Top 20 JRPGs by Gamasutra

[edczxcvbnm]

I liked the Chrono Cross review but I am sadded at a lack of Tales and Star Ocean.

[Alucard von Elru]

Best sound track ever, according to the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu. The best game ever, according to the creator of Final Fantasy, Sakaguchi. That alone is reason enough.

Wait, what!? So instead of thinking for yourself and forming your own opinions on what makes a good game, you're content to let the creators of certain games do all of the thinking for you? They're NOT gods, they're people, and their opinions are just that: opinions, not law. It must be horrible to be able to simply shut your brain off and put it on "auto-pilot". I like FFIX, but not because Uematsu or Sakaguchi told me to. o.O The fact that those two like it doesn't mean that the author of this list had to include it.

I apologise if I misinterpreted what you were trying to say, but if that is indeed the case, then you really needed to word it all much better.

[ljkkjlcm9]

an opinion is an opinion, that's all any of these lists are

THE JACKEL

[LunarWeaver]

This fella has an em dash fetish! It was a pretty cool list. Obviously, like others, I do not agree with everything, but it was a fun read. I'm glad to see a list that can use the likes of X and XII and Trigger and Cross at the same time. Fans are so "This one is perfect and this one is complete " about such things, which is stupid.

Conglomerating IV, VI, and VII was a pretty big cop out though

[Vivisteiner]

Best sound track ever, according to the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu. The best game ever, according to the creator of Final Fantasy, Sakaguchi. That alone is reason enough.

Wait, what!? So instead of thinking for yourself and forming your own opinions on what makes a good game, you're content to let the creators of certain games do all of the thinking for you? They're NOT gods, they're people, and their opinions are just that: opinions, not law. It must be horrible to be able to simply shut your brain off and put it on "auto-pilot". I like FFIX, but not because Uematsu or Sakaguchi told me to. o.O The fact that those two like it doesn't mean that the author of this list had to include it.

I apologise if I misinterpreted what you were trying to say, but if that is indeed the case, then you really needed to word it all much better.

Yeah, you completely misinterpreted what I meant. I mean, FFIX was my favourite game ever long before I heard about Nobuo and Sakaguchi loving it. I was just disagreeing with people who think that FFIX wasn't that special.

I also think that if you are talking about amazing JRPGs you should listen to two of the most important people in Final Fantasy. I also forgot to mention that Uematsu's favourite game is FFIX. Not just the sound track.

Sure, my personal opinion is uninfluenced by that but it does mean FFIX should be shown more respect than it does.

[Dreddz]

I wouldnt agree putting Phantasy Star IV instead of Phantasy Star II but a good list nonetheless.

[Bolivar]

Commenting on FFIX, I agree that it didn't risk anything or push the limit in any development direction. However, I would argue it's the most well rounded game in the series, and could make it on an essentials list as a definitive example of an RPG whose parts are all proportionately adequate and sum up to an amazing whole.

The list was good though, I think it was well put together and covered most of the games that would need to be covered, although I agree there were a few that shouldn't have been.

At the same time, assuming Kurt Kalata is not Japanese, I think it's inappropriate for Western gamers to suggest what the essentials of Japanese RPGs are. For example, FFVI isn't anywhere near the top ranked games over there, yet in America it has a cult following in the RPG community. The opposite is true of Final Fantasy III. Part of the problem is that Americans are so opinionated on Final Fantasy, yet we were only exposed to half of the first six games, until Anthology. So while I personally think it's a great list, I'm sure the people who actually make these games, the culture from which its perspective is rooted in, and the audience it is targeted to would have very different opinions than we do.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

The article is obviously written for a Western audience, from a Western perspective. What the most popular Japanese RPGs are in Japan is pretty irrelevant.

[Bolivar]

The article is obviously written for a Western audience, from a Western perspective.

And I never doubted that. I'm simply stating that, to me, it's inappropriate for a western critic to state what the essential japanese RPGs are. Not only because of the amount that we haven't played, but because in the end, all we can do is interpret these games in a vastly different manner than they are conceived, first with the localization, and secondly by the individual gamer.

[Breine]

Commenting on FFIX, I agree that it didn't risk anything or push the limit in any development direction. However, I would argue it's the most well rounded game in the series, and could make it on an essentials list as a definitive example of an RPG whose parts are all proportionately adequate and sum up to an amazing whole.

I agree. Also, just because those games are on this particular list doesn't mean they're better than other games out there.. He didn't look at the games objectively.

[Madame Adequate]

The article is obviously written for a Western audience, from a Western perspective.

And I never doubted that. I'm simply stating that, to me, it's inappropriate for a western critic to state what the essential japanese RPGs are. Not only because of the amount that we haven't played, but because in the end, all we can do is interpret these games in a vastly different manner than they are conceived, first with the localization, and secondly by the individual gamer.

I fail to see why I can't have a valid critical opinion of something that wasn't made by me.

[Skyblade]

At the same time, assuming Kurt Kalata is not Japanese, I think it's inappropriate for Western gamers to suggest what the essentials of Japanese RPGs are. For example, FFVI isn't anywhere near the top ranked games over there, yet in America it has a cult following in the RPG community. The opposite is true of Final Fantasy III. Part of the problem is that Americans are so opinionated on Final Fantasy, yet we were only exposed to half of the first six games, until Anthology. So while I personally think it's a great list, I'm sure the people who actually make these games, the culture from which its perspective is rooted in, and the audience it is targeted to would have very different opinions than we do.

So, by that argument, Hollywood writers and actors are the only people who can pass valid judgement on movies?

[Roto13]

I think he means that only Japanese people have valid opinions on Japanese RPGs, which is still crap.

[Wolf Kanno]

Had it been composed by a Japanese critic, it would contain almost every DQ game (hell they may even find a way to put DQIX on the list) it would have FFIV, VII, and maybe X then the rest of the games would be RPGs no one has ever heard of...

I may have misinterpret your meaning Briene, but I feel he looked at the games pretty objectively. Its not often you see a "Best of" or "Essential" list and the writer makes it a point to talk about the games flaws.

[Krelian]

A very good list. Many of those games are among my favorites too. I'm glad Skies of Arcadia found its way in there. About Phantasy Star...

I wouldnt agree putting Phantasy Star IV instead of Phantasy Star II but a good list nonetheless.

I still want to play and finish both, but I guess a reason why Phantasy Star IV was chosen instead of II is the fact that II's gameplay is horribly outdated. You have to level-grind continuously to beat the game. I reached the first dungeon, but that was it for me >_< When I have much, much more time and nothing else to do I'll try it again, until then though, I'd rather play IV.