What made you fall in love with JRPGs?

[Venus]

My first JRPG was actually an obscure Action RPG called Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo. Now at the time I had no idea what an RPG was or that it was originally a Japanese game or anything. All I knew was the game was fucking awesome and I loved it. After I beat it and everything I put it down and moved on to Sonic and Donkey Kong etc but it wasn't until a little game called Final Fantasy VII, don't give me that look, came out that I really began to notice the genre. Keep in mind I was like 13 and I don't even think I had a computer at the time. After that I got everything on the Playstation that had RPG on it. I was literally obsessed with RPGs. It was also around this time, I think 2003, 2004 that WRPGs were being released on consoles, Elder Scrolls, Summoner etc and at the time of their release I didn't really know what I was getting into. Seriously the look on my face when I started playing Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was nothing short of priceless. Now Summoner I didn't mind so much as it was alright but it still wasn't my thing. So after gaining an understanding of the difference between JRPGs and WRPGs I knew what I liked and what I didn't like. After a while though I got a little bored with JRPGs then Persona 3 came along and renewed my love of the genre in spades. And the rest as they say is history...

[Prinapocalypse]

I forget which was the first RPG I played, but it was either Chrono Trigger (SNES) or Breath of Fire. It was definitely Chrono Trigger that made me fall in love with the genre though.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII followed shortly after and they cemented my love of JRPG's.

[kanade2]

Lunar 2

[AweOfShe]

Before I even knew what RPGs were, as a kid I played a crap-load of Breath of Fire 1, followed by Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. Before I got my feet-wet by playing them on my own though, I used to watch my older brother play Phantasy Star 1 and 2, which is probably where I had my understanding of how to play them.

I didn't even hear about what RPG actually were until I was playing FF6, followed by FF4 right after.

I guess my love for it just came from a lot of exposure, before even knowing what they were. Though if I were to think of a specific game that made me feel strongly for the genre, it would have to be Earthbound.

[Sheleigha]

As someone who never owned a Super Nintendo and not owning a PS1 until PS2, I really missed out^^ Still tons of games I need to hunt down and buy some day... But honestly, my first RPG was Pokemon Blue... Yeah, I'm late in the game! I didn't know what an arr-pee-gee was at the time, but thought the idea of turn based fighting and using items as something neat and interesting (and can't get more original with Pokemon!)

After this, I didn't play/know about any RPGs until the PS2 era. The price on them just dropped to around $299, I believe. Just before I bought one, I picked up a Greatest Hits FFVII. After only seeing Spirits Within, being the only thing I knew about the FF universe(s), my friends talked about how it was the BEST thing EVER!! And yeah, I was wow'd just like almost everyone else that played it.

Soon after that, came Kingdom Hearts and the .hack quadrilogy (I watched through SIGN and had to see what happened next!) And yeah, that's me semi-lengthy intro to how I came to love them. Years later I discovered just HOW many different series of these great games were, and I've been playing ever since

[Venus]

I still need to play the .hack games I'm sad to say. I have them but I just haven't gotten around to play them.

[SaturnineTenshi]

My uncle was really into Japanese ero-games (D&D and Star Trek, too) when I was young, so I had access to these things. I suppose the ero-games eventually led to JRPGs on the SNES like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy, Lufia, Chrono Trigger etc. JRPGs tend to follow characters and a more keen narrative than their western counterparts, so mayhap that's what galvanized and sustained my interest.

While I was into RPGs during the SNES era, it was Xenogears that truly brought forth an active role for the genre in my library. The game impressed me through and through, despite its glaring shortcomings on disc 2.

There were also the distinctly Japanese characters and plots. Today, I find the prevailing concepts behind many JRPGs repulsive: the asinine shounen leads and altruist save-the-world tales. But there are still the core gameplay concepts that keep me entertained.

That said, I've had to really narrow the JRPGs I play because I find I cannot stand the well-traveled routes that would have satisfied me as a child. It's a shame, but I know what I do and do not like. Fortunately, NIS America handles the Atelier titles, which are probably the only games I can rely on for entertainment anymore.

[Venus]

There were also the distinctly Japanese characters and plots. Today, I find the prevailing concepts behind many JRPGs repulsive: the asinine shounen leads and altruist save-the-world tales.

It's funny the fact that the Shin Megami Tensei series took that who paradigm and totally turned it on it's head is probably the reason I love the series so much.

[SaturnineTenshi]

There were also the distinctly Japanese characters and plots. Today, I find the prevailing concepts behind many JRPGs repulsive: the asinine shounen leads and altruist save-the-world tales.

It's funny the fact that the Shin Megami Tensei series took that who paradigm and totally turned it on it's head is probably the reason I love the series so much.

I own all the Persona and DDS games, but I can't really jive with the blurriness of Nocturne or the difficulty for the sake of difficulty found in the other games. I nearly quit DDS for that reason. It's not something that tightens my trousers. : \ I haven't tried the DS games, though.

[vampko]

I'm not sure...
I've been playing games since like ever. I've played the original Dragon Quest games, the original Final Fantasy, and so many others. I've just been exposed to gaming for ever. Trying to pinpoint when I fell in love with JRPGs would be really hard.

I think it's more that I was in love with RPGs first. Probably because I played D&D at a young age as well. It's all just kinda blended together for me. I can't even say when I realized the difference between a JRPG and a WRPG. Probably Final Fantasy VII maybe?

I dunno.

[AsukaNeumaki]

When I was little and that is only like 8 years ago but I didn't really know what JRPG's were but I really loved playing Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I never really played the SNES games very much cause when I was actually little it was the Gamecube's time. But then I also liked Final Fantasy and stuff like that and it wasn't until I got the first disgaea game almost 5 years ago that I really started getting into JRPG's and started to buy tons of them. Disgaea lead me to buy more NIS games, then I joined this forum and branched out even more into other companies and I loved them all.

[Alura--x--Uneii]

I'm not sure...
I've been playing games since like ever. I've played the original Dragon Quest games, the original Final Fantasy, and so many others. I've just been exposed to gaming for ever. Trying to pinpoint when I fell in love with JRPGs would be really hard.

I think it's more that I was in love with RPGs first. Probably because I played D&D at a young age as well. It's all just kinda blended together for me. I can't even say when I realized the difference between a JRPG and a WRPG. Probably Final Fantasy VII maybe?

I dunno.

I figured you where a D & D person. xD Never got to play it myself.''I don't even remember my first RPG x.x but my first final fantasy was 4.

[servant]

I'm not sure what game was my first JRPG, I think it was either Secret of Evermore or Mana but it could have been Final Fantasy Legends. As I didn't get a PSX until the PS2 came out I missed a lot of what was going out. It wasn't until I played Final Fantasy IX that I regained an interest or had the chance to play an actual JRPG so that kinda reignited my passion.
The thing that always drew me in was the story, I loved to read as a kid so these games really drew me in. Also the fact that they were so heavy on math, I hated schoolwork but I loved managing and tracking my parties' stats and results.

[vampko]

I'm not sure...
I've been playing games since like ever. I've played the original Dragon Quest games, the original Final Fantasy, and so many others. I've just been exposed to gaming for ever. Trying to pinpoint when I fell in love with JRPGs would be really hard.

I think it's more that I was in love with RPGs first. Probably because I played D&D at a young age as well. It's all just kinda blended together for me. I can't even say when I realized the difference between a JRPG and a WRPG. Probably Final Fantasy VII maybe?

I dunno.

I figured you where a D & D person. xD Never got to play it myself.''I don't even remember my first RPG x.x but my first final fantasy was 4.

You should try and get around to it someday, it's quite fun ~

[AmyF]

FFX-2 was the game that made me fall in love with RPGs. x