch out whichever one they want on the item ring, and characters can even change classes. However, Trials of Mana never came out internationally because of tech limitations and bugs, but it did receive a fan translation, which was one of the earliest high-profile fan translations because of the high quality of the hack and a very solid script at the time of its release (2000). Meanwhile, Squaresoft made a similar game to Secret of Mana for Western audiences with Secret of Evermore. The game takes place in a world that is comprised of several different points in history, such as Prehistory, Classical Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Distant future. The gameplay is similar to the Secret of Mana with some elements such as real-time battles, a ring menu, and a charge system, but compared to Mana, Evermore is shorter, linear, lacks side-quests, and it has a different magic system through Alchemy. Also, it was one of the earliest composing works for Jeremy Soule, who would go on to compose for games such as The Elder Scrolls series (starting with Morrowind).

However, the biggest Squaresoft game of this year would be one of the most ambitious ones yet, as it was a collaboration with some members from rival company Enix to create Chrono Trigger. The game was developed by an All-Star cast that was dubbed as “The Dream Team,” which included the likes of Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of Final Fantasy) as the game designer, Yuji Horii (Creator of Dragon Quest) as one of the writers (along with Masato Kato, who wrote most of the story), Kazuhiko Aoki (Battle Designer for Final Fantasy series) as the producer who formed the team, Nobuo Uematsu (Composer for Final Fantasy) who worked on the soundtrack (along with up and coming composers Noriko Matsueda and Yasunori Mitsuda), Takashi Tokita (Director of Live A Live) who directed the game (Along with Yoshinori Kitase (Director of FFVI) and Akihiko Matsui), and Akira Toriyama (Mangaka for Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball and character designer for Dragon Quest) as the Character Designer. As for the game itself, it centered around time travel, with the setting taking place throughout multiple time periods. It also had a unique battle system that merged the Active Time Battle System from Final Fantasy VI with position-based moves known as techs, which require the player to wait and time their attacks to maximize the damage output. The game is most famous for its non-linearity, in which not only can players engage with plot-related sidequests that offer character development, but it also has a branching plot that can result in multiple endings that can be achieved through New Game+ (which this game popularized). When it was released, it became a hit, with it becoming the second best-selling game in 1995 in Japan, and critics rapturously praised the game, with it being praised for its gameplay, music, and presentation, and it also received several awards, such as Best SNES game from EGM, and Best RPG from EGM and Gamepro. It is now listed as one of the greatest games of all time.

Meanwhile, on the PlayStation, it was starting to find its footing in the JRPG market with more notable JRPGs being made for the system. First, FromSoftware released the sequel to their debut title with King’s Field II (Or just King’s Field). Next, in addition to making Front Mission, G-Craft made Arc the Lad, which was a Tactical RPG that later spawned its own franchise, and then, Camelot Software Planning released Beyond the Beyond, which introduced the “Active Playing System,” which allows the player to increase their chances at hitting a powerful attack or dodging an enemy attack by pressing X, which would later be copied with timing attacks in games such as Final Fantasy VIII and the Mario RPGs. However, the most well-known PS1 JRPG from this year would be Konami’s Suikoden. Inspired by the Chinese novel Water Margin, the game’s most notable feature would be the high number of characters the protagonist can recruit, as he can get 108 characters, with most of them being playable in battle. Suikoden would later launch the Suikoden franchise, which is Konami’s most famous JRPG franchise, and it would even serve as an influence for Warren Spector’s work, such as Deus Ex and Epic Mickey.

All in all, those were the JRPGs of 1995. Which one was the best?

Hello!

Last Monday, I asked the community what they think of Link, and now I'm going to do the same with the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy (Sorry Boba Fett), Samus Aran!

Samus is one of my favorite female characters in video games because she's a badass. I also like her design as I find her power suits cool and her usual Zero Suit uniform sexy.

What do you all think of Samus?

Hello!

Last Friday, I asked the community what they think of Donkey Kong, and now I'm going to do the same with the Hero of Hyrule, Link!

Link is a bit of a complicated character to talk about, as there are multiple variations of him throughout the series, which makes him different from, say, Mario or Donkey Kong. However, my favorite versions of Link would have to be The Hero of Twilight variant from Twilight Princess, and the Hero of the Sky variant from Skyward Sword (AKA the variants used in Brawl and Smash 4.) I love these versions of Link because the former variant is badass and can turn into a wolf, and the latter variant is very expressive, leading to some memorable scenes. The face that SS Link makes when Groose falls on him is priceless. I also like the Hero of Time Link in Ocarina of Time (The variant used in 64 and Melee) and the Hero of the Wild Link in the Breath of the Wild series (The variant used in Ultimate and the image).

What do you all think of Link?

Hello!

Last Time, we talked about the best JRPGs of 1993, and the winner of that question was Phantasy Star IV, for how it was the pinnacle of the series while also introducing the excellent macros system. Other runner-ups include Secret of Mana, Ogre Battle, Shining Force 2, Lufia, and Illusion of Gaia. Also, thanks to u/VashxShanks, I would like to give a mention to some JRPGs that I neglected to mention last time. Those were Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon (Which was known for not only being the first spin-off in the Dragon Quest series, as it included Torneko the merchant from Dragon Quest IV, but it was also the first game in the Mystery Dungeon sub-genre, which would also crossover with the Pokémon and Chocobo series) and Sword World SFC (Which was one of the very first video game adaptations of the longest-running and most influential Tabletop RPGs in Japan, Sword World (along with the PC port that game out the previous year.)) Now, it is time to tackle about 1994! This year is really amazing in JRPGs, as several iconic entries in established franchises, along with some franchise starters as well! Also, it was the launch of the Sony PlayStation, which would later host several of the greatest JRPGs of all time.

On PCs, once again, Falcom was on top of the world. Other than releasing Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan (which was the last game in the original trilogy centering around Ares and Bela), they released their most notable games this year: The Legend of Heroes III: White Witch (or The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch/Represented with its PS1 box), and The Legend of Xanadu. The former game is known as the first in the Gagharv trilogy, a sub-series centered on a shared narrative in the same world, similar to Falcom's later Trails series. The latter game is not only a follow-up to 1985's Xanadu, but it was also Falcom's entrance into the home console market, with the game releasing on the Super CD-ROM², as before, it had primarily developed games on PCs, with home console ports being provided by different companies.

Compared to Nintendo, Sega's JRPG offerings were a bit smaller. Other than the sequel to Langrisser, Langrisser II on the base Mega Drive, a few Game Gear JRPGs, such as an adaptation of the manga Magic Knight Rayearth and Moldorian: Hikari to Yami no Sister (a tactical JRPG), and a remake of the first two Shining Force Gaiden games for the Mega CD that also added new stories that continued the stories of those games (most of these games are not in the image), the biggest Sega JRPG that released this year was Game Arts's follow up to Lunar: The Silver Star, Lunar: Eternal Blue. The game expanded the gameplay, story, and presentation from the previous game, as it had a story that was set a thousand years after the predecessor, it featured improved AI, more detailed graphics, more voice acting, and longer cutscenes.

Similar to the previous years in the 90s, the Super Famicom dominated the JRPG market. The 3 companies that were most present this year were Nintendo, Atlus, and Squaresoft. Outside of those 3, there were other companies making JRPGs for the Super Famicom. Capcom released the sequel to last year's Breath of Fire, Breath of Fire II. The game is known for being one of the first JRPGs to feature a corrupt church as a plot point (which would later be a recurring trope in later JRPGs) and for its *terrible* translation for it's english release. Sunsoft released the sequel to Albert Odyssey, Albert Odyssey 2: Sign of the Devil, which streamlined the gameplay from the first game while also keeping many story and gameplay elements from the first. Banpresto released Super Robot Wars EX, which not only was the debut for series such as Aura Battler Dunbine and GoShogun, but also was the first title to allow players to upgrade weapons, and it was the first game to focus on the Masou Kinshin plot of the series, along with having a multiple scenario system in which the plot is determined by the order the player selects the storyline. Data East released the last (until 2008) Glory of Heracles game, Glory of Heracles IV: Gift from the Gods. The game focused on Atlantis and Pandora's Box for its plot, and in addition to writing the scenario, Kazushige Nojima made his directorial debut for this game. Also, this was the year that Kazushige Nojima would join Square. Finally, Quintet released Slapstick (or Robotrek). As the Japanese title indicated, the game placed a lot of emphasis on humor, since the game was intended for a younger audience. One very notable aspect of the game would be that it's an example of a pre-Pokémon mons game, along with SMT and DQ5, where it even had similar features to Pokémon, such as having the protagonist send out their monsters to fight for them (with said robots even being placed inside balls) and team customization.

As stated earlier, the 3 most prominent JRPG developers/publishers in 1994 for the Super Famicom were Nintendo, Atlus, and Squaresoft. Let's start with Nintendo. Nintendo released two JRPGs this year. The first was the Super Famicom debut for the Fire Emblem series, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. The game was a remake/sequel of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, where the first half of the game was a more streamlined retelling of Shadow Dragon, while the second half was an original story that was a sequel to the game. The gameplay was also a back-to-basics approach from Fire Emblem Gaiden's experimental gameplay, while also being easier, in order for new players to get into Fire Emblem. The game was a success, with it having the best first week sales for the franchise up until Fire Emblem Awakening, and being the first game to get critically praised. The other JRPG that Nintendo published would also be their most notable one this year, as Shigesato Itoi and Hal Laboratory would team up to release the sequel to the 1989 game Mother, with Mother 2: Gyiyg (or Giygas) Strikes Back (or Earthbound). While the game is similar to the first Mother game, with the same setting inspired by classic Americana and the same basic mechanics, the gameplay has changed from the first, with the party being changed from 3 to 4, and the introduction of the rolling counter system for battles where getting hit or using a PK move would cause the PP and/or HP meters to start rolling down until they are healed, therefore making this game somewhat of a real-time JRPG. While Mother 2 was successful in Japan, selling 518,000 copies, with it being the tenth best-selling game of 1994 in the country and getting critical praise, in America, however, it was a completely different story. When the game launched one year later in America as "EarthBound", it was a flop over there because of the terrible marketing that focused on the gross-out elements of the game, complete with a tagline that states "this game stinks!", which resulted in the game selling 140,000 copies in America. Eventually, Earthbound would later get a massive cult following in the years to come, thanks to more people finding out about the game from the protagonist Ness's appearances in the Super Smash Bros series and the launch of the fan sites Starmen.net and Earthbound Central, with Earthbound being named a classic, and it being the influence for such games like Undertale and Omori.

Next, let's talk about Atlus. Other than publishing RED Entertainment's Kabuki Rocks, 3 of the JRPGs that they made this year were all Megami Tensei games. The first one I would like to talk about would be the next SMT game, Shin Megami Tensei II. Following the events of the neutral ending of the last game, SMT II refines the gameplay of the predecessor with the minimap being available with a single button press instead of going through 3 different screens, improved graphics and environments, and even new features that would become mainstays in the franchise, such as fusion accidents, skill inheritence from "parent" demons, demons being able to use more than 3 skills along with a normal attack, and certain bosses having their own unique skills. Despite that, the game was still very difficult. The next game that Atlus released was Majin Tensei. This game is notable for having a different gameplay system than the other Megami Tensei games, with it having a Turn-Based Strategy twist to it. The final game that Atlus released would be Shin Megami Tensei: if.... In this game, the setting is different as it takes place in a modern setting with a notable location being a school. While the gameplay is nearly the same as SMT II, a big change that "if" included was the introduction of the Guardian Spirits system, which are souls of demons that, when entering the player character's body, would strengthen it and give the player character and their companions magical powers. The game's popularity would later inspire future Megami Tensei sub-series such as Devil Summoner, and (most famously) the Persona series.

And then we get to Squaresoft. This year, they released two JRPGs this year. One of them was a massively successful entry in their flagship franchise, while the other one was a unique hidden gem that was pretty influential. First, let's talk about that hidden gem, Live A Live. The game is notable for having 8 scenarios, with the first 7 unfolding in any order that the player chooses, and the last one being unlocked after completing the first 7. These scenarios are different from each other in terms of tone, setting, art styles, and even gameplay, where they can be different from each other, such as a more comedic story set in the Stone Age, a stealth-oriented story set in Edo Japan, a fighting game-inspired story with the gameplay mainly being combat set in the Present Day, and a Survival Horror-esque story with barely any combat set in the distant future. However, the battle system is still the same throughout the stories, with it being unique from the other SquareSoft games in that while it's still turn-based, it's also on a 7x7 grid with some movement elements taken from Strategy RPGs, with the characters needing to take a position into account when performing attacks. While Live A Live wasn't as commercially successful as other Squaresoft games at the time, only selling about 270,000 copies, it would later become influential. It was the directorial debut for Takashi Tokita, whose later games would use concepts from Live A Live, such as Chrono Trigger (The time periods and the grid-based battle system) and Parasite Eve (the survival horror tone from the Distant Future story and the movement-based gameplay). The idea of multiple characters' stories being initially standalone before all coming together would be expanded upon in the Octopath Traveler series. And the game was the first Square title that Yoko Shimomura composed, along with the song "Megalomania" being one of the inspirations for the song "Megalovania" (the other being the final boss theme from Brandish 2).

However, I decided to save the best for last, as in the same year as Live A Live, Squaresoft would release the next title in their Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VI (or Final Fantasy III). The game's setting, tone, and story were different from the previous games in that, instead of it taking place in a purely medieval world (with a little bit of some technology here and there), FFVI takes place in a steampunk-esque world where characters rode on mechs and magitek reigned supreme. FFVI's story and tone would also be a lot darker than previous Final Fantasies, with darker themes such as child abandonment, teen pregnancy, war crimes, mourning the deaths of loved ones, and even suicide. The game also had an ensemble cast with 14 different characters with their own stories and character arcs, along with some scenarios being unlocked through different paths and sidequests. Also, the gameplay was an evolution from the previous games, as while it didn't have a job system similar to FFV, it did have variety as the characters' jobs ranged from simple ones like a Thief (I mean, Treasure Hunter/Locke) and a Monk (Sabin) to more complex ones such as a Dancer (Mog), Blue Mage (Strago), Mime (Gogo), and a Gambler (The first time it appeared/Setzer). The game also features desperation attacks (which are powerful attacks that unlock when a character's health is low, it would later inspire similar attacks in future Final Fantasies), and Magicites (Which are essentially crystals that not only give the player the chance to summon the two dozen summons (or Espers) in the game, but they also provide Magic spells that the character would learn through experience.) When Final Fantasy VI dropped, it was a huge success, with it selling 2.55 million copies in Japan by mid-1994, and the game even being the best-selling game of 1994 in Japan. The game also garnered critical acclaim, with it winning the Best Role Playing Game award from Electronic Gaming Monthly. However, this game was the last mainline Final Fantasy to release on Nintendo platforms, as future games would mainly premiere through PlayStation (and/or Xbox) systems.

As I said earlier, 1994 was the year that Sony released their very first console, the PlayStation, and one of the first JRPGs to release on the system (other than Media.Vision's Crime Crackers, which isn't in the image) would be King's Field. The game was a First-Person JRPG that was notable for being one of the earliest known 3D JRPGs on consoles. It was also known for being the debut game for its developer, FromSoftware. The game's difficulty and unconventional structure would later go on to influence FromSoft's later games, such as Shadow Tower and Demon Souls (The latter would later start the Soulsborne series).

All in all, those were the JRPGs of 1994. Which one was the best?

Hello!

Last Wednesday, I told the community what they think of Mario, and now I'm going to do the same with Donkey Kong, the leader of the DK gang! Personally, I find DK to be a funny dude. His reactions in the original Donkey Kong Country games were hilarious, and Donkey Kong Bananza really helped me like the Ape more.

What do you all think of Donkey Kong?