Love having all my party members twiddling their thumbs defending and healing while one guy fails his steal rolls 10 times in a row

I extra love it if the steal move deals damage so you have to also worry about the target dying from too many failed attempts

I double extra love it when it's a boss battle when on top of everything else the story momentum just grinds to a halt while you fuck with a stupid RNG for 5 minutes

  • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
    ·
    11 hours ago

    To be fair, I don't think JRPGs concern themselves too much with immersion. The story and the gameplay just exist in completely separate bubbles and most of the creatures you fight make no sense at all . You're just supposed to accept that It Is A Video Game and you do Video Game Stuff in it

    Semi-related tangent, but it amazes me that there's tons of Japanese media where they take all these weird video game systems, tropes and abstractions and make them explicit parts of the setting and narrative. Like these things were invented to help portray Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian-esque adventures in pen-and-paper game form in the 70s

    • TheLepidopterists [he/him]
      ·
      11 hours ago

      make no sense at all

      Is that Wild Arms?

      EDIT:

      Also

      Semi-related tangent, but it amazes me that there's tons of Japanese media where they take all these weird video game systems, tropes and abstractions and make them explicit parts of the setting and narrative. Like these things were invented to help portray Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian-esque adventures in pen-and-paper game form in the 70s

      I tried to watch Delicious in Dungeon because everyone talked it up so much and at one point in E1 the guy in plate armor started rambling about they didn't have enough money for food so maybe they could sell their weapons and armor and buy cheaper weapons and armor along with rations and I just immediately bounced hard off of it because of the "all goods including form fitting plate armor are totally fungible and you can get an equitable deal selling this equipment and also there is a shop that carries and sells swords, but not as good as regular swords, and charges less money for them"

      I felt like I was watching a direct adaptation of Final Fantasy 1 or something.

        • TheLepidopterists [he/him]
          ·
          11 hours ago

          I don't recognize those bosses, I assume they're from the first one (I only ever played 2 and 3) but the text box background and font are pretty recognizable.

          Loved the science fantasy western setting they had, I don't think I've seen it anywhere else.

          • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
            ·
            10 hours ago

            It is indeed the first game, but these are all just random monsters you run into in dungeons and the overworld. At least bosses tend to have some kind of story justification. The same criticism about the enemies you fight being kind of silly and random could easily be made of many classic franchises, like Final Fantasy. insert picture of the haunted house enemy from FF7 here

            Loved the science fantasy western setting they had

            I'm currently playing through the second game but I have to say that at least judging by the first two entries, despite the series' reputation as the "Western" JRPG franchise they're remarkably light on actual Western elements. Sure, there's some spaghetti Western flourishes to the music sometimes, some characters wear duster coats and the landscapes tend to be kind of arid but everything else is just regular JRPG stuff through and through. (Also plenty of JRPGs throw in random Western elements anyway)

            Also with regards to your edit to your previous post, I think that's just because modern anime audiences and creators are more familiar with RPGs than they are with fantasy literature or the things that inspired fantasy literature

            • TheLepidopterists [he/him]
              ·
              10 hours ago

              Sure, there's some spaghetti Western flourishes to the music sometimes, some characters wear duster coats and the landscapes tend to be kind of arid

              Yeah but I like the dusters, deserts and Western musical flourishes.

              I think the amount of guns in a not-modern setting makes it feel pretty Western to me also.

              I also feel like some of the towns look really Western. Big metal windmills and water towers, saloony architecture etc.

              This also doesn't apply to 2 obviously but this is the frontwoman for 3

              Show

              Look at those six-shooters.

              • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
                ·
                10 hours ago

                So far 2 actually feels somewhat less like a Western than the first game. The first game had Jack:

                Show

                His jeans and the tassels on his coat contributed like 40% of that game's Western vibes. Funnily enough, he doesn't even use guns despite his special skill being named Fast Draw

                I also feel like some of the towns look really Western. Big metal windmills and water towers, saloony architecture etc.

                I feel like a ton of JRPGs have at least one town that looks like this

                • TheLepidopterists [he/him]
                  ·
                  10 hours ago

                  I feel like Ashley Winchester in WA2 has the same vibes? He's using a musket, wearing jeans and a Western style button up, etc

                  • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
                    ·
                    9 hours ago

                    He just feels more like a young soldier type than a gunslinger or other strictly Western archetype to me