I would like to try it Red Entertainment used to be Japan's Power Since Sakura Wars, and Tengai Makyou. But until Today....... Anyway I would like to try Thusand Arm and Sakura Wars (Forget the cringe it's only a game)
@@Mighty10917 some might call it cringe but it's actually very funny. XD the voice actors did a great job. it's probably the best of the funniest rpg i have played on ps1. XD
I miss Working Designs. There needs to be more companies like them. Too bad Sony of America murdered them in the early/mid 2000s. If the COO or whoever it was hadn't mandated that all games meet certain "quality standards" or else be sold in a bundle (not cost-effective or fair at all, considering what WD focused on) they might still be here today, given all the indie games and the like that you find on PSN.
@@seed_number999 That's what my friend said. Plus kind of a shame to finish just 2 routes out of 3, right? Another one i intend to clear is Brigandine. I never cleared it with the Queen, King Cai and the Empire
@@sufianramli8017 Ahh, Brigandine, also my favorite from PS1 era. For me, Cai is one of the easiest because he has many strong knights and allience with New Almekia. Lyonesse (Queen) is prolly one of the hardest for the beginning, but in later game, her army can become one of the strongest (barrage of Holy Words and army of Phoenixes and Hollygriffs) Never tried Empire myself..
About to beat it this week actually, am in the final dungeon currently. I have to say though, I don't think it's great when compared to Destiny I and II (Eternia) but nonetheless important for historical context. It's a good game though.
Legit, Front Mission 3 is still my favourite tactical JRPG of all time. I eventually ended up playing the other titles in the franchise, including Front Mission Online, Gun Hazard and even Left Alive (Ugh), but nothing came close to FM3 . I think the thing that really sold it to me outside of the game just being all around amazing was the games internet system. Such an original and immersive way of providing lore, all while being a 'minigame' in itself. Even beats out Final Fantasy Tactics, and that's a big deal considering how much I love Final Fantasy :D
Normally, on these videos, I like to comment where you can buy these games on modern platforms, but PS3 and PSP digital stores are gonna be gone July 2, and Vita's on August 27. Even so, at the time of writing, you can get Front Mission 3, Saiyuki and Vanguard Bandits on the three afformentioned platforms. If you're reading this comment section after those dates, feel free to set sail with a billowing Jolly Roger ;D
It was inevitable to happen eventually. I'm just glad it's confirmed that we can still download our purchases for the foreseeable future. It really sucks that Konami released Suikoden 1-4 on PS3 PSN and then never bothered with the 5th game.
@@Pimpjira87 Even if we knew it had to happen at some point, still makes me sad that so many wonderful games are going to go back to being difficult to obtain, or even unobtainable. Let's at least hope that these games make a reappearance on other platforms before too long
Give me a pc and load it up with emulators and never have to worry(for all the shit I've gotten from the jrpg community over the years for being primarily pc/emu based, rather than being a ps consoles only gamer, it's times like this I feel vindicated)
@@ericp631 Putting piracy/emulators aside, I'm just glad in general that so many RPGs have been coming to Switch, XBOX and PC these last few years. Me, and a lot of other RPG fans have already been feeling burned by Sony, and this store shutdown situation has just made it worse. I say, if you're playing games you enjoy, it doesn't matter what platform you use, I only ask that people purchase things that are available for purchase of they can, to support the original creators. But no original creators are getting a penny if the $100+ a scalper is charging for Tales of Destiny
I heard you my ps3 just died and there are some download only games and xenogears that I have to buy you know games that if you want to buy physical copy you have to sell your kidney 😳😆
Great list, many warm my heart to see again. And sad that gems like these are sooo rare to find anymore. While back then they were coming out left and right.
Where's Azure Dreams and Brigandine? These two are among my favorite games in PS1 era. I remembered Brigandine is the last game I played on my PS1 and it broke while playing it.
My backlog is screaming at me while watching. I have had some of these since they first came out, but stilk have yet to play them decades later, as I was buying them right as I was souring on RPGs. There are several others, like Shadow Madness, that I've never even taken the discs out of the case. I generally play and finish my games, but RPGs of that time have been waiting for a long time. My younger brother would tell you that Azure Dreams is the best hidden gem RPG on PS1, though. Nobody really talks about it, or it's weird GBC port, or the DS follow-up, Tao's Adventure.
@Fake Account Yep, it was pretty well-kown when PSX emulation, became mainstream. Alongside Vangzurad Bandits, both of them are popular among SRPG fans (especially Super Robot Wars fans )
@Fake Account Because it's the best one in the series. From what I've heard of Front Mission 5, that is the ONLY game in the series to come close or on par with FM3.
@@LeonardoBramante I don't think so: there is a story about how two childhood friends ended up on opposite sides of a military conflict - nothing special. You can play it on PS2 emulator (like I did), there is a full fan English translation.
One of the most-maligned gaming series. Square just didn't think westerners would be interested in it so they barely released any of them- as Erick mentioned, we didn't get the first two until the combined DS remakes, and we als never got 5, even though it was supposedly the best of them all. Then they pretty much forgot the series except to release really crappy spin-offs like Front Mission Evolved and (ugh) Left Alive, which they didn't even promote as a game set in the Front Mission universe (probably a good thing too because it was one of the worst games of the year, if not the decade). It's disgraceful that they let such a unique property just rot so badly.
Vanguard Bandits yes. I played through it again a couple of months ago. I had forgotten how brutally hard it can be at certain points. Good enough game to have a place on lists with games like Wild Arms, Suikoden, and Final Fantasy, but it's one of the most forgotten games I can think of. I'd have liked to see two more games. A prequel and the sequel would have been perfect.
One of the things I loved about Front Mission 3 that wasn't present in the other games was the ability to knock out an enemy pilot and steal their mech mid-battle. It's really funny to do that with a helicopter pilot... It's also really neat to do that during that last 2 or 3 battles in the game, when the big bads roll out those next-gen mechs that normally you can't acquire. Too bad there's no FM game chronologically after FM3 (at least not in the US, to my knowledge) because I would love to know more about those next-gen mechs...
Chronologically, FM3 is the final Front Mission game. FM5 goes through the entire timeline from right before the beginning of FM1 and ends right as FM3 ends if I recall right.
@@LeonardoBramante Total shame Squeenix never thought to bring it to the west. I would like to have another TRUE Front Mission game, not this Evolved/Left Alive nonsense.
@@Shuukuriimudaisuki-sama Both were incredibly bad. Evolved because they could have gone Armored Core with the combat but didn't, and Left Alive because it was just a buggy mess that had a lot of squandered potential.
I love Jade Cocoon!! The Ghibli style and Princess Mononoke feel had me fully invested. Love the sequel too. Thousand Arms is great too. One of the first games we got in the US that was a full RPG with dating sim mixed in. Really felt like playing a great anime. So good to see these games getting some love.
Seeing Front Mission 3 and Jade Cocoon on this awesome list was a blast from the past! FM3 I played when I was quite young, I found it so intricate but enjoyable. Jade Cocoon was very cool too and I loved the scenery...and the flute playing to summon the beasts. Saga Frontier 2 is one of my all time favorites! It's a beautiful and timeless game!!! I always started with Will because you'd get access to new spells quicker, but Gustave's story was great to learn new weapon skills. I remember the joy and awe I felt when Narcise learned and casted heaven's thunder (my fav spell) for the first time! It brings sooo many good memories. Oh, and Nina using the Megabolt spell to save the party from the bad guys!!! Just so many good flashbacks, thanks for the video 😁👍!!!
Wow, I didn't think anyone remembered Guardian's Crusade. That was like one of the last RPG's released before moving to PS2. If I remember correctly, it came out as a value title at $20. I picked it up because it was just so obscure.
I miss Front Mission so much. 3 was awesome and 4 was good. Sadly we missed out on 5. But we got that dreaded Evolved... Gosh, I guess we won't ever have any other mech games like this. Already that mech games are a rare sight in the west.
Holy carp, I actually own one of these games finally. Played dragon valor as a kid and still have a copy of it today. It was a fun game, glad to see someone talk about it.
Great list, I loved Thousand Arms, I bought for my cousins birthday back in the day. My friend lend me Vanguard Bandits, I found Frontmission 3 cheap when the ps2 came out. I had Kartia but I really found very slow paced and never finished it. The ps1 Rpgs where great during the first year of a Playstation 2 ownership because there were hardly any games for it back then, and I bought a ton of Jrpgs cheap. I bought a copy of Persona Revelations for less than 20 along side persona 2 eternal punishment for the same price... to bad i sold them all on Ebay haha. My rational was let someone else who really wants it have it.
This is really a great list. There are just so many RPG's on the system. With the releases of Xstation and PS1 Digital, you can relive the PS1 days on actual hardware AND make it look great on an HDTV. Gotta give a mention to the MemcardPro since you'll never run out of memory card space again. Fun times ahead to buck the trend Sony is trying to set with the old online stores.
Ay Mr. Landon my main man, please please if you have the time, get a Must Have Download RPGs for PS Vita, PSP and PS3, with it just recently being announced the stores will be closing...I have a Vita and am going to start hoarding RPG downloads before the store closes. Anyway, thanks so much for your hard work and content, this is now my GO-TO channel on TH-cam, and you deserve all the credit.
Amazing list. But I was definitely caught off guard by the number 1 pick. Vanguard Bandits is one of my all time favorite games. I just did an all 3 routes playthrough just last year when quarantine hit. Amazing game. And I always read the dialogues. I think its is one of the best localized games ever. It's just so good. OST is amazing and og course the gameplay and mecha designs are just impeccable (chef's kiss) Also shout out to Thousand Arms! One of my fav ps1 RPGs. Amazing list. I subscribed :D
I replayed Front Mission 3 and Vanguard Bandits last summer and they still hold up incredibly well. Great SRPGs. They're both available on PSN, but not for much longer. Get on your PS3s and buy these two games if you can, before the PS3 store is shutdown entirely at the start of July. This also goes for Xenogears, and any other PS1 Classic they have on there. Ideally, these would be made available to play on PS5, but it never happened with PS4.
Jade Cocoon had a 'breeding' system that was super impressive on the PS1, and it's something I haven't really seen in any game since. The 'child' monster takes on not only stats and attacks derived from the parents, but also the physical appearance. You could start out with a lizard and a bird thing, and the child will be a winged lizard, or a four legged bird. Merge that with a snake, and it gets further mutated. I'd have loved to see that kind of mechanic in another monster collecting game, but I haven't come across it yet.
@@sufianramli8017 honestly I can't remember, it's probably been almost 20 years since I last played it. I think keeping a strong element in your monster was important, mixing elements too much gave you some flexibility but lowered your overall effectiveness. I also remember some kind of 'bonus' mutation, where a certain combination of monsters resulted in something completely different.
Vanguard Bandits played it and finished it, and it is also quite difficult, many of my friends, have never been able to complete it. I liked it very much.
It really is. One of the most hilarious games I have ever played. The actual anime scenes and dialogue (yes, it's actually animated, not just stills) that play as part of the game world were amazing. I want to see more games like that. I still have my original copy, but I lost my soundtrack CD somewhere in a move... :/
Ogre Battle, Chocobo's Dungeon, Thousand Arms, Saiyuki are the only ones I've played. Haha. Although thanks to this video, it made me realize other cool games I missed. Haha
Definitely, ogre battle (and the one that came out on N64) is a unique game, that its gameplay has not been picked up in another game. I remember seeing jade cocoon, but all this time I overlooked it Will you have thought of a video about those RPGs, quite unknown, that have come out on rare consoles? For example, in turbografx 16 this neutopia 1 and 2 (which is similar to the classic Zelda), and one that came out for Panasonic 3rd, so it is; a jrpg in 3rd, though the problem I don't remember the name. Or one about Japan-exclusive rpg franchises, for example: black matrix, a srpg saga.
Thousand Arms is my fave!! Just because it was maded by RED and Yuji Hiroi from Tengai Makyou Series!!!! And also, that Front Mission battle music is ASS KICKING!!!! I'm crazy about this music!!
You forgot to mention the epic world building Front Mission 3 had with its infonet, i remember finding hidden Wanser parts and story, it was almost a game in of its self.
Gotta admit the start was a little shaky with Saga Frontier 2 as I'm not a fan, but this list overall was completely fantastic, and VB was definitely the best choice for the top slot. Now I just need to find my copy....
Do you know an rpg game with 3 cd's in it, where each stage plays a different character, the first stage on the beach is a swordsman character, the second stage on the volcano with a monk-like character with a fire stick, and many more but I forgot the title
Vanguard Bandit was really hard nearing the end of the route I take not to mention an extremely short episode (I look up and it has like 20 episodes). Not nearly enough to strengthen my units and learn new attacks
Oh god you named some of my most loved games... Marta was insane... Frontier mission 3 is still today, one of my favourite tactical RPG, and among the best in absolute with the theme of robots.. I would add have added Guardian crusade Legend of legaia Digimon world 1&2 (sort of disliked the third one) Alundra (I mean the franchise sort of died after the next titles being.... Worthless) Vandal hearts1/2 Azure dreams Hoshigami But yeah those that you have listed already fit the bills of hidden gem.. Technically with a stretch I would include tonal 2.. The action RPG with exploration was basically the "father" of dark souls approach..
What a great era. I played about half of these when I was a kid - Jade Cocoon was my jam. Loved Saiyuki and Kartia too. Do you talk about Azure Dreams in any of your videos?
Just know that these games exist (except kartia i accidentally found it in my uncle cabinet and already finished it), OMG where were i've been all this time? Thx a lot erick now i have a new list of retro rpg that needs to be played
I love how this list is literally a top list of my favorite PSX games. I do wonder why Wild arms and The Legaia series aren't included here. Unless Erik considers them more mainstream?
the Wild Arms series and Legend of Legaia are quite fondly remembered actually, not so hidden...wish Sony would actually bring their RPG franchises back. Wild Arms, Legaia & Legend of Dragoon...not hidden gems, just largely forgotten reminders of Playstation's past
Very few tactical style games or long running franchises out there are considered main stream aside from games like Fire Emblem (which I'm still not sure why it caught on in the west) and FFT but its good to see several tactical games few have heard of in this list. Ogrebattle is not discussed much so I'm glad that got some air time. I had multiple opportunities over the years to get games like Vanguard Bandits and a handful of other JRPGs for the PS1 for a good price and didnt so I'm thinking about trading in (or selling) my copy of Tron Bonne to get some of the other games I missed out on.
Fire emblem. 1. Having that Nintendo logo is almost a guarantee for profitability 2. It mainly existed on handhelds, the preferred way to play for those types of games 3. It mainly existed on consoles targeted towards jrpg and strategy game fans 4. When sales slumped and it was about to get cancelled they broadened it's appeal with weeb bait (animefy it with lots of waifus)
@@ericp631 1. Except for that most of Fire Emblem's existence since the 1980's it wasn't a successful game in the west. 2. Why are handhelds the "preferred way" to play those types of games? I would certainly disagree with that. What does that have to do with Fire Emblem's current success in the west? 3. These games are JRPGs delivered on Japanese platforms so yes, technically there is a chance they get enough air time to be successful I guess. Again, the west never took to strategy games the way that Japan did. 4. Yes this likely helped. I'm not entirely sure how your first 3 points relate back to Fire Emblem suddenly being a successful and great selling franchise in the west but them tuning it for a new audience likely helped.
@@MiamiSunrise 1. It wasn't available in the west until 2003. You need to give people the opportunity to buy something For them to buy it. But once Nintendo did, it became a mainstay 2. Pick up and play. Doing a map here and there in bite sized bits leads to more apt to play. It's not about personal preference, but that the genre does better on those systems
Actually played alot of these games growing up, good times, never could get the 3rd path in Vanguard Bandits though - think it was a bug playing on the psp
I loved Brave Fencer Musashi but it might not be a jrpg. It was very good either way even if it didn't fit neatly into any genre. And Koudelka. Gosh it was wonderful, very similar in the mood it put me in as Parasite Eve
When u say no.1 is Vanguard bandit.... omg!!! Thats super hidden gems!! Release end of ps1 era, that game so hard, multiple ending, even the protag main Mech is diffrent depend of the route, good battle scene, and the final scene song so cool, fun fact the us ver have voice actor , japanese ver dont
Hey can you do a video of games similar to Phantasy Star Online? I want to know if there are other games out there that are action/RPG 2 player coop. There are very few like Xmen legends, Marvel ultimate alliance, baulders gate.
I consider hidden gems to be the games that were largely overlooked at the time frame of their release and I think that's what the popular idea is as well. FM3 doesn't fall into that category imo? Because if I recall correctly it was one of the best SRPGs on PS1 so the targeted audience must've played it. Unless you meant forgotten gem in which case I agree with. The entire series is forgotten thanks to SE's failed efforts to revive it with a spinoff ironically titled Left Alive.
Thousand Arms was made by Red Company where they made Sakura Wars. I can see where the inspiration is at
Glad I got my hands on it.😀
I would like to try it Red Entertainment used to be Japan's Power Since Sakura Wars, and Tengai Makyou. But until Today....... Anyway I would like to try Thusand Arm and Sakura Wars (Forget the cringe it's only a game)
@@Mighty10917 some might call it cringe but it's actually very funny. XD the voice actors did a great job. it's probably the best of the funniest rpg i have played on ps1. XD
Expected to see Brave Fencer Musashi here, but Vanguard Bandits is one of my favorites SRPGs!
There you go! Vanguard bandits is quite a gem! So glad to see it getting some love!
I miss Working Designs. There needs to be more companies like them. Too bad Sony of America murdered them in the early/mid 2000s. If the COO or whoever it was hadn't mandated that all games meet certain "quality standards" or else be sold in a bundle (not cost-effective or fair at all, considering what WD focused on) they might still be here today, given all the indie games and the like that you find on PSN.
I absolutely loved it though i never got into the Ruins route. Just Kingdom and Empire
@@sufianramli8017 Ruin route is kinda a joke route tho, it's not considered canon. Funnily enough, the Tic-Tac is arguably better than Ultragunner
@@seed_number999
That's what my friend said. Plus kind of a shame to finish just 2 routes out of 3, right? Another one i intend to clear is Brigandine. I never cleared it with the Queen, King Cai and the Empire
@@sufianramli8017 Ahh, Brigandine, also my favorite from PS1 era. For me, Cai is one of the easiest because he has many strong knights and allience with New Almekia. Lyonesse (Queen) is prolly one of the hardest for the beginning, but in later game, her army can become one of the strongest (barrage of Holy Words and army of Phoenixes and Hollygriffs)
Never tried Empire myself..
so happy to see thousand arms, its one of my favorite games
Mine too. I'm happy i took the shopkeeper's recommendation. Some others were Azure Dreams and Kartia
I remember getting the game bcoz of Wild Arms. Only to my surprise, it was an entirely different game altogether. Haha
Tales of phantasia with the translation patch is a hidden gem for psx.
About to beat it this week actually, am in the final dungeon currently. I have to say though, I don't think it's great when compared to Destiny I and II (Eternia) but nonetheless important for historical context. It's a good game though.
Verdade, levei anos tentando achar essa versão
Absolutely, it's such a great game and it's a shame we never got an official release in NA for it.
Yes, finished it long ago and wanna replay it again. Tales of is a good series.
@@AjaxJP maybe someday we can get a remaster.
Legit, Front Mission 3 is still my favourite tactical JRPG of all time. I eventually ended up playing the other titles in the franchise, including Front Mission Online, Gun Hazard and even Left Alive (Ugh), but nothing came close to FM3 . I think the thing that really sold it to me outside of the game just being all around amazing was the games internet system. Such an original and immersive way of providing lore, all while being a 'minigame' in itself.
Even beats out Final Fantasy Tactics, and that's a big deal considering how much I love Final Fantasy :D
I Remberer how badly i wanted FF game. "Mommy please buy me a Finał Fantasy!" After weekend she back from work with Chocobo Dungeon.
😂😂👍👍👍
Did you thank your mom?
Love the enthusiasm in this video, looks like you really enjoyed making this one 👍
Vanguard Bandits NEEDS a remaster and new games. It was sooooooooooo good! First game I remember going after every ending. I still play it to this day
i love this guys energy and enthusiasm
Normally, on these videos, I like to comment where you can buy these games on modern platforms, but PS3 and PSP digital stores are gonna be gone July 2, and Vita's on August 27.
Even so, at the time of writing, you can get Front Mission 3, Saiyuki and Vanguard Bandits on the three afformentioned platforms.
If you're reading this comment section after those dates, feel free to set sail with a billowing Jolly Roger ;D
It was inevitable to happen eventually. I'm just glad it's confirmed that we can still download our purchases for the foreseeable future.
It really sucks that Konami released Suikoden 1-4 on PS3 PSN and then never bothered with the 5th game.
@@Pimpjira87 Even if we knew it had to happen at some point, still makes me sad that so many wonderful games are going to go back to being difficult to obtain, or even unobtainable.
Let's at least hope that these games make a reappearance on other platforms before too long
Give me a pc and load it up with emulators and never have to worry(for all the shit I've gotten from the jrpg community over the years for being primarily pc/emu based, rather than being a ps consoles only gamer, it's times like this I feel vindicated)
@@ericp631 Putting piracy/emulators aside, I'm just glad in general that so many RPGs have been coming to Switch, XBOX and PC these last few years. Me, and a lot of other RPG fans have already been feeling burned by Sony, and this store shutdown situation has just made it worse.
I say, if you're playing games you enjoy, it doesn't matter what platform you use, I only ask that people purchase things that are available for purchase of they can, to support the original creators.
But no original creators are getting a penny if the $100+ a scalper is charging for Tales of Destiny
I heard you my ps3 just died and there are some download only games and xenogears that I have to buy you know games that if you want to buy physical copy you have to sell your kidney 😳😆
Totally agree Ogre Battle on PSX is such an underrated gem - an incredibly ambitious game that definitely has issues but is still just plain awesome
Great list, many warm my heart to see again. And sad that gems like these are sooo rare to find anymore. While back then they were coming out left and right.
I had never heard about Vanguard Bandits. Thanks for posting about it.
Release when ps1 near end
its an awesome game that i still play once a year, you should try it!
I appreciate you letting me know what needs to be on my psclassic
Where's Azure Dreams and Brigandine? These two are among my favorite games in PS1 era. I remembered Brigandine is the last game I played on my PS1 and it broke while playing it.
My backlog is screaming at me while watching. I have had some of these since they first came out, but stilk have yet to play them decades later, as I was buying them right as I was souring on RPGs. There are several others, like Shadow Madness, that I've never even taken the discs out of the case. I generally play and finish my games, but RPGs of that time have been waiting for a long time.
My younger brother would tell you that Azure Dreams is the best hidden gem RPG on PS1, though. Nobody really talks about it, or it's weird GBC port, or the DS follow-up, Tao's Adventure.
Finally some one talks of front mission 3!
@Fake Account
Yep, it was pretty well-kown when PSX emulation, became mainstream.
Alongside Vangzurad Bandits, both of them are popular among SRPG fans (especially Super Robot Wars fans )
@Fake Account Because it's the best one in the series. From what I've heard of Front Mission 5, that is the ONLY game in the series to come close or on par with FM3.
@@LeonardoBramante I don't think so: there is a story about how two childhood friends ended up on opposite sides of a military conflict - nothing special. You can play it on PS2 emulator (like I did), there is a full fan English translation.
One of the most-maligned gaming series. Square just didn't think westerners would be interested in it so they barely released any of them- as Erick mentioned, we didn't get the first two until the combined DS remakes, and we als never got 5, even though it was supposedly the best of them all. Then they pretty much forgot the series except to release really crappy spin-offs like Front Mission Evolved and (ugh) Left Alive, which they didn't even promote as a game set in the Front Mission universe (probably a good thing too because it was one of the worst games of the year, if not the decade). It's disgraceful that they let such a unique property just rot so badly.
Vanguard Bandits yes. I played through it again a couple of months ago. I had forgotten how brutally hard it can be at certain points.
Good enough game to have a place on lists with games like Wild Arms, Suikoden, and Final Fantasy, but it's one of the most forgotten games I can think of.
I'd have liked to see two more games. A prequel and the sequel would have been perfect.
It's only really when Sharking-s swarm, you.
Bosses at manageable otherwise.
Excellent video Erick as usual. I'll definitely use this list to build my PlayStation classic collection 😅
wow i forgot about kartia. thank you for this list. brings me back to my days of the 90s
This guy has Alliance Alive, Fate/EXTRA, Cosmic Star Heroine and Three Houses in his intro, and starts his list with Saga Frontier 2. Yup, subscribe.
Great video. I like to play at least 1 ps1 rpg a year and now I have some more games to choose from.
Jade cocoon was so underrated! Brutally hard though
Damn right. I had to use a GameShark to clear it. It would have taken me 3 months at least
Such a great game!
Great game
Bring back Memorys
One of the things I loved about Front Mission 3 that wasn't present in the other games was the ability to knock out an enemy pilot and steal their mech mid-battle. It's really funny to do that with a helicopter pilot... It's also really neat to do that during that last 2 or 3 battles in the game, when the big bads roll out those next-gen mechs that normally you can't acquire. Too bad there's no FM game chronologically after FM3 (at least not in the US, to my knowledge) because I would love to know more about those next-gen mechs...
Chronologically, FM3 is the final Front Mission game. FM5 goes through the entire timeline from right before the beginning of FM1 and ends right as FM3 ends if I recall right.
@@LeonardoBramante Total shame Squeenix never thought to bring it to the west. I would like to have another TRUE Front Mission game, not this Evolved/Left Alive nonsense.
@@Shuukuriimudaisuki-sama Both were incredibly bad. Evolved because they could have gone Armored Core with the combat but didn't, and Left Alive because it was just a buggy mess that had a lot of squandered potential.
Happy to see some love for Thousand Arms. Wish Atlus would bring that back on the switch someday...
Oh my god no. Then we will get one of their games every 8 years. LOL
@@morriganrenfield8240 better than getting a new unfinished game with a lot of bugs every year
@@hendribadaya8814 no I just meant that they already take forever to release a game and this would make it worse. Lol
@@morriganrenfield8240 they have different developers team right? So I don't think it will delay their release
As someone who only knows final fantasy, chrono, legend of legaia, and crash bandicoot, i think these are all hidden gems to me
vanguard bandits is great but kinda short
I love Jade Cocoon!! The Ghibli style and Princess Mononoke feel had me fully invested. Love the sequel too. Thousand Arms is great too. One of the first games we got in the US that was a full RPG with dating sim mixed in. Really felt like playing a great anime. So good to see these games getting some love.
Seeing Front Mission 3 and Jade Cocoon on this awesome list was a blast from the past! FM3 I played when I was quite young, I found it so intricate but enjoyable. Jade Cocoon was very cool too and I loved the scenery...and the flute playing to summon the beasts.
Saga Frontier 2 is one of my all time favorites! It's a beautiful and timeless game!!! I always started with Will because you'd get access to new spells quicker, but Gustave's story was great to learn new weapon skills. I remember the joy and awe I felt when Narcise learned and casted heaven's thunder (my fav spell) for the first time! It brings sooo many good memories. Oh, and Nina using the Megabolt spell to save the party from the bad guys!!!
Just so many good flashbacks, thanks for the video 😁👍!!!
I played front mission translated on an SNES emulator .I did not know that there was a part three in ps .
Thanks Erick !! Greetings from Greece !
There is also a 4 and 5 on PS2, 5 was Japan only though. Like 1 on SNES though it does have a fan translation.
Erick maestro. Muchas gracias por compartirnos estas joyas. Todos los juegos que están en la lista. Son bellísimos. ❤️
Vanguard Bandits is really great game. One of my favorite trpg.
i still need Chocobo Dungeon 2. Guardians Crusade is still my favorite obscure ps1 rpg that had an english translation
Wow, I didn't think anyone remembered Guardian's Crusade. That was like one of the last RPG's released before moving to PS2. If I remember correctly, it came out as a value title at $20. I picked it up because it was just so obscure.
Front Mission 3 and Vanguard Bandits. Hell yeah, man, you didn't disappoint!
Love SF2. Absolutely love that game. The style. Narrative. Very solid game. My favorite of the SaGa games
I miss Front Mission so much. 3 was awesome and 4 was good. Sadly we missed out on 5. But we got that dreaded Evolved... Gosh, I guess we won't ever have any other mech games like this. Already that mech games are a rare sight in the west.
Also Left Alive which I think most people forgot about even though it's only two years old.
@@Pimpjira87 Left Alive... not a great game IMO. Beside that I would not classify it as a.mech game because your barely play as such.
@@Pimpjira87 Left Alive is like Metroid Other M...we try to forget it exists, with good reason.
Great list, I was aware of mostly in this list, I never heard about Vanguard Bandits
Holy carp, I actually own one of these games finally. Played dragon valor as a kid and still have a copy of it today. It was a fun game, glad to see someone talk about it.
Nice list, never heard of the last 5 in the list, gotta check later, thank you.
Vanguard Bandits is perfect! Nice plot, nice music, nice chars
Great list, I loved Thousand Arms, I bought for my cousins birthday back in the day. My friend lend me Vanguard Bandits, I found Frontmission 3 cheap when the ps2 came out. I had Kartia but I really found very slow paced and never finished it. The ps1 Rpgs where great during the first year of a Playstation 2 ownership because there were hardly any games for it back then, and I bought a ton of Jrpgs cheap. I bought a copy of Persona Revelations for less than 20 along side persona 2 eternal punishment for the same price... to bad i sold them all on Ebay haha. My rational was let someone else who really wants it have it.
Some great choices on here. Saga Frontier 2, Saiyuki, Kartia, Thousand Arms and Jade Cocoon are great games.
so happy to see my favorite SRPG of all time on the first list!
I love chocobo’s dungeon. So cute and fun.
the moogle is named Asshole on Chocobo's Dungeon XD 2:35
Man that reminds me I need to buy Vanguard Bandits while I still can and give it a shot. Great vid!
I came to this video hoping to see SaGa Frontier or SaGa Frontier 2 and got exactly that immediately! 😍 Thank you!
I never thought, that I would see Dragon Valor again. That game was fun, but so hard. But I really liked it.
This is really a great list. There are just so many RPG's on the system. With the releases of Xstation and PS1 Digital, you can relive the PS1 days on actual hardware AND make it look great on an HDTV. Gotta give a mention to the MemcardPro since you'll never run out of memory card space again. Fun times ahead to buck the trend Sony is trying to set with the old online stores.
Ay Mr. Landon my main man, please please if you have the time, get a Must Have Download RPGs for PS Vita, PSP and PS3, with it just recently being announced the stores will be closing...I have a Vita and am going to start hoarding RPG downloads before the store closes. Anyway, thanks so much for your hard work and content, this is now my GO-TO channel on TH-cam, and you deserve all the credit.
Ooh, that last entry. Basically Super Robot Wars Masou Kishin with a coat of Final Fantasy Tactics paint.
Amazing list. But I was definitely caught off guard by the number 1 pick. Vanguard Bandits is one of my all time favorite games. I just did an all 3 routes playthrough just last year when quarantine hit. Amazing game. And I always read the dialogues. I think its is one of the best localized games ever. It's just so good. OST is amazing and og course the gameplay and mecha designs are just impeccable (chef's kiss)
Also shout out to Thousand Arms! One of my fav ps1 RPGs. Amazing list. I subscribed :D
I replayed Front Mission 3 and Vanguard Bandits last summer and they still hold up incredibly well. Great SRPGs.
They're both available on PSN, but not for much longer. Get on your PS3s and buy these two games if you can, before the PS3 store is shutdown entirely at the start of July.
This also goes for Xenogears, and any other PS1 Classic they have on there. Ideally, these would be made available to play on PS5, but it never happened with PS4.
really loved Jade Cocoon and the sequel on PS2 back in the day :) And very nice including Saiyuki!
Jade Cocoon had a 'breeding' system that was super impressive on the PS1, and it's something I haven't really seen in any game since. The 'child' monster takes on not only stats and attacks derived from the parents, but also the physical appearance. You could start out with a lizard and a bird thing, and the child will be a winged lizard, or a four legged bird. Merge that with a snake, and it gets further mutated. I'd have loved to see that kind of mechanic in another monster collecting game, but I haven't come across it yet.
Was it better to combine monsters with the same elements or different?
@@sufianramli8017 honestly I can't remember, it's probably been almost 20 years since I last played it. I think keeping a strong element in your monster was important, mixing elements too much gave you some flexibility but lowered your overall effectiveness.
I also remember some kind of 'bonus' mutation, where a certain combination of monsters resulted in something completely different.
Vanguard Bandits played it and finished it, and it is also quite difficult, many of my friends, have never been able to complete it.
I liked it very much.
You keep adding new games to my backlog 😭
the moment i played front mission 3 was the best feeling about a game that i never knew before, i replayed it like 8 times
Man, Thousand Arms sounds pretty funny!
It really is. One of the most hilarious games I have ever played. The actual anime scenes and dialogue (yes, it's actually animated, not just stills) that play as part of the game world were amazing. I want to see more games like that. I still have my original copy, but I lost my soundtrack CD somewhere in a move... :/
Look up the cat fight between Nelsha and Ratchet. Good God, that's hilarious.
Man the music of jade cocoon is amazing! i loved watching my bro play it back in the day! :3
Ogre Battle, Chocobo's Dungeon, Thousand Arms, Saiyuki are the only ones I've played. Haha. Although thanks to this video, it made me realize other cool games I missed. Haha
Definitely, ogre battle (and the one that came out on N64) is a unique game, that its gameplay has not been picked up in another game.
I remember seeing jade cocoon, but all this time I overlooked it
Will you have thought of a video about those RPGs, quite unknown, that have come out on rare consoles? For example, in turbografx 16 this neutopia 1 and 2 (which is similar to the classic Zelda), and one that came out for Panasonic 3rd, so it is; a jrpg in 3rd, though the problem I don't remember the name.
Or one about Japan-exclusive rpg franchises, for example: black matrix, a srpg saga.
Chocobo's Dungeon 2 looks EXACTLY like the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series.
Man seeing these games really takes me back to when I only had a psone
Oh man!! Just seeing Ogre Battle makes me instantly wanna play it. lol It’s so fun no matter how many times I’ve played.
Thousand Arms is my fave!! Just because it was maded by RED and Yuji Hiroi from Tengai Makyou Series!!!! And also, that Front Mission battle music is ASS KICKING!!!! I'm crazy about this music!!
This is just in time! I'm about to finish Vandal Hearts so I'm looking for more PSX games. Thank you. :)
You forgot to mention the epic world building Front Mission 3 had with its infonet, i remember finding hidden Wanser parts and story, it was almost a game in of its self.
Gotta admit the start was a little shaky with Saga Frontier 2 as I'm not a fan, but this list overall was completely fantastic, and VB was definitely the best choice for the top slot. Now I just need to find my copy....
Do you know an rpg game with 3 cd's in it, where each stage plays a different character, the first stage on the beach is a swordsman character, the second stage on the volcano with a monk-like character with a fire stick, and many more but I forgot the title
Awesome list! I wish some of these tactical games got remakes 😊
Nice Vid! Is the a Fan-Translation of Front Mission 2 though?!
Vanguard Bandit was really hard nearing the end of the route I take not to mention an extremely short episode (I look up and it has like 20 episodes). Not nearly enough to strengthen my units and learn new attacks
Oh god you named some of my most loved games...
Marta was insane...
Frontier mission 3 is still today, one of my favourite tactical RPG, and among the best in absolute with the theme of robots..
I would add have added
Guardian crusade
Legend of legaia
Digimon world 1&2 (sort of disliked the third one)
Alundra (I mean the franchise sort of died after the next titles being.... Worthless)
Vandal hearts1/2
Azure dreams
Hoshigami
But yeah those that you have listed already fit the bills of hidden gem..
Technically with a stretch I would include tonal 2..
The action RPG with exploration was basically the "father" of dark souls approach..
ah yes jade coccon , i remember stacking 99 mugworth on tutorial battle to use later
I own jade cocoon, front mission 3, saiyuki, and thousand arms I love them and I really want to get vanguard bandits
What a great era. I played about half of these when I was a kid - Jade Cocoon was my jam. Loved Saiyuki and Kartia too. Do you talk about Azure Dreams in any of your videos?
Wow there are some great games on this list. I actually have most of them too but did not realize they were rpg games.
2:34 Nice name bro 👍
I'm glad you caught that also! Thought I was seeing things until I rewound it and looked again.
Just know that these games exist (except kartia i accidentally found it in my uncle cabinet and already finished it), OMG where were i've been all this time? Thx a lot erick now i have a new list of retro rpg that needs to be played
Let's go! Maybe I can find something I can download digitally lol
I find out about alot of great games from Erick! Great lil channel here
@@smvanderlouw yep. I watch most of his videos.
@@morriganrenfield8240 👍👍♥️
Ah finally, someone noticed Thousand Arms
I love how this list is literally a top list of my favorite PSX games.
I do wonder why Wild arms and The Legaia series aren't included here. Unless Erik considers them more mainstream?
the Wild Arms series and Legend of Legaia are quite fondly remembered actually, not so hidden...wish Sony would actually bring their RPG franchises back. Wild Arms, Legaia & Legend of Dragoon...not hidden gems, just largely forgotten reminders of Playstation's past
Dude, your channel just rocks!
Very few tactical style games or long running franchises out there are considered main stream aside from games like Fire Emblem (which I'm still not sure why it caught on in the west) and FFT but its good to see several tactical games few have heard of in this list. Ogrebattle is not discussed much so I'm glad that got some air time. I had multiple opportunities over the years to get games like Vanguard Bandits and a handful of other JRPGs for the PS1 for a good price and didnt so I'm thinking about trading in (or selling) my copy of Tron Bonne to get some of the other games I missed out on.
Fire emblem. 1. Having that Nintendo logo is almost a guarantee for profitability
2. It mainly existed on handhelds, the preferred way to play for those types of games
3. It mainly existed on consoles targeted towards jrpg and strategy game fans
4. When sales slumped and it was about to get cancelled they broadened it's appeal with weeb bait (animefy it with lots of waifus)
@@ericp631 1. Except for that most of Fire Emblem's existence since the 1980's it wasn't a successful game in the west.
2. Why are handhelds the "preferred way" to play those types of games? I would certainly disagree with that. What does that have to do with Fire Emblem's current success in the west?
3. These games are JRPGs delivered on Japanese platforms so yes, technically there is a chance they get enough air time to be successful I guess. Again, the west never took to strategy games the way that Japan did.
4. Yes this likely helped.
I'm not entirely sure how your first 3 points relate back to Fire Emblem suddenly being a successful and great selling franchise in the west but them tuning it for a new audience likely helped.
@@MiamiSunrise 1. It wasn't available in the west until 2003. You need to give people the opportunity to buy something For them to buy it. But once Nintendo did, it became a mainstay
2. Pick up and play. Doing a map here and there in bite sized bits leads to more apt to play. It's not about personal preference, but that the genre does better on those systems
always loved front mission, front mission 1 is still my fav snes game
Damn i played Jade Cocoon and Front Mission 3 a lot, all my friends knew about them too, never though they were considered hidden gems.
thousand arms was so ahead of its time that I wouldn't be shocked to see it as a Vita game
I'd buy it immediately! I bought Thousand Arms back in the late 90s and still have my copy :)
I actually have digital copies of Sayuki: Journey to the West and Front Mission 3 on my PS3.
He brought back the Thumbs Up! Let's Go!!!
I wanted to play jade cocoon so much when I was a kid!!!
Actually played alot of these games growing up, good times, never could get the 3rd path in Vanguard Bandits though - think it was a bug playing on the psp
I loved Brave Fencer Musashi but it might not be a jrpg. It was very good either way even if it didn't fit neatly into any genre.
And Koudelka. Gosh it was wonderful, very similar in the mood it put me in as Parasite Eve
My wife played tons of Chocobo's Dungeon 2. Instead I played a similar game, Azure Dreams, it had an interesting twist on the rogue-like idea.
perfect timing erick 👌
When u say no.1 is Vanguard bandit.... omg!!! Thats super hidden gems!! Release end of ps1 era, that game so hard, multiple ending, even the protag main Mech is diffrent depend of the route, good battle scene, and the final scene song so cool, fun fact the us ver have voice actor , japanese ver dont
Llegando temprano 🤘🏻 ps1 y ps2 seran siempre mis consolas favoritas por sus rpg!
Hey can you do a video of games similar to Phantasy Star Online? I want to know if there are other games out there that are action/RPG 2 player coop. There are very few like Xmen legends, Marvel ultimate alliance, baulders gate.
I consider hidden gems to be the games that were largely overlooked at the time frame of their release and I think that's what the popular idea is as well. FM3 doesn't fall into that category imo? Because if I recall correctly it was one of the best SRPGs on PS1 so the targeted audience must've played it. Unless you meant forgotten gem in which case I agree with. The entire series is forgotten thanks to SE's failed efforts to revive it with a spinoff ironically titled Left Alive.