JRPG's that just got everything right

[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.

 

[Vegosiux]

Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, Disgaea

 

[Vivi22]

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.

I do have a PSP, but never bothered to get P3P. I knew it improved some areas, but if I was going to buy the game again I'd try and track down FES so I could get the additional story content, more battle control as well as still get the anime cutscenes.

I do want to track down a copy of Persona 4, in part because the re-release is going to be for the Vita, not the PSP, and given it's the only game I want for it, I might as well save some money and just buy the original if I can.

 

[bliebblob]

final fantasy x, I just can't think of one story element or game mechanic that I didn't like.

No wait I have one: your blitzball team got too strong too fast.

 

[SebbyGVS]

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

One of my favorite games when I was about 12. I'm not sure if I would be able to play it again today though. Back then i'm pretty sure I grinded for 10 hours straight just so i could wipe the floor with the next boss. Honestly don't know how I did it seeing as as you said the combat was about as basic as it gets.

 

[Legion IV]

Apart from the obvious classics, I'mma gonna throw a newer game in there.

Xenoblade Chronicles.

Now, I'm not the biggest JRPG fan, FF13 was an abomination, but Xenoblade Chronicles has restored my faith in the genre.

Americans are in for a treat when this game arrives on their shores.

I enjoy how FF13 is an abomination even though it was decent but Xenoblade was perfectly fine. Does not compute. Maybe it was just me but i found the characters a little flat, gameplay uninspired and just, i've seen this game before. It also felt really dumbed down as i never really broke a sweat in battle ever, even the final boss was easy.


OP: The games that did it the best to me are pretty much Japanese only or The ports had issues.

Spectral Force 1 and 2 For the playstation Import only.

Spectral Souls 1 and 2 Ps2 import only (think 2 had a psp port)

Blazing Souls Ps2 import, think theres a PSP Localization as well.

Record of agarest war, that does have a good localization.

I guess as you can see all these games are made by idea factory, The best JRPG developer ever. There games are genius and actually challenging unlike most rubbish these days.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

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

-snip-

One of my favorite games when I was about 12. I'm not sure if I would be able to play it again today though. Back then i'm pretty sure I grinded for 10 hours straight just so i could wipe the floor with the next boss. Honestly don't know how I did it seeing as as you said the combat was about as basic as it gets.

Something about the combat animations and the fact that you can (theoretically) max out your level no matter where you are in the game made the fights easier to bare. Also, the fights were pretty quick compared to other JRPGs: no cool-down bars just picking your attack and, target 2 - 4 times and waiting for the animations to pass by. Gotta love those simple pleasures.

 

[TheGreatKlaid]

Xenosaga Episode 3. It managed to fix that godawful battle system. Make the skill tree fun. The game finally feels epic. I blew through it in a month and I always wanna go back to it again.

 

[Il_Exile_lI]

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.

I do have a PSP, but never bothered to get P3P. I knew it improved some areas, but if I was going to buy the game again I'd try and track down FES so I could get the additional story content, more battle control as well as still get the anime cutscenes.

I do want to track down a copy of Persona 4, in part because the re-release is going to be for the Vita, not the PSP, and given it's the only game I want for it, I might as well save some money and just buy the original if I can.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but FES does not have party control, it's still all AI controlled.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Probably obvious titles like Chrono Trigger and Persona 4, but my personal favorite is Tales of Symphonia, a game with a deep story, great characters, and good voice acting (the English version, anyway).