Mature JRPG's?

[Chaosut]

Firstly, i'm not putting down any JRPG's that people like, so i hope i don't offend anyone because that's not my intention. I'm just wondering if anybody knows any good JRPG's that also have mature & complex themes in it. And I don't mean games with pretentious maturity with just lot's violence and well endowed women. It just seems like alot of JRPG's are marketed towards the younger crowd with fairly simplistic characters and storyline. When i look at some of the WRPG's like; The Witcher, Mass Effect, Vampires: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Morrowind, Fallout 3, KOTOR 1 & 2 etc, i just wonder why JRPG's rarely take this path.
I don't know anything about anime, but is it something to do with anime's influence? Because i've seen a couple of prety mature and dark anime like; Monster, Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments: Lain, Gungrave, Akira, Grave of the Fireflies. I've already played Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 & 4 and thought they were excellent. I've also heard that great stuff about Xenogears, but i haven't got round to playing it yet. So i just wanted to see if people wanted to share their thoughts on the matter & if they had any recommendations for me. Also could someone tell me if Xenosaga is anything like Xenogears? Thanks

 

[Hazy]

Mother 3 has a very intricate and involving plot, while not very mature, it will fill you with deep emotions. Some of the themes are also pretty moving. But good luck tracking it down if you ever decide to.

 

[Chaosut]

Final Fantasy VI is very mature and dark, with an emotionally captivating story and great characters.

Cool thanks. I actually played FFVI before, so i'll check it out. I just realised i neglected saying anything about the Final Fantasy games earlier. I also thought FF10 was quite mature.

 

[KingPiccolOwned]

I (while not having played it and am... indecisive as to whether or not I will play it) have heard very good things of this vain about the original FF VII or however you use Roman numerals.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Final Fantasy Tactics. The original one, not the advance ones. If you could decipher the plot, it's very good.

 

[Samman]

Adult themes abound in Lost Odyssey. That is a JRPG made for adults. Also Tales of Vesperia is pretty grim. The main character, Yuri Lowell has some serious issues. Murdering and assassinating people on a whim.

Xenosaga is horrible. Don't even bother. The only likeness to Xenogears is the Xeno in the title. Really pisses me off because I loved Xenogears.

SECONDING BOTH

Especially LO. Lost Odyssey is one of the most well-presented games I've played. TOV is great too, but it's cartoony-anime look may turn you off.

 

[Chaosut]

Mother 3 has a very intricate plot, while not very mature, it will fill you with deep emotions.

Thanks, might check that one out also.

Adult themes abound in Lost Odyssey. That is a JRPG made for adults. Also Tales of Vesperia is pretty grim. The main character, Yuri Lowell has some serious issues. Murdering and assassinating people on a whim.

Xenosaga is horrible. Don't even bother. The only likeness to Xenogears is the Xeno in the title. Really pisses me off because I loved Xenogears.

Thanks for the recommendations. Makes me sad that i don't have a sixth generation console though. Thanks for the warning about Xenosaga. I've looked at some of the cutscenes from both games, and they seemed quite different, yet xenosaga seemed to get pretty high scores which confused me.

 

[geldonyetich]

And I don't mean games with pretentious maturity with just lot's violence and well endowed women.

An important qualification.

Xenosaga isn't much like Xenogears, although it is certainly mature.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

Also, the first Dark Cloud, if viewed in the proper (lack of?) light could be a fairly mature game by the end when you figured out what was going on.

 

[thatstheguy]

Mother 3 has a very intricate and involving plot, while not very mature, it will fill you with deep emotions. Some of the themes are also pretty moving. But good luck tracking it down if you ever decide to.

Earthbound would be a good substitute to Mother 3 since it actually came out in North America. Though it is really expensive for an SNES game so good luck with that.

 

[PumpItUp]

If you can stand the slightly childish tone, the Paper Mario series is actually quite mature. "A mature Nintendo title", I know it sounds like an oxymoron but the games are quite good.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Tales of Symphonia. It's pretty good and seems to not be bogged down with childish humor or actions

 

[A random person]

Final Fantasy VI is very mature and dark, with an emotionally captivating story and great characters.

This.

Personally, I prefer jrpg's with fantasy, color, airships, floating continents, and generally in the style of the SNES Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

FFX was one of the most mature plots I've ever been honored to view and beats the snot out of the MGS crap.

If you can stand the slightly childish tone, the Paper Mario series is actually quite mature. "A mature Nintendo title", I know it sounds like an oxymoron but the games are quite good.

I think the game more brings out the child in every adult than appealing to the adult. Either way 1000 year door is in my top 2 for best video games evar.

 

[dstryfe]

Xenosaga is horrible. Don't even bother. The only likeness to Xenogears is the Xeno in the title. Really pisses me off because I loved Xenogears.

I quite liked Xenosaga. Thought that some of the lines were a bit clunky, but figured it might just be the translation. What, exactly, was it that you didn't like? I may have liked the game, but it had it's problem areas...

Speaking of, that's one of the ones I was about to suggest. That and Tales of Vesperia, which I see was already covered, as well as FFX. FFXII was pretty juvenile, I thought, but I still like 7, plotholes and all (though come to think of it, it doesn't consider 'mature' elements much).

I haven't really played that many 'dark' JRPGs lately. It seems they don't tend to cater to the adult audiences much.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Final Fantasy VI is very mature and dark, with an emotionally captivating story and great characters.

Yes. Best FF ever.

Anyways, Tales of Symphonia is fairly easy to find, and while it has its humorous moments, the overarching story (once you get past the first ten hours or so) can get rather... dark.

Genocide, farming humans like cattle, and the destruction of many to save the one you love. Mature enough yet?

 

[RagnorakTres]

Hmmm...I find the moral overtones in Disgaea to be very mature, but then I'm completely biased in favor of the game.

 

[Erana]

Persona is an absolutely incredible series. And don't worry, you can grab any of the games and the plot'll make sense. I especially recommend Persona 4. It ooses actual Japanese culture, as well as a bit of mandatory anime stuff.
Edit: Drat. I somehow missed you having played them...
Hrm... Parasite Eve?

 

[deathstrikesquirrel]

I might get shot but when you look below the surface, Final fantasy tactics Advanced is actually a mature game along with the fire emblem series

 

[Chaosut]

Persona is an absolutely incredible series. And don't worry, you can grab any of the games and the plot'll make sense. I especially recommend Persona 4. It ooses actual Japanese culture, as well as a bit of mandatory anime stuff.
Edit: Drat. I somehow missed you having played them...
Hrm... Parasite Eve?

That's cool . Persona 3 & 4 were really unique and had some very memorable characters. As you said it does have a bit of the mandatory anime stuff, but overall i found it to be a breath of fresh air.