Good starting JRPG for a noob

[SpaceBooger]

My first RPG was Lunar on the Sega CD.
If you have a SCD its worth a burn and buy if you like it, if not emulate.

My second RPG was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest... I don't know if I would recommend that nor world I recommend any of the SNES offering at first. I say try Lunar on either the original hardware, emulated, or even the PS1 remake.

[skyknight]

Depends on which gaming system you planning to play on, there is plenty on good JRPG for PS1~2 (on PSN), PSP, and DS. And I am sure members can fill in for other systems.

Do you want to avoid the random encounters? The need to grind for leveling-up? Developing character bonds by your choice... There are so many play styles.

[SirPsycho]

Unlimited Saga

Don't listen to this person, its a raving lunatic that wants to scare you away from the genre altogether.

[johnny turbo]

Beyond the beyond is such a great starter RPG. No really. I would start with dragon warrior 1 and FF 1. If you don't start with them you will not enjoy playing them later IMO. FF 1 on the psp looks great and is really fun.

[Xeogred]

I started with Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III/VI, and Secret of Mana.

Definitely these.

[kelsoanim]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I know I'm probably not the first one to ask this question so I appreciate your replies. I ended up getting a copy of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for DS for cheap so I've been playing that. It's quite fun and really easy so far. I like the blend of Zelda style puzzles in the game, though some are laughably simple and easy. It seems like it is a good "gateway drug" to the world of JRPGs.

I downloaded Chrono Trigger on Wii Virtual Console with some points I had sitting in my account. I started playing and played the practice battle with the boxing/singing robot. He knocked down my health but I won. I then proceeded with the story, went through the time portal and then got killed in two hits by the Blue Imps... So, not a great start. Just gotta not jump in with my health low I guess. What battle mode would you all suggest, Active or Wait? Seems like the suggestion is to use Wait if you don't play a lot of JRPGs, but I don't want to feel like I'm missing out on experiencing the game it was meant to be played.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Chrono Trigger uses the Active Time Battle system, like the 16-bit Final Fantasy games. Thus, the game isn't completely turn-based as you have a battle gauge that grows at a rate dependent on your speed stat. You can think of the enemies as also having these same gauges (but invisible). With the mode set to Active, the enemies can attack you again and again if you're slow selecting from your menus. With Wait the enemies must wait for your action before attacking again.

I'd stay with Active. You probably noticed that the battle menu is pretty simple. Honestly, a great deal of battles can be won simply by attacking (ie: just pressing the A button as soon as it's your turn), especially early in the game. Bosses require a bit more strategy of course.

And of course with any JRPG you should heal yourself whenever you can - you never know what's around the next corner.

Glad to hear you picked Chrono Trigger. It's fast-paced and easy to get hooked on.

[LBJeff]

Either Lunar game (PS1 versions) would be what I recommend. Light hearted, not overly intricate or complex but still has some depth, good soundtrack, good voice acting, above average cut scenes, and not too difficult but still challenging. Neither one is a huge time investment, 15 - 30 hours at most if I remember correctly. I'm pretty sure both are available on PSN and can be played on PSP.

They both hold up very well. I still enjoy playing through them today. My buddy who is 28 just finished Eternal Blue Complete for the first time earlier this year and had nothing but praise for it. Avoid the GBA/DS versions. If you can pick up a Sega CD one I would still say go with the PS1 versions.

Other than that, Final Fantasy II(IV), III(VI) and Chrono Trigger are all safe bets. Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean on SNES are also good introductions. If you are looking for good introductions to the genre I would say go PS1/Saturn/N64 era and earlier, after that I feel that generally speaking they get to story heavy and less emphasis on gameplay/mechanics. Mostly.

I would say avoid Dragon Quest VII for sure.

[Zing]

While Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III are good games, they are not newbie friendly. Super Mario RPG or Final Fantasy II are best.

[Retrogamer0001]

While Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III are good games, they are not newbie friendly. Super Mario RPG or Final Fantasy II are best.

Super Mario RPG is a fantastic gateway game into the RPG genre, though I am definitely a purist when it comes to playing older games on the original hardware they were designed for. If you really, really want the classic RPG experience, I recommend playing Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger on an actual Super Nintendo with the actual cartridges for these games. It's expensive and time-consuming to track down this stuff but totally worth it.