Video Timestamps / Table of contents A 1:35 Wild Arms 9 2:54 Phantasy Star 4 8 4:35 Lost odyssey 7 6:03 Earthbound 6 7:55 Shin Megami Tensei digital devil Sega 5 9:23 The legend of Dragoon 4 10:53 Grandia II 3 12:20 Breath of fire 4 (or 3) 2 13:50 Skies of Arcadia Legends 1 15:13 Suukoden II
Thanks for this at this tine I have atleast access to a legal version to 6 of the games besides 9,6,4,3. Will I get around to playing and finishing them? Probably not but since the PSN is going away soon better nab these classics
Would Xenoblade fall into action RPG? Because if so it definitely should be on that list. One of the Kingdom Hearts too, although which one is up to debate.
A tear comes to my eye knowing there are others who share my love for Suikoden, especially Suikoden 2. Fun fact, I was a little young when the first game came out at the time, you know with that awful front cover. At the local back alley game shop, I picked it up and read the back cover...the shop keeper was unaware what kind of gem he had and asked that I trade the new Tomb Raider game I had. I promptly did so against my mother's protest. It was the best trade I ever did.
@@paulmuaddib451 I admit that Suikoden 3's graphics / animations and its pair battle system makes it hard to get into, but when you do, it's absolutely awesome. It definitely is one of the best J-RPG stories.
I never got a chance to play Suikodon 2 as a kid past the demo that I got with Vandal Hearts 2 (if I remember right). Finally managed to get a copy back last year for £100, expensive but worth it.
Kujakuseki01 "wasnt" was meant to be was , but i guess uou got that. But yeah that is what i really liked to. So good when you get rescued by victor... omg the feels. Such a good game , that i have feeling to few people have played.
So glad to see Skies of Arcadia getting much deserved love. Phantasy Star IV is criminally underrated, so it's good to see it getting some love as well.
JameboHayabusa They could easily replace the characters of Dragon Quest VIII and no one would tell the difference. MC- Jerry Yangus - George Jessica - Elaine Angelo- Kramer
@Sorin Silverheart No problem with his opinion, just stating mine. Both that Cold Steel is one of the worst JRPGs I've ever played and that I just don't understand how people can like it so much. Because I really just do not get what they see in it.
Oh god yes, Baten Kaitos! Really one of the more underrated JRPGs out there (assuming not many people know of it, at least)! A truly unique game from a gameplay perspective in my opinion, and with a nice story and very interesting characters!
Legend of Legaia for PS1 is one of my favorite JRPG's of all time. It has a strong story,the combat is interesting with a well done combo system,summon system,has a few really good arcade games,excellent boss battles(some hard as balls) and overall looks fantastic for a PS1 game. The only downside I could say about it is the enemy spawns. There is so much fighting in areas,it gets annoying to take 2 steps and go into battle. That's my only beef with it,but without that,I love that game.
ski4567 I partially agree. But the story in legaia sucked. It was really bland and generic. A spiky haired teenage protagonist, that lives peacefully in a small village until it is attacked? And he is one of the chosen ones that has to defeat evil and protect "artifacts" or places (insert plot devices) to save the world? hmmm Its a really bland storyline. But I agree about everything else. Great battle system, nice extras, some fun side quests.
PunkLobo Well isnt that the storyline for most JRPGs? I know what you mean but i wouldn't say the storyline was bland, more that it followed a mould. But it had lots of unique redeeming points too. You also forgot to mention that a secret princess, who is a tomboy, is also helping you on your journey :p
I was surprised how many of these I’ve played! Breath Of Fire IV was my favourite of that series, so I’m glad that got in there. Grandia 1 & 2 need to be faithfully ported, I would love to play them again. Suikoden II had to be number 1. I seem to remember you were able to use the heroes from Suikoden in Suikoden II if you had a completed game save, which was a nice touch.
Me 3 years ago, new to the genre: Ok. I know EarthBound. That’s it :( Me now: I know about literally every game on this list through reputation and discussion, as well as personal plays. Incredible what stepping outside of your comfort zone can do
Super Battle Bros I've been studying politics for 2 years.. They struck "The Patriarchy" = Merit based hierarchies in Western nations, not Islamic with Ghostbusters, 3 Star Wars movies, much TV News indoctrination, and oppression narrative lies. Like the reasons for the Wage Gap, 3/5 Women in America being Raped in their lives, 21 Million Women being abused online. All Lies. They're trying to subvert the Culture to benefit them, not obtain equality. To control the way everyone thinks. By banning words, replacing them with New-Speak- like how they say Diversity instead of the truth of Black and Brown people. Side note: How is the term African-American not a bit racist and very divisive? Humans used to live in a Communist/Socialist like state before we understood economic systems like we do today. Progressives say that such economic policies are the future when in fact Capitalism came after Socialism. People need linear motivations to work their hardest. Paying everyone the same gives people no incentive to work as hard as they can, which will be more or less productive than other people naturally. It's social engineering and inhumane to penalize people based on arbitrary feelings of fairness instead of giving them what they have legally earned through free market contracts and voluntary transactions. Principles over feels, bruh. Let's get scientific. Women produce and release testosterone from their adrenal glands to their brains when needing to focus on high cognitive tasks such as fast paced/competitive gaming. After days of being in situations of high stress Women may break down because they can't keep producing testosterone to focus. They start producing adrenaline and will eventually fall apart mentally if they do not leave that stressful environment. Men naturally have an advantage over Women in prolonged settings of stressful situations because off this. Among other things. Like Men having generally 10% larger brains than Women, across all races. Obama had the same exact policies when in office. The Media did nothing. Trump ended the family separation with an executive order temporarily like he's supposed to. The President is not supposed to make laws with executive orders. He did exactly what he's supposed to legally. Those laws were passed by Democrats, not Republicans. We had those laws because we can't instantly confirm whether these children are being trafficked by the adult they are with. Do you really think it's better for children to be imprisoned with possibly dangerous adult criminals? Or with just other kids for a short time? We didn't force them into this situation. It's these peoples responsibility to make their country great, not rely on White people while saying Mexico and Latinos are the best. There were many "La Raza" or "The Race" believing people that were in the Migrant Caravan that headed for the US border months ago causing these problems. American Men have to sign up for the Draft to Vote. That's not Equality. We've never Legally had Gender Equality in America. But because it disadvantages Men and benefits Whamen, they keep quiet about it, and even lie about it, about their vision of Equality. Wage Gap lies. Because Feminism isn't about Equality. Now, instead of projecting and continuing the cycle of hate that's enveloped Western Cultures, form an argument. Read my Copy/Paste in a reply to a comment on my funny video. ;)
EarthBound is Nintendo exclusive. N3DS, Wii U, SNES, SNES Classic. Take your pick. Lost Odyssey is Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and Shin Megami Tensei is mainly on . Playstation and Nintendo consoles. Phantasy Star IV was a Genesis game, etc. That should get you decently started
Sadly, I never discovered earthbound while as a kid in love with rpg's....its a slight bit heart breaking 2 see an epic game u missed out on in ur childhood gaming days, like earthbound 4 me, anyways...just wanted 2 mention my absolute love 4 "secret of evermore" while growing up. It reminds me of the uniqueness of earth bound.😎👽😎
Ok Jared, now I expect you to make a Top Ten video for Strategy JRPGs, Action JRPGs and Handheld JRPGs. Please? I already knew about all the ones in this list.
Nathan Bosch Yeah playing it atm, it has alot of cool features and some really weird ideas, like items changing over time, etc. But the voiceacting so fucking bad, I can't stand to listen to them talking and in Battle it's kinda fine but not good either. Getting certain cards by comboing is a neat idea, but just a lame grindfest in reality. The story is ok-ish, I just entered the Magmacave and so far it wasnt really engaging but not bad either.
Man, I wish we got an updated version of this list. Or perhaps good rpgs that don’t cost a lot, since a lot of people playing retro games are on a budget.
@@ComicSams48 Ps2 - Persona 4 PS4 - Persona 5 GameCube - Tales of Symphonia N64 - Paper Mario PC - that really depends on specs and what you want to play because there are a ton to choose from on Steam alone.
Legend of Legaia was only "good" at best compared to the better/best J-RPGs, i dont want to insult you or question your taste, to each his own, but there are tons of more mentionable games in this genre than Legend of Legaia. And a list of 10 is small, plus its his own top 10. Everyone has his own.
Both the Breath of Fire and Grandia series are some of my favourites. BoF 4 and Grandia 2 are both very solid games. Personally I'm a bit more baits to BoF 3 (which you mentioned, but for me I like that story better, a lot of the game play elements from 4 are indeed much better) and Grandia 1 (I love the characters more).
i agree with the bof series, capcom got one of the best jrpg franchises out there, and let it die with the mistake they made in bof5... a really sad storyand grandia was friggin good, i must say...
i bought this a few months ago, and i was really hyped because of all the good retro reviews... but after 6 or so hours i deleted it off my vita. i honestly dont remember why, even though it was not that long ago. i think it was too much grind or maybe genericness since i clearly dont remember a thing about it. i dont remember it being bad, just more hassle than it’s worth.
i did the same thing. installed and deleted from vita three times because of memory card space. I'm glad i finally gave it a chance. once you get a full party and start developing your castle, it's hard to put down. Eventually you can teleport everywhere and the game really opens up. Give it another shot.
I didn't dislike it, and I'm currently strongly considering playing it, but the story (don't spoil it) seemed to lack the fantasy element I really love in RPGs, like what Chrono Trigger, FF6/FF7, and Skies of Arcadia had. Suikoden 2 seemed to be very realistic, and I was fairly upset about that.
I played it more than 15 years ago and loved it. Luca Blight traumatized me as a kid (still hardest boss ever imo) and now i have neclord's battle theme playing in my head x)
I really like Star Ocean 2! It's the only one of the series I've played, but I loved it. I bought it secondhand and it was in French, which is not my mother language. Being Belgian though, we got French in school and both that game and imported Manga from France (which was cheaper than from America or Asia) were the only French media I partook in outside of school.
Ah, really? It says it was made by Tri-Ace? I've seen the square enix logo on later installments of the series though, so perhaps I've missed something there.
star ocean two was a fun experience. my only complaint is that it had so many missable characters, side quests, skills to develop that (though the game made me want to experience it all) clearly would require so many playthroughs to acheive it left me feeling like a. i didn't want to do that and b. i only experienced 10% of a fun but too expansive game. i also felt guilty for thinking it was too expansive, it really pissed me off after wasting no small amount of hard to come by skill points on non essential skills like cooking or alchemy i still couldn't craft anything worth a damn, and on my playthrough i could not figure out how to get that bad-ass blue-haired swordsman.
Suikoden 2 is such a fantastic game and rightfully deserving of being number 1 on your list. I replay it almost every year getting all 108 characters and it never gets old or boring.
Wild Arms was my JUMP OFF and i WISH Legend of Dragoon got more love. Also I'm actually going back and playing BoF 1 and 2 on my channel starting later this week. Great video!
Vinipooper br Stumbling upon Ys7 was a happy accident that had me buying any copy of the other installments I could get my hands on. Now if only we could get a decent version of Ys5 out of Japan for the rest of the world to enjoy
ikr. I don't recall to have ever seen Digital Devil Saga named before, I remember playing it for the first time and I loved it. it was a SMT game alright, the old style that has been lost on the new Personas games. I liked what they did expanding the persona's gameplay mechanics but I will always like the tone and setting of the first ones. They had much more diverse characters (some cliché yes, but they felt more real and with more depth), and a much more mature story.
You're welcome to like what you like Empty Spaces, but I feel sorry for you that they don't hold your attention. Some of the SMT games are like transcendental experiences. Persona, while great, doesn't hold a candle to the best of the SMT series imo.
Oldman Jables but persona is waifuland so i still think persona is my favourite compared to other smt too. but thats my opinion. call me a casual and beat me down.
i absolutly love the persona series, but that being said i must say SMT, in particular, nocturne, digital devil saga, and strange journey are out of this world and on a whole other level. nocturne in particular is incredibly challenging on hard ;)
Great list. Legend of Legaia is my favorite RPG not from Square. Great game wit unique battle system with the ability to chain moves together for big damage.
YES YES YES! Thank you for putting Skies of Arcadia on this list! I FREAKING LOVE THAT GAME! Also, a little shocked to not see Ni No Kuni though. does that count as Turn-based? I guess not.
I'm sorry to bash Jared but I was really devastated that you put a Legend of Legaia pic on your thumbnail but never even put a clip nor a brief mention of it in your vid. I really loved the game and it deserved so much more attention than it did(plus a better sequel, mind you) and it's just... I dunno... I felt betrayed somehow. :(
Yeah, I was so hyped by seeing it. So much love on the game. Specially for the metas. >-> But yeah, thanks for the list Jared. It reminded me of the games I've played in the past, and reminded me that I have yet to beat some of them. XD
***** hm... Maybe put it into a list of JRPGs with interesting mechanics or lesser known titles? It seems a lot of people would like to let more people know it exists, and I'm sure that other JRPGs as well that get very little attention, like Robotrek. Though Robotrek wouldn't of made it onto this video's list just because it's a Enix game.
***** Good to know, I was half-expecting to see it in the list somewhere to. Still hoping it'll get a review/retrospective from one of the larger youtube gamers out there. The first one was really good in both it's combat system and story IMO, and though the "sequel" improved the combat mechanics, the story was really lackluster compared to it's predecessor.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Oh, and don't forget Shadow Hearts: Covenant. As well as Shadow Hearts: Covenant. I'll shout this last one out: SHADOW HEARTS: COVENANT! :)
Nova XY The only reason I was scrolling down the comment section, was to see if someone mentions this game. I absolutely love this game, the humour and the battle system are fantastic! Jared even mentions Shadow Hearts during his Legend of Dragoon part, so I was hoping it would be on this list as well.
Nova XY Absolutely. Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant are two are my favorite RPGs of all time, prefering them easily over more mainstream titles like FFVII. This is a very worthy game, and I was rather surprised it didn't make the list, as I'm fairly sure Se wasn't involved.
Maximum Carnage Shadow Hearts was awesome. I liked the story and the Horror-mixed atmosphere. Shadow Hearts Covenant on the other hand sucks. It totally killed and broke with that precious atmosphere. Shadow Hearts Covenant shows best how a sequel which switches to comedy kills the original features of a series. Shadow Hearts Covenant sets place on the case that Shadow Hearts ends (simply spoken) bad, that Alice sacrifies her life for Yuri and that on this point of the story the storyline continues, yet the game is way to funny and includes way too much slapstick to deal with that point seriously. If they had changed this, I'd agree, cause I love Shadow Hearts, too. Still - as it is - that is a K.O.-criteria.
MeisterErz I didn´t play the original SH, though I found Covenant amazing.. Loved the characters and the ambiance. I wouldn´t say the game was funny.. for me it was weird actually, having both macabre and hilarious moments. I was so taken by this game that I gave all my efforts to find the secrets in it without the use of a walkthrough.. One last thing, I also loved the music and sound effects of the game.. heck, even the sound Yuri made when he walked was cool..
Oh Legend of Dragoon, the memories, I went into this video repeating it's name over and over in my head, and when it came up on screen I couldn't help but exclaim "Yes!" out loud. My first JRPG, and damn did I love it. I might go scrounge around in the attic now and see if I can't dig up my PS1 and that 4 disk behemoth.
I remember playing the demo of it on one of the Playstation Underground disks OVER AND OVER AND OVER. It wasnt until a few years ago that I finally got my hands on it through the PSPs store. It. Was. Glorious!
RATPT0I Woah calm down man, I have been meaning to try Nocturne and Digital Devil but haven't really had the time. It's just that I enjoy the Persona series. So if you're gonna call me a casual because of that go ahead.
Very solid list Jared, for me, the only thing I wouldn't have here is Legend of Dragoon (I played 8 hours of it and I just don't like that game at all sadly). Maybe replace that with Paper Mario TTYD and switch out Digital Devil Saga for Persona 4 and that'd pretty much be my list. Also does anyone remember Okage Shadow King? It's sort of what would happen if Tim Burton made a JRPG.
PK Mongoose True. Persona 3 would work since Koei published it, and ghostlight published PSP versions of it. Nocturne was also Ghostlight and for most it is THE gen 6 SMT game though, I wouldn't know - I still need to play them myself.
I'm still so sad Suikoden has been left by the way side so Konami can continue to just milk Castlevania and Metal Gear instead. The only weak Suikoden game was 4, and it was still better than a lot of JRPGs out at the time. Also, I love whoever recorded the footage of Suikoden 2 if it wasn't you Jared, just for having the canon name for Riou. Only true fans would know his canon name, as the game didn't provide it in either version.
Hell yeah. I'm all about canon names. I'm so anal about it that if I start a game and you have to name the main character with no default option I tend to scourer the internet looking for the canon name.
Suikoden 2 and 3 are, in my opinion, two of the best RPGs ever made. However, I think you are way too soft on Suikoden 4, I can't think of a worse RPG (even Beyond the Beyond had some pretty sprites and cool ideas). At least Suikoden 5 was a hugely redemptive game. It sucks that we will never see another genuine Suikoden game again... *sigh*
Outstanding list. However, I can't believe you didn't mention Lunar... Even though you clearly has both Silver Star Story Complete & Eternal Blue Complete visible in the background.
Shin Garugamesh Is it a JRPG though? I mean, what is the actual definition of a JRPG? Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just don't know is it is actually a JRPG.
god, lost odyssey is by far the most underrated game out of any genre i've ever played. it's a jrpg designed by hironobu sakaguchi. art design by takehiko inoue. composed by nobuo uematsu. i couldn't fucking believe this line up when i first got the game. it's right behind chrono trigger for me and if you are even remotely interested in jrpg's, you *NEED* to play lost odyssey. it's ridiculously good.
*Nobuo Uematsu. Being picky yes, but he's one of the best composers ever. Also the game's for Xbox? Too bad I don't have one, but by the sound of it it must be great.
***** oops and yeah, that's a bummer. i wish i could recommend you get an xbox, but xbox doesn't really have a lot of great exclusives and i doubt you'd want to get one just for lost odyssey haha.
I couldn't really get behind the battle system or main story. Both became really really monotonous for me really really quickly. A game made up entirely of the extremely well done visual novel segments would be pretty great though.
BurningBuffalo are you just not a fan of turned based combat in general? because lost odyssey is as traditional as it gets. as for the story, it's a matter of opinion as i guess most of the elements of the game are. i certainly enjoyed it more than ff9, ff10, ff13 and a lot of other typical jrpg stories. it focuses a lot on tragedy and while pretty much every jrpg has some form of tragedy implemented into the story line, lost odyssey was the first i played that's based almost solely on the tragedy of the characters and it's done extremely well.
كحيل العين well yeah, you see it mentioned everywhere because that's just how great the games are. Don't know if you ever tried playing again, but the PC version of the entire series (Sky FC, SC, 3rd and Cold Steel 1 and 2) received a Turbo Mode function last year, it speeds up everything so it makes the glacially slow pace of Trails FC way more bearable.
Aiman Dragonborn I recently played through The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky on Steam, and had a ton of fun with it. It's a really great JRPG that I highly recommend.
@@GigglesWithAKnife It was definitely a game you couldn't just power your way through. & I enjoyed that part of it. You had to take the time to grind, which I found rather enjoyable. & once you did that, boss fights were nothing.
@@tempyst409 I remember the bull boss an underground Octum giving me so much trouble when I was little and played it, but when I got older and learned that in RPGs there is some level of grinding that needs to happen breezed right through it 😂
@@GigglesWithAKnife the bull boss was definitely a hard one if you didn't grind enough. The charge move he'd do, then attack on the next. Would slaughter everyone if you weren't careful. Especially Noa, because she wasn't built for defense like Vahn & Gala. Even with wins or defeats, that game is a treasure. I still have it & a PSP portable. Even if the disc were to quit working. I'd probably still keep it, too many awesome memories 😊
I like how you teased Legend of Legaia in thumbnail but then didn't mention it :) Great list and thank you for sharing. To those whom it may concern : add Lunar 1 & 2 , Hoshigami, Growlanser and Star Ocean, though SO was enix so I guess it doesn't really count...
I was more a fan of PSII with its atmosphere and unique features like poison that keeps you from regaining HP and bio/mecha techs. It did need an update (and PSIII needs one... It'd be great if there was another with a similar concept executed better), but the one on PS2 several people found to be lacking.
Suikoden 1 and 2 are, without a doubt,, the most pleasent Jrpgs i've ever played (and i've played practically all of the ones on Snes and Ps1) If anyone is interested in playing Suikoden 2 (a lot of people skip on the first chapter because it is a bit more clunky) please don't...in some ways Suikoden 1 has even a better atmosphere and leit motive than Suikoden 2, which on the other hand is by far the more polished and perfected game, but you will enjoy it even more after experiencing the first chapter.
I just started a replay of it a few nights ago and just happened to watch this video tonight. Phantasy Star II was also great but the random encounter rate was jacked way too high. PS IV was definitely the high water mark of that series.
Who are we kidding? All Phantasy Star games were good. It's kinda sad that Sega gave up making a proper RPG entry and only focused in the MMO version of it.
MY JRPG LIST: (Note: not in ranking, just my list in general) 1. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY FC 2. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY SC 3. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY 3RD 4. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS TO ZERO 5. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS TO AZURE 6. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 7. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 2 8. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 3 9. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 4
I know right? It's what caught my eye and made me watch the vid in the first place. I guess he was just using it as an example so he wouldn't give away any of the real ones on the list. I personally loved that game. One of the few JRPGs I ever took the time to complete.
Suikoden II definitely is the best JRPG I've ever played. Thing about it is, I never played the Final Fantasy series, at least haven't finished any one of them.
MoonSpiritExp As awesome as 2 was, I did like 1 better. I think. Fuck it man. They were both awesome. I still get goose bumps from Gremio's actions in 1.
MoonSpiritExp i dont understand the hate for 4. its was much better than 3 and didnt fall very short of the first one. the story was good all the characters had stories unlike the first one (dont get me wrong i love the first one but it had several character that were just there and didnt say or do much.) from what i gather people didnt like the boat travel but you could speed it up by pressing a button and there was still fast travel.
MoonSpiritExp ive played both and for the longest time ive said final fantasy was my fav game but thats only because i had some how forgot about the suikoden series
- Persona 4 Golden (hands down best all-around RPG since the PSX FFs. This should have been a home console game...) - Suikoden V (if you want an engaging storytelling this is the one for you) - Grandia (Grandia II was a classic, but to me this was a more memorable experience of an unforgettable adventure) - Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (one of the very few 'magical' RPGs out there; charm+characters+music, oh yeah) - Star Ocean: The Second Story (very close to the 2D Tales games, gameplay at its best) - Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (my personal favorite 2D Tales and one of the top 3 Tales along with Abyss and Vesperia) - Xenoblade (take that! No Square or Enix :D)
Birdie I'm talking about P4G, I've beaten the original multiple times but I feel robbed by not being able to play the complete version on the home console :/
Star Ocean is an Enix game. But yea, a VERY GOOD Enix game (*whisper* better than dragon quest). While I know that Suikoden V is very good, I can't help but feel that II is the pinnacle of the series. Lunar is good, agreed.
futureicon23 But Golden has only extra school stuff like the ski trip and 2 extra social links. Because of that the mood of the game has changed+the difficulty became a joke. I loved some stuff like skill selecting,Snowflakes and the new bad ending but still think that Vanilla is better.
One of the best games ever made. Sadly, it joins Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shenmue, Space Channel 5, Golden Axe, and many many more on the list of Great Sega Games And Series That Won't Get Sequels Or Remakes In Favour Of Milking The Sonic Cow Even Though The Cow Is Most Assuredly Already Dead. You know, the GSGASTWGSORIFOMTSCETTCIAAD.
QuicklimeTime The existence of all these games is under the fact that Sega was still a console developer. But since they quit that industry and became a 3rd party, sequels of those games will never see the light of the day.
Definitely agree. Admittedly I played the gamecube version, but Skies of Arcadia was one of the first JRPGs I ever played and one of the ones that really got me into the genre. The world of Arcadia itself with islands in the sky is probably one of the coolest things about the game. While I've seen the idea of sky islands, air ships and sailors done a few times in other games (and in a few anime), I have yet to see one with a similar setting in such an open, expansive world. It is also getting harder to find open world JRPGs or action RPGs with a similar level of detail, many seem to be moving towards more linear maps, and story progression. Plus a lot seem to have filler NPCs that don't say anything or houses you can't enter to reduce programming time.
My favorite game of all time is Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the PS2. It's a classic story with characters that are both bizarre enough to be genuinely entertaining and relate-able enough that you can care about them. The gameplay is typical jrpg, but with good looking moves, especially later on, and a rotating door of well fleshed-out characters to join the team. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who likes this style of game at all.
Matthew Harper PS1 you mean? Yeah it is a great game, and it is probably the game I would recommend to newcomers to the genre. Fairly straightforward gameplay and exploration but a wonderful story and cast of characters.
Andrew Phillips Yeah, PS1. It was late for me when I wrote that, lol. Thanks for the correction. I'm also glad to know someone else feels the same about Lunar! :)
+Matthew Harper Lunar is most likely my 3rd favorite JRPG of all time. I formulated a top 5 awhile back. Perhaps it should be reconsidered since I have played some great ones since then but these games will always have a special place in my heart. 1. Xenogears 2. Final Fantasy IX 3. Lunar SSSC 4. Grandia 5. Dragon Quest VIII
This is such a solid list, many of my all time favorites. I also need to thank you for introducing me to Suikoden which has become possibly my favorite game series of all time!
Michael Christoffel Spoilers, but NOPE! I thought so too, but ultimately I'm happy with the ones he chose and really do need to get out and play some of these games now. I've only played a couple of them. I was aware a lot of these games existed, I just haven't gotten around to them. It seems like it might be time to change that!
5oh8 REPMYCITY I cant really remember the characters! But I remember I liked the brown-haired character since he was so good with two handed swords! There was also a magician I liked as well - a wind-like dude!
5oh8 REPMYCITY Yeah! But arent they square enix games? Anyways, glad someone remeber them! First game was just golden sun and the other one was about a huge wave like splitting the group up! Im also replaying those soon, have a nice day.
This has convinced me to pick up a copy of Suikoden 2 next chance I get. It's getting tough to find good classic rpgs I haven't played, so I appreciate the suggestions.
(pained sigh) Suddenly I strongly wish he hadn't brought it up, then. They've got the first one on PSN. Shame they weren't generous to put up the sequel...
Video Timestamps / Table of contents
A 1:35 Wild Arms
9 2:54 Phantasy Star 4
8 4:35 Lost odyssey
7 6:03 Earthbound
6 7:55 Shin Megami Tensei digital devil Sega
5 9:23 The legend of Dragoon
4 10:53 Grandia II
3 12:20 Breath of fire 4 (or 3)
2 13:50 Skies of Arcadia Legends
1 15:13 Suukoden II
Thanks for this at this tine I have atleast access to a legal version to 6 of the games besides 9,6,4,3.
Will I get around to playing and finishing them? Probably not but since the PSN is going away soon better nab these classics
@@RedsHitpostMedia Grandia II is easy to get now that it has an HD port on Steam or GoG or Switch, all of witch are great options.
@@RedsHitpostMedia not any more lol. You can get smt games on the psn store tho
@@joelsmemes4140 Fake news Grandia 2 and 1 still on steam and they are remastered versions -Fact Checked-
This is a good list. I would have put Shadow Hearts : Covenant in there though.
Top 10 Action RPGs
Top 10 handheld JRPGs
Just do it
Star Ocean 1-3 would be all 10 for me.
Yeah ! I need those right now!
Do it! Do it!
Would Xenoblade fall into action RPG? Because if so it definitely should be on that list. One of the Kingdom Hearts too, although which one is up to debate.
@@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668 2nd is simply remarkable :)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails series is criminally underrated and anonymous for some reason.
So truee
I would get into it if each game wasn't so ludicrously expensive
@@alezarde211 try older one trails of sky there older than cold steel but best stories
@@alezarde211 just pirate it from fitgirl repacks or nyaa dot si
A tear comes to my eye knowing there are others who share my love for Suikoden, especially Suikoden 2. Fun fact, I was a little young when the first game came out at the time, you know with that awful front cover. At the local back alley game shop, I picked it up and read the back cover...the shop keeper was unaware what kind of gem he had and asked that I trade the new Tomb Raider game I had. I promptly did so against my mother's protest. It was the best trade I ever did.
Word.
Kinda sucks that all the games after 2 are so meh.
@@paulmuaddib451 I admit that Suikoden 3's graphics / animations and its pair battle system makes it hard to get into, but when you do, it's absolutely awesome. It definitely is one of the best J-RPG stories.
I never got a chance to play Suikodon 2 as a kid past the demo that I got with Vandal Hearts 2 (if I remember right). Finally managed to get a copy back last year for £100, expensive but worth it.
Yeah I love a lot of the games on this list suikoden 1,2 and. 3 are great and Skye’s of Arcadia is another one of my favorites 😎
suikoden I >> suikoden 2
almost 4 years later
still waiting for the best action, strategy, or handheld RPGs not from square enix
Try Persona 4 Golden.
Amazing game
@@Akira-ky7yr smt iv is far better
@@stovexlvii3579 tbh I enjoyed P4 more, but SMT IV is a pretty good game too
Xenoblade
@@aionicthunder
The Xenoseries originated from Square but then got made by Nintendo for some reasons that will take me too long to write lol
This was a great + useful idea for a list, Jared!
PBG!
Michael Christoffel WATSON!
Rpg jrpg PBG UHHHMAH GAWWEDD
oh look, pee butt gay commented on alienhead shitkid's video
Too soon, Anton. Too soon.
I like how original this is. Plus I got to know about more RPG’s which is always a blessing.
Through this whole list I was like "WHERE THE F is SUIKODEN 2!?!?" ...then, at the end, "...oh."
Rob Howell Same here!!!!
OMG RIGHT!?
I nearly closed the browser when it was near the end and still no Suikoden. Good thing I didn't. The best. The only title I've played from 1-5.
In so much agreement with your choices - especially my favorite game of all time - Suikoden II!
:O A wild Lucah has appeared!
***** Not funny...
Josué Esquivel Alvarez wasn't really trying to be
***** k.
Josué Esquivel Alvarez Geez.
I wanna see ProJared make an episode on an SMT game. He clearly likes them. Maybe a DDS episode since he put it on this list.
He did the gacha game but I don't think that counts.
@@JayAreAitch he also did a one minute review on SMT IV
Suikoden 1 & 2 are back as a remaster!
he should do SMT3 and talk about the batshit insanity
“That they too need lists of their own” zero lists of their own has been made
Jacky Boy waiting for that action rpg countdown
It will never arrive, just give up
Miles a man can dream
Miles What a dismissive take on seeing more content from ProJared..
Uo
I just want a Legend of Dragoon remake before I die. Most nostalgic game of all time for a lot of people
Remaster not remake
@@yinyangg87 as long as Dart's hand keeps twitching I don't care so much which it is.
hard to remake that game i think the original was the best
it's better for the sequel
Amen brother 🙏🙏🙏🙏 please legend of dragoon remake
There was Legend of legaia in the thumbnail, I was mislead!
Man legend of legaia I'd so good. That game always hits me in the soul. Good memories. So much innovation in that game.
I'm so glad The Legend of Dragoon made it into this list, I bought it new and still got it. Awesome game.
If you want to play suikoden 2, I suggest playing suikoden 1 first, it makes the game so much better
agreed , i completed suikoden 1, a week ago and it was damn good, it sequel is fantastic , is pure magic.
Yup. Too many characters from the first show back up and it's always a fun moment to see them again.
Kujakuseki01 "wasnt" was meant to be was , but i guess uou got that.
But yeah that is what i really liked to. So good when you get rescued by victor... omg the feels. Such a good game , that i have feeling to few people have played.
same
agree...
"Chances are you don't agree with this list." Any list that has Suikoden II at the top spot gets a pass from me on all other counts
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
I Think the second of the trails in the sky games is the best rpg of all time
@@thundergaming5473 Ah, I see you're a man of culture aswell.
@@devinaaron5099 what? The combat system is pretty easy to get used to it 😕 Xenoblade chronicles 2 is a damn complex system
Every trails game
Trails in the Sky Second Chapter and Crossbell arc is the best JRPG for me
Vahn in thumbnail and yet no mention of Legend of Legaia.
I felt betrayed
Likewise. It has a lot of flaws, so I can see why it's not in the top 10, but don't get my hopes up like that.
I loved that game. 2nd one wasn't too bad either
Exactly my feeling>
@@MonsieurRocheforte nah dude it's fucking perfect and ahead of its time
@@Solid_Dude Is it better then legend of dragoons? jus asking I never got the chance to play it
Puts Legend of Legaia in the thumbnail but doesn't include it in the top 10. 😕
i know right!? i entered the video cause i wanted to see him talk about it!
*****
How's it? I never played it because it seemed unrelated to the first.
Richard Mcilwain A bit harder, story is weak but it is fun like Michael said.
TerryFGM
I primarily enjoyed the combat system.
Richard Mcilwain in the later stages of the game its extremely fun to chain different special attacks
Radiant Historia is amazing and when you make an portable RPG list, it needs to be there
So glad to see Skies of Arcadia getting much deserved love. Phantasy Star IV is criminally underrated, so it's good to see it getting some love as well.
Never played Skies of Arcadia but I could not agree more with Phantasy Star IV! That game changed my view of RPGs!
Glad to see The Legend of Dragoon on this list, fantastic game!
Top Ten Anime Comebacks of all Time,
Sorry Jared
@@santiagovivaldi1720 Funny that you blindly believe twitter
@@santiagovivaldi1720 cheese sandwich
No love for Lunar/Lunar 2!!?? I see those WD boxes behind you dude!
Tony Lund only few people love or knew lunar. My favorite game of all time
Silver Star Story Complete 💗
@@HarryToeface I keep hearing about that being a PSX gem. I'd instantly buy buy if it was on PSN or wasn't rare to get physically.
@@HarryToeface The original Sega CD one was the best by far!
IKR? Why why why did he leave out such an awesome, awesome game is beyond me!
i wish projared would a top 10 action rpg list
Yes
+Matt Logan Me too
+Matt Logan Ikr, he mentions that they deserve their own category and then doesn't make a video about it. Rude :l
+AuthorityCat He never said he will make it so yeah........
The hell does "Action RPG" even mean? Are we talking games like Dragon's Dogma? Monster Hunter? the Tales series?
It's sad how I can immediately identify most Demons and Persona in the SMt franchise.
I think that's pretty damn cool.
TheKeyBladeLink I always had a soft spot for garms...
***** Equal Sadness.
TheKeyBladeLink Mara
TheKeyBladeLink yeah i can tell which persona is with too
This guy doesn’t age at all
Keeps™️
? He didn’t start yt in his 40s you know. You watched him go through his thirties.
Immortal vampire
Legend of Dragoon is such a nostalgic game for me, my mom used to play it when I was little and taught me a lot about it.
When I was growing up, my Dad didn't play very many video games. But he loved Legend of Dragoon.
I bought Digital Devil Saga thanks to this video. Thanks!
Seinfeld is my favorite JRPG
I bet Seinfeld would make an amazing JRPG. Damn you for putting these thoughts in my head.
JameboHayabusa They could easily replace the characters of Dragon Quest VIII and no one would tell the difference.
MC- Jerry
Yangus - George
Jessica - Elaine
Angelo- Kramer
Andrew Phillips Oh so you are saying that the characters in DQVIII are flat poorly written overacted and generally annoying? Good to know.
i feel like a Seinfeld version of the Sims would kick ass!
mine is xenoblade chronicles
OMG Wild Arms, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Legend of Dragoon, Phantasy Star 4😍😍😍
Wild ARMs: Million Memories is fun too.
Trails
And Suikoden 2
This list is still amazing. So many great games and a well deserved number 1 spot. I can really recommend the almost forgotten part V, by the way.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC and SC, and Trails of Cold Steel and Cold Steel 2.
lobster123burger YES
Trails in the Sky is fantastic, but I don't understand how you can like the pile of complete shit that is Trails of Cold Steel.
Electric Barrier Oh no! An opinion different from yours! Gasp
@Sorin Silverheart
No problem with his opinion, just stating mine. Both that Cold Steel is one of the worst JRPGs I've ever played and that I just don't understand how people can like it so much.
Because I really just do not get what they see in it.
Trails of cold steel is great but trails in the sky is a masterpiece
Baten Kaitos, and it's prequel Origins. Both amazing.
And don't forget Paper Mario, and its sequel The Thousand Year Door.
Oh god yes, Baten Kaitos! Really one of the more underrated JRPGs out there (assuming not many people know of it, at least)! A truly unique game from a gameplay perspective in my opinion, and with a nice story and very interesting characters!
Legend of Legaia for PS1 is one of my favorite JRPG's of all time. It has a strong story,the combat is interesting with a well done combo system,summon system,has a few really good arcade games,excellent boss battles(some hard as balls) and overall looks fantastic for a PS1 game. The only downside I could say about it is the enemy spawns. There is so much fighting in areas,it gets annoying to take 2 steps and go into battle. That's my only beef with it,but without that,I love that game.
ski4567 ^ This.
ski4567 I partially agree. But the story in legaia sucked. It was really bland and generic.
A spiky haired teenage protagonist, that lives peacefully in a small village until it is attacked? And he is one of the chosen ones that has to defeat evil and protect "artifacts" or places (insert plot devices) to save the world? hmmm
Its a really bland storyline.
But I agree about everything else. Great battle system, nice extras, some fun side quests.
_
PunkLobo It was the 90s and at the time was creative,but reflecting back on it yeah it was bland,but entirely terrible.
PunkLobo Well isnt that the storyline for most JRPGs? I know what you mean but i wouldn't say the storyline was bland, more that it followed a mould. But it had lots of unique redeeming points too. You also forgot to mention that a secret princess, who is a tomboy, is also helping you on your journey :p
I was surprised how many of these I’ve played! Breath Of Fire IV was my favourite of that series, so I’m glad that got in there. Grandia 1 & 2 need to be faithfully ported, I would love to play them again. Suikoden II had to be number 1. I seem to remember you were able to use the heroes from Suikoden in Suikoden II if you had a completed game save, which was a nice touch.
Me 3 years ago, new to the genre: Ok. I know EarthBound. That’s it :(
Me now: I know about literally every game on this list through reputation and discussion, as well as personal plays. Incredible what stepping outside of your comfort zone can do
Super Battle Bros I've been studying politics for 2 years..
They struck "The Patriarchy" = Merit based hierarchies in Western nations, not Islamic with Ghostbusters, 3 Star Wars movies, much TV News indoctrination, and oppression narrative lies. Like the reasons for the Wage Gap, 3/5 Women in America being Raped in their lives, 21 Million Women being abused online. All Lies. They're trying to subvert the Culture to benefit them, not obtain equality. To control the way everyone thinks. By banning words, replacing them with New-Speak- like how they say Diversity instead of the truth of Black and Brown people. Side note: How is the term African-American not a bit racist and very divisive?
Humans used to live in a Communist/Socialist like state before we understood economic systems like we do today. Progressives say that such economic policies are the future when in fact Capitalism came after Socialism. People need linear motivations to work their hardest. Paying everyone the same gives people no incentive to work as hard as they can, which will be more or less productive than other people naturally. It's social engineering and inhumane to penalize people based on arbitrary feelings of fairness instead of giving them what they have legally earned through free market contracts and voluntary transactions. Principles over feels, bruh.
Let's get scientific. Women produce and release testosterone from their adrenal glands to their brains when needing to focus on high cognitive tasks such as fast paced/competitive gaming. After days of being in situations of high stress Women may break down because they can't keep producing testosterone to focus. They start producing adrenaline and will eventually fall apart mentally if they do not leave that stressful environment. Men naturally have an advantage over Women in prolonged settings of stressful situations because off this. Among other things. Like Men having generally 10% larger brains than Women, across all races.
Obama had the same exact policies when in office. The Media did nothing. Trump ended the family separation with an executive order temporarily like he's supposed to. The President is not supposed to make laws with executive orders. He did exactly what he's supposed to legally. Those laws were passed by Democrats, not Republicans. We had those laws because we can't instantly confirm whether these children are being trafficked by the adult they are with. Do you really think it's better for children to be imprisoned with possibly dangerous adult criminals? Or with just other kids for a short time? We didn't force them into this situation. It's these peoples responsibility to make their country great, not rely on White people while saying Mexico and Latinos are the best. There were many "La Raza" or "The Race" believing people that were in the Migrant Caravan that headed for the US border months ago causing these problems.
American Men have to sign up for the Draft to Vote. That's not Equality. We've never Legally had Gender Equality in America. But because it disadvantages Men and benefits Whamen, they keep quiet about it, and even lie about it, about their vision of Equality. Wage Gap lies. Because Feminism isn't about Equality. Now, instead of projecting and continuing the cycle of hate that's enveloped Western Cultures, form an argument. Read my Copy/Paste in a reply to a comment on my funny video. ;)
Super Battle Bros If I may ask. Where do you download these games or do you bought them online?
EarthBound is Nintendo exclusive. N3DS, Wii U, SNES, SNES Classic. Take your pick. Lost Odyssey is Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and Shin Megami Tensei is mainly on . Playstation and Nintendo consoles. Phantasy Star IV was a Genesis game, etc. That should get you decently started
Super Battle Bros Thanks! I will definitely look into them
Sadly, I never discovered earthbound while as a kid in love with rpg's....its a slight bit heart breaking 2 see an epic game u missed out on in ur childhood gaming days, like earthbound 4 me, anyways...just wanted 2 mention my absolute love 4 "secret of evermore" while growing up. It reminds me of the uniqueness of earth bound.😎👽😎
Ok Jared, now I expect you to make a Top Ten video for Strategy JRPGs, Action JRPGs and Handheld JRPGs. Please? I already knew about all the ones in this list.
Baten Kaitos? One of the best! ^^
Monotaku9 finally someone said it. I loved the uniqueness of that game. Don't know how well it would hold up now
Second this. I think its better than a few on this list
100% agree I wonder if he's ever played it, it's not too well known unfortunately
Nathan Bosch Yeah playing it atm, it has alot of cool features and some really weird ideas, like items changing over time, etc.
But the voiceacting so fucking bad, I can't stand to listen to them talking and in Battle it's kinda fine but not good either.
Getting certain cards by comboing is a neat idea, but just a lame grindfest in reality. The story is ok-ish, I just entered the Magmacave and so far it wasnt really engaging but not bad either.
Man, I wish we got an updated version of this list. Or perhaps good rpgs that don’t cost a lot, since a lot of people playing retro games are on a budget.
This^
@@okene I own a ps2, ps4, gamecube, n64, Wii and PC
@@ComicSams48
Ps2 - Persona 4
PS4 - Persona 5
GameCube - Tales of Symphonia
N64 - Paper Mario
PC - that really depends on specs and what you want to play because there are a ton to choose from on Steam alone.
Check out shining force neo for ps2, really all the shining force games on sega
vimm's lair is the ultimate site for players on a budget ;)
The Thumbnail Tricked me I thought Legend of Legaia was gonna be on this list!!! :(
Legend of Legaia was only "good" at best compared to the better/best J-RPGs, i dont want to insult you or question your taste, to each his own, but there are tons of more mentionable games in this genre than Legend of Legaia. And a list of 10 is small, plus its his own top 10. Everyone has his own.
Nebu Jin
Legaia was good, not great but good, there secret mechanics in the game that make it much better particularly in the japanese version
*****
can't judge a game based on the demo
+Taylor Keller he's.... dumb because likes a different game?
it definitely should be on that list, it is better than earthbound, skies of arcadiand lost odissey
Thankyou Jared. You made me pick up Digital Devil Saga. I love it.
Still don't know why they didn't make more Legend of Dragoon games
@Nos Feratu doesn't explain why they didnt make one for the ps2
@@richardhicks5031 They cancel it for some reason.
Both the Breath of Fire and Grandia series are some of my favourites. BoF 4 and Grandia 2 are both very solid games. Personally I'm a bit more baits to BoF 3 (which you mentioned, but for me I like that story better, a lot of the game play elements from 4 are indeed much better) and Grandia 1 (I love the characters more).
i agree with the bof series, capcom got one of the best jrpg franchises out there, and let it die with the mistake they made in bof5... a really sad storyand grandia was friggin good, i must say...
Video's real name:
Top 10 Non-Handheld RPGs with Turn-Based Battles that Aren't Strategy or Action RPGs that Aren't from Square Enix
Yeah, he said that in the beginning of the video.
still no action RPGs or strategy RPGs or handhelds
There's a handheld game in his list. J/s.
Is there such a thing as an action jrpg? I always figured turn based was synonymous with jrpgs
MFJesseJames
Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 15 are action JRPGs
I dont think I ever met a person who played Suikoden 2 and not like it.
i bought this a few months ago, and i was really hyped because of all the good retro reviews... but after 6 or so hours i deleted it off my vita. i honestly dont remember why, even though it was not that long ago. i think it was too much grind or maybe genericness since i clearly dont remember a thing about it. i dont remember it being bad, just more hassle than it’s worth.
i did the same thing. installed and deleted from vita three times because of memory card space. I'm glad i finally gave it a chance. once you get a full party and start developing your castle, it's hard to put down. Eventually you can teleport everywhere and the game really opens up. Give it another shot.
I didn't like it even back then
I didn't dislike it, and I'm currently strongly considering playing it, but the story (don't spoil it) seemed to lack the fantasy element I really love in RPGs, like what Chrono Trigger, FF6/FF7, and Skies of Arcadia had.
Suikoden 2 seemed to be very realistic, and I was fairly upset about that.
I played it more than 15 years ago and loved it. Luca Blight traumatized me as a kid (still hardest boss ever imo) and now i have neclord's battle theme playing in my head x)
I really like Star Ocean 2! It's the only one of the series I've played, but I loved it. I bought it secondhand and it was in French, which is not my mother language. Being Belgian though, we got French in school and both that game and imported Manga from France (which was cheaper than from America or Asia) were the only French media I partook in outside of school.
It was released by Enix so it can't be included on this list
Ah, really? It says it was made by Tri-Ace? I've seen the square enix logo on later installments of the series though, so perhaps I've missed something there.
Nikolaj Bourguignon If I remember corectly Tri-Ace made Star Ocean and Enix published it
Aha!
star ocean two was a fun experience. my only complaint is that it had so many missable characters, side quests, skills to develop that (though the game made me want to experience it all) clearly would require so many playthroughs to acheive it left me feeling like a. i didn't want to do that and b. i only experienced 10% of a fun but too expansive game. i also felt guilty for thinking it was too expansive, it really pissed me off after wasting no small amount of hard to come by skill points on non essential skills like cooking or alchemy i still couldn't craft anything worth a damn, and on my playthrough i could not figure out how to get that bad-ass blue-haired swordsman.
I'm so glad Lost Odyssey got some love!! It's one of my favorite games!
Same!
Suikoden 2 is such a fantastic game and rightfully deserving of being number 1 on your list. I replay it almost every year getting all 108 characters and it never gets old or boring.
psst a remastered version is coming soon
Great list !!! Now... i want one with handhelds games =3
You should also make one on your channel
***** Don't ask me the Impossible... It is very difficult... u.u
New Projared video, awesome!
Dude I'm so happy you included Suikoden II. It makes my childhood memorable, and its such a great game to come back to, even til this day
Wild Arms was my JUMP OFF and i WISH Legend of Dragoon got more love. Also I'm actually going back and playing BoF 1 and 2 on my channel starting later this week. Great video!
Legend Of Heroes and Ys are also very good, especially Legend of Heroes Trails in the sky Second Chapter.
Vinipooper br Stumbling upon Ys7 was a happy accident that had me buying any copy of the other installments I could get my hands on. Now if only we could get a decent version of Ys5 out of Japan for the rest of the world to enjoy
Glad to see SMT on here somewhere. Especially glad that it's actually something other than Persona.
I love your avatar. Navarre would totally be _that_ kind of gamer.
ikr. I don't recall to have ever seen Digital Devil Saga named before, I remember playing it for the first time and I loved it. it was a SMT game alright, the old style that has been lost on the new Personas games. I liked what they did expanding the persona's gameplay mechanics but I will always like the tone and setting of the first ones. They had much more diverse characters (some cliché yes, but they felt more real and with more depth), and a much more mature story.
You're welcome to like what you like Empty Spaces, but I feel sorry for you that they don't hold your attention. Some of the SMT games are like transcendental experiences. Persona, while great, doesn't hold a candle to the best of the SMT series imo.
Oldman Jables but persona is waifuland so i still think persona is my favourite compared to other smt too.
but thats my opinion. call me a casual and beat me down.
i absolutly love the persona series, but that being said i must say SMT, in particular, nocturne, digital devil saga, and strange journey are out of this world and on a whole other level. nocturne in particular is incredibly challenging on hard ;)
Great list.
Legend of Legaia is my favorite RPG not from Square. Great game wit unique battle system with the ability to chain moves together for big damage.
TORNADO FLAAAAAMMMEEE!!!
@@katapicture FAIA BURO!!!
Bro, I grew up on that game when my generation was using ps3. I also played bof4, which I liked the dragon system. Fire games 👌
The best. I wish I could still play it. 😢
YES YES YES! Thank you for putting Skies of Arcadia on this list! I FREAKING LOVE THAT GAME! Also, a little shocked to not see Ni No Kuni though. does that count as Turn-based? I guess not.
He said no ARPG's. So Dark Souls is out.
I realized that, so I edited my comment to take out Dark Souls.
chcoman123 Thanks for being honest, so I don't look silly.
Ni No Kuni is still an "ARPG" though, that's why it's not in the list. Even Tales series wasn't included for the same reason with it's battle system.
Kaimax_61 ARPG? Naw. It is real time though, which I think makes it excluded from the list.
I'm sorry to bash Jared but I was really devastated that you put a Legend of Legaia pic on your thumbnail but never even put a clip nor a brief mention of it in your vid. I really loved the game and it deserved so much more attention than it did(plus a better sequel, mind you) and it's just... I dunno... I felt betrayed somehow. :(
That picture was my way of giving it an Honorable Mention.
Yeah, I was so hyped by seeing it. So much love on the game. Specially for the metas. >-> But yeah, thanks for the list Jared. It reminded me of the games I've played in the past, and reminded me that I have yet to beat some of them. XD
*****
hm... Maybe put it into a list of JRPGs with interesting mechanics or lesser known titles? It seems a lot of people would like to let more people know it exists, and I'm sure that other JRPGs as well that get very little attention, like Robotrek. Though Robotrek wouldn't of made it onto this video's list just because it's a Enix game.
*****
Good to know, I was half-expecting to see it in the list somewhere to. Still hoping it'll get a review/retrospective from one of the larger youtube gamers out there. The first one was really good in both it's combat system and story IMO, and though the "sequel" improved the combat mechanics, the story was really lackluster compared to it's predecessor.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Oh, and don't forget Shadow Hearts: Covenant. As well as Shadow Hearts: Covenant. I'll shout this last one out: SHADOW HEARTS: COVENANT! :)
Nova XY The only reason I was scrolling down the comment section, was to see if someone mentions this game. I absolutely love this game, the humour and the battle system are fantastic!
Jared even mentions Shadow Hearts during his Legend of Dragoon part, so I was hoping it would be on this list as well.
Nova XY Wait, what? Huh? Which game?
Nova XY
Absolutely. Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant are two are my favorite RPGs of all time, prefering them easily over more mainstream titles like FFVII. This is a very worthy game, and I was rather surprised it didn't make the list, as I'm fairly sure Se wasn't involved.
Maximum Carnage
Shadow Hearts was awesome. I liked the story and the Horror-mixed atmosphere.
Shadow Hearts Covenant on the other hand sucks. It totally killed and broke with that precious atmosphere. Shadow Hearts Covenant shows best how a sequel which switches to comedy kills the original features of a series.
Shadow Hearts Covenant sets place on the case that Shadow Hearts ends (simply spoken) bad, that Alice sacrifies her life for Yuri and that on this point of the story the storyline continues, yet the game is way to funny and includes way too much slapstick to deal with that point seriously. If they had changed this, I'd agree, cause I love Shadow Hearts, too. Still - as it is - that is a K.O.-criteria.
MeisterErz I didn´t play the original SH, though I found Covenant amazing.. Loved the characters and the ambiance. I wouldn´t say the game was funny.. for me it was weird actually, having both macabre and hilarious moments. I was so taken by this game that I gave all my efforts to find the secrets in it without the use of a walkthrough.. One last thing, I also loved the music and sound effects of the game.. heck, even the sound Yuri made when he walked was cool..
My favorite part of legend of dragoon was the massive scope, the setting, and the backgrounds
Oh Legend of Dragoon, the memories, I went into this video repeating it's name over and over in my head, and when it came up on screen I couldn't help but exclaim "Yes!" out loud.
My first JRPG, and damn did I love it. I might go scrounge around in the attic now and see if I can't dig up my PS1 and that 4 disk behemoth.
I remember playing the demo of it on one of the Playstation Underground disks OVER AND OVER AND OVER. It wasnt until a few years ago that I finally got my hands on it through the PSPs store. It. Was. Glorious!
Great list! I recommend Persona to anyone who hasn't tried them yet. Also I feel an urge to try The Legend Of Dragoon now, it looks good.
Do it. It's a really great game.
It's kinda a grind fest, You can skip a lot of battles but don't you need the exp. Still has some of the best WTF moments ever. TenouttaTen!
check out Legend of Legaia aswell, I feel its on par with Dragoon.
I've been wanting to play it for years but forget about it. Though I did play it once sadly it wasn't for very long. Didn't know it was on psn though.
RATPT0I Woah calm down man, I have been meaning to try Nocturne and Digital Devil but haven't really had the time. It's just that I enjoy the Persona series. So if you're gonna call me a casual because of that go ahead.
Very solid list Jared, for me, the only thing I wouldn't have here is Legend of Dragoon (I played 8 hours of it and I just don't like that game at all sadly). Maybe replace that with Paper Mario TTYD and switch out Digital Devil Saga for Persona 4 and that'd pretty much be my list.
Also does anyone remember Okage Shadow King?
It's sort of what would happen if Tim Burton made a JRPG.
stupid pink shadow...ughh :-) you like obscure, how 'bout the atrocious Ephemiral Phantasia with the demon guitar *shudder*
And by Persona 4, you mean Nocturne, since Persona 4 wouldn't qualify due to Squenix publishing it in Europe, which is a dumb reason to not put it on.
I do love Paper mario TTYD, but I don't know that I would classify that as a jrpg
PK Mongoose True. Persona 3 would work since Koei published it, and ghostlight published PSP versions of it.
Nocturne was also Ghostlight and for most it is THE gen 6 SMT game though, I wouldn't know - I still need to play them myself.
PK Mongoose
Even then I prefer Innocent Sins and 3 rather that 4.
Suikoden 2 is my favorite game ever. I always felt like it was one of the most overlooked games ever made. Thank you for including it!
I'm still so sad Suikoden has been left by the way side so Konami can continue to just milk Castlevania and Metal Gear instead. The only weak Suikoden game was 4, and it was still better than a lot of JRPGs out at the time.
Also, I love whoever recorded the footage of Suikoden 2 if it wasn't you Jared, just for having the canon name for Riou. Only true fans would know his canon name, as the game didn't provide it in either version.
Hell yeah. I'm all about canon names. I'm so anal about it that if I start a game and you have to name the main character with no default option I tend to scourer the internet looking for the canon name.
Metal Gear Solid is far from being milked. You watch your mouth.
I wonder what would happen if Kojima decides to make a new Suikoden game with the Fox Engine...
Teoskavens It would be pretty amazing. With its 50 hours worth of cut scenes and random Metal Gear appearance
Suikoden 2 and 3 are, in my opinion, two of the best RPGs ever made. However, I think you are way too soft on Suikoden 4, I can't think of a worse RPG (even Beyond the Beyond had some pretty sprites and cool ideas). At least Suikoden 5 was a hugely redemptive game. It sucks that we will never see another genuine Suikoden game again... *sigh*
Outstanding list. However, I can't believe you didn't mention Lunar... Even though you clearly has both Silver Star Story Complete & Eternal Blue Complete visible in the background.
Lunar is the best JRPG ever made
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.
Beat me to it.
Shin Garugamesh Is it a JRPG though? I mean, what is the actual definition of a JRPG? Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just don't know is it is actually a JRPG.
Japanese Role-Playing Game
electricmastro Thank you!
hedrack08
You talkin' to me?
A good video is a good video regardless of what the man has done.
A bad man is a bad man no matter what content he has made.
Projareds mom has a youtube account?
Pretty much yeah, people really need to start separating the art from the artist. Projared was a great video creator, just maybe not a good man.
Well said
Joe Cash actually I am his papa johns
god, lost odyssey is by far the most underrated game out of any genre i've ever played.
it's a jrpg designed by hironobu sakaguchi. art design by takehiko inoue. composed by nobuo uematsu.
i couldn't fucking believe this line up when i first got the game. it's right behind chrono trigger for me and if you are even remotely interested in jrpg's, you *NEED* to play lost odyssey. it's ridiculously good.
*Nobuo Uematsu. Being picky yes, but he's one of the best composers ever. Also the game's for Xbox? Too bad I don't have one, but by the sound of it it must be great.
***** oops and yeah, that's a bummer. i wish i could recommend you get an xbox, but xbox doesn't really have a lot of great exclusives and i doubt you'd want to get one just for lost odyssey haha.
I couldn't really get behind the battle system or main story. Both became really really monotonous for me really really quickly. A game made up entirely of the extremely well done visual novel segments would be pretty great though.
BurningBuffalo are you just not a fan of turned based combat in general? because lost odyssey is as traditional as it gets.
as for the story, it's a matter of opinion as i guess most of the elements of the game are. i certainly enjoyed it more than ff9, ff10, ff13 and a lot of other typical jrpg stories. it focuses a lot on tragedy and while pretty much every jrpg has some form of tragedy implemented into the story line, lost odyssey was the first i played that's based almost solely on the tragedy of the characters and it's done extremely well.
***** No capitalization love for Hironobu Sakaguchi?
Xenoblade Chronicles anyone?
What this guy said!
Captsehanort THANK YOU! The only reason I scrolled through the the comments was to see comments like this
He said no action rpgs........
Kelly Lee does that mean no tales games? 😞
I'm at least glad that EVERYONE in the comments is raving about Xenoblade.
He probly didn't include bcuz its an action rpg.
One of the best JRPGs I ever played was Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. I'd really recommend it to anyone who hasn't played it yet!
Kate McCune I love majority of the Trails series! Have you played SC yet?
i almost see this evreywhere when jrpg is mentioned
i tried it but the frustratingly slow start and the gameplay just killed it for me
It was alright. Nothing interesting
Kate McCune It was one of my favorites too!!
كحيل العين well yeah, you see it mentioned everywhere because that's just how great the games are. Don't know if you ever tried playing again, but the PC version of the entire series (Sky FC, SC, 3rd and Cold Steel 1 and 2) received a Turbo Mode function last year, it speeds up everything so it makes the glacially slow pace of Trails FC way more bearable.
Lunar not on the list, I am dissapoint
thunderbirds9001 I was wondering where Lunar Silver Star was too!
I personally like the PS1 remake, it was the first game i remember playing
thunderbirds9001 Can u name some good jrpgs for pc plz..
Aiman Dragonborn I don't play JRPG's much anymore. I mainly play 2D fighters like Blazblue, Guilty Gear, Skullgirls and stuff like that
Aiman Dragonborn I recently played through The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky on Steam, and had a ton of fun with it. It's a really great JRPG that I highly recommend.
Great list! But you missed out Legend of Legaia!
CIRILOTODDY it's even in the thumbnail! Where the hell was it?
You put Vahn on the thumbnail, but didn't mention legend of legaia? That game is amazing.
I had high hopes, but the Dark Souls difficulty of every fricking boss fight made it a miserable experience for me.
It just requires grinding. Namely to get your Seru magic. If the bosses are a slog then your level isn't high enough
@@GigglesWithAKnife It was definitely a game you couldn't just power your way through. & I enjoyed that part of it. You had to take the time to grind, which I found rather enjoyable. & once you did that, boss fights were nothing.
@@tempyst409 I remember the bull boss an underground Octum giving me so much trouble when I was little and played it, but when I got older and learned that in RPGs there is some level of grinding that needs to happen breezed right through it 😂
@@GigglesWithAKnife the bull boss was definitely a hard one if you didn't grind enough. The charge move he'd do, then attack on the next. Would slaughter everyone if you weren't careful. Especially Noa, because she wasn't built for defense like Vahn & Gala. Even with wins or defeats, that game is a treasure. I still have it & a PSP portable. Even if the disc were to quit working. I'd probably still keep it, too many awesome memories 😊
I like how you teased Legend of Legaia in thumbnail but then didn't mention it :)
Great list and thank you for sharing.
To those whom it may concern : add Lunar 1 & 2 , Hoshigami, Growlanser and Star Ocean, though SO was enix so I guess it doesn't really count...
I've finally found someone who appreciates Phantasy Star IV.
Data ps4 rules i wish i played ot when i was a kid.
Look into the Happy Console Gamer's channel. PS is one of, if not, his favorite series.
I beat this game multiple times as a kid. Truly up there with the best.
Oh your not alone I'm a total fan of phantasy star series
I was more a fan of PSII with its atmosphere and unique features like poison that keeps you from regaining HP and bio/mecha techs. It did need an update (and PSIII needs one... It'd be great if there was another with a similar concept executed better), but the one on PS2 several people found to be lacking.
Suikoden 1 and 2 are, without a doubt,, the most pleasent Jrpgs i've ever played (and i've played practically all of the ones on Snes and Ps1)
If anyone is interested in playing Suikoden 2 (a lot of people skip on the first chapter because it is a bit more clunky) please don't...in some ways Suikoden 1 has even a better atmosphere and leit motive than Suikoden 2, which on the other hand is by far the more polished and perfected game, but you will enjoy it even more after experiencing the first chapter.
Very well said!
come on projared you forgot paper mario and the thousand year door!
*We miss you ProJared!!!*
Damn right, Skies of Arcadia.
Phantasy Star IV was amazing
I just started a replay of it a few nights ago and just happened to watch this video tonight. Phantasy Star II was also great but the random encounter rate was jacked way too high. PS IV was definitely the high water mark of that series.
Who are we kidding? All Phantasy Star games were good. It's kinda sad that Sega gave up making a proper RPG entry and only focused in the MMO version of it.
Bloody Kaiju phantasy star1 and phantasy star 4 were the best in the series.
MY JRPG LIST: (Note: not in ranking, just my list in general)
1. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY FC
2. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY SC
3. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS IN THE SKY 3RD
4. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS TO ZERO
5. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS TO AZURE
6. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL
7. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 2
8. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 3
9. LEGEND OF HEROES TRAILS OF COLD STEEL 4
🐄
No Legend of Legaia?
I know right? It's what caught my eye and made me watch the vid in the first place. I guess he was just using it as an example so he wouldn't give away any of the real ones on the list. I personally loved that game. One of the few JRPGs I ever took the time to complete.
Love that game!! But I can't find it anymore after I moved :(
agreed, though some bosses were brutally hard for whatever reason. let the grinding commence!
True. Lol
exactly. One of my favorites of all time. The bgm, characters, history, all on Legend of Legaia is so awesome.
I would love for Jared to make a sequel to this list with Strategy, Action, and general RPGs.
Agreed. I would love to the Shining Force series at least get an honorable mention somewhere.
Suikoden II definitely is the best JRPG I've ever played. Thing about it is, I never played the Final Fantasy series, at least haven't finished any one of them.
MoonSpiritExp You're both a genius and a madman
MoonSpiritExp As awesome as 2 was, I did like 1 better. I think. Fuck it man. They were both awesome. I still get goose bumps from Gremio's actions in 1.
Yeah, all of Suikoden is awesome, with the exception of IV.
MoonSpiritExp i dont understand the hate for 4. its was much better than 3 and didnt fall very short of the first one. the story was good all the characters had stories unlike the first one (dont get me wrong i love the first one but it had several character that were just there and didnt say or do much.) from what i gather people didnt like the boat travel but you could speed it up by pressing a button and there was still fast travel.
MoonSpiritExp ive played both and for the longest time ive said final fantasy was my fav game but thats only because i had some how forgot about the suikoden series
- Persona 4 Golden (hands down best all-around RPG since the PSX FFs. This should have been a home console game...)
- Suikoden V (if you want an engaging storytelling this is the one for you)
- Grandia (Grandia II was a classic, but to me this was a more memorable experience of an unforgettable adventure)
- Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (one of the very few 'magical' RPGs out there; charm+characters+music, oh yeah)
- Star Ocean: The Second Story (very close to the 2D Tales games, gameplay at its best)
- Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut (my personal favorite 2D Tales and one of the top 3 Tales along with Abyss and Vesperia)
- Xenoblade (take that! No Square or Enix :D)
Persona 4 is a console game....
Birdie I'm talking about P4G, I've beaten the original multiple times but I feel robbed by not being able to play the complete version on the home console :/
futureicon23 Buy a Vita then.
Star Ocean is an Enix game. But yea, a VERY GOOD Enix game (*whisper* better than dragon quest).
While I know that Suikoden V is very good, I can't help but feel that II is the pinnacle of the series.
Lunar is good, agreed.
futureicon23 But Golden has only extra school stuff like the ski trip and 2 extra social links. Because of that the mood of the game has changed+the difficulty became a joke. I loved some stuff like skill selecting,Snowflakes and the new bad ending but still think that Vanilla is better.
I loved skies of arcadia so fucking much.....
A remake with modern final fantasy graphics and Japanese/English voice acting is something I dreamed for a long time.
sega needs to get their shit together if they can ever be daring enough to create real games again.
One of the best games ever made. Sadly, it joins Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shenmue, Space Channel 5, Golden Axe, and many many more on the list of Great Sega Games And Series That Won't Get Sequels Or Remakes In Favour Of Milking The Sonic Cow Even Though The Cow Is Most Assuredly Already Dead.
You know, the GSGASTWGSORIFOMTSCETTCIAAD.
QuicklimeTime The existence of all these games is under the fact that Sega was still a console developer. But since they quit that industry and became a 3rd party, sequels of those games will never see the light of the day.
Definitely agree. Admittedly I played the gamecube version, but Skies of Arcadia was one of the first JRPGs I ever played and one of the ones that really got me into the genre.
The world of Arcadia itself with islands in the sky is probably one of the coolest things about the game. While I've seen the idea of sky islands, air ships and sailors done a few times in other games (and in a few anime), I have yet to see one with a similar setting in such an open, expansive world.
It is also getting harder to find open world JRPGs or action RPGs with a similar level of detail, many seem to be moving towards more linear maps, and story progression. Plus a lot seem to have filler NPCs that don't say anything or houses you can't enter to reduce programming time.
Not enough people are talking about Digital Devil Saga.
It's such a wonderful experience and it deserves a lot more love.
Why isnt Lunar the Silver Star Story here???
SUIKODEN II IS THE BEST JRPG OF ALL TIME. THE STORY TRAUMATIZED ME AS A CHILD. Luca Blight remains the greatest JRPG villain known to gamerkind.
Jan Suing fool
As good as the game is best of all time is an extreme stretch
Yes it is!
SHODAN is my favorite video game villain.
My favorite game of all time is Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for the PS2. It's a classic story with characters that are both bizarre enough to be genuinely entertaining and relate-able enough that you can care about them. The gameplay is typical jrpg, but with good looking moves, especially later on, and a rotating door of well fleshed-out characters to join the team. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who likes this style of game at all.
Matthew Harper PS1 you mean? Yeah it is a great game, and it is probably the game I would recommend to newcomers to the genre. Fairly straightforward gameplay and exploration but a wonderful story and cast of characters.
Andrew Phillips Yeah, PS1. It was late for me when I wrote that, lol. Thanks for the correction. I'm also glad to know someone else feels the same about Lunar! :)
Matthew Harper Yeah truth be told I am not ashamed to admit the game had me in tears at the end.
+Matthew Harper Lunar is most likely my 3rd favorite JRPG of all time. I formulated a top 5 awhile back. Perhaps it should be reconsidered since I have played some great ones since then but these games will always have a special place in my heart.
1. Xenogears
2. Final Fantasy IX
3. Lunar SSSC
4. Grandia
5. Dragon Quest VIII
+Andrew Phillips Xenogears and Grandia are both in my top 5
This is such a solid list, many of my all time favorites. I also need to thank you for introducing me to Suikoden which has become possibly my favorite game series of all time!
I really liked the number one pic =).
I actually think i've only played maybe half of these?
I haven't watched it but I have a good feeling ni no kuni is on here.
Michael Christoffel Spoilers, but NOPE! I thought so too, but ultimately I'm happy with the ones he chose and really do need to get out and play some of these games now. I've only played a couple of them. I was aware a lot of these games existed, I just haven't gotten around to them. It seems like it might be time to change that!
Michael Christoffel Nope, it isn't traditional turn-based combat, it has action rpg elements and some pokemon thrown in.
Michael Christoffel Nope. Ni no Kuni was pretty good but certainly not one of the best.
Hahaa Ni no kuni is personally my favorite.
Golden Sun, always in my heart!
5oh8 REPMYCITY I cant really remember the characters! But I remember I liked the brown-haired character since he was so good with two handed swords! There was also a magician I liked as well - a wind-like dude!
5oh8 REPMYCITY Yeah! But arent they square enix games? Anyways, glad someone remeber them! First game was just golden sun and the other one was about a huge wave like splitting the group up!
Im also replaying those soon, have a nice day.
5oh8 REPMYCITY they are on a handheld and the arent that great honestly, the dialogue is really really silly.
Kim Jenkins It's still really well made games and enjoyable.
Stahle Frid golden sun was made by Camelot software. but easily the best rpg games on the gba imo.
Top Ten SRPGs.
Top Ten Action RPGs
Top Ten Handheld RPGs videos confirmed?? :)
Also, I'm glad Wild Arms is up there.
Notice how the last two are insanely expensive in physical form atm, hope for a remaster of these!
Waiting on that handheld list, dude.
This has convinced me to pick up a copy of Suikoden 2 next chance I get. It's getting tough to find good classic rpgs I haven't played, so I appreciate the suggestions.
be prepared to pay a small fortune for it, that game is super rare and brand new cost $599 lol
(pained sigh) Suddenly I strongly wish he hadn't brought it up, then. They've got the first one on PSN. Shame they weren't generous to put up the sequel...
8:36 I don't know Projared the demon designs look pretty cool.
I played Suikoden 2 because of this video, and oh man am I glad that I did.
My fav character is Jowy!
So many good characters...what a game
Suikoden 1 and 2 are the best RPG game in my childhood forever.....