• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Best turn-based RPGs from 16bit to PS2 era?

C

CheDominik

Member
Nostalgia has hit me hard, so I decided to buy some older systems. Haven't found a Saturn that was in an acceptable condition yet btw, but I will get one at one point..
I don't want to let my collection get ot of hand so I'm only planning to buy the very best games of a specific (sub)genre.

So what are the best turn based RPGS for the following systems:
SNES
Genesis/Mega Drive
PS1
Saturn
N64
PS2
Dreamcast
Gamecube

Thanks in advance GAF!



edit: They have to be affordable(max. $75) too. I'm not spending a fortune for a game. ;)
 
Arc the lad 1 & 2, especially the first one it takes less than 20 hours to complete, which is absolutely great.
 
personal favourites for me are FFVI and FF Tactics on the PS1, Shadow Hearts, Shadow Hearts Covenant and SMT: Nocturne for the PS2
 
PS1
Xenogears
The Legend of Dragoon
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy VII and VIII (though I like IX, it's certainly not for its combat)
Wild Arms 2

PS2
Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2
Persona 4
Final Fantasy X (XII is more MMO-influenced, so while good, I omitted it here)
Wild Arms 3

Dreamcast
Grandia II (though available for PS2 as well, it's not a good port)
Skies of Arcadia (disclaimer, recommending this one based on its reputation as a great game, rather than personal experience)


Went a bit overboard, but there you go. Since affordability is a factor, had to omit Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete from my list for PS1, as both are very expensive at this point. All of the PS1 titles I have listed are available cheaply on the US PSN, the Shadow Hearts games and FFX being the only PS2 games mentioned absent from the store (the Shadow Hearts games definitely not coming cheap these days). Grandia II can be gotten cheaply for PC, but no such luck for Skies of Arcadia.
 
Vandal Hearts 1 on PS1 was a real treat back in the day. They made a sequel on PS1 that I never played. It predates Final Fantasy Tactics by a year.

I was also completely obsessed with Shining Force 1 & 2 on the Sega Genesis at the time. Just completely into the story, gameplay, and characters.
 
For me :

SNES : Chrono Trigger
Genesis/Mega Drive : hard one... Shining Force 2 or Phantasy Star IV
PS1 : Xenogears
Saturn : Not a lot of choice here, but Panzer Dragoon Saga if you have the money, Or Shining force 3 or Shining of the holy Ark
N64 : Paper Mario
PS2 : Having a hard time here.... so much good choice... but probably Shadow Heart 1.
Dreamcast : Grandia 2
Gamecube : Baten Kaitos Origin
 
Final Fantasy VII and Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne (currently on EU PSN sale). I was LTTP too and can approve these.

If you can get past slow gameplay, Breath of Fire IV has some of the best writing. Skies of Arcadia is great, though the GC version is iirc better than DC.
 
Skulldead said:
For me :

SNES : Chrono Trigger
Genesis/Mega Drive : hard one... Shining Force 2 or Phantasy Star IV
PS1 : Xenogears
Saturn : Not a lot of choice here, but Panzer Dragoon Saga if you have the money, Or Shining force 3 or Shining of the holy Ark
N64 : Paper Mario
PS2 : Having a hard time here.... so much good choice... but probably Shadow Heart 1.
Dreamcast : Grandia 2
Gamecube : Baten Kaitos Origin
Click to expand...

Panzer Dragoon Saga is a little too pricey ;)
But thanks for your and everyone else's replies!
 
SillyEskimo said:
Vandal Hearts 1 on PS1 was a real treat back in the day. They made a sequel on PS1 that I never played. It predates Final Fantasy Tactics by a year.

I was also completely obsessed with Shining Force 1 & 2 on the Sega Genesis at the time. Just completely into the story, gameplay, and characters.
Click to expand...

Vandal hearts was fantastic, especially loved the secret quests that is totally missable to turn ash into a badass. The sequel want very good, gameplay or story wise though. I related Vandal hearts 1 a couple years ago and it still holds up well.
 
Too many on top of my head right now to try to remember all of them, so I'll trust my subconscious and mention the three which have popped up first:

Phantasy Start IV (mega drive)
Final Fantasy VI (super Nintendo)
Shining Force 3 (Saturn)
Lunar The Silver Star (mega CD)

crap... I wrote 4. I'll stop now
 
SNES: Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI
N64: Paper Mario
PS1: Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Cross
PS2: Shadow Hearts: Covenant
GameCube: Baten Kaitos, Baten Kaitos Origins
 
Sega Saturn RPGS
I'm not sure who is best?

Shining Force III - turn based rpg
Panzer Dragoon Saga - excellent story and well realized world
Dragon Force - excellent rpg hybrid
Shining the Holy Ark - excellent dungeon rpg
Grandia - only in japanese on Saturn I think
Albert Odyssey - traditional rpg
Mystaria: The Realms of Lore
Magic Knight Rayearth
 
Skulldead said:
Tell us your budget and we can make a more accurate list, because most of the game that I've post are pretty uncommon/rare and expensive :).
Click to expand...

I hate how this sounds, but money is not really an issue. I just don't want to pay more than the games cost when they were new based on principle.
 
Tailzo said:
Sega Saturn RPGS
I'm not sure who is best?

Shining Force III - turn based rpg
Panzer Dragoon Saga - excellent story and well realized world
Dragon Force - excellent rpg hybrid
Shining the Holy Ark - excellent dungeon rpg
Grandia - only in japanese on Saturn I think
Albert Odyssey - traditional rpg
Mystaria: The Realms of Lore
Magic Knight Rayearth
Click to expand...
None of those are under 75 sadly op probably just needs to skip the saturn.

CheDominik said:
I hate how this sounds, but money is not really an issue. I just don't want to pay more than the games cost when they were new based on principle.
Click to expand...
You should probably take saturn off your list then you are not going to get any of the rpgs for that price.
 
CheDominik said:
I hate how this sounds, but money is not really an issue. I just don't want to pay more than the games cost when they were new based on principle.
Click to expand...

Saturn and SNES retro prices are ridiculous thanks to interest from streamers. If you are fine with cart only copies, you can get Final Fantasy 3 (FF6) for SNES in your price range, which is one of the best RPGs out there. Chrono Trigger might go for more than that, even cart only.

Saturn has a few really good RPGs but is not even worth bothering with unless you want to put down seious money. Anything with a reputation in the genre is $100+ thanks to print runs of like 20k in the US. Other genres are more reasonable outside of RPGs and sidescrolling shooters.

Playstation 1 and 2 are mostly affordable. The odd title like Suikoden 2 still sells for over $75, but the PS Classics program seems to keep prices reasonable. Most of the best games are $50 or less. Some closer to $25.
 
Yeah most of the games listed here are pricey as hell. You're not gonna find a spare cartridge of Chrono Trigger or Earthbound for under $ 100.

I recommend Breath of Fire 3 and Dragon Warrior VII for PS1, both can be found for prices ranging in $ 20 - $ 50.
 
SNES
Final Fantasy IV and VI
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
SuperMario RPG
Lufia I and II

Genesis
Phantasy Star IV and II
Shining Force I and II
ShadowRun


PS1
Xenogears
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy VII and IX
Grandia
Breath of fire III
Parasite Eve
Lunar I and II
Star Ocean II
Final Fantasy Tactics

Saturn:
Shining: The Holy Ark
Panzer Dragon: Saga
Albert's Odyssey
Dragon Force
Shining Force 3
Shining Wisdom
Magic Knight Rayearth

N64
Ogre Battle 64


PS2
Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Persona 4
Final Fantasy X
Tales of the Abyss

Dreamcast
Grandia II
Skies of Arcadia (only if you cant get the gamecube version)

Gamecube
Skies of Arcadia
Tales of Symphonia
Paper Mario
Baten Kaitos
Fire Emblem

PSP/Vita
Trails in the Sky FC and SC (because really, you need to play them)
Breath of fire 3
Persona 4: Golden (Vita only)
Persona 3
Trails of Cold Steel I and II (Vita only)
Tactics Ogre
Lunar
Tales of Heart (Vita only)
Star Ocean I and II
Final Fantasy Tactics
Jeanne d'Arc
**Above are all PSP versions of games which often had large improvements over the PS1 version of the game.**

As others have mentioned, a lot of these older gems are really pricey. You can get a ton of really good rpgs from the psn store that were ps1 titles and play them on psp or vita. If you get or have a vita, it can basically become a retro rpg machine with all of the ps1 games you can get on it. Plus the PSP has a ton of great retro type rpgs on it that are great and playable on Vita and is still very cheap.
 
Wereroku said:
None of those are under 75 sadly op probably just needs to skip the saturn.


You should probably take saturn off your list then you are not going to get any of the rpgs for that price.
Click to expand...

Blazing heroes / Mysteria (the game got 2 names release because D&D copyright) is clearly not that expensive, and this a pretty decent Tactical Turn Based RPG with just really ugly 3d Polygon.
 
kswiston said:
Saturn and SNES retro prices are ridiculous thanks to interest from streamers. If you are fine with cart only copies, you can get Final Fantasy 3 (FF6) for SNES in your price range, which is one of the best RPGs out there. Chrono Trigger might go for more than that, even cart only.

Saturn has a few really good RPGs but is not even worth bothering with unless you want to put down seious money. Anything with a reputation in the genre is $100+ thanks to print runs of like 20k in the US. Other genres are more reasonable outside of RPGs and sidescrolling shooters.

Playstation 1 and 2 are mostly affordable. The odd title like Suikoden 2 still sells for over $75, but the PS Classics program seems to keep prices reasonable. Most of the best games are $50 or less. Some closer to $25.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have to admit I was shocked when I saw these prices for Panzer Dragoon Saga at first but I guess you'll get used to it when you have been looking for older games for a while.
There is a weekly flea market where I live and I bought a shoebox full of SNES carts for $25 including Secret of Mana, but it's pretty much impossible to look for specific games that way.
 
PS1-
Koudelka- Precursor to Shadow Hearts and a pretty fun game
Granstream Saga- My first PS1 game that came free with the system. Made by Quintet basically.
Wild Arms 1 & 2- Great games.

PS2-
Metal Saga- Crazy game with missing stuff still being found.
Steambot Chronicles- Not turnbased but a great game
Wild Arms 3- Great game
Suikoden 3, 4, & 5- 4 is a little weak but still enjoyable and 3 & 5 are excellent games. Not sure about the price on these.

Dreamcast-
Elemental Gimmick Gear- Fun action rpg
Evolution 1 & 2- Weird games but fun.
Grandia 2- Best version on consoles

Gamecube-
Skies of Arcadia- Best version
Baten Kaitos 1 & 2- Great games.
 
CheDominik said:
Nostalgia has hit me hard, so I decided to buy some older systems. Haven't found a Saturn that was in an acceptable condition yet btw, but I will get one at one point..
I don't want to let my collection get ot of hand so I'm only planning to buy the very best games of a specific (sub)genre.

So what are the best turn based RPGS for the following systems:
SNES
Genesis/Mega Drive
PS1
Saturn
N64
PS2
Dreamcast
Gamecube

Thanks in advance GAF!



edit: They have to be affordable(max. $75) too. I'm not spending a fortune for a game. ;)
Click to expand...

In order starting with the best,

SNES - Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Lufia 2, Final Fantasy 4, Final Fantasy 6, Super Mario RPG
Genesis - Shining Force 2, Phantasy Star 4
PS1 - Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, Suikoden, Suikoden 2, Lunar SSSC, Final Fantasy 7, Parasite Eve, Vandal Hearts
PS2 - Final Fantasy X, Dragon Quest 8, Persona 4, SMT: Nocturne

Tell us if you want more details for anything.
 
CheDominik said:
Thanks, I have to admit I was shocked when I saw these prices for Panzer Dragoon Saga at first but I guess you'll get used to it when you have been looking for older games for a while.
There is a weekly flea market where I live and I bought a shoebox full of SNES carts for $25 including Secret of Mana, but it's pretty much impossible to look for specific games that way.
Click to expand...

It may be a good idea to start more recent and go backwards. PS2 stuff is still really cheap, but it probably wont stay that way in the future.
 
There are so many options... RPGs also have a lot of different flavours. Some are better at strategy or story or customization or world building. Some are more light hearted. Some have very basic turn based combat while others can look incredibly stylish.

I'll echo some others who mentioned Suikoden 2. Can't go wrong with that though physical edition will be a bit pricey given the cost of the digital psn version.

2VAfyHK.gif
 
Here are my votes.

SNES- final fantasy 2

Genesis/Mega Drive Phantasy star 2

PS1 Most people will say FF VII but my vote goes to grandia.

Saturn-Not sure. I do remember enjoying Albert Odyssey though.

N64-Did they even have any?

PS2: Final Fantasy X

Dreamcast Skies of arcadia or Grandia 2.

Gamecube-?
 
Apart from what has been said, I'd recommend the often ignored Vandal Hearts for PSX - a great game due to its blend of drama, realism and magical elements, cartoony art style and gritty violence, excellent music etc. It's still my favorite SRPG, yes even beating out FFT or Fire Emblem.

Grandia is also a great RPG for PSX due to its sense of world travelling adventure and its somewhat lighter tone but it's not fully turn-based so perhaps outside of your scope.

Skies of Arcadia on Dreamcast / Gamecube (=preferred version due to less frequent fights) is also a great RPG with its quite unique sky pirate motif.

Shadow Hearts on PS2 might also be interesting if you like horror elements in your RPG's. Not sure how well the sequels live up though as I've never managed to try them (Edit: see post below for more info on this). The combat is turn-based but it does have some interactive timing elements to them.

Maybe you could also look into the Phantasy Star series and Shining Force series on Genesis for games that are a bit less familiar perhaps to bigger Nintendo associated games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and Dragon Quest etc. I'm not overly familiar with them myself but I've heard good things.
 
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World

The third game isn't as good as previous 2, but it's still an excellent game IMO.
 
Genesis:
Shining force 1, 2
Phantasy star 4 (2 and 3 are great too)

Saturn:
Shining force 3
Albert odyssey

Psx:
Final fantasy 9
Vandal hearts

Also worth looking into:
Breath of fire series
Dragon force
Skies of arcadia
Wild arms
Gandia series
Xenogears
Mario rpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Poll
RPGs from my backlog
20
91
PeteBull replied
PS2 arcade based emulation tested; PCSX2x6
13
69
S0ULZB0URNE replied
Shadow of the Road (Story Driven, Turn-Based RPG set during the fall of Japan's Feudal Era) - Official Story Overview Trailer
8
218
Topher replied
Final Fantasy XVII is going to be turn based right?
Opinion  2 3 4
167
1K
Kumomeme replied
Jak 3 gets a PC port based on the PS2 version
6
398
VGEsoterica replied
Top Bottom