JRPG's that just got everything right

[Baralak]

Hmmm... Chrono Trigger really can't be mentioned enough. Be it on the Super NES, or on the DS, it's just an amazing RPG that really did get everything right.

Final Fantasy IV is also an amazing game. From the detailed cast of characters, to the moving plot, to the incredibly difficult, yet fun battle system. This is the game that defines "Final Fantasy" for me, and the reason I'll always pick spears in any RPG I get the chance. If you have a PSP, you owe it to yourself to get the Complete Collection.

Grandia II is also really, really good. Like the others on this list, it has a great battle system, and a wonderful cast. I don't think the story is told quite as well as it could have been, but the story itself is top notch, and a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Just thinking about it tempts me to restart it...



Honorable mention goes to Rogue Galaxy. It's a PS2 with a very unique and ecletic cast, a fun battle system, and really just takes the traditional "go to new area, explore around it, story event, repeat" formula, and just really refines it and does it very well. It's wonderfully voice acted, serious when need be, goofy when it wants to be.

 

[zombieshark6666]

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!?

Because when I got a Dreamcast, I never found it in my area and I was young and... ;_;

 

[SebbyGVS]

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?

Yeah I understand what you mean, however Estelle just seemed to be such a typical anime girl character. I dunno, it bugs me. Also because I played ToV on Xbox it meant I had to use English dubs, which i'm not a great fan of, so maybe that helped make Estelle annoying for me.

 

[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!?

Because when I got a Dreamcast, I never found it in my area and I was young and... ;_;

It was ported to the Gamecube shortly after the Dreamcast fell from grace and can be played on the Wii.

 

[Harbinger_]

Legend of Dragoon
FFVI
FFIX
Chrono Trigger
Breath of Fire II

 

[Tiswas]

Aint seen it mentioned yet.

Nier.

Amazing storyline. Great musical score. Nice depth to the chars (Maybe Nier himself isn't so great but that's cus they changed his char completely since the Japanese one.)

Others: Xenoblade Chronicles, Dragon Quest V, VII, Mario + Luigi, Suikoden II, Suikoden V, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Symphonia.

Amazingly none of the Final Fantasies I felt actually blew me away. IX was a lot of fun but I kinda felt 'is that it?' at the end of it.

I'm sure I'm forgetting another one here.

 

[Mr. In-between]

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

That's a game I never get tired of. I have it on DS because I stupidly gave my SNES to a friend a few years ago thinking he was going to take care of it (he didn't)

Tales of Symphonia was pretty tight. The battle system in that game beats the hell out of the Star Ocean series imo. I have the one for Wii but I haven't spent any serious time playing it yet.

 

[pro1337tariat]

I don't know if you could call it quite a RPG, but Ogre Battle 64, Person of Lordly Caliber. Good story, interesting play style, and I liked the multiple paths you could take in that game. I'm not a particular fan of JRPG's and I really liked that one.

Oh and Golden Sun as well.

 

[Mr. In-between]

I don't know if you could call it quite a RPG, but Ogre Battle 64, Person of Lordly Caliber. Good story, interesting play style, and I liked the multiple paths you could take in that game. I'm not a particular fan of JRPG's and I really liked that one.

Oh and Golden Sun as well.

Everyone says Golden Sun was a great game and this disturbs me because I just cannot seem to find a copy of it at either of the three Gamestops close to my home. I don't like ordering games online because I am afraid someone will send me a bunk disc/cart.

What am I to do?

 

[pro1337tariat]

I don't know if you could call it quite a RPG, but Ogre Battle 64, Person of Lordly Caliber. Good story, interesting play style, and I liked the multiple paths you could take in that game. I'm not a particular fan of JRPG's and I really liked that one.

Oh and Golden Sun as well.

Everyone says Golden Sun was a great game and this disturbs me because I just cannot seem to find a copy of it at either of the three Gamestops close to my home. I don't like ordering games online because I am afraid someone will send me a bunk disc/cart.

What am I to do?

I probably shouldn't say this, but emulators. I still have my copy from way back when but plenty others don't.

 

[Luxatrum]

Please tell me you're European.

Nope I'm from the U.S. sorry. Does that make any difference?

To stay on topic, I don't think that Dissidia really counts as an rpg. Sure it is still Final Fantasy but it's really just a fighting game. One with an insane amount of depth, but a fighting game none the less. However, I'd almost put down money that the OP isn't just looking for a good game, but a good game with a good story as well. I love Dissidia, but you're kidding yourself if you try to tell someone the story is great.

 

[NorthernStar]

I haven't found a single game yet that is without flaw, but:

have you tried the shadow hearts games on Ps2? Specifically, Shadow Hearts 2 : Covenant?

Great game, nice fighting system, fun characters. Only thing wrong with it was that it was completely crazy. Yet, still highly entertaining.



Loved Tales of Symphonia btw, but when I played Tales of Vesperia I started to realize that these games basically follow the same plot every darn time (with the big twist about 10 hours in). That took some of the fun out of it for me.

 

[Dr.Susse]

Wild arms.
A great bare bones JRPG that kept me interested until the disappointing end boss fight. But I suppose I did over level a bit.

And don't hate me but FF12 was probably the best game I played on the Ps2.

 

[Scarim Coral]

To me that would be-
Golden Sun 1 & 2
The World Ends With You
Xenoblade Chronicles

 

[SebbyGVS]

I haven't found a single game yet that is without flaw, but:

have you tried the shadow hearts games on Ps2? Specifically, Shadow Hearts 2 : Covenant?

Great game, nice fighting system, fun characters. Only thing wrong with it was that it was completely crazy. Yet, still highly entertaining.



Loved Tales of Symphonia btw, but when I played Tales of Vesperia I started to realize that these games basically follow the same plot every darn time (with the big twist about 10 hours in). That took some of the fun out of it for me.

I recently started playing Tales of the Abyss after playing Vesperia and i've noticed it too! While i can't quite put my finger on it they both seem to follow the same formula as far as plot goes.

 

[Mr. In-between]

I haven't found a single game yet that is without flaw, but:

have you tried the shadow hearts games on Ps2? Specifically, Shadow Hearts 2 : Covenant?

Great game, nice fighting system, fun characters. Only thing wrong with it was that it was completely crazy. Yet, still highly entertaining.



Loved Tales of Symphonia btw, but when I played Tales of Vesperia I started to realize that these games basically follow the same plot every darn time (with the big twist about 10 hours in). That took some of the fun out of it for me.

I recently started playing Tales of the Abyss after playing Vesperia and i've noticed it too! While i can't quite put my finger on it they both seem to follow the same formula as far as plot goes.

Most Final Fantasy titles followed the same formula until the abortion that was 12 came out. FF12 was the first game I found myself playing through "just to get it over with" since Star Ocean: Til the End of Time.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

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.

Or you could play Persona 3 Portable. P3 with P4's battle system, option to play as a girl, P4 and Catherine references, new Personas, and some Social Link updates. Downsides are that cutscenes are done in-engine instead of animated, there's no FES story, and you have to buy a PSP if you don't have one already. But yeah, go do that. And play Persona 4 anyway. Or wait for P4's re-release for PSP too.

 

[iwinatlife]

Breath of fire 3
FF7
FF9
FF Tactics
Legend of Dragoon
...Guess what system i had growing up XP

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Final Fantasy XIII, questionable plot, Vanille, completely linear in first half. Atleast it looked pretty? Battle system was quite nice too.

As much as I hated Final Fantasy XIII I loved the way it looked. I loved the battle animations, I loved the scenery, I loved the costumes. It was very beautiful but it wasn't much of a game.

I got really hooked on Dragon Quest VIII recently for the PS2. It's played on an open world so linearity is minimal. The overall design is great too, even if you're not a fan of Akira Toriyama's style the settings are all vibrant and extremely colorful. The battle system is bare bone though. It's like playing a turn-based RPG on the NES (except for the battle animations). The characters are great though! There's a lot of humor in just about everyone's lines (except for the un-named player character who doesn't speak) and, even some of the boss monsters are characters who I'd love to see again if not in a future installment than in some other media (Khalimari being the best example)

Not perfect but still worth looking up if you still use your PS2

 

[sb666]

My favourite JRPGS are Final Fantasy 9, Lunar 1 and 2,Chrono series, and Dark cloud.