Grimrock

HeavyMetalMonk wrote: If you don't like the artstyle that's your problem, you'll be missing out on some great game just because of the character designs. Your loss.

Pretty much. Though I can understand that sentiment - I was there, sniggering with fellow wRPG-ers when FF 7 demo came out on PC. But - times changed, and when the West decided that our beloved turn-based/dungeon crawling genres are an "outdated" no-no, I started thinking that maybe there`s something to all these glowing reviews and hardcore fans` claims about jRPGs. And so, yeah, more than a decade later I stand very much corrected.

Admittedly, to this day I have trouble accepting some of the styles and some of the writing. But this is one of many misconceptions that are automatically assumed in the West - manga eyes=kawaii/for kids/just stupid. In fact, when you spend some time around these games -and keep an open mind - you`ll see that they can be anything but underneath. Yes, the "style" might look at first as one and the same across (dem eyez -sigh) - but if you dig deeper you`ll see there`s in fact plenty of different ones. And while it`s true that some games have that insufferable 'kawaii" spirit intended (not always a bad thing)- others are much more dark, menacing and twisted, more than any old wRPG actually. Plotlines? Can ooze charm, clever and subtle and often understated humour, deep melancholy, overbearing sadness - pick your theme.(Admittedly here quite often translations do not help - but the fact that sentence comes out as Engrish doesn`t mean it was intended as such)

As for stereotypes - sure, sure. Orphan boy wakes up in village, travels by an airship, slime appears - okay. It`s there. But looky here...Westward...what`s that? Goddamn rats-in-the-cellar quest? Bearded wizard in a pointy hat? OrcsDwarvesElvesGoblinsDragons? Long sword/Plate Mail combo? Great evil summoned by X descended on the land - again? Yes -again and again, ad nauseum. Yet - we love it.

All this - and no mention of gameplay yet. And that`s the meat n` bones right? That was the reason I switched camps, and boy - was I in for a treat. With the above - styles and all that - it admittedly took me some years, interest in the J-culture and help of the natives to get used to and understand. But gameplay - shines through from the word go. From simple-but-addictive press-A battle systems to insanely complex need-3-FAQs-open ones. Turn based sweetness aplenty. Amazingly good action ones. And hell - proper dungeon crawling, like it`s 1991 :)
Yeah, back on topic. Sorry for the misty-eyed rant - but honestly lots of people miss out on some stone cold gems because of all the preconceptions and myths. Try it - at worst you`ll lose few hours time , at best you`ll discover a treasure trove that will last you for years. Few posters above already mentioned some classics - go and check`em out. Few more, tailored for no-big-eyes! crowd ;)

Etrian Odyssey - mentioned already and rightly so. Supremely old school, melancholy dungeoneering. Has an amazing feature: you can draw your own maps with a stylus on the bottom touchscreen. How cool is that? (http://www.ndszone.com/wp-content/uploa ... sey-01.JPG)

Shin Megami Tensei - the original SNES one, only released in Japan - but translated by fans. Amazing, menacing atmosphere set in strange version of Tokyo. Superb battles, haunting music, and the best feature - you actually have to talk to monsters, which is very amusing and then you can also recruit them. Innovation 101.
http://agtp.romhack.net/project.php?id=smt - link to translation.

Wizardry 1-2-3 ~The Story of Llylgamyn - the original remade for SNES. Very playable - it`s interesting to see the new graphics, also has a map which in case of this die-very-hard game is a plus. Translation:http://superfamicom.org/translations/in ... yn-english

Shining in the Darkness - that classic sRPG series actually started as a superb dungeon crawler. Not as grim as others here, but hey, cheer up sometime - it`s quite funny :)
http://www.mobygames.com/game/genesis/s ... tId,32498/

King`s Field - granddad of Dark Souls. Many nowadays will call it "outdated" - I consider it a great asset. It`s slow- meaning you don`t need super fast reflexes to play, it`s almost sort of turn based :) Also "ugly" gfx - but I love such dirty, grainy dungeons - game`s as grim as you get, no manga here, nosir. Quoting HG101: "If the idea of being lost in mazes with only your weapons, magic and armour to defend you seems appealing, then King's Field will be of great interest." http://hardcoregaming101.net/kingsfield/kf01.htm Also has a fantastic sequel: Shadow Tower.

Phantasy Star - on Master System, this is more Ultima-esque than pure crawler. With lovable grinding, proto-dungeons and great graphics. Playing it now, it`s amazing. http://www.mobygames.com/game/sega-mast ... Id,116502/

Most of these can be had really cheap on Amazon and others, seeing as they will never be released - "found" on the net. Ahem.
If you can`t bear any more Nippon, hehe, here`s a couple of Western unknowns:

Orcs & Elves - hilariously written by id - Doom/Quake folks - it`s a crawler-lite for mobiles and later the NDS. Simplistic and yet quite fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcs_%26_Elves

Malevolence: The Sword of Ahkranox - competition to Grimrock? :) New infinite-procedural-world indie that`s yet to be released - project I`d call quite interesting. http://msoa-game.com/

What, is it the 11th today? Oh, I`m sure everybody`s interested in some J-crawling then, right ;)