I’m usually a positive person, but I think it can be entertaining to discuss the not-so-great JRPGs we’ve encountered over the years. It’s curious to share stories about those games that just missed the mark, right? One of my nominations is *Tecmo Secret of the Stars* for the SNES. It doesn’t look too terrible at first glance, and some of the enemy designs are decent, but the game really falls flat. The story is bland and the combat is forgettable. It’s like the fast food of JRPGs. I completed it way back when, and it’s stuck in my mind for some reason even though I never hear anyone mention it. I’m interested in knowing what other poorly received JRPGs you’ve played all the way through, and what made them memorable in a not-so-good way?
4 Answers
I’ll throw *Record of Agarest War* into the ring. I picked it up during a dry spell for JRPGs on PC, and it was just an absolute grind. The story was forgettable, characters were stereotypical, and the mechanics felt clunky. I even resorted to using a Cheat Engine just to make it through! Definitely not worth the time.
I feel that. The game was such a slog, and even cheat codes couldn’t make it fun.
Beyond the Beyond is my pick for the worst JRPG I’ve played to completion. Even though I was hyped to play the first JRPG on PS1, it turned out to be a slog with terrible pacing. The combat was repetitive, the story was bland, and the dungeons dragged on forever. I pushed through it since it was all I had available, but it felt like a chore rather than a fun gaming experience.
I hear you! The dungeons felt endless. I actually remember getting lost in them for hours.
So true! It’s like they tried to make it challenging, but it just ended up being frustrating.
*Sword Art Online: Lost Song* was a huge disappointment for me. After Hollow Fragment, I expected something decent, but it was so lackluster! The combat felt stripped down, and it just didn’t capture the magic of the series. Honestly, the best part was that it was short. I guess it saves you from prolonged agony!
Totally agree! It tried too hard to be different from Hollow Fragment and failed miserably.
Exactly, it lacked the engaging elements that made Hollow Fragment fun.
*Lunar Dragon Song* has to be at the top of my list. It felt like a game that should’ve been cancelled during development. The mechanics are a mess: experience from combat is separated from items, and running drains your HP constantly. It’s like every wrong choice was made in the design process! Even the storyline was one-dimensional, especially for a Lunar game. The music and art were decent, but overall, let’s just say it left a lot to be desired.
Running draining HP? That’s just cruel!
Exactly! I couldn’t believe how frustrating it was. It took me out of the experience completely.
The graphics and interface were so dated too. It just felt like an incomplete project.