From organized crime bosses to small time DMT hustlers, all kinds of bad people go there to have a good time. As these articles of entertainment teach us, the district is abuzz with neon lights, tiny piano bars, and places that are reserved exclusively for men who break people’s fingers. You might recognize it as the same place where Gaspar Noe filmed Enter the Void. Yakuza 0 is set in Kabukicho, a bone fide red-light district found in Tokyo. As a result, the game shines at simulating the aimless routines of restless youth: applying for part-time jobs but not showing up, loitering in the Ginza Line subway station, renting DVDs and forgetting to return them. Likewise, whenever the development team came down with a case of writer’s block, they left their desks and wandered around the city, much like the game’s hero. When creating the game, Katsura Hashino scoured the Sangenjaya district in search of quaint little back alleys and soba shops to use in the story. But the rest of his time is spent navigating between classes and a fully realized version of Tokyo. And while the games on this list won’t replace the real-life experience of getting lost on the Ginza Line, they come closer to replicating Japan than anything else.īy night, the hero of Persona 5 slashes through surreal dungeons with a cartoon cat sidekick. Already, they have carved out much of the country’s most sought-after landscapes and real estate. Fortunately for us would-be expats, Japanese game studios take excessive pride in reproducing their homeland in videogame form. Part of the appeal of playing videogames like Persona 5 is their ability to whisk you off to distant places without all the wallet strain and jetlag.
A spectacular addition to the Persona series, offering a fitting sequel instead of a cheap brand cash-in.If you’re like me, hopping on a plane to Japan sounds nice, but doesn’t always gel with your schedule or travel budget. Even the combat avoids the 'hack down the hordes' approach of most Warriors games in favour of a more involved and complex system that turns the battle system into an action RPG. A direct narrative sequel to the original Persona 5 (although not to the expanded P5 Royal upgrade), Strikers embeds itself in the same universe with returning characters, fiendish dungeons to explore, and a captivating story once again centred on the complexities of human psychology.
While there are dozens of Warriors crossovers that simply drop the likes of One Piece, Gundam, or even The Legend of Zelda into repetitive situations where players merely wade through seas of enemies, Strikers offers a far deeper experience.
#Good persona style rpgs 2017 series
It finally happened – a spin-off from the Dynasty Warriors series actually turned out to be good! More than that, this hybrid of Atlus' Persona series and Koei Tecmo's aforementioned hack-and-slash outings – also known as 'musou' games, after their Japanese titles – amazed by being one of the best games of the year. If that's not enough, it's also one of the most visually astounding games of the year. A mix of Star Fox-style space combat with a side of psychic powers a lá Control, Chorus is a thrilling adventure through the galactic expanse, with an unexpectedly probing story that questions religion, faith, and guilt even as you're gunning down enemy fighters in vast 360° environments. Luckily, she's bonded to her sentient ship Forsa, and their connection allows them to fight back against both the Prophet's forces and the Faceless. Unfortunately, Nara's former life as an enforcer for the sinister Great Prophet proves inescapable when the Faceless, twisted beings from beyond space, start tearing into conventional reality.
#Good persona style rpgs 2017 plus
A blend of weird sci-fi influences – think a mix of Dune, Lexx, and Star Wars, plus a dash of Lovecraftian cosmic horror – Chorus follows Nara, a scavenger in a distant corner of the galaxy. Sneaking in at the end of the year, this space shooter flew under the radar ahead of its release but is an easy contender for one of 2021's best gaming experiences.