JRPG's that just got everything right

[link6616]

Persona 3 may be the closest thing to the perfect JRPG I've ever played with the exception of AI controlled teammates. I really want to play Persona 4 because it did away with those.

There is actually a decent amount of writing about why thematically that lack of control really works..... It's rather interesting and helps foster that feeling that these other characters are actually people to minions...

Anyway, truely great JRPGS.... The golden sun duo, other than being a little too easy and feeling like you needed a guide to get all the djinn was really good

 

[aww yea]

Gotta chime in here and say FF9 had a brilliant story, characters (despite having amarant, the most annoying character in the series. Every other character is brilliant depicted and developed though) battle system was quite basic but the character customisation really brought it out. It's my favourite JRPG by far. Noowww im gonna say this is all opinion because im making it sound like fact, too lazy to rewrite.

Also final fantasy tactics is a game that often slips through the net, its very solid in every area. Less characters are developed (You can eject a lot of them from your team so they dont do much after key points) but the ones that are are developed to the usually square quality. Check it out

 

[Aeonknight]

Final Fantasy IV. This is the one that pretty much set the bar for modern JRPGs. The story is dramatic and engaging, the art is gorgeous, and, perhaps most importantly, it is brutally, unforgivingly difficult. This is a game that will just maul you if you don't keep your party spry.

I recommend the Playstation port, it's considered by most to be the definitive version. You could also give the DS remake a try, if the updated graphics appeal to you. The DS remake is just a touch more difficult, too, if you feel you need the additional challenge.

I attribute FF4 for my being a paladin/knight class in any rpg that it's given an option. Dark Souls, MMO's, etc.

Good stuff.

The five JRPGs that at no point ever disappointed me:

Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (highly underrated game)
Breath of Fire 3
Shadow Hearts 2

With Vagrant Story also not having any downsides, but it's more actiony than JRPGs are.

Lufia 2... finally someone else who knows of the game's existence. absolutely great game.

 

[The_Illuminist]

Yeah, I have to say that it's gotta be FF VIII.

I mean the junction system was awesome, the story was fantastic and it's still being analysed and the meaning of the game is still being though about today - hell every time i replay it I definitly pick up on new stuff.

That's why myself and a mate just did a 30 hour 100% run through of it

 

[newwiseman]

I'll repeat what many others have said,

Chrono Trigger, Chrono Trigger, Chrono Trigger, it's the only game I don't have a major problem with.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

One of the best JRPG's I have played was PoPoLoCrois on the PSP. It was a cutsey little number, but what made it awesome was it never took itself totally seriously! The Charactors were massively lovable, and never failed to be interesting, and the battle system was simple but well polished!
It was all in an anime style, and the cutscrnes were great!

The thing I like the most about it though was the fact that you rarely had to choose characters! The story was set up so that your part was usually the only characters around at that time, and other characters tended to dissapear on their own journeys, only to chance meet you again in the future!

I loved the game because of its simple but effective humour as well! Sometimes the jokes would come out of nowhere and catch you off guard, and that what I liked about them!

More games should take lessons from PoPoLoCrois!

 

[personion]

Earthbound.

Bu-

Earthbound.

Wha-

EARTHBOUND GODDAMMIT.

It did everything right. EVERY. THING.

 

[Sovvolf]

snip

I didn't mind FFXIII too much but I just found it especially linear for a JRPG. There was few places where you could actually go out and explore, just a fixed track to walk on. At that point, I tend to wonder why I'm bothering playing it. The leveling up I thought was bull too. However overall, it wasn't a bad, bad game... I still had fun with it and enjoyed the story and the gorgeous graphics but, believe it or not, to me it really, really didn't feel like an FF game.

 

[tombman888]

Legend of Dragoon
The world ends with you
Kingdom hearts as a series.

All completely awesome games and some of my favourites ever.

 

[LadyTiamat]

Tales of Symphonia, the only JRPG that I have played through more than once. It was like FF7 to me but i won't play the sequels, the game ended too perfectly.

Baten Katios - All around great, unique battle system arounf maths and cards :3, but falls short from the DREADFULLY HORRIBLE VOICE ACTING

Persona 3 and 4- Story, gameplay and great writing and characters w dating sims!

SMT: Nocturne- Dark post apocalyptic pokemon w demons that demands you mke a choice on how to recreate (or destroy)the human world. Also dante from dmc makes a guess appearance.

 

[Laser Priest]

Honestly, I have yet to play a JRPG that has warranted the slightest bit of interest or emotion from me.

I'm quite sure I haven't found a JRPG that got a single thing right.

 

[Sandytimeman]

Chrono Trigger will always be my favorite JRPG. Download it as soon as you get a PS3 or buy it for the DS.

Agreed!

Also the Shadowrun RPG for the Sega was AMAZING! Though thats less of a traditional JRPG

I'd have to Say other then CT my pick would be Final Fantasy III (6)

 

[sheah1]

People have mentioned Chrono Trigger, and I'd like to add Chrono Cross. Just got the old port off the psn today and have only put it down long enough to eat and take an internet break.

You know actually damn near anything that is square soft but not square enix is a good jrpg.

Please tell me you're European.

 

[Draitheryn]

There are 5 oldschool rpg that are in my top 20 games of all-time list. Chronotrigger, FF6, Xenogears and Suikoden 1 and 2. All of them brought something new to the table in terms of jrpgs and each of them had likable characters, story and all-around great experiences.

 

[Robert Ewing]

Disgea is so vast, that it has to get everything right at some point. It's kind hard to get into though.

 

[Sovvolf]

I sadly I never got around to playing Xenogears or Chronotrigger and many other of the older JRPGS, not sure if they got a release over here or if I just simply missed them. However I really, really, really want to try them some day.

 

[Dragonpit]

What the-? How is this is a JRPG thread when no one has even once mentioned Skies of Arcadia!? How is it that no one has even heard of this game!? It's great dammit! The storytelling is awesome to the point where it can even rival the Persona series! The gameplay is intuitive, albiet slightly linear. The music score is awesome everywhere and really helps with immersion, especially with boss battles. The characters are likeable and the world is very immersive. The only downsides I can think off is that at this point, the game has slightly weak graphics and there is very little in the way of voice acting.

Come on! How is it that no one around aside from me has actually played this game!?

 

[Scarecrow]

The World Ends With You.

It's not only my favorite JRPG of all time, it's one of my favorite games of all time, easily making the top 3. This game just does so much right in terms of gameplay, character, story, art and sound. It really should be on that list of ours.

 

[Heaven's Guardian]

I loved Tales of Vesperia as well, but I very strongly disagree with your perceptions of Karol and Estelle as annoying characters. You can't just have a cast of badass anti-heroes and expect to have a great game (hear that, Bioware? Mass Effect 2, anyone?) because anti-heroes need characters with heroic qualities to contrast them. Flynn only acted as a foil to one side of Yuri, and even if you didn't like Estelle as a character, I wonder what you would have thought about a game that didn't have her in it?

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

This is going to be quite a Square-heavy post I'm afraid, but considering they specialise in JRPGs, I think I'm within my rights here.

There was a guy on page 2 who wrote an extremely eloquent post about FFIX, and honestly I can't find a single thing in it to refute. The art direction, story, characters, world, gameplay, music... Everything just combined to make a truly wonderful experience. Play it. Vivi needs you to play it. And you wouldn't want to disappoint him now, would you?

I'd add VI, VII and VIII to this list as well (and IV as well, sue me). At least for me personally, these have all provided me with countless hours of enjoyment. Again, I've found the various elements just worked for me, and I became entralled with their worlds. Are any of them 'perfect'? It's so hard to quantify, games being subjective and all. VIII for example - I loved it, really loved it. But the Draw system annoyed me - anyone who's seen Spoony's review will know what I mean here. But did it kill my enjoyment of the game? No. I appreciate it for what it is.

I saw someone had mentioned Vagrant Story. I've got that, though I haven't played it for years. I remember it as being very good indeed. A bit different. And the art style wasn't what I was expecting, but was really atmospheric... Yeah, that's a good one.

And I'd add Secret Of Mana to the list too. One of the first JRPGs I ever played, and probably the one that got me hooked into the genre.

As far as linearity is concerned, I think it somewhat goes with the territory. The game is telling a story, and to do that it needs to progress through various points. This doesn't just apply to JRPGs of course. Uncharted is linear. It's also a cracking game. So the linearity of say FFX or XIII didn't really phase me - it made sense for what was going on. One is the story of a pilgramage, the other of a group evading capture. I'm not going to let this sort of thing get in the way of my enjoyment.

It all boils down to personal taste.