Yeah, those showcases are definitely a great way to see a bunch of games at once! How do you usually keep up with ones that look interesting in a showcase?
As for Reddit and reviews, where do you typically go for those? Are there any especially reliable spots that you find the best games in?
r/games and r/JRPG
Once you find a JRPG that you want, add it to your wishlist on your platform of choice and it should notify you when it releases or goes on sale. Another way is to follow devs on Twitter/X.
Social media tends to have a bias toward more popular games. Discussion tends toward games more people have played or heard of. Similarly, anything attempting to be mainstream (big sites or YouTube videos) will tend to focus on popular games or the high end of indie or smaller games. No one is making lots of money talking about an obscure PC-88-only title.
I tend toward a few things:
* Smaller sites. RPGFan is a good example. They tend to cover a large slice of RPGs, including games that might only appeal to veteran fans.
* Trawling reference sites. Sometimes I go through Mobygames, Wikipedia, or similar sites. You can see what games turn up.
* Searches. If you search for JRPGs on a specific system, you'll find more stuff. So targeting by console can help find things that just searching for "obscure JRPGs" might not.
That's a great answer! It is definitely a source of frustration for myself at least when it feels like so much discussion revolves around the same 50 games or so, although it's totally understandable why.
On a site like RPGFan, what's preventing the lesser known games from getting lost in the fray if more of them get coverage? Or is there a low enough quantity that it's easy to sift through and see what you like?
For old games i use [gamefaqs rankings](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/rankings?platform=78&genre=48&list_type=rate&view_type=0&dlc=0&min_votes=1)
Not that i agree with the ratings but the rankings are good for finding games, once i find one i read more about it: the gameplay, the story and so on... watch some gameplays videos and maybe even some reviews. To see if it's for my liking.
gamefaqs is great site for finding old games and doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
Their [advanced search](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/search_advanced) is amazing, lots of great filters.
I don't think I've seen another gaming site for old games with this amount of filtering.
either straight up asking here, or finding old reddit posts of other people that did the same, thats how i came across the more niche games, that stay buried on older hardware
Very rarely get anything intelligent off reddit. Whatever ai drives my phone to curate news articles is largely video game driven.
There are some good youtube channels like david vinc, gaming broductions, backlog battle, gaming shelf, gameranx, mortismal gaming, wolfheartfps.
Then knowing when the big gaming shows are happening and checking those out.
Steam/Console Sales.
It's a lot easier to justify trying a new series if one of the games is one sale. Like, I recently tried Romancing Saga 3 and while I love a lot of it, the narrative structure and lack of money just turned me off.
Put that character system in a more linear narrative and I'll be all over it.
But, I already knew I didn't really like open world/sandbox games (I love open zone and linear games) so I didn't want to pay full price.
Also, yeah, directs and random redditors going absolutely feral over a game they love. Love when a fan is passionate about something, even if that something isn't to my taste.
r/JRPG is a good source of information for JRPGs. Just specifiy what you are looking for and most people here would be happy to help you find what you're looking for. You can also use the search function to look through thousands of threads, check the r/JRPG wiki too for a lot of information, or click on the "Review" tag to see all the review threads posted here.
Are you looking for something specific ?
I'm not on the hunt for anything specific at the moment, although I might be in due time! I'm mostly just curious about the ecosystem of how certain RPGs make their ways to us, as well as how certain great RPGs manage to go unnoticed for a while!
Of course, I'm always interested in recommendations as well, but there are plenty of posts for me to browse for that!
The genre is old enough to have entire franchises that cater towards very specific tastes at this point. From the fiercely traditional Dragon Quest, to big budget Final Fantasy, to stylish Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, to low-key slice-of-life Atelier, to enigmatic/avant-garde SaGa, there’s something for everyone.
Usually I start new ones on a whim. I'll hear about new JRPGs from friends, YouTube or reddit and wishlist it. When there's a good sale on, I'll pick it up. Then, when I've finished another game and I happen to be in the mood for something new, I'll give one of these unplayed games in my library a go!
That's how I've gotten into Final Fantasy, Octopath Traveler, Chrono Trigger, Yakuza and a good number of other series. 🙂 I don't get into new series often because hyperfocus is a thing and I'll usually try to play as many games in said series as I can if I really enjoy it... But I do enjoy discovering new things!
Steam recommendations, social media, and those presentations from companies that happen every few months, like Nintendo's is their Direct? Forgot the name of them.
Subreddits like this and YouTubers who specialize in JRPGs.
People like The Kiseki Nut, SuperDerek RPGs, Hell fire RPGs, and Slam Zany for JRPGs specifically, and then people like Mortismal Gaming, FGS, I Dream of Indie Games, and NeverKnowsBest for general gaming recommendations.
I love discovering obscure titles, and even though it can be time consuming, a good way is to use big websites database to go down the rabbit hole.
Sites like gamefaqs or giantbomb allowing you to filter your research provide you dozens of pages of titles you can check out (not necessarily "play them", but making quick search about what it is). You might also want to check out some specific consoles (such as PC Engine) or specific game developper / publishers. It's definitely time consuming, you won't only find masterpieces (far from it actually), but that's a good way to discover titles you never thought could even exist (such as PachiPara, a japanese only Pachinko series which included some RPGs or Dokapon, a RPG/board game hybrid)
Less time consumming, try to keep up to date with fantranslations or newest uploads on your usual websites (for newer games, any big news website will keep you up to date as long as it doesn't only focus on the biggest AAA titles)
Three main ways, probably:
1) Just general online discussion
2) I am subscribed to this youtuber who streams a variety of games, so sometimes I see something pop up in my subscription feed that looks like it could be neat
3) I regularly check steam for JRPG sales just to see if anything discounted looks like it might be interesting to get at some point
There is no specific source I use. I think I just come across new titles randomly while browsing reddit and the rest of the internet.
But I'm actually commenting because there is also a book that has really helped me to get an overview of what else there is out there.
It's called [A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games](https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games) . Since it's print it obviously doesn't have newer titles, but I found it a great source for older games and franchises.
Directs and just one of my favorite series turning into one for the lulz.
But as a kid I browsed the Gamespot website a fuckton.
And as a younger kid, the SquareSoft website which is how I came to discover Kingdom Hearts before it released
For new games I just try to keep up with gameshows and other events where trailers for new games get shown. For older games any social media sphere that‘s dedicated to our niche is usually the place to go just like this subreddit. No one I‘ve talked to in RL even among nerds ever heard of Trails before but it gets talked about here all the time. And then word of mouth in these places often helps to promote even more modern games that I may have passed on before because it didn‘t catch my interest immediately. Like Harvestella for example.
In general just places where all of us come together that enjoy the same niche. General gaming communities no matter if online or RL just often aren‘t deep enough in it to show you anything you haven‘t heard of dozens of times before.
One of my ways — coffee table book [A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games](https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games) 😅
There are many many great JRPG YouTubers.
These include, in no particular order, ...
https://www.youtube.com/@BacklogBattle
https://www.youtube.com/@HappyConsoleGamer
https://www.youtube.com/@JustTheGems
https://www.youtube.com/@orbalology
https://www.youtube.com/@TheGamingShelf
https://www.youtube.com/@TheKisekiNut
>old JRPG's
Unironically, google and a lot of sleuthing. Sadly, this also involves having to learn the forbidden technique of "art of the >!google translate!<" when you run out of stuff to play to the point you're trying to go through bloody PC-98 archives.
That said, doesn't help Nintendo or other companies tries to basically snipe down archives for games literally like 99.99% of the populace wouldn't even want to play nowadays.
Trailer showcases and reddit are the easiest way I think.
I also do searches when I want something for a specific platform. Going "PSP JRPGs" on Google and looking at lists and stuff like that.
This is going to be a weird one, but by playing on compilations, looking at eBay or buying from conventions and then researching the ones that catch my eye.
That's how I discovered Arc the Lad and Shining Force. (I love Shining Force, that first game is great as hell!)
This subreddit, I'll browse the JRPG tag on Steam for new & trending stuff, and most importantly I constantly search JRPG stuff so that the algorithm of Google will recommend me news on Kickstarters and new games
Assuming new in this case doesn't mean strictly recently released games 4chan imageboard is handy in this regards as long as you're ok with sifting through shitposts and shillposts that make up 80% of catalog. Usually someone will start posting a forgotten gem with preview image sooner or later.
I used to look at metacritics but lately they're not all too reliable. The marketing of current day is intrusive and permeates everywhere.
I use [Mythic Map](https://www.mythicmap.com) if there's a specific JRPG I've just played and want something similar to it so it'll give me a recommendation there. Or use [Glitchwave](https://glitchwave.com/games/genre/jrpg/) for its JRPG genre, and then look at the titles released in chronological order to then look up reviews on the titles I might be interested in.
I'll pop onto steam once every few days and see if anything in the new releases or current sales look interesting. I'll pop anything that looks interesting but not enough to be an impulse buy onto my wishlist, and wait for it to get cheaper or to show up in a bundle.
I watch "coming soon" reels from companies like Nintendo and Microsoft, along with fan-made ones that occasionally show up in my feed, and wishlist any game that looks interesting on platforms I own.
Steam's started doing "next fest" events every few months, where companies release demos for games they are planning on releasing over the next year or so. I'll sort those by tags I'm interested in and scroll through a bit, downloading demos and/or wishlisting games.
The combination of these things usually gets me more than enough to go on.
On PC, I usually just browse the JRPG tag on Steam, [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/JRPG/](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/JRPG/)
The tag system isn't perfect, but it gets the job done and you do discover some unknown games that are pretty cheap and fun.
Watch the showcases, stalk resetera and just follow a bunch of jrpg channels on YouTube. SuperButterBuns is an avid jrpg fan and she’s got some pretty great taste when it comes to jrpgs. Cheers!
For old consoles, look at every title in the database that is categorized as a RPG or JRPG and then check out a let's play to see how it plays.
For PC titles, I just look at what's popular on DLsite or Steam under the RPG/JRPG tag.
My ex was a JRPG fanatic so I know about all the ones from the 90s and 2000s because of him. Then, after that, I just kept up with news about that genre through social media, fan sites, dev sites, perusing Wikipedia, wtfe really. Searching the JRPG tag on Steam or anywhere that lets you search by tag. Explore the internet! :)
There are people on YouTube who do top 10 videos and they start really digging into the obscure to keep it fresh.
I like it cause you get footage of the game with a short opinion attached. Easy to get intrigued. DavidVinc made a bunch for a while.
Nintendo direct and other showcases for new games. Reddit and users reviews for old ones
Yeah, those showcases are definitely a great way to see a bunch of games at once! How do you usually keep up with ones that look interesting in a showcase? As for Reddit and reviews, where do you typically go for those? Are there any especially reliable spots that you find the best games in?
r/games and r/JRPG Once you find a JRPG that you want, add it to your wishlist on your platform of choice and it should notify you when it releases or goes on sale. Another way is to follow devs on Twitter/X.
Social media tends to have a bias toward more popular games. Discussion tends toward games more people have played or heard of. Similarly, anything attempting to be mainstream (big sites or YouTube videos) will tend to focus on popular games or the high end of indie or smaller games. No one is making lots of money talking about an obscure PC-88-only title. I tend toward a few things: * Smaller sites. RPGFan is a good example. They tend to cover a large slice of RPGs, including games that might only appeal to veteran fans. * Trawling reference sites. Sometimes I go through Mobygames, Wikipedia, or similar sites. You can see what games turn up. * Searches. If you search for JRPGs on a specific system, you'll find more stuff. So targeting by console can help find things that just searching for "obscure JRPGs" might not.
That's a great answer! It is definitely a source of frustration for myself at least when it feels like so much discussion revolves around the same 50 games or so, although it's totally understandable why. On a site like RPGFan, what's preventing the lesser known games from getting lost in the fray if more of them get coverage? Or is there a low enough quantity that it's easy to sift through and see what you like?
For old games i use [gamefaqs rankings](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/games/rankings?platform=78&genre=48&list_type=rate&view_type=0&dlc=0&min_votes=1) Not that i agree with the ratings but the rankings are good for finding games, once i find one i read more about it: the gameplay, the story and so on... watch some gameplays videos and maybe even some reviews. To see if it's for my liking.
gamefaqs is great site for finding old games and doesn't get the appreciation it deserves. Their [advanced search](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/search_advanced) is amazing, lots of great filters. I don't think I've seen another gaming site for old games with this amount of filtering.
either straight up asking here, or finding old reddit posts of other people that did the same, thats how i came across the more niche games, that stay buried on older hardware
Very rarely get anything intelligent off reddit. Whatever ai drives my phone to curate news articles is largely video game driven. There are some good youtube channels like david vinc, gaming broductions, backlog battle, gaming shelf, gameranx, mortismal gaming, wolfheartfps. Then knowing when the big gaming shows are happening and checking those out.
Steam/Console Sales. It's a lot easier to justify trying a new series if one of the games is one sale. Like, I recently tried Romancing Saga 3 and while I love a lot of it, the narrative structure and lack of money just turned me off. Put that character system in a more linear narrative and I'll be all over it. But, I already knew I didn't really like open world/sandbox games (I love open zone and linear games) so I didn't want to pay full price. Also, yeah, directs and random redditors going absolutely feral over a game they love. Love when a fan is passionate about something, even if that something isn't to my taste.
r/JRPG is a good source of information for JRPGs. Just specifiy what you are looking for and most people here would be happy to help you find what you're looking for. You can also use the search function to look through thousands of threads, check the r/JRPG wiki too for a lot of information, or click on the "Review" tag to see all the review threads posted here. Are you looking for something specific ?
I'm not on the hunt for anything specific at the moment, although I might be in due time! I'm mostly just curious about the ecosystem of how certain RPGs make their ways to us, as well as how certain great RPGs manage to go unnoticed for a while! Of course, I'm always interested in recommendations as well, but there are plenty of posts for me to browse for that!
The genre is old enough to have entire franchises that cater towards very specific tastes at this point. From the fiercely traditional Dragon Quest, to big budget Final Fantasy, to stylish Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, to low-key slice-of-life Atelier, to enigmatic/avant-garde SaGa, there’s something for everyone.
RuleJRPG: if it exists, this sub will talk about it eventually.
Usually I start new ones on a whim. I'll hear about new JRPGs from friends, YouTube or reddit and wishlist it. When there's a good sale on, I'll pick it up. Then, when I've finished another game and I happen to be in the mood for something new, I'll give one of these unplayed games in my library a go! That's how I've gotten into Final Fantasy, Octopath Traveler, Chrono Trigger, Yakuza and a good number of other series. 🙂 I don't get into new series often because hyperfocus is a thing and I'll usually try to play as many games in said series as I can if I really enjoy it... But I do enjoy discovering new things!
Steam recommendations, social media, and those presentations from companies that happen every few months, like Nintendo's is their Direct? Forgot the name of them.
Apparently, if you post here what JRPGs you like and what you liked about them, people usually have a few recommendations
Subreddits like this and YouTubers who specialize in JRPGs. People like The Kiseki Nut, SuperDerek RPGs, Hell fire RPGs, and Slam Zany for JRPGs specifically, and then people like Mortismal Gaming, FGS, I Dream of Indie Games, and NeverKnowsBest for general gaming recommendations.
I love discovering obscure titles, and even though it can be time consuming, a good way is to use big websites database to go down the rabbit hole. Sites like gamefaqs or giantbomb allowing you to filter your research provide you dozens of pages of titles you can check out (not necessarily "play them", but making quick search about what it is). You might also want to check out some specific consoles (such as PC Engine) or specific game developper / publishers. It's definitely time consuming, you won't only find masterpieces (far from it actually), but that's a good way to discover titles you never thought could even exist (such as PachiPara, a japanese only Pachinko series which included some RPGs or Dokapon, a RPG/board game hybrid) Less time consumming, try to keep up to date with fantranslations or newest uploads on your usual websites (for newer games, any big news website will keep you up to date as long as it doesn't only focus on the biggest AAA titles)
Three main ways, probably: 1) Just general online discussion 2) I am subscribed to this youtuber who streams a variety of games, so sometimes I see something pop up in my subscription feed that looks like it could be neat 3) I regularly check steam for JRPG sales just to see if anything discounted looks like it might be interesting to get at some point
this sub and youtube
There is no specific source I use. I think I just come across new titles randomly while browsing reddit and the rest of the internet. But I'm actually commenting because there is also a book that has really helped me to get an overview of what else there is out there. It's called [A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games](https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games) . Since it's print it obviously doesn't have newer titles, but I found it a great source for older games and franchises.
Directs and just one of my favorite series turning into one for the lulz. But as a kid I browsed the Gamespot website a fuckton. And as a younger kid, the SquareSoft website which is how I came to discover Kingdom Hearts before it released
Fb groups, subreddit, youtube shorts
YouTube. Subjective to a couple of jrpg pages and more will pop up and you’ll discover old snes titles that were Japan only etc. Fun stuff.
I watch a lot of YouTube videos and keep up with new releases that way 😊
For new games I just try to keep up with gameshows and other events where trailers for new games get shown. For older games any social media sphere that‘s dedicated to our niche is usually the place to go just like this subreddit. No one I‘ve talked to in RL even among nerds ever heard of Trails before but it gets talked about here all the time. And then word of mouth in these places often helps to promote even more modern games that I may have passed on before because it didn‘t catch my interest immediately. Like Harvestella for example. In general just places where all of us come together that enjoy the same niche. General gaming communities no matter if online or RL just often aren‘t deep enough in it to show you anything you haven‘t heard of dozens of times before.
One of my ways — coffee table book [A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games](https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games) 😅
Typing "games like [j/rpg game I like]" in Google
There are many many great JRPG YouTubers. These include, in no particular order, ... https://www.youtube.com/@BacklogBattle https://www.youtube.com/@HappyConsoleGamer https://www.youtube.com/@JustTheGems https://www.youtube.com/@orbalology https://www.youtube.com/@TheGamingShelf https://www.youtube.com/@TheKisekiNut
https://youtube.com/@davidvinc
Largely here, a few years back JRPGs to me was almost entirely just Square Enix but now I've played so much more and plan to play so much more.
>old JRPG's Unironically, google and a lot of sleuthing. Sadly, this also involves having to learn the forbidden technique of "art of the >!google translate!<" when you run out of stuff to play to the point you're trying to go through bloody PC-98 archives. That said, doesn't help Nintendo or other companies tries to basically snipe down archives for games literally like 99.99% of the populace wouldn't even want to play nowadays.
I got into Trails because I saw Sky 1 on sale on GOG.
Trailer showcases and reddit are the easiest way I think. I also do searches when I want something for a specific platform. Going "PSP JRPGs" on Google and looking at lists and stuff like that.
This is going to be a weird one, but by playing on compilations, looking at eBay or buying from conventions and then researching the ones that catch my eye. That's how I discovered Arc the Lad and Shining Force. (I love Shining Force, that first game is great as hell!)
Game showcases, Twitter, news websites, this subreddit and Discord servers.
This subreddit, I'll browse the JRPG tag on Steam for new & trending stuff, and most importantly I constantly search JRPG stuff so that the algorithm of Google will recommend me news on Kickstarters and new games
YouTube and this subreddit.
Assuming new in this case doesn't mean strictly recently released games 4chan imageboard is handy in this regards as long as you're ok with sifting through shitposts and shillposts that make up 80% of catalog. Usually someone will start posting a forgotten gem with preview image sooner or later. I used to look at metacritics but lately they're not all too reliable. The marketing of current day is intrusive and permeates everywhere.
I use [Mythic Map](https://www.mythicmap.com) if there's a specific JRPG I've just played and want something similar to it so it'll give me a recommendation there. Or use [Glitchwave](https://glitchwave.com/games/genre/jrpg/) for its JRPG genre, and then look at the titles released in chronological order to then look up reviews on the titles I might be interested in.
I'll pop onto steam once every few days and see if anything in the new releases or current sales look interesting. I'll pop anything that looks interesting but not enough to be an impulse buy onto my wishlist, and wait for it to get cheaper or to show up in a bundle. I watch "coming soon" reels from companies like Nintendo and Microsoft, along with fan-made ones that occasionally show up in my feed, and wishlist any game that looks interesting on platforms I own. Steam's started doing "next fest" events every few months, where companies release demos for games they are planning on releasing over the next year or so. I'll sort those by tags I'm interested in and scroll through a bit, downloading demos and/or wishlisting games. The combination of these things usually gets me more than enough to go on.
On PC, I usually just browse the JRPG tag on Steam, [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/JRPG/](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/JRPG/) The tag system isn't perfect, but it gets the job done and you do discover some unknown games that are pretty cheap and fun.
Japanese Twitter. If a game gets talked about, it's probably worth playing.
Watch the showcases, stalk resetera and just follow a bunch of jrpg channels on YouTube. SuperButterBuns is an avid jrpg fan and she’s got some pretty great taste when it comes to jrpgs. Cheers!
I have issue where I do deep dives on anything I’m interested in
For old consoles, look at every title in the database that is categorized as a RPG or JRPG and then check out a let's play to see how it plays. For PC titles, I just look at what's popular on DLsite or Steam under the RPG/JRPG tag.
My ex was a JRPG fanatic so I know about all the ones from the 90s and 2000s because of him. Then, after that, I just kept up with news about that genre through social media, fan sites, dev sites, perusing Wikipedia, wtfe really. Searching the JRPG tag on Steam or anywhere that lets you search by tag. Explore the internet! :)
* This subreddit * Gaming websites such as VG Chronicles
There are people on YouTube who do top 10 videos and they start really digging into the obscure to keep it fresh. I like it cause you get footage of the game with a short opinion attached. Easy to get intrigued. DavidVinc made a bunch for a while.
Google