thanks for highlighting some awesome JRPGs from this year! I don't have time to play many anymore, so it's great to have a curated list from a reviewer i trust
4:58 It has never been confirmed whether Nayuta is actually connected to Towa or just a reference. We don´t even know for sure whether that game is connected to the other Zemuria arcs, we just know they COULD be
Dev here - Thank you SO much for including 8-Bit Adventures 2 in your video David, and for all of the very kind words! It sincerely means a lot and is a big help to our team. The support you provide indies is genuinely invaluable =) For anyone interested, console versions of 8-Bit Adventures 2 for Switch, PS4/5, Xbox are coming soon (just waiting on the Porting Company to finish their work), substantial Free DLC is on the way, and there's also a bonus Holiday update coming out very soon!
I'm hoping to be nominated in the category of "Subscriber that is most annoying to a game company" for relentlessly bugging Mega Cat to put you in wrestle quest. 🤣
Great video, great list! Somehow, Wandering Sword flew under my radar. Just added it to my wishlist on Steam. I really enjoyed the Live A Live remake, so I think I’d enjoy this as well.
Monochrome Mobuis is soooo underrated and main reason i love it is because it takes place in the Utawarerumono universe which is an anime i really love
So many good games this year. Trying to finish One Piece Odyssey and my maddening run on Fire Emblem Engage right now. And my backlog of games is getting brutal haha.
Great list of games! Gonna throw some love over to Fuga Melodies of Steel too!! The original was a hidden gem with fantastic turn based gameplay and this year brought out a sequel for even more
I've always loved your content for a while now, David. I don't comment much, but I'm always here watching. I have a small suggestion if that's okay. Maybe have a banner on screen with the tittle of the game you're talking about for the duration. As a father of a special needs 5 year old, sometimes I have to pause a video quickly to deal with the necessities of being dealt those cards. By the time I come back I don't remember the name of the game you're talking about even if I was super interested in it and have to rewind back to the beginning of the segment to find out the title. Obviously I don't expect you to change your format or add unnecessary work for yourself just for me. Love your content, David.
One Piece Odyssey Deluxe is 50% off on Steam through December 11th, so I just grabbed a Steam card for my son and told him it's an early Christmas present
Lol love how he mentioned monochrome mobus as #1. I remember some months back you mentioned rpg games coming out and you never mentioned it in the video. I mentioned it in the comments and got hearted for it. If you didn't know about the game at the time I'm glad you enjoyed it. I still have yet t play my copy currently working through trinity trigger.
Hey David I just picked up One Piece Odyssey from bandai. For $9.99 for Black Friday. Best of all it was the deluxe edition with the statue. We got one for the PS5 & Xbox Series X. Great Deal
Dropped one piece at alabasta arc because I got so tired of the mopey story of the kingdom which took forever to escalate to the head to head with croc , and the cheap thrill that the mc gets seriously wounded but wins anyway. He's supposed to be rubber , gets impaled clean through , lives and wins anyway . Excerpt from wikipedia regarding mc's weakness : Luffy's rubber attributes are a result of him eating a devil fruit called the Gum-Gum Fruit. Granting him a rubber-like body, his powers make him immune to electric attacks and most blunt forces, but he is susceptible to attacks made with a sharp object or weapon (eg. sword, spear). + can't swim
It's probably gonna take me a year to catch up on all the great games from this year xD Do happy to see Baten Kaitos and Trinity Trigger getting some love, too
My hidden gen pick would be Long Gone Days, even though it's more of a story based game with RPG elements. And I first found out about it by watching this channel! lol Thanks for the vid, David.
I’ve been waffling on getting Trinity Trigger - it has mixed reviews on Steam. Given your recommendation here, I think I’m going to pull the trigger on it (pun intended).
It was a super let down for me personally. It suffered from too much simplicity imo that the QoL took the worst beating. I get trying to recreate the mana spirit but the QoL suffered too much it was really hard to finish despite being so short.
Nice Shirt, it looks great especially It's a great homage to Dragon Quest! Also Wandering Sword was the game I always wanted to play but I don't have a PC as of yet to enjoy it
Monochrome Mobius is really looking like a must play considering that just finished playing the grandia remaster just a short time ago. I’m playing grandia II right now. My next question is how can you love jrpgs and NOT be an anime guy. I’ve been an anime person since I was a kid in the 80s watching Voltron. Japanese anime and RPGs go hand and hand. Lastly where do you find d the time to play most of these games. I’m fairly certain the jrpgs usually take between 50 and 100 hours. I work full time and trying to sink 100 hours is challenging.
Yea...I hated the time limits in the early PS3 Atelier games, too. I don't like feeling rushed through the game...or being forced to be a "speed runner." in a game that REQUIRES grinding.
Since i saw wandering sword on your list, have you tried "hero adventure road to passion"? It is similar to wandering sword but less preety on graphic side. Altho more agency to MC to steer the event and how to resolved the world event. It is another worthy hidden gem and i kinda addicted to it mostly to experiment stuff.
I'm definitely going to pick up Silent Hope at some point; just played the demo last weekend, and I was completely hooked! I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in, but it reminds me a bit of Shining Soul 2 for the GBA, except you can play as every character in a single run! The only one I found kinda boring to play was the basic bro sword-and-shield guy, but that was just as true of Shining Soul 2, so I can't really fault it for that.
I'd definitely add Fuga 2 as a great hidden gem from this year. Unfortunately the developer for this game, CyberConnect2, is way more known for their anime games and they also released Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections this year as well and that game got way more attention only for it to come out with quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. CC2's original IP games have always been great experiences with a lot of heart put into them, and it's a real shame they get heavily overshadowed by their anime games. Like the Fuga series has sold about 300,000 units so far and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 sold 11 million. That's to be expected, but most of the conversations about CC2 these days are literally about how bad Connections is compared to the previous entries in that series, or how the new JJK game apes CC2's work and how people are getting tired of anime arena fighters from Bandai Namco in general. Little to no one mentions Fuga 2 at all, and While I like that .hack got a bit more attention this year thanks to some screwy things happening to the US site even that overshadowed the attention Fuga 2 got. If you want a really well written RPG with Grandia like turn based combat you can't go wrong with the Fuga series. I'd also say if you're a fan of .hack you might want to check this series out as well since it's story telling goes into similar territory to that series, heck Solatorobo did back in the day as well if you want to emulate that one as well.
excellent list david, i literally have every single game on this list besides labyrinth of galleria ( i just can't do dungeon crawlers lol). loving the new shirts btw! red and white looks great with the DQ lettering
Hey David! I loved this list. I think my backlog just grew three items longer lol. However, this has happened before, so that's why I'm pointing it out. I also would love it if it was true, but I checked One Piece Odyssey's website and the game didn't come out on the Swtich, and unfortunately, there are no plans as well =// Be more careful next time, OK? My heart is fragile.
I also didn't like the time restraints for the atelier series. Try escha and logy and anything after that. They pretty much got rid of the time restraints or made them much easier.
I was just thinking imagine a gaming school where you have 8 periods where each genre had their own teacher.. Each game reviewer is pertaining to their genre.. When you walk into rpg class Davids there then the bell rings lol That would be a good gimmick for the YT gaming critics to arrange one day hahaha
The One Piece anime is good, but the story drags on forever. I always enjoy watching hidden gem videos because you need more than one franchise to fall in love with and you, David, have been pretty convincing on what to play and avoid.
I loved one piece! didn't get much attention at all sadly. that was a early game that game out in 2023 that got me through Jan and Feb hope they make more one piece games
Really happy to see Labyrinth of Galleria get a shout. I haven’t finished Refrain yet so haven’t played it, but Refrain has been so much fun (minus the not exactly positive LGBTQ+ representation of course)
The One Piece Netflix series is an absolute blast. I haven’t watched any of the anime either but man, there’s a reason why it got such rave reviews. Minimal time commitment
Aside for One Piece Odyssey since I already played it, this all stuff that I really am interested in, now these is the type of rpgs I like (looking at you again FF XVI... yeah I am still salty about that game, I should stop :v)
I agree with most of this list. One Piece was so so easy, like baby level of easy, I just couldn’t enjoy. At that point might as well be a light novel. And trinity trigger is charming at first, but it gets kinda repetitive fast, both combat wise and enemies wise. I wouldn’t really put in the same level as trial if mana if I’m being honest.
Bro- I just had the realization that your channel name is David Vinc. I've gone years now thinking it was David Inc. I blame it on your delts... hard to see anything else when you've gone them bad boys taking up so much of the screen.
@@Filthycasual17he said read one piece not watch it lol. One piece is probably the franchise with the biggest difference between the anime and manga. The anime has its moments but the pacing is terrible and most OP fans won’t recommend it. The manga is a masterpiece of world building. Don’t watch just read it
@@Filthycasual17In Japanese as a non native it's only 100 hours, people put that much time into playing JRPGs without blinking. It's much faster reading it in English probably only 15-30 mins per volume for 100 volumes depending on how much you like to stare at the art.
I really wanted to like monochrome and was really enjoying it up until that one scene where the dudes are all getting drunk and naked and the little sister showed up. That scene creeped me out so much I put the game down and then later sold it collectors items and all.
Get the DavidVinc (DragonVinc?? LOL) shirt here! switchwicked.com/davidvinc
Ooh, love the design on this shirt!!! I’m have to grab one of these!
You're the best RPGtuber period, buddy. Keep doing what you're doing & we will keep watching.
Thanks, will do!
“Master Detective Archives: Raincode”, easily one of the most unique RPGs I’ve played in years. Truly a hidden gem.
Waiting to see if it’ll ever hit PC before I get it for Switch
thanks for highlighting some awesome JRPGs from this year! I don't have time to play many anymore, so it's great to have a curated list from a reviewer i trust
Ryza 3 has one of the all time best turnbased battle system.
4:58 It has never been confirmed whether Nayuta is actually connected to Towa or just a reference. We don´t even know for sure whether that game is connected to the other Zemuria arcs, we just know they COULD be
Dev here - Thank you SO much for including 8-Bit Adventures 2 in your video David, and for all of the very kind words! It sincerely means a lot and is a big help to our team. The support you provide indies is genuinely invaluable =)
For anyone interested, console versions of 8-Bit Adventures 2 for Switch, PS4/5, Xbox are coming soon (just waiting on the Porting Company to finish their work), substantial Free DLC is on the way, and there's also a bonus Holiday update coming out very soon!
Thank you so much for your wonderful game, I thoroughly enjoyed it!!
@@davidvinc Sincerely appreciate it David - thank you so much! =)
I'm hoping to be nominated in the category of "Subscriber that is most annoying to a game company" for relentlessly bugging Mega Cat to put you in wrestle quest. 🤣
Great video, great list! Somehow, Wandering Sword flew under my radar. Just added it to my wishlist on Steam. I really enjoyed the Live A Live remake, so I think I’d enjoy this as well.
Anyone who likes or loves Wandering Sword, should try Live a Live. It has the same battle system and 2d art style.
Monochrome Mobuis is soooo underrated and main reason i love it is because it takes place in the Utawarerumono universe which is an anime i really love
So many good games this year. Trying to finish One Piece Odyssey and my maddening run on Fire Emblem Engage right now. And my backlog of games is getting brutal haha.
Great list of games! Gonna throw some love over to Fuga Melodies of Steel too!! The original was a hidden gem with fantastic turn based gameplay and this year brought out a sequel for even more
The atelier games can be really hit or miss depending on the mechanics that are in the specific title but when they hit they hit really hard IMO.
Ohhh really good video! Most of the games I never heard about but looks so good! Thank you for sharing!!
Visions of Mana 2024 trailer just dropped! I had no idea it was coming so it was kinda a hidden gem to me!
I've always loved your content for a while now, David. I don't comment much, but I'm always here watching. I have a small suggestion if that's okay.
Maybe have a banner on screen with the tittle of the game you're talking about for the duration. As a father of a special needs 5 year old, sometimes I have to pause a video quickly to deal with the necessities of being dealt those cards. By the time I come back I don't remember the name of the game you're talking about even if I was super interested in it and have to rewind back to the beginning of the segment to find out the title.
Obviously I don't expect you to change your format or add unnecessary work for yourself just for me.
Love your content, David.
One Piece Odyssey Deluxe is 50% off on Steam through December 11th, so I just grabbed a Steam card for my son and told him it's an early Christmas present
Thank you man ! Many of those games went undery radar this year !
Lol love how he mentioned monochrome mobus as #1. I remember some months back you mentioned rpg games coming out and you never mentioned it in the video. I mentioned it in the comments and got hearted for it. If you didn't know about the game at the time I'm glad you enjoyed it. I still have yet t play my copy currently working through trinity trigger.
It’s such a good game!! I love it!
Hey David I just picked up One Piece Odyssey from bandai. For $9.99 for Black Friday. Best of all it was the deluxe edition with the statue. We got one for the PS5 & Xbox Series X. Great Deal
What a steal!!!
@@davidvinc Ya I couldn't resist it. It just arrived yesterday. I'm glad I did it since you liked it. Tells me it was a good choice lol
You had me at Modern Day Grandia.
One of two-game series I so want a sequel to. Right next to Breath Of Fire.
Man, imma have to swoop on Monochrome, AMAZING video homie 🎉🎉🎉
Dropped one piece at alabasta arc because I got so tired of the mopey story of the kingdom which took forever to escalate to the head to head with croc , and the cheap thrill that the mc gets seriously wounded but wins anyway. He's supposed to be rubber , gets impaled clean through , lives and wins anyway .
Excerpt from wikipedia regarding mc's weakness : Luffy's rubber attributes are a result of him eating a devil fruit called the Gum-Gum Fruit. Granting him a rubber-like body, his powers make him immune to electric attacks and most blunt forces, but he is susceptible to attacks made with a sharp object or weapon (eg. sword, spear). + can't swim
Nice Shirt, fitting 😀. Nice Games too, If my Backlog wasnt piling up enough already 😞
Oh that shirt is FIRE. Love the dragon quest theme.
Also I absolutely need to give Trinity Trigger a try
You’ll love the shirt and the game! Thanks for all your support!! :)
@@davidvinc I do what I can! You've 100% been an inspiration for my own channel, so the least I can do is support!
It's probably gonna take me a year to catch up on all the great games from this year xD
Do happy to see Baten Kaitos and Trinity Trigger getting some love, too
I talked myself out of grabbing Monochrome Mobius while it’s on sale right now but your damn reminder is making me second guess it…
My hidden gen pick would be Long Gone Days, even though it's more of a story based game with RPG elements. And I first found out about it by watching this channel! lol
Thanks for the vid, David.
Good choice!
always a good day when Daddy Dave posts good JRPG content
I’ve been waffling on getting Trinity Trigger - it has mixed reviews on Steam. Given your recommendation here, I think I’m going to pull the trigger on it (pun intended).
Its pretty fun, but I enhoy Chained Echoes more.
It was a super let down for me personally. It suffered from too much simplicity imo that the QoL took the worst beating. I get trying to recreate the mana spirit but the QoL suffered too much it was really hard to finish despite being so short.
Based on your love of it, I have bought and downloaded DQM on the Switch ready for tonight when I finish work
You're going to have such a good time with it!
Nice Shirt, it looks great especially It's a great homage to Dragon Quest!
Also Wandering Sword was the game I always wanted to play but I don't have a PC as of yet to enjoy it
This is a waaaay better design. Getting mines. Although I miss your Android robot serial killer walk to model it 😂
Hahahaha!! Thanks for your support! I really appreciate it!! :)
Picked up Monochrome Mobius from your recommendation and I'm super excited to play it.
Where can I get that shirt??
I have a link to it in the pinned comment! :)
@davidvinc haha sorry I asked before watching the video!
Hahaha, no problem man, I hope you enjoy it!
Monochrome Mobius is really looking like a must play considering that just finished playing the grandia remaster just a short time ago. I’m playing grandia II right now.
My next question is how can you love jrpgs and NOT be an anime guy. I’ve been an anime person since I was a kid in the 80s watching Voltron. Japanese anime and RPGs go hand and hand.
Lastly where do you find d the time to play most of these games. I’m fairly certain the jrpgs usually take between 50 and 100 hours. I work full time and trying to sink 100 hours is challenging.
Yea...I hated the time limits in the early PS3 Atelier games, too. I don't like feeling rushed through the game...or being forced to be a "speed runner." in a game that REQUIRES grinding.
Ooooh wandering sword looks fun!! I’m trying that one for sure! Thanks David! Happy holidays!
Same to you! :)
Since i saw wandering sword on your list, have you tried "hero adventure road to passion"? It is similar to wandering sword but less preety on graphic side. Altho more agency to MC to steer the event and how to resolved the world event. It is another worthy hidden gem and i kinda addicted to it mostly to experiment stuff.
Love from Belgium 🇧🇪 ❤
I'm definitely going to pick up Silent Hope at some point; just played the demo last weekend, and I was completely hooked! I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in, but it reminds me a bit of Shining Soul 2 for the GBA, except you can play as every character in a single run! The only one I found kinda boring to play was the basic bro sword-and-shield guy, but that was just as true of Shining Soul 2, so I can't really fault it for that.
Fantastic list! I just recently bought One Piece Odyssey so I'm excited to check it out!
Oh the shirt is cute!
Never heard of Silent Hope. Heard mixed reviews on Trinity Trigger. Good list, definitely informative
I'd definitely add Fuga 2 as a great hidden gem from this year. Unfortunately the developer for this game, CyberConnect2, is way more known for their anime games and they also released Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections this year as well and that game got way more attention only for it to come out with quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. CC2's original IP games have always been great experiences with a lot of heart put into them, and it's a real shame they get heavily overshadowed by their anime games. Like the Fuga series has sold about 300,000 units so far and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 sold 11 million.
That's to be expected, but most of the conversations about CC2 these days are literally about how bad Connections is compared to the previous entries in that series, or how the new JJK game apes CC2's work and how people are getting tired of anime arena fighters from Bandai Namco in general. Little to no one mentions Fuga 2 at all, and While I like that .hack got a bit more attention this year thanks to some screwy things happening to the US site even that overshadowed the attention Fuga 2 got. If you want a really well written RPG with Grandia like turn based combat you can't go wrong with the Fuga series. I'd also say if you're a fan of .hack you might want to check this series out as well since it's story telling goes into similar territory to that series, heck Solatorobo did back in the day as well if you want to emulate that one as well.
excellent list david, i literally have every single game on this list besides labyrinth of galleria ( i just can't do dungeon crawlers lol). loving the new shirts btw! red and white looks great with the DQ lettering
Awesome, I hope you grab one and enjoy it!
Hey David! I loved this list. I think my backlog just grew three items longer lol.
However, this has happened before, so that's why I'm pointing it out. I also would love it if it was true, but I checked One Piece Odyssey's website and the game didn't come out on the Swtich, and unfortunately, there are no plans as well =//
Be more careful next time, OK? My heart is fragile.
Sorry about that!
Silent Hope is a great sleeper.
Why is Baten Kaitos not comming on steam o.,.O
I absolutely LOVE this channel
Thank you so much!
Monochrome Mobius is suprisingly enjoyable.
Oh wow Baten Kaitos remaster? Unexpected for sure
I'd say For a Vast Future deserves a place here too.
Oh that one was cute as a button!
I also didn't like the time restraints for the atelier series. Try escha and logy and anything after that. They pretty much got rid of the time restraints or made them much easier.
Hey david always enjoy the videos and good to know that ur a true rpg fan like me i did buy monochrome mobius was wondering if it is good as it looks
Im a big fan of One Piece so I am very happy to see Odyssey made the list even though so many RPGs came out this year.
I was just thinking imagine a gaming school where you have 8 periods where each genre had their own teacher.. Each game reviewer is pertaining to their genre.. When you walk into rpg class Davids there then the bell rings lol That would be a good gimmick for the YT gaming critics to arrange one day hahaha
Does Atelier Ryza 3 really not have English dub? I almost bought it before seeing that it might not, but I couldn't find a definitive answer.
Yeah no English VA :(
@@davidvinc Dang, that's a deal breaker for me 😥 Thank you for answering!
hadn't seen Call Me Old before - nice!
I really enjoyed Nayuta. Such a fun game.
The One Piece anime is good, but the story drags on forever. I always enjoy watching hidden gem videos because you need more than one franchise to fall in love with and you, David, have been pretty convincing on what to play and avoid.
Nice shirt!
I love it!! Hope you do too!
Nice shirt! Looks so good!
Some bangers on that list for sure!
I loved one piece! didn't get much attention at all sadly. that was a early game that game out in 2023 that got me through Jan and Feb hope they make more one piece games
I’ll be waiting for your reaction on Visions of Mana, I’m hyped
It’s already out! :)
@@davidvinc yes! Just realized shortly after leaving the comment 😅
You make me buy Silent Hope!
Really happy to see Labyrinth of Galleria get a shout. I haven’t finished Refrain yet so haven’t played it, but Refrain has been so much fun (minus the not exactly positive LGBTQ+ representation of course)
I enjoy Trinity Trigger great game
Ou I love this, i can add to my wishlist 😊😅
anime and jrpgs go hand and hand
modern day grandia?!
off to steam i go
Awesome list!
The One Piece Netflix series is an absolute blast. I haven’t watched any of the anime either but man, there’s a reason why it got such rave reviews.
Minimal time commitment
Maybe I’ll check it out one day :)
I like that shirt
Awesome, I'm glad you like it!! :)
Aside for One Piece Odyssey since I already played it, this all stuff that I really am interested in, now these is the type of rpgs I like (looking at you again FF XVI... yeah I am still salty about that game, I should stop :v)
Hey David, looks like another far east of Eden game got a fan translation released today!
Thanks for the heads up, I'll be sure to talk about it this weekend on the news!! :) - I love that series!
Yeah Monochrome is really great.
David, I know you get excited talking about great games, but please tell me you actually love random encounters!
Modern day Grandia!?!
*gets out wallet
Did you not enjoy the Trials of Mana 3D remake?
can somebody gimme a list?
Welcome to The JRPG Awards with our host with the most David and the winners for 2023 JRPG Hidden Gems are…
Hi David
The baten kaitos games have been at the top of my favorite games list for going on 15 years. So happy to have them on the switch 🥹
Tx David
I agree with most of this list. One Piece was so so easy, like baby level of easy, I just couldn’t enjoy. At that point might as well be a light novel.
And trinity trigger is charming at first, but it gets kinda repetitive fast, both combat wise and enemies wise. I wouldn’t really put in the same level as trial if mana if I’m being honest.
One piece odysswy is awesome, i love it alot and i just cant stop talking it and the anime. I may just be thay kind of guy then lmao
Bro- I just had the realization that your channel name is David Vinc. I've gone years now thinking it was David Inc. I blame it on your delts... hard to see anything else when you've gone them bad boys taking up so much of the screen.
Also, nice shirt. I like the dragon quest vibe.
Hahahaha! I get that alot, but it's just a combination of my first and last name. There's nothing 'incorporated' about me at all.
One piece odyssey isn’t on switch sadly. I’m waiting for it to be, trust me.
Hd pixel games. Makes sense. Leave that crap out
Trinity Trigger was super mid for me.
Do yourself a favour and *read* One Piece. It's a masterpiece.
Nah it'll take less than a decade to get caught up in one piece. I love the Manga and anime
@@Filthycasual17he said read one piece not watch it lol. One piece is probably the franchise with the biggest difference between the anime and manga. The anime has its moments but the pacing is terrible and most OP fans won’t recommend it. The manga is a masterpiece of world building. Don’t watch just read it
No thanks
@@Filthycasual17In Japanese as a non native it's only 100 hours, people put that much time into playing JRPGs without blinking.
It's much faster reading it in English probably only 15-30 mins per volume for 100 volumes depending on how much you like to stare at the art.
You're so hot!
I've never read it but I love it that has a big following.
I really wanted to like monochrome and was really enjoying it up until that one scene where the dudes are all getting drunk and naked and the little sister showed up. That scene creeped me out so much I put the game down and then later sold it collectors items and all.