SRPGs - Where to Start?

[ninjainspandex]

Fire Emblem Awakening is a very easy game for newbies to get into the genre, I would recommend this.

[MrPopo]

The western stuff tends to be RPGs that have strategic combat, while the Japanese stuff is strategy games with RPG elements.

[Jagosaurus]

I started a similar thread in 2013 & got some great advice. Check out the responses: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=44660&hilit=+SRPG

Also, I'd recommend Ghost Recon Shadow Wars on 3DS. Overlooked gem IMO.

[marlowe221]

Well, I have started the first Shining Force... I suck!

[noiseredux]

Well, I have started the first Shining Force... I suck!

take it slow. Follow a FAQ if you need. Brilliant game, and will ease you in.

[marlowe221]

Well, I have started the first Shining Force... I suck!

take it slow. Follow a FAQ if you need. Brilliant game, and will ease you in.

Well, I am getting better. I have had plenty of chances to play the first two battles in the game because the Steam versions are absolutely terrible!

Twice now it has frozen on me and I have had to replay most of what I had already done. I have also found out that you pretty much have to use the save state function - the in-game save system doesn't seem to work in the Steam version.

I think I am just going to play these two games in Fusion instead...

[Exhuminator]

Well, I have started the first Shining Force... I suck!

It's a cake easy strategy game so you should be fine on your first go. (There was only one part of the game I needed a FAQ for and it had nothing to do with battling.) I went back to my HLTB record and saw I beat this game back on April 10, 2013. It took me 22 hours to finish and I gave it a 7/10. These were my thoughts:

Shining Force was an interesting but very flawed experience. I understand this game is one of the progenitors of the SRPG genre, so I give it full props in that regard. However, due to an overly clumsy interface, abysmally slow shopping system, and a highly banal story, well I'm afraid Shining Force falls a bit short of being a "classic". As a curiosity piece however, it was a "decent" bit of entertainment. The game is at its best when you're on the battlefield and are actually being challenged by the AI (which really doesn't happen until the last 5% of the game)... and at its worst when you're trying to meticulously outfit your crew with items for the next fight. One thing that's cool about Shining Force though (which the SRPG genre pretty much dropped early on) is that you can explore towns, talk to NPCs, and even traverse the countryside... just like a normal JRPG.

+A pretty good battle system given its age / good turn based engine for its time.
+Crazy mix of fantasy and sci-fi elements, even a little steampunk thrown in!
+The graphics are good and clean, and the battle sprites/backgrounds are fantastic.
+The ending was nice and fulfilling.
+A lot of the NPC banter actually was entertaining and humorous.

-SAVE THE WORLD FROM AN EVIL DRAGON.
-You get lots of characters, but little to no back story or development for any of them.
-The music is decent, but there's only a handful of tracks, and those few get extremely repetitious quite early on.
-All the towns look the same, very limited tile sets.

Shining Force is not magnificent at all, but it's a good start for the series, and has successfully made me want to explore this franchise's later offerings. Not too shabby for a game that's about two decades old.

Hope you enjoy it overall.

[Jmustang1968]

2 is better than 1, for sure. The stories in them arent the most grand or mature, but you are also taking a more modern look back. At the time, fighting an evil dragon wasnt as much of a trope yet. This game was really one of the first of its kind for US gamers.

[Exhuminator]

My biggest issue with the game was the incredibly slow and inconvenient shopping system. Other Camelot games have this problem as well, so it's just a trope of theirs I suppose.

[Jmustang1968]

My biggest issue with the game was the incredibly slow and inconvenient shopping system. Other Camelot games have this problem as well, so it's just a trope of theirs I suppose.

Inventory in it was annoying as your main character picks up everything and inventory gets full. SF2 will give item to the first open inv slot amongst your active characters. Much nicer. Story is a bit better in 2, but still a bit shallow at times. (Save the princess)

Have you played 2?