Left feeling a bit empty after playing it for the first time a few months ago(why did I wait so long?) I am afraid no JRPG will be able to surpass it. Would love to have a discussion about similar games that reach the same quality level (Note: I have already played Final Fantasy VI ).
Its not a very “patient gamer” recommendation, but Sea of Stars came out a couple of weeks ago, it is a modern game inspired by retro JRPG titles like Chrono Trigger. I haven’t played it yet, but it looks super cool.
Finished it yesterday, can confirm, while it’s not on par of course, it’s a great game and an amazing tribute to old JRPG.
Nothing else reaches the same quality as Chrono Trigger in the same way. You have to settle for lower quality with similar pacing, or try to reach the same level of quality in a different way.
Similar pacing, lower quality: Phantasy Star IV, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy IV
Comparable quality, different style: Earthbound, Final Fantasy VII (FF6 is the real answer, but FF7 is the most similar game to FF6)
Similar aspects, lower quality: Dragon Quest IV, Radical Dreamers & Chrono Cross, possibly Radiant HistoriaRadiant Historia definitely hits some of the same notes.
New Game +
The only answer
Huh, this game has that mode? If that is so then that it is amazing.
Yeah. There are some endings that you can only get from new game +.
I’m at the final boss of Super Mario RPG and can vouch for it being really fun. While it’s not as epic in scale and story as Chrono Trigger, it’s got good humorous writing, good pacing, and the difficulty is just right imo.
I also really like that if you lose a battle, the game resets you at your last save point and carries over any exp you gained, making grinding way less tedious.
I can’t believe it hasn’t been mentioned much but Secret of Mana is definitely a strong contender as GOAT JRPG, as good if not better than Chrono Trigge imo.
Better? Never. I will say it is the by far the best real multi player rpg I’ve played.
multiplayer? would it be a good game for a couple?
Oh totally, and one player can readily dip in and dip out if you’ve got differing interest levels.
damn, never realized that’s a thing. My SO doesn’t have the time to game that much, so that’d be really helpful.
Can you recommend other games with similar multiplayer mechanics as well?
I agree. When I have my SNES nostalgia, I play Secret of Mana first, then Chromo Trigger for the withdrawals.
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That game was probably my biggest surprise in the last decade, I expected nothing and got one of my top 5 videogame stories and atmospheres of all time. The game does so much with so little. Couldn‘t warm up to the battles though lol
Dunno how anyone who likes JRPGs could play the first game and be like „you know what, I don‘t need to play the sequel.“
Suikoden II is generally considered one of the best JRPGs on the PS1, and while the English translation isn’t spotless the writing and setpieces have a similar quality to Chrono Trigger. It is a sequel to Suikoden and you’ll enjoy the second game a bit more for having played the first one, but it’s not a requirement. The original Suikoden wasn’t nearly as polished and I’d hate for you to give up on Suikoden II because you burned out on it.
Absolutely loved Suikoden 2
Earthbound probably
None of those reach the same level as Chrono Trigger in my opinion, but they’re still great:
- Lufia II - Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES). Note: Lufia is best played out of order, since the start of Lufia I spoils the end of Lufia II.
- Tales of Phantasia (SNES). Preferably through the DeJap translation, IMO better than the official.
- Pokémon Fire Red or Leaf Green (GBA). Pokémon as a series decayed a fair bit, but Gen III was amazing.
ROM hacks of gen 3 games are pretty fun, and the most up to date ones are very high quality.
-Pokemon Gaia is my favorite, still feels like a classic pokemon game and its really polished. No postgame yet though, there’s a big update thats been “coming soon” for a few years, but the devs say they’re still working on it.
-Pokemon Unbound is by far the most complex pokemon game in existence, with content up to gen 8, side quests, mechanics from later games, and tons of postgame content. Also a more “adult” storyline, although I think that actually detracts from the feeling of a pokemon game
-Altered Emerald and Polished Crystal, if you want to play expanded versions of official games
-One that people usually recommend is Pokemon Glazed, but i don’t really like that one. It’s a big game but the balance and pacing of it is way off.
If you want something more modern, but that still feels very classic, try Sea of Stars. It gives off major chrono trigger energy from my play through so far.
It’s got that Chrono Trigger Feel™. The first time we triggered a battle, the party and enemies all jumped to their starting places on the map. I was so happy
Echoing a few here.
Earthbound. Legend of Dragoon. Illusion of Gaia. Secret of Mana. Suikoden. Final Fantasy 6.
Sea of Stars JUST dropped.
Sea of Stars
I’ve heard a lot of vague talk about it. I have Game Pass (which it’s one). Does it live up to the hype? It might be my next try if/when I cool on Starfield.
What I’ve heard is that it’s very much like Chrono Trigger aesthetics-wise but very different regarding writing quality. Now, a lot of people play JRPGs not necessarily for their plot, story, character motivation/development and quality of prose but for their particular atmosphere crafted by their use of graphics, music, animation/sprites, etc and there’s nothing wrong with that, so maybe it will be your vibe
It’s directly Chrono Trigger inspired.
If this wasn’t !PatientGamers, this’d be a lay up for Sea of Stars, and every comment would just say “Sea of Stars”.
Nice. You definitely just nudged it up on my playlist.
I played the demo and liked it a lot. Beautiful looking game that feels good to control. The only reason I’m not playing the full game is that I feel like I owe Baldur’s Gate III my attention, since I so rarely buy new games :p
Undertale, tales of vesperia, golden sun, Earthbound are some decent choices
Xenogears for PS1
Very different from all the later ‘Xeno-’ titles.
Same composer as CT.
Not as polished a game design, but overall outstanding and interesting in story, mechanics, and scope.
My big 3 on that system were Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Mario RPG, in no particular order (though I generally lean toward Earthbound). I would throw Zelda: A Link To The Past as an honorable mention (not an RPG in the same sense of course). All classics and worthy of respect in their own light
Gotta say I want to recommend Zelda: LttP too, even though it’s more action-y. One of those games that feels like you’ve really gone on an adventure.
