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Top 5 Greatest JRPGs of All Time

The fact that people are listing Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV in this thread is disgusting.

A top five list is hard, but number 1 is definitely Chrono Trigger. There are few games that achieve perfection, but that's one of them.

Below that, I would say valid choices for rounding out the top 5 are:

Dragon Quest V
Dragon Quest VIII
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy Tactics
Persona 3 (FES or Portable)
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Vagrant Story
Xenogears

Single-character action RPGs like Souls or Nier are not JRPGs.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I'm thinking that if the remaster of Nocturne goes really well, it may open up the possibilities for more remasters of their older titles. The DDS titles are definitely on the obscure side, for sure, but worth playing if you like the gameplay and dark storytelling of SMT games.
To be fair I played a little bit some time ago, loved the setting and the battle music a lot. Was thinking on going back to it but after hearing about the Nocturne remaster I put it on hold.

I really hope they remaster those, for what little I played it seemed like a great JRPG.
 
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To be fair I played a little bit some time ago, loved the setting and the battle music a lot. Was thinking on going back to it but after hearing about the Nocturne remaster I put it on hold.

I really hope they remaster those, for what little I played it seemed like a grear JRPG.
Atlus is probably realizing that they need to remaster their back catalog if they want to capitalize on the exposure from Person 5's success. I think it's likely that Persona 3 and 4 will get PS4 and Switch remasters soon, and that Persona 5 will come to Switch and PC. After that, Digital Devil Saga is the most likely candidate, since it presumably runs on the same engine as Nocturne and Persona 3/4.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Atlus is probably realizing that they need to remaster their back catalog if they want to capitalize on the exposure from Person 5's success. I think it's likely that Persona 3 and 4 will get PS4 and Switch remasters soon, and that Persona 5 will come to Switch and PC. After that, Digital Devil Saga is the most likely candidate, since it presumably runs on the same engine as Nocturne and Persona 3/4.
I really hope so! I don't mind playing those games on their current state as I think tjey still hold up pretty nicely, but man, being able to play on comfy mode on the Switch and with slightly improvements on graphics and mechanics, like the improved fusion system on Nocturne, would be the icing on the cake.
 

Gp1

Member
73869-final-fantasy-xv-2016-old-full.jpg


One of the most unique and special games I’ve ever played. ❤️

So much wasted potential. The remake we need is one that make FFXV to be like Versus XIII


5. Xenogear, FFXII (a long list could be here...)
4. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Final Fantasy 6
2. Final Fantasy 7
1. Chrono Trigger (undebatable the best)
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
We don’t. It was already exactly like Versus XIII, if not better.
Gotta be honest, it's sitting on my Steam library and I've thought about playing it several times, but al the criticism about the combat playing itself has put me down. Is it really that bad?

Also, do I need any DLC?
 

MeteorVII

Member
God I want to ****************** your funny face so hard.

Mods, use your imagination., it can range from "kiss" to many other things.
If it’s any consolation, I actually love Slime. I think they are the best things about DQ.
Gotta be honest, it's sitting on my Steam library and I've thought about playing it several times, but al the criticism about the combat playing itself has put me down. Is it really that bad?

Also, do I need any DLC?
The combat isn’t the best or most engaging, but it is ABSOLUTELY fun and serviceable. You get 4 different characters to play with, 3 of which are really fun (fuck Prompto), and the animations in that game are so damn fluid that every fight feels like it was actually choreographed to perfection.

And no, don’t play any of the DLCs except Episode Ignis. The rest suck, but Episode Ignis was actually fucking incredible and elevated the entire game in my eyes. That’s the only one you actually need imo.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
The combat isn’t the best or most engaging, but it is ABSOLUTELY fun and serviceable. You get 4 different characters to play with, 3 of which are really fun (fuck Prompto), and the animations in that game are so damn fluid that every fight feels like it was actually choreographed to perfection.

And no, don’t play any of the DLCs except Episode Ignis. The rest suck, but Episode Ignis was actually fucking incredible and elevated the entire game in my eyes. That’s the only one you actually need imo.
Alright! Thanks man, another one to my backlog. :goog_relieved:
 
Dragon Quest V
Dragon Quest VIII
Tales of Symphonia
Tales of Vesperia

Cannot believe I haven't seen any mention of the "Tales" series; though did skip pages 2-3..
 

Chastten

Banned
Guess I'll play along. Now, a top 5 of all time can mean a lot of things. If I had to list 5 games that are right here right now, the best, then they'd all be very recent games. However, I'll go for the games that gave me the best memories over the generations, even though some of them haven't aged that well.

nKDRAzt.jpg


The first RPG I ever played. At the time I was already following the tv-show and eagerly anticipating the videogame. When it finally release in Euroland after a year of waiting or something I still had to wait 3 long weeks before I had saved enough to actually buy it. When I did finally get it, I played it for 11 days straight though. Technically I think HeartGold and SoulSilver are the best Pokémon games so far but Red gave me the best memories by far, so that'll my pick. Over 20 years later I'm still waiting for a pokémon game that gives me the feeling of actually being a pokemon trainer and having epic battles but Red came close in my mind at the time.

8mDkC1u.jpg


A few years later I had become a big fan of jRPG's. Played a lot of memorable stuff on consoles of the time, and even though I considered putting Final Fantasy VIII or Paper Mario here, my next pick is Golden Sun. I had bought a GBA on launch with a few games but most of the early GBA games were average at best. Castlevania was great, but unplayable until the SP came out, and so my GBA largely collected dust in the first few months. Golden Sun changed all that though, it was the first game that made me happy to have bought a GBA, seeing that huge world come to life on a handheld screen made owning it worth it big time. Great music, great combat. Not the longest game, but one of the GBA's best, and certainly the one I have the fondest memories of.

4q7q3xR.jpg


While I did own a PlayStation and a Nintendo 64, I never owned a Dreamcast sadly. Luckily a lot of it's best games got released on the other systems of the time and that meant I finally got to play Skies of Arcadia Legends in 2003. And it did not dissapoint. It's a great experience from start to finish, with lots of unique elements that set it apart from other RPG's of the time. Great battle system too, and the unique shipbattles were awesome. Finally getting your airship feels great in any jRPG, but none more so than in Skies of Arcadia. And then there's the music. Oh boy, that music. The Kingdom of Ixa'taka still has some of my favorite themes ever.

RgcLNdk.jpg


Let me first say that this is NOT necessarily the best RPG of that generation. Or even the system. It is, however, the first time a game made me feel like I was playing an anime. Something that was impossible only a few years earlier and amazed me like nothing else at the time. It had its flaws, but I love the world, the characters, the combat and the music. I think this might be the very definition of a flawed masterpiece.

Kgvy8xJ.jpg


I considered putting the first Xenoblade game here, or maybe even the Switch version, as I think they're all great. Eventually I opted for the Wii U game though. For one very simple reason. The world. Again, this game is flawed and I'm not going to tell the people that dislike this game that they're wrong. But the thing this game does right made it one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. And I could try to explain it but this video does a much better job than I ever could. Experiencing this grand world on foot first, then by landmech, and finally by flying that mech was an experience like no other.
 

MarlboroRed

Member
1. Golden Sun I&II
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Dragon Quest VIII
4. Yakuza: Like A Dragon
5. Persona 5: Royal

Honorable Mention: LISA: The Painful
 
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Gp1

Member
We don’t. It was already exactly like Versus XIII, if not better.
giphy.gif


You can see exactly where Square cut the corners, even the trailers show some of this...

And in fact i like the game. The combat is good, the soundtrack is gorgeous etc.
 

Rexket

Neo Member
Xenoblade Chronicles

Final Fantasy IX

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

The World Ends with You

Nier: Automata


KH2 would have been here but after playing 3 and with how downhill the series got after 2, I realize how done with the series I am.
 

MeteorVII

Member
I highly doubt that all 3 kingdom hearts games are in a lot of peoples best top 5 jrpgs of all time.
KH3 is probably the only one in contention, but KH1 & KH2 are certainly in a lot of people’s Top JRPG lists.

You’re quite delusional if you think otherwise.
 
KH3 is probably the only one in contention, but KH1 & KH2 are certainly in a lot of people’s Top JRPG lists.

You’re quite delusional if you think otherwise.
This is like arguing with a guy who insists that the best restaurant in the world is Arby's.
 
KH3 is probably the only one in contention, but KH1 & KH2 are certainly in a lot of people’s Top JRPG lists.

You’re quite delusional if you think otherwise.
You’re jumping down everyone’s throat that disagrees with you and now calling me delusional lol.

You do realise your opinion is subjective yes? There’s tens of jrpgs that are objectively better than all 3 kingdom hearts games. You even put remake on the same pedestal as og 7.. remake doesn’t even hold a candle to it.
 

MeteorVII

Member
You’re jumping down everyone’s throat that disagrees with you and now calling me delusional lol.

By “everyone”, you mean just you and Imru? I’m not really seeing any other disagreements...?

You do realise your opinion is subjective yes? There’s tens of jrpgs that are objectively better than all 3 kingdom hearts games. You even put remake on the same pedestal as og 7.. remake doesn’t even hold a candle to it.

Video game opinions are all subjective. There’s no such thing as an “objectively” better game. I’m assuming you were being sarcastic there, but there might be some other dumbfuck that actually believes that so I just wanted to clear that up there.
 

Ladioss

Member
FF VI (but my theory is your first FF often ends up as your favorite anyway)
Xenogears (best compilation of all major 90s anime tropes ever)
Far East of Eden 2 Manjimaru (first big AAA title of JRPG history)
Shin Megami Tensei 2 (SMT3 and Persona 2 are close behind)
Dragon Quest 4 (personal favorite, but culturally speaking, I think 3 and 5 were more important)

Special price goes to Chrono Cross, for evertyhing it tried (and often failed) to do.
 
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MeteorVII

Member
FF VI (but my theory is your first FF often ends up as your favorite anyway)
This is 100% accurate.

The only reason FFVI is on my list as well is because it just happened to be the first FF game I ever played and I can’t really let go of that initial awe and wonder I had with the game, even though there have been so many better JRPGs since...
 
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Termite

Member
I often think JRPGs are the worst genre and the genre that falls furthest from the quality level I wish it could be. Basically, in a totally story-dependent genre the story is usually convoluted shit, the characters are almost always underaged and little more than tropes and the dub VA is typically shite. Grinding (the greatest game design sin) abounds, and most battles are facile filler that just waste your time.

Despite that, I have enjoyed quite a few of them, even if I'd have plenty of problems with the games on this list too. I guess their overall quality overcame that.

Limiting it to one per series, my all time favs are probably:

5. SMT: Strange Journey - Loved the mix of Etrian Odyssey style maps with SMT pokemon collecting
4. Persona 4 Golden - Loved the rural town setting and murder-mystery plot, the music and style
3. Final Fantasy VII - Loved the setting and story set-up, loved the materia system and ATB battles
2. Etrian Odyssey IV - Loved the exploration, mapping and deep battle system, and LOVED the lack of real story
1. Xenoblade Chronicles - Loved the unique setting, sense of exploration, active battle system, visuals and voice acting

Strange that there are two SMT-based games on there when I despise the SMT battle system.

EDIT: Shit, if I'd remembered Pokemon then Red would be on there too.
 
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DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
This is an excellent thread. Thanks for all the good suggestions. So many jrpgs I still need to play.
 

SinDelta

Member
One thing this thread has shown me-

There are a ton of amazing RPGs.

Definitely want to play Dragon Quest V, VIII, Final Fantasy IV, VI and VII at some point.

Also Skies of Arcadia needs a full on remake. Its setting would be on par with Xenoblades in sheer beauty.
 
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