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What's the best JRPG that most people don't know about?

R

RedZaraki

Banned
I find myself walking down memory lane a lot lately. Usually playing 16-bit and 32-bit RPGs from the SNES and PS1 era.

That era was filled with a LOT of really good RPGs, and I find myself liking the ones I never even played back in the day after the fact to be really great.

Looking for some more really great JRPGs that maybe most people haven't played or aren't aware of?

Bonus points if you have a one sentence description on why it's good.

My examples:

- Valkyrie Profile
- Wild Arms 2
- Tales of Destiny
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
tactics ogre

pretty much the origin of tactical rpgs (discounting fire emblem but i don't enjoy them all that much so they don't count) and still the best one

psp remake is excellent and makes it even better than the original
 
K

Kouriozan

Member
Guardian's Crusade was very unique, I remember liking it a lot.

0e3DeTZ.jpg


You don't have spells or abilities, you summon living toys to do it, the pink companion evolve and learns ennemies skills, you can give him food or order him to search for items. It's been so long I need to replay it again.
 
G

Greatest Ever

Member
Mario and Luigi SuperStar Saga

People know about it, but it's legitimately top three games I've ever played, and my favorite JRPG. It takes a lot of cues from Chrono Trigger too, and is also way better than that game.
 
R

RedZaraki

Banned
Kouriozan said:
Guardian's Crusade was very unique, I remember liking it a lot.

0e3DeTZ.jpg


You don't have spells or abilities, you summon living toys to do it, the pink companion evolve and learns ennemies skills, you can give him food or order him to search for items. It's been so long I need to replay it again.
Click to expand...

This reminded me of the existence of another game called Azure Dreams that was REALLY interesting.

Similar boxart kinda.

azure-dreams-usa.jpg
 
Plumpbiscuit

Plumpbiscuit

Member
hydrophilic attack said:
tactics ogre

pretty much the origin of tactical rpgs and still the best one (discounting fire emblem but i don't enjoy them all that much so they don't count)

psp remake is excellent and makes it even better than the original
Click to expand...

I love the Tactics Ogre games, always preferred them to FF: Tactics. Knights of Lodis. <3
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
- Shining Force 3 s1-3, Vanguard Bandits & Vandal Hearts if you're into SRPG's.

Breath of Fire 3 is an incredible classical JRPG which doesn't get much play. Fantastic characterisation and beautiful character animations.
 
A

Archtreyz

Member
Lost Kingdoms II. The card bases battle system is awesome, and I spent hundreds of hours on my GameCube trying to find all sorts of monsters to card capture.
Edit: It's a real time battle system and it's also a FromSoftware game!
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
RedZaraki said:
This reminded me of the existence of another game called Azure Dreams that was REALLY interesting.

Similar boxart kinda.

azure-dreams-usa.jpg
Click to expand...

Number one game for going to far into a dungeon, biting off more then you can chew and getting killed before you can use/find an escape item.

lovely game, had a lot of charm.
 
J

JimPanzer

Member
hydrophilic attack said:
tactics ogre

pretty much the origin of tactical rpgs and still the best one (discounting fire emblem but i don't enjoy them all that much so they don't count)

psp remake is excellent and makes it even better than the original
Click to expand...

you will get murdered for this by the FF:Tactics army, but I wholeheartedly agree
 
R

Robert at Zeboyd Games

Banned
PSP was well known for being a Strategy/RPG monster with FFT, TO, and Jeanne D'arc, but the secret best Strategy/RPG on the system is Wild Arms XF. Take FFT as a base, add more interesting missions & a much more interesting set of classes and you've got Wild Arms XF. Only downside is that the interface could be a little nicer (having to re-equip everything everytime you switch classes is annoying).

On the SNES, Paladin's Quest is my favorite RPG that nobody seems to care about. Weird alien world, a unique magic system (8 elements, gain elemental levels though use, costs HP) and healing system (reusable bottles), a few dozen recruitable mercenary allies, interesting dungeon designs, and bizarre color palette (lots of pastels). Great game, although like most games of the era, the translation isn't the best (though far from BoF2 levels of bad).

If we're talking quite obscure i'm going to go with:

Arc Rise Fantasia for the Wii.
Click to expand...

Drop the voice acting volume to zero and Arc Rise Fantasia is actually a pretty solid RPG.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Another good'un was Lufia : The Legend Returns on the GBC. Had this really cool 3x3 battle grid, and placement of characters was super important.
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Robert at Zeboyd Games said:
PSP was well known for being a Strategy/RPG monster with FFT, TO, and Jeanne D'arc, but the secret best Strategy/RPG on the system is Wild Arms XF. Take FFT as a base, add more interesting missions & a much more interesting set of classes and you've got Wild Arms XF. Only downside is that the interface could be a little nicer (having to re-equip everything everytime you switch classes is annoying).

On the SNES, Paladin's Quest is my favorite RPG that nobody seems to care about. Weird alien world, a unique magic system (8 elements, gain elemental levels though use, costs HP) and healing system (reusable bottles), a few dozen recruitable mercenary allies, interesting dungeon designs, and bizarre color palette (lots of pastels). Great game, although like most games of the era, the translation isn't the best (though far from BoF2 levels of bad).

Drop the voice acting volume to zero and Arc Rise Fantasia is actually a pretty solid RPG.
Click to expand...

i should probably play wild arms xf

back then i cared a lot of reviews and got discouraged but it really does sound interesting
 
A

Aeana

Member
Emerald Dragon is one of my favorite games of all time. I've written about it here many times over the years.

Really interesting turn-based, menuless AP-driven combat system, party chat, seamless overworld (except for the SNES version), neat story, great music. All in a game that originally released in 1989.
 
Arkam

Arkam

Member
12826101_781582655305922_1211158062_n.jpg


Silver on the Dreamcast was such a fun adventure... and have never seen another soul mention it. Was it the GOAT...no, but it was fun real-time comabat and had a great story that sucked you.

Edit: Just saw tat "J" in JRPG.... which this is not..... SHAME!!
 
B

BLCKATK

Member
saga-frontier-2-ps1-cover-front-48492.jpg
Click to expand...

SaGa Frontier II

This game is pretty cool. Definitely one of the more complex JRPG's that I've played, but it's got a lot of charm, great artstyle, excellent soundtrack, and honestly an interesting take on storytelling. Not to mention once you figure out the combat system it's one of the most fun battle systems I've ever played in a JRPG. I highly recommend anyone that loves late 90s/early 00s Squaresoft to check this game out.

Once I'm a little closer to the end of the game I'd like to make a thread about it, it's my first SaGa game and I'd like to know how people feel about it.
 
B

Bauer91

Member
DBZ_Attack_of_the_Saiyans.jpg


Loved this one, I remember the battles being pretty fast so grinding was fun. Around 23 hours to beat according to hltb so short for a JRPG and doesn't outstay its welcome plus it's really good.
 
O

oni-link

Member
hydrophilic attack said:
tactics ogre

pretty much the origin of tactical rpgs (discounting fire emblem but i don't enjoy them all that much so they don't count) and still the best one

psp remake is excellent and makes it even better than the original
Click to expand...

I feel really bad that I couldn't get into this at all, I put 9 hours into it but just couldn't enjoy or even understand a lot of its systems, and the battles took forever

I was so disappointed I've not even started FFT yet based on how much I didn't enjoy Tactics Orge

5taquitos said:
Amazing game. People poke fun at Battlefield for the weapon mods, but they've clearly never played Resonance of Fate:

EJtGQor.jpg
Click to expand...

This may have finally sold me on this game
 
C

Celine

Member
250px-Opoona.jpg


Radiant Historia, Tactics Ogre (also the other Ogre Battle games on SNES, N64, GBA) and Anachronox are also excellent choices.
 
F

Fou-Lu

Member
fWSkOxf.jpg
Click to expand...

Terranigma is my number one vote since it never came to NA, but Europe did get a release. Incredible game with some Zelda-like combat and basic puzzles. What really makes it shine is the scope of the story and the gravity it has. It also managed to get me very emotional. One of the best SNES games ever made and very few people know about it. Soundtrack is great too.

tkN9Q1H.jpg
Click to expand...

Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant are some of my favourite games of all time. Quirky, dark, creepy, they have all kinds of interesting systems to play with and are set in the real world. Both games have great casts and surprisingly mature stories. While there are blemishes here and there none of them subtract from what is a masterpiece duology. For some reason they reminded me of Onimusha.

9f1WcFf.jpg
Click to expand...

The Suikoden series is amazing and greatly underappreciated. The amount of depth the world gets in the series is awesome. You get to gather a cast of over a one hundred characters that has more to do than just be fodder in your battles, after all you'll need a cook, or shop owners, or some random minigame dude to fill out your castle.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Arkam said:
12826101_781582655305922_1211158062_n.jpg


Silver on the Dreamcast was such a fun adventure... and have never seen another soul mention it. Was it the GOAT...no, but it was fun real-time comabat and had a great story that sucked you.

Edit: Just saw tat "J" in JRPG.... which this is not..... SHAME!!
Click to expand...

Didn't this have some weird marketing which tried to couch it as the next FF7?

Fun game though.
 
F

Fisico

Member
baten-kaitos-origins-zgu5h.jpg


I can understand the first episode being a hit or miss depending on your tastes (though it is stellar on many aspects), but Origins streamlined a lot of things (exploration and battle system mostly) and improved what was already great in the first place (sound, story, graphics) in what was a late release on GC in JP/US market and just a no show in EMEA.
In retrospect that's probably the worst thing NOE ever done to us.
 
D

Diablos54

Member
Keski/Trails series maybe? I dunno how they sell in Japan but i've never really heard anything about them outside of the internet in the West. Which is a shame because unlike Suikoden this massive series actually looks like it'll get it's conclusion!

Dunno if it counts but Infinite Space? Hardly see it mentioned here but it's a great space opera with awesome customisaion options.

HammerOfThor said:
Can I download this on my Vita?
Click to expand...
Yes you can!
 
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