Top 5 Underrated RPGs

[Del Murder]

Enough of these 'this game sucks' 'that game's overrated' threads. What are some RPGs that may go unnoticed by the average gamer?

Off the top of my head (and in no particular order):

1. Illusion of Gaia
2. Golden Sun
3. Final Fantasy XI
4. Vagrant Story
5. Secret of Evermore

[Bolivar]

Sword of Vermillion
Shining Force II
Skies of Arcadia
Phantasy Star... something
Valkyria Chronicles 2

Any Sega RPG!

[Pike]

Anything Laddy is going to show up and say. Basically just listen to him if you're looking for RPG recommendations.

[Vermachtnis]

Brave Story
LaPucelle Tactics
Fate/Extra
Wild ARMs XF
MegaMan X Command Mission

3/5 of those are PSP games. And I'm serious about Command Mission, I thought it was fun game. But since it's a Mega Man X RPG and it came out after X7, not a lot of people paid it any mind. And Wild ARMs XF is a great Tactics game. It gives FFTactics a run for it's money in class balance.

[NeoCracker]

I really enjoyed Command Mission. Not amazing, and had some rather over the top cheesy moments, but ti was good fun.

[Roogle]

Oh, you played Illusion of Gaia? Most people that I know haven't played that game before. It really presents a unique experience.

Here are some games that I thought of:

1. Lunar: Eternal Blue
2. Lunar: Silver Star Story
3. Kartia: Word of Fate
4. SaGa Frontier 2
5. Grandia

[Laddy]

1. Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva
2. Anachronox
3. Gorky 17
4. Return to Krondor
5. KOTOR II (Better than first KOTOR but is overlooked)

[I Took the Red Pill]

Okage: Shadow King
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits
Brave Fencer Musashi
Star Ocean 2

I can't think of a fifth right now...Advance Wars if you want to count it as an RPG (iffy). It's not underrated in terms of reviews but I never hear anyone talking about it any more.

[maybee]

1. Eternal Sonata. It's so beautiful, not the best JRPG game ever but it's very soft and touching.
   
2. Resonance of Fate. A Gun based RPG. Very unique can be hard to get used to though.
3. Terranigma. I wish that I could play this game so bad, but I've only watched a Lets Play
4. Shadow Hearts. (PS2 ) Really touching game.
5. Wild Arms (PS1) I loved the anime opening, and it was really fun and enjoyable.

[Loony BoB]

FFV should be far more famous/popular than it is.
FFXIV was fairly derided at launch, but is unfairly assumed to still be bad at patch 1.23 and still carries ratings all across the internet based on the launch.
Alundra is a relatively unknown RPG worth mentioning.
Excelsior is a very unknown RPG from old-school days that I always enjoy playing even in modern times.

[Skyblade]

Megaman Battle Network 3
Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator
Soul Blazer
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles

[Pike]

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

This and Also Final Fantasy II.

Deus Ex usually ends up on "Best of" lists but on the other hand very few people these days seem to have ACTUALLY PLAYED it so... maybe not underrated so much as underplayed.

[Loony BoB]

Final Fantasy II

Urgh, no. I really was delighted to have finished that game. It was a chore.

[Skyblade]

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

This and Also Final Fantasy II.

Deus Ex usually ends up on "Best of" lists but on the other hand very few people these days seem to have ACTUALLY PLAYED it so... maybe not underrated so much as underplayed.

FFII gets a bad rap because it has horrible gameplay. It isn't a really fun game to play, so much so that most people (myself included) have a hard time getting through or even remembering the storyline. And that's a big negative on a game, and one it deserves.

If one part of a game is so bad that it makes it almost unplayable in your mind, is it really underrating it to call the game bad? I don't know.

But I do acknowledge that it has some good aspects. It just doesn't make up for the atrocious gameplay.

[Bolivar]

I don't know what's wrong with the gameplay, it's the same as all the other first six FF's. The customization is different, I think it's brilliant tbh how much freedom you're given in creating characters.

I disagree it's underrated. The people who like it like it, those who didn't don't, but I don't think enough have played it to establish a public perception deeming it good or bad.