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[Chronoman]

I do feel like there isn't much separating the "eras" of RPGs. They are still as inventive today as they were in the SNES era.

We get all of those plus the best year in ages, in 2016.

The golden age is always going on

 

[Trojita]

Why is that abomination at the end of the OP?

 

[DiipuSurotu]

nevermind

 

[Heypoppy]

You can't compete with Nocturne atmosphere, superb music and character design, so obviously PS2.

Strange Journey on the DS was pretty cool too.

 

[Jamix012]

Of those? PS2 I guess but I'd rather attribute it to the PS2 "era" rather than just the PS2. That is, GBA and Gamecube also.

PS1 easily the worst IMO.

 

[Jazz573]

Sorry I'm going to say all three.

 

[Devilgunman]

Look at my top JRPG of all time, SNES has my top 2

1. Chrono Trigger
2. FF6

But PS1 occupies the rest of my chart with

- FF7/FF9/FFT
- Xenogear
- Vagrant Story
- Valkyrie Profile
- Front Mission
- Suikoden

etc

So PS1 > SNES >PS2

 

[bacardi]

PSX all the way for me

 

[Shion]

SNES > PS1 >>>>>>>>>>>> PS2 for me.

The 16bit era has the slight edge for me despite the fact that -as a European- I didn't get to play those games during their time. I experienced most of the 16bit era JRPGs during the early 00s and I fell in love with them.

PS1 era is when I really got into the genre. I have many fond memories from Gen 5 and games like Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Suikoden II, Grandia, Vagrant Story and Valkyrie Profile are among my favorite JRPGs of all time.

I didn't enjoy the PS2 era much. In fact, it's where the genre started to lose me. JRPGs were becoming too bloated for my taste and the aesthetics were heading towards a direction that didn't appeal to me.

Skies of Arcadia, Dragon Quest VIII and Valkyrie Profile II are the only games I enjoyed from that era.

I don't think of it as by console

1991-2001

This is probably the best answer.

 

[HK-47]

We did a similar thread with PS2 vs DS, and basically the DS side comes down to explaining how a bunch of SNES remakes, some Nintendo RPGs (including a few top rate ones), and an abundance of dungeon crawlers and SPRGs (not even the best srpgs at that) makes it the greatest RPG lineup of all time.

Looking at original games, I am not sure how you can go DS over the three in the title, but to each their own I guess.

Devil Survivor and FFTA 2 are definitely among the best SRPGs.

 

[HK-47]

I disagree, even if I pick the PS1 era too. Few PS1 RPGs are as good as FFVI, it's still one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. That said, the PS1's library is just stronger overall.


That, I do agree with, 100%. The PS2 JRPGs sucked outside of Suikoden III-V and maybe Wild ARMs 3, and it just went downhill after that.

Bleh. No Shadow Hearts, no VP2, no FFXII, no Dragon Quarter, no DQ VIII, no Xenosaga 3 or any SMT, including the best JRPG of all time, Nocturne? I'd expect that out of a person that hates JRPGs in general.

 

[chemicals]

PSone. Because it brought RPGs into the mainstream for the first time in gaming.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Bleh. No Shadow Hearts, no VP2, no FFXII, no Dragon Quarter, no DQ VIII, no Xenosaga 3 or any SMT, including the best JRPG of all time, Nocturne? I'd expect that out of a person that hates JRPGs in general.

I hate most modern JRPGs, yes.

 

[cj_iwakura]

The PS2 just on account of having Nocturne, Growlanser, and Sakura Wars.

I hate most modern JRPGs, yes.

You're missing out on the best ones. Nocturne is more brutal than most classic RPGs.

 

[Durante]

All were great but for my taste personally PS1 edges out the rest, and off the top of my head I feel like it had more unique RPG battle system and setting wise.

Interestingly enough, that's one of the main reasons I chose PS2.

If you look at, say, VP2, AT2, FFX, FFXII, BoFQ, XS3, and Suikoden 5, all of them had battle systems which were fundamentally different from each other. And that's just a subset of those I could think of.

 

[Hyunkel6]

SNES. And the main reason why the DS has such a strong RPG library is because many of the best SNES RPGs have been ported to it.

 

[Jpope]

That SNES list is really lacking dude.

 

[sörine]

For overall eras?

Gen 3 > Gen 4 > Gen 5 > Gen 6

For the specific systems listed? Same story.

SNES > PS1 > PS2 > DS

 

[klee123]

PS1 gets my top pick.

Suikoden 1 and 2 are some of my favourite jrpgs ever. Yes even better than Chrono Trigger/FF6 for me.

Then there's others like Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, FF7-9, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean 2 etc. Just an amazing jrpg lineup.

 

[SenkiDala]

PS1 for me. But loved SNES era too.

 

[Usobuko]

PS1.

I will take Square Enix output in PS1 over SNES any day. This is not a battle of FF7 against FF6, it's more like the trifect of FFT + Valkyria Profile + Vagrant Story that stood out for me.

 

[ForsakenLotus]

Zelda. Is. Not. A. RPG.

 

[sörine]

Zelda. Is. Not. A. RPG.

Zelda II is though!

 

[J_Ark]

PSX.

 

[DarkFlame]

Planescape:Torment,Neverwinter Nights,Baldur's Gate,Icewind Dale,Fallout 1&2,Diablo,The Elder Scrolls:Morrowind


This was the golden age of the greatest RPG's of all time and that was on PC platform

 

[ForsakenLotus]

Zelda II is though!

Sure, I suppose you could count Zelda II as a proto action-RPG, but it's also probably the worst mainline Zelda game and the least talked about. But LTTP, Ocarina of Time and such are absolutely not RPG's and it boggles my mind that people think they are.

 

[Imru’ al-Qays]

PS1, for sure. Because that's what I was playing in middle school.

 

[kswiston]

Devil Survivor and FFTA 2 are definitely among the best SRPGs.

Devil survivor is one of those games I never got around to in my backlog. I will take your word on that one.

I liked FFTA 2 better than a lot of people did, but I'd list at least a dozen games over it in the tactical RPG sub genre.

 

[PixyJunket]

Zelda II is though!

Barely.

 

[n0razi]

PS1 easily

 

[JeffZero]

PSX, followed by SNES, then PS2. All above average. But PSX is just phenomenal. FFVII, Xenogears, FFT, FFIX, Suikoden II, Vagrant Story -- Square was on fire and I'm a Square kid through and through.

SNES had an amazing selection. And PS2 gave more developers a shot at making great JRPGs. Those both have merit, but there's something in those older-school Square titans that I just... rarely find elsewhere. Plus I didn't game at all from 2003 through 2007 so I missed a great many PS2 gems, anyway, no doubt.

 

[ULTROS!]

SNES > PS1 > PS2 > PSP >> NDS >>> PS3

Personally I thought the JRPG line up for PSP was better than NDS because of:

1. A lot of Square Enix support. I loved KH: Birth by Sleep and Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection.
2. Falcom titles: Ys: Oath in Felghana, Ys Seven, Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

 

[ForsakenLotus]

I feel like PS1 had the best mix of excellence and depth. The SNES has the two best JRPG's of all time to me with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, but the PS1 had so many great JRPG's.

But really it was 3 generations of heaven for JRPG fans.

 

[Despera]

I think I'll go with the PS2. Great overall library with a ton of quality JRPGs to choose from, not to mention the best one of all time: Nocturne.

 

[badcrumble]

Probably PS2 in terms of profitability, PS1 in terms of sheer overwhelming popularity, SNES in terms of quality (but all three systems/eras did pretty well in all three regards).

 

[Ryman]

I'd have to go with PS1. Square was in top form with releases like FFT and Xenogears. Not to mention FFVII, FFVIII, Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, and Front Mission 3. However, PS2 did have Persona 3/4, so it certainly had that going for it.

 

[Brocken]

Not even a contest, Playstation.

All the Final fantasies and Chrono Trigger are also available on Psx, so there is no competition..

 

[sörine]

Sure, I suppose you could count Zelda II as a proto action-RPG, but it's also probably the worst mainline Zelda game and the least talked about. But LTTP, Ocarina of Time and such are absolutely not RPG's and it boggles my mind that people think they are.

Sure, but people think lots of these sorts of games are rpgs. The OP even listed two others with Alundra and Okami. People call them action rpgs all the time, but it seems like people only make a stink when Zelda's mentioned.

Barely.

I mean, in as much as any side scrolling action rpg is an rpg.

 

[Rathorial]

PS1 or PS2 era for JRPGs, and I guess to break the tie I'd say better PC RPGs were coming out in the late 90s PS1 era.

What's sad is how few JRPGs I care about now, yet PC RPGs have only been coming back with Pillars, Wasteland 2 and Divinity: Original Sin...I want the Japanese version of that on consoles or PC, when so much of what I see is portable or mobile instead.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Sure, I suppose you could count Zelda II as a proto action-RPG, but it's also probably the worst mainline Zelda game and the least talked about. But LTTP, Ocarina of Time and such are absolutely not RPG's and it boggles my mind that people think they are.

My friend is one of the biggest Zelda fans alive and he 100% considers them RPGs, and I'm inclined to agree. They're action RPGs. It's no less an RPG than Shining Wisdom, which is also considered one. Same as Alundra.

 

[Chill Penguin]

Ps1
Snes
DS
Ps2

 

[Deleted member 465307]

EDIT: ***Since the Nintendo DS is such a strong contender, you can vote for that one as well. The DS arguably has the strongest RPG lineup in the history of handhelds.***

DS:

Solotorabo: Red the Hunter
Radiant Historia
Final Fantasy 3 remake
Final Fantasy 4 remake (my fave version of the game)
Okamiden
Dragon Quest 4
Dragon Quest 5
Dragon Quest 6
Dragon Quest 9
Golden Sun Dark Dawn
Mario and Luigi Partners in Time
Mario and Luigi Dream Team
Sands of Destruction
Blue Dragon Awakened Shadow
Zelda Phantom Hourglass
Zelda Spirit Tracks (my fave handheld Zelda)
Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light

Slight error with the Mario and Luigi mentions. Dream Team is the 3DS game; Bowser's Inside Story is the second DS one. Also, I'm not sure I understand why The World Ends With You has been excluded. Same goes to a lesser degree regarding the Chrono Trigger re-release, but I guess it is nearly identical to the original apart from the few small additions. There are other RPGs released for the system, of course, but I'm guessing you excluded those based on your opinion of quality (e,g. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days).

 

[Lothar]

Not even a contest, Playstation.

All the Final fantasies and Chrono Trigger are also available on Psx, so there is no competition..

Lol, the shittiest way to play FF4, FF6, and CT is a huge negative for PS1 if anything.

I still say the answer is PS1 though, despite those bad ports.

 

[Novel Mike]

The SNES era was amazing but not solely because of the RPG's offered on SNES. Many people completely forget that Sega has several amazing RPGs (right up there with CT, FF6) in Phantasy Star 2 and 4, Shining Force 1 and 2, Shining Force CD, and others.

 

[chemicals]

I'm not a big RPG guy, and yet during the PSone era I played a ton of them. FF VII, FF VIII, and FF IX was an amazing triple from Square. I also played through Wild Arms 1, Alundra, and that Vagrant something game from Square. It was the Golden Age of Rpg's, for me.

 

[sörine]

The SNES era was amazing but not solely because of the RPG's offered on SNES. Many people completely forget that Sega has several amazing RPGs (right up there with CT, FF6) in Phantasy Star 2 and 4, Shining Force 1 and 2, Shining Force CD, and others.

Yes, Sega put out a bunch of good stuff that gen. And so did some 3rd parties like Renovation (Warsong) and Working Designs (Lunar 1/2, Popful Mail) on Genesis/Sega CD. Turbografx had some standouts too like Ys I & II.

 

[ForsakenLotus]

My friend is one of the biggest Zelda fans alive and he 100% considers them RPGs, and I'm inclined to agree. They're action RPGs. It's no less an RPG than Shining Wisdom, which is also considered one. Same as Alundra.

I can not for the life of me understand how they are a RPG, so feel free to explain.

Sure, but people think lots of these sorts of games are rpgs. The OP even listed two others with Alundra and Okami. People call them action rpgs all the time, but it seems like people only make a stink when Zelda's mentioned.


I mean, in as much as any side scrolling action rpg is an rpg.

People make a stink with Zelda not only because it's one of the most prominent and excellent game franchises of all time, but also because it is literally the template for an entire genre - Action/Adventure.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I can not for the life of me understand how they are a RPG, so feel free to explain.

IMO? You explore and open up a larger world as you play, gather equipment and items, increase stats, and interact with assorted NPCs to enhance the ongoing story.
(I'm sure this opens up a slippery slope where people are going to consider GTA an RPG, but oh well.)

To me an action/adventure would be Uncharted. Straight forward without collectible equipment, statistics, towns, etc.

 

[kubricks]

It's not possible to comment objectively, as the enjoyment of gaming depends on the part of my life I was in.

For me it was SNES, but that was largely because I have so much time to play games, especially RPG, back when I was in early teens.

 

[PixyJunket]

IMO? You explore and open up a larger world as you play, gather equipment and items, increase stats, and interact with assorted NPCs to enhance the ongoing story.

Cool, Metroid is an RPG. \m/