Yeah I saw he passed the other day. That's unfortunate because suikoden is one RPG that has really stood out to me and many others. Not as popular as other more mainstream titles but definitely has its close fans. RIP Yoshitaka Murayama! Your elephant noises for dragons will forever be etched into my memories rent free.
@@AuricomSystems suiko 1 2 and 5 are what i consider a masterclass in rpgs. shame he passed before th spiritual successor Eiyuden chronicles is released
Suikoden was the first PS1 RPG that I played. With its 108 characters, beautiful art, and amazing music it felt like the first ‘next-gen’ console RPG. It started to match the scale and scope of RPG’s that we had on PC at the time (like Ultima VII with its huge world in 1992). It was only 20 hours long vs. longer RPG’s of the time, but just felt like such an epic story given the themes of war and loss. While Suikoden II expanded nearly everything in the sequel, I still love the original. RIP Murayama, creator of Suikoden. Thanks for the amazing stories over the years. ❤
Both 1 and 2 were amazing, played them on release when I was around 10 yo. Great memories, 2 had much better story and presentation/ qol changes for battles and such. Lunar series also went hard back then.
Just a quick correction, the Arc the Lad collection was not released on PS2; it was released on PS1 in the early 2000’s by Working Designs. There are only 2 Arc the Lad games on PS2: Twilight of the Spirits and End of Darkness.
Yep! Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen also did continue being ported to Sega Saturn in Japan, adding some new tweaks like colored overworld sprites.
I came here to say this! Also, I ran a petition to bring Arc the Lad I & II over here for a few years. Vic Ireland said it had no bearing on Working Designs finally getting the license to do it, but I like to think it did help spread awareness of the game to some players, at least.
Unlike Shadow Hearts (and though I didn't play a Shadow Hearts game, MAN is Penny Blood looking TIGHT), which was always destined to be screwed because, well...NO ONE wants to work with Aruze, Wild Arms basically just requires Sony to want to make one and...nothing.
I played it for the first time last year. I loved how it blended adventure elements into an RPG. There was just enough to make it fun without bogging it down.
@jacobmonks3722 Played Wild Arms briefly at a friend's house. Didn't get very far because it was a rental but it's been one of those games that I want to get if I ever feel rich enough to get into PS1 collecting. @@Volvagia1927 Definitely worth playing Shadow Hearts, although they are a bit pricier with the retro gaming market being what it is (I made a point of getting the trilogy back in the mid 2010s and it was still not cheap, although being PAL didn't help).
My first RPG was FFVII on the PS1, which eventually led me to other RPG greats such as Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, Grandia, and Star Ocean 2 to name a few. ' Recently, I have been enjoying Golden Sun on the Nintendo Switch, and when I saw the gameplay footage for "Beyond the Beyond", the similarities to Golden Sun is definitely there as it was developed by the same developer Camelot.
❤Love the spins off on PS2, eternal ring 💍 , shadow, Tower abyss, and the ancient city. Not gonna lie, took a while for these type of games to grow on me.
Pokémon Blue was my first RPG, with FFVII being my first console RPG. I feel like these 2 games were the ones who made the biggest impact in the U.S. FFVII broke RPGs in the mainstream, while Pokemon was the series that really capitalized on this new-found popularity.
@@felipez7113 IDK, Dreamcast was killed a bit too soon and I think PS2 had more to offer in RPGs overall, which is not to say the Dreamcast didn't, but rather that because it was kinda killed prematurely and the PS2 was thriving we got more from the PS2 in the RPG realm from it's longer lifespan.
FfVII was my first RPG back in 97.. it's funny.. FF led me to some of these other RPGs that I might have never played.. I loved Beyond the Beyond but never beat it and Deception's later entries were always fun.. I still have a copy of Suikoden but I liked 2 better.. but to think of all the great RPGs that followed 7 is crazy... Most of them were from square like Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Chrono Cross and Vagrant Story but others like Star Ocean, Lunar and Legend of Dragoon were all top notch... Such a definitive moment in gaming history that may never be replicated again.
My first RPG was actually Breath of Fire on the SNES, followed by Final Fantasy II (IV) and 7th Saga. On the Playstation, Final Fantasy VII was the first RPG I played as I had only started working and was able to get a used PS1. Something I'd really wanted for Resident Evil and Tomb Raider. FFVII would also be the second game I played on that system as I had bought Alien Trilogy first. Not because I was more excited for it but because it was $20. I found a used copy of FFVII at E.B. Games just a month before Parasite Eve came out. So I was pretty late in playing the game. What I don't understand to this day is how the game was never spoiled for me. I had friends and co-workers who had played the game upon release and none of them ever told me the big events. Good times. Good times.
I can't help but add that Suikoden has a third type of battle: the 1 on 1 duels. Best game of the list by far. That said, it's awesome seeing all these old RPGs! Turn's out I played all of the western pre-FFVII RPGs thanks to my cousin (even the Arc the Lad collection that released for the PS1 some years later). Got very fond memories of all of them, except for Beyond the Beyond. That game has always been boring 😂
Unless I’m mistaken… Arc the Lad Collection was on PSone, published in the US by Working Designs. I did the review for it in Game Informer, which printed almost a year before release (it got delayed). PS2 got an original Arc the Lad game.
I was a Sega kid; my first RPG was Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday. FFVII was my first JRPG, and after that I couldn't get enough of them. I still love Western RPGs, but there's something unique and magical about the JRPG genre that continues to captivate me.
2:06 King's Field 3:04 Arc The Lad 3:56 King's Field II 4:30 Sengoku Cyber: Fujimaru Jigokuhen 5:04 Beyond the Beyond 5:57 Suikoden 7:00 Wizardry VII 7:36 King's Field III 8:32 Popolocrois 9:14 Tecmo's Deception 10:34 Persona 11:26 Ogre Battle 12:08 Vandal Hearts 13:11 Arc The Lad II 14:20 Wild Arms 15:09 Shin Super Robot Wars
Suikoden had 3 types of battle modes - party vs enemies (standard), army vs army (war), and 1v1 (Rock Paper Scissors but with fists). The player isn't exactly "tasked" with finding all 108 stars, and it's actually kind of a secret if you do in fact get them all (well, assuming you keep Pahn alive). Rather, the story is about you being the son of a great general and war hero for the empire (whom you think are benevolent and heroic). Some things happen and suddenly you and your best friend run away from home and quickly become enemies of empire. You will end up traveling the whole world meeting elves, dwarves, and dragons (and ninjas) along the way and even build an army and have your own castle! The soundtrack is also quite exceptional on this title.
The games that stood out to me were “Beyond the Beyond” due to it being developed by Camelot and having a villain on the cover who looks like modern Sephiroth with horns, “Suikoden” due to it being intriguing and the sad recent loss of its creator, and the “King’s Field” games due to my brother’s fascination with the title.
I bough Beyond the Beyond a few months after I played Wild Arms (which gotme hooked on JRPGs), and I just couldn't get into it... I played many hours of it, but at some point I just abandoned it to play something else. Only years later I realized how generic the game was. Competent, but really unimpressive.
I still remember this generation so fondly, I was at the age were I could appreciate a long story. I played Beyond the Beyond, Persona, Suikoden, Techmos deception, Vandal ,Hearts, Wild Arms and finally FF7. I only beat Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, Wild Arms and FF7. I have repeatedly beaten Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, Final Fantasy 7.
Wild Arms 1 and 2 are very under looked games in Sony's catalogue. Many people remember Legend of Dragoon, but Wild Arms was Sony first first party rpg and would last for 6 games all the way to the psp. It's wild west themed world sets it apart from other rpgs at the time unfortunately it seemed like every release would get overshadowed by bigger games near it so I can understand why it didn't get a huge following.
It's a shame, in retrospect, but so many people only had time for Squaresoft RPGs in the 90s. And most RPGs (especially pre-FF7) had very small print runs, which meant that they were only available in a handful of stores in a narrow release window, and never dropped in price. If you didn't have the money to buy Wild Arms in the spring of 1997, it was probably sold out by Christmas.
Final Fantasy VII was the first RPG I played on PS1. In fact, FF7 was the whole reason our family got a PS1. I was a big fan of RPGs on the NES and SNES, and most of my video game time in 1996 and 1997 had been with the SNES and PC. I never did go back and play any of these older PS1 RPGs (although I still have Suikoden sitting expectantly on my PS3).
My first RPG (Well, aside from bumbling around in some text adventure on my dad's PC for half an hour) was in fact in your video; Suikoden! Boy was that a revelation, I had no idea games could be so big and rich and beautiful. Love at first sight, even though I was absolutely terrible at it because I was a little kid who didn't have the first idea what I was doing. I must also mention Vandal Hearts because that was my *second* RPG, and showed me that they had a lot of breadth beyond what Suikoden had given me, and once both of their sequels, Breath of Fire III, and FF7 were all in my collection, it was off to the races. Now that's a good genre.
The selling point for FF7 was that it was in 3D on a console that anyone could obtain. The Materia System was a feature that also probably gave RPG fans some new flavor text too. Versus the traditional leveling and equipment systems that were in previous rpg titles. Though I really enjoyed Legend if Legaia and 2 for it's unique combat system being tied to button combinations.
Loved the video, thank you for adding more games to my backlog.😅 As a child in the 90’s FF7 was my introduction to RPG’s so this was really interesting to me.
I loved MOST of these games as a Teenager. but Tecmo's Deception was one of the games i loved so much. a game where you play as the Villain, AND its basically Evil Home Alone! what's not to love!?
The first Wild Arms was such a great game. I was impressed with how smooth the character sprite's movement was and the Crest Graph system is still one of the best magic systems for an RPG I've ever seen. Despite the criticism Beyond the Beyond gets, I really liked that game when I was a child. I got a bit invested in the story and I liked mashing the buttons hoping to get the power attacks.
5:00 This was advertised on the back of the box for my first PS1. But I never saw it on sale at Toys 'R Us or any of the other big stores at the time. 14:17 #1 in my heart.
My dad rented Beyond the Beyond when I was a teen. Even though he wouldn't allow me to play it, I remembered it for a long time cause of that random puzzle at the beginning of the game. It was pretty difficulty.
I totally LOVED both Tecmo's Deception and Revelations Persona. Big fan of the stereotyped American Mark, especially him yelling "What's up!" before unleashing bullet hell on the enemies. Deception was just fun to be evil for once. I love that Deception 2 expanded on the concept and let you make a Rube-Goldberg trap to destroy your would-be attackers.
I grew up with the Master System / Mega Drive I never found Phantasy Star (or if I'm honest, even heard about it until PSonline) so yes, Final Fantasy VII was my first ever RPG, and boy did it set a high bar...
IIRC the entire Phantasy Star series sold fewer units than just Final Fantasy 7. That tells you what a juggernaut that game was back in the day; I remember seeing ads for that game multiple times, too. Square just did everything right when it comes to promoting that game. Dragon Quest never had its FF 7 moment, on the other hand, which is why it's a rather niche series in the West.
The original commercial for FF7 was just the cutscenes that I felt drew in a new audience. Once they were reeled in, they saw how great RPG's are and can be.
One of my favorite jrpgs on PS1 was thousand arms. A blacksmithing system tied to a dating system for upgrading your equipment. The lines of dialog are hilarious and all about fan service. Just a good amount of fun with many romantic interests for the protagonist.
Fantastic video, Derrick! Am currently going through a bit of an RPG phase (just beat Final Fantasy I and II, started III, continuing through Dragon Quest VII) so this suits my mood perfectly.
My first RPG was the Original Final Fantasy on NES, my second was Dragon Warrior aka Dragon Quest. Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 are my favorite RPG's period. I really like the wild west feel.
Vandal Hearts is a great TRPG, i think it would benefit a lot from a remake (thats true to a lot of PS1 RPGs that have been forgotten like Legend of Legaia). I think its a great game for people to get into tactics genre, the gameplay is straightforward, not much micromanagement, some options for classes and a good sense of progression with the 3 tiers of promotion and lots of cool spells.
first RPG I played was classic FF1 on the NES, first one I owned though was Dragon Quest. Though, some of my favorite RPGs are still from the PS1 era. FF9, Wild Arms 2, Grandia, Tales of Phantasia and Eternia, Star Ocean 2, and the list goes on. Sadly never had a PS1 until well after the PS2 had released due to costs.
Vandal Hearts is absolutely fantastic. Every single character is part of the story and doesn't have a lot of filler content normally associated with tactic games.
I remember buying Wild Arms to give me my 32 bit RPG fix until Final Fantasy 7 came out. Once FF7 came out, it was over. That game was the greatest game ever made imo back in 1997. Nothing came close
I didn't even realize all 3 King's Field Games came out before FFVII. If they had found a way to streamline or speed up the gameplay it could've been a bigger hit. That being said, it's still one of my favorite retro RPG series. 👍
Wild to me it took a while before any of the turn based game developers made a 3D game. I would'vbe assumed they have jumped the gun on making 3d games as soon as it became as thing.
"Ultima and Wizardry are the catalysts for all rpg design" Obviously most people watching an RPG history video essay are not going to have any of the background, so it's good to go through it every time, but I've just watched so many explanations of it at this point its driving me a lil crazy
@Goodvibesgaming correction my good sir, Arc The Lad Collection was in fact not released for the PS2, it was released for the PlayStation 1 (PSX) by Working Designs, and was actually the last PS1 release Working Designs did for the PS1.
I (somehwhat) recently got Beyond The Beyond, in 2019. I had no idea it even existed until then and blew my mind that Camelot made a game similar to Golden Sun on ps1. I know im in the minority, but i absolutely love BTB
I played pokemon red/blue/yellow as my first rpg then later I played gold/silver. My first major non pokemon rpg was kingdom hearts, them legend of dragoon, then finally I got to final fantasy 7. By then I was already familiar with some ff characters due to kingdom hearts.
4:27 something extremely cool and interesting about this game is despite it's obscurity it has a really great original main song called Winner Take All that somehow is sung by Debbie Harry lead singer of Blondie a platinum selling number 1 billboard hit artist I have zero clue how that ended up happening but it's really neat
As an interesting side note, Beyond the Beyond was developed by the same studio that had previously made the popular Shining Force series on the Sega Genesis. They used some of the same artistic choices, like characters faces in frames during dialogue, but sadly they didn't take the successful formula for gameplay style.
If you think that's bad, try counting the RPGs we got in Europe before FFVII. 😅 We only had king's field 2, tecmo's deception, vandal hearts and suikoden. Hell wild arms only came out in October 98!!
Having been there when the Playstation 1 came out... as I almost bought a Nintendo 64 before finding out Final Fantasy 7 would be on a system other than Nintendo for the first time... I wanted to get a game to tide me over until it got out. As such, here is what I experienced in the toy store... think Lionel Playworld, don't think it was Toys R Us, but, not certain... anyway, when the PS1 came out, and went to get it, there was only one RPG on the entire list of games in stock for it in the store. Beyond the Beyond. One of the more interesting aspects of the game was, if you moved the d-pad in a certain way, there was a chance your dragon would fly over and do a surprise attack. Never figured out what the combo was, but was fun when it worked.
This is a truly great video, very well done research and the editing/pacing of the video is great, its not an hour long but it has a lot of information, congrats.
In regards to vandal hearts it was actually very well reviewed…the issue is the Wikipedia page has barely any reviews. Plus it’s amazing and I’m not sure why there’s an issue it’s it being linear…that was pretty normal for tactical rpgs at the time and there were optional secret levels.
I was a Nintendo kid so I missed every PS1/2 RPG! somehow 3D RPGs don’t do it for me, but still need to play FF VII one day- especially the original since I have nostalgia for reading about it in magazines
Man I wish I hadn't have skipped this generation of games, though this is when I went from my NES and Genesis games in the PC games like the Wizardry and Might and Magic series which are some of my favorite games
I remember going to a friends house and him showing me suikoden and his save, really intrigued me. Ended up getting it and enjoying it!...but then ff7 came out 😅
As much as I love FF7, I'm glad the likes of Suikuden and Wild Arms are still somewhat relevant thanks to the likes of the PS Store and the PlayStation Classic. I really hope Arc the Lad and Beyond the Beyond get some time to shine as well, since they are wonderful in their own right.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
RIP Yoshitaka Murayama (creator of Suikoden). Can't help but me remidned when the topic of PS1 RPG's comes up.
Yeah I saw he passed the other day. That's unfortunate because suikoden is one RPG that has really stood out to me and many others. Not as popular as other more mainstream titles but definitely has its close fans. RIP Yoshitaka Murayama! Your elephant noises for dragons will forever be etched into my memories rent free.
Really sucked that he died, he created literally my favorite game of all time (Suikoden II) and the series as a whole is one of my most beloved.
@@AuricomSystems suiko 1 2 and 5 are what i consider a masterclass in rpgs. shame he passed before th spiritual successor Eiyuden chronicles is released
Hell, and I finished Suikoden 2, two months ago, rest in peace.❤
Yeah, I just got the email about that the other day. I guess it will push back the release of Eiyuden Chronicle just a bit more now.
Suikoden was the first PS1 RPG that I played. With its 108 characters, beautiful art, and amazing music it felt like the first ‘next-gen’ console RPG.
It started to match the scale and scope of RPG’s that we had on PC at the time (like Ultima VII with its huge world in 1992). It was only 20 hours long vs. longer RPG’s of the time, but just felt like such an epic story given the themes of war and loss. While Suikoden II expanded nearly everything in the sequel, I still love the original.
RIP Murayama, creator of Suikoden. Thanks for the amazing stories over the years. ❤
Both 1 and 2 were amazing, played them on release when I was around 10 yo. Great memories, 2 had much better story and presentation/ qol changes for battles and such. Lunar series also went hard back then.
You should play suikoden 5 wich is imo as good as suikoden 2 (I like it even more). Still very good even now.@@Kitten_Party
Just a quick correction, the Arc the Lad collection was not released on PS2; it was released on PS1 in the early 2000’s by Working Designs. There are only 2 Arc the Lad games on PS2: Twilight of the Spirits and End of Darkness.
Yep! Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen also did continue being ported to Sega Saturn in Japan, adding some new tweaks like colored overworld sprites.
Also Suikoden has 3 types of battles.
Duel was left out.
I was going to leave a comment about this but, now I don't need to.
End of darkness was terrible
I came here to say this!
Also, I ran a petition to bring Arc the Lad I & II over here for a few years. Vic Ireland said it had no bearing on Working Designs finally getting the license to do it, but I like to think it did help spread awareness of the game to some players, at least.
Wild Arms is very overlooked, and the first game is still one of my favorites on the PS1.
Unlike Shadow Hearts (and though I didn't play a Shadow Hearts game, MAN is Penny Blood looking TIGHT), which was always destined to be screwed because, well...NO ONE wants to work with Aruze, Wild Arms basically just requires Sony to want to make one and...nothing.
I played it for the first time last year. I loved how it blended adventure elements into an RPG. There was just enough to make it fun without bogging it down.
Not sure I’d say they are overlooked. Other than FF, they were probably the most popular JRPGs on the console.
It wasn’t overlooked when it came out. Very popular
@jacobmonks3722 Played Wild Arms briefly at a friend's house. Didn't get very far because it was a rental but it's been one of those games that I want to get if I ever feel rich enough to get into PS1 collecting.
@@Volvagia1927 Definitely worth playing Shadow Hearts, although they are a bit pricier with the retro gaming market being what it is (I made a point of getting the trilogy back in the mid 2010s and it was still not cheap, although being PAL didn't help).
To this day, I can still remember the opening theme to Wild Arms. Such an amazing game.
I still listen to the OST from time to time. My favorite OST, the Ennio Morricone vibes are amazing.
Want to learn it on guitar?
My first RPG was FFVII on the PS1, which eventually led me to other RPG greats such as Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, Grandia, and Star Ocean 2 to name a few.
'
Recently, I have been enjoying Golden Sun on the Nintendo Switch, and when I saw the gameplay footage for "Beyond the Beyond", the similarities to Golden Sun is definitely there as it was developed by the same developer Camelot.
Yeah. Beyond The Beyond is practically an embryonary stage of Golden Sun. Not a long game for an RPG but definitely fun
King’s Field is such an underrated series.
❤Love the spins off on PS2, eternal ring 💍 , shadow, Tower abyss, and the ancient city. Not gonna lie, took a while for these type of games to grow on me.
Pokémon Blue was my first RPG, with FFVII being my first console RPG. I feel like these 2 games were the ones who made the biggest impact in the U.S. FFVII broke RPGs in the mainstream, while Pokemon was the series that really capitalized on this new-found popularity.
PS1 and PS2 era of jrpgs were godly.
Dreamcast beats PS2 all day long.
@@felipez7113why are you here
@@JayDuuubbCause I love PS1 LMFAO.
@@felipez7113 IDK, Dreamcast was killed a bit too soon and I think PS2 had more to offer in RPGs overall, which is not to say the Dreamcast didn't, but rather that because it was kinda killed prematurely and the PS2 was thriving we got more from the PS2 in the RPG realm from it's longer lifespan.
@@felipez7113for everything, true facts, one of my favourite consoles
Vandal Hearts was my first ps1 Rpg. I actually had a blast with that game.
Me too. Followed by Suikoden and Suikoden 2. I have copies of every Suikoden except 2 🫤
FfVII was my first RPG back in 97.. it's funny.. FF led me to some of these other RPGs that I might have never played.. I loved Beyond the Beyond but never beat it and Deception's later entries were always fun.. I still have a copy of Suikoden but I liked 2 better.. but to think of all the great RPGs that followed 7 is crazy... Most of them were from square like Xenogears, Parasite Eve, Chrono Cross and Vagrant Story but others like Star Ocean, Lunar and Legend of Dragoon were all top notch... Such a definitive moment in gaming history that may never be replicated again.
Final Fantasy 7 was the first FF game to be released in Europe too, so that could have helped!
I still can't believe that. We got secret of mana but they didn't think we would like ff6 or chrono trigger.
Vandal hearts I and II are the most underrated TRPGs ever.
i like Vandal Hearts, its the best gateway for TRPGs IMO, but i never played 2 and from what i heard, its a severe downgrade from the first game
My first RPG was actually Breath of Fire on the SNES, followed by Final Fantasy II (IV) and 7th Saga.
On the Playstation, Final Fantasy VII was the first RPG I played as I had only started working and was able to get a used PS1. Something I'd really wanted for Resident Evil and Tomb Raider. FFVII would also be the second game I played on that system as I had bought Alien Trilogy first. Not because I was more excited for it but because it was $20. I found a used copy of FFVII at E.B. Games just a month before Parasite Eve came out. So I was pretty late in playing the game.
What I don't understand to this day is how the game was never spoiled for me. I had friends and co-workers who had played the game upon release and none of them ever told me the big events.
Good times. Good times.
whoa, didnt expect someone mentionging 7th Saga
@pp-vf8ls I never finished it because no matter how much grinding I did I couldn't beat the final boss but I loved it all the same.
A buddy printed a guide for breath of fire off gamefaqs and it was a huge binder. That game is legendary.
I can't help but add that Suikoden has a third type of battle: the 1 on 1 duels. Best game of the list by far.
That said, it's awesome seeing all these old RPGs! Turn's out I played all of the western pre-FFVII RPGs thanks to my cousin (even the Arc the Lad collection that released for the PS1 some years later).
Got very fond memories of all of them, except for Beyond the Beyond. That game has always been boring 😂
Great to hear from Derrick! I was getting worried about him given that this is his first solo video since his backlog video on New Year's Day.
Bought Wild Arms and FF7 at the same time. Loved them both!
Unless I’m mistaken… Arc the Lad Collection was on PSone, published in the US by Working Designs.
I did the review for it in Game Informer, which printed almost a year before release (it got delayed).
PS2 got an original Arc the Lad game.
I was a Sega kid; my first RPG was Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday. FFVII was my first JRPG, and after that I couldn't get enough of them. I still love Western RPGs, but there's something unique and magical about the JRPG genre that continues to captivate me.
2:06 King's Field
3:04 Arc The Lad
3:56 King's Field II
4:30 Sengoku Cyber: Fujimaru Jigokuhen
5:04 Beyond the Beyond
5:57 Suikoden
7:00 Wizardry VII
7:36 King's Field III
8:32 Popolocrois
9:14 Tecmo's Deception
10:34 Persona
11:26 Ogre Battle
12:08 Vandal Hearts
13:11 Arc The Lad II
14:20 Wild Arms
15:09 Shin Super Robot Wars
Vandal Hearts was the first game I ever heard live voice in, and I was playing it on an old console tv. Still a game i play today.
Bro, I still remember the opening line.
"Sostegarria, for over a millenia ..."
Six year old me was instantly hooked
Suikoden had 3 types of battle modes - party vs enemies (standard), army vs army (war), and 1v1 (Rock Paper Scissors but with fists). The player isn't exactly "tasked" with finding all 108 stars, and it's actually kind of a secret if you do in fact get them all (well, assuming you keep Pahn alive). Rather, the story is about you being the son of a great general and war hero for the empire (whom you think are benevolent and heroic). Some things happen and suddenly you and your best friend run away from home and quickly become enemies of empire. You will end up traveling the whole world meeting elves, dwarves, and dragons (and ninjas) along the way and even build an army and have your own castle! The soundtrack is also quite exceptional on this title.
The games that stood out to me were “Beyond the Beyond” due to it being developed by Camelot and having a villain on the cover who looks like modern Sephiroth with horns, “Suikoden” due to it being intriguing and the sad recent loss of its creator, and the “King’s Field” games due to my brother’s fascination with the title.
I bough Beyond the Beyond a few months after I played Wild Arms (which gotme hooked on JRPGs), and I just couldn't get into it... I played many hours of it, but at some point I just abandoned it to play something else. Only years later I realized how generic the game was. Competent, but really unimpressive.
This was great, I would really love a follow-up that looks at the post FF7 RPGs on the PS1 and its particular influence on the genre at the time.
Please make a similar video for RPG that came after FF7
That would be interesting. You can see the effects it had
I still remember this generation so fondly, I was at the age were I could appreciate a long story. I played Beyond the Beyond, Persona, Suikoden, Techmos deception, Vandal ,Hearts, Wild Arms and finally FF7. I only beat Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, Wild Arms and FF7. I have repeatedly beaten Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, Final Fantasy 7.
Wild Arms 1 and 2 are very under looked games in Sony's catalogue. Many people remember Legend of Dragoon, but Wild Arms was Sony first first party rpg and would last for 6 games all the way to the psp. It's wild west themed world sets it apart from other rpgs at the time unfortunately it seemed like every release would get overshadowed by bigger games near it so I can understand why it didn't get a huge following.
It's a shame, in retrospect, but so many people only had time for Squaresoft RPGs in the 90s. And most RPGs (especially pre-FF7) had very small print runs, which meant that they were only available in a handful of stores in a narrow release window, and never dropped in price. If you didn't have the money to buy Wild Arms in the spring of 1997, it was probably sold out by Christmas.
Final Fantasy VII was the first RPG I played on PS1. In fact, FF7 was the whole reason our family got a PS1. I was a big fan of RPGs on the NES and SNES, and most of my video game time in 1996 and 1997 had been with the SNES and PC.
I never did go back and play any of these older PS1 RPGs (although I still have Suikoden sitting expectantly on my PS3).
My first RPG (Well, aside from bumbling around in some text adventure on my dad's PC for half an hour) was in fact in your video; Suikoden! Boy was that a revelation, I had no idea games could be so big and rich and beautiful. Love at first sight, even though I was absolutely terrible at it because I was a little kid who didn't have the first idea what I was doing.
I must also mention Vandal Hearts because that was my *second* RPG, and showed me that they had a lot of breadth beyond what Suikoden had given me, and once both of their sequels, Breath of Fire III, and FF7 were all in my collection, it was off to the races. Now that's a good genre.
By any chance, we're the text based RPGs in your dad's PC L.O.R.D. (Legend of the Red Dragon) or Usurper?
The selling point for FF7 was that it was in 3D on a console that anyone could obtain.
The Materia System was a feature that also probably gave RPG fans some new flavor text too. Versus the traditional leveling and equipment systems that were in previous rpg titles.
Though I really enjoyed Legend if Legaia and 2 for it's unique combat system being tied to button combinations.
Loved the video, thank you for adding more games to my backlog.😅 As a child in the 90’s FF7 was my introduction to RPG’s so this was really interesting to me.
slight correction, the Arc the Lad Collection is on PS1. I have a friend that owns it
Was about to comment about that, as well. I have a copy. It's a well put together collection with extras, much like the two Lunar games.
My 1st rpg was dragon warrior and then ff 1 on the nes
I traded Power Blade for Final Fantasy 1. I always felt i got the better deal.
I loved MOST of these games as a Teenager. but Tecmo's Deception was one of the games i loved so much. a game where you play as the Villain, AND its basically Evil Home Alone! what's not to love!?
Always good to hear from the man who made Game Explain - Derrick!
The first Wild Arms was such a great game. I was impressed with how smooth the character sprite's movement was and the Crest Graph system is still one of the best magic systems for an RPG I've ever seen.
Despite the criticism Beyond the Beyond gets, I really liked that game when I was a child. I got a bit invested in the story and I liked mashing the buttons hoping to get the power attacks.
Arc the Lad 2 is my favorite JRPG of all time ❤
5:00 This was advertised on the back of the box for my first PS1. But I never saw it on sale at Toys 'R Us or any of the other big stores at the time.
14:17 #1 in my heart.
My dad rented Beyond the Beyond when I was a teen. Even though he wouldn't allow me to play it, I remembered it for a long time cause of that random puzzle at the beginning of the game. It was pretty difficulty.
Oh this is a fascinating history rundown!
I totally LOVED both Tecmo's Deception and Revelations Persona. Big fan of the stereotyped American Mark, especially him yelling "What's up!" before unleashing bullet hell on the enemies. Deception was just fun to be evil for once. I love that Deception 2 expanded on the concept and let you make a Rube-Goldberg trap to destroy your would-be attackers.
I grew up with the Master System / Mega Drive I never found Phantasy Star (or if I'm honest, even heard about it until PSonline) so yes, Final Fantasy VII was my first ever RPG, and boy did it set a high bar...
IIRC the entire Phantasy Star series sold fewer units than just Final Fantasy 7. That tells you what a juggernaut that game was back in the day; I remember seeing ads for that game multiple times, too. Square just did everything right when it comes to promoting that game. Dragon Quest never had its FF 7 moment, on the other hand, which is why it's a rather niche series in the West.
My friend and I passed back and forth beyond the beyond because it was so difficult and mundane. But we wanted a good RPG so bad...
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen is quite literally the perfect game. I can replay it to infinity and never get bored!
The original commercial for FF7 was just the cutscenes that I felt drew in a new audience. Once they were reeled in, they saw how great RPG's are and can be.
One of my favorite jrpgs on PS1 was thousand arms. A blacksmithing system tied to a dating system for upgrading your equipment. The lines of dialog are hilarious and all about fan service. Just a good amount of fun with many romantic interests for the protagonist.
Fantastic video, Derrick! Am currently going through a bit of an RPG phase (just beat Final Fantasy I and II, started III, continuing through Dragon Quest VII) so this suits my mood perfectly.
my first RPG was back in Nintendo days Dragon warrior, I enjoyed shodiken or however you spell it. I played them both on PS1 and 2.
Great video Derrick! Love video game history, so this was informative and interesting to watch. Hard to believe PS1 was starved for RPGs at one point.
I hope Derrick does a series retrospective on Suikoden or Wild Arms one day
My first RPG was the Original Final Fantasy on NES, my second was Dragon Warrior aka Dragon Quest. Wild Arms and Wild Arms 2 are my favorite RPG's period. I really like the wild west feel.
Vandal Hearts is a great TRPG, i think it would benefit a lot from a remake (thats true to a lot of PS1 RPGs that have been forgotten like Legend of Legaia). I think its a great game for people to get into tactics genre, the gameplay is straightforward, not much micromanagement, some options for classes and a good sense of progression with the 3 tiers of promotion and lots of cool spells.
first RPG I played was classic FF1 on the NES, first one I owned though was Dragon Quest. Though, some of my favorite RPGs are still from the PS1 era. FF9, Wild Arms 2, Grandia, Tales of Phantasia and Eternia, Star Ocean 2, and the list goes on. Sadly never had a PS1 until well after the PS2 had released due to costs.
You forgot Billy Spoons and the mystery of the Black Egg. A criminally underrated RPG.
Vandal Hearts is absolutely fantastic. Every single character is part of the story and doesn't have a lot of filler content normally associated with tactic games.
I remember buying Wild Arms to give me my 32 bit RPG fix until Final Fantasy 7 came out. Once FF7 came out, it was over. That game was the greatest game ever made imo back in 1997. Nothing came close
My first rpg was dragon warrior on NES, got me hooked and i never stopped
ahh I loved Deception, Persona, Wild arms, and Vandal hearts, they were played constantly by me
Wild Arms was the first PS1 JRPG I finished. I even thought that Wild Arms was FF7 back in the day.
I didn't even realize all 3 King's Field Games came out before FFVII. If they had found a way to streamline or speed up the gameplay it could've been a bigger hit. That being said, it's still one of my favorite retro RPG series. 👍
Wild to me it took a while before any of the turn based game developers made a 3D game. I would'vbe assumed they have jumped the gun on making 3d games as soon as it became as thing.
Oh Beyond the Beyond. The game where you get into a fight after taking 3 steps.
This is a great video to remind people just how absolutely insane FFVII was at launch. There was nothing like it.
Shining Force III (all four gigantic discs now translated) and Suikoden I & II are the actual rpg masterpieces of the 32-bit era.
Great video! Really interesting!!
Arc the Lad 2 may be my favorite game of all time. Such an amazing game.
"Ultima and Wizardry are the catalysts for all rpg design"
Obviously most people watching an RPG history video essay are not going to have any of the background, so it's good to go through it every time, but I've just watched so many explanations of it at this point its driving me a lil crazy
@Goodvibesgaming correction my good sir, Arc The Lad Collection was in fact not released for the PS2, it was released for the PlayStation 1 (PSX) by Working Designs, and was actually the last PS1 release Working Designs did for the PS1.
I (somehwhat) recently got Beyond The Beyond, in 2019. I had no idea it even existed until then and blew my mind that Camelot made a game similar to Golden Sun on ps1. I know im in the minority, but i absolutely love BTB
I played pokemon red/blue/yellow as my first rpg then later I played gold/silver. My first major non pokemon rpg was kingdom hearts, them legend of dragoon, then finally I got to final fantasy 7. By then I was already familiar with some ff characters due to kingdom hearts.
4:27 something extremely cool and interesting about this game is despite it's obscurity it has a really great original main song called Winner Take All that somehow is sung by Debbie Harry lead singer of Blondie a platinum selling number 1 billboard hit artist I have zero clue how that ended up happening but it's really neat
I love kings field the obe on ps2 was asome.
As an interesting side note, Beyond the Beyond was developed by the same studio that had previously made the popular Shining Force series on the Sega Genesis. They used some of the same artistic choices, like characters faces in frames during dialogue, but sadly they didn't take the successful formula for gameplay style.
I really liked 6the way you made this video. Thanks have a good one cant wait for more :)
Suikoden I was the reason why I bought a PS1. This game shaped my entire gaming history from that point forward.
Ah heck yes, King’s Field and Wizardry in a GVG video ❤
Suikoden and Wildarms are still 2 of my favorite games on the PS1.
great video!
Great content, as usual. I loved supporting my PS1 library back in the day.
If you think that's bad, try counting the RPGs we got in Europe before FFVII. 😅
We only had king's field 2, tecmo's deception, vandal hearts and suikoden.
Hell wild arms only came out in October 98!!
I have such great memories with wild arms. Still remember intro music.
Having been there when the Playstation 1 came out... as I almost bought a Nintendo 64 before finding out Final Fantasy 7 would be on a system other than Nintendo for the first time... I wanted to get a game to tide me over until it got out. As such, here is what I experienced in the toy store... think Lionel Playworld, don't think it was Toys R Us, but, not certain... anyway, when the PS1 came out, and went to get it, there was only one RPG on the entire list of games in stock for it in the store. Beyond the Beyond.
One of the more interesting aspects of the game was, if you moved the d-pad in a certain way, there was a chance your dragon would fly over and do a surprise attack. Never figured out what the combo was, but was fun when it worked.
This is a truly great video, very well done research and the editing/pacing of the video is great, its not an hour long but it has a lot of information, congrats.
In regards to vandal hearts it was actually very well reviewed…the issue is the Wikipedia page has barely any reviews. Plus it’s amazing and I’m not sure why there’s an issue it’s it being linear…that was pretty normal for tactical rpgs at the time and there were optional secret levels.
FF VII was such a pop culture phenomenon at the time! It's easy to forget there were some great JRPGs before that.
was very happy to see beyond the beyond on here. Guardian's crusade may need a spot on this list. its been to long to remember the dates.
Suikoden was such a fun time! It was the first game I ever bought for myself with my own money.
I remember Beyond The Beyond! I used to rent that game at Blockbuster all the time when I was a kid!
Revelations Persona was my introduction to the Megami Tensei franchise.
I was a Nintendo kid so I missed every PS1/2 RPG! somehow 3D RPGs don’t do it for me, but still need to play FF VII one day- especially the original since I have nostalgia for reading about it in magazines
Crazy to see how far RPGs have come since the mid 90s
FFVII was the game that got me into RPGs, but my first was Swords and Serpents on the NES. No one remembers that. Not even me.
Just stop by to check in. Fantastic work and congratulations on your success!
Man I wish I hadn't have skipped this generation of games, though this is when I went from my NES and Genesis games in the PC games like the Wizardry and Might and Magic series which are some of my favorite games
SMT was the first Pokemon before Pokemon.
What a great video idea that was so well executed! Liked and Subscribed!
I LOVED the first Vandal Hearts! I was starving for a new SRPG while wating for the next Fire Emblem to be announced.
I remember going to a friends house and him showing me suikoden and his save, really intrigued me. Ended up getting it and enjoying it!...but then ff7 came out 😅
As much as I love FF7, I'm glad the likes of Suikuden and Wild Arms are still somewhat relevant thanks to the likes of the PS Store and the PlayStation Classic. I really hope Arc the Lad and Beyond the Beyond get some time to shine as well, since they are wonderful in their own right.
Just waiting for a video where one of y'all talk about Lufia. Man, what a great series with an unfortunate demise.