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There used to be a time when Level-5 were practically a first party developer for Nintendo, but that has somewhat changed in the last 10 years or so, when the popularity of Nintendo's handhelds waned and they moved to making games for smartphones. Moreover most of their new console games never even left Japan. Which is why a new title for the Switch introducing brand new IP was a bit of a surprise when it was announced during the most recent Nintendo Direct. Though it is not a Switch-exclusive title, Decapolice was announced for Nintendo's console and looks like it may be a promising new JRPG reminiscent of The World Ends With You and other JRPGs set in a more futuristic version of Tokyo. The main character, a rookie detective named Harvard Marks, hunts down criminals in a huge open-world crime-ridden city, travelling back and forth between physical and virtual reality. Look forward to a mysterious detective story with investigations in virtual space. Teaser trailer: Decapolice, a crime-suspense RPG from Level-5, developers of the Layton series, will be released on Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation later in 2023!

Surprised there's no thread about this game yet... While Octopath Traveler II retains the same structure of following eight separate character's stories throughout the game, it follows eight new characters in a new setting separate from the prior games. It takes place in the world of Solistia, a setting that is more modern than the first game's medieval setting, which is presented more like something from the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. The game's main cast includes Agnea, a dancer; Partitio, a merchant; Hikari, a warrior; Osvald, a scholar; Throné, a thief; Temenos, a cleric; Castti, an apothecary; and Ochette, a hunter. A character's occupation generally ties in to the character overarching goal; the dancer Agnea is on a quest to become a world famous entertainer, and the merchant Partitio is on a quest to make money and end poverty. Hikari's story follow his quest to return home after being haunted by previous battles, Osvald is on a quest for revenge on a man who ruined his life, Throné is on a quest for freedom, Castti and Temenos are on separate journeys related to personal discovery and truth, and Ochette is searching for creatures of legend. The character's stories intertwine more than in the prior game. Similar to the first Octopath Traveler, the game plays as a traditional JRPG. The player moves between eight separate characters, each with their own purpose for traversing the game world. Once again, each character has their own "path action" - a particular means for the player to have the respective character interact with non-player characters in the game world, often with the goal of getting reward items or characters to fight in support of their cause. New to the sequel are distinct "daytime and nighttime segments" of gameplay, with path actions that will differ depending on the time of day. For example, the player can choose to make the character Hikari duel characters in the daytime, in hopes of learning new skills for battle, but at night, there is the separate option to instead spend in-game currency to bribe characters for information or items. The game retains the turn-based battle system of the first game as well, including the "break" and "boost" systems. Every enemy has a number of hidden "weakness" attributes related to being weak to particular weapons or elements. Once discovered, an indicator is shown onscreen, and if it is exploited enough times, a "break" occurs, temporarily weakening the enemy. Every turn, "boost points" are accumulated, which can be used for extra moves in future turns. New to the battle system are the so-called "latent powers", which function similar to limit breaks in Final Fantasy, moves that can only be accessed once a gauge builds up over the course of a battle. Announcement trailer: >> Official website Releases on February 24 on all systems except the Xbox series.

Yes, we already have a huge thread for the Wii release of this game. But it's the best JRPG ever (Source: Me) and lots of people will be coming to it new with the new Switch version, so why not a new thread for it? So What Is It? It's the best JRPG ever - I've already told you that (quiet in the back - it is a JRPG). Huge, open worlds, great storyline set on the back of two huge titans, where people and machines now live and are at war with each other. And fantastic characters as well. It's the scope of the game which I fell in love with - MonolithSoft helped with the world design in Breath Of The Wild and the "Hey, that looks interesting! Let's go over there and explore!" is present and correct here as well. So What's New? Upgraded visuals, of course. A new area. A new soundtrack (with the option to change between the old and new). New menus and maps. But most importantly, a 12-15 hour epilogue with new voice recordings of the original cast which (apparently) tie into future games. Oohhhh. Dual audio as well, for those who don't like the English voiceovers. Don't Believe Me? Have Some Reviews! Destructoid -9.5/10 https://www.destructoid.com/review-xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-590201.phtml Eurogamer - Recommended https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-05-27-xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-gently-re-touched-thoughtfully-expanded-take-on-a-modern-classic GameSpot -9/10 https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-review-im-/1900-6417470/

Do we have any fans of the Atelier series of JRPGs on the forum? I'd always been interested in playing them but was put off by the time limits. I'd started hearing that they'd gradually been making the time limits less of an issue in newer games and in the most recent (Atelier Ryza) had removed it completely. So I took a chance and bought Ryza on my Switch and started playing it yesterday. It's lovely. Good characters, a light hearted coming of age plot, interesting but simple combat and an apparently very deep crafting system (The hallmark of a series all about Alchemy). I'm only about 4 hours in but I'm having a good time. The publisher Gust is currently having a sale on Steam.

Seems like another sequel to my favourite JRPG Bravely Default has been announced. And for the Switch no less Introducing Bravely Default II. The story will be completely new and feature a party of characters different from the original Nintendo 3DS games. And while Bravely Second: End Layer continued the story of the original game, it looks like Bravely Default II will be a new standalone game, that might probably just share the overall themes from the first two games. This is of course nothing new for the publishing company, Square Enix, as both the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series have followed this model. The game will be co-developed by both Team Asano and Claytechworks - the devs behind the first Bravely Default. Reno will return as well, to do the soundtrack. Debut trailer: Latest trailer: Releases Q1 2021.

Oh god... Real talk - I've been kind of apprehensive about this one. The original plan was just to do a thread on the original Persona, and then I warmed to the idea of covering both Persona 2 games, but this one may end up being the least accessible. You see, the two earlier games both had modern reworks on PSP that were localised for Europe. To my knowledge, EP never got that treatment... there was a PSP release for Japan, and an English-language release for North America on the PS1, but that's about it. Soooo there might be some old-fashioned clunkiness to get around! As you might realise given my earlier LP threads, this game has now become one of the few remaining games in the series where I'm completely in the dark. I think I did a "curiosity emulation" thing months ago but didn't make it more than about 15-20 minutes in because the dated presentation hit me like a truck and I was scared to go on. I have set up the necessary stuff to get this playing well (although my "turbo-mode through the battles" tendencies may be limited here), and although there are probably fan-tran versions of the PSP game I'll be sticking with the PS1 version for the time being. The same caveats as before apply - I'll be emulating for screenshot purposes, and discussion is welcome and encouraged, and people can play along, but keep spoiler etiquette in mind. I have no idea how this one's going to go, but I'll try and share the opening moments later on this evening... If you missed my LP threads on the previous games, take a look at them here:

I guess this is happening? Firstly, a huge thanks to anyone who dropped into my Persona 1 Let's Play thread around June-August of last year; I wasn't planning on doing a follow-up at first, but as it's the new year I'd like to attempt at least one of the two P2 games. Persona 2: Innocent Sin was first made available in Europe back in 2011, and the second game - Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - exists on PS1 somewhere, maybe only in the States? Anyway, I'd like to take things one step at a time and look at Innocent Sin for now. Whilst I made a spirited effort with P1 back in the day, I don't know if I got more than 15 minutes into Innocent Sin, so a lot of this will be new to me. In preparation for this thread I did go a little bit further, so I at least know about things like the new Rumour system (which I'll explain when I get there), but the majority of this will still be very new. The same caveats as before will apply - I'll be playing on the lower difficulty due to my inexperience, I'll be using the PPSSPP emulator for screenshot purposes, and I invite others to play along but keep spoiler etiquette in mind. Bonus caveats this time around will include me taking my time getting my head around the Rumour system, and choosing to do this thread in a year that promises a whole bunch of fun new 2019 videogame releases. I can't say my time won't be divided between new and old games, but I think it'll work out fine. Oh, and I'll try and introduce the opening of the game later today as well, so stay tuned. If you want more Persona LP threads, take a look here:

We do it! I've had this game in a library of an old PSP account for what must be years, and as a big fan of the later games I was always disappointed at the fact that I bounced off it so hard. For those who don't know, the Persona series is a bunch of popular JRPG games that follow a group of demon-summoning high-schoolers who go dungeon-crawling and uncover some big adventure or mystery. The 1996 game was already obscure enough, but Europe never really got their hands on it before the PSP release in 2010, so gamers over here can hardly be blamed for having P3 or 4 as their introduction to the series. As a fan of 3 and 4 I was keen on taking a look at the origins of the series, and so I bought the PSP release digitally. Unfortunately, the first game is very different to how we view Persona today. With grid-based first-person dungeon exploration, a grid-based battle system where character positioning plays a part in tactics and negotiation that's much more in-depth than it was in 5… one would be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed. I tried pretty hard to get into it on PSP but with so much to consider it can be a slog to say the least. Making this thread should – in theory – motivate me into trying again and not give up partway through. However, I'll outline a few caveats about how I'd like this thread to go. Firstly: I'd like to play on the lower difficulty because I have barely any experience with this game. For what it's worth, I played P3 and 4 on Easy for the first attempts and today I use Normal mode in those games, so forgive this wussing out. If all goes well I might even use this thread for a Normal mode re-run in the distant future! Secondly: I'd encourage anyone else who wants to join in to do so, but keep spoiler etiquette in mind. Perhaps I'll miss bonus optional stuff, but that's all part of the first experience. One other caveat – for screenshot purposes, I'll be using the PPSSPP emulator. Like I said, I have bought the PSP digital release before, but this will be much more convenient for screenshotting. And of course, if this thread sees no action for months, you're welcome to mock me on Twitter or in PMs and motivate me into coming back! If you want more Persona LP threads, take a look here:

On a strange mad whim I decided to buy this last night. I've never played a SWO game before but the premise has always intrigued me (I'll have to watch the animes at some point). It's an action JRPG with guns set inside a big VRMMO. I'm only a few hours in so far. It's a very very slow start but it seems to be letting me kill stuff now. Despite the subject matter it's mostly a single player game though (Although it does have some online co-op missions and PvP stuff). Does anyone else play these? Are any of the rest of the series worth picking up? Top tip. Make sure you buy enough bullets or you'll end up like me and run out completely halfway through a boss fight. Also the AI are idiots.

This is on sale at the moment for PS4 and Vita (Digital only). Not cross buy but it has Cross save support. A rather nice jrpg with an almost Persona vibe from the visuals and some of the game systems. £19.99 on PS4 and £15.99 on Vita. Higher frame rates and shorter load times on PS4 but the same game on both. I streamed a couple of hours earlier from the start. I'm really enjoying it.

NOTE: Please see the below thread for dedicated discussion of Persona 5 Scramble; hopefully my thread can be the home of vanilla and Royal chat! Free legacy DLC for P5R: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/product/EP0177-CUSA17419_00-P5RDLCBUNDLE0001 - once it's downloaded, check the cardboard box in your room to unlock it. Also, you may need to restart the game before it recognises the content. New semester conditions (and related advice) for P5R: General tips and notes from the forum: (This section is something that was suggested on October 18th 2022, shortly before Royal's release on PC and Nintendo/MS consoles.) Web manual: https://atlus.com/persona5/manual/ps4/ Stat definitions: You don't know what they mean. I don't know what they mean. But next time you see those bars and numbers in the corner of each persona screen, you might want to have these definitions at hand: St: Physical strength. Affects melee attack power. Ma: Magical strength. Affects skill power. En: Endurance. Reduces damage received from enemies. Ag: Agility. Affects accuracy and chance of escaping from battle. Lu: Luck. Affects critical attack chance, etc. UPDATED OP: This is now an OP about Persona 5 Royal. Like P4 Golden and P3 FES, this new game is intended to be a sort of "deluxe" update to 2017's Persona 5, with new events, a new "Phantom Thief" character named Kasumi, a customisable personal palace (named "My Palace") and other bits and pieces. Previously we found out that it would be released in the west around "Spring 2020", but on December 3rd 2019 we found out that the game would be released on March 31st 2020. Additionally, there will be the opportunity to place a digital pre-order and get an original P5R theme. P5R owners will also get original P5 DLC for free, and there are a few different editions of the game to look out for - the Phantom Thieves Edition (includes a Joker mask with stand, art book, physical disc and steelbook, soundtrack, dynamic PS4 theme), the Launch Edition (physical disc, steelbook, dynamic PS4 theme code), the Ultimate Edition (digital download, DLC bundles, bonus costume packs), and the Deluxe Edition (digital download, Kasumi costume pack.) Those DLC bundles will be available as separate purchases too; there's a Kasumi costume pack, a "battle bundle", a "persona bundle", and a "DLC bundle". I had mixed feelings about the original version of Persona 5 - in terms of content and presentation it was one of the most polished games in the series so far, but the more ambitious sequences that formed large portions of gameplay in the palaces sometimes threatened to overstay their welcome. So I'm kind of hoping that Royal comes with dungeon design that's perhaps a little bit tighter... but even if P5 wasn't my favourite game in the series, it's still a pretty good RPG in its own right and I look forward to having another excuse to revisit the world of the Phantom Thieves... http://www.atlus.com/persona5/ If you're wondering what a Persona is, I've provided a little primer below:

Steam link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113000/Persona_4_Golden/ Steam trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3fUvWwZLyo OP: With the Euro release landing this week (Wednesday for SEN/PSN and Friday for brick-and-mortar retailers) I thought that it might be a good idea to get a thread started in preparation for Persona 4 Golden's release. Oh, and Yasawas and Dandy_Sephy expressed interest in seeing a dedicated thread. Released in 2009 on the PS2, Persona 4 arrived very late on Sony's last-gen console, but it's remained one of the most charming and rewarding JRPGs out there and is one of my all-time favourite games. It's a story that revolves around a group of high-school students in Inaba who stumble across an alternate world inside televisions where dangerous creatures known as Shadows roam. A friendly character within this world tells the students that someone has been kidnapping people and throwing them into TVs, and this provides the setup for most of the rest of the game, as the students set about exploring the TV world in order to rescue people trapped there and perhaps get more clues about the kidnapper and (ultimately) the nature of the TV world. The beauty about the Persona games – at least, the later ones – is that they are really several games rolled into one. Exploring the TV world forms the core dungeon grind, but the heroes are still only students, and get up to student-y things such as studying for exams, answering quick quizzes in class, hanging out with friends in a sort of dating-sim lite (without all the creepiness), working part-time jobs that help to boost stats and earn money, fishing for things at the river, accepting occasional sidequests from people in Inaba and more besides. Whilst you get to explore various different dungeons in the TV world, Inaba's available locations largely stay the same, and so variety comes from the in-game calendar. On each new day there may be different people in town that you can spend time with, different jobs available, books being released in the bookstore which you can buy and read at home to boost stats, and more besides. The calendar also serves as motivation to rescue people from the TV world before it's too late. Once you finish your school day and are free to explore the town, you have the option of entering the TV world through a large flatscreen in a local department store, which is the only way to enter dungeons and battle through them to save victims. The dungeon design is perhaps one of my favourite things about later Persona games, since each one is made up of several "floors", with the dungeon getting progressively harder from floor to floor, culminating in a boss battle on the final floor. It gives players a nice way of knowing if they're out of their depth and need to step back a few floors before progressing. Battles aren't random but are triggered in a stealth-lite format; if a Shadow spots you a "!" will appear above them and they'll give chase; if they strike you they will gain a free turn at the start of the battle; however, if you strike them without them noticing, your party gets the opening strike. The battles require you to take advantage of elemental strengths and weaknesses; the eponymous Persona that the students eventually gain are demons that can be summoned in battle and offer a selection of skills; buffs, nerfs, physical and elemental attacks, healing, etc. However, each persona can also be strong and weak against certain elements. If an elemental weakness is exposed on either a player or an enemy, a free turn is granted to whoever exposed the weakness. Therefore, a player who knows certain weaknesses in advance can exploit them one after the other with successive turns, knocking down enemies and potentially earning the chance to do a powerful "all-out attack" if all enemies are downed. In having such a satisfying combat system, giving the player plenty to do outside of the dungeon, and designing each dungeon to get progressively more challenging as the player escalates, it nearly always feels rewarding to play. There are a few difficulty spikes with certain bosses, but things only really get hard if you deliberately rush through dungeons and avoid encounters. Reading back through what I've written it sounds a bit like a review but I really just wanted to provide a primer for people who are new to Persona and want to know what all the fuss is about. If anyone wants to add anything I've missed, feel free. I should just stress that there may be some details I've missed and there may still be bits that will be confusing to newcomers when they get their hands on the game, so I hope that we can get some good discussion going between new and experienced players. I was impatient and ended up importing the US version (and I know others did as well) but if enough people are getting into this for the first time I'll probably start a new game with you all. PS EU Blog: A beginner's guide to Persona 4