JRPGs That Have Absurd Stories – Investment Policy

Summary

Some JRPGs, like Akiba’s Trip and Kingdom Hearts, have wacky and hard-to-follow plots.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake adds confusion with new elements like Whispers, impacting the original plot of Midgar.
Games like Pokemon Conquest offer bizarre premises, blending different franchises in strange ways.

It’s fair to note that many Japanese games, such as Metal Gear and Deadly Premonition, often feature unconventional storylines. While these stories might seem absurd or hard to follow at times, they don’t necessarily equate to a poor narrative quality. In fact, some may find them intriguing, though they might not be suitable for those who aren’t accustomed to the unique and often strange elements typical of Japanese narratives.

Anime isn’t popular among many people in the West because they find its stories difficult to understand, and JRPG games often have bizarre storylines that can be confusing without a guidebook. However, fans remain devoted to these games despite these complexities.

There will be some story spoilers.

Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed

Strip Teasing Vampires

Developer: Acquire
Publisher: Xseed Games (NA)
Released: August 12, 2014 (NA)
Platforms: PS3, PS Vita, PS4, PC

Vampire-themed games that introduce fresh, intelligent twists to the lore of these creatures deserve recognition, and none are more outlandishly entertaining than Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed. This game delivers on its promise.

In Japan, there are appearing creatures reminiscent of vampires, engineered to be exceptionally strong yet vulnerable to light. To eliminate these creatures, players must tear their attire during combat, revealing them to sunlight and annihilating them permanently. The storyline carries a distinctly anime flavor with its eccentric plot, accompanied by suggestive scenes and frequent instances of clothing damage in the intense action sequences.

Eternal Sonata

A Composer’s Dream

Fans of classical music would be familiar with the name Frédéric Chopin, a Polish composer from the 1800s. In the game “Eternal Sonata,” Chopin is depicted as spending his final days in an imaginative realm filled with anime characters and monsters that originated from his dreams.

In this rephrased version: Each character and entity in this narrative possesses a musical nuance within their names, such as Beat and Jazz who are companions. Typically, someone from the 1800s, like Chopin, would find what they see surprising, but surprisingly, Chopin remains unfazed by it all, making him the most peculiar aspect of the tale.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Whisper Of The Heart

The revamped version of Final Fantasy 7, known as the Remake, primarily focuses on the initial city of Midgar, with the story continuing in Future installments like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Originally, the plot of Final Fantasy 7 was somewhat complex on the PS1, and this intricacy was amplified in the remake due to the introduction of Whispers.

In a similar vein, spectral beings known as Whispers seem to impede Cloud and his companions from altering events from the initial game. Not every character can perceive these ethereal entities, yet despite their efforts to maintain the original timeline, the narrative in Midgar deviates significantly. The extent of the Whispers’ power remains largely unexplored throughout this game, and they are not prominently featured in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is somewhat surprising.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded

Digital Doubles

The initial installment of Kingdom Hearts, unlike its subsequent versions, started off quite modestly. It’s a unique blend of characters from Disney and Final Fantasy universes, along with some original characters thrown into the mix. Sora, our protagonist, obtains a magical Keyblade, embarks on journeys accompanied by Donald and Goofy, and subsequently seals entrances known as Keyholes in various Disney realms to keep mischievous creatures called Heartless from wreaking havoc.

In the series, it was the sequels that increased the peculiarity, and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded is the most challenging to understand among them. Gamers must traverse digitally stored worlds to eliminate data clusters as a debug version of Sora. This process allows the digital realms to flourish and uncovers memories for Sora, which is merely a basic summary of what happens in the game.

Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii

Pirates, In This Day And Age?

The “Yakuza/Like a Dragon” series is recognized for its peculiar side missions yet strong central storylines. However, this doesn’t apply to the recent spinoff, “Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii“, where the recurring character, Goro Majima, suffers from amnesia.

In this contemporary video game, Majima embarks on an unusual journey to regain his lost memories by assuming the role of a pirate captain. He navigates the waters surrounding Hawaii aboard an old-fashioned galleon reminiscent of pirate ships from the past. Other pirates, also dressed and equipped in similar fashion, are present around the islands. The game offers swashbuckling adventures and treasure hunting, though its style might be challenging to grasp at first. Nevertheless, it proves to be an enjoyable experience overall.

Pokemon Conquest

Conquer Feudal Japan With Pokemon

The game “Pokemon Conquest” is an entertaining tactical role-playing game that boasts a humorous yet peculiar concept. It’s essentially a fusion of the “Pokemon” series and the “Nobunaga’s Ambition” strategy games, where samurai lords employ Pokemon to fight battles across Japan instead of traditional weapons.

As a gamer, it’s quite unusual to imagine samurai taking a backseat while monsters do the fighting on their behalf – even a character like Nobunaga Oda wouldn’t stand for that. This could be one reason why Pokemon Conquest didn’t achieve the same level of popularity on the DS as other Pokemon games and tactical RPGs did, but it still remains a quirky gem for those who are willing to search it out.

Project X Zone

Fan Service First, Ask Questions Later

Project X Zone presents a more outlandish concept than both Pokemon Conquest and Kingdom Hearts put together. This unique game is a fusion of characters from Sega, Bandai Namco, and Capcom, making it an already unusual move to merely merge Capcom characters into a tactical RPG. However, the addition of not one but two other significant publishers to the mix elevates the strangeness factor even further.

In a somewhat mysterious scenario, multidimensional portals are mysteriously opening, allowing creatures and antagonists from other dimensions to invade our world, Earth. The sight of characters from ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Tekken’ interacting is beyond words, and this is just one instance. It seems more like a play for fans rather than a serious narrative, with the storyline serving as a mere connector between these different properties.

Xenosaga

JRPG Stands For Jesus Role-Playing Game

As a die-hard fan, I’ve got to say that among all the Xeno games, it’s the Xenosaga trilogy on the PS2 that really takes the cake for its out-of-this-world narrative. It kicks off in Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht, where humanity stumbles upon a mysterious artifact called the Zohar. Fast forward to thousands of years later, and we’re hurtling through space with colonial marines locked in a battle against an unseen alien threat.

In this story, you’ll find robots, cyborgs, divine beings from the cosmos, and more, tied together by a hazy spiritual context. Towards the conclusion, there appears to be an influence of Jesus, though it’s not entirely clear how. Despite its detailed scenes and length, understanding the intricate details is challenging due to the fact that the story was initially planned as a six-game series, leaving many aspects open to interpretation.

2025-08-10 20:05