Best Nihon Falcom Games For Beginners

Key Takeaways

• Nihon Falcom games from 2000s and 2010s are now accessible on modern consoles for western audiences.
• Brandish: The Dark Revenant offers a newcomer-friendly dungeon crawler experience with enjoyable gameplay.
• Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure and Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection are underrated gems that can provide lots of enjoyment for newcomers.

There are numerous Nihon Falcom games from the 2000s and 2010s that are finally seeing releases on modern consoles and becoming accessible to a western audience for the first time. This gives many gamers plenty to explore and discover.

The two biggest juggernauts in Nihon Falcom’s arsenal are easily the Trails and Ys franchises, but these are not the only games worth playing, with many throwback titles still holding up to this day and being well worth checking out.

8 Brandish: The Dark Revenant

A Newcomer-Friendly Dungeon Crawler

• Developer: Nihon Falcom
• Release: March 19th, 2009
• Platform: PlayStation Portable

Nihon Falcom has done a lot of action RPG games, and Brandish: The Dark Revenant applies this talent to the dungeon crawling subgenre of gaming. Gamers may think that the game looks a little slow-paced, but lingering in one spot can result in one becoming surrounded, so players will need to keep pressing on.

However, this is not a difficulty that will continue to hinder players. Instead, once they adapt to it and get familiar with how to dispatch all threats in a single room, the game has a very enjoyable rhythm. There are plenty of areas to explore, enemies to fight, and items to loot, making it a great experience for beginners.

7 Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure

A 2004 Gem That’s Still Worth Playing

• Developer: Nihon Falcom
• Release: December 25, 2004
• Platform: Windows, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS

Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure is a very straightforward action adventure game with a lot to offer. The game has very pleasant visuals that make use of bright colors and hyper-stylized polygon graphics. This means that anyone who buys it today will have a game that visually holds up.

The game was originally released in Japan for PC but would be ported to the PSP, where it would later release in Western territories. It would later come to the Western PC market and finally the 3DS market. This makes it a very accessible title for gamers to get a hold of, and one that is still well worth playing today.

6 Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection

Nihon Falcom’s Underrated Dungeon Crawling Treasure

Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection may not be as popular as the Legend of Heroes or Ys games, both being other properties of Nihon Falcom, but it is a title that deserves a lot more love. The game can be seen as a much more modern-feeling Brandish, offering plenty of the likable dungeon crawler elements but with much better controls.

This can make it much easier for modern gamers to enjoy. Swapping between characters allows gamers to change how they play, and this can be a great way to keep things feeling fresh throughout the game’s many dungeons.

5 The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero

A Prequel to Get Things Started

There are a lot of long-running JRPG franchises out there, and many gamers love getting into franchises like these because of just how much there is. However, franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest tend to make each main entry its own standalone story. Each Trails title, however, follows the events of the past games, which means that gamers will be in for an incredibly long undertaking if they decide to dive in.

One place to start is with Trails From Zero, which acts as a prequel to the series. This game was developed much further down the line and has numerous quality of life features, such as a streamlined combat system, an enhanced user interface, and it can be more emotionally investing for players, too.

4 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

A Nihon Falcom Smash Hit

While some gamers might find Trails from Zero a lot easier when trying to get into the Trails games, another great starting point would be the actual first game in the hit franchise. This lets players play the games in the intended order that they were released and get the most out of each entry.

This can be a harder pill to swallow with how dated the game is in comparison to Trails From Zero. However, this game has a remake in the works under the title Trails in the Sky the 1st, which is set to release in 2025. This could be the ideal game for new players to get into this beloved franchise.

3 The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails

An Action JRPG Trails Spin-Off

• Developer: Nihon Falcom
• Platforms: PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch
• Release: July 26, 2012

For those who find the idea of hopping into a grand connected storyline a bit intimidating, they can start with this action JRPG spin-off title to the Trails franchise. It is a completely self-contained story.

Players can progress through the main story without much grinding, and there are plenty of side quests for those who wish to extend their time with the game, too. A lot of these side quests actually seem right at home being sprinkled among the main quests, making them feel more meaningful.

2 Tokyo Xanadu eX+

An Alternate Version of Tokyo

This is one for Persona fans, as the Tokyo Xanadu eX+ features a modern-era Japan with otherworldly properties. The city is plagued by rifts filled with monstrous entities, but there is a special team tasked with sealing them. The player character, Kou, joins up with this team once he realizes he shares similar powers to them.

Players can roam around this game’s version of Tokyo, interacting with many charming NPCs along the way. While the game might give off a lot of Persona vibes in terms of story and world-building, its combat completely differs, functioning an action-based system, which is likely to appeal to newcomers looking to dive in.

1 Ys 10: Nordics

Fast-Paced Action JRPG Adventures

Just like with the Trails titles, the Ys features a very lengthy line of games that follow a continuous story, but some gamers might be wondering where to start. The Ys games are more episodic and can technically be played without needing to play any of the previous games. However, those starting from the very beginning might not really be able to get into the game because of how dated the original games are.

The perfect starting point for beginners is Ys 10. This game has great visuals, fun and fluid combat, gives players plenty of lore to explore, and is a great JRPG experience in general. Ys 10 chronologically takes place after the first 2 Ys games, so if players enjoy it and want to play out their whole franchise, they will be closer to the start of the continuity. Those who don’t take to earlier games can skip them, as future titles do a great job of filling in any story gaps.