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Discovering the Fun of the Nintendo 3DS as an Avid PS Vita Fan

PS Vita has been my favourite portable console for awhile. Ive had some of my best gaming experiences on it, such as Persona 4 Golden bringing me hardcore back into gaming and JRPGs, playing Final Fantasy X HD as my first game experience in all Japanese, going deeper into the Final Fantasy series with Final Fantasy IX and getting heavily sucked into so many stories that had as much depth as that ones I play on home consoles. Because I was having so much fun on my Vita, I initially had a very low level of interest in the 3DS for a long time. The only thing I was missing without a 3DS was the childhood nostalgia of Pokemon games that I never truly felt like I was missing out because I still had a Gameboy Advance. What finally got me properly interested in the 3DS was when Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance came out, which I was initially annoyed about as it was the first Kingdom Hearts game I couldnt play on Playstation. As much as it annoyed me, when it happened again with Persona Q I felt like a needed the console to continue these series I loved.

When I finally got my 3DS, I assumed for the most part I�d only play Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts and Persona. I didn�t think of the 3DS as a JRPG machine as that was how I thought of my Vita, but after doing some research into the systems library I quickly discovered there was plenty for a JRPG player like myself to enjoy. I first started picking up random Japanese DS JRPGs such as Pokemon Diamond to help my Japanese studies, but it was when I started playing Fire Emblem Awakening that I realised that while the 3DS may not have the same amount of JRPGs as the PS Vita, they certainly had some quality ones.


One of the things that make me love JRPGs so much is there silliness and for some reason it never crossed my mind that a brand like Nintendo would naturally put fun games like this into its 3DS library. Even while playing Fire Emblem Awakening, I noticed this silliness during the Support system and it reminded me why I was jealous of my friends who owned Nintendo 64s when I was younger. Whether in the form of chibi characters like in Persona Q or the witty lines in Fire Emblem Awakening, the games I�ve played so far on the Nintendo 3DS have featured great gameplay while not taking itself too seriously.

As much as the 3DS features a lot of fun and humour-filled games like Yo-Kai Watch and Persona Q, it does also feature serious games such as Shin Megami Tensei IV. The same could be said about PS Vita, with it featuring many fun and humourous JRPGs such as Hyperdimension Neptunia but also featuring darker ones like Lost Dimension. As a JRPG fan, having both the 3DS and PS Vita means I have access to more portable JRPGs than I can get through in my lifetime and with plenty of fun options on both systems, I definitely feel pretty spoiled (and a little overwhelmed).

Discovering Tactical JRPGs 5 Tactical JRPGs Id Like To Try

After finishing Persona 3, I decided to play something different because I was experiencing my first ever case of what I call �dungeon fatigue�. Since I�d recently had fun with the tactical iOS game X-Tactics and really wanted to finally play some 3DS games, Fire Emblem Awakening seemed like a logical choice for my next JRPG journey.

Playing Fire Emblem is an incredibly rewarding experience that is the perfect continuation to my journey into tactical RPGs and definitely making me even more excited about them. I�m really enjoying strategising battles in a new way and it�s easy to pick up the systems because they mostly use mechanics such as status effects and elemental damage that are already familiar to the turn-based JRPG player as well. I once ignorantly shrugged off a bunch of interesting looking tactical RPGs as being too difficult or too different to what I was used to, but now I think they a good challenge and change of pace for someone like me who plays mostly turn-based JRPGs. So here�s a list of 5 more tactical JRPGs I�d like to try - you�re welcome to tempt me with more in the comments below!

How have I not played Final Fantasy Tactics? I�d be lying if I said I didn�t feel like a bad Final Fantasy a bad JRPG fan for not touching this game yet. I�ve heard plenty of people praise Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions supposedly brilliant stories and with my new interest in tactical RPGs, it�s probably about time I play them. Looking at the trailer for Final Fantasy Tactics, it looks like everything I already know about Final Fantasy such as chocobos and cool summons but all in a tactical battle format. A part of me wonders why they tried this kind of tactical gameplay considering how much I enjoy Final Fantasy�s usual gameplay, but I�m definitely interested to try a different style of Final Fantasy, especially if it�s meant to offer a great story.


Disgaea looks ridiculous and thats exactly why I want to play it. Any game that allows players to reach beyond the usual level 99 to level 9999 is a game that deserves my attention and probably all of my trophy hunting ways (except no, because that would probably take years). My brother is a huge fan of the Disgaea series and tells me of these strange, random jokes about sardines and even during 10 minutes of Disgaea 5, there were enough lines about Seraphina being the Overload of Gorgeous to satisfy the side of me that loves humourous JRPGs.

While I usually like playing stories in order when I can, Disgaea 5 is on PS4 and looks beautifully smooth and is said to have all the best bits from the previous Disgaea games and more. From the trailer alone, there�s plenty of in-your-face music, epic battles and silliness to make me think this tactical RPG will be a fun and original experience.
When my knowledge of tactical RPGs was super low, I remember watching my boyfriend play Valkyria Chronicles and thinking it looked interesting, yet somehow I wasn�t enticed enough to play it at the time because it also looked more complex than what I was used to. Now that Ive been playing more tactical games and that kind of complexity doesn�t scare me, the well-loved JRPG story feels like something I should definitely play. And since Valkyria Chronicles has been remastered for PS4, I can see its beautiful canvas art style on a current gen console, which seems appropriate for a game with a unique aesthetic.

While playing Fire Emblem Awakening, Ive gained a bunch of respect for the Fire Emblem series. The interesting medieval story about war between countries, interesting and sometimes surprisingly humourous characters plus the fun tactical combat definitely fits well on the 3DS and is enjoyable to play. Since the next game in the series Fire Emblem Fates came out, it�s been receiving plenty of praise from reviewers and fans alike. What intrigues me most about Fire Emblem Fates is the way it�s divided into three different games, based on which aspect of the story you want to experience. Once I�ve finished Awakening, Fates seems like a great way to dive even further into the series and Im very interested in trying each aspect of its story.

I want to keep playing more 3DS games and tactical RPGs seem to fit well on the console, so playing Devil Survivor seems to make sense considering my enjoyment of Persona (another Shin Megami Tensei spinoff series). Devil Survivor is part decision-based visual novel and tactical RPG, a fusion of genres that sounds right up my alley considering I love seeing the effect of decisions on a story. It seems like a good chance to enjoy the gameplay I like from Persona in a new way while experiencing another interesting story and a good way to go a little further in the Shin Megami Tensei series.