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All the JRPGs Coming Out in 2016

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  • All the JRPGs Coming Out in 2016


    If you're a fan of Japanese role-playing games, prepare yourself for an embarrassment of riches waiting for you in 2016. With remasters of classics such as Odin Sphere and Valkyria Chronicles, and new titles from beloved franchises like Final Fantasy and Persona, not a month goes by when something new isn't coming your way. We have pieced together every JRPG currently slated to launch worldwide in 2016. Click on the next image button to take a visual tour of each!


    Bravely Second: End Layer


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Square Enix, Silicon Studio
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: Q1
    In 2013, Square Enix and Silicon Studio launched Bravely Default on the 3DS to critical acclaim. Although its sequel was released in Japan in spring 2015, Nintendo and Square were quiet about official localization plans until November's Nintendo Direct.
    Bravely Second picks up two and a half years after the events of the first game. Familiar faces and new friends join forces to rescue Agnes--now leader of the world's new religion--and bring order once again to a world tossed into chaos. Like Bravely Default, Bravely Second features the Brave and Default combat system, in which players can take extra turns in battles or bank their attacks for later. It also uses the job class system, and features a handful of brand new jobs including the Fencer, Bishop, Exorcist, Kitsune, and the Astrologian.


    Dark Souls III


    Publisher: Bandai Namco
    Developer: From Software
    Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
    Release date: March 24 for Japan, April 12 internationally
    Announced during Microsoft's E3 press conference, Dark Souls III will be the third game from From Software in as many years, following 2014's Dark Souls II and 2015's PlayStation 4 exclusive Bloodborne. Like in Souls game prior, players will take up a shield and weapon of choice, as well as a healthy smattering of magical abilities, against gruesome creatures and battle their way across a mysterious fantasy land. And like its predecessors, Dark Souls III is promising the same kind of punishing difficulty and uphill challenges that are the series' hallmarks.
    Dark Souls III will also feature several new elements, including "Ready Stance" abilities that deal more damage to enemies. Player movement has also been sped up, allowing for more fluid combat. According to From Software director Hidetaka Miyazaki, Dark Souls III is a "turning point" for the franchise, and notably is the last Souls game to enter production prior to Miyazaki's ascension to studio head.



    Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen


    Publisher: Capcom
    Developer: Capcom
    Platform: PC
    Release date: January 15
    Dragon's Dogma initially launched in May 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with its expansion Dark Arisen shipping the following April. Neither main game or add-on were released for PC. Now, nearly three and a half years after its initial release, Dragon's Dogma bundled with its Dark Arisen content will finally be available for Windows, complete with Steam achievements and gamepad support for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers.
    Dragon's Dogma is an open-world action RPG in a fantasy setting, and includes both survival horror and hack and slash elements. Movement in Dragon's Dogma has been compared to that of Dark Souls, and its environments are comparable to that of games such as Skyrim and Monster Hunter. Players control a person referred to as an Arisen, a chosen warrior destined to hunt down great monsters and prevent them from destroying the world.



    Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Heartbeat, ArtePiazza
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: Q3
    Dragon Quest VII launched as "Dragon Warrior VII" for PlayStation in North America in 2001--back when Enix was still a separate company-- but when the game was ported to 3DS in 2013, it remained exclusive to Japan. International territories will finally get the 3DS version after nearly three years of anxious clamoring from fans, disappointed year after year without localizations of the newer Dragon Quest games.
    Fragments of the Forgotten Past follows the hero character and his ragtag band of friends as they unravel the secrets of their homeland. A gateway among ancient ruins allows them to travel back in time to defeat enemies of the past. The game also uses a class system similar to that in Dragon Quest VI, in which players assign specific combat roles to characters and develop their abilities in an effort to master the job.



    Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Level-5
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: TBD
    Another Dragon Quest title left for years without international localization--unless you count an iOS and Android port launched in late spring of 2014. Dragon Quest VIII was the first title in the franchise to have 3D environments and character models, and remains one of the most popular entries in the series to this day.
    Journey of the Cursed King follows another silent protagonist on a quest with his friends, this time to defeat a wicked king. The hero and friends must reverse the king's curse and restore order to the kingdom he destroyed. To level up, players earn skill points through combat and distribute them into different attribute categories, including stat boosts for three different weapons and unique character-specific abilities. The game also introduced the "Tension System," in which players can forfeit a turn in combat in order to execute a more powerful attack during a later turn.


    Final Fantasy Explorers


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Square Enix
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: January 26 in North America, January 29 in Europe
    Final Fantasy's take on Monster Hunter launched in Japan in late 2014 and we've been hungering for it ever since. In Final Fantasy Explorers, players can form a team of up to four and play together online. As a group, they face down monsters heralding from games across the Final Fantasy series. They can also eventually recruit these monsters to fight beside them against other creatures, which is how players will get by playing solo.
    Explorers' major feature is its use of the classic Final Fantasy job class system. The game stresses that each player should choose their job carefully when playing with others. A well-balanced team with jobs that complement each other--like healing-focused white mages and meleeing warriors--stands a better chance of winning the fight. A love letter of sorts to the Final Fantasy franchise's bestiary, Explorers also features cameos from popular characters, including Cloud Strife and Lightning Farron.



    Final Fantasy XV


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Square Enix
    Platform: PS4, Xbox One
    Release date: TBD
    First announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy XV's troubled and lengthy development cycle is finally coming to a close. Next year we get the game we've all been waiting for, a sprawling adventure with thematic connections to our real world--including the use of cellphones and the fondness for taking selfies with friends.
    Final Fantasy XV follows renegade Prince Noctis on a quest to save his country from an enemy nation. With his three best friends by his side, Noctis travels the globe in his swanky luxury car, collecting what he needs to save his people. This latest Final Fantasy includes some new, unique mechanics, including collecting edible resources from fallen enemies and the environment to cook meals that replenish health and grant status buffs. The game has been a long time coming, and Square Enix plans to announce the release date at a special event in March.



    Fire Emblem Fates


    Publisher: Nintendo
    Developer: Intelligent Systems
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: February 19
    The latest Fire Emblem game launched in Japan earlier this year as Fire Emblem If, but North America will finally get its hands on the game next year. What makes Fire Emblem Fates interesting is that it's not your typical Fire Emblem game: there are two different versions that will tell entirely different stories, subtitled Birthright and Conquest respectively. There is also a third narrative option that falls between the first two stories' extreme outcomes, called Revelation.
    Fates also introduces some elements new to the franchise, including the My Castle feature, which allows the player character to build a home base and get to know other Fire Emblem characters outside of battle. And for the first time in the series, players will be able to romance characters of the same sex.



    Genei Ibun Roku #FE


    Publisher: Nintendo
    Developer: Atlus
    Platform: Wii U
    Release date: TBD
    When Nintendo announced a Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei crossover during E3 2013, fans of both series went nuts. Things went dark on the project for nearly two years, when it resurfaced again as Genei Ibun Roku # FE in April 2015.
    The game takes place in modern day, with a host of pop idols and wannabes as protagonists. The Fire Emblem characters are used in much the same way as Personas are in the Shin Megami Tensei spin-off Persona series; players summon these characters, called Mirages, to aid them in battle. Characters such as Chrom and Tharja from Fire Emblem Awakening have been made over to look darker and more mysterious. While Japan will get the game in time for Christmas, North America won't see a localization until next year.


    Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Tokyo RPG Factory
    Platform: PS4, PS Vita
    Release date: Feb 18 in Japan; TBD international
    At E3 earlier this year, Square Enix announced it had opened a new studio called Tokyo RPG Factory and dedicated it to the production of classic-style JRPGs. The studio's first project, Setsuna, will use a combat system similar to early Final Fantasy titles and Chrono Trigger, and be more akin to an SNES game in length without all the bloat of extra content present in today's RPGs.
    At Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix revealed the game's full title, translated as Setsuna of Sacrifice and Snow, as well as launch plans. The game will take place on a snowy island haunted by demons that require the sacrifice of a maiden to appease them. A girl named Setsuna is chosen, and she with a small party set out to the edges of the world to complete her sacrifice.


    Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Square Enix
    Platform: PS4, Xbox One
    Release date: TBD
    We've been waiting for Kingdom Hearts III since 2005, but before we get it, there's more story to be told within the Kingdom Hearts universe. Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts 2.8 during Tokyo Game Show, and it will provide the last piece of backstory for Kingdom Hearts III and detail events surrounding certain characters that will feature prominently in the series' final chapter.
    Additionally, Final Chapter Prologue contains Kingdom Hearts X (Chi) Back Cover, a story that takes place before the events of the original Kingdom Hearts, and a full HD remake of 3DS game Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance.



    Nier: Automata


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Platinum Games
    Platform: PS4
    Release date: TBD
    Nier is an odd game. It was polarizing, a unique story and world wrapped around some truly confusing and often tedious mechanics. The game borrowed from nearly every genre, featuring everything from third-person action sequences to scenes featuring bullet hell and text adventure mechanics. It was a weird game, but for that it has gained status as a cult classic.
    Now, six years after the original, we're getting a sequel. Helmed by original director Taro Yoko and in development with Platinum Games, Nier: Automata will pick up the story hundreds of years after one of the original Nier's many endings. Players control 2B, an android built to defend humanity from invading aliens. Yoko has promised fans of the original game that there will be some connections and special easter eggs in Automata.



    Nights of Azure


    Publisher: Koei Tecmo
    Developer: Gust
    Platform: PS3, PS4, PS Vita
    Release date: March 29 in North America, April 1 in Europe
    Gust, the studio behind the Atelier series, announced its latest standalone game early last year. It launched in Japan in October, and only recently was announced for international localization.
    Nights of Azure follows two young women traveling through a land where no one sleeps at night; this is because of a demon's curse that transforms people into monsters. Playable heroine Arnas is half human, half monster, and possesses powerful abilities. She accompanies her best friend, Lyuritis, on her journey to seal away the most evil demon for good.


    Odin Sphere Leifthrasir


    Publisher: Atlus
    Developer: Vanillaware
    Platform: PS4, PS Vita
    Release date: January 14 in Japan, TBD internationally
    Odin Sphere was initially published for PlayStation 2 in 2008. Lauded as one of the most popular JRPGs of all time, it wasn't too surprising that publisher Atlus announced an HD remake for PlayStation 4, slated to launch in early 2016.
    Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is more than a simple HD upgrade, however. In addition to redone graphics, the re-release will feature not only redrawn art and animations, but upgrades to its combat mechanics. Leifthrasir will also feature new content, such as additional enemy monsters and more fully-voiced cutscenes.



    Persona 5


    Publisher: Atlus
    Developer: Atlus
    Platform: PS3, PS4
    Release date: Summer
    Announced in 2013 with an initial winter 2014 release window, Persona 5 has been a while coming. The game has been delayed twice, but in that time has also been bumped from being a PlayStation 3-only game to including a PlayStation 4 version.
    Persona 5 marks a departure for the series in terms of setting: Persona games have taken place in small, out of the way towns, but Persona 5 will take place in Tokyo--specifically, Shibuya. The protagonist and four friends--along with a talking, shape-shifting cat--become the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a group of costumed burglars who carry out heists and steal the hearts of the corrupt with help from their Personas.



    Scalebound


    Publisher: Microsoft Studios
    Developer: Platinum Games
    Platform: Xbox One
    Release date: Q4
    Platinum Games' first dedicated role-playing game will launch exclusively on Xbox One next year. Scalebound is the brainchild of veteran game designer Hideki Kamiya, and according to its director represents the dream game he has wanted to make for some time.
    In Scalebound, players control Drew, a sassy young man who fights alongside a dragon and can summon dragon scale armor for himself. The game retains the same flavor of combat Platinum has become synonymous with: frenetic, quick-moving action with fluid, epic movements. The game was first announced in 2014 during Microsoft's E3 press conference, and has been a hot-ticket game every since.



    Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final


    Publisher: Atlus
    Developer: Atlus
    Platform: 3DS
    Release date: February 10 in Japan, TBD internationally
    Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final isn't an add-on to the original Shin Megami Tensei IV, but an entirely new experience set in the first game's universe. Taking place 25 years after the events of the first game, Final begins by killing its protagonist and resurrecting them as a "God Killer" in a holy war.
    Interestingly, Final will not follow the previous game's moral alignment system. Instead, rather than presenting a story with multiple endings that could belong to either Law or Chaos--good or bad, that is--all endings will be neutral in nature, making Final seem like a story in the gray area between good and evil.



    Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Tri-Ace
    Platform: PS3, PS4
    Release date: March 31 in Japan, TBD internationally
    Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness was teased earlier this year before being announced in an April issue of Famitsu. It's been seven years since Tri-Ace's last installment, so the announcement came as somewhat of a surprise. The title will borrow heavily from Star Ocean: Til the End, and the events of Integrity and Faithlessness are set between Star Ocean: The Second Story and Til the End of Time.
    Set on a planet 6000 light years away from earth, Integrity and Faithlessness follows protagonists Fidel and Miki, childhood friends, and the amnesiac Relia. In combat, players will control one character of the available seven, but will be able to switch between them on the fly.


    Valkyria: Azure Revolution


    Publisher: Sega
    Developer: Media.Vision
    Platform: PS4
    Release date: Q4 in Japan, TBD internationally
    The last Valkyria Chronicles title, Valkyria Chronicles III, launched in Japan in 2011. But the last Valkyria game North America got was Valkyria Chronicles II in 2010. To the surprise and delight of dejected fans, a fourth Valkyria game was announced this fall.
    Valkyria: Azure Revolution does not share a setting or characters as the previous Valkyria games, but it will include strategy and role-playing elements. You play as Amleth, the commanding officer of an elite military force of Jutland. Jutland is under the rule of the Rus empire, which uses a mysterious magical mineral known as Ragnite to hold its people down. Amleth, along with Jutland's princess Ophelia, leads the charge against Rus and the godlike Valkyria, Brynhildr.



    Valkyria Chronicles HD


    Publisher: Sega
    Developer: Sega
    Platform: PS4
    Release date: February 10 in Japan, TBD internationally
    Originally released for PS3 in 2008, critically acclaimed Valkyria Chronicles is getting an HD upgrade for PS4 early next year. Set in Europa--based off of Europe in World War II's early years--the game tells a tale of countries at war over limited resources. Ragnite is the world's greatest energy source, and after fighting with the Atlantic Federation, a small country called Gallia is attacked by the larger Eastern European Imperial Alliance. Players control a unit of the country's military set on fighting back the invading forces.



    World of Final Fantasy


    Publisher: Square Enix
    Developer: Square Enix
    Platform: PS4, PS Vita
    Release date: TBD
    World of Final Fantasy was first revealed at E3 2015. The game is a love letter to Final Fantasy fans much in the same was as Final Fantasy Explorers. In the game, a sister and brother duo travel through the many worlds of the Final Fantasy series, battling and befriending creaturing and famous characters such as the Warrior of Light and Cloud Strife. The game introduces a new mechanic which allows players to stack playable monsters in combat in order to combine their attacks into a more powerful one.





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