It’s time to talk about two of the most soulful JRPGs ever made

So, we’re getting a full-on acoustic album this time around? Could be pretty cool.

I’ve only played a handful of JRPGs but I’m interested in checking these games out. What makes them standout in your opinion?

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Nomura is just the character designer, he has no say on how the game is made beyond that aspect.

>Highly-stylized with aesthetics that can be directly compared to Jet Set Radio
>mechanically unique ARPGs with fun takes on mob design such as making the mobs stronger through chaining together rounds for more drop rate
>surprisingly well-done character writing and development for the casts
>great music that covers a large variety of genres
>highly modular difficulty settings that rewards you even more for getting gud at the mechanics

I wish we had smt3 or smt5 graphics in smt4 i like the gameplay but images moving are no very amusing to me, i love tje art nevertheless

He is the producer and played a huge role in making the first game. People need to stop this whole "he is just the designer guy" thing.
Without him we would have never even gotten a sequel. He is the only one who kept bringing up TWEWY in interviews and in KH. If it was for Square they would only release generic open world games from now on.

user, he’s creative producer. He was even the one who came up with the idea for the first game’s battle system.
>Working on the title now, the experience of making the DS title It's a Wonderful World that released last year was very helpful. It's a Wonderful World from the planning stages aimed to make use of the DS's features, it became a game that utilized the functions of both screens and the touch panel only the DS has, where you could carry out a battle that was simultaneously different on the top and bottom screens. I personally researched the DS while developing It's a Wonderful World, wondering what to do to make Kingdom Hearts work on the DS. As a result, I felt the best response would be to bring the action elements natural to the Kingdom Hearts series to the DS, a reverse idea to the new directions that It's a Wonderful World took to when adjusting to the DS, furthermore I had confidence that it could be powered up and new elements could be implemented.

>As a matter of fact, I tried to make the title of It's a Wonderful World only numbers, but because it was a new series, I gave up the number title since I feared it people wouldn't remember it.
khinsider.com/news/Creator-s-Voice-Videos-and-Interview-843

>Kando: In the beginning the three of us kept sending game ideas and were in arguments about it.

>Arakawa: Right. I remember being chewed out by Mr. Nomura. He’d say “No, we could do this on the PSP,” or something like that. The hurdle was really high from the get-go, because we set out to create “a game that can only be played on the DS.”
khinsider.com/the-world-ends-with-you/interviews/square-enix-members-creators-roundtable-part-2

If you just want to story, artsyle and music go play the Switch or Tablet version since they look and sound way better and have the extra ending that leads into NEO.
DS was fine, but looks like shit even on an emulator and people overhype the dual screen mechanics way too much.

Post your shopkeeper-fu!
For me, it's Miki Saionji!!!!!

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>people overhype the dual screen mechanics way too much
The dual-screen mechanics were some of the best parts about the original. I think the actual pin balancing is kind of wack but the dual-screen mechanics were implemented quite well except for the final boss, which took away your partners from you.

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Good taste. For OG, it’s May Kurokawa and for NEO, it’s Sayoko Morohoshi.

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>May Kurokawa
Based

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Would fuck both

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I love these autists

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They’re both highly stylized, urban fantasy ARPGs with unique takes on action combat that places an emphasis on keeping up a steady rhythm behind party members, with the first game utilizing this by having you using the DS’ hardware to its fullest extent to control two characters at once and build up a light puck (green ball of energy) between them to build up your damage output while the second game has you controlling characters mapped to customizable button inputs and setting up combos between them to build up Groove, kind of like a more actionized Valkyrie Profile.
Both games are just really damn good, with well-done progression systems with a unique take on stat building and highly modular difficulty settings, likeable casts of characters with a focus on tangible growth and charming interactions, an incredibly stylish aesthetic that just oozes Jet Set Radio in a JRPG format, and fantastic soundtracks that cover a large variety of urban genres, ranging from hip-hop to rock to liquid DnB and even death metal. It's just a really passionate series with a lot of heart to it.

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One thing I really like about NEO’s combat in comparison to the original is how much of a role status affliction plays in providing a rewarding gameplay loop when executing combos. Everything is incredibly fast and snappy in this game, right down to using status afflictions to build Groove. Need to extend your combos and ensure certain attacks hit? Equip a synergistic pin loadout and cycle through the status effects each one provides. The faster you inflict status, the easier (and faster) it is to build Groove. Want to keep the status inflicting loop going? Pick the right attack to drop the beat with, land on a status-inflicting mashup and keep the pain going. Don't want the Noise to break out your combo quickly? Land on an ice, darkness, or gravity mashup, then keep synergizing combos to loop right back into another mashup and again, keep the pain going. It's all so intuitive and flows so well into each other, and at such a blistering pace too that it invokes such an empowering feeling being rewarded for making smart decisions quickly.

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Based post. I especially love using status effects in this game.

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I 100% agree that the OG has a great combat system but you probably shouldn't post a TAS to get your point across.

>that pin deck
I'm assuming you used that for Felidae Canctus?

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both great games, for me NEO is more enjoyable overall, any other soulful games out there?

Try out the Jet Set Radio games

Haven’t tried it out yet but I might. Another fun thing about this game is how accessories can play a role in how you set-up your combos. I gave two of the Vulcan Uppercut users Rapid Reboot while leaving out one in that webm and due to this, I was able to keep the air-time going for the bear Noise while I was stunning it.

Cool set-up, user. The customization in this game is top-notch.

Replaying through the game on Style-only has me appreciating the game’s combat and its damage floor even more. Even on lvl 1 Hard and having Rindo with 44 ATK, he’s still able to dish out over a thousand damage with a Piercing Pillar and Meteor Strike combination due to good thread and pin set-ups. It’s been a blast so far.

>the switch port hides her massive hips

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So, there’s no hidden bullshit calculation like leveling having a cap on how much hit-stun you can inflict?

Nope, all leveling does is increase HP and drop-rate, which is honestly a route I wish more ARPGs would take outside of KH.

>leveling having a cap on how much hit-stun you can inflict
That sounds awful. What ARPG even does that?

Nier Automata.

Ah, that doesn’t surprise me. As much as I like Taro, his games aren’t the most mechanically sound.

good lord

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I SEE THE BOY SINGING ALL THE PARTY SONGS
HE LIKES TO SING ALONG BUT HE DON’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS

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I SEE THE GIRL SINGING ALL THAT SHE FEELS
SHE DON'T CARE ABOUT EVALUATION
'CUZ THAT'S WHAT SHE IS

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Best song in the game besides Unpainted.

DIVIDE is still my favorite endgame song if I'm gonna be honest but Unpainted is definitely my favorite battle theme

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Divide was amazing for setting the atmosphere for Week 3.
youtu.be/RS77ekFJzIk

I love them too user! Fret is also pretty neat

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Based Ishimoto. Can’t wait for the rest of the album.

I didn't expect to like Fret as much as I did, but his scenes near the end with Kanon hit pretty hard

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>combine AraUmi • Gale (Guardian Glaives pin) with Taikokane (Swift Strike pin with Groove Boost II)
>use them together with Black Hole
>get Groove and Mashups like there’s no tomorrow
What are some other other pin/psych combinations you guys discovered in your playthroughs?

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Kinda sad that for all we know Kanon and Motoi are still dead. One of the things I liked the most from NEO was Fret's overall characterization and growth, and I understand Kanon's death was there to complete his character arc (and Motoi was there for Rindo's too), but it just feels kinda bad they had to die. Especially since the Twisters and the Ruinbringers were expected to win from the start anyway

I can't get past the big guy obsessed with food. I forgot this name.

Whirlwind + Guardian Glaives is pretty cool since the Guardian Glaives will hover around the Whirlwind user, giving them a wider range and extra tick damage.

Eating so much food must have destroyed their anuses. How could they even shit it all out?

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Personally I don't use Guardian Glaives that much since I like getting the orange beatdrop bonuses but that still sounds pretty cool

They’re dead, user.

I like getting the orange Beatdrop bonuses too but it’s still pretty cool to make a build that just allows you to go ham with combos.

And? The food they eat still has to come out.

Actually some are...

Yeah it's definitely cool how that's a viable option too, glad you're enjoying yourself!

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Rindo and Fret are alive, so is Nagi iirc

Snare Trap and Drift Tackle are a pretty underrated combination because Snare Trap negates knockback, allowing Drift Tackle to land multiple hits on multiple enemies far quicker & easier. It's even better if you have the Cervus pin because the horns make the hitbox of Drift Tackle so huge that it'll hit flying enemies too. I pair it up with the Gravving at Straws pin (the one that snares everyone but the target) for best results.

Agreed and it’s especially cooler since that combination won’t work on every Noise such as mammoths, t-rexes, and particular bosses so you still have to think about your pin loadout.

Heavy Slammer + Whirlwind

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don't forget about Beat and Minamimoto

First game is okay, second one is padded to fuck. I mean the first one is a cukt clkassic for a reason and neo was a flop for a reason too

>neo was a flop for a reason too
Because of lackluster marketing

like pokemon with moves, they release their bodily waste with psychs

If you are unable to shit through your asshole, the feces gets regurgitated through your mouth.

>Because of lackluster marketing
Not just that,, the game itself is very meh, too many pacing and story issues.

Honestly, the pacing issues are overblown for the most part, especially with how you get Soundsurfing later on to speed up overworld traversal. And what exactly do you mean by story issues?

You’re not one of those retards who speedread the game, are you?

>Because of a complete lack of budget
FTFYFucking square got so scared of allwoing more money to this game, and not just the marketing but the development of the game too. SE set this game up for failure from day 1