Favourite PS1 RPGs?

[Roto13]

I'm in the mood for an oldschool (if you want to define it that way) RPG from the PS1 era and I'm open to suggestions. I've played all of the Final Fantasys, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, and the Breath of Fire games. I think I'm in the mood for something more along the lines of Breath of Fire, but I'm open to a wider range of suggestions. Any ideas?

[DK]

I was having quite a lot of fun with Thousand Arms until it got to a point where it just wouldn't play on emulator anymore (never managed to grab a copy of it), so I think that's worth looking out for. Unless you're emulating, that is, in which case I got nothing.

[Shoeberto]

Are you looking for something specifically turn-based or will action RPGs do? For those you've got games like Vagrant Story and Alundra.

[scrumpleberry]

Alundra ftw. It was fantastic. Oh, and Grandia was brilliant. <3

[Shoeberto]

I have no idea why it eluded me before, but Xenogears. If you haven't played it, I highly recommend it.

[Roto13]

Oh, yeah, Xenogears. That's one I've been meaning to play forever. (And action RPGs are fine)

[Vermachtnis]

Tales of Destiny II/Eternia. One of the best in the series IMO.

[KentaRawr!]

Legend of Mana is pretty decent, if you're okay with the whole game being a bunch of side-quests and a few cool ones. :3

[Krelian]

What about Star Ocean - The Second Story? It's not the same as BoF, as the gameplay is more action oriented, but it's a very enjoyable RPG and one of my favorites for the system.

But since you never played it maybe you should play Xenogears first. Oh, and Grandia is also great.

[Dreddz]

Oh, yeah, Xenogears. That's one I've been meaning to play forever.
You've found your answer. Get Xenogears but be warned, thats a sixty hour commitment right there. And its not necessarily like Breath of Fire. Star Ocean 2 would be better suited.

[Gogo]

LULZ FINAL FANTASY VII = WINZZZZ
if you would call Vandal Hearts an RPG then thats good, or Vagrent Story?

[Breine]

If you like action RPGs you should try and find Alundra. It's a great game. Don't buy the sequel, though, it's pretty horrible.

[Karellen]

Vagrant Story is fantastic; just be prepared to read a whole load of tutorials to understand the weapon/armour fusion system. If you liked Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter you'll like this game. The original Parasite Eve, Valkyrie Profile and Persona 2 (avoid Persona 1) are also pretty good.

[Big D]

I'll add another recommendation for Vagrant Story. You need patience and an instruction manual to get into it, but once you've got the hang of it, you're fine.

[o_O]

Xenogears is one of my favourite RPGs. Just don't expect too much from the last couple of hours of the game. :p

[Roto13]

Most RPGs get kind of dull for me near the end. xP

I don't know if I want to bother with Vagrant Story. From what I've heard, it doesn't sound like I'd enjoy it.

[NeoCracker]

Not a fan of Vagrant myself.

You might enjoy Lunar: Silver Star Story and Legend of Legaia though.

Both excellent games.

[Madame Adequate]

Suikoden I & II. Alundra. Legend of Legaia. Front Mission 3. Kartia. Jade Cocoon. Star Ocean: The Second Story. And if you class it as an RPG (Which I would), Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen.

[Roto13]

If it's anything like Soul Reaver, I have no idea how you could possibly classify it as an RPG. o_O

[Madame Adequate]

Nope, it's nothing like Soul Reaver (Except that the plot fucking rocks) much more old school. Actually a lot more like Zelda and Alundra than Soul Reaver. Basically, if you call top-down Zelda games RPGs, Blood Omen is an RPG.

[Alucard von Elru]

Ah, the PS1 has so many wonderful RPGs.

If you're looking for something truly adult, complex, and replayable, you need look no further than Yasumi Matsuno's brilliant Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story (the latter of which being my all-time favourite game). If you want to actually engage your brain on a variety of levels, these games are it.

Xenogears has a somewhat roughly told but ultimately powerful and involving storyline with an amazing atmosphere and soundtrack.

Game Arts' greatest classics saw their best English releases on the PS1: I speak of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete, and Grandia.

Suikoden I and II are awesome. Really mature, excellent storytelling with gameplay that is very fast-paced and decently varied. I find a lot of RPGs to be repetitive, but these games don't really fit into that category. All of the mechanics are simple, but fast, and getting all 108 Stars of Destiny really helps to flesh out the game from a perspective of both storytelling and play.

These are the main RPGs, really. There are some other ones I like, such as Valkyrie Profile, which I consider to be far too obtuse to be truly absorbed in and thus actually love.

[Shoeberto]

Nope, it's nothing like Soul Reaver (Except that the plot smurfing rocks) much more old school. Actually a lot more like Zelda and Alundra than Soul Reaver. Basically, if you call top-down Zelda games RPGs, Blood Omen is an RPG.
Something to keep in mind with this is that if you play the PS1 version, get ready for some horrendous load times. Even on an emulator. I recommend trying it on the PC if you go this route - it's a very old game, and just in 2D, so just about any computer made in the past ten years should be able to run it fine.

[Roto13]

Zelda-esque games aren't RPGs even by the lose video game definition of RPGs. xP But it sounds like I'd probably like it anyway, cause I liked Soul Reaver (what I managed to play of it) and I loves me some Zelda-style adventure games.

@Alucard: I've played FFT. Actually, I popped it in earlier this evening. xP

[Vyk]

Nobody's mentioned Chrono Cross. I've never played it myself, but I'm sure it has fans

I'd be another one to suggest Xenogears. Which might be my favorite RPG ever. Excellent characters, development, storytelling, music and atmosphere. Battles are usually intense and fun rather than really repetitive (to me).

Other than that I have to second anyone who suggested Legend of Legaia. Its a lighter more cookie cutter RPG. But its fun and I liked the characters and style. But its real draw was the battle system. I actually enjoyed random encounters in this game. Stringing together huge combos for massive damage. It was almost like having a fighting game in an RPG

[DK]

No one mentioned Chrono Cross because Roto clearly said he'd already played it.

[Roto13]

Yes. And I freaking loved it. xP

[Captain Maxx Power]

My experience with Xenogears;

Disc 1

Repeat the following about forty times:
Play for ten minutes
Watch cut-scenes/dialogue for thirty minutes

Disc 2

Repeat the following about ten times:
Play for twenty minutes
Watch extremely boring dialogue for forty minutes
Finish game, contemplate on the necessity to cut back on overblown, over-the-top and full-of-itself storylines for the sake of making a game that's, yknow, fun
Go outside and play

Seriously, it's not as good as people make it out to be. The only decent thing about it is it's discussion of humanity (which boils down to we got made by a big computer thingy so there). If you like big robots and stuff you may also like it.

Personally I think FF9, Valkyrie Profile and Chrono Cross were much more enjoyable.

[Alucard von Elru]

@Alucard: I've played FFT. Actually, I popped it in earlier this evening. xP
I think you'd really like Vagrant Story then. Detractors go on about how "over-complicated" VS is, but it's not any more complicated or difficult to grasp than the same team's prior effort, FFT. It's just one character instead of a mini-army, that's all. If you pay attention, think, and actually try you shouldn't have too difficult a time with it. If you're looking for knee-jerk, instant gratification, well... you shouldn't be playing something developed by the FFT team, now should you? :p

I'm also one to kind of resent calling it an "action RPG", to be honest. The most action in it is the fact that you can jump around (which leads to very minor platforming puzzles which are very easily overcome with an item called a Faerie Wing, which lets you jump a little further and higher, or even a Crossbow), and that the combat system is timing based (pressing a button in time with an attack causes you to do another one; as long as you can keep getting a good press, the combo will keep going ad infinitum, but it gets harder and harder to land a blow. On the other end, you can equip counter-attack techniques and blocking techniques which get activated when you press a button when an enemy is attacking you). The overall interface is extremely intuitive, the game is fair (if you just stand still with your weapon sheathed you'll regain all of your health, MP, etc), and VS has THE greatest map in all of gaming (3D, rotatable, keeps track of doors you've come across, where they lead, whether they've been unlocked or not, chests, etc, etc. It's hard to describe in a way, but I've never found a map system in a game that I've found more useful).

The game has a decent learning curve before you grasp how to exploit the weapon system and really nail enemy weaknesses, but it's nothing much harder than figuring out how to exploit certain Jobs in FFT. And VS is highly replayable. It's only about 20 hours or so for your first time through, but it has a New Game + mode that keeps everything from the prior play-through, and the game's depth is nearly bottomless. It's there if you want it.

In regards to VS' presentation, it's been accurately described as FInal Fantasy Tactics + Metal Gear Solid. It takes FFT's depth and art style, and combines it with MGS' cinematic, gritty edge and faster, tighter pacing. It has the depth of FFT if you want, meanwhile you can run through it in seven hours or less on a replay if you just want to experience the core story. And the presentation of its story (character models/animation, camera angles, cutscene direction, dialogue, etc) outclass MGS in every way, which is saying a LOT in my opinion. It's one of the most well put-together games I've ever played.

[Shoeberto]

My experience with Xenogears;
I really don't think it's as bad as you say. The dialogue sequences aren't to the level of Xenosaga, that's for sure. Personally I found combat to be really fun, as well. It's a good bit different than other types of games from the time.

The story really sucked me in, I thought the whole universe was fairly unique (compared, again, to other games at the time). Roto, if his stuff gave you any doubts, play the game for about three hours and see how you feel about it after that. That's about enough time to do fair justice to what it's trying to present.

[Roto13]

Well, considering I've been meaning to play it for 10 years, I have to at least give it a try. :P As soon as it finishes downloading. >_>

[Madame Adequate]

Zelda-esque games aren't RPGs even by the lose video game definition of RPGs. xP But it sounds like I'd probably like it anyway, cause I liked Soul Reaver (what I managed to play of it) and I loves me some Zelda-style adventure games.

That's why I said "if you class it as an RPG" :monster:

[Bunny]

Suikoden II is all you need. If you've played it already, play it again. If you haven't played it then you should be ashamed of yourself.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Star Ocean: The Second Story is fucking art.

[crono_logical]

Barring the Squeenix Final Fantasys and Chrono Cross which are expected to be good, the ones which first came to my mind were Wild Arms and Suikoden 2 :p Tales of Eternia, being a Tales Of game, is also great, and the remake of Tales of Phantasia on this console I think is the best version of that particular game :p Lunar and Lunar 2 were suprisingly nice too, despite being remakes of Sage Saturn games :p

[Roto13]

Oh, right, Lunar. I remember wanting to play that when it was released for Sega CD way back when. :P

[Vyk]

Sega CD was da shizz... :(

Hrm. I just looked at a list of PS1 RPGs. Since I don't have my stack of games where I can see them. I'm sure you've gotten your fill of suggestions by now. Hundreds of hours of gameplay on all these suggestions. But I'll throw one more in that hasn't been mentioned. Jade Coccoon. Its not an exceptional game by any standards. But it was an interesting take on the whole monster collecting system. Like playing Pokemon with a fascinating tribal Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke/Nausicaa) -esque setting. If you're in to monster collecting. Its got a story about some infestation of locusts or something. My memory's a little foggy

[Roto13]

I remember playing a demo of Jade Coccoon back in the day and I distinctly remember not liking it. xP

[XxSephirothxX]

Oh, right, Lunar. I remember wanting to play that when it was released for Sega CD way back when. :P
Lunar 2's voice acting and storyline are painfully bad, unless you're a big fan of cheese. The combat system was also somewhat meh, and I had to grind pretty hardcore to beat the game. Lot of people love it, though.

When you say you've played all the Breath of Fire games, I assume you're including BoF I and II even though they aren't PS1 games. If I'm wrong, though, you should give BoF II a try; it's definitely old-school, and I enjoyed it a lot when I played it, although it was one of my first RPGs and I was certainly able to overlook a lot of things that would bother me today.

[Shoeberto]

Star Ocean: The Second Story is smurfing art.
To this day I have trouble really getting into this game... I always get to a point where I can't stand to grind, but can't get any farther without doing it to some ridiculous extent, and I give up. It makes me wonder if I've just always been playing it wrong.

[XxSephirothxX]

I was assured that it was hot http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif and found it to be a bit of a letdown. I thought the writing was kind of meh, and grinding at the end was just ridiculous. I did beat it, though, but damn was it hard.

[Roto13]

I have indeed played BoF I and II. Great games. Especially II.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Star Ocean: The Second Story is smurfing art.
To this day I have trouble really getting into this game... I always get to a point where I can't stand to grind, but can't get any farther without doing it to some ridiculous extent, and I give up. It makes me wonder if I've just always been playing it wrong.


I was assured that it was hot http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif and found it to be a bit of a letdown. I thought the writing was kind of meh, and grinding at the end was just ridiculous. I did beat it, though, but damn was it hard.Could just be the massive nostalgia that factors into my fanboyhood regarding this game. I liked all the freedom they gave you regarding branches of the story, party members, and all that stuff. I also remember one particular scene where some little kid steals your wallet and then you scold him but feel bad and go buy him stuff (IF YOU WANT, of course). I do remember it being pretty damn hard though.

[Alucard von Elru]

Probably the best Star Ocean 2 review ever in the history of ever-ness:
Insomnia | Reviews | PlayStation | Star Ocean: The Second Story (http://insomnia.ac/reviews/playstation/staroceanthesecondstory/)

Yeah, calling it a JRPG Morrowind about sums up why I don't care for it, but why I can fully accept why so many people do. I'm not a huge fan of the wanderaroundsmurfinglostallthetimewithnodirection brand of non-linearity, but at least it's some kind of different. The third game doesn't even seem to try to be even the remotest kind of fun or interesting.

I'm not the biggest fan of Tri-Ace, however, so tastes will vary and all that. I like both Valkyrie Profile games a lot. But as stated before, I feel Tri-Ace's games are just too obtuse for me to love. I never feel like there's much cohesion in their design. I like different elements, but don't feel like they ever mesh together very well. They feel "stilted" to me I guess; lacking in "completeness".

[Madame Adequate]

For the record, SO2 is one of my faves ever. :3

[Heath]

Oh, right, Lunar. I remember wanting to play that when it was released for Sega CD way back when. :P

Well worth a play, both of them. If only for the rather excellent soundtrack.

[Fonzie]

Probably Metal Gear Solid.

[Roto13]

That's not an RPG at all. :P

[Fonzie]

Probably Metal Gear Solid.

[Chzn8r]

A game that has always been swept under the rug and will always remain there, hidden from any real recognition except by the most dedicated RPG fans: Dragon Warrior 7. It's often overlooked because of the out-dated graphics (for 2000 / 2001, when it came out), but it's got a lot of charm and the game certainly looks fine for what it is (pseudo-3D / isometric buildings and characters, 2D battle system, etc) because it doesn't get bogged down in trying to make really complicated characters out of polygons which end up looking choppy/jagged.

But enough about its appearance. It's got a well-honed version of traditional Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) gameplay, with turn-based combat that is more about strategy and how you've built up your characters with their custom classes/skills than anything like timing.

It's a long adventure - many people hit 100 hours even without doing excessive leveling / sidequests so there's plenty to chew on.

And the story is quite good, involving a fairly unique take on time travel, and the presence of an omniscient being. The setting is still that of the average fantasy adventure (kinda medieval, you know) so that should be familiar/inviting.

[Roto13]

I've played Dragon Quest VIII, so there's really no need for me to ever play another Dragon Quest game as long as I live.

[Chzn8r]

I've played Dragon Quest VIII, so there's really no need for me to ever play another Dragon Quest game as long as I live.

I take it it was a bad experience for you? Shame :( I loved Dragon Quest 8, I think Squenix knocked one out of the park with that game.

Still, while each DQ game isn't as distinct from the next as with Final Fantasy (where they reinvent the battle and magic systems every game, for better or worse), each still has unique characters, world, and story, and they're always the best place to go to get that old-school turn-based JRPG fix.

[Roto13]

That's the thing. All of that other stuff would be fine if they'd just mix the gameplay up now and then. For a while it looked like DQ IX was going to do that, but I guess they got scared. xP

[Proxy]

Xenogears is one of my favourite RPGs. Just don't expect too much from the last couple of hours of the game. :p

Oh come on, that game is great from beginning to the end. I loved every minute of it.
Xenogears, Breath of Fire 3, Breath of Fire 4, FFIX. Vagrant Story, Legend of The Dragoon

[Alucard von Elru]

Probably Metal Gear Solid.


Probably Metal Gear Solid.
Witty.

[Depression Moon]

What about Threads of Fate? It isn't great, but it's good.

[Spuuky]

That's the thing. All of that other stuff would be fine if they'd just mix the gameplay up now and then. For a while it looked like DQ IX was going to do that, but I guess they got scared. xPIf they changed the gameplay I would kill them. Dragon Quest V is the best in the series anyway, or possibly III, IV, or VI depending on taste.

Anyway, why only PS1? The SNES has much better traditional RPGs, for the most part. Like Lufia, for instance.

[Madame Adequate]

That's the thing. All of that other stuff would be fine if they'd just mix the gameplay up now and then. For a while it looked like DQ IX was going to do that, but I guess they got scared. xPIf they changed the gameplay I would kill them. Dragon Quest V is the best in the series anyway, or possibly III, IV, or VI depending on taste.

Anyway, why only PS1? The SNES has much better traditional RPGs, for the most part. Like Lufia, for instance.

I'm going to wager the absence of a SNES factors in to the lack of asking about the SNES. Just a guess, you understand.

[Roto13]

Because I just got a spiffy new PS1 emulator (that WORKS! Screw you ePSXe) and I missed a lot of RPGs on the PS1 and I've played all of the SNES RPGs I want to play. :bigsmile:

[Chzn8r]

That's the thing. All of that other stuff would be fine if they'd just mix the gameplay up now and then. For a while it looked like DQ IX was going to do that, but I guess they got scared. xPIf they changed the gameplay I would kill them. Dragon Quest V is the best in the series anyway, or possibly III, IV, or VI depending on taste.

Anyway, why only PS1? The SNES has much better traditional RPGs, for the most part. Like Lufia, for instance.

I'd rank them...

1. III
2. IV
3. VIII
4. VI
5. II
6. I

(keep in mind that I still thing I & II are fantastic games)

I'm currently playing through V (should be done by next week I'd say), I've put it off for way too long for a few reasons, and I only got about 1/3 of the way through VII before my save got corrupted and I haven't had a chance to retry it yet since. So while Dragon Quest is one of my 2 favorite franchises (and has been a favorite since I was in grade school), I haven't even been a good boy and finished them all yet :x

[JackNapier]

Tales of Destiny II/Eternia. One of the best in the series IMO.

I'll second this.

[Roto13]

I definitely want to give any English Tales games I can find a playthrough at some point. I've only played the 3D incarnations so far, but I love them.

[Citizen Bleys]

Add in my vote for Suikoden. Although I liked Suikoden I better than II. Suiko2 was too long, and you had to a lot of dull, repetitive sidequests to get your 108 stars. The first Suikoden was short but fast-paced. Suiko2's army battles were definitely better than the glorified game of rock, paper, scissors that were the duels and army battles--which is what makes everyone slam on Suikoden I--but it's an RPG, not a tactics game. Screw the large-scale battles.

[Vivisteiner]

Take a guess.

[Roto13]

I've played it. xP

[Markus. D]

Grandia, LoDRG, FFVIII, Tales =], Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Vagrant Story! Thousand Arms (as easy as it is, no seriously...).

[Zeus]

I feel quite the bond with you roto. Not only did I just recently get a working psx emu but i've gone and dug myself a hole in which to play sweet ps1 rpgs. I have a lot of ps1 games already, but try finding the lunar games or grandia anywhere for a cheap buck.

Anyway to make a point, I have both Xenogears and Vagrant Story underneath my bed collecting dust. I've beaten neither game because somewhere along the lines they lost me...hard. But the good thing is, I want to play gears again and get into it. It had a solid cast and a grand scale, you just needed a whole lotta time and patience, which I didn't have at the time. Vagrant Story got put into storage cause of FFXII, so yeah it was not a good day for Vagrant.

Currently I'm playing FF8 on a epsxe emu which for the most part runs aight, but if have a better one, hit me up, I'd love to try it.

[Roto13]

... you just needed a whole lotta time and patience, which I didn't have at the time.

Yeah, that happens to me sometimes. It's why I never finished Beyond Good and Evil.


Currently I'm playing FF8 on a epsxe emu which for the most part runs aight, but if have a better one, hit me up, I'd love to try it.

I'm using pSX. The main advantage for me is that it took absolutely no effort to get working. :P No BIOs or anything to mess with. No matter what I did with ePSXe, I couldn't get it to work. pSX is pretty feature light, but I like it that way. If you're not having any real problems with your current emulator, there's probably no need to try pSX because it doesn't really do anything special.

[Zeus]

Well thats cool, for the most part I get a little antsy if it runs or lags for a sec or two, but it hasn't done me wrong. For the record roto, i tried to get a working psx emu almost 3 years ago or was it four...

Anyway because of the bios and the video and etc, I gave up. But recently, idk i was inspired to get one working. I invested a whole day and got it. So yeah nothings impossible, you just need time and patie...http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif...nevermind. I'm gonna try my hand at the Lunar games after 8.

[Alucard von Elru]

... you just needed a whole lotta time and patience, which I didn't have at the time.

Yeah, that happens to me sometimes. It's why I never finished Beyond Good and Evil.
BGE is like 10 hours long (to get everything) and is one of the fastest-paced and most satisfying game experiences I've ever had. If that didn't do it for you, I don't know what the hell to reccomend. :P I went through it for the first time only several months ago, and I don't really have much time for games. But I was hooked on that game enough to finish it twice. I don't really replay games anymore, so that really meant a lot to me. Anyway, er, sorry for the off-topicness.

[Roto13]

See, at the time everyone kept saying it was a lot like Zelda so I figured it would be about as long as a Zelda game. xD

[Alucard von Elru]

See, at the time everyone kept saying it was a lot like Zelda so I figured it would be about as long as a Zelda game. xD
Ah. lol The reason I love it is because: it's like Zelda except with a rich, meaningful plot/world and without the 40 hours of filler and fetch-quests.

[Roto13]

Nonsense. 40 hours of filler. Not everything between the opening and ending cutscene is filler.