Summary
Tomoya Asano and his team, known by their leader’s name, Team Asano, are an internal team working at Square Enix that specializes in mostly turn-based JRPGs. Asano first made waves in the industry by producing the DS remake ofFinal Fantasy3. This prompted Square Enix to provide him with an excellent team for him to craft a new IP from scratch.
Bravely Defaultwas his team’s breakout hit. Gaining the hearts of many JRPG fans that were tired of seemingly stale JRPGs, Bravely Default was reminiscent of the golden age of JRPGs, the SNES era. The team has a knack of creating beautifully designed games, paired with amazing story lines, and even better twists to make them stand out from the pack.
8Various Daylife
Sadly, Various Daylife did not make the waves that Team Asano expected. Exclusively launching on Apple Arcade, the turn-based RPG highly limited its audience until its eventual re-release on the App Store and Google Play store.
The game strongly leans on the life simulator aspect of the story, and while the characters and world are beautiful, its mobile-style gameplay loop renders the game a bit forgettable or at least something you can pop in and out while commuting to work.
7Octopath Traveler: Champions Of The Continent
If you have played the first and second Octopath Traveler games and are looking for more things taking place in Osterra, then the mobile Champions Of The Continent is for you. The game takes place before the events of the first entry in the series.
This mobile game plays almost identically to the first, albeit with some in-app purchases to up your characters and equipment. Even though both Octopath games are available on the portable Nintendo Switch, this version can easily fit in your pocket wherever you need to go.
6Bravely Default 2
The long-awaited sequel to the beloved Final Fantasy spiritual successor, Bravely Default 2 is a beautiful game that stands up to its design inspirations. Although it is a numbered sequel, Bravely Default 2 is a standalone story from its predecessors, Bravely Default and Bravely Second.
The game features many more updates to its battle system and colorful new characters for you to fall in love with. The game can be a bit grindy, making the battles sometimes overly difficult for no reason, souring many players’ experience.
5Bravely Second: End Layer
Bravely Second is the proper sequel to Bravely Default, following the character of Agnes, a couple of years after the events of the first game. Bravely Second did not do much in terms of upgrading the battle system - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - but its sidequests were buffed up, adding a layer of nuance to choices being made.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the game, but having to play the first one as a requirement and its lack of change between entries, hurts the game just a tiny bit when compared to other Team Asano games.
4Octopath Traveler
The first Octopath Traveler was a breath of fresh air for JRPG fans everywhere. It has an interesting concept that follows the lives and journeys of eight different protagonists. Not only was the template of the game something most players had not seen, but its breathtaking HD-2D art style became theblueprint of remakes for older RPGs.
Even though the characters’ jobs cannot be changed, this gives players a return to form where their party composition solely depends on the unit’s specific job and skill set. Some players might think this as a negative, but older JRPG fans will feel right at home.
3Octopath Traveler 2
Same concept, different game. Octopath Traveler 2 improves on the beloved formula that started with the first game. Although it occurs in the same world, Octopath 2 places you in the shoes of eight new protagonists, allowing you to explore more of the world of Solistia.
Some players complain about not having enough changes to the battle system, but with the addition of memorable characters like Hikari, and his ability to duel random NPCs, Octopath Traveler 2 gives players an amazing JRPG experience that you will never forget.
First Octopath Traveller game available on Xbox and Playstation!
2Triangle Strategy
Triangle Strategy is Team Asano’s first foray into turn-based tactical RPG, and what an entry it is. This game gives players a deep and strategic gameplay loop and an incredible plot revolving around multiple kingdoms at war with plenty of betrayals to spare.
Unlike other games in the genre, like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, Triangle Strategy’s characters don’t offer much customization when it comes to jobs, but that makes the game a bit more streamlined and focused on the heavy decisions that you’ll have to make to change the story.
1Bravely Default
Bravely Default came in like a wave. Back to the classic “four chosen warriors look to protect the world’s crystals” plotline that many Square Enix JRPGs use, Bravely Default nailed everything about it. Excellent characters,adorable 3DS graphics, plus an amazing job system that other games will copy for years to come, Bravely Default is Team Asano’s magnum opus.
The game can be a bit grindy at times, but it never gets old, since you’ll be able to swap jobs whenever you feel like changing it up.
