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[Beezy]

1. Secret of Mana
2. Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millenium
3. Skies of Arcadia
4. Final Fantasy IX
5. Grandia 2
6. Tales of Vesperia
7. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
8. Chrono Trigger
9. Pokemon Gold/Silver
10. Dragon Force

 

[Sidewinder]

1. Demon's Souls (PS3) * Hidden gem!?
2. Knights of the old Republic (Xbox)
3. Final Fantasy VII (PSX)
4. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)
5. Deus Ex (PC)
6. Baldur's Gate (PC)
7. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
8. Persona 4 (PS2)
9. Lunar Silverstar Story Complete (PSX)
10. Chrono Cross (PSX)

 

[TheUglyDrunk]

I don't care about graphics, I played Diablo 2 recently. I meant in terms of gameplay mechanics. Diablo 2 for example feels timeless for some reason. It was simple and is still a great game, imo. Same with BG2 which I'm playing right now.
Edit: Ah, from the makers of Baldur's Gate? Even uses the same engine, I see. I should try it, then.

If you are even remotely enjoying BG2, then you owe it to yourself to try Planescape. The writing is some of the best I've ever seen, in video game format or otherwise. It is an awesome, awesome game. Plus, the Planescape setting is such a refreshing change of venue from the typical D&D setting.

 

[M°°nblade]

Planescape Torment. I've heard good things about that game. Has it aged well? There are many old RPG type games I can't play anymore, like System Shock 2.

All the infinity engine RPG's hold up pretty well thanks to resolution mods. The assets are 2D graphics perfection imo.

 

[Blue Submarine No. 6]

1. Final Fantasy X
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Final Fantasy VIII
5. Y's Books I & II
6. Lunar The Silver Star
7. Dragon Force
8. Disgaea
9. Jean D'Arc
10. Valkyria Chronicles

 

[kswiston]

Ok, last day to vote. Tomorrow I will post the results and will start to work on summaries for the top games.

 

[Broseybrose]

1. Demon's Souls
2. Deus Ex
3. Final Fantasy Tactics
4. The World Ends With You
5. Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
6. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
7. Baldur's Gate 2
8. Planescape: Torment

Ill add more if they come to mind...

9. Vampire: Bloodlines

 

[Firebrand]

1. Final Fantasy XII
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Skies of Arcadia
4. Paper Mario 2
5. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
6. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
7. Vagrant Story

 

[Hobbun]

Not in any particular order:

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Suikoden II
3. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
4. Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete
5. Persona 3: FES
6. Grandia
7. Chrono Trigger
8. Secret of Mana
9. Lufia 2
10. Dragon Quest VIII

God, picking 10 'essential' is so hard.

 

[Jay Sosa]

I no particular order:

Suikoden 2 (played it last year, maybe the best of the bunch)
Breath of Fire 3 (one of the best traditional JRPGs imho)
Vagrant Story (why in the world did they never made use of that brilliant battlesystem again?)
Disgaea
DDS 1&2 (Kinda Hidden Gem)
Star Ocean 2 (series went completely downhill after that)
Bof: DQ (very underrated game, well except on GAF)
FE: Sacred Stones (or whatever that one with Hector is called)
Musashi PSX (brilliant humor, many innovative ideas, sometimes a bit frustrating)
Skies of Arcadia (Too bad it came out on two underachieving systems)

Left out a few obvious choices like Persona, Phantasy Star 4, Chrono Trigger or FF 7..

EDIT: Well if Action RPGs count I just have to mention Alundra which in my humble opinion is way better than every (2D) Zelda..

 

[Easystride]

1. Final Fantasy IX
2. Dragon Quest VIII
3. Dragon Quest V
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Chrono Trigger
6. Pokemon Red/Blue
7. Final Fantasy Tactics
8. EverQuest Online Adventures - kind of an unknown game, but the community was top-notched, and it was very fun in its prime.
9. Dragon Quest VII
10. Dragon Quest IV

 

[aaaaaa]

Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VIII
Chrono Trigger
Xenogears
Vagrant Story
Dragon Quest V
Ys Book I & II (or just Ys I if it doesn't count)
Fallout 2
Soul Blazer (hidden gem)
Tower of the Sorcerer (hidden gem)

 

[Wickwire]

1.Final Fantasy VI
2.Diablo II
3.Shadowgate
4.Breath of Fire
5.Shining Force
6.WoW
7.Demon's Souls
8.Valkyrie Chronicles
9. Elder Scrolls Oblivion
10. Digital Devil Saga I/II ( can I count these as a single game? if not just count I)

 

[Rolf NB]

Ok, last day to vote. Tomorrow I will post the results and will start to work on summaries for the top games.

Any preliminary results, highlights, previews to lash the stragglers into a voting frenzy?

 

[yukonrye]

wow
Diablo 2
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy Tactics
Chrono Trigger
STALKER
Super Mario RPG
Castlenavia SOTN
Deus Ex
Anachronox - everyone should send an email to Steam or GOG to request this game!

 

[spineduke]

Jagged Alliance 2 (hidden gem)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite/2G
Fallout 2 (hidden gem)
FF7
Diablo 2
Fallout 1
Borderlands
Vampire Bloodlines
Final Fantasy Tactics
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (hidden gem)

 

[Cornbread78]

1- Final Fantasy VII
2- Suikoden V
3- Final Fantasy X
4- Radiata Stories
5- Boulder's Gate II
6- Morrowind
7- Oblivion
8- Dragon Quest VIII
9- Star Ocean 3
10- Xenosaga 1


This was really realy tough.. so many more titles I could have chosen.

 

[Archaix]

1. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (apparently my number 1 is a hidden gem, since I only see P2: Innocent Sin listed once and no votes for EP)
2. Planescape: Torment
3. Fallout 2
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Mass Effect
6. Fallout
7. SMT: Nocturne
8. Oblivion
9. Digital Devil Saga
10. Grandia 2

Oblivion was the hardest choice on my list. To be honest, I don't really think of it as one of my favorite RPGs, but I played the hell out of that game and got every achievement (the only game I've done that for). I loved playing it, I guess it just adds up to be more than the sum of its parts. Even if it doesn't come to mind as the best, it's one I enjoyed playing through more than most games.


Just outside the list: Persona 3 PSP might be worthy, but I haven't actually played that. I'm just assuming the improvements they brought from P4 would make it good enough to jump in the top ten (though neither 3 or 4 are anywhere near as good as P2, that's a discussion I've long since abandoned any hope of winning). Earthbound was tough to leave off. No Final Fantasy games admittedly seems a little weird. Fallout 3 almost earned a spot as best fanfic game ever, but it didn't quite make the cut.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

1. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (apparently my number 1 is a hidden gem, since I only see P2: Innocent Sin listed once and no votes for EP)

I was gonna put this but I didn't wanna change my list.

 

[Mt Heart Attack]

Chrono Trigger
Morrowind
Knights of the Old Republic
Baldur's Gate
Final Fantasy VI
Pokémon Red/Blue
Pokémon Gold/Silver
Earthbound
Chrono Cross
Planescape Torment

In no particular order. The first three are my favourites though.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Alphabetical!

Chrono Trigger
Dragon Age: Origins
Earthbound
Final Fantasy VI
Mass Effect 2
Mother 3
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Phantasy Star IV
Vagrant Story
World Ends With You

I'm pretty shocked I missed this thread for so long. Anyway, I tried to limit myself to one game per series but I had to put both Earthbound and Mother 3.

 

[Neuromancer]

Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King

Oblivion

That's all I got. Unless you want to count Fable 2 which Im not sure you do.

 

[Forkball]

Paper Mario
Suikoden III
Final Fantasy VII
Skies of Arcadia
Chrono Trigger
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VI
Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Phantom Brave

 

[Kuraudo]

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VIII
Dragon Quest VIII
Oblivion
Knights of the Old Republic
Fallout 3
Kingdom Hearts
Mass Effect
Shadow Hearts

 

[moojito]

List threads are so boring to read without explanation why you have chosen these titles...

Yarr, this. I skip right past the pure lists, and really enjoy reading peoples' thoughts when they enter them, even if it's only a few words. The same goes for the book/film/music threads over on the OT.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing the finished list!

 

[Ben Sones]

My list:

Ultima IV
Starflight
Ultima Underworld
Diablo
Daggerfall
Fallout
Planescape: Torment
Arcanum
World of Warcraft
Demon's Souls


Random notes:

-I wanted to pick one game to represent the main Ultima series, and it was a tough call between Ultima IV and Ultima VII.

-Ultima Underworld was distinct enough from the main series that I threw it in, as well. It's sort of sad that it's not on more lists in this thread. Amazing, groundbreaking game, and one of my all-time favorites.

-I'm not sure that I'd call Daggerfall the best of the Elder Scrolls games, but I think that it was by far the most ambitious, and represents a sort of "path not taken" for the RPG genre (unfortunately, IMHO): open-world, player-driven games rather that push overt storytelling to the sidelines, or even remove it altogether.

-Planescape: Torment: If you are going to tell a story with your RPG, however, this is pretty much the high water mark.

-Demon's Souls: It's always tricky, including recent games on seminal lists like this, without the benefit of historical perspective. But DS is easily the most remarkable RPG-related game I've played in recent years, so here it is.

 

[chaostrophy]

Skies of Arcadia
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Phantasy Star II
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy XII
Dragon Quest V
Valkyrie Profile
Chrono Trigger
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter

 

[mugurumakensei]

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Paper Mario
3. Shin Megami Tensei 3
4. Final Fantasy VI
5. Dragon Quest VIII
6. Final Fantasy IX
7. Final Fantasy V (Including this one cause V has an awesome Job System)
8. E.V.O. Search For Eden
9. Shin Megami Tensei 2
10. Xenogears

 

[Amneisac]

I ordered SMT: Nocturne the other day (should be here tomorrow) and I'm a little upset to see it isn't on more lists.

I hope I'm going to like it!

I consider myself a pretty casual RPG player, but here's my belated list in no particular order:

Final Fantasy X
Fallout 3
Persona 3: FES
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Dragon Quest VIII
Grandia II (if you happen to have a dreamcast lying around)
Final Fantasy VI
Freedom Force
Eternal Sonata

 

[Son of Godzilla]

World of Warcraft
Final Fantasy VI
Legend of Mana
Mass Effect 2
Grandia 2
Fable 2
Final Fantasy Tactics
Baldur's Gate 2

... I think I'm okay with only listing 8.

 

[Bresson]

1. Ultima VII
2. Fallout 2
3. World of Warcraft
4. Gothic 2
5. Star Wars:KOTOR
6. Mass Effect
7. Gothic
8. Planescape: Torment
9. Betrayal at Krondor
10. Dragon Age: Origins

 

[Gilgamesh]

Yarr, this. I skip right past the pure lists, and really enjoy reading peoples' thoughts when they enter them, even if it's only a few words. The same goes for the book/film/music threads over on the OT.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing the finished list!

I would have written something for them if this were a standard "Your Favorite RPGs" thread rather than a thread to compile raw data for a "NeoGAF's Top RPGs" list.

 

[kswiston]

Any preliminary results, highlights, previews to lash the stragglers into a voting frenzy?

Here is a cliched preview for you.

Final Fantasy games in order of votes (as of post #334)*:

Final Fantasy VI - 89 votes
Final Fantasy VII - 65 votes
Final Fantasy Tactics - 52 votes
Final Fantasy X - 32 votes
Final Fantasy IV - 31 votes
Final Fantasy IX - 31 votes
Final Fantasy XII - 31 votes
Final Fantasy VIII - 14 votes
Final Fantasy V - 12 votes
Final Fantasy XI - 4 votes
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - 3 votes
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - 3 votes
Final Fantasy XIII - 2 votes
Final Fantasy I - 1 vote
Final Fantasy III - 1 vote

*All versions of a title were combined. Unranked lists with way more than 10 picks were thrown out (this was only the case 2-3 times). For ranked lists with more than 10 picks, I only counted your top 10. If you tried to cheat by putting more than one game in a single rank (e.g. #4 - Final Fantasy IV, VI), I randomly chose one of the two titles. If you voted for every version of Final Fantasy VI (including tech demos) as separate picks, I counted it as a total of 1 vote for the game.

Voting officially ends at midnight, but I will probably take late lists up until I finish tallying everything. The midnight deadline will hold for edits of existing lists though.

Also, I am not accepting any edits to Final Fantasy titles on lists prior to post #334. I don't want people removing or adding titles purely to affect their rank. Not the point of the thread.

 

[youtoobono]

1 Disgaea
2 Valkyrie Profile
3 Tactics Ogre
4 Growlanser Generations
5 Star Ocean 2
6 Xenogears
7 Final Fantasy 7
8 Etrian odyssey
9 Shadow Hearts 2
10 SMT Nocturne

 

[Inraged14]

Shadow Hearts : Covenant
Final Fantasy VII
Mass Effect 1
Diablo 2
Warcraft 3
Kingdom Hearts
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Persona 3
Suikoden 2
Final Fantasy 10

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Also, I am not accepting any edits to Final Fantasy titles on lists prior to post #334. I don't want people removing or adding titles purely to affect their rank. Not the point of the thread.

So I can still change my non-final fantasy stuff?

 

[HK-47]

Planescape: Torment
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
SMT III: Nocturne
System Shock 2
Vagrant Story
Deus Ex
Ultima VII
Mother 3
Baldur's Gate II

Honorable mentions would be too long lol, though I will mention that while I cant put KotOR II up there in good faith (it being unfinished) people should certainly play it.

 

[golem]

It runs on the old Infinity Engine which means 640x480 rez, which would kill most younger gamers nowadays. If you've ever played the first Baldur's Gate, you know what you are in for. Still holds up really well, in my opinon, but I am a nostalgic old man. Music and voice acting is still aces too.

they just need to bundle it with the widescreen mod

 

[HK-47]

Planescape, you beautiful bastard.

 

[grandjedi6]

Deus Ex
Persona 4
Pokemon Gold/Silver
KotOR
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Tales of Vesperia
Paper Mario: TTYD
Skies of Arcadia
Baten Kaitos II

I tried to limit myself to 1 per series but caved when I couldn't decided between the Fire Emblems.

 

[kswiston]

I will let people continue voting until at least tomorrow morning as I am not done tallying votes.

Any edits to lists prior to this post will not be counted!

I've finished tallying most of the bigger titles, and Planescape Torment is currently in the Top 5. Looks likely to stay there as well.

 

[HK-47]

I will let people continue voting until at least tomorrow morning as I am not done tallying votes.

Any edits to lists prior to this post will not be counted!

I've finished tallying most of the bigger titles, and Planescape Torment is currently in the Top 5. Looks likely to stay there as well.

Prior or after...?

 

[Do The Mario]

1. Baldur's Gate II;
2. Baldur's Gate;
3. Icewind Dale;
4. Icewind Dale II;
5. Planescape Torment;
6. The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion;
7. The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind;
8. Dragon Age: Origins
9. Knights of the Old Republic; and
10. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

 

[kswiston]

Prior or after...?

People who have already voted will not have any edited votes counted (as of 10 minutes ago).

New people who vote from now until tomorrow morning (when I stop taking votes) can edit their lists until I announce otherwise.

I have already tallied the results of 100 or so of the more popular games, and am not going to go back through 300+ posts to check edit time stamps. It's easy to add new lists, but edits can be a bit of a pain.

I caught your edit though, so no worries there.

 

[Mistwalker]

1. Baldur's Gate 2
2. Planescape: Torment
3. Neverwinter Nights 2 (if expansions count separately, tally this vote for Mask of the Betrayer)
4. Earthbound
5. Final Fantasy X
6. Ultima 7
7. Ultima 4
8. Final Fantasy Tactics
9. Fallout 3
10. Secret of Mana

All in no particular order, except for the top two. Baldur's Gate II stands alone at the top, just a shame its rules system can be quite messy by today's standards. Alas for the lack of an 11th slot so I could add the Elder Scrolls series.

 

[kswiston]

OK Voting is over, and I have tallied the results. Before I post them, I'd like a little input.

I want to provide summaries for the top 20-25 games picked as the best/most essential in the genre. However, the voting was HEAVILY skewed towards jrpgs. 19 out of the top 25 most picked titles were Jrpgs. Out of the 68 titles that received 10+ votes, only 18 were wrpgs.

Instead of providing summaries for the top 25 overall choices, should I perhaps write summaries for the top 20 jrpgs, and the top 10 (or so) wrpgs?

While you are waiting for the full results, here were the top 5:

Chrono Trigger - 126 votes
Final Fantasy VI - 89 votes
Planescape Torment - 67 votes
Final Fantasy VII - 66 votes
Demon's Souls - 64 votes

 

[WanderingWind]

OK Voting is over, and I have tallied the results. Before I post them, I'd like a little input.

I want to provide summaries for the top 20-25 games picked as the best/most essential in the genre. However, the voting was HEAVILY skewed towards jrpgs. 19 out of the top 25 most picked titles were Jrpgs. Out of the 68 titles that received 10+ votes, only 18 were wrpgs.

Instead of providing summaries for the top 25 overall choices, should I perhaps write summaries for the top 20 jrpgs, and the top 10 (or so) wrpgs?

While you are waiting for the full results, here were the top 5:

Chrono Trigger - 126 votes
Final Fantasy VI - 89 votes
Planescape Torment - 67 votes
Final Fantasy VII - 66 votes
Demon's Souls - 64 votes

Maybe do it both ways? 20 RPGs, 10 WRPGs and overall?

 

[Archie]

OK Voting is over, and I have tallied the results. Before I post them, I'd like a little input.

I want to provide summaries for the top 20-25 games picked as the best/most essential in the genre. However, the voting was HEAVILY skewed towards jrpgs. 19 out of the top 25 most picked titles were Jrpgs. Out of the 68 titles that received 10+ votes, only 18 were wrpgs.

Instead of providing summaries for the top 25 overall choices, should I perhaps write summaries for the top 20 jrpgs, and the top 10 (or so) wrpgs?

While you are waiting for the full results, here were the top 5:

Chrono Trigger - 126 votes
Final Fantasy VI - 89 votes
Planescape Torment - 67 votes
Final Fantasy VII - 66 votes
Demon's Souls - 64 votes

That list is pretty bad. :|

 

[kswiston]

Maybe do it both ways? 20 RPGs, 10 WRPGs and overall?

I'll definitely post the in overall rankings. Was planning on posting the results for every game with at least 5 votes (100+ titles). However, I was referring to the games I do summaries for. Doing 20 jrpgs and 10 wrpgs would cover the top 25 anyhow.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

That list is pretty bad. :|

?

It has Chrono Trigger and Planescape: Torment.