Thoughts on this list?
Then again these jRPG fans have an odd definition of 'short' for these kind of games ^^;
I like the guy, he has some really, really interesting lists of more than a little obscure games. But, I don't know about some of those... if you're looking for "short", yes, but I think the quality should be a concern... anyway here's my thoughts:
-Atelier Iris 2: why not. But I dislike the entire franchise, it's just bland, boring, and crafting is just a chore in any game. But it sure is the cute and colorful RPG it wants to be, I guess. Never understood the appeal. Of any Gust game actually. They are exactly what people think of when you say "anime game".
- Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter: ... odd choice. It's certainly is unique, different (maye too much considering the franchise it's part of), and quite short. The "timer" is just annoying. It become fairly quickly irrelevant, it just means... that you can't use dragon powers. Cool design there
Limited save tokens too, is... strange. Less damning though.
I would say yes, it's worth it for the experience, but if you want a short, simple game, ti's not that one.
- Chrono Trigger: yes of course. The pacing is one of its strengths, and it's about as good as it gets for SNES. A staple of JRPGs. Plus the Steam port is good now.
-Dragon Quest 2, Final Fantasy 1, Final Fantasy Legend1&2, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: megapack, because the answer is the same: HELL NO. They have historical value, and that's it. They are simplistic beyond belief, barely have stories, the originals are just shitty grinders, the remakes are just playing a whole lot of piss-easy nothing. Why would you play that today...
-Hexyz Force: never played it. Seems alright, but basic I guess?
-Phantasy Star 4: sure, it's great. Not too long. But without a guide, the level design is frustrating...
-Revelations: The Demon Slayer: woah, haven't heard this name in a long time. Old timey Shin Megami Tensei on Gameboy... that feels more like Dragon Quest with some Pokémon. Not sure if that's worth much, it's for kids to begin with and the translation is super shit.
-Shadow Hearts: yes. Shadow Hearts 2 is easily in my top 10 of all time, and the best JRPG on PS2 straight up, but is much longer (and deeper... and drags on much more). SH1 is still worth a play, though. Plus it's important to understand what's going on.
-Suikoden 1&4: 1 yes, of course. Then you should play 2. 4 is miserable and I never spent much time in it. It's the ultimate example of a game that do not respect your time, with constant random fights while at sea. Why is it in this list, I do not know. It's one of those game that would deserve a full remake with massive changes.
-Super Mario RPG: it fits. It's pretty good, short, lots of good ideas. Some secrets are way too secret however.
-Sword of Hope 1&2: good grief. Remember how FF1 was too old? Yeah, it's worse here.
-Wild Arms 4: I'm mixed about that one, it's short, and wildly (ha) different from the others... the hex based combat is very good, but the game length being so limited comes from gutting the overworld, and most of the content in a regular JRPG. Story and characters are really out there, it's an interesting game... but I would say that Wild Arms 5 is better in general... however it's not short. As in, it's one of the longest PS2 JRPG, you will probably reach level 100 just doing the story, it brings back the overworld, a mountain of activities, more variety... but the gameplay is virtually identical, with very few skills, so it becomes ultra repetitive when the game is 3 times longer.
No middle ground to be found in Wild Arms...
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