Suggestions needed: good JRPGs with good walk-throughs

[SignOfZeta]

OK, so I've got a pretty decent pile of Japanese language RPGs that I'd like to get back into. I'd like to at least knock another one of these off soon.

I know that I don't have the patience for this kind of thing like I used to, so here's what I'm looking for:

It must have a walkthrough that is finished (need not be an actual ver 1.0, but the FAQ must end with the end of the game).

The FAQ doesn't have to be perfect, but it should be enough to get me through the game. For example, Startling Odyssey 2 is harder to bumble through than Y's IV, so an Y's IV FAQ doesn't have to be as good to get me through the game as a SO2 FAQ has to be. BTW, I've already finished both of those.

It must be a game I already own, and haven't cleared yet. Here is the list of PCE JRPGs I have that I haven't finished yet:

Xanadu 1
Tengai Makyo 1
Monster Maker
Emerald Dragon (is the SFC ver. FAQ compatible with the PCE version?)
Star Breaker (would love a good FAQ for this)
Far the Earth no Jakoutei (Neo Metal Fantasy)
Babel
Langrisser
Arunamu no Kiba Juuzokujuu Nishinto Densetsu
Tenshi no Uta
Tenshi no Uta 2
Princess Minerva
Cosmic Fantasy 3
Gulliver Boy

So in short, I'm looking for suggestions of a game on my list that has the most balanced quality of FAQ to quality of game ratio.

What say you?

[SignOfZeta]

Well I may have figured this out already. It seems there is a pretty good walkthrough of Star Breaker at the old mailing list site (mindrec).

http://turbo.mindrec.com/files/star.breaker


Using it now!

[NecroPhile]

After you've finished Star Breaker, check the Compendium of Walkthroughs for your next victim; it looks like there are complete walkthroughs for quite a few of those on your list.

[SignOfZeta]

Yeah, I saw that. It needs to have Star Breaker added to it. This game is pretty nice. Basically its a lot like Startling Odyssey 2, which isn't surprising since I think it was the very next game they released.

[SignOfZeta]

I finished Star Breaker tonight. It took almost 60 hours, which is about 20 hours longer than I usually spend on RPGs of this era. I did get stuck in two spots, but not for 20 hours. More like 3 or 4. There are MANY bosses in the final dungeon.

Anyway, for anyone looking for a PCE RPG that you (probably) won't get stuck in, at least not for long, this is a good one. I also recommend Rayforce's other RPG from that time period, Startling Odyssey 2.

Star Breaker pros:

It is a simple game
There is a walkthrough that is complete (although not %100 accurate).
Loads of katakana (all items, weapons, armor, characters, towns, bosses, etc)
Does not have any stupid "systems" to complicate things
Nice cinemas
Very good character graphics. Towns are simple, but colorful.
Not very hard
Very little load times, partially due to loads of chip tune usage.
Cinemas often have no load breaks thanks to using streamed audio over PSG music much like some digital comics.
It takes place in outer space, and you get to freely fly a ship from planet to planet and even from star system to star systems. Very nice touch.

Cons:
Costs about $15, which isn't a lot, but is more expensive that a lot of other PCE RPGs
Is too simplistic at times. Its nice to play a game that isn't bogged down with the nonsensical "systems" that new games from SquareEnix always have now, but at the same time something more like DQV (or even DQ1?) might be nice. There is no "death". Your characters simply are reduced to 0 HP and disappear. If you cast Mega Heal they all come back, no resurrection needed. Enemies never heal, or cast any spells that are particularly tricky (ie: Doom or Imp) but there are elemental effects (ie: use a fire sword on a flaming bird and it heals it instead of doing damage). Virtually every boss is the same as the one before.

There are a lot of chip tunes, and what redbook is uses isn't very great. The best track in the game is the vocal closing theme, and even that is just OK. The plus side is that fights have zero load time, or even CD access time. Those who have played through Cosmic Fantasy games know how brutal that crap can be.  Fights in SB aren't as quick as they are in Tengai Makyou 2, but then no game is. As I mentioned chip tunes are also used in cinemas to make stealth loads. This is nice in its own way, but it means you'll never get anything like Exile or even Y's 1&2 when it comes to the "HOLY SHIT! AWESOME CINEMA!" category. The weezing squawky PCE sound chip keeps your mind in 8-bit land.

Over all, quite fun. Play it if you are into this kind of thing.

[SuperDeadite]

LANGRISSER.  Not playing such an amazing game is a deadly sin.

[nat]

Do Xanadu. Enough data exists in the FAQ(s) to get you through even the toughest spots (and there are more than a handful). Beyond that, it's one of the best games on the system [of those that I've played].

[termis]

I'm sort of in the same situation as you.  I still have a lot of JRPGs to go through...

Of the ones I've played above, I also have to say Langrisser is awesome.  Plus you don't constantly need to look at a faq as it's more of a strategy game (once you memorize the controls -- you're playing 90% of the time, and you'll only need to briefly look at the faq for class desriptions, etc.)  Or you could just get a hold of Warsong for the genesis and forget the faq altogether...

Gulliver boy is a decent RPG, but last I checked (couple years ago mind you), there wasn't a good English faq.  I had to make do with a Japanese one.

As for Babel, there also wasn't an English faq last I checked, is super gaijin-unfriendly, and has a pretty deep plot as well.  This one really needs to be fan-translated, or at least a good faq to do it justice.

[SignOfZeta]

Do Xanadu. Enough data exists in the FAQ(s) to get you through even the toughest spots (and there are more than a handful). Beyond that, it's one of the best games on the system [of those that I've played].

After clearing Star Breaker, I started looking for something else to play from my own collection. I messed around with Xanadu for a while, checked out the FAQ, and sampled the action stages with the debug code. While the action stages are decent, and the cinemas are almost certainly the best I have ever seen on PCE (seriously, they are fucking amazing!) I'm not sure I want to devote myself to it. The overhead section look like a huge pain in the ass in any language. BTW, how long is this game?

I'll probably play it soon, but I might to Langrisser next.

I would love a walkthrough for Gulliver Boy. I played it for a few hours when I first got it a few years ago. It seems pretty simple. Maybe I can write a FAQ for it. Has anyone actually gotten stuck on it? Is there some serious gaijin protection in it somewhere?

[nat]

Do Xanadu. Enough data exists in the FAQ(s) to get you through even the toughest spots (and there are more than a handful). Beyond that, it's one of the best games on the system [of those that I've played].

After clearing Star Breaker, I started looking for something else to play from my own collection. I messed around with Xanadu for a while, checked out the FAQ, and sampled the action stages with the debug code. While the action stages are decent, and the cinemas are almost certainly the best I have ever seen on PCE (seriously, they are fucking amazing!) I'm not sure I want to devote myself to it. The overhead section look like a huge pain in the ass in any language. BTW, how long is this game?

It's pretty long, there are like 13 areas or something total IIRC separated by a sidescrolling stage followed by a cinema. The final area alone is a 32-story tower. I personally enjoyed the overhead areas, especially the puzzles which get pretty cool later in the journey. The "worst" part of the game are the fetch quests which are frequent, but they are fun if you know what to do. The overhead area visuals also get pretty nice during the second half of the game.

It's definitely a game you'll want to put off until you feel like devoting the time to it though, as it's a game that you really need to finish once you start. Looking back, it's by far the most "epic" of any PCE/Turbo game I've played. It makes the storyline of Ys I & II seem about as epic as Blodia, by comparison.

[esteban]

It makes the storyline of Ys I & II seem about as epic as Blodia, by comparison.

Hey, that was goddamn poetic.

[termis]

I would love a walkthrough for Gulliver Boy. I played it for a few hours when I first got it a few years ago. It seems pretty simple. Maybe I can write a FAQ for it. Has anyone actually gotten stuck on it? Is there some serious gaijin protection in it somewhere?

It's just really open-ended (for a JRPG, anyway), so there's no one specific "right order" way of doing things.  Because of that, if you don't know what you're doing, you can wander around aimlessly if you haven't triggered the right events here and there.

If you're serious about writing a faq for this, referencing the Japanese ones on the web via babelfish or whatever should be loads of help:
http://www6.airnet.ne.jp/kai/game/galiver1.html (walkthrough)
http://www.rpgdl.org/etc/gulliver.html (for item lists, value for trading)

The faq on gamefaqs, unless it was updated in the past couple years (doubt it), might be worth it only for the overview and getting you started.  It's very incomplete and you will get stuck if you only resort to that.

[SignOfZeta]

Oh, cool. Its been a while since I did anything really hardcore like that, but being laid off from work right now I certainly have the time. Thanks for the links.

[exodus]

go through blood gear at the same time as me!

[SignOfZeta]

go through blood gear at the same time as me!

I don't have it! Also, you are several days into it already.

I suppose I could just pirate it...

[exodus]

I'm about two hours into it after several days...I don't have much time to play it really.

[CrackTiger]

Blood Gear is non-linear, so even an english walkthrough may not be enough if you take a wrong turn. It's straightforward enough except for the occasional gaijin protection.