#JRPGJuly 2025 – Week 3 Round-Up
Welcome to another year of everyone’s favorite monthly gameathon. #JRPGJuly was created as a community game-along by Anne Lee @ Chic Pixel, and hosted by MDi. Once again, the RPGamer staff is showing their support for the event by playing some JRPGs. If you’re participating, make sure to use #JRPGJuly or share your feelings over on the RPGamer Discord server.
The third week of #JRPGJuly sees staff digging deeper into their chosen titles. Let’s see everyone’s progress!
Joshua Carpenter
I’m finally back on track with Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shall Not Die. As I make more progress, the second game in the series starts to open up with new experiences. I was terrified when I stumbled into the rhythm side game, where I had to match the beat that Orihime was playing. It’s no surprise that I didn’t do well and got told off. The early Sakura Wars games really stretch the definition of RPG. Rather than getting experience and levels from defeating enemies in combat, a character’s stats are based on their relationship with the main character. So if you really offend Sakura by flirting with another woman in front of her, she will be annoyed and won’t fight as well in the next battle. It gives you one more thing to consider when you get presented with those quick decisions in the visual novel sections of the game.
While the strategy battles aren’t really what the series is known for, I’m having a good time with that half of the game as well. The battles aren’t that challenging, but there is enough variety to keep things interesting. The characters in the Flower Division all have different weapons with different strengths and weaknesses, with a variety of ranged and melee attacks means that the player still has plenty to keep in mind when dealing with enemies. I’m enjoying Sakura Wars 2 as much as any game I’ve played in the last few years, even if I’ve had to put up with the foibles of Sega Saturn emulation to do it.
Andi Privitere
This week, I’ve been focusing a lot on filling out the sprawling Research grid in Farmagia. Most monster seeds players receive in a dungeon will grow monsters that cannot be added to a combat team, but instead add to a broader pool of knowledge; farming up three of any monster provides Research Points, which can then be spent on a huge bevy of upgrades alongside dungeon loot and special items acquired by interacting with the elemental guardians.
I initially focused on improving farming abilities, such as watering larger areas, and unlocking the ability to craft robots that automate certain repetitive farming tasks like planting specific seeds. Special challenge quests require certain powered up versions of your combat monsters, and unlocking those in Research, then planting and harvesting these variants, has also kept me busy. Now that I’m about 20 hours into the game, my new focus is unlocking new ways to acquire loot from the dungeons, either by unlocking Research nodes that improve drop rates or powering up different roles in my team. Certain seeds can only be acquired if a monster is defeated in a certain way beyond basic attacks, and there’s a handy-dandy in-game encyclopedia to help track all this information. Wish me luck!
Sam Wachter
I wasn’t expecting to finish two games during #JRPGJuly this year, but I did end up finishing Valkyrie Elysium. This was a game I was super hyped for when it released, only to read mixed things about it. Once I finally started it, I bounced off due to “oh shiny!” syndrome, and it has been sitting in the half-started pile for a long while. Now, after finally completing it, I definitely found the game quite middling. I absolutely loved the brisk pace of combat, how all the weapons played differently enough, and the ability to summon Einharjar to exploit weakness was such a nice touch. The story, however, retreads a lot of Lenneth‘s ground with different characters at the helm, which is not fully a bad thing, but it does take from the idea that they could have told a much more original story with a new heroine. A lot of the world-building requires players to find hidden blossoms, and while many of those brief stories are tragic, they lack lasting impact. I did love Valkyrie’s party members, and I thought they brought a lot of personality to a very slow and vague story that was being told. I loved Kristoffer and Taika, and truly enjoyed their story beats.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Valkyrie Elysium, but I will say its biggest problem is trying to do parts of Lenneth over, and it lacks the emotional impact. I did get two out of the four endings, and perhaps at some point, I’ll try for the other two. I wish a bit more effort had been put into this reboot, as too many of the areas looked the same, the lip-syncing was off during the cut scenes, and it was missing a spark. On the other hand, I adored the combat system, companions, and I loved the music, leaving a middling game in the end. I’m happy I played it, but I wish it had given me the emotional storytelling that I crave from this series. At this point, I’m not sure what I may pick up next, and I may peruse the old half-started pile to see if anything catches my eye!
Robert Sinclair
I thought that this week would be one spent crashing through the story of Metaphor: ReFantazio, and while I have come a long way, I’m finding myself constantly pulled back into doing every side quest. I had just hit the third big city where we turned over a head priestess who was responsible for some terrible things, and, much to my shock, she was immediately executed. I didn’t know what the church would do something like that, and holy cow, that was brutal. No wonder Louis doesn’t like them at all. I’m sort of seeing his point of view on at least that much. Speaking of, we weasled our way into his gigantic ship that I’m expecting to become a dungeon any moment now, and we’re planning on stealing a book with some sort of magic formula.
Before we get to that, I’m compelled to do everything. I picked up all the side quests and went on a huge journey to every place that opened up, killed every boss, and swiped all the treasure. In the process, I’ve unlocked several archetypes and gained a considerable amount of strength. I’m below forty for my public support for the throne, and most of my kingly stats are at three. I’m around forty hours in, and honestly, it feels like there’s still tons of stuff to do. This is turning into an epic journey indeed.
Ryan McCarthy
After what seemed like a dozen tries, I finally managed to beat Zeromus and finish Final Fantasy IV. It felt really nice to finish a game that I had unfinished business with for decades, especially as it is an undeniably important step forward in the storytelling that Final Fantasy would become known for. Along with the pacing, the archetypal yet iconic characters, and the terrific score from Nobuo Uematsu, it’s little wonder that the game is regarded as a classic. While later games in the series would arguably go on to feature more complex narratives and characters, Final Fantasy IV is still a must-play for those wanting to study RPG storytelling.
After that, I finally got started on playing Metaphor: ReFantazio, which has seen plenty of praise among other RPGamer staff members. I’m only about six hours into what will undoubtedly be a sizably lengthy experience. Story-wise, I just got past where the protagonist and Strohl went into the Cathedral to rescue innocent civilians trapped inside after they failed to assassinate Lord Louis to prevent him from being crowned king and to save the life of the prince who had a curse placed upon him. I’m still very early on, so I have no doubt I’ll have more to say about the game’s story as more characters are introduced and the themes that have only been hinted at so far are (hopefully) explored further. I will be curious to see if the game does something interesting with the fantasy racism and what looks to be metacommentary on fantasy fiction. So far, the combat is showing some promise as it’s both familiar enough for those who have played the modern Persona games while still having enough additions such as being able to move party members from the front and back rows on their turns and the Archetype system, which is the game’s equivalent of jobs though I have only scratched the surface so far.
Jervon Perkins
I didn’t get to play as much this week, but I’m really thankful for #JRPGJuly keeping me grounded and accountable. Even just a little progress helped me stay connected to Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. Right now, the bond between my character and Ratha is starting to deepen. I’m in the middle of the next phase of his growth, and I’m looking forward to the moment when he finally learns how to fly. It feels like the story is building toward something important.
That said, I’m starting to notice some of the game’s “cracks”. The story has heart, but it’s often gated behind long stretches of grinding. The pacing between gameplay and cutscenes can drag, making the time between emotional story beats feel longer than it should. I’ll admit it’s been harder to stay motivated, and picking the game back up hasn’t felt as exciting as it did earlier on. Still, when the narrative clicks, it really clicks. The sweet, sincere moments remind me why I started the game in the first place, and I know I’ll be sticking with it to see how it all plays out.
Cassandra Ramos
Fantasy Life I: The Girl Who Steals Time
I’ve spent a little over eight hours total on Fantasy Life I: The Girl Who Steals Time, and I wish I could find more than an hour a day for it. After freeing the expedition leader, Edward, from being trapped in a room behind a giant rock, he is shortly afterwards trapped in another room behind a giant vegetable. To remove it, we need to obtain a Spirit Hoe, which can be found by locating the Valley of Spirits in Mysteria’s past. This Valley is hidden past a confusing forest that’s a lot like the Lost Woods in the Legend of Zelda series. We recruited the help of an apprentice farmer who we changed back from a watering can and was able to navigate through the Lulab Forest. We then helped heal the Elder Tree with some vegetable soup and received the Hoe as thanks. Before I can continue the story, though, I wanted to try out a few different Lives. I’m a fledgling woodcutter now, and I think I’ll try a crafting Life next. I’m sure Edward can wait a bit longer.
There are a few neat continuity nods to the first game that I came across. An NPC in the Valley of Spirits mentions Elderwood, a location in the first game that is also a place for spirits deep in a forest. The spirits in both of these locations call humans “hoomins.” Lastly, someone called the Forest Lady complained about a cramped fountain. Although this Forest Lady hasn’t made an onscreen appearance yet, she seems similar to Elmie, a supernatural being in the first game who is also affiliated with woodcutters and appears in a fountain. Time will tell if they are one and the same.
Steam Team
The RPGamer stream team had an extra large dose of streaming this week, but if you missed any of it, here’s what you can catch up with via VODs right now:
The Wheel of SNES RPGs was spinning on both Tuesday and Friday, where Scar finally completed Inindo! A marathon 5-hour Friday night stream has him ready to take on several important fights across half a dozen games in the coming week. The spin count has also reset for the second half of 2025, so spend your channel points to see which game will be the newest breakout hit. We’re hoping it isn’t Shin Megami Tensei If… right?
Several other streamers continued with their #JRPGJuly picks:
- HeroHarmony made it through another hot week of August in Persona 3: Reload, maxing out both his Charm stat and some key social links. The expanded scenes, especially with Koromaru, were a big hit with our viewers.
- SmokinJoeGamer continues to progress in Vision of Mana’s story, making friends with Faerie to reach level 23 with his current party. If you’re enjoying this entry into the Mana series, let us know; we’d love to hear more in the comments.
- Spare Ombres continued his Saturday morning entertainment with more NieR: Automata, and with no RPGCast last week, his stream took a little extra time to traverse sandy dunes, dusty ruins, destroyed cities, and kick a lot of robot butt. Level 25 enemies when you’re only level 15? Sure, why not? He makes it look easy as pie.
- MightyTAM is serving up a huge helping of fan service in Super Robot Wars: OG Generation. Does this story make sense to anyone else? We’re definitely enjoying it, even if we don’t understand what’s going on. At least the tactical gameplay is really satisfying, at least when our mechs aren’t getting totally surrounded. Oops.
- Noodle rounds out this week’s streams with more Final Fantasy XIV. We’re going to keep this write-up spoiler-free, but if you’re up to date on current content or just want to see how deep this MMO’s storyline can get, be sure to pop by over the weekend to see her in action. Coming up on July 19th and again on the 26th, the RPGCast is back! Podcast recordings this week will also include Q&A Quest on July 21st. Also, join site co-owner Paws as he visits the Community Gamealong stream on Wednesday, July 23rd at 9pm Eastern.
That’s all for this week. Let us know what sort of progress you’re making in your #JRPGJuly game in the comments or on social media!
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