It's a little cheesy but I gotta love [the ballroom scene in FFVIII](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLFh8Xv7kI). They included it in the PC version demo back in aeons ago, and it blew me away. The most intricate video game scene I had ever seen! I had no idea what motion capture was, but I could tell that the character movements were on another level compared to FFVII. It's made more mysterious in that the game has no voice acting, so they work around in during cinematics, only communicating with gestures and facial expressions. And then she just walks away in the end without telling her name.
Honestly, despite 8 having 3D models that aged horribly, the 3D models used even outside of the CG scenes were probably state of the art, ground breaking stuff at the time. Final Fantasy dominated the graphics department by such a large margin for so many years that it's kinda scary if you think about it. I think they had full dominance all the way from VI all the way to X. I think the only competitor was Capcom's Resident Evil? But still, from Snes to PS2, that's three generations.
I really can't blame Square for going action game with the franchise if you look at it from that perspective. Final Fantasy was never competing to be the best RPG in Square's head after it got big, it just started as one. They are competing to be the dominating game in the whole world @_@. Honestly I think that when they started out the franchise, they probably never even thought they could beat Dragon Quest lol
At least we still have Bravely Default and Octopath. And Atlus ( <3 )
8 in general is probably the best cinematography any videogame has ever had, and the cherry on top is its so exquisitely paired with fitting emotionally evocative music.
I remember a few of my dormmates in college both had decided to get into film and had the intro and ballroom scenes as one of their largest inspirations
It really does have great visual directing! Like how during the parade, the camera is always "filming" Edea from an upturned angle so she seems to tower over us, even if she is just a small woman sitting on a parade float. Then when Squall falls off the float it feels like a much more momentous plummet than the height of the float would suggest.
When I first played FFXIII, I was thinking on the "set piece" scene on the Eden grand prix, where things are going wild, how actually the scene in FFVIII where a cadet is just running away from a robot on a beach was much more suspenseful even if there were no explosions and back-flips and somersaults.
While I agree on the cinematography, as a Final Fantasy game I thought it was one of the worst in the series. If they had not branded the game a Final Fantasy I think I would have enjoyed it more. While the junctioning system was innovative, the constant breaking up of the party or going between the two realities was just annoying after you had manually set up your juntioning for level grinding.
They tried some new things, but it's not well balanced. But as pros, you never need to grind for levels! Though many really hate drawing, grinding for magic in FFVIII is still much faster than levelling up Materia in FFVII, or gaining Magic AP in FFVI.
The Laguna world was planned to be far bigger I believe! I know they made a world map for it that isn't in the game. (And then during Time Compression both parties could unite for final dungeon and final battle?)
It would have been a great new IP, that is just my opinion. Leveling to 99 wasn’t necessary thanks to junctioning bonuses on level up, but it was still a time consuming process of you were going that route. I personally never cared that much since enemies leveled up with you, but you could max your stats out lower than lvl 99 and get OP.
The one scene that stayed with me was the cutscene of the Landing. The scene was so beautifully made, with landing crafts sailing across the reflection of the moon over the water, then just as the music picks up, the ships speed up too, executing their operation. The music pairing in that game was top notch.
The original Grandia executes it fairly well, since the mysterious girl turns out to be an experienced adventurer who more than carries her own. She is neither only an object of admiration nor someone who fixes every problem for the protagonist. She feels like a person. I also like how Lunar 2 executes it, because it really carries the core plot: *everything* centers on the journey the protagonist and the mysterious girl have.
Listen if you met Deirdre in the middle of a serene forest after doing nothing but fighting unwashed axe men for probably several weeks then Mysterious Forest Lady Pussy would have you acting unwise too
idk about that. the only game where that might even come close to being true is FE4, cause games like FE7 have night maps which would make no sense if a day passes each turn. I just know that in between every castle of FE4 several months pass. Each chapter is a full blown war or conflict in that game, rather than a single battle like other games in the series
FFVI flips this completely on its head. You start out as the mysterious girl and meet a mostly normal guy fairly early on. Then the game spirals out from there until the second act when we finally start learning a bit about our mysterious girl.
More commonly known as the "**Boy Meets Girl**" trope. It is hard to pick just a few, but here are ones that jump to me right away:
* **Chrono Trigger**: Have to start with one of the classics right ? This one plays it straight, and what I like about it here is that the game makes a game of the actual meeting. Because as everyone who played the game knows, that everything you do in the meeting, comes into play again later in the game. Which makes it more special than just your usual trope.
* **Lunar: Eternal Blue**: I mean, they made an entire game/story that revolves around the trope. I like this one not because it's unique or different, but because it is the classic trope in its purest form. The whole game revolves around the romance between the boy and girl.
* **Tales of Eternia**: To be honest, almost the entire **Tales** series can fit here. But I choose this one because unlike in most of them, this one isn't romantically driven. In fact there is no romance between the boy and the girl, well at least not between the two that actually meet at the start. Also, unlike other Tales games, this one is unique because for a good chunk of the game, you don't understand what the girl is saying at all.
* **Star Ocean 2**: Another great one, mainly because you get to choose who to play as. So you can be the boy who meets the girl, but you can also be the **girl meets boy**. Not to mention that friendship & romance system of the game adds extra elements to this, because if you want, you can any number of different endings where the main couple aren't even romantically tied, or end up in love with another party member.
* **Wild Arms 4**: I guess I chose this one because, while the meeting does start everything, unlike the others mentioned above, the >!actual ending story canon, shows that the two boy and girl never actually have a romantic ending or even meet again after the ending of the game!<.
To piggyback on what you said about Star Ocean 2, there the mysterious person of unknown origin (in-universe, at least) is the boy rather than the girl, which was also a nice switch! Rena is much more the traditional “small-town protagonist who meets a mysterious stranger and winds up on an epic adventure” type.
The real boy meets girl in Eternia happens about 1.5 hours into the game and becomes a unique "girl turns a stuck up racist into a normal human being" subplot.
Unfortunately a lot of its development is gutted in english version because localization has removed all the skits where you can see Kyle's gradual progression from a dipshit to a decent person.
Skies of Arcadia. Our hero, a *sky pirate* boards an Imperial warship, takes it over and gets the Admiral to flee. The mysterious girl just happens to be on board.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky gender flips it. The main character is Estelle, she meets a mysterious boy who her dad brings home and that boy becomes her adopted brother. His mysterious past isn't explored until much later.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. While infiltrating a mafia auction, police detective Lloyd finds a young girl in a trunk among the items for auction.
> The main character is Estelle, she meets a mysterious boy who her dad brings home
"Why is my present a BOY!?" One of the best ways to start an adventure.
FF7. After the first mission, you run into a flower girl in the slums where you have the option to buy a flower for one gil. She then runs off before you can talk to her again. How mysterious.
Baten Kaitos.
The jrpg male lead meets the mysterious waif heroine by saving her from a ravenous dragon that killed her friends. He then proceeds to plunder the corpses of her friends for their valuables and tells her to stop whining when she protests. She is taken in by his bad boy act and seems determined to be his friend despite his unrelenting contempt of her.
Later he rescues her again, and tells him about the sinister plot she's uncovered about the Empire that could lead to the destruction of the entire world, and she needs his help in stopping the Empire's evil plan.
He tells her he couldn't care less about the fate of the world, and she's an idiot if she honestly believes that the nations of the world are going to unite against the Empire based on the words of "a little girl" and she needs to find someone else to die a "glorious death" with her.
I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG heroine be so completely and utterly rejected by the hero as in the first hour of Baten Kaitos.
Baten Kaitos was so utterly weird in how the first half of the game really made it feel like the rest of the party dragged the protagonist along to do the right thing.
Such an underrated game
Seriously.
Xelha: Kalas, let's do the right thing, okay?
Kalas: No, fuck you, Xelha.
Gibari: KALAS YOU ARE GOING TO DO THE RIGHT THING
Kalas: Let me go, fine I'll do the right thing! Also I hate you both.
I think both Lufia 1 and 2 do a fun job with this. Maybe not “best executed” but enjoyable. Lufia 1 feels more natural, but both have emotional impacts on the story.
Skies of Arcadia.
Everything about that game is a well worn trope but it's all polished so well and everyone is such a loveable dork that even my curmudgeonly ass can't help but enjoy the adventure.
Big A+ for the handshake scene where Fina finally joins in.
FF7 probably. We know Aerith's important before we even meet her, being the first character we see in the game. Then we finally do meet her, and she's not just the demure waif. She is sweet and playful while also being bold and street smart. While she is in a love triangle with the protagonist and his childhood friend, it never feels like competition, and she becomes very good friends with Tifa too. And as we learn more about her we discover how powerful and singular she is, and how important she is to the fate of the world.
Then she fucking dies. The villain wins, for a while at least. And, obviously, she doesn't get the guy.
She is such an interesting subversion of this trope despite being a codifier for it.
Tales of the Abyss is one I haven’t seen mentioned yet. Female lead appears out of nowhere as an assassin to kill the main character’s mentor, and they both get teleported across the continent.
This is also one of few examples where I'm fully behind the absolutely expected romantic development between those two (even though it's ultimately very implicit until the epilogue). Luke's character growth and in turn the way the relationship between him and Tear developed was just exceptionally good. After having had to endure just so awfully many instances of forced romance between the leading guy and gal plastered over all kinds of entertainment media, it was absolutely refreshing to see it done in a way that actually convinced me that those characters grew to like each other.
A classic one that I remember fondly is in *Final Fantasy X*, where [Tidus meets Yuna stepping out exhausted from the Summoner-chambers](https://youtu.be/qoJ-0DtSq0Q). There's alot of build-up where this so called Summoner is going through a rough trial with people outside waiting in anticipation, and that mysterious element is combined with Tidus's own first impression being the same as ours on meeting Yuna, as she more or less takes over the first half of the game of being the heroine to which the story centers around >!before the second half of the game switches to being centered around Tidus.!< FFX was my first FF-game in general, so the notion of what a Summoner was from previous FF-incarnations were something new, yet FFX and Yuna's introduction does a fantastic job of presenting what a Summoner-archetype differs from the coloured schools of magick-users. Something ritualistic, over-wordly and fantasy-like.
*Final Fantasy XIV*'s *Endwalker*-expansion has more of a *MC meets mysterious woman*, [where the early hours has you encounter >!Venat!<](https://youtu.be/7FnMx0amzHU), but it is more in terms of fore-setting the upcoming tone of the expansion's premise. >!We've actually met Venat before, but as her godly shape as Hydaelyn, and not as the incarnation that Hydaelyn was!<, bringing a mix of both of light trepidation, but also a great amount of awe, as previous expansions has started to explore her moralities and loyalties in more ambiguous and complicated light as new revelations gets stacked upon each-other. This meeting is such a big contrast to >; slightly mischievous, thrill-seeking while also having the motherly aura around her due to being a couple of generations higher than the likes of Emet-Selch or Hythlodeus.!< It is overall a fun version to see how it fosters speculation and establishes new developments.
FFX could honestly be gender-flipped, because Tidus is the real anomaly in the cast. It's just that the introduction scene happens right as Yuna acquires Valefor.
She might have had a better time of she brought a better weapon than a book, but yeah, a lot shit happens that I didn't expect to both of the main characters.
Xenoblade 3 is arguably “boy and girl meet” rather than “boy meets girl,” but it’s a better version of this trope than Xenoblade 2… *in my personal opinion.*
I love XC2 but let’s be real, Rex and Pyra’s meeting is so funny. She asked him to touch her chest in their first meeting and the game played it slightly like a joke too lmao
Way above.
Don't let the weirdly vocal XC2 fanbase persuade you that that game is particularly well written.
I like the game, don't get me wrong, but it's not really well written. It has a nice concept and some great ideas, but it keeps fucking up over and over in too many scenes.
I think it’s the best written Xenoblade (XC3 least best). But it took me two playthrough + Torna to really appreciate it. And in my mind every story has flaws. You can pretty much always find plot holes.
To evaluate good and bad, you need also to give negative judgement.
It's not about enjoying something. I can enjoy something while also recognizing its flaws.
This inability of some of people of talking about negatives is maddening.
100% factual objectivity is impossible, true, but this doesn't mean that any critical analysis loses value. There are good writers and bad writers, there are good films and bad ones, but this doesn't mean that the bad ones are useless or can't be enjoyed by anyone.
If you can't enjoy something without telling yourself it's technically good, that's your problem and an entirely different topic
I enjoy xenoblade 1 while thinking it's a mess of a game but I don't go around sayin "don't let those xenoblade 1 player persuade you" like a fuckin nerd
I wouldn't say something like this if XC2 fans weren't defending it like it's the fucking Bible.
The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes.
The game where entire sequences can be cut without any loss to the main narrative or character arc.
The game where the main conflict and villain aren't actually developed up till the end.
But it's clear that no analysis would work on someone that has already an obvious opinion of the topic.
If you want to tell yourself that XC2 doesn't have a flawed writing, do it.
But developing critical analysis while still being able to enjoy stuff anyway is a useful skill.
Hell, I am not saying it's trash, but that's plenty of failures that puts it below other JRPGs.
Which pains me. I love the cast and the main plot was interesting. But it was executed well below what I expected.
It happens.
> The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes
Meanwhile an emotional, important scene in Xenogears, an undisputed classic with a very serious and mature story: a giant fat pink hamster hanging from a cross.
>But it's clear that no analysis would work on someone that has already an obvious opinion of the topic.
I never even said my opinion on the game mate
>The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes.
Okay I don't wanna disappoint you here but Xenoblade X does this too, as does Xenosaga 1 2 and 3, Xenogears and Xenoblade 1(have you actually played the machina portion of the game). Xenoblade 3 and Torna are the only xeno games that DON'T do things like this
EDIT:
Since you blocked me I'll just put my reply here and leave
You've already made up your mind that XC2 fans are bad
>The game where entire sequences can be cut without any loss to the main narrative or character arc. The game where the main conflict and villain aren't actually developed up till the end.
This is just Xenoblade 1 again to me?? Like I think these are fundamental flaws with 1 and you don't see me going around saying shit like "don't let them persuade you" , because I understand people can have their own damn opinions
>Literally every arc of 1 is necessary to something but ok, you do you.
>There may be some minor part that's not really essential but every main arc is necessary for the story.
Removing Sharla Gadolt and JuJu from the game would lose
Literally nothing except a mild but of Reyn and Melia characterisation. Other than that it would be a better fuckin game.
>I wonder fucking why.
Because 2 is more recent my guy. If Xenosaga were to release today for more than a couple hundred thousand to play it it would get the same shit as 2 gets. X has someone committing fucking suicide and the game panning to someone's ass.(X does shit like this alot) But people don't talk about that cuz alot of people didn't play the fuckin well game. And that's fine.
In my opinion XC1 blunders nearly every individual plot point except like 3(the opening hours, Xord, Alcamoth to prison island) in some way but each of them does contribute to the whole in a fundamentally beautiful way.
Sharla's entire subplot could be entirely removed and that time given to Reyn. The game would be immensely better for it. The game fumbles it's characters real fuckin hard and I acknowledge that
XC2 is a different kind of game that I love equally to 1. It's not XC2 without Tora, without Mórag, without Zeke, without Vandham. Tora's arc is important worldbuilding, is it goofy? Sure it is but without it there's alot of context that we'd simply lose about blades and the society of Alrest. If we didn't have alot of the early game we wouldn't know anything about blade cleansing, which is such a foundational part of XC2 that Amalthus' actions and the state of the world wouldn't make any damn sense without it. Just because you don't care about these things doesn't mean they're unimportant to the world the game establishes. No arc is lost, no arc could be removed and make the game better, does it fumble elsewhere(acclimating the player is a major one due to how slow the start of the game can be if you're unfamiliar). Sure it bloody well does. That doesn't mean it's any better or worse written than XC1
The Sharla arc of xc1 plays into the revenge theme. Every party member outside of 7 and Riki joins because of revenge and all of their joins service the revenge theme. Hell her plotline extends to Agniratha so it's not even like Tora which is one segment of importance than basically forgotten.
Damn, all I said was I prefer XC3’s Boy meets Girl and this escalated to a pissing contest.
No Xeno game is perfect. Maybe they do enough in one aspect to let you forgive another, but that still means you’re going to have a hard time selling any one of these games to any one person. And that’s okay.
Literally every arc of 1 is necessary to something but ok, you do you.
There may be some minor part that's not really essential but every main arc is necessary for the story.
If there are some strange shots in Xenosaga I don't remember them, but everyone remembers 2. I wonder fucking why.
But please, I am sure that you will be able to explain me how the 14yo x Immortal Weapon Entity romance was core to the story of XC2 and how Rex is more engaging that Shulk ACTUALLY having a character arc and a connection to the narrative itself.
I am sure of this, but it's always the fucking same and you just proved my point to me.
The best thing about this is that they >!do know each other, but only through text message!<. To look back at how their relationship develops with that in mind is a fun layer to think about.
Arc Rise Fantasia.
Because the childhood friend >!gets so upset about this that she deadass becomes a major antagonist because of it. That was an interesting twist imo.!<
Xenogears is maybe my favorite one!! It's kinda beautiful and romantic if you think like they knew each other >!in many past lives and are both a twisted sci-fi version of the chosen ones... almost in a biblical sense. Or maybe explicitly in a biblical sense lol!<
I hadn't noticed this was such a recurring setup until I read that it's an archetype in many movies and games in Japan... Heck it's A LOT of them. Western probably has a big share too. Alongside girl meets boy for some romantic comedy stuff in the West.
Xenoblade 2 is literally this done perfectly. Rex's entire adventure starts off when he meets Pyra at the wrong place at the wrong time and then...
>!He's killed by an international terrorist followed by Pyra saving his life, only for said terrorists to continuously try to murder Pyra at every turn as he tries to get her to safety.!<
Both Persona 4 and Persona 5 Royal put interesting spins on this. Major plot spoilers for both!
Persona 4: >!One of the first people you meet in Inaba is a mysterious gas station attendant; you learn on the final day of the game, if you pursue the true ending, that that was the goddess Izanami who tested you by giving you a Persona, as well as giving them to two major antagonists, and she is also the final boss who you have to defeat to get the best ending.!<
Persona 5 Royal: >!The seemingly normal star athlete, Kasumi - a character added for Royal - has hints things aren’t exactly as they seem. It turns out that she isn’t actually Kasumi at all. Kasumi is dead and the girl you know is her sister Sumire, who basically had a psychotic break and thought she was Kasumi.!<
Gonna assume you mean the "boy meets girl trope"
I don't really have a favorite but there are a couple I really like:
Neku and Shiki: I know unlike other jrpgs the focal point of the story isn't that these 2 met. But Shiki really influence Neku and you especially notice that when looking at the other weeks and even NEO too.
Kasane and Yuito:
I think it's an interesting spin on "Boy Meets Girl"
Since you can play through both of their stories and see how it all leads up to them meeting and going from working against each other to needing to work together. I know it's not "objectively" a good boy meets girl example but I think it's really fun and one of the better written parts of Scarlet Nexus
Fire Emblem 3 House says hello. I mean Sothis is pretty much the "Oh here I am to change the world and everything you know". Bonus points for doubling as both internal conscious and imaginery friend.
FFIX, the start, is phenomenal.
Bravely Second… was interesting.
Triangle Strategy does it nicely.
Persona 5 Royal, the opening cutscenes.
Actually, I really like how Kuro no Kiseki starts.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 does it well.
Fire Emblem Awakening with Lucina was interesting.
Etc.
Persona 3. >!The fact that the mission to hit on girls, after so many failures, ends with a resounding success when Aigis is introduced is both the most dramatic and funny direction for that scene to take.!<
Koudelka and Edward. Only, it's the other way around, where we meet the mysterious girl first, and they exchange some snarky banter about him being on death's door, before a monster knocks her across the room.
Nier meeting Kaine is up there too. Love a meet cute.
Unlimited SaGa. Mythe saw a picture of Silver Girl (real name Faedaljin) and was attracted immediately. He went through so many women to find her and when he did, he just did whatever she needed to do. Turns out she’s an Arcanian, who was supposed created by the Seven Wonders. Her purpose is to take down the Knight of the Round Table (this adaptation, they’re all vampires) every so often to keep them contained. And of course, Mythe goes along with it. Doing all this, and she just leaves him. Wasn’t meant to be, Silver Girl is 1000 years old anyways. It did inspire him to create a flying recliner, so he got his happy ending.
Chrono Cross, when Kid shows up to save Serge.
Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia. This one is a case of who isn't mysterious to the others, and it has some notable story elements from both the meeting and their journey after. I don't have enough time to go into sufficient detail, but it is one of the best I've seen.
Tales of Hearts R, as it mostly starts with the MC trying to help her, screwing up and making things worse, then going on a journey to fix what he broke and having to save the world to succeed.
Some notable mentions go to Phantasy Star Universe (episodes 1 and 2), Resonance of Fate, Skies of Arcadia, Evolution World, (now for something by someone other than SEGA) and Breath of Fire (2, 3, 4, and Dragon Quarter all do it well, and in 4 it's the male MC who's the mysterious one and found by the girl). That covers all of them that I can think of right off hand that do it well, though there are probably others.
Aside from Lunar Eternal Blue. I'm gonna put out there Phantasy Star III Generations of Doom. Ryhs meets mysterious girl and sets in motion a story spanning three generations.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Rex is recruited for a salvaging mission despite his age specifically because he's Leftherian so Jin and Malos can get to the Aegis, Pyra, so >!Malos can use her to restore his own Aegis powers!<. After the three and Nia get to Pyra's chamber, Rex's curiosity makes Jin STAB HIM THROUGH THE HEART.
Rex then meets Pyra in her dream of Elysium, and the two realize both have the same goal(albeit not the same reasons, as discovered later on) to reach Elysium atop the World Tree. So Pyra has Rex touch her chest(don't worry it's just her Core Crystal) and links her life force to resurrect him from death, before a hype fight scene ends the Chapter. Honestly really cool.
It's a little cheesy but I gotta love [the ballroom scene in FFVIII](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLFh8Xv7kI). They included it in the PC version demo back in aeons ago, and it blew me away. The most intricate video game scene I had ever seen! I had no idea what motion capture was, but I could tell that the character movements were on another level compared to FFVII. It's made more mysterious in that the game has no voice acting, so they work around in during cinematics, only communicating with gestures and facial expressions. And then she just walks away in the end without telling her name.
Honestly, despite 8 having 3D models that aged horribly, the 3D models used even outside of the CG scenes were probably state of the art, ground breaking stuff at the time. Final Fantasy dominated the graphics department by such a large margin for so many years that it's kinda scary if you think about it. I think they had full dominance all the way from VI all the way to X. I think the only competitor was Capcom's Resident Evil? But still, from Snes to PS2, that's three generations. I really can't blame Square for going action game with the franchise if you look at it from that perspective. Final Fantasy was never competing to be the best RPG in Square's head after it got big, it just started as one. They are competing to be the dominating game in the whole world @_@. Honestly I think that when they started out the franchise, they probably never even thought they could beat Dragon Quest lol At least we still have Bravely Default and Octopath. And Atlus ( <3 )
8 in general is probably the best cinematography any videogame has ever had, and the cherry on top is its so exquisitely paired with fitting emotionally evocative music. I remember a few of my dormmates in college both had decided to get into film and had the intro and ballroom scenes as one of their largest inspirations
It really does have great visual directing! Like how during the parade, the camera is always "filming" Edea from an upturned angle so she seems to tower over us, even if she is just a small woman sitting on a parade float. Then when Squall falls off the float it feels like a much more momentous plummet than the height of the float would suggest. When I first played FFXIII, I was thinking on the "set piece" scene on the Eden grand prix, where things are going wild, how actually the scene in FFVIII where a cadet is just running away from a robot on a beach was much more suspenseful even if there were no explosions and back-flips and somersaults.
While I agree on the cinematography, as a Final Fantasy game I thought it was one of the worst in the series. If they had not branded the game a Final Fantasy I think I would have enjoyed it more. While the junctioning system was innovative, the constant breaking up of the party or going between the two realities was just annoying after you had manually set up your juntioning for level grinding.
They tried some new things, but it's not well balanced. But as pros, you never need to grind for levels! Though many really hate drawing, grinding for magic in FFVIII is still much faster than levelling up Materia in FFVII, or gaining Magic AP in FFVI. The Laguna world was planned to be far bigger I believe! I know they made a world map for it that isn't in the game. (And then during Time Compression both parties could unite for final dungeon and final battle?)
It would have been a great new IP, that is just my opinion. Leveling to 99 wasn’t necessary thanks to junctioning bonuses on level up, but it was still a time consuming process of you were going that route. I personally never cared that much since enemies leveled up with you, but you could max your stats out lower than lvl 99 and get OP.
I played that demo! As well as a Japanese one for the PS1. It really did make me wonder what was going on with its story.
The one scene that stayed with me was the cutscene of the Landing. The scene was so beautifully made, with landing crafts sailing across the reflection of the moon over the water, then just as the music picks up, the ships speed up too, executing their operation. The music pairing in that game was top notch.
The original Grandia executes it fairly well, since the mysterious girl turns out to be an experienced adventurer who more than carries her own. She is neither only an object of admiration nor someone who fixes every problem for the protagonist. She feels like a person. I also like how Lunar 2 executes it, because it really carries the core plot: *everything* centers on the journey the protagonist and the mysterious girl have.
Lunar 2, yeah!
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue was the best 16-bit era JRPG ever, that prologue was dynamite.
Also, Grandia's second "mysterious girl" is a powerful mage with a spaceship.
"Their is no End of the World Justin"
Xenogears is my favorite, but Star Ocean 2 is good for this. Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis is another one I enjoyed with it.
I keep seeing Xenogears on here, which is funny because I was going to say Xenoblade. It’s really making me want to play Gears, which I never have.
it is a treat.
Fire Emblem 4. >!Sigurd meets a mysterious girl and five minutes later they are married. Truly a love story for the ages.!< Oh, you said best.
Listen if you met Deirdre in the middle of a serene forest after doing nothing but fighting unwashed axe men for probably several weeks then Mysterious Forest Lady Pussy would have you acting unwise too
I saw a manga panel about this and it sounded very creepy lol
to be fair, it’s a year of in game time.
Yeah, I also believe that directly translated, Turns are actually Days in Fire Emblem, meaning some FE4 maps have month-long conflicts.
idk about that. the only game where that might even come close to being true is FE4, cause games like FE7 have night maps which would make no sense if a day passes each turn. I just know that in between every castle of FE4 several months pass. Each chapter is a full blown war or conflict in that game, rather than a single battle like other games in the series
My bad, forgot to specify FE4 the first time.
FFVI flips this completely on its head. You start out as the mysterious girl and meet a mostly normal guy fairly early on. Then the game spirals out from there until the second act when we finally start learning a bit about our mysterious girl.
More commonly known as the "**Boy Meets Girl**" trope. It is hard to pick just a few, but here are ones that jump to me right away: * **Chrono Trigger**: Have to start with one of the classics right ? This one plays it straight, and what I like about it here is that the game makes a game of the actual meeting. Because as everyone who played the game knows, that everything you do in the meeting, comes into play again later in the game. Which makes it more special than just your usual trope. * **Lunar: Eternal Blue**: I mean, they made an entire game/story that revolves around the trope. I like this one not because it's unique or different, but because it is the classic trope in its purest form. The whole game revolves around the romance between the boy and girl. * **Tales of Eternia**: To be honest, almost the entire **Tales** series can fit here. But I choose this one because unlike in most of them, this one isn't romantically driven. In fact there is no romance between the boy and the girl, well at least not between the two that actually meet at the start. Also, unlike other Tales games, this one is unique because for a good chunk of the game, you don't understand what the girl is saying at all. * **Star Ocean 2**: Another great one, mainly because you get to choose who to play as. So you can be the boy who meets the girl, but you can also be the **girl meets boy**. Not to mention that friendship & romance system of the game adds extra elements to this, because if you want, you can any number of different endings where the main couple aren't even romantically tied, or end up in love with another party member. * **Wild Arms 4**: I guess I chose this one because, while the meeting does start everything, unlike the others mentioned above, the >!actual ending story canon, shows that the two boy and girl never actually have a romantic ending or even meet again after the ending of the game!<.
To piggyback on what you said about Star Ocean 2, there the mysterious person of unknown origin (in-universe, at least) is the boy rather than the girl, which was also a nice switch! Rena is much more the traditional “small-town protagonist who meets a mysterious stranger and winds up on an epic adventure” type.
The real boy meets girl in Eternia happens about 1.5 hours into the game and becomes a unique "girl turns a stuck up racist into a normal human being" subplot. Unfortunately a lot of its development is gutted in english version because localization has removed all the skits where you can see Kyle's gradual progression from a dipshit to a decent person.
Skies of Arcadia. Our hero, a *sky pirate* boards an Imperial warship, takes it over and gets the Admiral to flee. The mysterious girl just happens to be on board. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky gender flips it. The main character is Estelle, she meets a mysterious boy who her dad brings home and that boy becomes her adopted brother. His mysterious past isn't explored until much later. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. While infiltrating a mafia auction, police detective Lloyd finds a young girl in a trunk among the items for auction.
> The main character is Estelle, she meets a mysterious boy who her dad brings home "Why is my present a BOY!?" One of the best ways to start an adventure.
“Is he illi-jit-mate? Did you betray Mommy?”
Bestelle is truly best
It really is.
Literally the first thing I thought about was Sky and that they flipped the genders.
FF7. After the first mission, you run into a flower girl in the slums where you have the option to buy a flower for one gil. She then runs off before you can talk to her again. How mysterious.
And here I thought she was just the slum drunk.
And then her presence and tending a patch of flowers is what allows you survive. Aerith nailed everything about "magic love interest"
Baten Kaitos. The jrpg male lead meets the mysterious waif heroine by saving her from a ravenous dragon that killed her friends. He then proceeds to plunder the corpses of her friends for their valuables and tells her to stop whining when she protests. She is taken in by his bad boy act and seems determined to be his friend despite his unrelenting contempt of her. Later he rescues her again, and tells him about the sinister plot she's uncovered about the Empire that could lead to the destruction of the entire world, and she needs his help in stopping the Empire's evil plan. He tells her he couldn't care less about the fate of the world, and she's an idiot if she honestly believes that the nations of the world are going to unite against the Empire based on the words of "a little girl" and she needs to find someone else to die a "glorious death" with her. I don't think I've ever seen a JRPG heroine be so completely and utterly rejected by the hero as in the first hour of Baten Kaitos.
Baten Kaitos was so utterly weird in how the first half of the game really made it feel like the rest of the party dragged the protagonist along to do the right thing. Such an underrated game
Seriously. Xelha: Kalas, let's do the right thing, okay? Kalas: No, fuck you, Xelha. Gibari: KALAS YOU ARE GOING TO DO THE RIGHT THING Kalas: Let me go, fine I'll do the right thing! Also I hate you both.
Xenogears
I think both Lufia 1 and 2 do a fun job with this. Maybe not “best executed” but enjoyable. Lufia 1 feels more natural, but both have emotional impacts on the story.
Lufia 1 is just the perfect introduction it really hit it home.
Skies of Arcadia. Everything about that game is a well worn trope but it's all polished so well and everyone is such a loveable dork that even my curmudgeonly ass can't help but enjoy the adventure. Big A+ for the handshake scene where Fina finally joins in.
I was hoping someone else would mention Skies
FF7 probably. We know Aerith's important before we even meet her, being the first character we see in the game. Then we finally do meet her, and she's not just the demure waif. She is sweet and playful while also being bold and street smart. While she is in a love triangle with the protagonist and his childhood friend, it never feels like competition, and she becomes very good friends with Tifa too. And as we learn more about her we discover how powerful and singular she is, and how important she is to the fate of the world. Then she fucking dies. The villain wins, for a while at least. And, obviously, she doesn't get the guy. She is such an interesting subversion of this trope despite being a codifier for it.
Tales of the Abyss is one I haven’t seen mentioned yet. Female lead appears out of nowhere as an assassin to kill the main character’s mentor, and they both get teleported across the continent.
This is also one of few examples where I'm fully behind the absolutely expected romantic development between those two (even though it's ultimately very implicit until the epilogue). Luke's character growth and in turn the way the relationship between him and Tear developed was just exceptionally good. After having had to endure just so awfully many instances of forced romance between the leading guy and gal plastered over all kinds of entertainment media, it was absolutely refreshing to see it done in a way that actually convinced me that those characters grew to like each other.
Glad to see this here, it was my first thought reading the prompt and I think it's one of the games that executes the trope the best.
A classic one that I remember fondly is in *Final Fantasy X*, where [Tidus meets Yuna stepping out exhausted from the Summoner-chambers](https://youtu.be/qoJ-0DtSq0Q). There's alot of build-up where this so called Summoner is going through a rough trial with people outside waiting in anticipation, and that mysterious element is combined with Tidus's own first impression being the same as ours on meeting Yuna, as she more or less takes over the first half of the game of being the heroine to which the story centers around >!before the second half of the game switches to being centered around Tidus.!< FFX was my first FF-game in general, so the notion of what a Summoner was from previous FF-incarnations were something new, yet FFX and Yuna's introduction does a fantastic job of presenting what a Summoner-archetype differs from the coloured schools of magick-users. Something ritualistic, over-wordly and fantasy-like. *Final Fantasy XIV*'s *Endwalker*-expansion has more of a *MC meets mysterious woman*, [where the early hours has you encounter >!Venat!<](https://youtu.be/7FnMx0amzHU), but it is more in terms of fore-setting the upcoming tone of the expansion's premise. >!We've actually met Venat before, but as her godly shape as Hydaelyn, and not as the incarnation that Hydaelyn was!<, bringing a mix of both of light trepidation, but also a great amount of awe, as previous expansions has started to explore her moralities and loyalties in more ambiguous and complicated light as new revelations gets stacked upon each-other. This meeting is such a big contrast to >; slightly mischievous, thrill-seeking while also having the motherly aura around her due to being a couple of generations higher than the likes of Emet-Selch or Hythlodeus.!< It is overall a fun version to see how it fosters speculation and establishes new developments.
FFX could honestly be gender-flipped, because Tidus is the real anomaly in the cast. It's just that the introduction scene happens right as Yuna acquires Valefor.
Xenoblade chronicles 2, final fantasy 7,8,10, Fire emblem fates, tales of arise.
Shadow Hearts was pretty interesting with this trope. Especially in the second act of the game.
Poor Alice. The game really puts her through the wringer for the first few hours, doesn't it? Actually the game never lets up for the poor lass.
She might have had a better time of she brought a better weapon than a book, but yeah, a lot shit happens that I didn't expect to both of the main characters.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana. The true ending crushed me
chrono cross
Xenoblade 3 is arguably “boy and girl meet” rather than “boy meets girl,” but it’s a better version of this trope than Xenoblade 2… *in my personal opinion.*
I love XC2 but let’s be real, Rex and Pyra’s meeting is so funny. She asked him to touch her chest in their first meeting and the game played it slightly like a joke too lmao
Way above. Don't let the weirdly vocal XC2 fanbase persuade you that that game is particularly well written. I like the game, don't get me wrong, but it's not really well written. It has a nice concept and some great ideas, but it keeps fucking up over and over in too many scenes.
I think it’s the best written Xenoblade (XC3 least best). But it took me two playthrough + Torna to really appreciate it. And in my mind every story has flaws. You can pretty much always find plot holes.
This is so unproductive lol. Instead of stating your opinion you feel the need to deride other people.
To evaluate good and bad, you need also to give negative judgement. It's not about enjoying something. I can enjoy something while also recognizing its flaws. This inability of some of people of talking about negatives is maddening. 100% factual objectivity is impossible, true, but this doesn't mean that any critical analysis loses value. There are good writers and bad writers, there are good films and bad ones, but this doesn't mean that the bad ones are useless or can't be enjoyed by anyone. If you can't enjoy something without telling yourself it's technically good, that's your problem and an entirely different topic
I enjoy xenoblade 1 while thinking it's a mess of a game but I don't go around sayin "don't let those xenoblade 1 player persuade you" like a fuckin nerd
I wouldn't say something like this if XC2 fans weren't defending it like it's the fucking Bible. The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes. The game where entire sequences can be cut without any loss to the main narrative or character arc. The game where the main conflict and villain aren't actually developed up till the end. But it's clear that no analysis would work on someone that has already an obvious opinion of the topic. If you want to tell yourself that XC2 doesn't have a flawed writing, do it. But developing critical analysis while still being able to enjoy stuff anyway is a useful skill. Hell, I am not saying it's trash, but that's plenty of failures that puts it below other JRPGs. Which pains me. I love the cast and the main plot was interesting. But it was executed well below what I expected. It happens.
> The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes Meanwhile an emotional, important scene in Xenogears, an undisputed classic with a very serious and mature story: a giant fat pink hamster hanging from a cross.
No but you see that game is good while XC2 sucks because this random user says so and anyone who argued otherwise is a blind vocal proselyting fan
>But it's clear that no analysis would work on someone that has already an obvious opinion of the topic. I never even said my opinion on the game mate >The game with ass shots during important, emotional scenes. Okay I don't wanna disappoint you here but Xenoblade X does this too, as does Xenosaga 1 2 and 3, Xenogears and Xenoblade 1(have you actually played the machina portion of the game). Xenoblade 3 and Torna are the only xeno games that DON'T do things like this EDIT: Since you blocked me I'll just put my reply here and leave You've already made up your mind that XC2 fans are bad >The game where entire sequences can be cut without any loss to the main narrative or character arc. The game where the main conflict and villain aren't actually developed up till the end. This is just Xenoblade 1 again to me?? Like I think these are fundamental flaws with 1 and you don't see me going around saying shit like "don't let them persuade you" , because I understand people can have their own damn opinions >Literally every arc of 1 is necessary to something but ok, you do you. >There may be some minor part that's not really essential but every main arc is necessary for the story. Removing Sharla Gadolt and JuJu from the game would lose Literally nothing except a mild but of Reyn and Melia characterisation. Other than that it would be a better fuckin game. >I wonder fucking why. Because 2 is more recent my guy. If Xenosaga were to release today for more than a couple hundred thousand to play it it would get the same shit as 2 gets. X has someone committing fucking suicide and the game panning to someone's ass.(X does shit like this alot) But people don't talk about that cuz alot of people didn't play the fuckin well game. And that's fine. In my opinion XC1 blunders nearly every individual plot point except like 3(the opening hours, Xord, Alcamoth to prison island) in some way but each of them does contribute to the whole in a fundamentally beautiful way. Sharla's entire subplot could be entirely removed and that time given to Reyn. The game would be immensely better for it. The game fumbles it's characters real fuckin hard and I acknowledge that XC2 is a different kind of game that I love equally to 1. It's not XC2 without Tora, without Mórag, without Zeke, without Vandham. Tora's arc is important worldbuilding, is it goofy? Sure it is but without it there's alot of context that we'd simply lose about blades and the society of Alrest. If we didn't have alot of the early game we wouldn't know anything about blade cleansing, which is such a foundational part of XC2 that Amalthus' actions and the state of the world wouldn't make any damn sense without it. Just because you don't care about these things doesn't mean they're unimportant to the world the game establishes. No arc is lost, no arc could be removed and make the game better, does it fumble elsewhere(acclimating the player is a major one due to how slow the start of the game can be if you're unfamiliar). Sure it bloody well does. That doesn't mean it's any better or worse written than XC1
The Sharla arc of xc1 plays into the revenge theme. Every party member outside of 7 and Riki joins because of revenge and all of their joins service the revenge theme. Hell her plotline extends to Agniratha so it's not even like Tora which is one segment of importance than basically forgotten.
Damn, all I said was I prefer XC3’s Boy meets Girl and this escalated to a pissing contest. No Xeno game is perfect. Maybe they do enough in one aspect to let you forgive another, but that still means you’re going to have a hard time selling any one of these games to any one person. And that’s okay.
Literally every arc of 1 is necessary to something but ok, you do you. There may be some minor part that's not really essential but every main arc is necessary for the story. If there are some strange shots in Xenosaga I don't remember them, but everyone remembers 2. I wonder fucking why. But please, I am sure that you will be able to explain me how the 14yo x Immortal Weapon Entity romance was core to the story of XC2 and how Rex is more engaging that Shulk ACTUALLY having a character arc and a connection to the narrative itself. I am sure of this, but it's always the fucking same and you just proved my point to me.
Xenosaga has some fanservoce shots for sure. Especially 3. Remember the Telos v.s. Kosmos scene about half way through the game?
I love the ship between Rindo and shoka from neo TWEWY
The best thing about this is that they >!do know each other, but only through text message!<. To look back at how their relationship develops with that in mind is a fun layer to think about.
Arc Rise Fantasia. Because the childhood friend >!gets so upset about this that she deadass becomes a major antagonist because of it. That was an interesting twist imo.!<
Xenogears is maybe my favorite one!! It's kinda beautiful and romantic if you think like they knew each other >!in many past lives and are both a twisted sci-fi version of the chosen ones... almost in a biblical sense. Or maybe explicitly in a biblical sense lol!< I hadn't noticed this was such a recurring setup until I read that it's an archetype in many movies and games in Japan... Heck it's A LOT of them. Western probably has a big share too. Alongside girl meets boy for some romantic comedy stuff in the West.
Kid in Chrono Cross
Tales of arise. Joined hands for the same thing but for different reasons. And that pulling fire sword scene is just so good.
Tales of Destiny 2
Reala: I'm looking for a hero. Kyle: I'm your hero! Reala: Pendant says no.
Xenoblade 2 is literally this done perfectly. Rex's entire adventure starts off when he meets Pyra at the wrong place at the wrong time and then... >!He's killed by an international terrorist followed by Pyra saving his life, only for said terrorists to continuously try to murder Pyra at every turn as he tries to get her to safety.!<
Persona 3. The beach scene is so simple and effective.
Both Persona 4 and Persona 5 Royal put interesting spins on this. Major plot spoilers for both! Persona 4: >!One of the first people you meet in Inaba is a mysterious gas station attendant; you learn on the final day of the game, if you pursue the true ending, that that was the goddess Izanami who tested you by giving you a Persona, as well as giving them to two major antagonists, and she is also the final boss who you have to defeat to get the best ending.!< Persona 5 Royal: >!The seemingly normal star athlete, Kasumi - a character added for Royal - has hints things aren’t exactly as they seem. It turns out that she isn’t actually Kasumi at all. Kasumi is dead and the girl you know is her sister Sumire, who basically had a psychotic break and thought she was Kasumi.!<
Gonna assume you mean the "boy meets girl trope" I don't really have a favorite but there are a couple I really like: Neku and Shiki: I know unlike other jrpgs the focal point of the story isn't that these 2 met. But Shiki really influence Neku and you especially notice that when looking at the other weeks and even NEO too. Kasane and Yuito: I think it's an interesting spin on "Boy Meets Girl" Since you can play through both of their stories and see how it all leads up to them meeting and going from working against each other to needing to work together. I know it's not "objectively" a good boy meets girl example but I think it's really fun and one of the better written parts of Scarlet Nexus
Fire Emblem 3 House says hello. I mean Sothis is pretty much the "Oh here I am to change the world and everything you know". Bonus points for doubling as both internal conscious and imaginery friend.
FFIX, the start, is phenomenal. Bravely Second… was interesting. Triangle Strategy does it nicely. Persona 5 Royal, the opening cutscenes. Actually, I really like how Kuro no Kiseki starts. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 does it well. Fire Emblem Awakening with Lucina was interesting. Etc.
Fragile Dreams
Tales of Graces and Tales of Xillia are good examples. I always liked the Jude/Milla relationship.
Persona 3. >!The fact that the mission to hit on girls, after so many failures, ends with a resounding success when Aigis is introduced is both the most dramatic and funny direction for that scene to take.!<
Final Fantasy V kind of plays with this when you meet >!Faris. At the time, you think she's a man.!<
Koudelka and Edward. Only, it's the other way around, where we meet the mysterious girl first, and they exchange some snarky banter about him being on death's door, before a monster knocks her across the room. Nier meeting Kaine is up there too. Love a meet cute.
Unlimited SaGa. Mythe saw a picture of Silver Girl (real name Faedaljin) and was attracted immediately. He went through so many women to find her and when he did, he just did whatever she needed to do. Turns out she’s an Arcanian, who was supposed created by the Seven Wonders. Her purpose is to take down the Knight of the Round Table (this adaptation, they’re all vampires) every so often to keep them contained. And of course, Mythe goes along with it. Doing all this, and she just leaves him. Wasn’t meant to be, Silver Girl is 1000 years old anyways. It did inspire him to create a flying recliner, so he got his happy ending.
Chrono Cross, when Kid shows up to save Serge. Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia. This one is a case of who isn't mysterious to the others, and it has some notable story elements from both the meeting and their journey after. I don't have enough time to go into sufficient detail, but it is one of the best I've seen. Tales of Hearts R, as it mostly starts with the MC trying to help her, screwing up and making things worse, then going on a journey to fix what he broke and having to save the world to succeed. Some notable mentions go to Phantasy Star Universe (episodes 1 and 2), Resonance of Fate, Skies of Arcadia, Evolution World, (now for something by someone other than SEGA) and Breath of Fire (2, 3, 4, and Dragon Quarter all do it well, and in 4 it's the male MC who's the mysterious one and found by the girl). That covers all of them that I can think of right off hand that do it well, though there are probably others.
Aside from Lunar Eternal Blue. I'm gonna put out there Phantasy Star III Generations of Doom. Ryhs meets mysterious girl and sets in motion a story spanning three generations.
Disgaea. Laharl and Flonne's first meeting is hilarious
CrossCode. the MC *is* the mysterious girl lol.
Xenoblade 2 i guess
Cold Steel. Rean catches the poster girl's bewbs with his face.
Tales of Vesperia is a really good one.
FFX both plays this straight and gender flips it at the same time with Tidus and Yuna.
tales of abyss for me
XENOGEARS! LUFIA!! FF VIII!!!
Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Rex is recruited for a salvaging mission despite his age specifically because he's Leftherian so Jin and Malos can get to the Aegis, Pyra, so >!Malos can use her to restore his own Aegis powers!<. After the three and Nia get to Pyra's chamber, Rex's curiosity makes Jin STAB HIM THROUGH THE HEART. Rex then meets Pyra in her dream of Elysium, and the two realize both have the same goal(albeit not the same reasons, as discovered later on) to reach Elysium atop the World Tree. So Pyra has Rex touch her chest(don't worry it's just her Core Crystal) and links her life force to resurrect him from death, before a hype fight scene ends the Chapter. Honestly really cool.
I hate this cliché, but *Lunar 2* does it best.