UPGRADE YOUR GROUP AND SURVIVE! - ELEMENTAL SURVIVORS 

Thanks so much for playing and sharing! So happy you enjoy the JRPG vibes! Charlene, the artist and game designer, grew up with these games and the whole "Nintendo Power" magazine aesthetic. We'll be launching August 25th and already have regular content updates planned. To anyone commenting on the "slow pace", there are different difficulty settings plus there will be an update shortly after launch that unlocks more ways to affect the difficulty for each area, plus a whole lot of side quests that will add some big challenges mid-level. We also cranked up the speed since the original demo. Thanks again for playing!

Marco and Lewy the Mushroom brothers? I love them! They are such good electricians and are always looking out for Prince Nectarine.

Love that this slowly evolved into a superchill video.

For old style ones Chrono Trigger was an absolute gem. I've replayed it over and over. As for the FF's, Despite the love/hate the community has for it, I've always been fond of 8(But it was my first) Secret of mana was pretty fun too.

Absolutely Octopath Traveler, it's pretty old school. And, the big thing is, Octopath Traveler 2 improves on the first one in so many ways while basically being fundamentally the same. So, if you end up liking it, then you'll have TONS of extra stories and adventures in the form of the sequel.

This game is so damn chill the video turned into a podcast. Love it!

This feels like a super chill and I'm here for it

Blue Dragon was my personal favorite from my childhood

This was a particularly enjoyable episode of the JRPG Podcast with Tom

I love how much effort goes into making something look and feel proper old school

I'd toss my vote for the Bravely Default series. Love turn based battle games, and the BD2 on the switch is top tier.

Getting a Golden Sun call out has honestly made my day. It is my peak handheld game, top 5 for sure.

Omg, someone organically mentioning Grandia?! You are thinking of the right game Tom and I loved that game. I asked for that game SO much on its release that I got 2 copies of it for Christmas and I still own my original copy to this day. What a great game. It did a lot of unique things for its time.

I remember playing this one during Nextfest and finding it a bit slow... which can be a common complaint about Survivor-likes at the start, but this one just felt slow the entire time. Seems to track through this run, as well. It is a cute nostalgic concept, but the pacing just isn't really there. Or at least compared to more stand-out titles in the genre (20 Minutes til Dawn, HoloCure) that had a better ramping feel. Or maybe it's just me? Still, every genre is gonna have ups and downs, and I do appreciate Tom showcasing games that would otherwise just fall through the cracks a bit.

I loved star ocean second story, it had a nice branching narrative with two separate main characters.

Man I do feel like Tom would enjoy the Etrian Odyssey series, especially with how he loves to come up with names and backstories for all these bosses :'D

Golden Sun is still one of my favourite games of all time to this day. Excellent taste in games from Tom once again.

Come for the Tom, stay for the lore

Golden sun is amazing, I loved how your spells and class changed with each djinn you equipped. I think I actually have the guide for the game somewhere on my shelves still. You should give the third one a shot! It's on the Nintendo DS

Chrono Trigger has always been my favorite classic JRPG. The soundtrack is just stellar as well.

I really love the little "monster forecast" on the RHS too so you have an idea of what's coming up. Cool game!

I would 100% watch and play along with tom playing old school rpgs o.o.. it would be an amazing thing to watch

"Star Ocean: The Second Story" is having a remaster released on Steam later this year, I can't recommend that game enough, probably one of the best JRPGs ever made in my personal opinion.

If you want a recommendation for an old school style JRPG to play then I believe that C’Thulu Saves The World is not only up your alley but is just the whole alley.

Based on Tom’s story for this I’d love to play his JRPG setting!

Mario RPG is getting a remake on switch. Very fun story, may be worth picking up. Think in November.

I love you even more for mentioning Golden Sun and saying that series is great~

Excellent game choice Tom! Brilliant video as always too. Have you looked into Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened? It's a Sherlock meets Cthulhu Lovecraft adventure that's apparently pretty good! Could be a job for the Riddle Bros...

My fav RPG of all time is SNES Chrono Trigger. I still believe that is perfect and has so many elements that I have never seen combined in a single RPG even now that I have to rank it the best. Then there you had Secret of Evermore which was amazing too. Lufia 2 is a great one. EarthBound is another classic we cannot forget, although I did not enjoy it as any of the 3 above. Not at the same level as those but really good also Breath of Fire 2. More recently one that I really enjoyed and went a bit under the radar was Radiant Historia probably the best together with Golden Sun in that generation. There are some really fun Dragon Quest there and a friend of mine says that the one for Switch DQ XI is like the best RPG that he has ever played. The Tales series has also some good ones, my fav is Tales of Symphony, I spent so many hours on that game, did game + hunt every secret, treasure, etc... And some absolutely unknown ones I have for GC and that I enjoyed a lot: Beaten Kaitos Lost Kingdoms Those two had some unique card-based combat mixed with classic jrpg turn-based combat that was awesome to unlock and evolve your deck.

Really enjoy this game, more chill than most survivor-likes which, personally, I want. If I want stressful fast action, I can play the other ones.

14:49 Tom basically describes Final Fantasy 4(2). (also I think the paladin's name was a reference to the same game)

I would trade you my firstborn to see an entire Angory Tom playthrough of legend of the dragoon.... It's such a phenomenal game, and right in that final fantasy 7 to 8 range of games. The story is s+ tier and the gameplay is much like games I've seen you play before. God it's good, I'd watch every second of that playthrough unabashedly. I'd set a timer, free my schedule up, take time off work, divorce my husband, give my dog away, and put my kids up for adoption all just so I could enjoy your first(?) experience with it, or to see you play though it again if that's the case. Also, I have none of those things to give away in the firs place 😅 I'd just super super enjoy watching you play through it all lmao I *love* the ramble videos, your superchill videos were some of my absolute favorite content. I wish they performed better so that you'd do them more often, but know they were very much appreciated for those of us who did thoroughly enjoy them 😁 Some more jrpg content would be gigahype!! LOVE all the doomtrain references 😂 Final Fantasy 8 is best Final Fantasy 😅 Thanks for the great uploads Tomathy ❤❤❤

Id really like to see more of this!!!!

Golden Sun is an absolute gem of a game

Love the Grandia games. If you can find them Suikoden, Shadow Hearts, and Wild Arms are superb games. All of which are getting spiritual successors.

Maybe the Dragon Quest games would tick the JRPG boxes? Don't know if you've gone through them, but it might be worth a look. Edit: Heck, after the ramblings, it might do real good. It's classic fantasy in classic JRPG style, cute pixel art and all. As a fun fact, apparently when a new Dragon Quest game comes out in Japan, it's a national holiday.

On this day I finally found out why I like Tom so much - he's also a fan of Paper Mario TTYD! That was the first game I fell in love with, so creative and fun :)

They are re releasing Star Ocean the Second Story in November, A Classic PS1 JRPG. I was always a big fan of Ashton, almost as much as Ashton was a fan of Barrels.

The Super Mario RPG remake that's coming out later this year is the next big thing coming to the old school RPG world. I'd definitely recommend it if you own a Switch and liked Paper Mario and Final Fantasy.

"Live by the snake, die by the sword."

Those mountains really looked like wooden palisade tops to me.

jade cacoon from ps1 was one of the best games i can remember playing

I have a vivid memory playing Dragon Quest 9, was fighting a boss and got a critical hit, which missed. So far the only game I have ever played that calculated crit chance before hit chance.

"We are a holy barbarian" I believe that's called a paladin

I love the music! It might be because I woke up listening to her, but it kind of reminds me of Wednesday Campanella; in particular the first track as it starts to take off reminded me of Orihime. I'll definitely be checking this game out, any game with music this good is going to be cool.

I didn't actually get into JRPGs as a kid, but as an adult I've been enjoying games like Chrono Trigger, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, and Persona 5 Royal.

Tom not getting to play jrpgs makes me sad id be so down for any playthrough from tom, but him reliving his childhood sounds amazing to witness.

Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King on PS2, I put SOOOOOOOO many hours into that game it was amazing!

My fiancé loves some of the older Fire Emblem games that have this aesthetic with the pixel art characters, although I realize Fire Emblem plays a bit different than other JRPGs

Phantasy Star 2 and Phantasy Star 4 for the Sega Genesis are the games from my childhood that will always be with me.

First JRPG? Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System. Favourite JRPG? Skies of Arcadia.

Any excuse to hear Tom ramble is good enough for me

I would love to see a Final Fantasy Tactics playthrough. They did come out with the updated version not too long ago for it as well.

Xenogears is one of my all time fav JRPGs. And recently Chained Echoes was released by one guy. It is an amazing love letter to old school jrpga

Can honestly say your the reason I play these types of games. You make them seem much more enjoyable. Wish the barbarian could a been Toddy lol

For old school JRPGS, I will always love Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics

I always loved Suikoden 1+2 on PS1. I'm also super excited for the remake of Mario RPG.

All I can remember is that Ben roast

Look how big that holy ring is!!

FF-X Was the first non pokemon J-RPG I'd played so it always has a special place in my heart, but Lost Odyssey is easily my all time fave, such a hidden gem. There's also Rogue Galaxy which isn't turn based but has some really fun mechanics and a story that isn't too bonkers

Legend of Dragoon, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana... all amazing games

Dragon Quest IX was the GOAT. Absolute classic, desperately needs a remaster

I need more of this game!

FF2 FF3 and FFT played all three of those absolute TONS as a kid.

Super Mario RPG Secret of the 7 Stars was huge fore me. I would love a remake of that for sure.

On the topic of tabletop games, consider looking into Fabula Ultima. While I'm not completely in love with all its mechanics (or its balancing, especially), it really captures the feel of an oldschool JRPG and has a pretty easy learning curve.

Tom just rambling like an absolute mad man 🤣

Alternate title: Magic Lance and the Holy Ring

I kind of want to see Tom and Ben take on BG3 personally

I have just rewatched the Warhammer vids you did with Ben a few years back, would love to see more, maybe the return of krell and Conroy van Von volkvan

If it hasn’t already been suggested then the Dragon Quest series has some really fantastic entries. Very FF adjacent and a range of older pixel games to more modern 3D ones as well

Honestly do recommend Octopath you can start with 1 or 2 as there’s only really slight nods to the first game in the sequel.

There was a game on Dreamcast I think that you built and army but had a RPG aspect to it as well. Have no idea the name of it but have been searching for what it was for a while now.

Hooray! We beat the snake-train! Too bad the entire world is overrun with giant snakes now though

Epic battle fantasy is a franchise i've been into since they were only flash games, I recently played ebf5 on steam and quite enjoyed it. It's very lighthearted and doesn't take itself super seriously but has surprising depth with its combat mechanics. I highly recommend you give it a try if you like traditional style jrpgs.

I was always into Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest when I was younger. Dragon Warrior 3 on the Gameboy Color is an all-time great for me. This game does hit the nostalgia buttons on art style alone.

There are a bunch of great jrpgs from when i was a kid. Grandia comes to mind. and i love the story of Final Fantasy 6. But one of the all time best imo has to be Legend of Dragoon. Just such a great story and love the music.

Appreciating the Survivor-like genre, as it's been giving my brain a break between long sessions of playing *_Baldur's Gate 3_* lately. While the 0.6 update in *_HoloCure_* has my attention now, I just wanted ta say thanks for the backlog of alternatives to go check out once I'm hunting for another one again!

For older-school JRPGs of the era you're talking about, I always had a fondness for the Wild ARMs series. 1 and 2 are really fun but have a few issues - 2 is the better game but has a particularly bad translation, even for the era. 3 is an absolute classic. 4 and 5 both have their fans but drifted further from the core of the series, in different ways. For newer stuff, the Octopath games are indeed gorgeous. I found the first fun to play but not quite classic, mostly because the character stories don't cross over enough. 2 seems a bit better about it. I would recommend Bravely Default 2 over either. Even more fun class system, lovable characters. The first two Bravely Default games (2 is, in classic JRPG style, the third game) are also quite good, but as 3DS games they're less accessible. On the other hand, a lot of the games you play, at least for the channel, are very mechanics-focused. The Crystal Project is an indie JRPG that's light on story, but goes real hard on 2.5D pixel art and deep mechanics. Because it's more focused on a self-directed sense of adventure than a single grand quest, you might find it easier to make your own gameplay goals and thus stay more invested. That one seems like a great meeting point between JRPGs in general and the kind of games you've enjoyed in recent years. For a tabletop game in the JRPG style, you might want to look into Fabula Ultima, which I've heard fantastic things about. Very focused on that style of play. Alternately, ICON, a pre-release, from the maker of the mecha RPG Lancer. This one I've actually tried and it's a lot of fun.

My favorite jrpgs as a kid were Final Fantasy Legend 1 and 2 for the gameboy, the first 2 games of what was later known as the SaGa series.

If you want to try a good Final Fantasy with weird science and airships, definitely try FFXI, even tho is an MMO, nowadays most of the content can be done solo on a very chill note. Literally you can travel between cities by going on an airship that takes 10mins IRL lol (its fun to do it a few times, then you can really switch to the more useful waypoints between cities). On a side note, it's probably the hardest FF in terms of knowing what to do, they really went all out into the RPG where you have to ask ppl in cities for clues on how to finish quests (no quest log at all, and no mini map!), you can play with a guide tho so its not as impossible, pretty fun game :)

TBH, my memories of Grandia, Wild Arms, Alundra (less RPG, more action/adventure?), Lunar SSSC, and Suikoden (I remember it had multiple types of encounters, like war battles) all kind of blend together Edit: My favourite was FFV. The Job System was exactly the sort of thing I'd always been looking for in RPGs. FFT had just about everything else I had been looking for. Re: FFIX, I got the feeling early on that it was kind of a wrap up & love letter to the FF series up to that point. It came through more & more as I played. Then I played FFX and it just confirmed my suspicion/bias. Once I realized I could just sit back & play "follow the red triangle" with the PS2 DVD remote I kind of lost interest in the series. 😅 Have heard good things here & there since, but don't really make time for that length of game these days.

Because I was so edgy and liked obscure stuff, my favourites were Chrono Trigger when I was younger and Vagrant Story slightly later. I totally understand if you’ve never of heard of them because they’re both super underrated ;-)

My favourites were Golden Sun, Final Fantasy 8, Tales of Destiny. Breath of Fire 4 was also memorable.

Love the Nintendo Power title screen.

i'd 100% watch a tom play thru of a tales series game

You've probably heard of it after it won a few Ennies this year but Fabula Ultima would be a great TTRPG system for JRPG vibes.

The only FF I ever played was 6. But played a good handfull of other classic JRPGs. Both Secret of Mana and Langrisser have gotten remakes/rereleases in the past few years. They're worth a play, and easily accessible between Switch/Steam/etc. I've wanted to try Octopath too but get distracted with other games and things.

Suikoden 2 is still the best JRPG I have ever played, and by a landslide. The only one that came close was Xenogears, and I do have a soft spot for Chrono Cross (Trigger is a masterpiece, but Cross has some of the best music and characters out there).

Dragon quest 11S is a great way to get into the genre again, really solid graphics and you can choose pixel or modern 3d

I used to grind this old web based rpg-style game called Realm of The Mad God

Daily reminder that Tom is an amazing person and to thank him for all he has done/will do - Day 1359 Oh this is a very nice Survivorup, loving the JRPG stylings of it :D Not just the visuals, but the way the game works too ha ha, very on brand :D I tell you, I could listen to Tom talk about JRPGs all day :D so good

If you like airships in your RPGs, Skies of Arcadia would be a great time for you

I think Earthbound, Chrono Trigger and FFIV are my top tier. Played 50% percent of so many JRPGs finished very few of them

Man, Paper Mario was the greatest, to be honest. I can't remember a game that felt like it ticked all the boxes for me like that one. Golden Sun also got me. My first Gameboy Color game.

Never got the game itself, but had a demo disc with Jade Cocoon and played that for way longer than i should have

I'm worried that Tom might try to fight and dethrone god (Lewis)

That background music keeps making me think of Adventure Time and I can't place why

Secret of Evermore was one of the first RPGs I played and enjoyed. I didn't get super far in it but that's because I could only play it at my cousin's house. XD There are definitely tons of fun ones out there that I obviously can't think of because i'm trying to think of them. :P Well played!

Legend of the Dragoon and Arc the Lad were great games from the early days as well.