I see some people here mentioning games that should have been included, I don't know about old and classic JRPG (I only played recent games) So here is an idea Mr. Erick, after you finish this series of videos, do one big video with honorable mentions that would have been included in each year.
Legend of dragoon is my favorite game of all time but somehow I wasn't mad about it being #4 since the ones above it were games that I adored almost as much as LoD. Whatta an epic year that was for JRPGs.
Vagrant Story is quite good once you get used to it. But he also didn't add D2 which is also interesting or Record of Lodoss War which is a great Diablo RPG and the first to get it right for consoles before Balder's Gate on the PS2.
@@roguerifter9724 You might be right but after looking at the back of the game it says 2000. I remember playing it around November or December of that year but my memory might be going on me. Lol.
I didn't play all the games on this list but the omission of Vagrant Story seems like a huge oversight. The story is hugely compelling and the soundtrack is one of Sakimoto's finest. The gameplay is challenging even once you have mastered the mechanics. It's only flaw is the weapon building which the hardware apparently could not handle. And maybe some of the block puzzles 😅
What an insane year for the JRPGs. It was a wave of JRPGs due to the huge success of FFVII, that inspired many developers to develop their JRPG. It takes 2/3 years to develop a game, so 1997+3 years gives us year 2000
@@asmodeus58XX Reading the man's wikipedia entry, it indicated that Hinorobu Sakaguchi continued to provide assistance to his old team at Square, including writing support for Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, and so on for a few years. It certainly explains why Final Fantasy XII and onwards feel so... mediocre story, character, and plotwise afterwards.
@@darkfyraproductions7958 Hironobu Sakaguchi provided Executive Producer and support writing for the first Kingdom Hearts only. Tetsuya Nomura has been the primary custodian and storywriter for the series since then, and it was his idea to tie in all the Spin-Off titles into the main plot of the series.
A remake!? Wouldn't you rather have a sequel? I don't want to play through a modernized version of the same game and story again, especially not while worrying about them potentially screwing something up. I want to see what happens next, but unfortunately that's probably not ever going to happen. The original development team is long gone. If someone else makes a sequel, there is a good chance that it will probably be too different and just disappoint everyone.
JMFSpike I hate that type of ending so much. It’s soulcrushing when you beat the final boss, get a bit of dialogue, the credits roll, aaaand back to the title screen. It just leaves you with such an empty feeling.
I’m playing it right now and nearly at the end of the game and I’d much rather have a sequel or just explore around in the Skies world again. Such a vast and rich world with lots of neat lore and exploration.
i'd like a remaster of skies of arcadia. i don't get all this constant begging for remakes that will rarely ever capture the magic of the original game. people are already asking for a ff8 remake. it'll probably be 20 years before they're done milking ff7r. 2 remakes and most people will either be dead or too old to play games. remember when we used to get good, large and complete rpgs every year? now people are praising a partial remake of an rpg once every 5-10 years. i really miss the golden age of gaming, but sadly those days are gone forever.
Vagrant story should be on the list imo, i´m glad that chrono cross and final fantasy IX made it, about skies of arcadia, i´ve never played it, a remaster could fix that.
Yeah, Skies of Arcadia did get a remake, but that was only like two years later on the Gamecube (I believe), and the PS2... I got the original, so I didn't bother with Legends, although I have heard good things about it.
No pokemon gold silver and ogre battle 64 wich i still play time to time not in top 10. And having favorite in dragoon at fourt and kinda agree with it when saw other titles it was a crazy year for jrpg
Wild arms 2 was a masterpiece. It resonated with my young teenage self massively. I think it was because Ashley Winchester was a well written hero but at points Bradley steals the show.
I sadly missed out on this game due to a friends influence. He had picked it up before I had a chance to buy it for myself and told me it was stupid and childish compared to the first. I was let down and when I tried it out for a few minutes and was tasked with finding/catching somebodies cat, I allowed that influence to skew my own perspective and quit right then. I have since added it to my list to go back and replay but that will be some time from now.
2000 aka the year I was born. A start of a new era. And a great year for RPG's. And it's great to see my favorite Final Fantasy game make it so high on the list.
Yep, the SNES, PS1, PS2, and PSP all have treasure troves of RPG's. Every other console is very lacking in comparison (when it comes to North America releases). Modern day consoles aren't too bad, but many of the ones you see today are western RPG's which I don't personally care for.
This was an amazing year, didn't realize it until you made this video. From top to bottom, nothing but classics 💯💯 I'd put Skies of Arcadia in my top 5 though, one of my personal favs :)
In 2000 come the pinnacle of the golden age of jrpg and for me the best year of the history of videogames. You mises the most esoteric and original: vagrant story.
Was hoping for Koudelka on this list but I understand 2000 was a ridiculous year for RPGs. I love Wild Arms 2, Chrono Cross, and Valkyrie Profile. So many classics to choose from.
You know, I recall that when it first came out, Legend of Dragoon was dismissed by many (reviewers) as sort of a mere SONY-does-FF game, but it definitely has become beloved over the years. The battle system was pretty innovative when it came out.
@@thomasgellhaus306 Back then there were so few successful jrpgs released in the west. Because of that the reviewers compared other "jrpg"s to Final Fantasy, especially 7. I didn't really get it with The Legend of Dragoon since the combat, story and music were so different. Main character had spiky blond hair and that's it.
Over FF9 and Chrono cross? I liked legend of dragoon but it doesn’t feel smooth and compelling like the other two mention. For sure Dragoon story picks up and gets very interesting after Miranda and Albert but it’s battle system feel sluggish Imo compare to Chrono and FF9.
Dang! I thought legend of mana would make it Lol, looked like a game you co-oped with your brother/sister and you used the music in your earlier videos! Crazy competition, i had fond memories with ogre battle 64 and pokemon gold/silver. Great list though
Ah, 2000 was an absolutely phenomenal year for RPGs, possibly one of my favorite years. Skies of Arcadia is not available on any modern platform, sadly :( Persona 2:EP is available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita Breath of Fire IV is also available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita Grandia 2 is available on Steam, and in a bundle with the original on Switch Wild ARMs 2 is available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita Vanguard Bandits is also available digitally for PS3, PSP and Vita. I'm pleasantly surprised this one got rereleased! Legend of Dragoon is yet another available on PS3 PSP and Vita Valkyrie Profile is sadly not available digitally on a modern system. It is, weirdly, available on Android and iOS Final Fantasy IX's original PSone release is available on PS3, PSP and Vita, and it has a remaster for PS4, XBOX ONE, Switch and Steam Chrono Cross is, surprise, available digitally for PS3, PSP and Vita
So many awesome jrpg's came out that year , you could do 2 lists. You can tell the explosion of the genre had in the 21st century as great/all time classics might not make a list from here on.
Jesus! 2000 looks like it was the greatest year for jrpgs. So many great games. Also, my favorite game of all time released that year, Final Fantasy 9!
Breath of Fire 4 was my first JRPG, and second game that actually had a good story(Metal Gear Solid 1 was my first). I remember when I first played Breath of Fire 4, I quit it and thought it was sooooo bad the moment I saw the battle system. One day I was just so bored out of my mind, almost to tears in fact, when I decided to just play the only game I owned that I haven't played to death, and I got so utterly drawn into the story and the world very early on after getting over that battle system. This was in 2003. Since then, JRPG's have remained my favorite genre of games, and I would have missed out on so many great stories and would have dramatically different tastes in video games if it weren't for Breath of Fire 4 and the fact I got bored enough to actually give it a chance beyond the first battle.
I'm so glad you ranked Legend of Dragoon that high. Websites at the time gave it pretty mediocre reviews. Like a lot of people, I picked it up from a bargain bin years later, and when I played it I couldn't understand why. The visuals & music blew me away, and I loved the combo battle system, it was way more engaging than most of that era. I was actually really surprised to see it over Skies of Arcadia. I was (and am) a huge Dreamcast fanboy, but I felt, even at the time, like Skies of Arcadia was overrated. People puffed it up as one of the greatest rpgs in existence because it was the shining hope for the Dreamcast as one of only two big budget rpgs we got. Then when it hit the Gamecube, another rpg starved system, that effect got doubled. It's not bad by any means, there's a lot of care and craft put into it, but I wouldn't put it higher than 5 or 6 in this year. Personally I would have FF IX #1 on my list here. The only main-line FF I really enjoyed after that was XII, and I consider it the best of the PS1 trilogy. Chrono Cross was a game I didn't end up playing until the PS3 era for some reason or another. When I finally did, I just couldn't get into it. The battle system felt both overly complicated and kind of a drag, with plenty of situations where I had characters rendered useless doing 2 points of damage or something. I eventually ended up with a save in a situation I couldn't seem to get out of and never went back. Hopefully it gets a remaster at some point so I can try giving it another shot.
Erick-thanks for this video. So many classics come to game consoles near the end of their life cycle1-2 years before the new console players were inundated with excellent RPG’s! Am I the only who feels this way? Maybe it’s changed with the newer generation consoles.
New to your channel, but I'm loving this series and your videos in general. I'm a lifelong JRPG fan (born in 1983) and your tastes and passion are nearly identical to my own! Thanks for what you do!
Holy Shit the lineup in this year! What an incredible set of releases in 2000!! Skies of Arcadia was a perfect example of a game that had impact. There really wasn't a whole lot like it and it made a really prominent effect on players. SOA is in massive need of a remake or remaster for fans and I'm not necessarily sure if that's ever going to be a reality. This may be the greatest example of JRPGs on the Dreamcast. Persona 2 I didn't purchase until years later, many many years after release. In 2011 I got it noticing its value was skyrocketing on ebay and just because I hadn't really heard of its release was enough to get it, if not for reselling, which thankfully I never did. Graphically it was an upgrade, not greatly from the 1st game but I really liked this game off the bat, unlike my detestable first experience with Persona 1. Its another JRPG I have not finished but this one grabbed my interest immediately and that's what I need to help enjoy a JRPG a lot of the time. Breath of Fire 4 is the sequel to a game I am only now playing. I have noticed that BOF 3 has many graphical congruences to 4 and I'm really looking forward to it. I am SO MAD that this series is DEAD! Can't wait to play BOF4. Wild Arms 2 is a game I barely touched and what a mistake. I was not a big fan of the first Wild Arms as I played it for the first time after playing FF7 and was just not impressed. I have been mostly living vicariously through live streams to see this game in action and I LOVE the music in this game. I like the multiple protagonist feel of how the game starts. The text boxes, the way they enter and leave the screen remind me of Suikoden making conversation, for me, very satisfying to experience. This game is also still pretty inexpensive compared to other titles in this list. I do not own it and I definitely will soon. Vanguard Bandits I spent years missing out on. I saw this game year by year at many conventions and I never purchased it for 2 reasons. 1, I had everything else already on my shopping list. 2, it was incomplete and did not have the demo disc. At this point on ebay this game is now going for twice what I could have had it for, now $100 for the most part. This is a cool looking game, I have only seen this one from live-streams and I need to try it. The Legend of Dragoon is the second game I saw friends of mine that were female really enjoy which during this era was rare from those I knew. For whatever reason this game hit a lot of proper chords with those that played it and many people are clamoring for this to be remade or a sequel initialized. This is a fantastic game, visually, gameplay wise and story-wise. Its a lot of fun and its interesting and worth your time. I'm happy I didn't miss out on this. Valkyrie Profile is beautiful and interesting. There is no game on PS1 that is like this one in my opinion. The way it delivers the lore and how it visualizes and shows itself to you really looks and plays great. My only gripe and the one thing that other games in recent years have done is use the same voice acting sample with every attack in every battle over and over again. I do not like that kind of repetition in the voice acting but this game also gets a total pass since it came out in freakin 2000! FF9 I initially missed out on. Friends had purchased it and to this day I'm not sure why I didn't. I think it may be because of my experience with FF8 just not impressing me. This is a mega great FF game. This really needs a remake so current gen gamers can properly experience it. So much fun all the way through. Chrono Cross is obviously a matter of deep debate. This is a great great game and probably should not have been named Chrono in the title to keep the ensuing debates happening but so be it. There is a lot of meat on the bone to enjoy here and it really reminds me a FF game, in a good way. Some of the characters you get are pretty bad (Like the fungus man lol) but that is my only gripe. I'm not sure a list of JRPGs could be better than this lineup.
In my opinion, 2000 is without the shadow of a doubt the best year in video game history: Deus Ex, Majora's Mask, Baldur's Gate 2, Vagrant Story, Counter Strike, Shenmue, Perfect Dark, Pokemon Yellow, Hitman, Planetscape: Torment and Street Fighter 3: 3rd strike came out the same year. Most of them are genre defining games, for instance Deus Ex is still to this day the blueprint of immersive sim. 2000 had a glitch after all ;)
2000 was such a great, underrated year. Sure it had mostly RPGs, both Classic style and Novel style. There weren't Classic RPGs outside of the PC yet, but both my favorite WRPGs, Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate 2 (AKA G.O.A.T in my opinion) were released, as well as fan favorite Diablo 2 and the action focused, yet turn based Icewind Dale. If there was any turn based RPG to be called an ARPG, it's Icewind Dale.
nice to see vanguard bandits in there, I know of very few people who even heard of that game... the 5 endings in the game meant a lot of replay value too :D FF IX is my favorite final fantasy around... the last I actually loved. the only complaint I have with it is the forced focus whenever the bar was filled... this made it harder to be able to use it when it really mattered (boss fights) Chrono Cross... I was lucky to come to that game as I had little experience in RPGs. Didn't play Chrono Trigger until a few years later when I got my hands on its ps one port in ff chronicles. This allowed me to enjoy the game as its own entity and I really loved it, especially its soundtrack. It's my go-to relaxation and good vibes track to this day.
Legend of Dragoon was unique at the time. This year was when I first heard of Dreamcast. I actually like FFIX. Even PSM (100% Independent Playstation Magazine) said it was Very Good.
For me Vanguard bandits is in my top 3 of best rpgs... A really great game... A lot of endings and missions, great story, great gameplay... Everything is soooo fucking good
This is the first year where my list would be way different and not just shuffle the games around a bit, 2000 had so many hits. Mine would be something like: 1. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 2. Final Fantasy IX 3. Ogre Battle 64 4. Front Mission 3 5. Chrono Cross (still #1 OST though) 6. Breath of Fire IV 7. Valkyrie Profile 8. Grandia II 9. Vanguard Bandits 10. Vagrant Story I still need to play Skies of Arcadia and The Legend of Dragoon. If counting Mega Man Legends 2 as an RPG it would be in the list but I've always thought of MML more as action/adventure game than RPG. edit: After thinking about how ridiculously easy Grandia II is I bumped it down a few spots. I last played it on Switch with hard mode(only in the HD version for Switch and PC) which clouded my judgement a bit.
I'm so happy you had chrono cross at number 1. The game gets way too much hate and I understand the games not perfect but man it is easily one of my favorite rpg of all time. I still have a sealed copy and guide book and all. Also great list! These games were my childhood. Being born in 1992, 2000 is when I really got into rpgs outside of super Mario rpg. I own all the wild arms games, both crono games, all the final fantasy games but 9 and 12 are my favorite, all the persona games, and legend of dragoon. These games are all amazing. I wish I had more time to play them all again right this second
What a great year! Probably one of the best year, if not the best, for the ps1. I think a mention to SaGa Frontier 1 or 2 it could have been good, but its ok, there a lot of excellent games in all this years.
So, I loved Breath of Fire IV and I get why V doesn't deserve the name, but I still really enjoyed the story of Dragon Quarter (even if playing it was a little boring). I liked how the story evolved with playthroughs, like Nier Automata.
@@Livingtree32 I'm from Europe, too. But I bought the North American version of Chrono Cross. I can still play it on a NTSC PS1 or on PC with an emulator.
Glad I'm not the only one that loves Chrono Cross. In terms of story, I would rate Legend of Dragoon #1, but the gameplay really brings it down. I have still played it much more than Chrono Cross.
@@KrsJin What the Halle Berry? Really? But Front Mission 3 is amazing! Two amazing stories, more depth than the Mariana Trench, and a great tactical combat system! What's not to love?
Cristian Guanziroli I haven’t played 5 still but I in no way think 4 was better than 3 other than the technical improvements on graphics and load times. I did like 4 though.
Legend of dragoon n vanguard. We're very good games. Especially vanguard bandits. It took all d efforts of me n my brothers to get all d endings for both games
I love Crono Cross, but it was just damn easy. Aside from the Dario fight (first playthrough) there wasn't enough challenges and the leveling system was a mess.
I've owned and beaten everything on the list except Skies of Arcadia which I've played some of and will buy in a heartbeat if it ever comes to a system I own,. The list os good but I would put Skies of Arcadia much higher and Chrono Cross much lower. I like the battle system of Chrono Cross and love the soundtrack but I've always felt it would have been better as a standalone game then a Chrono Trigger sequel because the ties between the two stories were thin, and felt shoved in at the last minute to me. Later Chrono Trigger remakes actually added scenes in an attempt to explain how some events that occurred between the two games occured and it still doesn't make sense to me.
Whoa! 2000 might be my favorite year for JRPGs.
I see some people here mentioning games that should have been included, I don't know about old and classic JRPG (I only played recent games)
So here is an idea Mr. Erick, after you finish this series of videos, do one big video with honorable mentions that would have been included in each year.
Thats a great idea!
I really liked Skies of Arcadia, as a huge fan of the Suikoden series, i enjoyed being able to recruit more characters and build up the Delphinus.
And that is why 2000 was the year I got into jrpgs.
Final fantasy 9, legend of dragoon and chrono cross omg this year...
Yes
Crazy year valkaria profile just an insane year top 5 could be #1 in most years lol
@@mathieucaron4990 yes this year is amazing
Legend of dragoon is my favorite game of all time but somehow I wasn't mad about it being #4 since the ones above it were games that I adored almost as much as LoD. Whatta an epic year that was for JRPGs.
Dude! Vagrant Story! Included vanguard bandits and not vagrant story??
Vagrant story is not for everyone
Vagrant Story is quite good once you get used to it. But he also didn't add D2 which is also interesting or Record of Lodoss War which is a great Diablo RPG and the first to get it right for consoles before Balder's Gate on the PS2.
According to Wikipedia, and I've very well aware that it might be wrong, Record of Lodoss War didn't come out in North America until 2001.
@@roguerifter9724 You might be right but after looking at the back of the game it says 2000. I remember playing it around November or December of that year but my memory might be going on me. Lol.
I didn't play all the games on this list but the omission of Vagrant Story seems like a huge oversight. The story is hugely compelling and the soundtrack is one of Sakimoto's finest. The gameplay is challenging even once you have mastered the mechanics. It's only flaw is the weapon building which the hardware apparently could not handle. And maybe some of the block puzzles 😅
You know you in one hell of a year when Skies of Arcadia is number 10!
What an insane year for the JRPGs. It was a wave of JRPGs due to the huge success of FFVII, that inspired many developers to develop their JRPG. It takes 2/3 years to develop a game, so 1997+3 years gives us year 2000
"The last Final Fantasy with the story wrote by Hinorobu Sakaguchi".
Well, that's explains a lot.
I'm surprised though, 10 is every bit as good as the rest.
@@asmodeus58XX Reading the man's wikipedia entry, it indicated that Hinorobu Sakaguchi continued to provide assistance to his old team at Square, including writing support for Final Fantasy X, Kingdom Hearts, and so on for a few years.
It certainly explains why Final Fantasy XII and onwards feel so... mediocre story, character, and plotwise afterwards.
@@darkfyraproductions7958 Hironobu Sakaguchi provided Executive Producer and support writing for the first Kingdom Hearts only.
Tetsuya Nomura has been the primary custodian and storywriter for the series since then, and it was his idea to tie in all the Spin-Off titles into the main plot of the series.
That is true. FF 12 was a good game, but I couldn't find myself to give two shits about the characters in it. Same for FF 13 and FF 15.
Skies of Arcadia remake NOW
A remake!? Wouldn't you rather have a sequel? I don't want to play through a modernized version of the same game and story again, especially not while worrying about them potentially screwing something up. I want to see what happens next, but unfortunately that's probably not ever going to happen. The original development team is long gone. If someone else makes a sequel, there is a good chance that it will probably be too different and just disappoint everyone.
JMFSpike I hate that type of ending so much. It’s soulcrushing when you beat the final boss, get a bit of dialogue, the credits roll, aaaand back to the title screen. It just leaves you with such an empty feeling.
I’m playing it right now and nearly at the end of the game and I’d much rather have a sequel or just explore around in the Skies world again. Such a vast and rich world with lots of neat lore and exploration.
and Chrono crosss and xenogearss
i'd like a remaster of skies of arcadia. i don't get all this constant begging for remakes that will rarely ever capture the magic of the original game. people are already asking for a ff8 remake. it'll probably be 20 years before they're done milking ff7r. 2 remakes and most people will either be dead or too old to play games. remember when we used to get good, large and complete rpgs every year? now people are praising a partial remake of an rpg once every 5-10 years. i really miss the golden age of gaming, but sadly those days are gone forever.
Vagrant story should be on the list imo, i´m glad that chrono cross and final fantasy IX made it, about skies of arcadia, i´ve never played it, a remaster could fix that.
Yeah, Skies of Arcadia did get a remake, but that was only like two years later on the Gamecube (I believe), and the PS2... I got the original, so I didn't bother with Legends, although I have heard good things about it.
@@michaelmiller7465 The Skies version on gamecube was a port with extra features added, not a remake.
2000 was a solid year for JRPGs. Played most of these on the PS1 and I was 10 years old back then and now I'm 30. Time flies.
This whole era sums up my childhood here, those late nights with no worries. Playing these games after watching gundam wing and dragonball z
2000 seems like a gold star year for jrpg's Erick. Thanks again so much for this series :)
legend of dragoon being #4 just shows how great a year it was.
No pokemon gold silver and ogre battle 64 wich i still play time to time not in top 10. And having favorite in dragoon at fourt and kinda agree with it when saw other titles it was a crazy year for jrpg
@@mathieucaron4990 I know Erick has said he's not a Pokemon fan.
@@thomasgellhaus306 yeah I know
oh my god, is this probably the best year in jrpg history?
Sure will ve hard to beat
Nah I think 1995 was better.
Wild arms 2 was a masterpiece. It resonated with my young teenage self massively. I think it was because Ashley Winchester was a well written hero but at points Bradley steals the show.
I sadly missed out on this game due to a friends influence. He had picked it up before I had a chance to buy it for myself and told me it was stupid and childish compared to the first. I was let down and when I tried it out for a few minutes and was tasked with finding/catching somebodies cat, I allowed that influence to skew my own perspective and quit right then. I have since added it to my list to go back and replay but that will be some time from now.
Wild Arms 2 is my favorite game of all time. I go back and play it annually.
2000 aka the year I was born.
A start of a new era.
And a great year for RPG's.
And it's great to see my favorite Final Fantasy game make it so high on the list.
Great list yet again Eric! Skies of Arcadia is my personal number 1 from this year but I’m extremely biased since it was my first JRPG.
Jesus, I sometimes forget what a POWERHOUSE PS1 was for JRPGs. That's on top of titles that didn't get mentioned.
Yep, the SNES, PS1, PS2, and PSP all have treasure troves of RPG's. Every other console is very lacking in comparison (when it comes to North America releases). Modern day consoles aren't too bad, but many of the ones you see today are western RPG's which I don't personally care for.
This was an amazing year, didn't realize it until you made this video. From top to bottom, nothing but classics 💯💯 I'd put Skies of Arcadia in my top 5 though, one of my personal favs :)
No Threads of Fate, no Front Mission 3 either.
I still waiting for a remaster of Chrono Cross in PS4, Steam, Switch and One.
The more I think about it, the more awestruck I am at how much masterpieces can be found in Playstation 1...
In 2000 come the pinnacle of the golden age of jrpg and for me the best year of the history of videogames.
You mises the most esoteric and original: vagrant story.
Was hoping for Koudelka on this list but I understand 2000 was a ridiculous year for RPGs. I love Wild Arms 2, Chrono Cross, and Valkyrie Profile. So many classics to choose from.
For me the best JRPG of 2000 is Legend of Dragoon.
6 bucks on the PlayStation Network store.
You know, I recall that when it first came out, Legend of Dragoon was dismissed by many (reviewers) as sort of a mere SONY-does-FF game, but it definitely has become beloved over the years. The battle system was pretty innovative when it came out.
@@thomasgellhaus306 Back then there were so few successful jrpgs released in the west. Because of that the reviewers compared other "jrpg"s to Final Fantasy, especially 7. I didn't really get it with The Legend of Dragoon since the combat, story and music were so different. Main character had spiky blond hair and that's it.
Over FF9 and Chrono cross? I liked legend of dragoon but it doesn’t feel smooth and compelling like the other two mention. For sure Dragoon story picks up and gets very interesting after Miranda and Albert but it’s battle system feel sluggish Imo compare to Chrono and FF9.
And it's not even close tbh
Dang! I thought legend of mana would make it Lol, looked like a game you co-oped with your brother/sister and you used the music in your earlier videos! Crazy competition, i had fond memories with ogre battle 64 and pokemon gold/silver. Great list though
Pokemon silver/gold is my favorite and imagine not having ogre battle 64 in top 10 that year 2000 was insane
keep up the hard work!!
i look forward to these every day!
such nostalgia for games i haven't even thought about in so long!
Ah, 2000 was an absolutely phenomenal year for RPGs, possibly one of my favorite years.
Skies of Arcadia is not available on any modern platform, sadly :(
Persona 2:EP is available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita
Breath of Fire IV is also available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita
Grandia 2 is available on Steam, and in a bundle with the original on Switch
Wild ARMs 2 is available digitally on PS3, PSP and Vita
Vanguard Bandits is also available digitally for PS3, PSP and Vita. I'm pleasantly surprised this one got rereleased!
Legend of Dragoon is yet another available on PS3 PSP and Vita
Valkyrie Profile is sadly not available digitally on a modern system. It is, weirdly, available on Android and iOS
Final Fantasy IX's original PSone release is available on PS3, PSP and Vita, and it has a remaster for PS4, XBOX ONE, Switch and Steam
Chrono Cross is, surprise, available digitally for PS3, PSP and Vita
Why isn’t this comment up top?
However you forgot to mention that ALL the games above are available on PC/android via emulators
So many awesome jrpg's came out that year , you could do 2 lists. You can tell the explosion of the genre had in the 21st century as great/all time classics might not make a list from here on.
Glad that Legend of Dragoon made the list, one of the best games of all time. And you can get it for peanuts on the Vita/PSP!
Jesus! 2000 looks like it was the greatest year for jrpgs. So many great games. Also, my favorite game of all time released that year, Final Fantasy 9!
2000 was truly a great year for JRPG.
I am okay with being 2nd, Chrono Cross is absolutely spectacular.
This is actually the best list you have done so far. Good job.
I'm currently playing final fantasy 9 for the first time and I'm LOVING this game !
Breath of Fire 4 was my first JRPG, and second game that actually had a good story(Metal Gear Solid 1 was my first). I remember when I first played Breath of Fire 4, I quit it and thought it was sooooo bad the moment I saw the battle system. One day I was just so bored out of my mind, almost to tears in fact, when I decided to just play the only game I owned that I haven't played to death, and I got so utterly drawn into the story and the world very early on after getting over that battle system. This was in 2003. Since then, JRPG's have remained my favorite genre of games, and I would have missed out on so many great stories and would have dramatically different tastes in video games if it weren't for Breath of Fire 4 and the fact I got bored enough to actually give it a chance beyond the first battle.
Obrigado por isso meu velho, meus jogos preferidos, minhas melhores memórias da época do ps1!!! Vc é top, parabéns.
late 90s early 2000s were the goldrush era of JRPGs.
So many great ones even the best can be down to number 10 of this list.
OMG! Seeing that images and listening that BOF IV's combat soundtrack still makes me shiver
I'm so glad you ranked Legend of Dragoon that high. Websites at the time gave it pretty mediocre reviews. Like a lot of people, I picked it up from a bargain bin years later, and when I played it I couldn't understand why. The visuals & music blew me away, and I loved the combo battle system, it was way more engaging than most of that era. I was actually really surprised to see it over Skies of Arcadia. I was (and am) a huge Dreamcast fanboy, but I felt, even at the time, like Skies of Arcadia was overrated. People puffed it up as one of the greatest rpgs in existence because it was the shining hope for the Dreamcast as one of only two big budget rpgs we got. Then when it hit the Gamecube, another rpg starved system, that effect got doubled. It's not bad by any means, there's a lot of care and craft put into it, but I wouldn't put it higher than 5 or 6 in this year.
Personally I would have FF IX #1 on my list here. The only main-line FF I really enjoyed after that was XII, and I consider it the best of the PS1 trilogy. Chrono Cross was a game I didn't end up playing until the PS3 era for some reason or another. When I finally did, I just couldn't get into it. The battle system felt both overly complicated and kind of a drag, with plenty of situations where I had characters rendered useless doing 2 points of damage or something. I eventually ended up with a save in a situation I couldn't seem to get out of and never went back. Hopefully it gets a remaster at some point so I can try giving it another shot.
Dragoon is my favorite jrpg ever only thing I would change is having more dragoon spell.
2000 was a legendary year for sure
This year had an amazing list of titles
Very nice song in the outro man
1999-2000 really kicked butt in JRPGs!!
Erick-thanks for this video. So many classics come to game consoles near the end of their life cycle1-2 years before the new console players were inundated with excellent RPG’s! Am I the only who feels this way? Maybe it’s changed with the newer generation consoles.
New to your channel, but I'm loving this series and your videos in general. I'm a lifelong JRPG fan (born in 1983) and your tastes and passion are nearly identical to my own! Thanks for what you do!
Same on all of this including the year
Hey, I was born in 89 and it's also my favorite genre, side to side with fighting games. Two Genres I can never get tired of.
this list is true RPG speaking. definitely can't deny the list here. Chrono Cross is a very memorable game for me. FF9 and LoD.
Chrono Cross is my favourite videogame so far. Hope someday it gets a remake or at least a remaster.
Holy Shit the lineup in this year! What an incredible set of releases in 2000!!
Skies of Arcadia was a perfect example of a game that had impact. There really wasn't a whole lot like it and it made a really prominent effect on players. SOA is in massive need of a remake or remaster for fans and I'm not necessarily sure if that's ever going to be a reality. This may be the greatest example of JRPGs on the Dreamcast.
Persona 2 I didn't purchase until years later, many many years after release. In 2011 I got it noticing its value was skyrocketing on ebay and just because I hadn't really heard of its release was enough to get it, if not for reselling, which thankfully I never did. Graphically it was an upgrade, not greatly from the 1st game but I really liked this game off the bat, unlike my detestable first experience with Persona 1. Its another JRPG I have not finished but this one grabbed my interest immediately and that's what I need to help enjoy a JRPG a lot of the time.
Breath of Fire 4 is the sequel to a game I am only now playing. I have noticed that BOF 3 has many graphical congruences to 4 and I'm really looking forward to it. I am SO MAD that this series is DEAD! Can't wait to play BOF4.
Wild Arms 2 is a game I barely touched and what a mistake. I was not a big fan of the first Wild Arms as I played it for the first time after playing FF7 and was just not impressed. I have been mostly living vicariously through live streams to see this game in action and I LOVE the music in this game. I like the multiple protagonist feel of how the game starts. The text boxes, the way they enter and leave the screen remind me of Suikoden making conversation, for me, very satisfying to experience. This game is also still pretty inexpensive compared to other titles in this list. I do not own it and I definitely will soon.
Vanguard Bandits I spent years missing out on. I saw this game year by year at many conventions and I never purchased it for 2 reasons. 1, I had everything else already on my shopping list. 2, it was incomplete and did not have the demo disc. At this point on ebay this game is now going for twice what I could have had it for, now $100 for the most part. This is a cool looking game, I have only seen this one from live-streams and I need to try it.
The Legend of Dragoon is the second game I saw friends of mine that were female really enjoy which during this era was rare from those I knew. For whatever reason this game hit a lot of proper chords with those that played it and many people are clamoring for this to be remade or a sequel initialized. This is a fantastic game, visually, gameplay wise and story-wise. Its a lot of fun and its interesting and worth your time. I'm happy I didn't miss out on this.
Valkyrie Profile is beautiful and interesting. There is no game on PS1 that is like this one in my opinion. The way it delivers the lore and how it visualizes and shows itself to you really looks and plays great. My only gripe and the one thing that other games in recent years have done is use the same voice acting sample with every attack in every battle over and over again. I do not like that kind of repetition in the voice acting but this game also gets a total pass since it came out in freakin 2000!
FF9 I initially missed out on. Friends had purchased it and to this day I'm not sure why I didn't. I think it may be because of my experience with FF8 just not impressing me. This is a mega great FF game. This really needs a remake so current gen gamers can properly experience it. So much fun all the way through.
Chrono Cross is obviously a matter of deep debate. This is a great great game and probably should not have been named Chrono in the title to keep the ensuing debates happening but so be it. There is a lot of meat on the bone to enjoy here and it really reminds me a FF game, in a good way. Some of the characters you get are pretty bad (Like the fungus man lol) but that is my only gripe.
I'm not sure a list of JRPGs could be better than this lineup.
Vagrant Story?
In my opinion, 2000 is without the shadow of a doubt the best year in video game history:
Deus Ex, Majora's Mask, Baldur's Gate 2, Vagrant Story, Counter Strike, Shenmue, Perfect Dark, Pokemon Yellow, Hitman, Planetscape: Torment and Street Fighter 3: 3rd strike came out the same year.
Most of them are genre defining games, for instance Deus Ex is still to this day the blueprint of immersive sim.
2000 had a glitch after all ;)
2000 was such a great, underrated year. Sure it had mostly RPGs, both Classic style and Novel style. There weren't Classic RPGs outside of the PC yet, but both my favorite WRPGs, Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate 2 (AKA G.O.A.T in my opinion) were released, as well as fan favorite Diablo 2 and the action focused, yet turn based Icewind Dale. If there was any turn based RPG to be called an ARPG, it's Icewind Dale.
nice to see vanguard bandits in there, I know of very few people who even heard of that game... the 5 endings in the game meant a lot of replay value too :D
FF IX is my favorite final fantasy around... the last I actually loved. the only complaint I have with it is the forced focus whenever the bar was filled... this made it harder to be able to use it when it really mattered (boss fights)
Chrono Cross... I was lucky to come to that game as I had little experience in RPGs. Didn't play Chrono Trigger until a few years later when I got my hands on its ps one port in ff chronicles. This allowed me to enjoy the game as its own entity and I really loved it, especially its soundtrack. It's my go-to relaxation and good vibes track to this day.
Valkyrie Profile would be my #1, but I wasn't surprised that you would pick your favorite game! Haha
so many memories.... great video today!!
Legend of Dragoon was unique at the time.
This year was when I first heard of Dreamcast.
I actually like FFIX. Even PSM (100% Independent Playstation Magazine) said it was Very Good.
BoF 4 @ 8.
My Heart...
Damn that year was insane having my favorite all time going #4 then see top 3 and being kinda agree with it. Crazy year
Valkyrie Profile is my favorite RPG of alll time
Holy crap! 2000 may have been the best year for JRPGs in history! With this list I think so!
Persona 2 was my favorite rpg this year.
2000 was positively stacked. Skies of Arcadia being only 10th shows how great this year was.
Grandia 2 is one of the my Top 5 J-RPGs of PS2. Millenia is a great character.
I am so enjoying your videos, thank you very much for existing, please keep it up.
holy shit what a year. the best year overall so far in this series, as you said.
Damm just love this year, wild arms 2 was my first jrpg
For me Vanguard bandits is in my top 3 of best rpgs... A really great game... A lot of endings and missions, great story, great gameplay... Everything is soooo fucking good
Fuck yeah Valkyrie Profile. My third favorite game of all time. Super underrated. Still hoping for a new game in the series.
Thank you for recognising Chrono Cross! The first RPG I ever played and one of the best ever imho
OH THANK YOU SIR CHRONO CROSS IS YOUR NUMBER ONE SPOT I GOT TEARY EYES RIGHT NOW WHILE WATCHING....AND THE MUSIC OH MY..........
LOD is life
This is the first year where my list would be way different and not just shuffle the games around a bit, 2000 had so many hits. Mine would be something like:
1. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Ogre Battle 64
4. Front Mission 3
5. Chrono Cross (still #1 OST though)
6. Breath of Fire IV
7. Valkyrie Profile
8. Grandia II
9. Vanguard Bandits
10. Vagrant Story
I still need to play Skies of Arcadia and The Legend of Dragoon.
If counting Mega Man Legends 2 as an RPG it would be in the list but I've always thought of MML more as action/adventure game than RPG.
edit: After thinking about how ridiculously easy Grandia II is I bumped it down a few spots. I last played it on Switch with hard mode(only in the HD version for Switch and PC) which clouded my judgement a bit.
I'm so happy you had chrono cross at number 1. The game gets way too much hate and I understand the games not perfect but man it is easily one of my favorite rpg of all time. I still have a sealed copy and guide book and all.
Also great list! These games were my childhood. Being born in 1992, 2000 is when I really got into rpgs outside of super Mario rpg. I own all the wild arms games, both crono games, all the final fantasy games but 9 and 12 are my favorite, all the persona games, and legend of dragoon. These games are all amazing. I wish I had more time to play them all again right this second
That is a pretty cool collection of jrpg's!
What a great year! Probably one of the best year, if not the best, for the ps1.
I think a mention to SaGa Frontier 1 or 2 it could have been good, but its ok, there a lot of excellent games in all this years.
Holy $#!+ What a year for JRPGs.
Undoubtedly, one of the best years in the history of jRPGs!
So, I loved Breath of Fire IV and I get why V doesn't deserve the name, but I still really enjoyed the story of Dragon Quarter (even if playing it was a little boring). I liked how the story evolved with playthroughs, like Nier Automata.
Legend of Dragoon is epic. I hope for a remake for PS4/PS5. I would be down for that.
2000 looks like a strong year for JRPGs. I haven't finished the Top 3 games, yet. But I will sooner or later.
I probably won't, because Chrono Cross is just never released here in Europe 😭😭
@@Livingtree32 I'm from Europe, too. But I bought the North American version of Chrono Cross. I can still play it on a NTSC PS1 or on PC with an emulator.
The Legend of Dragoon the best JRPG of ever times, sorry for bad English, im from Russia))
Agree
Glad I'm not the only one that loves Chrono Cross.
In terms of story, I would rate Legend of Dragoon #1, but the gameplay really brings it down. I have still played it much more than Chrono Cross.
I fucking love Final Fantasy IX... despite not having beaten it yet after all these years
No "Front Mission 3"??? Seriously?? That game was pure epic - TWICE!
He has it pretty low on his tier list of best RPGs of all time ; -;
@@KrsJin What the Halle Berry? Really? But Front Mission 3 is amazing! Two amazing stories, more depth than the Mariana Trench, and a great tactical combat system! What's not to love?
Shiro Katagari haha well said but no need to convince me. Might be a top 5 favorite of mine.
Beated all 5 of front missions... And 1 and 3 are the worst.
Maybe you should try 4 and 5 and compare.
Cristian Guanziroli I haven’t played 5 still but I in no way think 4 was better than 3 other than the technical improvements on graphics and load times. I did like 4 though.
Oh my god this year was just insane.
I agree, this year was even better than 99.
Damn! Love this video! Most of all the games in here in this list is the best. Thanks for this 😁
And the last ending song was 🔥
Grandia 2 and Valkyrie profile Lenneth.... two great games
You got a like from me for LODragoon.
Grandia 2 the first RPG i played...
Love this game!👏👏
Man, Skies of Arcadia is one of the most expensive games here in Brazil
Erick doesn"t like Vagrant Story, and that's a fact
Javi Gomez
and he doesn't like dragon warrior/quest too
To be fair after the 16-bit entries, I don't either. I wish they had evolved more rather than just getting longer.
Shame on him.
Legend of dragoon n vanguard. We're very good games. Especially vanguard bandits. It took all d efforts of me n my brothers to get all d endings for both games
Whaaaat? No Vagrant Story? I'm speechless.
Wow! Chronocross looks amazing, any way to play this on modern consoles?
IMO, Skies of Arcadia deserves at least #4. For me this is one of the best jrpg ever.
I love Crono Cross, but it was just damn easy. Aside from the Dario fight (first playthrough) there wasn't enough challenges and the leveling system was a mess.
I was waiting Paper Mario but there are many great games in the 2000s
Holly molly what a year !
I've owned and beaten everything on the list except Skies of Arcadia which I've played some of and will buy in a heartbeat if it ever comes to a system I own,. The list os good but I would put Skies of Arcadia much higher and Chrono Cross much lower. I like the battle system of Chrono Cross and love the soundtrack but I've always felt it would have been better as a standalone game then a Chrono Trigger sequel because the ties between the two stories were thin, and felt shoved in at the last minute to me. Later Chrono Trigger remakes actually added scenes in an attempt to explain how some events that occurred between the two games occured and it still doesn't make sense to me.