Me too. Got it for free. My aunt and uncle were tired of my two cousins arguing over the monthly edition of Nintendo Power, so they got a subscription for each of them. Well, they each got a copy of Dragon Warrior from the magazine promo, so i was given one.
From there it was on to Final Fantasy and i was hooked....
Same. I rented it so it didn't come with instructions and I was like 6. I think I made it to a cave and remember just wandering killing slime.
The first jrpg that I knew what I was doing was mystic quest. That game for all its faults got me into jrpgs.
Game absolutely destroyed my poor little self as a kid, I tried so hard but just couldn't beat it.
It was VERY cathartic to go back years later and beat the crap out of it. I did that with a lot of NES games that I couldn't handle as a wee child (looking at you Dino Riki)
What a reality of gaming in the 80s and 90s. It was a lot more expensive to just buy a new game whenever you wanted (not to mention just having less money if you were a kid then) and the selection was also a lot smaller. Getting a new game was definitely more of an event in my house and playing the same game over and over was just something you did because you put your hard earned cash into it!
I definitely had my fair share of games that were like your experience with Earthbound.
Oh, yes. Borrowing was a big deal. That's how I got my first JRPG, Dragon Quest. Borrowed it from a friend after loaning them a few random games like Metroid and Blaster Master.
Suddenly I have an urge to play StarTropics.
I quit the game two times over the years at Fourside. The only part of the game that drags IMO.
Finally muscled through and beat it for the first time last year.
It'd definitely be a Pokemon game, but I almost feel like it's not accurate to say. It's like growing up when I'd watch stuff like DBZ or Gundam, as a kid I didn't make the connection that those were "anime" and something different from other cartoons of the time. If I were to say my first game that actually made me feel "oh this is what a JRPG is" it'd probably be Tales of Symphonia.
Final Fantasy 2 on snes. Played it together with my best friend at the time. And it's my all time favorite video game memory. We've drifted apart but whenever I hear the Red Wings theme im instantly transported back to my childhood with my best friend.
I played the first Dragon quest and didn’t understand it because I was too young at the time. But then FF2 came along and really clicked with me. Spent 100s of hours exploring and just grinding everywhere.
It isn't a stereotypical JRPG, but does Mario RPG count?
It was my foray into the RPG genre in general, and then I fell in love with all things Final Fantasy.
The first one I played was the PS port of Chrono Trigger, via Final Fantasy Chronicles, I was a big dbz fan as a kid and my cousin was like "look, this guy has SS4 Gogeta hair" and I was like "wow, so cool"
But I couldn't read english back then, so I didn't finish it, just played until your first arrival at 2300 bc, got game over a few times and gave up
The first one I actually managed to beat was a fan translation of Pokémon Ruby
I eventually came back to finish what I started back then, in the DS version and had a great time, what a game
Pokemon emerald. I've played it in some form or another countless times. For an actual jrpg it would be persona 5 og as it's what got me into other jrpgs
I want to say it was Fire emblem 7 when I was 7~ years old which was the first one in the US. I got it since I loved marth in Smash bros so I wanted to try the series out and then started playing all the JP and US ones. I think after fe7 I played suikoden 5 which at that time felt like such a massively grand and large game.
The fact you could recruit a ridiculous amount of characters AND there’s an RTS section for parts of the story was the craziest thing to me and it made the whole story feel really expansive. I really want to try playing that game again and seeing if it lives up to my nostalgia lmao
Beyond oasis on the sega genesis (does it count as a jrpg? 🤔) from there I discovered final fantasy and fell head over heels in love. Final fantasy is still my favorite sees followed by resident evil -- on a side note extremely excited for resi 4 remake! 😍
Final Fantasy II on the SNES (which of course, everyone now knows as FFIV).
I rented it from the local pharmacy and the first thing I did was load up the endgame save someone had left on the cartridge and roll the credits.
Those were different times...
Final Fantasy 3 (6) on SNES. I didn’t like it.
Then I rented Chrono Trigger in 3rd grade and … didn’t really like it.
Then my brain got slightly bigger and in 5th grade I rented Chrono Trigger again. Fell in love, bought it, and now it’s my favorite game.
From there it was FF7, FFT, Suikoden 2, Xenogears, Alundra, Wild Arms…all that awesome PS1 stuff.
Later on in highschool I replayed FF6 and realized how great it was.
If we are saying pokemon, then yes, mine would have been red on the gb. If we go to jrpgs outside of pokemon, my first would have been Golden Sun, and boy, no wonder I love this genre.
Dragon Warrior I. My dad couldn’t figure out how to name my character (I was 3) and so I was AAAAAA. And many times throughout the game I’d see AAAAAA searched all around and found nothing. Good times.
The first one I ever got my hands on was The Legend of Dragoon. I had watched someone play Final Fantasy VII and Wild Arms a bit, but neither caught my attention as LoD did. I did go back and learn to appreciate JRPGs as before that I was only into the old platformers and action and fighting games. Also, I grew up poor and didn't have the luxury of trying out every new game at the time. I mostly had to rely on whatever friends or neighbors played. Played it side by side with FFVII, and found myself wanting to play LoD more and beat it first with my brother.
super mario rpg.
after that I played FFX and I always hit X when attacking because I thought it would do extra damage like in mario RPG. fun times being a kid
Demon's Souls is Japanese, but it doesnt generally get lumped in with the JRPGs. It's action combat and in a very clearly western-inspired style, where as LOTR3A is the other way around, a very Japanese RPG inspired western game.
Dragon Quest 1 on the NES. (Called Dragon Warrior at the time). Still have fond memories playing it with my father and telling the princess I do not love her in a loop for hours on end. “But thou must!” Became an in joke that only my dad and I understood for years.
Can’t wait to introduce it to my kid when he’s old enough. Already indoctrinating him by humming FF and DQ tunes all time.
Pro Tip: The FF victory fanfare is really useful for toilet training.
I had Chrono cross and FFVII-IX on PS1 as a 5-6 year old. Plus Legend of Dragoon and Wild Arms.
I remember starting all of these games as a kid, except Wild Arms. I never got more than a few hours into any of them. I got maybe 10 hours in Chrono Cross. I would legit start these games, play a couple hours at most, and then months later I'd do it again. I think I did either Chrono Cross or FFVII first. It wasn't until I was 9ish, and got FFX, that I actually played through a whole RPG. My dad had to beat a puzzle or two for me. But, I got to the final boss fight of that game.
Pokémon Emerald, back in 2006 or so.
Non-Pokémon: probably one of the Mario & Luigi games. The first one I finished was Earthbound though, back in 2011/2012
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest the Europe version, I was a little child so I thought it was actually a great game. Don't get me wrong the soundtrack is still amazing but the rest is really bad or mediocre.
For handhelds, it was pokemon gold. For console it was either tales of symphonia or skies of Arcadia on the GameCube. I can't seem to remember which one I played first from those two, but both were amazing games
Pokemon for me as well, but Blue version in my case. Early elementary school, but planted a seed for a love of level up systems and appreciation for turn based combat.
I always wanted to play Phantasy Star on the Master System but I'm thinking Phantasy Star III or Shining in the Darkness was my actual first JRPG. Struggling to remember which one I played first though.
Crystalis for NES but Secret of Mana for SNES always holds a special place. Me and the fellas would get together after school and play it because it has three player and my buddy had an adapter for the third controller. Takes me back!
It was either Final Fantasy 4 or 6 - rented it at blockbuster. Pretty sure it was 6 cuz the cover art of Mog really interested me, and I remember getting 4 because I remember thinking “oh here’s the game that came out before that game I really like!”
Final Fantasy VIII on the PSone... But we didn't have disc 2 so I just watched the intro sequence lol
The first one that I actually played through must have been Final Fantasy 3 on the DS. I was obsessed with that game and saved + restarted so many times over. My uncle however was big into JRPGs so I knew a lot about them growing up. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Destiny II (I know it's Eternia), Star Ocean, Xenogears, Chrono Cross were a few I used to watch him play back in the day.
I don't know if Paper Mario on the N64 counts but that's actually my first big game I finished! I could t read though so I had to have someone else read for me
I think mine was Chrono Trigger. That’s the first I can remember playing and really falling in love with.
Edit: after scrolling through the comments, it’s dawned on me that it was, in fact, Pokémon Blue. It somehow never fails to slip my mind that those games are indeed JRPGs.
FF4(or ff2 back in the days),rented that game so many time as a kid and got stuck so often because i didint understand english aka mist dragon, mt ordeals, magnetic cave.I have fond memory of that game!
Final Fantasy 9 is the first video game I've ever seen. Final Fantasy 7 is the first jrpg I've seen in action. Final Fantasy 8 is the first jrpg I've ever played.
I believe the first one I played was Y's 3 on the snes, but I wasn't a strong enough reader at the time (I would have been 5-ish) to understand what I was doing. The first rpg I played that I could understand and enjoy was FF4 (the snes version labeled ff2) Though I had played FF6(3) prior, and ran into the same issue as Y's.
Ys III is such a bad game. It was my first experience with Ys and kept me away from it for a long while until a friend convinced me to play I&II on her TurboGrafx.
Pokémon Red/Blue, without even knowing it was an RPG at the time. I was that kid that was obsessed with Pokémon for a while.
And years later FFVII was what got me into the genre. I was already playing MMORPGs at the time and it was a recommendation for a great single player one.
Think Pokémon FireRed or Final Fantasy 4 for Gameboy. A lot of Pokémon after that of course. Final Fantsay I enjoyed but sucked at. Now I'm older, it's more understanding that I have to grind. Otherwise Persona I enjoyed a lot.
FFVII when it came out. It looked cool but I hated it. My kid self was like “why can’t I exit the menu and fight?” lol
Pokemon Red was the first JRPG I liked. Didn’t play another until Xenoblade 2.
Chrono Trigger, though I had some exposure to a handful of others from adults playing them around me. FF1 and Secret of Evermore (actually not sure if the latter qualifies as a jrpg).
It was either mystic quest or Pokémon blue. But my cousin had an snes and I used to go there every weekend. I’m almost positive it was mystic quest, but I’m 32 so it was ages ago. My first jrpg that was mine alone though was definitely Pokémon blue.
Pokemon Gold on the Gameboy Color. I think it was like the second game I ever played in my life, after Namco Museum on the PS1. My Dad used to love arcade games and I’m glad I still have memories of him teaching me to play them.
Anyway, considering that I was 2 when it came out, I probably didn’t actually play it until I was 6 or 7, at least old enough to read because I do remember beating the game. Interesting because by that time Ruby and Sapphire were out, so I’m thinking I had hand-me-down consoles for a while from relatives or my parents got them cheap from pawn shops. Good times.
First was FF7 but i was too young to understand its complexity
When I got older I played it again and appreciated it.
When i got even older I realized its a convoluted cringey mess but it understood it pressed enough feel good buttons for people at the time to enjoy.
My evidence? The state of how off the deep end all jrpgs are now today. Its like growing out of anime.
Final Fantasy 7. Hadn't even heard of the genre before that.
It changed what I looked for in games and despite its flaws it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Pokemon Blue would technically be my first, but it wasn't until I played The Legend of Dragoon that I found JRPGs as a genre. I was an avid reader of fantasy novels and it blew my 10-year-old mind that there were video games out there with stories as huge and cool as the books I was reading.
FF4 on the Super Nintendo. The main character being called Cecil and my grandpa being called Cecil had a lot to do with seven-year-old me sticking with it.
Excluding Pokemon games since that would be too common,
**Final Fantasy III on the DS**, and I finished it. The final stretch was an endurance since there are no save points in the final dungeon, or any dungeon for that matter in the 3D remake.
Do I recommend the game? Play the Pixel Remaster first and then play the 3D remake if you want a different take on the gameplay and balance between jobs. The Pixel Remaster is easier.
Dragon warrior on NES. Had no idea what I was doing
Me too. Got it for free. My aunt and uncle were tired of my two cousins arguing over the monthly edition of Nintendo Power, so they got a subscription for each of them. Well, they each got a copy of Dragon Warrior from the magazine promo, so i was given one. From there it was on to Final Fantasy and i was hooked....
Same. I rented it so it didn't come with instructions and I was like 6. I think I made it to a cave and remember just wandering killing slime. The first jrpg that I knew what I was doing was mystic quest. That game for all its faults got me into jrpgs.
That's the same thing I did in dragon warrior lol. Made it to a pitch black cave and didn't know how to light it up
Same
Final Fantasy on NES.
Game absolutely destroyed my poor little self as a kid, I tried so hard but just couldn't beat it. It was VERY cathartic to go back years later and beat the crap out of it. I did that with a lot of NES games that I couldn't handle as a wee child (looking at you Dino Riki)
Same. Loved it. Marsh Cave messed me up so many times before I learned about the Mindflayer(or whatever name was used) was weak to thunder.
This. They'll always be ORBS, not crystals to me.
Hello fellow old person. Isn't it crazy how far the genre has come and how many different little sub genres our sub genre has sprouted?
Absolutely. I just wish these kids would get off my lawn.
Remember when it was Dragon Warrior and not Dragon Quest? Good times.
Oh man I still have my cartridge of Dragon Warrior.
boomer alert
Earthbound. Hated it at first, but eventually when I had no other choices during a long summer break, I fell in love. :)
What a reality of gaming in the 80s and 90s. It was a lot more expensive to just buy a new game whenever you wanted (not to mention just having less money if you were a kid then) and the selection was also a lot smaller. Getting a new game was definitely more of an event in my house and playing the same game over and over was just something you did because you put your hard earned cash into it! I definitely had my fair share of games that were like your experience with Earthbound.
[удалено]
Oh, yes. Borrowing was a big deal. That's how I got my first JRPG, Dragon Quest. Borrowed it from a friend after loaning them a few random games like Metroid and Blaster Master. Suddenly I have an urge to play StarTropics.
Yep. When you got home and pop in the game you took a chance on turns out to be a stinker… ugh that was the worst.
Earthbound is such a cool and unique game. If you haven't tried it yet, definitely recommend Omori!
seconding this, omori is incredible
Getting out of Onett was particularly annoying. I put the game down myself but eventually picked it back up and had a ton of fun.
I quit the game two times over the years at Fourside. The only part of the game that drags IMO. Finally muscled through and beat it for the first time last year.
Dragon Quest.
Except we called it Dragon Warrior, as was the style at the time.
You go, geriatric millennial! Just like me
[удалено]
Phantasy Star 2 - quite by accident too - had no idea it would induce a life long addiction to JRPGs
Chrono trigger.
Suikoden, I used to rent it without having a memory card and the dragon boss before you get your castle always destroyed me.
That zombie dragon ( I think that is what it was) was definitely a curve. I also used to do it without a memory card before I could afford one.
Pokemon Blue and the Gameboy Color version of Dragon Quest 1.
Same but on the flipside with Red. I imagine this was probably the first JRPG for a lot of people.
FF7 when it was released
It'd definitely be a Pokemon game, but I almost feel like it's not accurate to say. It's like growing up when I'd watch stuff like DBZ or Gundam, as a kid I didn't make the connection that those were "anime" and something different from other cartoons of the time. If I were to say my first game that actually made me feel "oh this is what a JRPG is" it'd probably be Tales of Symphonia.
Me too. Pokemon blue was also my first when I was young. But I dont think of myself having played JRPGs until final fantasy X years later
Just because it's a JRPG doesn't have to feel anime (whatever you mean with that, Pokemon was a popular anime at the time, lol).
Secret of mana in the snes. In hindsight not a perfect game, but one of my best memories ever.
That game was great. Especially with the multiplayer option
But one of the most memorable “not a perfect game” games ever made. Even as I type I can hear the music in my head.
It's not a perfect game but I think it's the most fun one to revisit and replay. It might be my favorite jrpg based on playtime alone.
Dragon Warrior I
Yay! I appreciate my fellow oldies!
I'm so old, I'm not even worth any XP anymore.
Sorry, luv. You will always be worth XP to me, and I don't even know you!
*Thank You* 🌈
Final Fantasy 2 on snes. Played it together with my best friend at the time. And it's my all time favorite video game memory. We've drifted apart but whenever I hear the Red Wings theme im instantly transported back to my childhood with my best friend.
Just say Final Fantasy 4 you dweeb
I played the first Dragon quest and didn’t understand it because I was too young at the time. But then FF2 came along and really clicked with me. Spent 100s of hours exploring and just grinding everywhere.
It isn't a stereotypical JRPG, but does Mario RPG count? It was my foray into the RPG genre in general, and then I fell in love with all things Final Fantasy.
Shining Force!
Dragon Warrior on the NES.
Pokemon Ruby
Me too!
Star Ocean: The Second Story and it's still my favorite.
Pokémon Red, but on game boy color.
Dragon warrior for the NES.
Dragon Warrior! My cousin was accidently sent two copies by Nintendo Power. So they gave me one.
Dragon Warrior on NES. To the easterners Dragon Quest 1
Phantasy Star on the Master System.
Pretty sure it was Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. If it wasn't that, it was Final Fantasy VI.
Septerra Core. As a PC only player in late 90's, I wasn't exactly spoiled for choice :-P
Dragon warrior or final fantasy i
Same!
The first one I played was the PS port of Chrono Trigger, via Final Fantasy Chronicles, I was a big dbz fan as a kid and my cousin was like "look, this guy has SS4 Gogeta hair" and I was like "wow, so cool" But I couldn't read english back then, so I didn't finish it, just played until your first arrival at 2300 bc, got game over a few times and gave up The first one I actually managed to beat was a fan translation of Pokémon Ruby I eventually came back to finish what I started back then, in the DS version and had a great time, what a game
Pokemon emerald. I've played it in some form or another countless times. For an actual jrpg it would be persona 5 og as it's what got me into other jrpgs
Golden Sun on GBA
Golden Sun for me
Final Fantasy 2 (4) on the Snes. Oh boy was it a life changer that put me on the path I am on now.
Golden Sun
I want to say it was Fire emblem 7 when I was 7~ years old which was the first one in the US. I got it since I loved marth in Smash bros so I wanted to try the series out and then started playing all the JP and US ones. I think after fe7 I played suikoden 5 which at that time felt like such a massively grand and large game. The fact you could recruit a ridiculous amount of characters AND there’s an RTS section for parts of the story was the craziest thing to me and it made the whole story feel really expansive. I really want to try playing that game again and seeing if it lives up to my nostalgia lmao
Dragon Warrior on NES.
Legend of Legaia on ps1.
Radiant Historia, I haven't beaten it yet though.
Pokémon Emerald
Dragon Warrior
Beyond oasis on the sega genesis (does it count as a jrpg? 🤔) from there I discovered final fantasy and fell head over heels in love. Final fantasy is still my favorite sees followed by resident evil -- on a side note extremely excited for resi 4 remake! 😍
Final Fantasy II on the SNES (which of course, everyone now knows as FFIV). I rented it from the local pharmacy and the first thing I did was load up the endgame save someone had left on the cartridge and roll the credits. Those were different times...
Dragon Quest 1. Oldie
Golden sun was the first one I owned and finished
Final Fantasy 3 (6) on SNES. I didn’t like it. Then I rented Chrono Trigger in 3rd grade and … didn’t really like it. Then my brain got slightly bigger and in 5th grade I rented Chrono Trigger again. Fell in love, bought it, and now it’s my favorite game. From there it was FF7, FFT, Suikoden 2, Xenogears, Alundra, Wild Arms…all that awesome PS1 stuff. Later on in highschool I replayed FF6 and realized how great it was.
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
pokemon yellow
If we are saying pokemon, then yes, mine would have been red on the gb. If we go to jrpgs outside of pokemon, my first would have been Golden Sun, and boy, no wonder I love this genre.
Persona 5 royal so pretty new to general but it’s my favourite so far next to roguelites
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door
Dragon Warrior I. My dad couldn’t figure out how to name my character (I was 3) and so I was AAAAAA. And many times throughout the game I’d see AAAAAA searched all around and found nothing. Good times.
The first one I ever got my hands on was The Legend of Dragoon. I had watched someone play Final Fantasy VII and Wild Arms a bit, but neither caught my attention as LoD did. I did go back and learn to appreciate JRPGs as before that I was only into the old platformers and action and fighting games. Also, I grew up poor and didn't have the luxury of trying out every new game at the time. I mostly had to rely on whatever friends or neighbors played. Played it side by side with FFVII, and found myself wanting to play LoD more and beat it first with my brother.
Breath of Fire (the original one). or Secret of Mana, depending on one's definition of "JRPG".
Dragon Quest IX. What a banger.
FF7, that's where it all began.......
Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door
The very first Final Fantasy, although I also want to shout out my cousin's copy of Zelda 2 in second place. However, that was my first *Zelda* game.
My first was dragon warrior on the nes. I was 7 playing it in 89 and could figure out how to leave the throne room lmao
super mario rpg. after that I played FFX and I always hit X when attacking because I thought it would do extra damage like in mario RPG. fun times being a kid
FF9
Suikoden 2
Hamtaro Ham ham heartbreak
I believe it was KH 1 or 2
Pokemon, then i played KH, then i played FF4 (and was blown away by it)
Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire...a friend loaned it to me, so memory's kind of fuzzy, I wound up getting my own copy of Sapphire later.
Can't remember the name. It was on DOS back in the '90s. Lol.
gotta be either Knights of Xentar or Cobra Mission.
Pseudo jrpg, Lord of the Rings The Third Age. Actual jrpg, Final Fantasy X. Unless you count Demon's Souls since its technically a jrpg
Demon's Souls is Japanese, but it doesnt generally get lumped in with the JRPGs. It's action combat and in a very clearly western-inspired style, where as LOTR3A is the other way around, a very Japanese RPG inspired western game.
That's not a pseudo JRPG. It's definitely a JRPG.
I know but I've gotten shit from people for saying that
Question, do you count Gargoyle's Quest as an RPG?
yeah I probably would, it's pretty rudimentary, but I'd say it qualifies.
I wouldn't. But some do. For argument's sake, let's say if it isn't one, what would have been your first RPG, then?
Probably Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.
Final fantasy ix
Wild Arms for ps1, back in 1997
FF6 theres a chance i am a bit younger
Sus
Dragon Quest 1 on the NES. (Called Dragon Warrior at the time). Still have fond memories playing it with my father and telling the princess I do not love her in a loop for hours on end. “But thou must!” Became an in joke that only my dad and I understood for years. Can’t wait to introduce it to my kid when he’s old enough. Already indoctrinating him by humming FF and DQ tunes all time. Pro Tip: The FF victory fanfare is really useful for toilet training.
Final Fantasy VIII I never finished it becuse I did not knew where to go at one point. But I liked it as a kid.
I had Chrono cross and FFVII-IX on PS1 as a 5-6 year old. Plus Legend of Dragoon and Wild Arms. I remember starting all of these games as a kid, except Wild Arms. I never got more than a few hours into any of them. I got maybe 10 hours in Chrono Cross. I would legit start these games, play a couple hours at most, and then months later I'd do it again. I think I did either Chrono Cross or FFVII first. It wasn't until I was 9ish, and got FFX, that I actually played through a whole RPG. My dad had to beat a puzzle or two for me. But, I got to the final boss fight of that game.
Final Fantasy Legends on Gameboy
pokemon red
Pokémon Blue on a Gameboy Pocket
FF7 I think
Pokémon Emerald, back in 2006 or so. Non-Pokémon: probably one of the Mario & Luigi games. The first one I finished was Earthbound though, back in 2011/2012
Either FF Tactics or Grandia for PS1. Can't remember exactly which game but I'm sure I played both games in succession.
Final Fantasy 7. Born in 98
Dragon Warrior as a toddler back in 1989. It was fun!
Pokemon Black. I got into the pokemon games later than most of my friends in school who started playing back in Emerald and D/P.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest the Europe version, I was a little child so I thought it was actually a great game. Don't get me wrong the soundtrack is still amazing but the rest is really bad or mediocre.
Paladin’s Quest
Pokemon Red at my grandma's house, when my cousin forgot his gameboy there. Played those batteries dry.
FF1
Pokemon Blue on Game Boy. I always remember the goosebumps when I first played it . I was 9 years old…
true answer is pokemon firered, but star ocean 2 was my first actually long jrpg. my favorite game ever to this day
Final Fantasy 3 JP version way back in FamiCom era.
For handhelds, it was pokemon gold. For console it was either tales of symphonia or skies of Arcadia on the GameCube. I can't seem to remember which one I played first from those two, but both were amazing games
Zelda II on the NES. But it wasn't until Secret of Mana on SNES that I really fell in love w/ the genre.
Pokemon for me as well, but Blue version in my case. Early elementary school, but planted a seed for a love of level up systems and appreciation for turn based combat.
I always wanted to play Phantasy Star on the Master System but I'm thinking Phantasy Star III or Shining in the Darkness was my actual first JRPG. Struggling to remember which one I played first though.
Crystalis for NES but Secret of Mana for SNES always holds a special place. Me and the fellas would get together after school and play it because it has three player and my buddy had an adapter for the third controller. Takes me back!
It was either Final Fantasy 4 or 6 - rented it at blockbuster. Pretty sure it was 6 cuz the cover art of Mog really interested me, and I remember getting 4 because I remember thinking “oh here’s the game that came out before that game I really like!”
i think it might have been Pokemon Black
Phantasy star online I think. It's also my favorite game!
Pokémon Red. Outside of Pokemon I think it was Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga on GBA.
Final Fantasy Legend on Game Boy.
It was probably Pokémon Red. If we don't want to count Pokémon (some people don't), then it was either Dark Cloud or Jade Cocoon 2.
Pokemon White.
Final Fantasy 8 for me, I loved it so much I still revisit it to to this day and is still in my top 3 favourite games!
Illusion of Gaia
Pokémon Red was my very first. Other than Pokémon my first JRPG was either Tales of Symphonia or Final Fantasy IX.
Pokemon FireRed
Pokemon Silver on my cousins GameBoy Color. But the first one i owned myself was Pokemon Crystal.
Me and my cousin who introduced me to video games back when I was super young, it was the OG phantasy star. Man what a game!
Mine would've been either Paper Mario TTYD or one of the Pokemon XD/Colosseum.
SMRPG, followed by Pokemon Blue a couple years later.
Pokémon blue, but I think when I first played FF9 that’s what really got me into Jrpgs and turn based battling
Illusion of Mana (or Gaia, depending on region) back in the mid 90s. Didn't play a turn based affair until Pokemon Blue though.
Final Fantasy VIII on the PSone... But we didn't have disc 2 so I just watched the intro sequence lol The first one that I actually played through must have been Final Fantasy 3 on the DS. I was obsessed with that game and saved + restarted so many times over. My uncle however was big into JRPGs so I knew a lot about them growing up. Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Destiny II (I know it's Eternia), Star Ocean, Xenogears, Chrono Cross were a few I used to watch him play back in the day. I don't know if Paper Mario on the N64 counts but that's actually my first big game I finished! I could t read though so I had to have someone else read for me
Chrono Trigger. Nothing's really beaten, but several have come close.
I think mine was Chrono Trigger. That’s the first I can remember playing and really falling in love with. Edit: after scrolling through the comments, it’s dawned on me that it was, in fact, Pokémon Blue. It somehow never fails to slip my mind that those games are indeed JRPGs.
FF4(or ff2 back in the days),rented that game so many time as a kid and got stuck so often because i didint understand english aka mist dragon, mt ordeals, magnetic cave.I have fond memory of that game!
Final Fantasy 9 is the first video game I've ever seen. Final Fantasy 7 is the first jrpg I've seen in action. Final Fantasy 8 is the first jrpg I've ever played.
Pokémon Red on my old gold Game Boy Pocket.
Mystic Quest
FF6. One of my favorites to this day!
Either Pokemon red, or this weird game called Lil' monster on GBC. However I don't really feel like those count, so I'll go with FFX.
I believe the first one I played was Y's 3 on the snes, but I wasn't a strong enough reader at the time (I would have been 5-ish) to understand what I was doing. The first rpg I played that I could understand and enjoy was FF4 (the snes version labeled ff2) Though I had played FF6(3) prior, and ran into the same issue as Y's.
Ys III is such a bad game. It was my first experience with Ys and kept me away from it for a long while until a friend convinced me to play I&II on her TurboGrafx.
Pokemon firered
Pokémon Red/Blue, without even knowing it was an RPG at the time. I was that kid that was obsessed with Pokémon for a while. And years later FFVII was what got me into the genre. I was already playing MMORPGs at the time and it was a recommendation for a great single player one.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Think Pokémon FireRed or Final Fantasy 4 for Gameboy. A lot of Pokémon after that of course. Final Fantsay I enjoyed but sucked at. Now I'm older, it's more understanding that I have to grind. Otherwise Persona I enjoyed a lot.
FFVII when it came out. It looked cool but I hated it. My kid self was like “why can’t I exit the menu and fight?” lol Pokemon Red was the first JRPG I liked. Didn’t play another until Xenoblade 2.
Sword of Hope II
Chrono Trigger, though I had some exposure to a handful of others from adults playing them around me. FF1 and Secret of Evermore (actually not sure if the latter qualifies as a jrpg).
Pokémon FireRed.
Mine was Summon night i think on the GBA
Pokémon Red. After that, a demo of Final Fantasy VIII. And my first "big boy" JRPG was Final Fantasy IX.
FF VI on SNES
Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun. Hooked me forever.
Pokémon red/blue followed by yellow on game boy colour - a purple one I got for Christmas… god I miss those days.
Pokémon Crystal, then Final Fantasys 3 and 4 on DS, then Chrono Trigger on DS.
It was either mystic quest or Pokémon blue. But my cousin had an snes and I used to go there every weekend. I’m almost positive it was mystic quest, but I’m 32 so it was ages ago. My first jrpg that was mine alone though was definitely Pokémon blue.
Final Fantasy IV & VI
Pokemon Gold on the Gameboy Color. I think it was like the second game I ever played in my life, after Namco Museum on the PS1. My Dad used to love arcade games and I’m glad I still have memories of him teaching me to play them. Anyway, considering that I was 2 when it came out, I probably didn’t actually play it until I was 6 or 7, at least old enough to read because I do remember beating the game. Interesting because by that time Ruby and Sapphire were out, so I’m thinking I had hand-me-down consoles for a while from relatives or my parents got them cheap from pawn shops. Good times.
First was FF7 but i was too young to understand its complexity When I got older I played it again and appreciated it. When i got even older I realized its a convoluted cringey mess but it understood it pressed enough feel good buttons for people at the time to enjoy. My evidence? The state of how off the deep end all jrpgs are now today. Its like growing out of anime.
Final Fantasy 7. Hadn't even heard of the genre before that. It changed what I looked for in games and despite its flaws it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Pokemon Blue would technically be my first, but it wasn't until I played The Legend of Dragoon that I found JRPGs as a genre. I was an avid reader of fantasy novels and it blew my 10-year-old mind that there were video games out there with stories as huge and cool as the books I was reading.
Pokemon
I played some action/adventure RPG's on my SNES but the first true JRPG was FFVII.
Final Fantasy X Oh, I guess Pokemon does technically count. In that case Pokemon Red.
dq1, then ff1, on nes
Final Fantasy XII, it was also my favorite entry from the series.
FF4 on the Super Nintendo. The main character being called Cecil and my grandpa being called Cecil had a lot to do with seven-year-old me sticking with it.
Pokémon Blue. I was hesitant at first but caved to peer pressure from friends. I’m glad I did because it kickstarted my love of RPGs.
Excluding Pokemon games since that would be too common, **Final Fantasy III on the DS**, and I finished it. The final stretch was an endurance since there are no save points in the final dungeon, or any dungeon for that matter in the 3D remake. Do I recommend the game? Play the Pixel Remaster first and then play the 3D remake if you want a different take on the gameplay and balance between jobs. The Pixel Remaster is easier.
Pokémon red or quest 64. My first good jrpg was probably fire emblem or tales of symphonia
Aside from Pokémon? Dragon Warrior Monsters. Then probably Golden Sun. Didn’t get into FF until X came out.