Epic JRPGs for PS3/360

[Champlooz]

Hi,

I already own FF XIII, Tales of Vesperia, Eternal Sonata and Lost Odyssey and kinda liked them, but none of those felt as epic as the old PS1/PS2 games. Are there any other games on the current gen that I could try? How good are White Knight Chronicles, Last Remnant, Resonance of Fate or Star Ocean The Last Hope? Anything good coming in the near future?

[Eusis]

You're screwed.

Longer version: Last Remnant and Resonance of Fate are both fun games but probably won't scratch that epic itch of your's (and you'll want Last Remnant on PC if possible, not 360), WKC sounds like it's really boring, and regardless of how good Star Ocean is its cutscenes are amongst the worst I've even seen in a high budget JRPG. No doubt people will swarm in with choice clips, though it does have the good sense to let you skip story cutscenes AND receive a summary so you know what you skipped without actually watching it.

You might be able to hold out hope for Ni No Kuni, but most Level 5 RPGs have bored me, and the ones I liked most were the DQ games developed with Project Armor so that undoubtedly had a huge impact on their quality.

[Fei]

I can only recommend White Knight Chronicles if you like playing online.  It would suck if it didn't have online play to add weight to your upgrading/grinding.  Single player is just dumb fun so far.  I want to say that it's high budget, low inspiration... though a giant knight in a medieval setting instead of mechs in a sci-fi fantasy setting is a pretty cool idea.

Resonance of Fate is probably my favorite JRPG on PS3... it's the one I've played the most at least.  Haven't beaten it though... not even close, if that says anything.

[TiamatNM]

You're screwed.

^^^ this

the only RPGs I have on PS3 are disgaea games and Demon's souls

[Yoda]

I've played some of Nier, not a lot, but enough to see it's pretty good.


And from what I read on here a lot of people became attached to the story. Not sure if it's "epic" though.

[Eusis]

Actually, that's right. Nier might be closer to what you're looking for if you want the story telling highs of the PS1/PS2, and Demon's Souls has one of the bleakest settings, and is just a damn great game if it doesn't put you off though it's probably not what you were thinking of with "JRPG" there anyway.

[Kevadu]

It's not a traditional RPG (more of a strategy game, really) but you might like Valkyria Chronicles.  It definitely has some JRPG-style storytelling in it.

Otherwise, Nier isn't a bad choice.  It's not really 'epic' in the traditional sense, though.  The story is quite unique.

[ZeronHitaro]

Thirding the "You're screwed" sentiment. If you want an "epic" JRPG this gen then hit the PSN for the PSOne classics. XD

The only JRPGs I have in my collection so far this gen are Disgaea 3, 4, and Neptunia. Although honestly...I'd seriously recommend giving Fallout New Vegas a shot; this coming from someone typically hyper-critical of WRPGs. The humor and scale of the world kinda remind me of what ye olden JRPG tried to emulate (sort of like FF6) only this world you actually "can" explore every nook and cranny. Kinda disliked it at first but it really grew on me; especially after dealing with nonsense like AT3, Record of Ag. War, and Star Ocean. The only downside is just a little "too" much of the FPS element.

If you don't want to venture into WRPG territory I'd say hold out and see if FFXIII-2 or Neptunia 2 are any good (and in the case of the second not littered with Agarest levels of fanservice).

[Lucca]

Echoing the comments on Nier, also Valkyria Chronicles is totally worth playing as well.

I'm playing Disgaea 4 and enjoying it...but it's like every other Disgaea game. You played one, you've played them all.

OH! One game coming down the pipe is Tales of Graces F. That's something to look forward to!

[Ramza]

I'll throw my weight into this discussion. But it's mostly repetition.

1) generally you're screwed.
2) If you're willing to give it a shot, NieR might just blow you away. It's hard to tell how people will react to it. Some people (including me) adore it. Others shrug it off.
3) Valkyria Chronicles is a good choice too, but be prepared for serious hardXcore SRPG challenge. Like, practice your deep breathing techniques first so you don't end up throwing the control at your TV.
4) if you're into pseudo-parody-epic, the Zeboyd Games titles (Breath of Death VII / Cthuilhu Saves The World) are available on XBLA for a low price. :)

It's been a damn good generation for handhelds. Not so much for your big hefty consoles.

[Lard]

I came in to suggest Nier.

[Aeolus]

NieR isn't the prettiest but is solid gameplay-wise and is heads and shoulders above the rest plotwise.
Resonance of Fate requires you to make triangles 99% of the time but it doesn't take itself seriously at all until the WTF ending and is excellent for it.
Valkyria Chronicles is the best damn new series introduced this console generation but is SRPG and may be a bit unforgiving.
The Last Remnant is SaGa in all but name and sports a sudo-FFXII/Ogre Battle gameplay mix and is really only an option on the PC as the 360 version is horribly gimped.
3D Dot Game Heroes if you want to see somebody rip off both Original Zelda and Ginormo Sword in Three Dee.
Blue Dragon if you don't care about plot but are looking for a FFV ripoff with DQ elements and some other stuff.
Deadly Premonition for fantastically kooky plot with entirely tacked on gameplay with a vague taste of Majora's Mask for that incredibly vague hint of JRPGness provided that you consider Zelda a JRPG.
Ar Tonelico 3 but only if you came from the previous two games, otherwise avoid.

The rest of the good stuff is on the Wii which includes:
Zelda Skyward Sword promises to be the most RPGish Zelda yet and even comes with some good old fashioned Metroidvaina flavor but isn't out yet.
Xenoblade Chronicles is THE JRPG of this console generation although a bit long in the tooth but you're fucked in you live in the US.
The Last Story also looks to be damn fine JRPGing but isn't out of Japan yet and you're again boned if you live in the US.
Zelda Twilight Princess despite the stupid "It's still Ganon" plot derail it's still a fairly decent game if a bit bland and lacks that awesomeness that previous Zelda's have.
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn if you can tolerate unbalanced in a bizarre way SRPG gameplay and have played its predecessor on the Gamecube otherwise pass.

The tl;dr is that I'm really stretching here because otherwise you're screwed.

[Themadcow]

Sad to say, but... yeah... slim pickings. Valyria Chronicles comes close to the epic feeling you're looking for and even though it looks slightly shootery/arpg-ish, rest assured it's basically turn-based goodness.

It's certainly not a JRPG though. It's closest relation is probably the X-Com series of games.

[Demon_Princess_Kay]

How is Valkyria Chronicles not a J-RPG? It's Japanese RPG hence J-RPG.

[Themadcow]

OK, technically it is a JRPG in the same way that the recent Wizardry games are also JRPG's. Like you said, an RPG made in Japan.

Maybe you'd be more comfortable if I said it wasn't a 'traditional' style JRPG in the mould of Star Ocean, FF, Suiko, Dragon Quest etc? It certainly owes more to games designed by the British programmer Jullian Gollop (Rebelstar Raiders, X-Com, Laser Squad) due to it's map based design, action points, weapon system, use of terrain, shot success calculations etc.