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Jonneh3003 · Jan 1, 2016

Finishing an RPG can be a pretty time consuming endeavour however...

I recently finished a playthrough of Panzer Dragoon Saga clocking in at around 10 hours in total. The game spans 4 discs which are packed to the brim with content, it's fully voiced and there's a plethora of cut scenes and environments. It's a tremendous game that everyone should play if they get the chance.

Another example is Mega Man Legends:

Whether this is actually an RPG is up for debate, it's more Zelda esque in my opinion, but my recent playthrough clocked in at just under 6 hours. In that time you somehow manage to get pretty attached to this fairly large island and I felt satisfied with the content and lack of padding.

What's great about short RPGs is they trim the fat and just offer the core experience. I feel the two examples I chose are as good as they can be and stretching them out to be 40 hours long would only hinder the games. So what short RPGs can you think of GAF and do they feel lacking or are they better for it?

The Wheel of Fortune · Jan 1, 2016

Undertale. 8 hours max.
It's cool because you can then start a new playthrough with a different focus on how you play (peace/chaos, etc).

NinjaCoachZ · Jan 1, 2016

Chrono Trigger is 20-30 hours. Short, sweet, and infinitely replayable. It's great for both newcomers and experienced vets.

Longer than some of the examples above but by Square standards it's pretty quick and easy to plow through.

Ultimate_Trainer · Jan 1, 2016

Shin Megami Tensei I, Only took me 18 hours to beat it mostly blind. Its a really cool budget game for an SNES game.

mrmickfran · Jan 1, 2016

Mega Man RPGs.

X Command Mission is like 15-20 hours.

Justinh · Jan 1, 2016

I didn't know Panzer Dragoon Saga was short. I still want it though.

From what I understand The Last Story is short and sweet. I haven't beaten it yet, I think I got a little more than halfway and got distracted by something else. I plan on going back someday but I'd probably have to start all over.

The Cool One · Jan 1, 2016

child of light is pretty short. i liked it

TheMoon · Jan 1, 2016

The Last Story lands usually in the 20-30h mark and also happens to be excellent.

Terranigma is also comfortably short at roughly 20h.

oneida · Jan 1, 2016

PDS is the epitome of short but sweet. shame it costs like $40/hour!

redlemon · Jan 1, 2016

My World My Way on the DS should clock in at about 25 hours. Great game with some clever mechanics.

Rymuth · Jan 1, 2016

Game is really short but the cast VA and the music makes it so memorable.

What's great about this is that the battles are a cakewalk. No need for grinding.

Robert at Zeboyd Games · Jan 1, 2016

Main Story average completion times for our games according to HowLongToBeat.com:

Breath of Death VII - 5 hrs
Cthulhu Saves the World - 7.5 hrs
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 - 8 hrs
Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 - 9 hrs

It's fairly difficult but Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is only about 20 hours long and much less on replays (in order to get the best D-Ratio, you need to beat the game in under 8 hours on NG+).

Lothar · Jan 1, 2016

Suikoden 1. It's the perfect length at 15 hours. It never wastes your time, so it never gets boring.

Felt like Suikoden 2 just took what Suikoden 1 did and dragged it out to 30 hours.

TheMoon · Jan 1, 2016

oneida said:
PDS is the epitome of short but sweet. shame it costs like $40/hour!

what on earth is PDS.

random25 · Jan 1, 2016

Megaman Legends 1 and 2 are both short and fun. MML1 can be finished in less than 2 hours while MML2 can be done in about 7 hours or less in average.

The World Ends With You can be pretty short too since the difficulty cap can be adjusted.

TheMoon said:
what on earth is PDS.

Panzer Dragoon Saga

PantsuJo · Jan 1, 2016

Crimson Shroud on 3ds.

Jonneh3003 · Jan 1, 2016

TheMoon said:
what on earth is PDS.

Panzer Dragoon Saga

hidys · Jan 1, 2016

MigueelDnd said:
Undertale. 8 hours max.
It's cool because you can then start a new playthrough with a different focus on how you play (peace/chaos, etc).

First one that came to my mind.

Seven Force · Jan 1, 2016

Parasite Eve 1 is a relatively brisk RPG. It's not absurdly long, but not disappointingly short and knows exactly when to call it quits. Good thing too, since it's postgame is built around New Game+ replays.

Silent Chief · Jan 1, 2016

Suikoden.

The first one is really short but you can still gather all 108 stars of destiny if you feel like it.

Azzurri · Jan 1, 2016

The older I get the shorter I like my games.

15-20ish hrs I feel is the best.

I'm playing Witcher 3 and I know it's about 40 or so for main story, but it will probably be my longest game this year.

SunGod · Jan 1, 2016

Final Fantasy VII on the PS4

JCX · Jan 1, 2016

Paper Mario is about 20 hours.

Novel Mike · Jan 1, 2016

I recently beat Phantasy Star 4 which I remember being a 30+ hour game and it only took me 10, crazy to think about really.

Gintoki · Jan 1, 2016

Costume Quest 1/2 are short (6-7 hours)

Orayn · Jan 1, 2016

Undertale is about 10 hours.

Barkley Gaiden is 6-7.

Kain · Jan 1, 2016

Suikoden and Suikoden II are fairly short, sweet and wonderful games, specially II.

NinjaCoachZ · Jan 1, 2016

Isn't Jade Empire supposed to be fairly short? I got it for free when Origin was giving it away last month but haven't played much yet. Just heard that it's not a long game.

Kuraudo · Jan 1, 2016

Transistor is only about five or six hours.

WITHE1982 · Jan 1, 2016

The Ys chronicles (1 & 2) are very short lite RPGS.

1 can be completed in around 6-10 hours and the second in around 15-20.

Available on Steam or PSN and even playable on the Vita. Which is how I preferred to complete them while commuting.

Added bonus is the set is only around 5 -10

Lumpy Onion · Jan 1, 2016

Ys Oath in Felghana is short but sweet. Only takes around 10-12 hours on average. Probably one of the reasons I replay it so often.

Chrono Trigger is also rather short too. My last playthrough was only around 16 or so hours.

GravityMan · Jan 1, 2016

Ys Origin is 6 to 10 hours depending on how skilled you are. The Ys series as a whole is known for being rather short and snappy...the longest one I've played was Ys Seven at 30-ish hours. (Haven't played Celceta).

dreamgiver032 · Jan 1, 2016

SunGod said:
Final Fantasy VII on the PS4

Dude, takes eight hours just to get outta Midgar, lol. That's not short.

entremet · Jan 1, 2016

Basically Squaresoft SNES/SFC era.

Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Seiken Densetsu III, FFIV-VI.

Quintet games too--Illusion of Gaia, Skyblazer, Terraenigma.

dreamgiver032 said:
Dude, takes eight hours just to get outta Midgar, lol. That's not short.

I don't consider FFVII a short RPG, but the reason the poster said PS4 was due to the speed up options. You can also disable encounters. The PC and mobile ports have the same options.

jesu · Jan 1, 2016

Alpha Protocol I think was quite short and good.

momshotdad · Jan 1, 2016

South Park: Stick of Truth. I beat it in 12hrs on the dot and it was incredible.

oneida · Jan 1, 2016

TheMoon said:
what on earth is PDS.

first game on this page

Chastten · Jan 1, 2016

Golden Sun can be done in 15-20 hours the first time around.

Paper Mario and Eternal Sonata can be done in about 20-25 hours the first time.

Everything else I played is probably quite a bit longer.

*edit*

South Park sounds about right as well. Don't know about my time but I finished it in 3 nights including most achievements.

Sir_Crocodile · Jan 1, 2016

Vandal Hearts is a pretty short SRPG, and fun all the way through.

King Al B · Jan 1, 2016

Final Fantasy IV can be beat in about 20hrs, and its great!

BadWolf · Jan 1, 2016

The Last Story
Xenosaga 2
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Nier

Antiwhippy · Jan 1, 2016

WITHE1982 said:
The Ys chronicles (1 & 2) are very short lite RPGS.

1 can be completed in around 6-10 hours and the second in around 15-20.

Half of Ys 1 will be spent on

beating that fucker dark fact.

Fuck him fuck him fuck him.

Silent Chief · Jan 1, 2016

jesu said:
Alpha Protocol I think was quite short and good.

It plays more like a shooter, stealth game.

I don't remember it being particularly short, but I got the platinum and didn't try rushing it.

DieH@rd · Jan 1, 2016

Wingus · Jan 1, 2016

Koudelka on PS1 (the game that precedes Shadow Hearts) is about 10 hours long. Comes on 4 discs.

Spieler Eins · Jan 1, 2016

Chrono Trigger.
Nier.
Crimson Shroud.
Golden Sun.
South Park.

jesu · Jan 1, 2016

Silent Chief said:
It plays more like a shooter, stealth game.

I don't remember it being particularly short, but I got the platinum and didn't try rushing it.

I played it like an RPG with absolutely no stealth involved.

dreamgiver032 · Jan 1, 2016

entremet said:
I don't consider FFVII a short RPG, but the reason the poster said PS4 was due to the speed up options. You can also disable encounters. The PC and mobile ports have the same options.

Ah, yes... very true! Just thought I'd put that out there.

Wingus · Jan 1, 2016

MigueelDnd said:
Undertale. 8 hours max.
It's cool because you can then start a new playthrough with a different focus on how you play (peace/chaos, etc).

Undetale is a perfect example of a short but very sweet RPG. Same with those mentioning the early Ys games and Chrono Trigger. Superb RPGs and great examples

I'll also add FF4 and 5 too; both should take between 20-25 hours each to reach the end.

Ixion · Jan 1, 2016

I've found that my favorite RPGs tend to be the more concise, streamlined offerings, like these:

FFX is still a pretty long game, but it's definitely shorter and more concise than most other FF games. All in all, I like games that are open and have depth, but without the padding.

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