Your top 10 RPGs, though you all are still top 10 RPGS ;P

[Wolf Kanno]

Inspired by the IGN article, what are your top ten favorite RPGs and why?

[Laddy]

As I said:

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Baldur's Gate II
3. Fallout 2
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Planescape: Torment
6. Final Fantasy IX
7. Persona 3
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Deus Ex
10. Ultima IV

Honorable Mentions: Might & Magic IV, V, and VII, Fallout: New Vegas, Tales of Symphonia, Wizardry 8, Grandia, Return to Krondor, Morrowind, Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle, Persona 4, Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasty IV, XII, and Tactics.

[Fynn]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles
2. Kingdom Hearts (series)
3. Planescape: Torment
4. Final Fantasy XII
5. Baldur's Gate II
6. SMT: Persona 4
7. SMT: Digital Devil Saga
8. Final Fantasy VI
9. SMT: Strange Journey
10. Pokemon Black

This list is how I feel now. The first four are generally stable, but the rest are kind of dependant on my mood.

[Pete for President]

I'm a top 10 RPG's? You're a top 10 RPG's WK!

Anywho:

1: Dark Souls (who can deny the greatness that is Dark Souls?)
2: FFX (was #1 for almost a decade :0 )
3: Vagrant Story
4: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (as far as it's considered an RPG)
5: FFT (even though I don't own it : ( used to play this on a friend's PSP)
6: Valkyria Chronicles
7: FFIX
8: Pokémon Blue
9: Demon's Souls
10: I came to realize I don't have that many favorite RPG's...

[Pike]

I don't think I've played ten RPGs. :shobon:

[Jinx]

oh god it burnssssssssss

[Bubba]

I refuse to answer this until the thread title has been altered...

[NeoCracker]

Firstly, why the fuck do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

[Quindiana Jones]

I haven't the willpower to put them in any proper order, so I'm just going to list my ten favourite RPGs as they come into my head.

FFIX
FFVI
FFV (haven't even finished this one yet!)
Lost Odyssey
Fallout: NV
FFXII
RuneScape
Baldur's Gate II
Dark Souls
FFVII

[Tigmafuzz]

I refuse to answer this until the thread title has been altered...

My first thought was "NO I AM NOT TEN RPGS"

[Fynn]

Firstly, why the smurf do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

Those glasses are suddenly VERY fitting...

[DMKA]

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Xenogears
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy XIII
6. Final Fantasy VIII
7. Final Fantasy IX
8. Lost Odyssey
9. Final Fantasy XII
10. Kingdom Hearts

[krissy]

You're top 10 RPGs

awwwww thank youuuu blush blush

[Del Murder]

Don't have time to explain why and the order after number 5 is pretty much a rough guess.

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Final Fantasy IV
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Final Fantasy XI
7. Super Mario RPG
8. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
9. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
10. Secret of Mana

[NeoCracker]

Firstly, why the smurf do you people always list your number 1 first? You are suppose to start at the bottom and build suspsense towards #1. I hate you all.

Secondly, I work on a list a bit later today!

Those glasses are suddenly VERY fitting...

I do what I can. :)

Anywho...

I decided to limit myself to only one entry from a game series on this list. I'll cover in the description why that was the one used instead of the others.

Odd Mention: Fall Out New Vegas
This is an odd one for me. First off, I love the World in New Vegas, the characters are all great, and the story they are telling is great. It is bounds better then Fall Out 3, easily my
favorite Bethesda title. The games biggest problem is how damn buggy it is, which can get way more frustrating then any game should be allowed to be. Really though, this is a problem
with all their open world titles.

Really though, there is very little I dislike about the game (The Lonesome Road expansion being the exception, but that's a rant for another day. :p). It's also got easily the
best motivation to do the main plot of any of these games. And, for the record, Benny is smurfing awesome.

Yet I don't really replay it, and I have no real desire to do so. Part of this problem comes in with the Legion, NCR, and House. NCR just feels kind of Generic, and it's hard to care to much
about them. Ceaser gets a lot of build up, yet you finally meat him and it's the most disappointing moment in the game. This isn't a guy who should be called Ceaser, he's a guy who should
be operating a small gang out of a dirty cave. House is great, but solely a self centered dick. Yet these are my only options? This or Anarchy?

At the same time though, so many of the stories and tales of the Mojave get wrapped up at the end depending upon your decisions, and there feels like real closure has happened. You feel as if
you had actually accomplished something, in stark contrast to Skyrim (Oddly the only Elder Scrolls I enjoy. :p).

Really, as a result, I don't know how to place this game. o_O

Honorary Mention: Earthbound
This game is hilarious to me. This is probably the games biggest selling point right here. It has a solid battle system, and allows you to auto-win a lot of weak encounters so that you aren't just
wasting your time. The characters are fun, and the design is great. The reason this is low on the list is because regardless of how funny it is, it doesn't really do anything great in terms of story
or gameplay. It manages to do it all effectively though, so it has a nice little place in my heart.

Also DQ V was really close to making the list. :(

10. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinestrals
This game was absolutely wonderful. Easily the best in the series, a favorite aspect of it was the puzzles. While on subsequent playthroughs they posed no threat, they were all very cleverly designed. The game is full of wonderful characters, as the IP system used in battle was amazing and allowed for a fair bit of customization, especially with the Capsule Monster you could select
to figth with you.

It is also one of the only RPG's that actually kills off Player Characters. (At the time, FF IV was the only US release title I can think did this, FF II and V would make use of this
as well.) Even now a days RPG's avoid killing your hero's, so I have a soft spot in my heart for a game that keeps from pulling punches.

It also has a very touching scene in which, rather then just leave the ruined town, your party stays behind to help Iris bury the dead as a show of respect, even though your characters had never so much as heard of this town before this. I shouldn't need to explain further why this bit was so awesome.

9. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
This is my second favorite SRPG. The combat does an amazing job at both keeping you involved, and making you feel like the commander of the army. The game is actually a good challenge, the story is solid, and while the maps aren't amazing, a lot of the Sprites show a lot of work and detail.

The game even has 13 or so endings depending upon your choices and actions. Easily the best 'morality system' (Probably not a good way to describe it, but it fits well enough for now) that dwarfed even current generation games. It has a Reputation, how good or evil you are perceived, an Alignment (How good or evil you actually are) and Charisma. These three things, in conjunction with your handling of in game events and who you recruit determine you ending.

The biggest hold back, however, is how the weirdest things will affect your above three stats, yet the game never explains it all to you. You can find yourself on the ropes
trying to recover lost Alignment when you hadn't even realized it had fallen.

This holds it back from actually being the best, to not being higher on my list.

8. Dark Cloud 2
In all honesty, Dark Cloud 2 is probably the most flawed game on my list. I will go ahead and get the flaws out first. There is an obvious power tier in this game.
Max's Ridepod can destroy pretty much anything in this game, and nothing seems to have an advantage on it. Max's gun itself is pretty damn superior to Monica's magic, in
that there is no Situation in the game Magic works better. The only thing Monica does better is her sword is faster then the Wrench, so she can inch out a bit there, though
the speed doesn't really make up for the obvious power difference. In additions, Monica's Monster Transformations take a massive amount of effort to even make usable, they don't hold a candle even then to the Ridepod of Max's.

The story is pretty basic for the most part, and the main plot won't hit you with anything that'll shock you.

Now onto the good, while the main plot is basic, the actual characters in the story are superb. In addition, the Crest the Great Sage Chapter is absolutely wonderful, and easily the best part of the story overall. It also has the only real twist of the game plot when Erin takes on the name of Crest to become the Great Sage.

The combat is solid, and while it's clear Max is superior to Monica, she is still a lot of fun to break out. Building up and synthesizing your weapons is also a blast.

I would go on to say it's one of the games strongest points. You have a good variety of weapons to choose from, keeping your play style varied depending on how you evolve your wrenches, swords, guns and Armlets.

It has a great set of mini games such as Fishing, raising fish for competition, and Spheda to keep you entertained throughout the game. The town building aspect is great as well, though I do wish you had a bit more freedom in how to achieve goals for town growth.

The good in this game far out weighs the negative aspects of it. It's also one of the longer RPG's out there. And I love a good long RPG.

7. Dark Souls
This game makes the list for three reason. Firstly, the art design for this is absolutely gorgeous. It is easily one of the most aesthetically pleasing games
I have ever seen. There is not a moment in that game where I can say the design is bad. Hell, I can't even think of a time I'd say it's just above average.

Secondly, the gameplay is great. There are a lot of options on how to build your character, and the controls may take a bit, but they handle very well.

The third for me is difficulty. It's not often a game this hard comes out, though I love the challenge it offers. This is honestly one of the better reasons to
rank it this high for me, because I love a challenge. The more effort I put into a game to beat it, the more satisfying it is.

The story is alright, though nothing great. It does a well enough job to keep you invested, and there are a few stand out moments however.

6. Breath of Fire 2
Breath of Fire 2, for me, is the coming together of all elements of classical JRPG's and fine tuning them to there highest point. As a fan of the classic JRPG
this game was probably a lot more enjoyable to me then others. While graphics weren't as good as other SNES RPG's like FF VI and Chrono Trigger, is sported some
amazing looking in Battle Sprites, probably the most detailed of the Genre time.

The story and characters were both wonderful as well. There is a good amount of time fleshing out the world you live in, and the villain slowly begins to show himself
throught the course of the game, leading into the twists of the plot. This game shows a fair amount of depth I'd wish a lot more RPG's would start taking notes from.


5. Devil Survivor 2
This right here is my favorite SRPG of all time. The only real downside to this game is that it is on a handheld. I hope for the day Shin megami brings Devil
Survivor to a console where it rightfully belongs.

As is typical with Megaten, they game is hard. Very hard, but not unfairly so. Anything you can do as a player, the AI can do as well. Best of all, the AI will take advantage of this. It'll even try to lure your units into traps, as it were. It's among the best SRPG AI i've ever seen.

As is typical with the Genre, your team is highly customizable. Four units of three guys each and a ridiculous amount of combat abilities create a more versatility
then a game like Final Fantasy Tactics.

The maps are all well designed, the art designs are amazing, and the characters are all amazingly written. One of my favorite parts is being able to, essentially,
pick a side in the struggle at the end, and unlike in New Vegas, I can look at all four options available and understand and empathize with everyone views.

Hell, Joe, my favoirte character, probably puts forth the best argument I've ever heard for a communistic society (Still against it mind you, but smurf it's a hard point to shut down.)

4. Chrono Trigger
This game may well be tied with Devil Survivor 2 for this spot. I chose this for the #4 stop out of Nostalgia. :p

I really shouldn't have to go over why this is such a great game. Hell, Bolivar's rants against it are more then enough to get you to side with it. ;P

Great world design, great characters, innovative Dual Tech System, and more open then most RPG's on the SNES at the time. (FF VI being about the only other contender for that spot, at least if you ignore DQ V since it hadn't been released in the states yet. :p)

I will avoid beating this debate with a stick any more though, we have enough of that in the other thread.

3. Final Fantasy IX
This was one of the hardest choices for me. Not so much putting this game at 3, but picking FF IX over VI. The reason I went with IX is with FF VI, depending on the day you catch me I may say Chrono Trigger is the superior game (Though most times I'll say VI). I would never say that about IX. VI has a wonderful cast, an amazing world, wonderful music, and a terrific villain.

Perhaps because of my love of old school RPGs, I can look past the slower pace of FF IX's battle system (Though I only really find it slow early on) and on pretty much every note FF IX beats out VI. Dancing mad being the exception, I find IX's music superior. The World design is absolutely wonderful, though I find them pretty tied on the Final Dungeon design.

It also has the advantage of posing more of a challenge then VI. Still not a very difficult game, mind you, but more effort was taken.

And as much as I loved VI, it was at least in part responsible for starting a bad trend in FF. Everyone can learn all spells, mixed with Esper Per Level stat bonuses, make a lot of your characters basically the same near end game. FF IX manages to keep your characters unique. I know a lot of people aren't a huge fan of lacking in the ability to customize their characters more (There is a little bit, but not really enough to begin comparing it to the likes of VI-VIII), it keeps the characters feeling more distinct. This is something VI loses around half way through the game.

In the end, IX manages to inch just ahead of VI in all categories.


2. Xenosaga Episode 3
There is no reason to really go into depth as to why 3 was pitted over 1 and 2. 2 was, pretty unanimously, the worst entry of the saga. While I think it gets treated harsher then it should, there were a lot of massive set backs to the gameplay and customization system.

Three, however, took all the best aspects of 1 and 2 (Okay, it only really took 2's superior Boost System, since it's the only thing the game did right), and made an amazing game from all they had learned. The series on a whole has some of gamings darkest moments, and a truly great plot for those who stuck through the ride of all three games. Even with all the behind the scenes complications, pretty much everything was wrapped up. The game has no wasted time in terms of plot, challenging gameplay, and great art design.

It's also a game that, during they end, doesn't pull it's punches and actually kills off characters you'd come to care about, they make you sympathies with someone who was a sadistic and threatening villain, gives you fun Mech Battles, and wraps up with a
satisfying conclusion. I know a lot of people will disagree, but you're a bunch of sycophants anyway, so bugger off!

1. Persona 4
This is the standard by which all RPG's should live up to. It has probably the best character development in any RPG I've ever played, rivaled only by games like Xenosaga and Persona 3. This game wins out over Persona 3 for surpassing three in pretty much ever imaginable way. (3, however, did a couple social links better and the three types of physical attacks was wonderful, but on a whole 4 still did better)

Since we have a thread on persona already, and I've talked to death about this, I'll avoid going on for to long on this one gain.

I will say though, in the modern gaming era Atlus is pretty much the RPG king, releasing the best RPG's of not only this generation, but some of the best ever made, and actually treat it's audience like adults who can handle and understand
the darker tones of the plot and subtleties.

[Denmark]

listed in the order in which i thought of them:

chrono trigger
secret of mana
ff6
ff4
ff1
baten kaitos: eternal wings and the lost ocean
pokemon (all) (except yellow)
secret of evermore
super mario rpg
earthbound + mother 3

yeah technically 11 or technically 29 (counting each pokemon version individually) but what you gonna do bout it

[Pike]

>this many people freaking out about a typo

You guys are weird.

Anyways I'm still having trouble thinking of my top ten RPGs because I honestly don't feel like I've played enough of them to properly rank them. Morrowind is probably my #1.

[Fynn]

>this many people freaking out about a typo

You guys are weird.

Anyways I'm still having trouble thinking of my top ten RPGs because I honestly don't feel like I've played enough of them to properly rank them. Morrowind is probably my #1.

Ooh, I just started Morrowind, and it is awesome :D I'd love it if you could give me some tips in my usernotes :love:

[maybee]

1 Final Fantasy VI. Loveable characters, nice music, wonderful and thrilling villian.

2 Chrono Trigger. I loved how open it was and how much depth it had and all the different endings it had. It felt deep and it still feels pretty deep today.

3 Dragon Quest IX. It was neat how you could create your own heroes and how you had freedom on the character look and design. Story could be a bit better.

4 Final Fantasy VIII. I like this game despite the hate that it gets. I love the refreshing and different battle system and leveling up system. Again story is eh.

5 Kingdom Hearts II. Kingdom Hearts was a decent game and Kingdom Hearts II just turned up the volume. Good worlds, better character depth, good story.

6 Star Ocean Till the end of time. The graphics are crappy and the story again is a bit eh, but I just liked it. Even though it has it's flaws it had something special and emotional about it.

7 Final Fantasy IX. A game that is sadly quite underrated because of it's appearance. Emotional story, amazing soundtrack, good characters. It's good.

8 Final Fantasy IV. I love this game SNES and DS versions both. This is the first game that I played that gave me that attachment towards the characters because I loved them so much. Though sadly it flops near the end. Moon ? What ? Huh ? The characters are back ? Huh ?

9 Persona 4. Persona 4 is fun and really creative. It doesn't hold me in as much as say Chrono Trigger, but it's fun and has a good balance of all emotions.

10 Tales of Versperia. I just got this game but I'm already loving it and liking it quite alot. The shouting in battles can get annoying though, but the characters are decent and the storyline is decent just don't be so chatty in battle.

[Alpha2099]

Time to find out if I've actually played 10 different RPGs...

1. The Legend of Dragoon
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Oblivion
4. Morrowind
5. Pokemon (Just going to lump all the versions I've played here, which is Red through Crystal.)
6. Final Fantasy VI
7. Final Fantasy I (GBA Version)
8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
9. Final Fantasy IV
10. James Bond 007 (While not officially an RPG, it has a distinct Zelda feel to it, so I'm counting it. And if you're wondering exactly which game I'm referring to, I'm talking about the old Game Boy game.)

[Jinx]

OCARINA OF TIME

[Pike]

OCARINA OF TIME

Not an RPG imo! I don't consider any of the Zelda games to be RPGs.

[Alpha2099]

OCARINA OF TIME

Not an RPG imo! I don't consider any of the Zelda games to be RPGs.
Now now, just because you don't level up, that doesn't make it less of an RPG.

[Wolf Kanno]

OCARINA OF TIME

Not an RPG imo! I don't consider any of the Zelda games to be RPGs.

Nintendo certainly counts it. Most of them are listed as RPGs on their Virtual Console database.

[Pike]

I wasn't referring to leveling up so much as the lack of things like stats and items with stats on them, and/or turn-based combat with spells and such. I know that's perhaps a narrow view but you've got to define the genre somehow! I'd consider Zelda to be action-adventure games. I mean the first game is really just running around and hitting things with your sword and nothing else.

I understand it's all subjective, though.

[Quindiana Jones]

Nintendo certainly counts it.

Zelda is definitely an action-adventure game.

[Laddy]

Yet I don't really replay it, and I have no real desire to do so. Part of this problem comes in with the Legion, NCR, and House. NCR just feels kind of Generic, and it's hard to care to much
about them. Ceaser gets a lot of build up, yet you finally meat him and it's the most disappointing moment in the game. This isn't a guy who should be called Ceaser, he's a guy who should
be operating a small gang out of a dirty cave. House is great, but solely a self centered dick. Yet these are my only options? This or Anarchy?
I think that's the point, imo. All of the choices suck a little bit in their own ways. Leaders are underwhelming and everyone has an ulterior motive. You have the choice to make things better and at what cost.

[Denmark]

OCARINA OF TIME

Not an RPG imo! I don't consider any of the Zelda games to be RPGs.

counterpoint: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
way more of an rpg than OoT is

[NeoCracker]

I understand it's all subjective, though.

Well, I guess I can then call Civ a rape Simulator then. :colbert:

[Raistlin]

Suikoden fanboy list coming.

1. Suikoden II: Just an amazing game. Great story, great characters, fun gameplay. Jowy is one of the most well-written characters in any game, ever.

2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The most well-written (if worst translated, for the PS1 version) game in the FF series. A mature, political story backed by a highly engaging battle-system, and it has the best job class system in the series. Delita is up there with Jowy as one of the most interesting video game characters. And Ramza is the best hero in the FF series, in my opinion.

3-4: Suikoden III and V: I'm not sure how to decide between these two. S3 had better characters, but S5 was much more polished and had a better major battle system. They're very close in my eyes, and both superb games.

5. Lunar: SSSC: This is some nostalgia talking, and Lunar's gameplay is not up there with those above it (or even some below it), but the story and characters are just so fantastic, it has remained in my top 5. From the PS1 era, it also features better voice acting than most PS2 games, and has my favorite ending.

6-10 (in no particular order:
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Suikoden I
Chrono Trigger
Baldur's Gate II (the only WRPG on my list, so you know it must be good)

[Dreddz]

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Deus Ex
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Persona 4
5. Panzer Dragoon Saga
6. Phantasy Star II
7. Phantasy Star IV
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Dark Chronicle
10. Final Fantasy VI

Panzer Dragoon Saga will unfortunately be clouded in obscurity forever due to being on the Saturn. Shame.

[Pete for President]

Found the time to explain my list:

1: Dark Souls
Everything about this game has been developed with so much care. Every item, character, enemy and event has meaning, and has been placed with utmost thought and focus. The game teaches you so much without the use of words. The feeling of solitude is ridiculously powerful; it really takes immersion to the next level. NPC's feel like instant friends when you meet them, even the evil ones. And there's super innovative online play I'd never seen in a game. Ah, I could talk about this game all day.

2: FFX (was #1 for almost a decade :0 )
The themes covered in the story are on par with 1984, or even more significant. The pacing and design are truly amazing, the sense of grandness matched by very few games. The world is immersive as hell, and the ending gets all my praise.

3: Vagrant Story
Never heard better sound design than Vagrant Story. Oh what glory when that Great Axe slices through opponents. Like Dark Souls; everything has been placed with thought and care. The weapon system is deep and the developers weren't afraid of killing off characters. I always respect that.

4: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (as far as it's considered an RPG)
Freedom! Gadgets! Creative problem-solving! Some very atmospheric moments. Loved every bit of it.

5: FFT (even though I don't own it : ( used to play this on a friend's PSP)
Once again respect for developers staying away from happy endings. The story is fantastic and feels real due to all the death and misery. Delita, thou are epic. FFT makes you think about morals and relates to problems in today's world.

6: Valkyria Chronicles
Fun and challenging tactical gameplay. Bonds with characters are done exceptionally well.

7: FFIX
Magical world, very atmospheric. Once again, moral dilemma's and themes relating to problems of the modern world.

8: Pokémon Blue
Loved it as a kid. Great adventure.

9: Demon's Souls
The roots of Dark Souls' strong points are also found in Demon's Souls, though in raw form. Still, respect!

10: If Zelda counts as RPG, does Okami count too?
Okami would be one of my favourite games if it weren't for Issun's endless yapping. He removes all challenge in puzzles and never lets you figure out the story on your own. I like to think Okami would be a masterpiece if all words were removed from the game.

[krissy]

okami is the best zelda game ever

[Bolivar]

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRd2O-h7S1bb5FDJimYI3Ws68iEpTJmPNJfViD_qQRrv4JHP71L

10. Pokemon Red: It's contribution to gaming was huge, it brought one of the addicting parts of RPGs to its extreme, since you essentially have 150 characters to level up, maybe minus their evolves. Its strengths don't go as crazy as the others though so it's my number 10.


https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSPyG6xPaJjHp7H2kukJcXhI76pTDyZHBiXU55wSrjL60j9dyZtuA

09. Final Fantasy XII: this game goes there just on the strength of its scope. Exploring the beautiful environments, mapping out every area, and chaining for fun and profit makes this game a heavy hitter on its own. I actually really like the story and characters a whole lot as well and the fact that this is the only fully realized Matsuno world makes it one of the most special video games of all time.

http://dorando.emuverse.com/images/shining_force1_02.png

08. Shining Force I/II: Shining Force II was the first RPG I ever completed and I'm lumping them together since they each have different strengths on essentially the same idea. Some games have better stories, some games have deeper combat, but the excellent art, unique presentation, and VINTAGE Sega Genesis soundtrack makes this a unique experience. The story and combat are straightforward without being dumbed down and this is one of the pioneers of the SRPG genre, and probably the only real "must play" of the originators.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRnGecMHAnJkPNYrW0kpjGCxkN4yNwgixetfO0KUrRELINtabubnQ

07. Final Fantasy IX: The ninth installment represents the entire series to me. It still has that "new FF" magic feeling whenever I put it in. The production value of the cutscenes outclass most HD games today. Sluggish combat and lack of risk taking holds it back though.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQF91kfMyJ0yJkHRJ_pFFfvztrr4yGe9PTjrCrayGUCtqMGYumE

06. Valkyria Chronicles: Such an original game, a truly innovative title in our time. The fantasy WWII setting is easy to get into but gets progressively darker and more serious as the plot progresses, to a climax that appraoches horror. We all have our preferences as to what is better, but I think Valkria Chronicles edges out Demon's Souls as the most important RPG of this generation. It was a revolution before our very eyes.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6jXo8j5dfvvKiHWRjCrc0nMRhRB5rysopOn3pr82CrOeJ0VwZMg

05. Dragon Quest VIII: So these are the heavy hitters and I would nominate DQVIII for best RPG of all time any day of the week. The fact that it's a fully realized NES game makes it a miraculous experience all on its own. But it's epic-length, endless secrets, and interesting take on the DQ class-progress system reinforce what a monumental game this was and potentially the last classic DQ. What a way to go out.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTisJGNyW5oZwfFiAH2jA32txDnaEVqaqyj4ZbWuPTrThd953s5XOvqwo1S

04. Final Fantasy Tactics: I got high when I played this game. Final Fantasy Tactics is a game that can get you high if you play it. The story, artwork, and music are just too damn good. It's also a well done deeply customizable SRPG. You can't pass this game up if you play RPGs....

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ9eOMiYh-08NTTdEH2KTv8DyY1vAmhAx7FAQejhXOvfLqRvEqclg

03. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together: ...but this is the Quest/Ivalice team's magnum opus. It nails the entertainment aesthetics just as hard as FFT, if not harder. But it also has better balanced classes and systems. It also has better enemy progression. And customization is more endless when you break down the barriers of classes and ability slots and let the player build a character with any abilities and passives they want. Oh, and it takes all that and puts it in a game with branching storylines, multiple endings, hell, even multiple sidequest paths depending on the decisions you make. It also has some of the most insane optional dungeons ever in gaming. Pound for pound, I don't think any game can stand next to Let Us Cling Together.

http://www.iheartdragonquest.com/images/artwork/dragon-quest-v/dragon-quest-v-artwork.jpg

02. Dragon Quest V: Yet I still put DQV ahead of it for what it did in gaming. I'm not even going to get into why I like the story and characters because it's a special experience that every RPG player should encounter on their own. But the reason Dragon Quest has become the juggernaut it is is because of its unmatched perfection in balancing accessibility and challenge. The enemies progress in a way that makes levelling up a tangible, meaningful experience, not just the addiction factor most games rely on. The puzzles are novel, but just hard enough to give you that "a-ha!" moment. And exploration is done in that beautiful illusion of non-linearity, with you finding the next town just off your own intuition alone. And DQV is an exemplar of all those philosophies. This is the best 2D RPG I've ever played.

http://rpgsquare.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/final-fantasy-vii-migar-fmv.gif

01. Final Fantasy VII It's the best-paced video game ever made. It has sounds and visuals that you will not see in another game. Its introduction of seamless transitions from cutscene to gameplay and back revolutionized storytelling in video games, blurring the line between story and gameplay. I don't think we would have had a Half-Life if it weren't for Final Fantasy VII. Every action game on current-generation HD consoles struggles and strives to do what Final Fantasy VII did in 1997. Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nobuo Uematsu both called it a giant leap in gaming. It also has the most responsive and best choreographed combat in the series, and that's why it's my favorite Final Fantasy and my #1 RPG of all time.

[Slothy]

I don't think we would have had a Half-Life if it weren't for Final Fantasy VII.

Oh Bolivar. You crack me up.

As for my list, I think I'll need some more time to think. In no particular order for now though:

FFVI: As much as I fully admit that the battle system could use some work to say the least, this is still one of the greatest RPG's ever made. An absolutely massive cast compared to most later FF titles, yet they all get more than enough time to have their character moments and develop believably. It tackled some pretty mature themes as well, including the world actually ending and suicide. It also can lay claim to being surprisingly non-linear in it's second half, something very few JRPG's I've played have ever attempted, let alone accomplished so well.

Persona 3: It's unfortunate that I won't be playing Persona 4 until Christmas because I'd love to see how it compares to this. Great story, wonderful characters, fun combat, incredible atmosphere (seriously, parts of this game are as unnerving as a lot of horror games), and a kickass soundtrack. Square needs to pay more attention to what Atlus has been doing because one of the two companies is still making great RPG's, and I say this as someone who's mostly fallen out of love with the genre these days.

FFT: What Raistlin said mostly. Plus MILF hates it and I enjoy throwing my love for it in his face while questioning his sanity.

FFXII: Whatever anyone wants to say about the pacing issues, this was the best FF title I've played in years. An absolutely massive world, a more believable politically driven plot, likeable characters, and the best battle system the series has had since maybe FFV if we exclude Tactics. I've literally just sat for hours on end doing mark hunts because combat is that compelling, and I can barely stand to sit through most of the older games now.

More to come later.

[Bubba]

Right, time to chuck my love spuds on the barbeque...

10) Final Fantasy VIII - It was always going to be difficult following VII but despite a few big flaws I think it was really well delivered title. Some truly outstanding FMV for it's time.

9) Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow - Dangerously addictive and great fun. I've played a few incarnations of Pokemon but the original was still the best for me.

8) Final Fantasy X - Again, there a quite a few big flaws with this one but I still think this game is extremely well put together considering it was the first full 3D Final Fantasy. Plus, it has my favourite mini game of all time in Blitzball. I thought the turn-based battle system was great too.

7) Xenoblade Chronicles - I wasn't going to include this as I'm not even half way through it yet but it truly is outstanding. I love the expansive environments and it has an awesome soundtrack.

6) Alundra - I adored this game when it came out. It was very Zelda-esque in style and the story was great. Having a character that could enter people's dreams was a fantastic idea. I mean lets face it, if it wasn't for Alundra then there would be no 'Inception'... probably.

5) Final Fantasy VI - I came to this game very late. Last year, in fact. I played it after recommendations from EOFF and now really regret not buying it when it came out. I can see why this is a lot of people's favourite in the series. Amazing story, great villain and really charismatic cast.

4) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - After waiting six years since ALTTP was released this had to be good. It was ridiculously so... it looked fabulous even with the N64's grainy graphics. May not be considered a true RPG but this game accomplished so much and did it pretty much flawlessly.

3) Secret of Mana - Just a beautiful game. Fantastic music and I loved the combat element. I remember almost buying 'Alien 3' for the SNES instead of this game... I chose wisely.

2) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Again, probably not considered a true RPG, especially considering I can ace this game in under four hours... but for me it counts. I just think think it is perfectly designed and lots of fun to play.

1) Final Fantasy VII - Still for me the greatest game I have ever played. The story had everything... War, magic, death, love, humour, bestiality, cross-dressing... everything. Sometimes I wish I could go back to being 15 so I can experience it for the first time... again.

[black orb]

>>> My top 10 favs..:luca:

1 Valkyrie Profile
My dream RPG, I just love everything in that game..

2 Xenoblade Chronicles
This is how RPGs should be made..

3 Suikoden 1
Epic Nostalgia..

4 Final Fantasy 1
Nostalgia..

5 Final Fantasy 9
Nostalgia revisited..

6 Suikoden 2
Another example of how RPGs should be made..

7 Chrono Trigger
Sakaguchi, Toriyama and Uematsu..

8 Final Fantasy 10
A real "Fantasy" world..

9 Any Disgaea game.
400+ hours of gameplay. Only a few RPGs (if not the only), can do that..

10 Lunar 1 and 2
Fun game, great characters, hot girls, bromides, neat anime cutscenes, and a pink cat..

Honorable mention to Front Mission 2 and SaGa Frontier 2..

[Laddy]

I decided I should go into more detail...

Warning: LONG!


10. Ultima IV
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g256/steeldragonhealer/Ultima_IV_box_pic.jpg
1985, Apple II
The goal is simple: be a good person. Sounds easy right? It's not. This is a game of hard decisions. Ethical and moral decisions specifically, but it's all in the name of goodness. You start of as a character with a class based on the results of a personality quiz, with each class representing a certain moral. Your job is to go out in the world and become an almost saintlike example of virtue. It's not easy though.

In many ways, this is the only RPG that discourages killing everything you see. You have to show mercy. If a monster flees, let them. In order to show valor, you need to continue fighting until the bitter end. And that's essentially the plot and goal. Be good. The gameplay isn't amazing, nor are the graphics or the music. However, Ultima IV is a rare example of a game that is both so open-ended and yet so focused. It's a game with something to say, and in the 1980's, that was quite rare indeed.

9. Deus Ex
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/nickky83/deus_ex_front.jpg
2000, Windows
This is a game of options. Part RPG, part FPS, and part Adventure title, Deus Ex is a game about finding solutions to things. Are you one to use stealth or do you run in guns a-blazing? With cool character and weapon customization systems, Deus Ex gives player a variety of options and rewards creativity and ingenuity.

The setting and presentation is fantastic as well, as the game presents itself in an immersive and inventive way. The HUD and interface is almost entirely presented through the eyes of the mechanically-enhanced protagonist. With a rich lore and stylish setting, Deus Ex is a landmark in RPG's.

8. Final Fantasy VII
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/morphyzz/FFVII.jpg
1997, Playsation
Adored. Parodied. Mocked. Analyzed. Studied. This is epitome of the cinematic JRPG. With a cool Blade Runner-esque visual style and cinematic presentation, Final Fantasy VII employed an anime-inspired look and feel unlike anything else. Only the plot of the game matches the originality of its look. Constantly keeping you guessing, Final Fantasy VII's story is intricate, shocking, and moving, and the first truly science-fiction entry in the series.

This title is often overlooked in the gameplay department, which is a shame. This is a game that rewards exploration and experimentation. With optional characters, superbosses, and a wide selection of abilities, FFVII managed to weave in a degree of non-linearity into the otherwise straight-line JRPG mechanics. The character development system was open but required tactical thinking, rewarding detail-orientated players. In my opinion, FFVII has one of the best character advancement systems in the series. The soundtrack is awesome too.

Unfortunately, FFVII has garnered a certain degree of backlash in recent years, specifically regarding the plot and characters. I find this backlash to be mostly unfair. The plot and characters have been "expanded on" so much in the Compilation that they've become jokes of their original versions, specifically Cloud. A tragedy, considering there is a rich an original plot behind all the mockery. I mean without this game, how could we have Citizen Kane? :p

7. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll302/MateuVTK/Persona/Persona%203/Persona3FES.png
2006, Playstation 2
Tragedy. This is a tragic game. Indeed, every aspect of this game is tragic. Tragic characters, tragic plotlines, and a very tragic ending (probably one of the best in gaming). But with tragedy comes hope, and the cycle of tragedy and hope is excellently implemented in this title from Atlus. The music is a cool fusion of rock and rap blended with moving symphonic scores. The art design is loaded with personality but has a certain feeling of dread to it.

With a deep and fun turn-based battle system and an open-ended visual-novel style social element, P3 has been the best example of a JRPG with choice and freedom. The character advancement both as a combatant and as an individual are open and up to the player. The plot branches off in many directions, being both moving while keeping you on your toes.

In short, Persona 3 emphasizes the "role" in role-playing game. These are very well-crafted and engaging characters and stories, and yet it is up to you on how you wish to interact with it. The game rarely "punishes" you, it invites you into its world and let's you do what you want. Or, as Igor says is, "you are our guest".

6. Final Fantasy IX
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u106/davegmz/Final%20Fantasy%20series/Final_Fantasy_IX.jpg
2000, Playstation
This was my first FF, and it was an excellent way to get me sucked into the series. This game was enchanting. The style was whimsical and charming, but it never felt childish. The music was filled with emotion and personality. The locations and characters were bright and colorful, but could also be dark and somber. This game was both charmingly simple and yet very much dark in theme and tome.

The combat system was a return to the classic 4-person party formula, and the more streamlined character advancement was surprisingly fun while giving you a variety of options and choices. More than any other FF it had the best sidequests and minigames, giving you a variety of ways to kill your time in an already epic game.

FFIX is most unique in its plot. Unlike the other PS1-era FF's, Final Fantasy IX has a friendly and amiable protagonist who starts the game as ethical virtuous. He matures naturally and has demons to overcome, but he never lets it define him. This is a game about identity. Characters dealt troutty cards in life and yet they refuse to be defined by them. Because of this, FFIX is a splendidly satisfying experience. Final Fantasy IX is just a joy to behold.

5. Planescape: Torment
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v672/Hibiskus/Planescape-Torment.jpg
1999, Windows
If you've ever argued whether or not games are art and haven't played this game, than you have no credibility. Sorry. This is the best evidence of games as art I could ever bring up. This is a game of choice. Not just as a gameplay device, but as a theme. You can literally not kill a single person in this game and beat it. You can die a million time in one session without saving and beat it.

This isn't a game about combat so much as discovery. You are The Nameless One. You awaken in a mortuary. You have no recollection of who you are and yet many people you meet remember you, for better or for worse. You need to discover the multiple past lives you've lived and determine your future. You have done many things. Some great, some horrible. Yet it's up to you how you wish to be defined.

The plot is smurfing unlike anything I've ever seen. This is the type of story only games could tell and it's a shame so few have played it. The music is excellent and atmospheric. The characters are memorable. The art style is amazing. These things are all both great and yet, completely smurfed up. This game is weird, bizarre, disturbing, and haunting. In short, it's a game that change you. It's philosophical and even spiritual at times. It's fine art.

4. Chrono Trigger
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee223/Nexus_Skull/Chrono%20Trigger/chronotrigger.jpg
1995, Super Nintendo
This game got everything right. The story, the battle system, the world, the music, the visuals, the characters. Everything. This game has virtually no flaws. An epic time-traveling adventure with multiple endings, Chrono Trigger is just epic, truly one of the best examples of adventure, wonder, and discovery I've seen in a game.

The battle system is fast-paced and strategic, with a variety of moves and spells to use. This game had probably the best battle system on the list, with a heart-pounding speed and well-designed enemies. The bosses, in particular, were grand. Also, the lack of random battle was unique.

Perhaps the biggest strength of this game, though, was how well-crafted the plot was. There were multiple time periods and characters that each contributed to one gloriously nuanced plot. Hell, a major villain could join your party. The main character could die and the game continues on. This was a game with balls, and it took risks that allows it to hold up to RPG-lovers to this day.

3. Fallout 2
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll163/SlothLite/fallout2-logo.gif
1998, Windows
I just clocked in over sixty hours into this game. I defeated Frank Horrigan. I just saw the results of the actions my characters took. Some flourished, some failed. I get a bittersweet feeling that all of the actions I took contributed to their respective fates. Finally, in a prophetic voice, I hear Ron Perlman utter a single phrase: "War. War never changes."

This is THE Fallout. Bethesda's Fallout 3 comes nowwhere close to how Black Isle made this masterpiece. Never before has a gameworld been so organic, reacting to the player's every action. Never has there been a gameworld so detailed, so established, and so...bleak. This a world in which there is little hope. And yet the world is capable of being saved.

Fallout 2 isn't just gameworld, though. The Cold War propaganda is cool and unique, the voice acting is excellent with many celebrities providing voices. The character advancement is awesome as well, giving you a variety of ways to develop your character, with just as much non-combat solutions as combat ones.

2. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/FFTARoxorz05/Baldurs_Gate_II_-_Shadows_of_Amn_Co.png
2000, Windows
Most of you have not experienced this gem, which is a crime, as this is one of the best games ever made. Period. This game has it all. An astoundingly epic score, a genius plot, dyanamic and fascinating characters, a huge and evolving gameworld, and the best writing in any game, ever. There, I said it. The best written game of all time.

This game could have easily been Number 1. Hell, it might be the greatest RPG ever minus a few minor flaws. However, this is a truly epic, large-scale game. The plot is a twisting, turning, puzzle dealing with life, death, fate, and purpose. It shocks and moves you and yet is very much non-linear in its narrative. It has a fantastic cast of characters that could can interact with. And it has one damn smurfing creppy villain.

The combat is intense, brutally hard, and deep, yet never feels unfair because of the wide amount of party configurations, spells, equipment, and abilities. The audio and graphics are top-notch, too. The voice acting is stellar, the music ranges from subtle and atmospheric to intense and dramatic without ever missing. The game is frightening at times, even full of despair. Yet it has enough humor and positive energy to make it a sweeping adventure that pulls at every emotion. This is the definitive PC epic.

1. Final Fantasy VI
http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww103/TerraEBranford/Final%20Fantasy%20VI/ff6logo.jpg
1994, Super Nintendo
What is there to say? This is the best game in the best series of RPG's the world has ever seen. Kefka's laugh. Celes' singing. Ultros. Terra. This game is the greatest game I have ever played. It changes you. This is a that shares elemnts with many of the other games on this list yet rises above them.

The combat and character advancement is deep and involving. The gameworld is huge and full of secrets. The music is the best in a game. The writing is great. However, what FFVI does with its writing is something that few games, especially JRPG's, gets right is the power of showing, not telling. There is relatively little dialogue in this game compared to the rest on this list, yet is is more powerful and resonant. This is a game that is so captivating, so moving, and yet never oversteps its bounds in storytelling. It's subtle. For example, Kekfa's mental anguish is only hinted at, and yet gives a whole new dimension to the character. They don't give him a tragedy, yet with one smurfing line he gains motivation and depth.

The game's ending is stellar. The game's intro is stellar. The game's huge shift about halfway through, both in world, style, and mood, is stellar and also one of the most profound and groundbreaking plot twists in gaming. This game is one of the first RPG's with a female lead and it does it spectacularly while still giving other character depth, backstory, and development.

This is the greatest game I have ever played and it's a shame other titles have overshadowed it. Play it. Now.

[Zeldy]

1) Phantasy Star Online: Episode 1 & 2

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Final Fantasy VII

Tales of Symphonia

Tales of Vesperia

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Pokemon Red/Blue

Golden Sun

10) Star Ocean: The Last Hope

[Rostum]

1) Final Fantasy IX
2) Chrono Cross
3) Final Fantasy VII
4) Xenoblade Chronicles
5) Final Fantasy XII
6) Kingdom Hearts I
7) Xenosaga III
8) Chrono Trigger
9) Vagrant Story
10) Zelda: Ocarina of Time

[yukina]

Why isn't anyone mentioning Dragon Age Origins? Aside from the FF series which I grew up with, DAO is probably one of the best RPGs out there. The levelling up based on stats needed some work (which they addressed in DAII) but overall, it was a really enjoyable and immersive experience.
And although it was limited by its console, the Golden Sun series were an absolute joy to play :). The use of Djinns to alter base character strengths were fun to play around with and the puzzles had just the right level of difficulty.

[Polnareff]

Okay, if I was totally honest, all the Breath of Fire games would take the list, and like three FF games. The other two slots would be Grandia and maybe Star Ocean 2. So what I'll do is only include one of each and put some other favorite RPGs in. This list isn't necessarily in order, though BoFIII is my favorite of all time.

1. Breath of Fire III
2. Grandia
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Persona 4
5. Tales of Rebirth
6. Golden Sun 2
7. Namco X Capcom
8. Shining Force III
9. Star Ocean 2
10. Blue Dragon

Honorable mentions: all the other BoF games, Grandia 2 and Xtreme, Shining Force 1 and 2, Shining Force EXA, Lost Odyssey, Last Remnant, Tales of Destiny 2 (the real one, not Eternia), Samurai Shodown RPG, Eternal Filena, Dragon Quest VII, VIII, and IX, Star Ocean First Departure, Mega Man X Command Mission, all the MMBN games except 4 and 5, Granbo, El Dorado Gate, Paper Mario series, Fallout 3

[Heath]

In no particular order:

Chrono Trigger (actually, CT is my favourite)
Final Fantasy IX
Shadow Hearts
Lunar: SSSC
Knights of the Old Republic (really - no one's mentioned this yet?)
Pokemon Silver
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VI
Fallout: New Vegas
Mass Effect

There are quite a few honourable mentions that only just missed out (Kingdom Hearts and FFIV, for instance) but I'm reasonably happy with the mix on that list. From the ones others have mentioned, I'm glad to see that Grandia II and Lunar: SSSC have had a few mentions. The latter may not be the greatest game in the world, but I think it has a number of stand-out qualities (such as some rather (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4I7MhcxvcE) excellent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq7Hm3TcVZA) music (http://youtu.be/fFd8Zu-VwAE)) that I think make it rather overlooked these days.

[Laddy]

Knights of the Old Republic
Funny you should mention it as this is a great game. I put as one of my honorable mentions despite my love for it and was thinking about picking it up again. I think this game and its sequel are perfect examples of what Bioware and Obsidian do well. I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but this great is just epic.

[The Man]

10. Chrono Cross

9. Shadow Hearts

8. Secret of Mana

7. Final Fantasy V

6. Seiken Densetsu 3

5. Final Fantasy IX

4. Dragon Quest V

3. Suikoden II

2. Chrono Trigger

1. Final Fantasy VI

Order subject to change upon mood, but #1 and #2 are pretty much locked. #3, #4, and #5 are roughly tied and the others are slightly below them.

May write about these later if I feel like it.

[cat121212]

Top RPGs, Hmm..

FFIV
FFTactics
Gravity Rush (Counted as an RPG? I think so..)
FFIX
FFXIII-2
Vagrant Story
FF Type-0 (I NEED this game to come to the West!)
Chrono Trigger
FFVII
FFV (still playing this one)

[Wolf Kanno]

<xml> <o:officedocumentsettings><o:relyonvml><o:allowpng></o:allowpng></o:relyonvml></o:officedocumentsettings></xml>New year, have some time to really plunge into this, and figured with some recent threads it wouldn't be too bad to revive this one. This was a very tough list to make since a few games have shifted dramatically and new ones came in. My top four were not too difficult to ascertain but the last six took a little re-arranging and my ten spot changed at least four times based on my mood at the time. Hell I shifted one of my choices three ranks cause on my reflection I realized I liked it more, so understand that most of these rankings are not really set in stone for me.

10. Wild ARMS

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080424154713/wildarms/images/3/3d/Wildarms.jpg

This is probably going to be my most controversial entry on the list, cause for most people this game is just a fairly generic 16-bit JRPG with some poor 3D graphics and a pretty basic battle system that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other PS1 JRPGs. Instead I like to feel the game represents the best qualities of the JRPG genre, featuring an expansive world with tons of side quests and secrets. Three interesting and tragic figures, a gorgeous soundtrack, a fairly solid battle system that keeps each character unique, and heavier focus on problem solving puzzle dungeons as opposed to just random encounters. Filgaia is an interesting world and I feel WA1 did more to lay the foundation for what this world is than it's later titles. The Force Abilities I feel are better alternative to FF's usage of Limit Breaks, and I like how it took and expanded on Lufia 2's Tool system to create a Zelda style quality to the puzzles. The game also hd several ingenious plot twists and a pretty interesting cast, and mythology. Despite not being an exceptional game that is well known among fans, it's still a game that I think fondly of and I still feel shows how the framework of the JRPG can be compelling and open for new ideas. Plus that opening is just so damn awesome...

dErMD4dyqIU&feature=share&list=PL4A4470F0243C5134

9. Xenogears

http://lparchive.org/Xenogears-%28by-The-Dark-Id%29/3-xenogears_box_art_001.jpg

I love this game, I don't think there has ever been a game as overly ambitious as this one except maybe it's spiritual sequel Xenosaga. While Xenogears may never had reached what it was trying to achieve, I feel it has come closer than Takahashi's later works. As a game, I felt Xenogears did more to show how 3D could be utilized into an actual JRPG world, the ability to move around fully 3D environments and actually jump about and platform I felt was novel idea, course being how Square makes RPGs and not platformers,said elements have not aged well at all but I still respect the idea, same with the battle system, which gains its main draw by being a more interactive and organic system than typical JRPGs. The player inputting and creating combos as opposed to just issung basic orders, though you can still so as well. I feel it's aged better than others but what do I know... In truth, Xenogears will largely be remembered for its expansive world, mature themes and epic storyline that transcends time and space. Fei for me it one of the most complex and best written protagonists of the genre and I like how he transitions back and forth from a coward to a hero, to unlikable to sympathetic. He is still one of the most human characters I've ever seen in the genre, no other game before it has ever really made the player question ideas of religion, philosophy, government, and our own impact on time. I don't think there has ever been a game that has ever affected my personal views of life like this game has.

Uz0otnpeqx8

8. Breath of Fire III

http://media2.vgarchive.org/boxart/19492-500m.jpg

This takes me back. I've always felt bad about the Breath of Fire series, it's popular enough to have a small following and be named dropped by magazines but it's largely always been overshadowed by Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The thing is, it's a damn good series and with the exception of some bizarre elements here and there, I feel the series stands toe to toe with the big guns of the genre. BoFIII was an early PS1 game that finishes off the "Goddess Myria trilogy" and I feel the game really stepped up in every aspect from its 16-bit predecessors as both a story and gameplay. The plot is more detailed and generally more serious and well thought out without some of the weird sidetracking elements that the early games suffered from, whereas I felt the whole cast also received good attention and was mostly well rounded. Ryu from BoFIII is my favorite of the series and I love Rei, Teepo, Momo, and Garr as well. The gameplay is typical JRPG fair with a few interesting abilities and commands shaking things up, it's customization system is actually a refined and vastly upgraded version of FFVI's Esper system, with your character becoming students to various masters in the world whose teachings affect their stat growth and teach them techniques unique to them. Said skills can only be learned once but you're free to give the skill to anyone in your party further customizing their own unique techniques they learn since each character is more of specific job role (Nina = Mage, Rei = Thief) so you can do some interesting customization. It's in fact my favorite customization system barring a Job Class system. The Dragon Gene system makes playing as this Ryu the most fun as you mix and match genes to create bizarre dragons. The story is a nice coming of age story and I like watching Ryu grow from a little kid who freaks out when he swings a sword to the determined and often more world weary traveler who is searching for the truth behind why his race was hunted to extinction centuries ago. Even Myria herself is presented as a more complex figure than her incarnation if BoF1. The game is just solid through and through, and its what I think of when I think of a perfectly balanced and solid RPG experience.

6VJlIZfncrE

7. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

38921

You know, I originally didn't plan on this one being in my list but the more I thought about it the more I felt it needed to be here. The best way to describe Nocturne is that its a mature Pokemon, despite historically, Pokemon is a kiddie version of MegaTen. If you love character driven stories with lots of high adventure, humor, and romance... well this is not your game and in fact I'm pretty sure most people would have an exceptionally hard time getting into this game. It has more in common with hard-as-nails 80s PC RPGs than anything modern. Hell beating the game nets you the ability to play the game in the series traditional First person view. Gameplay-wise, I feel that MegaTen creates a system that really makes a strong argument that Turn Based battle systems can be fun and exciting, it just had to go back to the genres roots of being more about strategy, and being unforgivingly difficult. The Press Turn system works by rewarding you for exploiting an enemy weakness or landing a critical hit, doing so will grant your party an extra turn (for a maximum of 8 turns) dodging attacks or having elemental protection will make your opponent lose turns. The catch is that the system works both ways and your opponents use the system as well. So defense and proper party balance is key. In the early sections you play the elemental exploitation game but by end game this becomes more difficult and its better to build defensive teams that eat up the bosses turns. If your main character dies its auto-game over, but since due to his deep customization, he can effectively be better than most of the demons you will recruit so its pretty easy to adjust him to be the last man standing in your party. The game is very difficult for the genre and to say you will die a lot is an understatement. From a story perspective I feel the game is intriguing, focusing more on a dissection of ideals than characters. The cast of characters are interesting but largely a muted experieince compared to the sugar filled emotional rollercoaster style characters people have come to expect of the genre, instead it's not about who these people are but rather what they stand for. The world ends 15 minutes into the game and now you are trapped in a incubating new world that is simply waiting for someone to come up with its Reason for existence. Multiple demon factions battle it out to determine the new world's future and you can join any of them or work against all of them, you can even make a literal deal with the actual devil. The story explores the factions and what ideals they represent, preaching of their more altruistic goals while showing the player the dark side of their visions of the world. Do you wish to end suffering by wiping out the cause of conflict which is individulaity, resulting in a world of a hive mind? Do you choose to support the individual and create a world where might makes right so that only the strong individual can have happiness but give everyone a shot based on their ability(or lack there of), or do you choose the path of self-reflection and isolation where all sentient life is forever seperate from each other and only exist in a world of their own creation without the fear or pleasure of another person? The game I feel really makes you sit down and think about where you stand on certain subjects, and I felt it really makes the player explore themselves as you play along. These elements are largely why I felt this needed to be on my list. It was just such a quirky and interesting game and I am happy the series hasfinally made its way outside of Japan.

6RdbZeOxL2o

6. Vagrant Story

38922

I have a really hard time putting this game on my list, not because it isn't an awesome game, but because I sometimes find it difficult to justify it being a RPG, I honestly feel it falls in closer to Zelda territory where its nearly difficult to really peg into any one genres slot and so we just settle on RPG to make our lives simpler. Vagrant Story is pretty much Metal Gear Solid set in Matsuno's fantasy universe. You play a lone government agent set to rescue some hostages from a cult that has shady connections to the Duke whose son was kidnapped, all the while uncovering government conspiracies and a greater conflict that our main hero finds himself trapped in. The game is a dungeon crawler with some Zelda style block puzzles and a modified version of Parasite Eve's combat engine which incorporates a combo system. A big part of the system is the Risk system which is designed to make the player strategize and pace their attacks as rising risk makes hit rate go to crap and makes you more susceptible to magic (which will kill you in this game). When I first played the game, I hated the Risk system but now that I am older I recognize its strength and appreciate it more. Its characters and story are Matsuno at his finest, with no one being who they appear to be as first seen, including the game's main protagonist Ashley Riot. Sydney Lossaret is quite possibly one of the most intriguing antagonist ever written in Matsuno's body of work and Ashley is a wonderful and complex figure who is second only to Fei Fong Wong of Xenogears in my book of well written main characters. The story is twisting and turning and the combat is intense and fun. I adore this game and feel sad that so few people have ever played it or even finished it cause this game deserves a sequel.

wDiZNuAkqz0

5. Suikoden I and II

38923 38924

Damn straight I'm going to cheat and list them both, partly because I like Suikoden I a little better despite being vastly inferior to its sequel but also because I feel Suikoden II loses its impact if you haven't played the first game because so many characters from Suikoden return for the sequel and this series works as a continuous story. Suikoden is a wonderful franchise that much like Breath of Fire, has been largely overshadowed by the big names of the genre, hell I would go so far as to say that even Breath of Fire has more of a fanbase than Suikoden. The series has done an excellent job of weaving both an intriguing mythology and wold for itself. Even though ech installment took place within it's own borders with a normally new cast of characters, the way each game impacts the other and seeing how places you've been to affect new lands you explore has always been the driving point of the series. A generally well written tale of politics also keeps the series unique from it's contemporaries. It has its fantasy elements and especially in the first entry, the series reads from the book of standard fantasy cliches but its the series focus on the politics and rebellion that makes it surpass its more unoriginal elements. Suikoden I is the typical rebels versus evil empire but even it finds ways to make it unique as it pits father and son, and the Emporer not being evil, just a victim of falling in love with the wrong person. Suikoden II takes it to a whole new level, with a tale of two friends finding themselves on opposite sides of a war with the goal of ending it. Watching Riou try to unite the dysfunctional City States of Jowston while fending off the maniacal psychopath Luca Blight is a sight to behold to say the least, but the series also has some great gameplay with a more methodical battle system that is more straight forward than other games, a wonderful town building system with the castles, and three multiple gameplay systems for switching between regular battles, duels, and war battles. The collecting of the 108 characters is also always enjoyable and often adds a puzzle aspect to the series. Its a great franchise and I always recommend it even if it does lack the flash of its contemporaries. I love McDohl's story of lost and fighting for his principles, he is easily one of the most tragic characters in a series full of tragic figures and seeing him return in Suikoden II is one of the biggest highlights for me, for Suikoden II, the overall political story is easily the best in the series with only Suikoden V matching its complexity.

watch?v=9qDakDL9GwQ&feature=share&list=FLqDAV5Y6wfOtgQ7lyOICx-g

_f4eGQ9MIWM


4. Final Fantasy Tactics

38925

Thank you FFTactics, thank you you for washing out the taste of disappointment that FFVII left behind in my mouth when I finished it. Now that that is over, I can simply say this game may be Matsuno's finest work, granted I haven't played Tactics Ogre yet but for the titles he's made that I have played, FFTactics is easily my favorite. It is the darkest, most mature, and complex entry in the series, with a story that spans a huge wealth of political and occult intrigue and its all packaged with the biggest and best upgrade to the Job Class system. I really love the story of Ramza and Delita and watching the two paths diverge despite sharing the same goal and I don't feel a game has ever given a more cautionary tale than FFTactics. Ivalice works because its presented to the player in such a realistic manner, taking cues from real history but merging it with the mythology of the Final Fantasy series. It may have some pacing and mechanics issues but overall I really love FFTactics and its one of the few SRPGs that gets me back into this sub-genre.

QFVWiZkPcoU

3. Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3: FES

38926

This game blindsided me. I was not exactly thinking that a game whose main premise was a paraphrase of the Sailor Moon theme, "Fighting Shadows at moonlight, winning friendship by daylight" would be so damn appealing. The gameplay is one part dungeon crawler utilizing a streamlined and simplified version of SMT3's Press Turn Battle System, the other half of the game is living the day to day life of your protoganist making choices in life and making friends with various people to form social links which in turn give him XP bonuses during fusion for Persona Arcana associated with said Social Link, bringing these personas you create with you when you visit your friends, raises your chances of deepening you freidnship with them so the whole system kind of feeds into itself which is nice. The true strength of the game is probably the thing that will deter most players which is the pacing. The game is played in "days" with you waking up each morning, going to school, choosing what to do with after school (clubs, hang out with friends, go on a date, or study, then proceeds into your evenings (visit other friends, walk the dog, study, or fight shadows) before you go to sleep and repeat it all again the next day. As you can imagine this slows the pace of the story significantly but it has the benefit of giving you a sense of natural progression with character development, and you get to watch as the world changes around you slowly if you pay attention. For instance all the nameless NPCs have their own ongoing stories that you can learn about if you talk to them from time and this inadvertly endears you to them better because they are not just "random girl" or "older guy", instead (If you played the game you'll know what I'm talking about) they're the stalker pair, the boy wanting to adopt a cat, the Taxi Driver who hates making small talk, the nosy reporter, and the girl who is obssessed with fortune telling. The social links themselves are small mini-stories with you meeting new people and seeing their stories ranging from the mundane tale of jock hiding his injuries, to more bizarre ones like the student who plans to run away and marry his homeroom teacher, or the dying man writing the most depressing children's story ever written. Each of the social link stories are pretty well written and exapnd the world and make the world feel larger than just what's happening with your own party. The day system also helps to highlight the impact of major story events. When Aerith died, you get a nice funeral scene and a disc change later the party is resolved to hunt down Sephiroth, in P3 after a major traumatic moment (and there are many) the party just stops functioning, they don't want to hang out after school, they sure as hell don't want to visit Tarturus and fight Shadwos and instead they just sit around the lounge of thedorm trying to cope with the events of the game. It may sound somewhat annoying but it is such a perfect example of utilizing gameplay and story together as you the player also feel the despair of the story as your options become restricted and your firends are largely devastated by the events, forcing the player to come to terms with it as well.

P3 ultimately creates a world that the player will come to care for and I feel the slow pace and day to day set-up actually immerses you into thinking of the characters in the story and your own party members as not just cool characters in a game but as actual people. The main story itself though slow to begin with as the game introduces the casts and world eventually transforms into a rolloercoaster ride of awesome with you panicking when you get to Novemeber and realize you only have so many days to reach the top of Tarturus or finish some Social Links. The game is overall brillaint and touching, and FES as the director's cut adds so much more content such as weapon crafting, extra story scenes, extra personas and the ability to date the wonderfully bizarre and awesome Elizabeth. It also gives us the powerful epilogue epsidoe The Answer which is a hard sale due to gameplay (its a pure dungeon crawler with a lobotmized Persona customization system) but its storyline is incredible and I feel really settles the aftermath of P3's ending.

QiPQZ7913e4

2. Final Fantasy VI

38927

This was originally my number four, but after writing out the retrospective, I realized this game truly deserved to be higher and it wasn't just nostalgia keeping it high on the list. FFVI will always hold an important place in my heart because its the game that showed me that games could be more than just saving princesses and getting the high score. It has also aged better than most games from its era even if things like its customization system are pretty juvenile and simplistic by today's standards. Still I don't feel there is a game before FFVI that tried to innovate the genre more than it did, VI combined a powerful story and ensemble cast with heavy emphasis on gameplay and it's all packaged together with some gorgeous 16-bit graphics and Nobuo Uematsu's best musical score. I still love the pacing, the idea of making each character unique and even have some interactive gameplay elements like Slot and Blitz, I like that every few hours, I know I'll be experiencing something different than just wandering dungeons and fighting. Instead I'm building teams to defend Banon from Imperial soldiers in a faux RTS stlye set-up, or plunging down the Serpent Trench with only a few seconds to decide which direction I'm going into, choosing which of three scenarios to play through ina party split, having to perform an opera, answering questions to win fabulous prizes from the Emperor, and just stepping into the more puzzle heavy emphasis of the game's dungeons. This title keeps you on your toes more than most entries and I feel the designers did a great job of just trying to keep things mixed up for the player and keep the player involved. This comes down to the games second half where the world is devastated and you have free reign to explore it in any order you wish with more puzzles, sidequests and optional bosses. I feel VI empowers the player more than any other entry in the franchise.

Its cast and story are also no slouch, breaking away from the standard emphasis on high fantasy of previous games and creating a world with a darker tone, a Victorian setting, breathtaking and eary backdrops, and locations like the Phantom Forest, Magitek Factory, and Zozo. Its set in a world where science is key and magic is a myth. Magic and science are being combined with devastating effect by the empire and they are steamrolling other countries with magic powered mecha, and genticially engineered super soldiers. The cast features one of the series most tragic if not most endearing, from the funny and adventurous Locke who hides his tragic past behind his smile and determination, the stoic and old fashioned Cyan whose family is murdered before his eyes, the fan favorite twin Figaro Bros. who are still sorting out their estrangment, the mysterious Shadow and his surprising connection to one of the parties youngest members, the melancholic Celes who hides her soft feminent side behind a icy cold soldier mentality, or the mysterious and tragic Terra, who has been a pawn of the empire since she was a baby coming to grips with her identity and her heritage. The game has one if not a half a dozen characters that anyone can find appealing and the game does a farily decent job of keeping every one relevant. The game's major antagonist is portrayed as a bumbling henchmen until he takes power for himself, and even he is a draker contast from past villains, by being a more akin to soicopath who takes pleasure in murder and suffering as opposed to previous and even later villains who simply saw such things as a means to an end. The game just overall was a really ambitious and mostly well executed game.

wwwTX0RTpow

1. Chrono Trigger

38928

I have a really hard time talking about my thoughts on Chrono Trigger without sounding like a gushing fanboy that I often despise. To me Chrono Trigger is the closest thing to a perfect game you'll see for the RPG genre. It's story sis simple and charming enough to be enjoyed by a child but has deeper menaing and elements going on that an adult can find just as enjoyable and thought provoking. Its gameplay is an amazing, utilizing a battle system centered around party dynamics, party placement, and utilziing the game's signature Dual and Triple techs, creating anatural incentive to actually use every character as opposed to just sticking to who you like. Like VI, CT has a tendnecy to keep you moving through the game and introducing new gameplay mechanics and unique dungeon design, whether you're using stealth to escape from a castle's dungeon, racing a cyborg in the future on a motorcycle or trying to restore a dungeon by hopping back and forth through time to get the right people working on it. The time travel mechanic is beautifully implemented as you manipulate time in sidequests like changing a greedy rich man into a more humble and altruistic fellow, learning the location of a hidden treasure by meeting the long dead adventurer who discovered it, even giving advice and making certain choices will affect certain parts of the game and open up new quests and events. The game is paced beautifully with the ambituous idea of removing random encounters and making most enemies seen on the field and have the dungeon serve as the battlefield, an idea the game's main designers would revisit in games like FFXII and The Last Story.

I love the cast of characters, everyone is distinct from each other in both personality visuals, and gameplay style and I feel each character gets their own touching moment and point in the story, the most surprising being silent protagonist Crono himself who had a far greater shocking moment than you would expect. Lavos itslef is an intriguing antagonist that is more force of nature than conniving, world domination evil and I feel it changes the dynamic of the conflict with it since you are literally trapped in a battle for survival with a world eating eldritch abomination. His impact on the timeline and humanity creates some of the most profound elements of the plot that are further explored in the games on again off again sequel Chrono Cross, but the impact is still there in the main game. I absolutely love how each time line has its own unique story and discovering as the overall story unfolds that everything is interconnected. In fact I feel Chrono Trigger is probably one of the most cohesive games with almost every aspect working into each other from the story to the gameplay. Its a well thought out masterpiece that could only be created by combining the best minds of Square and Enix.

UbrSGQ6LG7U

Keeping the dream alive...

BtC5RNaguzo

Honorable Mentions: Battle Ogre: March of the Black Queen; Battletech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception; Wild ARMS 2nd Ignition; Lunar 1 and 2; Suikoden III and V; Final Fantasy V, IX, and XII; Xenosaga Episode III: Thus Sprake Zarathustra, Persona 2 Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment; Xenoblade Chronicles; Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep; Secret of Mana; Legend of Mana; Star Ocean: The Second Story; Chrono Cross; Pokemon Red and Blue; Breath of Fire 2, 4, and 5; The Last Story; and Dragon Quest III and V.

[nirojan]

I got a nice mix of WRPGs and JRPGs, Action and turn-based, across multiple platforms.
My list:
10.Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360)
9. Valyria Chronicles (PS3)
8. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP)
7. Skyrim (Xbox 360)
6. SMT: Persona 3 & Persona 4 (PSP & PS Vita)
5. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (PC)
4. Final Fantasy VI (PSone)
3. Chrono Trigger (PSone)
2. Dark Souls & Demon Souls (PS3)
1. Final Fantasy VII (PSone)

[Pumpkin]

1. Final Fantasy IX
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Suikoden 2
4. Suikoden
5. Suikoden V
6. Dark Cloud II
7. Xenosaga Ep. III
8. Xenosaga Ep. I
9. Xenogears
10. Dark Cloud