Your favourite RPGs of all time

[Sephiroth]

I love Pokémon and many people call it an RPG. I don't so it is not in the list. If it were it would be in the top 5.

I. Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (yes, it includes some parts which are not from the real RPG genre)
II. Nier Gestalt
III. Final Fantasy VI & IX
IV. Kingdom Hearts Series
V. Chrono Trigger
VI. Final Fantasy X Series
VII. Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy XIII Series
VIII. Atelier of Arland Saga, Rorona, Totori, Meruru
IX. Eve Series (also not everything is RPG-like like in 3rd Birthday)
X. Final Fantasy IV Series & Final Fantasy VIII


You may also make a top 20 or whatever.

[Pike]

1. Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
2. Super Mario RPG
3. Pokemon Gold

[Mirage]

How do you define RPG in a way that includes Final Fantasy but excludes Pokemon?

[Skyblade]

How do you define RPG in a way that includes Final Fantasy but excludes Pokemon?

Thank you, that was worded wonderfully.

[Sephiroth]

How do you define RPG in a way that includes Final Fantasy but excludes Pokemon?

I just do. For me an RPG needs a real main character who talks and has character development and does not just say his name, gender and yes and no (and in case of Red talk to the Mimic girl and in Black and White 2 they at least have text when acting). And the character development is not what he/she does during his journey which is something which happens in every story but a story which is written "into the journey and happening during the journey" itself with them really making experience and watching the results of it, so not just "character development: start in village, goes to town x, beat bad guys, mastered a league". Pokémon main characters just do something. It has nothing to do with developing their character itself and you never see that character actually "growing" from the experience they have made (and no, beating a League after getting that experience at the end of the journey is not the same, it is also just a part of the "To do"-list which normally has character development and fitting events for it seperated and it also requires experience which is not necessarily a part of the character development itself, especially not when no story is told). Cloud beating ShinRa or asking for a Chocobo is also not part of his character development but just something he does during his journey. It is a part of the story but not character development. The rivals in Pokémon at least have character development. I grow from my experience. This shown and expressed is character development. And like said, just beating a League is not enough. Otherwise every RPG does not need any character development and story than the journey itself. Pokémon main characters just have the "experience of traveling around with their Pokémon and respecting them so they can become friends and achieve their goal". In other words, an RPG story line with the logical consequence of what a character normally does and experiences while his "character", his "self" is not shown to be developed. You may expect he gets new friends (except the Pokémon) and all. But that is not told the way you tell a character development part of a character you want to develop. And "the journey itself" without real character scenes to express the experience and reasonings is not enough for me to call it that, you would never do that for Final Fantasy alone. The main requirement experience "learns enough to reach the spot or to achieve that goal" is nothing if nothing is told. It is something which is a logical consequence but tells nothing about the character himself/herself, only the "learned that to reach something" without any explanations and thoughts of the characters. Pokémon is just not an RPG for me because of some missing aspects like that even if it is the official genre and I accept it.


VI and Pokemon counts as a RPG. Pokemon Black and White series.

Cool for you. Maybe you read my post next time.


EDIT: I will be polite and not define RPG's. But I guarantee you that the "main character develops as a person" is not an aspect of them.

Then you would have not played more than 2-3 RPGs. And your own Final Fantasy and other RPG experience shows that you are wrong. Sorry

I will guarantee you that it is a normal aspect of RPGs. It is an axiom that normally a role playing game replaces yourself with another character or more characters who grow(s) as a person over the time and that other characters, in case their are other characters also grow over the time. And its not only that. Pokémon has many things that don't fit to a normal RPG. Maybe you don't just post something different purposely all the time in a Final Fantasy forum were people even get angry about missing character development in an RPG. That even shows that I am true. People want a character nowadays and a "character" is not just a "person" but the "personality" itself. Also check Wiki which includes "Character Development" for RPGs. And not only that. The rest of the RPG-like elements in Pokémon are not even there where they would be in a normal RPG. It never felt RPG-like for me because it is not RPG-like and I almost only play RPGs. Even Final Fantasy I which also has like no Character Development still feels like a normal RPG because the other normal RPG-aspects are present the way they normally are in an RPG. And still Final Fantasy I also has that :/-no characters, but only the story of "you are the chosen ones and need to save the world"-story. And even that said more about the characters than you get to know about a Pokémon main character. What they feel, experience and think during their journey. That is Character Development. And thatis a normal aspect of an RPG.

[maybee]

I Final Fantasy series
II Chrono Trigger
III Kingdom Hearts series
IV Star Ocean series
V Persona games
VI and Pokemon counts as a RPG. Pokemon Black and White series.

[Bolivar]

You should all know better than to attack someone else's definition of RPGs, carrying on as if there will ever be a working definition. I think OP Sephiroth brought up story well enough to prevent his Final Fantasy/Pokemon differentiation from being called inconsistent.

My list from the last one, in order:

01. Final Fantasy VII
02. Dragon Quest V
03. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
04. Final Fantasy Tactics
05. Dragon Quest VIII
06. Valkyria Chronicles
07. Final Fantasy IX
08. Shining Force I/II
09. Final Fantasy XII
10. Pokemon Red

Some more, in no particular order:

11. Valkyria Chronicles 2
12. Xenogears
13. Dragon Quest IV
14. Final Fantasy II
15. Chrono Trigger
16. Demon's Souls
17. Final Fantasy V

[Futan]

I have trouble picking favorites but the FF series (VI-X mainly), Pokemon series, Suikoden V(only played V, getting around to the others :-/) and Dragon Age: Origins are up there.

[Laddy]

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

EDIT: I will be polite and not define RPG's. But I guarantee you that the "main character develops as a person" is not an aspect of them.

[Madame Adequate]

Even if you accept IX is a good game it's sure as shit not better than PS:T, New Vegas, or Deus Ex. Laddy what are you smoking bro.

[Laddy]

Even if you accept IX is a good game it's sure as trout not better than PS:T, New Vegas, or Deus Ex. Laddy what are you smoking bro.
I am smoking fine taste.

[Raistlin]

Top 5:

1. Suikoden II
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3/4. Suikoden III and V.
5. Lunar: SSSC

Honorable mentions in no particular order:

Final Fantasy VI, VII, and XII
Breath of Fire III
Chrono Trigger
Baldur's Gate II
Morrowind
Suikoden I

There are so many more recent popular ones that I haven't even gotten around to playing yet, though.

[The Man]

Top five is probably:

Final Fantasy VI
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy IX
Suikoden II
Dragon Quest V
Other favourites include Earthbound, Shadow Hearts, Final Fantasy V, and Chrono Cross. As with WesLY, though, there are a ton of important RPGs I've never played, including obvious stuff like Lunar: SSSC and Xenogears.

[Jowy]

1) Chrono Trigger
2) Suikoden II
3) Final Fantasy IV
4) Dark Souls
5) Earthbound

[Laddy]

Baldur's Gate II
:flirt:

[Loony BoB]

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Final Fantasy V
3=. Final Fantasy VIII
3=. Final Fantasy XII
5. Final Fantasy XIII-2

I can't help it! The non-FF RPGs just haven't been as good as these FF games for me (Grandia, Suikoden, Wild ARMS). I think if I had finished Lost Odyssey then it would be right up there, though. I don't know why I didn't... I guess other games just caught my attention. There's also Chrono Trigger (or was it Chrono Cross?) but I haven't played it recently enough to remember anything out of it, so yarr.

[Jowy]

Towns, man. You really are missing out on a gem by not playing through Chrono Trigger. Square-Soft's finest work.

Or you could just pick up Dark Souls and play the best game of the decade!

[Levian]

Chrono Trigger is probably the closest to perfection for me. It just excels in every way and it's got that magic-y feeling to it. that feeling, you know. Hard to explain.

[Greatermaximus]

There are upper limits to consider. I can say I mostly agree with what's been posted here and in no particular order.

[Polnareff]

If I did this completely honestly it'd be nothing but Breath of Fire games and Grandia 1, 2, and Xtreme. Well, that is if I narrowed it down to a top 5 or something.

Sooooo I'm gonna have to do a little bit of fudging here.

Breath of Fire III
Breath of Fire II
Grandia
Tales of Destiny 2 (the PS2/PSP one, NOT Eternia)
Tales of Rebirth
Star Ocean 2
Atelier Iris 2
Seiken Densetsu 3
Mega Man Battle Network (except 4 and 5)
Suikoden II
Shining Force 1, 2, 3 (especially 3!) and EXA
Persona 4
Paper Mario 1 and 2
Mario & Luigi series
Dragon Quest VIII
Lunar Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue (the Sega CD ones, not the PSX/Saturn ones)
Shadow Hearts 3
Final Fantasy V, VI, IX, and Tactics
Fallout 3
Nier
Jade Empire
Super Robot Taisen: Endless Frontier
Xenosaga 1

[Chris]

1. Pokémon the Second Generation (Made even better with HeartGold and SilverSoul)
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. X-Men Legends
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy IX

[Quindiana Jones]

In order of thought, Dark Souls, FFIX, Soul Silver, MorroWIN, Chrono Trigger. I actively avoided putting multiple games from the same series for the sake of making it interesting, as if I hadn't the list would be something like this:

FFIX, FFXII, FFVI, Dark Souls, Morrowind.

And that looks boring. :colbert:

[Del Murder]

Final Fantasy series
Final Fantasy Tactics & TA series
Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross
Kingdom Hearts series
Breath of Fire I-IV
Dragon Quest series
Pokemon Yellow and Gold/Silver
Super Mario RPG
Mario & Luigi series
Xenogears
Xenoblade Chronicles
Illusion of Gaia
Earthbound
Radiant Historia
Vagrant Story

Top 3:
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Chrono Trigger

Really can't rank them after that.

[Pete for President]

Or you could just pick up Dark Souls and play the best game of the decade!

I could not agree more.

Top 3 in order:

1: Dark Souls

2: FFX

(Long pause because to me nothing else comes close to these two.)

3: Vagrant Story

[chionos]

1. FFVI
2. FFIX
3. Lunar: SSSC
4. FFXII
5. Star Ocean II

(every one of the next 5 games have been in the top five at some point)
6. FFXI
7. Chrono Trigger
8. Vagrant Story
9. Final Fantasy Tactics
10. Kingdom Hearts I

11. Skyrim
12. FFVII
13. Chrono Cross
14. Legend of Dragoon
15. Secret of Mana 2

16. Final Fantasy I
17. Final Fantasy X
18. Bahamut Lagoon
19. Lost Odyssey
20. Torchlight

21. Super Mario RPG
22. Illusion of Gaia
23. Breath of Fire 2
24. Legend of Legaia
25. Dragon Age: Origins

Just missed the list: Grandia 2, Ultima 6