Luminous Plume

Absolutely an easy recommendation, though its not perfect. Ultimately the price tag is low enough, and the core fun is high enough that the flaws didn't bother me in the least. While Luminous Plume makes reference to Ys and Tales and the inspiration is there... I also found it to build the wrong expectations for the game. This game strips out all of the epic scale of a JRPG and tightens it to a few hour experience. You still get the story, the skills, the combat, and the customization... but it happens alot faster with little filler. This is done by making it purely combat against waves of enemies. Between waves treasures are rewarded and stories are told. Branches in the maps allow you to face the stronger and more rewarding waves, or the easier ones. There's no grinding, no exploring, limited sidequests (AKA one wave fights)... just combat. When combat is the sole focus on a game, its a question of whether it's good enough to carry the experience. In this case, absolutely yes. It takes the basic formula of Tales combat, but adds in timed guards and "Auras" that let you go extremely offensive or defensive. There's a good variety of enemies and mostly well-crafted boss fights that keep things fresh. Fight a few waves, gain a treasure or new technique to swap in... and loop. It's smooth and it generally feels really good to play. Really, the biggest complaint I have is the pacing. You gain so many levels, so many skills, techniques and items at such a rate that you don't really get a chance to enjoy it. It's overwhelming enough that I found myself using the same handful of skills and items instead of the other 30 had access to. I almost wish there was more grinding and the ability to replay levels... and I never say that. Its also worth mentioning that this is a fairly launch and there are bugs, including game-breaking ones. - Buttons and directions seem to get "stuck" resulting in you using the wrong move - I had about 5 random game freezes in my time here, 2 from cutscenes and 3 from activating my aura drive ability. - I had a few side-quests get confused and running simultaneously making them both unwinnable and ultimately freezing the game. (It worked after a restart) They happen often enough that I absolutely noticed them, but ultimately the game functioned well enough that I got over it quickly. The good outweighed the bad and I assume the devs will fix up the issues over time. Luminous Plume was a surprise success for me, because I don't really enjoy Tales games. But the combat system, the writing, and the overall style worked for me. I don't regret the time or money spent on this game.