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Shinta · Apr 20, 2014

Kotaku and Destructoid have both posted polls voting on which era of JRPGs was considered "the golden age" of JRPGs. Editors from both websites participated in a PAX panel recently that asked the same question.

Results from PAX audience:
Winner: 16-bit era

http://kotaku.com/the-golden-age-of-jrpgs-1564720215
Winner: 16-bit era 50.93%

http://www.destructoid.com/the-golden-age-of-jrpgs-273485.phtml
Winner: 16-bit era 42.32%

What era do you think was the best, and why?

1) 8-bit era
2) 16-bit era
3) Polygon era (PS1, 64, Saturn, GBA)
4) "New-ish" era (PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Dreamcast)
5) Modern era (PS3, 360, Wii, DS, 3DS, PSP, Vita)

Tucah · Apr 20, 2014

16 bit. Chrono Trigger and FFVI are my two favorite JRPGs.

BadWolf · Apr 20, 2014

Demon Lizardman · Apr 20, 2014

To me, it was the Playstation 1 era. FF7, FF9, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross. So many good RPG titles.

Hades Hotgun · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 or PS2

Variety, quantity, quality.

Cheddahz · Apr 20, 2014

Personally, it's the polygon era

Slair · Apr 20, 2014

Can I say the 90's?

TheDarkKnight774 · Apr 20, 2014

For me it was the psone era. Great list of JRPGs that actually made it to the states.

16 bit would be my #2.

Tawney Bomb · Apr 20, 2014

kswiston · Apr 20, 2014

Hard to pick between the PS1 and SNES era overall, but if I was only going to go by the titles I could officially play in English at the time, I would easily pick the PS1 era. Half of the lauded 16-bit JRPGs were never released in the West until years later via ports or fan translations.

Rogue_Ledr · Apr 20, 2014

FF7 came out on PS1.

If another RPG was never released on that console, it would STILL be the Golden Age. Just from that one title alone!

Brawly Likes to Brawl · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 + PS2. I'd add SNES but much of the amazing stuff wasn't even translated back then.

Zee-Row · Apr 20, 2014

People that pick 16-bit have nostalgia goggles. RPGs were more available and more innovative in the 32-bit era.

Kintaro · Apr 20, 2014

Hmm, PS1 or 2 era for different reasons. A lot of the great SNES RPGs came back out as improved ports during these eras (improves in many ways, translations especially). Throw in the PS1 RPGs and... well, there you go.

BocoDragon · Apr 20, 2014

I will definitely say the 16-bit era. I think games like FFVI, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound are nearly perfect classics, and I bet I could get a lot of people to agree.

Whereas with PS1, the bloom was off the rose somewhat. The games were getting a little bit post-modern and "anime" and we already had a class of old schoolers who were saying "I'm out". If I said that FFVIII, FFIX, Xenogears were untouchable classics, I'm sure I'd face a lot more dissent.

Zee-Row said:
People that pick 16-bit have nostalgia goggles. RPGs were more available and more innovative in the 32-bit era.

Both of them are prone to nostalgia at this point. You think the extra 5 years gives it a huge edge in rose-colored glasses? I don't.

DarkLordMalik · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 era.

FF VII
Chrono Cross (and Trigger as well since i played it on PS1)
FF IX
Legend of Dragoon

Shmuely Bully · Apr 20, 2014

That is simply nostalgia speaking. If they're including the PS1, Saturn, AND GBA there shouldn't be any question that #3 is the winner.

All three of them had plenty of great RPGs.

blanco21 · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 capitalized on the SNES era...then it went to shit

Village · Apr 20, 2014

Ps2

Kingdom hearts, frigging exists.

kswiston · Apr 20, 2014

Zee-Row said:
People that pick 16-bit have nostalgia goggles. RPGs were more available and more innovative in the 32-bit era.

GAF has been around long enough now that a lot of our members first played the 16bit generation as ROMs or handheld ports. Coming to both generations now, it is a much harder choice. Final Fantasy V, Dragon Quest V-VI, Star Ocean, Tales of Phantasia, Seiken Densetsu 3, Fire Emblem III-V, Shin Megami Tensei 1+2, the Romancing SaGa games, Front Mission, Terranigma (in North America) and others really add a lot to that library.

BocoDragon said:
Whereas with PS1, the bloom was off the rose somewhat. The games were getting a little bit post-modern and "anime" and we already had a class of old schoolers who were saying "I'm out". If I said that FFVIII, FFIX, Xenogears were untouchable classics, I'm sure I'd face a lot more dissent.

Suikoden I+2, Star Ocean 2, Valkyrie Profile,and a few others built on what was offered in the 16bit era, and still hold up. It's not all 60 second summons and shitty 3D.

SolVanderlyn · Apr 20, 2014

PS1/Polygon era. Very rarely are quantity and quality on equal footing.

Phediuk · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 in both quantity and quality utterly dominates the JRPG genre.

Not even a contest.

SoraanTribal · Apr 20, 2014

For me, PS1 > SNES > PS2. The rest pale in comparison.

The PS1 has two of my favorite games of all time - Final Fantasy IX and Xenogears. Not to mention other amazing games like FFVII, VIII, Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, Legend of Mana, etc etc etc. SNES has FFIII/VI, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, etc. All at the top of their class. It's hard to choose between them, but I'd still say the PS1 era is the best.

Shinta · Apr 20, 2014

I guess I would say the "golden age" of JRPGs was the 16 bit era.

Games like Chrono Trigger, FFIV, and FFVI are nearly timeless, and they all hold up very well today. However, my actual preferences on what I consider my favorite are different. I wouldn't say the modern era is the "golden age" because it just seems like it's too soon to judge without any time passing. And the term "golden age" seems to hint at historical significance too, which we can't really judge yet for the modern era.

My actual favorite eras:

1) The Modern Era: I honestly think the best JRPGs I've played are from this generation. NieR, FFXIII/XIII-2/Lightning Returns, Dragon's Dogma, Lost Odyssey, Demon's/Dark Souls, Fire Emblem Awakening, Valkyria Chronicles are all fantastic and among my favorite games ever. The DS alone has a library that rivals the PS2, and the PSP is no slouch either. I think this is my clear favorite.

2) The "New-ish" Era: FFX, FFXI, FFXII, Dragon Quest VIII, Persona 4, and more. Lots of fantastic games that still hold up today very well.

3) The 16-bit Era: Chrono Trigger, FFIV, FFV, FFVI, and on. They still hold up today, and there are many masterpieces.

4) The Polygon Era: I honestly think this is the most overrated era in JRPGs by far. Most of these games are painful for me to play today. The graphics are often ugly, the loading times are the longest, and the games are often slow as well. These games were bested before and after their release.

5) The 8-bit Era: I don't think anyone seriously considers this a contender for anything but last place.

Dugna · Apr 20, 2014

PS2 for me but overall each Era has had plenty of great JRPGS for me.

Zee-Row · Apr 20, 2014

kswiston said:
GAF has been around long enough now that a lot of our members first played the 16bit generation as ROMs or handheld ports. Coming to both generations now, it is a much harder choice. Final Fantasy V, Dragon Quest V-VI, Star Ocean, Tales of Phantasia, Seiken Densetsu 3, Fire Emblem III-V, Shin Megami Tensei 1+2, the Romancing SaGa games, Front Mission, Terranigma (in North America) and others really add a lot to that library.

Suikoden I+2, Star Ocean 2, Valkyrie Profile,and a few others built on what was offered in the 16bit era, and still hold up. It's not all 60 second summons and shitty 3D.

Another thing I wanted to add was that the 32-bit generation became the turning point for better and uncensored translations.

ramuh · Apr 20, 2014

I think for me it was PS1 or "polygon/3" time. It was such a variety of JRPGs out there. It could have to do with the timing of me growing up then. But even playing 16 bit era RPGs (Lufia 2, FF6 I love you) I still remember the PS1 era most fondly.

CDX · Apr 20, 2014

it's the 16-bit era, no contest for me

The PS1 era tried and had a VERY GOOD run, but for me, it was not even close to the 16-bit era.

I just absolutely loved 16-bit era RPGs

Rolf NB · Apr 20, 2014

PS2 because Dragon Quest VIII and Final Fantasy X are too good to be beaten by the PSX RPG lineup, as diverse as it may be.

drtomoe123 · Apr 20, 2014

BocoDragon said:
I will definitely say the 16-bit era. I think games like FFVI, Chrono Trigger and Earthbound are nearly perfect classics, and I bet I could get a lot of people to agree.

Whereas with PS1, the bloom was off the rose somewhat. The games were getting a little bit post-modern and "anime" and we already had a class of old schoolers who were saying "I'm out". If I said that FFVIII, FFIX, Xenogears were untouchable classics, I'm sure I'd face a lot more dissent.

I think that's precisely what makes the PS1/PS2 era more interesting than the 16-bit era. The genre, as a whole, became much more experimental and for every misstep you had games that really executed it beautifully (Xenogears, Shadow Hearts, Suikoden, Parasite Eve, the Saturn/PSX/PS2 SMT titles).

Then again, I'm one of those people who thinks Chrono Cross is better than Chrono Trigger.

Besides, games in the 16-bit era were certainly very anime when it came to plot and characterization even if they didn't have the distinct visual component that many of the PS1/PS2 games had.

BinaryPork2737 · Apr 20, 2014

For me it's a toss up between the 16 bit and modern eras. Both have really amazing games, the modern era's JRPGs moving more towards portable handhelds, something that I really like.

Credo · Apr 20, 2014

Slair said:
Can I say the 90's?

That would be my answer. 16-bit and 32-bit is too close to call for me. I really got into RPGs during the PS1 era, but I think the quality is matched or possibly beaten by the 16-bit games.

Blackage · Apr 20, 2014

The 16-bit era was the golden age in terms of quality JRPGs, we didn't get to play alot of them, but thanks to emulators and fan translations we got to experience them(Those of us familar with that scene anyway).

The 32-bit(PSX) era was the golden age in terms of quantity, and almost all JRPGs being released in the US after the success of FFVII. Before FFVII JRPGs that got translated were few and far between, after FFVII we got almost everything.

Sadly it seems like we've reverted back to not getting them all in recent years, but there's definitely still an effort out there to get them in our hands.

Zapages · Apr 20, 2014

I would say the 16bit to 32 bit age was the golden age of the JRPGs as they were really special.

UtterlyPerplexed · Apr 20, 2014

Hmm, probably the PS2 era.

Too young to have been able to get into RPGs during the 16-bit era, but I've been trying to play through some - whichever ones I can gain access to anyhow.

PS1 would have been great...if PAL territories weren't shafted with a full foot up the arsehole, so stuff like Legend of Mana, Parasite Eve 1, Dragon Quest VII, Wild Arms 2, Valkyrie Profile, Threads of Fate, Xenogears and Chrono Cross never got over here, and thus, don't exist.

We still got quite shafted during the PS2 era, but at least we got things like FFX, X-2, XII, Dragon Quest VIII, Odin Sphere, Dark Cloud and Chronicles, Rogue Galaxy, Valkyrie Profile 2, Shadow Hearts games, SMT: Nocturne/Lucifer's Call, Disgaea (particularly the first one), LOTR: The Third Age*, Kingdom Hearts, Digital Devil Saga, etc. So good.

*yes, I count that LOTR game as a JRPG, because it plays like one. Well, like FFX anyhow.

Flakster99 · Apr 20, 2014

16-bit era.

Far, far to much bloat in the 32-bit era.

Superflat · Apr 20, 2014

Polygon era (PS1, 64, Saturn, GBA) for sure. Between those four platforms, I would say JRPGs reached an all-time high in terms of mass consumption and critical acclaim during that era , speaking largely for the west.

kswiston · Apr 20, 2014

Blackage said:
Sadly it seems like we've reverted back to not getting them all in recent years, but there's definitely still an effort out there to get them in our hands.

It doesn't help that the genre has lost a lot of steam in Japan.

MrBS · Apr 20, 2014

Vita 2014. High five anyone?

Eusis · Apr 20, 2014

In NA and maybe especially in Europe: Polygonal era. Though it says something that even though I think the 16-bit era's clouded by nostalgia it really isn't THAT far behind at worst. I consider "new-ish" pretty great too but the start of Square/Enix's drop and not being as exciting a time bring it down some, and last gen's only not a joke thanks to handhelds and to a lesser extent late hurrahs from Wii/PS3, and similar will probably hold with this new generation.

In Japan however I do imagine the 16-bit era was a landslide victor. Maybe it's partially "grass is greener on the other side" but if nothing else there's a hell of a lot more grass there then, whereas the follow generations the disparity wasn't as extreme.

Superflat said:
Polygon era (PS1, 64, Saturn, GBA) for sure. Between those four platforms, I would say JRPGs reached an all-time high in terms of mass consumption and critical acclaim during that era , speaking largely for the west.

GBA's absolutely of the "new-ish" generation, it literally launched between PS2 and GC/Xbox, and its successor came out just a year before 360 and kept going until early 2007. Tech wise it may've been in between 16-bit and the Polygonal era (in most regards anyway) but in regards to time frame it absolutely belonged in the following generation, much like DS/PSP go with 360/PS3/Wii and 3DS/Vita with PS4/XB1/Wii U.

Terra_Ex · Apr 20, 2014

PS1 or PS2 era, both have loads of classics and genre standouts.

Jinto · Apr 20, 2014

16 bit - Chrono Trigger, FFIV, FFVI, Phantasy Star, Shining Force, etc.

Otakumegane · Apr 20, 2014

From the 5th to 6th gens.

Cyrano · Apr 20, 2014

drtomoe123 said:
I think that's precisely what makes the PS1/PS2 era more interesting than the 16-bit era. The genre, as a whole, became much more experimental and for every misstep you had games that really executed it beautifully (Xenogears, Shadow Hearts, Suikoden, Parasite Eve, the Saturn/PSX/PS2 SMT titles).

Then again, I'm one of those people who thinks Chrono Cross is better than Chrono Trigger.

Besides, games in the 16-bit era were certainly very anime when it came to plot and characterization even if they didn't have the distinct visual component that many of the PS1/PS2 games had.

This is definitely one of the most ironic posts I've seen here in a while.

Anyway, 16-bit hands down. Still has games with the best writing and probably the most experimental as well. 32-bit era was largely a refinement of what came before.

Earthbound, Warsong, Der Langrisser, Secret of Mana, Romancing SaGa, Live A Live, Illusion of Gaia, Beyond Oasis, Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy VI, Radical Dreamers, Chrono Trigger

I feel like 32-bit was also the media feeling the aftereffects of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Which led to some really good and really bad things as well.

ramuh · Apr 20, 2014

Terra_Ex said:
PS1 or PS2 era, both have loads of classics and genre standouts.

And Id.

I mean come on. You can date/RPG in Thousand Arms (PS1)! And the settings in the games in the "polygon" era were so varied. Yes there was some bloat but I would rather have many than too little.

Tomohawk · Apr 20, 2014

16 bit era for earthbound and chrono trigger alone.

t26 · Apr 20, 2014

The 16 bit era we didn't get FFV, Seiken Densetsu 3, or SMT game in English. And Skies of Arcadia and FFIX came out the same time.

BlackJace · Apr 20, 2014

16 bit gave us Chrono Trigger, y'all.

coopolon · Apr 20, 2014

admittedly I have not played that many old ones but of the ones I have played the translations and stories are A barrier to my enjoyment of them so I would go with something newer

for me I would say DS PSP are the best. You get all the great games that were designed for those systems and you can play most of the good old ones as well.

The M.O.B · Apr 20, 2014

Why is DS in the "Modern" era along with the 3DS? Why are so many systems clomped in the modern era?

If the DS and PS2 are put into the same era like they should be then that would easily be the top era for me.

Otherwise the 16 bot era is the obvious choice.

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