Grab yourself an emulator and play some Earthbound!

What the hell is that supposed to be?

All JRPGs are? While Persona 3 is by far one of the easiest Megami Tensei games the others are some of the harderst RPGs around.

This is a real thing: http://4playernetwork.com/blog/2010/04/boob-mouse-pad-nothing-more-needs-to-be-said/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFods1KSWsQ

Yes, this.

Xenogears did it for me. I picked up a PS1 after a buddy mine brought his over to me while I was laid up out of the hospital. He brought his PS1 and FF8. I was hooked on Square at the point. Xenogears blew me away. However, in the closet across from me contains a case that contains Front Mission 3. Go for both.

I would say Xenogears or Chrono Trigger are the easiest introductions for a PCRPG fan. Xenogears especially isn't much of a stretch if you have played very many 90s RPGs.

ETA: Prior to that I was not really a gamer per se. I think my favorite games up to that point were Link to the Past and Super Metroid. But I wasn't really into gaming until I was incapacitated for a bit. Once I got the bite though during that period of time it changed my life. I work on games for a living. So, for whatever that's worth.

Speaking of bites: I think my next favorites after that was RE1 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Yes, it is a real thing...

And yes, I have that game.

The game itself has an interesting mechanic in that you play as five different protagonists. The first one is the originator and the remaining four are all his descendents. They change based upon which girl you choose at the end of each generation. Combat is a strategy RPG like Disgaea, but the story is a lot slower paced.

Another game one might try, but is closer to a Japanese Visual Novel/Puzzle game rather than the traditional FF-style RPG is Catherine. The story is funny as hell and is one of the more unique games out there.

Ok I've always wanted to play that Super Smash Bros. so i'll bait...
What's the legal rights around emulators? Some say it's legal, some say otherwise and is it treated like piracy?

you know, if you have a playstation 3 with a sizable harddrive, there are plenty of ps1 JRPGS available for relatively cheap.

including wild arms, final fantasy, chrono cross, alundra and legend of mana or whatever its called.

I second Earthbound.

Speaking of PS3 there's a 50% discount on Final Fantasy Titles if you're interested. I recommend 4,5,6, and Dissdia. Didn't really like 7 so just skip that (but don't expect anything spectacular from it if you do decide to play it). Didn't really care for 1 and 2 but I guess they're okay for the most part.

Also there's Dark Cloud on the PS2, Golden Sun and Lost Age on GBA, Shining Force 1-2 (eh not entirely JRPGs but from Japan :P) on whatever system you want, Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii, Persona 3 (either on the PS2 or PSP) and 4 (again either on the PS2 or Vita), haven't entirely played the Phantasy Star (1-4) series but I'd say it's a good suggestion, and Star Ocean Till the End of Time on the PS2.

That's really all I can think of for the most part.

The emulator is legal, downloading the game is not. It boils down to this: Downloading copyrighted works which you don't have a licence to use is piracy.

However!

Earthbound isn't even available on the Virtual Console, which makes it (yes I know this is not a legal term and it's still piracy, let's not have this debate here in this thread please people) abandonware.

There is no legitimate way to buy it new, and there was never a legitimate way to buy it in Europe. If this isn't an excuse to just download the ROM and have fun, I don't know what is. ;)


For the PC, I recommend you use ZSNES. For a hacked Wii I recommend SNES9x GX.

AlsoplaySecretofManawhileyou'reatit.

Hard to play but not necessarily hard to get into.