Four Outstanding JRPGs That Every Gamer Should Play

There is little doubt that most gamers have a favorite RPG that they can name. However, there are a few outstanding titles that every gamer should play at least once in their lives to round out the experience. A Limit Break writer takes a look at the four JRPGs that every gamer ought to experience.

[Light Yagami]

Yuck...what a terrible list. Final Fantasy IV, Earthbound, SMT: Nocturne, Xenogears, Suikoden II and Vagrant Story are better than those mentioned.

[wanderofys]

Right on. Shadow Hearts was the only one I was happy to see they mentioned. However, it does say "that every gamer should play". Every gamer will NOT like SMT: Nocturne. It's my favorite game (ever), but it's punishing difficulty and overall weirdness won't appeal to everyone (or many people at all, really).

Also I miss Suikdoen II, the 150 bucks I got for it on ebay wasn't worth it :(

[La Chance]

I agree with you I like turn based as much as like real time. Sometimes I even prefer turn based. There seems to be a new "trend" that consisits in hating on turn based, dont know why.

edit : sorry wrong reply it was meant for 2.2.
Its weird I still cant get a grip on the reply system.....

[GameGambits]

I have a lot of friends who aren't gamers, let alone RPG fans, but I have recommended a few I felt would be stand out to them enough so they'd want to complete it. Sure enough I was right, but who can say I'd be right on a mass scale.

1) Legend of Dragoon
2) Final Fantasy 7
3) Demon's Souls(Action-RPG, but it's appealing to many if you tell them its brutally hard and you are a girl if you can't beat it:P)
4)Paper Mario(It IS a RPG, and most gamers find it amusing)

My personal list of top 4 in no order:
1) Final Fantasy IX
2) Suikoden 2
3) Star Ocean: The Second Story
4) Chrono Cross

There's more RPGs than you can shake a stick at that I've played and loved. If you'd talked to me back to PS1 and PS2 era I would've said at some point even casual gamers will have RPGs as their favorite genre just based on how wide spread and varied the RPGs were then. Then we hit this console era, and it's as if is a dying breed. I just don't get why JRPG developers don't stick a new coat of paint(better graphics) on a turn based RPG. Look at Tales of Vesperia for 360, not outstanding reviews by any means, but a great title this generation in terms of quality.

I hope Tokyo Game Show finally brings back the JRPG wave in Tsunami form. :(

[vickers500]

Dragon Quest 8 kicked some major ass. It was probably my first major playthrough of a jrpg, and I loved it. Damn, it was such a good game.

[DevastationEve]

It's sad that they have to leave out so many, 4 just isn't enough as any real jrpg enthusiast would know. And they left out a few consoles as well. It's true that PS2 had the majority...I never owned a PS2 but I kept up with it. But there were also a lot of generalized rpgs, and several that were just cookie cutter copy and paste reiterations of material already done in better rpgs. I agree that Shadow Hearts was awesome, I remember watching some gameplay footage once.

Saturn had some amazing rpgs, although the definitive Lunar was on PS. But they had Shining Force and the Panzer Dragon series. Too bad Working Designs isn't around anymore, I would've loved to see where they could've gone with these consoles.

N64 had some awesome ones too, but I found it be instead more of a platformer's paradise, with Mischief Makers (you have to hardcore if you know that one) and several others.

On PlayStation they missed quite a few. Legend of Legaia was a pretty solid effort, mixing in a Xenogears-like combo system for fights. Of course, just mentioning Xenogears you already know that it was the better of the two. And GrandStream Saga, which was a pretty fun top-down rpg from Konami. It had an awesome Zelda-like battle system and plenty of great Anime sequences.

(Gosh, I miss the Anime sequences, they've all been traded in for CG)

You could also throw in genre hybrids, like Tomba. It had an excellent mission based structure and lots of hidden stuff to abound and was an awesome platformer. And it had great graphics for its time. There was also Jade Cocoon, which was funny during a time when I was really into Pokemon, since it mixed creature handling and growing into the rpg system. It also had a decent battle system.

On Xbox 360 the best we have right now is Blue Dragon, it edges out Lost Odyssey in my eyes simply because it's so artful and inspired compared to LO's much more lifelike approach. They're both excellent jrpgs, and LO even has 5 voice over languages to chose from! Eternal Sonata was beautiful, so was Tales of Vesperia. Personally I'm waiting for Mystwalker to wow us again with something new, they have a new artist and he's pretty sharp.

Anyway, that's my 2 pennies.

[Miraak82]

my list, Xenogears, xenosaga 1+3 , Lunar 1 and 2, all final fantasy main series ( they've all been great , stop hating), chrono trigger and cross, Legends of dragoon (hmm I think it was made by an america studio , not sure but still a great rpg , Phantasy star 4

[Killjoy3000]

Is personally my favorite RPG of all time.

[nothere413]

I'd enjoy this list if I didn't have such a strong dislike of Kingdom Hearts.

[Millah]

that list is a joke. i mean, shadow hearts is an awesome game, but i wouldn't call it one of 4 absolute must play jrpgs. its not even the best game in the series :P

Valkyrie Profile...another incredible game, but its not something that everybody will enjoy. its more for the die hards IMO.

and Kingdom Hearts...just lol @ that.

agreed with Light-kun...Xenogears and Suikoden 2 by far are better than the games on that list.

[Arnon]

I thoroughly enjoyed Nocturne, Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Dragoon and Kingdom Hearts. The others I don't care too much about.

[N4Flamers]

oh man FFIV the first final fantasy, I like FF8 better than 7 and I loved FFX. I miss chrono trigger, and I loved shining force, both games, even played shining in the darkness. So far this generation I hated Eternal Sonata, It was a good looking game but the overall preachyness of the game and low replay value killed it. I played the hell out of star ocean 4 despite the weak acting, it was ok. I loved LO and BD. Mystwalker has to do something new, im waiting. I thought LO was the better of the two, because,well no maru maru.

[KingKionic]

I agree with kingdom of hearts.

[CrazyOrange]

i disagree, JRPG mean turn based for me. i hate KH and thats just me !.

persona4, persona 4,LO is my kind of JRPG

[CrazyOrange]

oops i meant persona 3,persona 4 :/
and FFX for sure

[GamerMan]

apparently you haven't played Kingdom Hearts or you would of realized its an Action JRPG and not a Turned-based JRPG. So your assumption all JRPG based games are turned based is inaccurate.

Nothing against you not liking JRPG's just wanted to clear that up.

[CrazyOrange]

I said i hated because its "NOT" turn based !!!

and I know...

[GamerMan]

I'm sorry but I misunderstood your post in your sentence structure and it came out the other way. I personally like strategy and turned base JRPGs much better than Action JRPGs but if it's a RPG I will play it to see if I like it. Never know until you try.

Please disregard my previous disagreeing. :) I apologize.

[Avenged Sevenfold]

I love KH and KH2 even more. I mean the KH2 has the best story in any videogame ever created. Well, right beside MGS.

[Natsu X FairyTail]

I own almost all of them.

[TheColbertinator]

Horrendous list.I would choose Phantasy Star II,Secret of Evermore,Shining Force III,Sword of Vermillion,Vagrant Story,SMT:Persona 3 and Dark Cloud 2

[SaiyanFury]

I must agree with Shining Force 3. With that I include Shining the Holy Ark. 2 of the must play RPGs that came out on the Saturn. Not even talking about Panzer Dragoon Saga.

[Immortal Kaim]

Agree about the horrible list, you guys have mentioned some classics.

Will also throw in Secret of Mana, Lufia 2, Landstalker, Grandia 1 & 2, Skies of Arcadia, Tales of Symphonia...Jesus I could go all day, I love my JRPG's

[Major_Tom]

Phantasy star sure is awesome.

[Myze]

While I don't like the list either, I do like all the games on it. To name all my favorite RPGs would take a long time and a hurt on my brain making sure I remember them all.

I still have Xenogears as my favorite by a good margin (notice my avatar), with FF6, FFT, Secret of Mana, Persona 4 (new one to the list), and Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross all being at the top.

[Godmars290]

Valkyrie Profile is the only real "must play" on that list.

[KingKionic]

Kingdom of Hearts....isnt a must play?

[Godmars290]

VP, along with Persona 3 and Vagrant Story push it out of the running. At least in a top 3 list.

[KingKionic]

Yeah..Persona 3 alone does that,But Kingdom of Hearts is a must play.

[Ps_alm3k]

is sooooo.... under the radar and underated...why!?

[playinitcool]

That game had one of the most original and best stories behind it...ahh back in the days when square were truly great..

[Black Maverick]

I still consider Xenogears one of the greatest games of all time.

Here's my top five RPGs that every gamer should play:

5. Kingdom Hearts series

4. Golden Sun series

3. Persona 3: FES

2. Final Fantasy IV

1. Xenogears

Honorable Mentions:

Rogue Galaxy
Dragon Quest VIII
Skies of Arcadia
Lunar series
Star Ocean Series

[Trebius]

Xenogears, FFVII, Chrono Trigger

[Natsu X FairyTail]

This List Needs

TALES OF SYMPHONIA on GC or PS2. Very very Good RPG title.

but thats my opinion.

[La Chance]

Tales of Symphonia on Gamecube was cool but Baten Kaitos was better its a pity nobody played it, and it had one of the best intros ive ever seen in a videogame

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[clintos59]

The Legend of Dragoon http://www.vgmuseum.com/sca...
Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 http://jetsetnick.files.wor...
Chrono Trigger http://www.levelupgamesftw....
Xenosaga Series http://cookieonfire.files.w...
Final Fantasy 7 http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7...
Final Fantasy 8 http://www.krackpipe.net/kr...
Legend of legaia 1 & 2 http://media.giantbomb.com/...
Vagrant Story http://www.pwned.com/gameco...
Persona Series http://aidanmoher.com/blog/...

[FantasyStar]

Weird, why Final Fantasy 8? Just curious.

[DevastationEve]

I swear, if we have to defend FF VIII ONE MORE TIME I'll just explode! It was a great game, they outdid FF VII in graphics story and gameplay. The characters weren't as over the top as FF VII but there was just so much done in FF VIII that was ahead of its time. I would consider it Squaresoft's best rpg of that era if not for how much I know VII is still better...but not by much!

[FantasyStar]

Hey, hey. I agree that FF8 is a great game! It's just odd that someone put it on their list when that game is always overshadowed by the more flagship title. Usually when I see someone put FF7 down. I hardly see FF8 on that same list. So I was just curious.

[mastiffchild]

VAlkyrie Profile just seems to have turned into a love it/hate it game for many and there I was thinking it was a nice likeable RPG! IMO, KH is pleasant nonsense but I agree that FF7 is, without any shadow of doubt in my mind, the single most overrated game EVER created(and I include board games and even Backgammon in that!). It's not a bad game, it's OK, but the way people mess their shorts over one of the weaker Square rpgs always surprised me-I actually prefer some of the spin offs to the original.

Shoyld I slag off Halo now just in an attempt to annoy the most people ever with one comment on N4G?

Legend of Dragoon though, is a very different story for me!

[Baka-akaB]

Agreed , we'll obviously get disagrees , but removes the popular ff and disney universe , and you're left with a game that is good indeed , but nothing particularly awesome .

[Noct]

Agree with the list but also Dark cloud 2, Persona 4, Final Fantasy 9 and 10.

[Natsu X FairyTail]

Agree for FF9. not so much for 10 tho.

[mastiffchild]

I forgot about persona! Great games and, imo, P4 is even more great than P3 was! IMO, they're better than anything on the HD consoles this gen even if they are PS2 games-brilliantly devised game world too!

Have got to catch up on my PSP jrpgs as well with the first Persona(which I never played), Phantasy Sta and Star Ocean all looking pretty good-in fact I haven't been on any portable rpgs since TWEWY on the DS-which is one of the better recent efforts from SE even if it was a game that split opinion a little-I thought it was quite interestingly done though.

[jagstatboy]

I don't play JRPG's but wanted to get anyone's opinion on what you think of these:

Etrian Odyssey 1 and 2
Luminous Arc 1 and 2

I noticed no one mentioned these. Are they any good?

[ButterToast]

I've only played Luminous Arc 1, but it really is just a sub-par to average SRPG IMO. if you want to play a SRPG you should look into FFT, Disgaea, Jeanne d'arc, Valkyria Chronicles, Wild arms xf.

Others that should be good (that I have yet to play) are:

La Pucelle: Tactics
Front Mission series
Phantom Brave
Tactics Ogre series

[wanderofys]

The Etrian Odyssey games are HARD. HARD HARD HARD. Not bad at all, but you're going to deal with a LOT of frustration with those titles. Same with The Dark Spire.

I really like the Luminous Arc games. The stories were fun to follow and the SRPG system wasn't too overbearing like it is in some SRPGS.

Of the ones the guy above me has yet to play, play all of them except Phantom Brave. It isn't good. The ones he recommended are all pretty good too, though I'm not personally a big fan of FFT. Suikoden Tactics is better than many would have you believe.

[ssipmraw]

hehe not a xbox game in sight

[Baka-akaB]

mmm no , while it's a popular title given the license involved , and while it's well done , i don't see how KH is a must play , there are far too many other superior jrps .

I'd definitely keep Shadow Hearts and maybe VP in the list thought

[Crystallis]

IMO i think Persona 4 is better then Persona 3 fes. And Clintos list is spot on.

[bankai]

P3 was dark, had some moving death scenes and had a some really good endings. the only bad thing about it to me was that is seemed to drag on and on and on.

P4 was more lite hearted but replaced the darkness with great humor. had an excellent antagonist. i could go to more than one dungeon, which was nice and the ending was ok. asside form the bland ending the only complaint i have was that it left its really dark story telling which SMT is known for. even though it wasnt dark though is was still a very good story.

[Baka-akaB]

I disagree with above . P4 isnt really less dark imo .
It's even a murder mystery story , albeit done in a retro style , and a serial killer manhunter . it also focus on the dark part of everyone's psyche .

While often in P3 as long as you defeated the Boss of the month , everyone affected would return to normal .

P3's humor was every bit as present , it's just that characters werent as well done and interracting with each others as well as P4's team .
Junpei was even a bigger joke character than anyone in P4's team .

Of course both games ends differently but still ... both werent as dark as usual SMT and persona stuff anyway . And both were equally good in my book .

[bankai]

yeah i do agree with them both being pretty much equal, and i love them both. those were just my feelings on the 2 games

[ButterToast]

The pacing in P4 was so much better than in P3, it just made the game far more enjoyable for me.

[bankai]

i own every JRPG on that list plus over 150 more, yes i am a JRPG fanatic. the only ones on that list that i would ever even suggest a friend play is Shadow Hearts and Valkyrie Profile.

FF7 = one of the most overrated games ever made (terrible villain, terrible hero, mediocre story, graphics is not great like people say because better graphics was seen before that game, failed miserably at trying to make a moving death scene, the only good character was a character that was not even apart of the main storyline)

Kingdom Hearts.....GET YOUR EFFING DISNEY BS AWAY FROM FINAL FANTASY!!!!

[Etseix]

well thats his list,
my list is

Legend of Dragoon
Xenosaga
Radiata Stories
Breath of Fire 3 (or 4)
Final Fantasy .....Crisis Core, not 7,
Rogue Galaxy

andobviusly snes ones, but there are a lot lol

[_Q_]

To me thats not really an RPG per se. Its has some very loose RPG elements but....I wouldnt flat out call it an RPG. I think there are better RPG than the ones listed but whatevs

[Crystallis]

FFVII has a terrible villain?!?! Sephiroth is badass. He is my all time favorite character in any video game. What I like about him so much is that he just doesnt give a f***. But I can understand your take on him. He doesnt talk much which i think makes a great villain.

As regards to FFVII in general, a lot of folks seem to forget that it was a break though RPG. I've played many Jrpgs before it and a few compare to FFVII as a break through RPG. Chrono trigger, FFIII to name a few. FFVII was the RPG that paved a way to a lot of rpg's we see today. And that is one the reasons its one the top rpgs list in my book. Not b/c of the characters,not b/c of the story but b/c of what FFVII did to the rpg genre. A lot of people dont realize that, especially the folks who never played FFVII.

[bankai]

Kefka is a much better and more bad ass antagonist, he even ends the world. Kefka would kick sephroth's ass.

the only thing FF7 did that no other JRPG had done was heavily use CG, i hardly call that revolutionary. something new and cool was introduced to JRPGs, thats all. the battle system was chrono triggers and the use of materia made things to easy. FF7 was good for one run-through and nothing more.

[Tex117]

There is no question FFVII paved the way to the "modern" era of JRPG's, but that should not be considered in determining just what is a great game.

FFVII is good. No question about that.

FFVII does not come close to FFVI or Chrono Trigger. Those games are truely masterpieces.

[RealityCheck]

To be honest I think all these 4 games, 5 games, 10 games lists are pointless. People have different tastes and expectations, nobody will ever agree on them.

[Homicide]

Wow, this list is horrible. These are the JRPGs I like more than the ones listed in the article:

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Persona 3 FES
Persona 4
Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy VI
Xenosaga I - III
Vagrant Story
Chrono Trigger
Persona 2
Golden Sun
Secret of Mana
Super Mario RPG
Grandia
Grandia II

Those games are better than that overrated Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts. I think KH2 is better than the first because it fixed all the flaws the first one had, but it didn't have the freshness of the first.

[TheColbertinator]

Very good list Homicide

[wanderofys]

With the exception of Golden Sun, your list is really good. Considering your avatar, I'm surprised you didn't include one of the Devil Summoner games. The second one was REALLY good.

[xGrunty]

Legend of Dragoon is a must play.

[grayscare0]

An "outstanding JRPG"? Haha, oxymoron.

Once you've played one, you've played them all. The only half-decent JRPGs I've ever played are Earthbound and SMRPG.

[Zhuk]

I would like to recommend the best JRPG's this generation:

Infinite Undiscovery
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
Star Ocean 4

All exclusive to Xbox 360, home of the biggest and hottest JRPG's this generation. True JRPG fans are Xbox 360 enthusiasts it seems.

[Gaara_724]

you must be retard-d because 3 of them games are the worst JRPG'S EVERInfinite Undiscovery, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey
well at least you got one right thats star ocean: the last hope (aloth the voice acting will put 90% of the people who play it off)but the best JRPG'S ever are as followed: final fantasy X, Final fantasy vii, star ocean: the last hope, mass effect and one on the ps3 cant renembe the name but its made by sega and has a hand drawen look to it

[Wakka_]

What a noob list.

[samura]

Where is Suikoden 2 and Grandia?

And those are just examples.

This article should be labeled as "FAIL".

[Gue1]

1. Chrono Trigger(Snes) [Best Classic]
2. Dragon Quest VIII(PS2) [Best Traditional RPG]
3. Grandia II(Dreamcast, PS2) [Best Action Based Battle System]
4. Shadow Hearts(PS2) [Best Turn Based Battle System]

and if I could add another

5. Valkyria Chronicles(PS3) [Most Innovative Strategy Battle System]

Honorable Mentions:

Final Fantasy IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII (Snes, PSX, PS2)
Terranigma (Snes)
Illusion of Gaia (Snes)
Lunar (Sega cd, PSX)
Shining Force III* (Saturn)
Xenogears (PSX)
Chrono Cross (PSX)
Saga Frontier (PSX)
Vagrant Story (PSX)
Suikoden II (PSX)

edit: SMT:Nocturne (PS2)
Suikoden II (PSX)
Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)
Dragonforce (Saturn)

How could I forget about these!!!!

[SuperStrokey1123]

Not a bad list but they need FF6

[NathanGra]

Terrible. Take a lap.

[Tex117]

bankai: What are you talking about? Chrono Trigger had a way better battle system. Certianly less irritating

[bankai]

this is my last post here because of the lack of bubbles :(

but in reply, i was speaking of the fact that FF7 used the active time part of the battle system in chrono trigger.
i also understand that Chrono Trigger surpasses FF7 in every way that matters in a game (great story, great characters, and just being fun to play in general)

[Djinn]

I stopped reading at Kingdom Hearts

[patterson]

Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast
Xenosaga (trilogy) - PS2
Final Fantasy X - PS2
Persona 3 - PS2

Gah! I can't just pick 4, I still love the Wild Arms series, Xenogears, Tales of the Abyss, Grandia II, Arc the Lad Twilight of the Spirits, Suikoden series, Valkyria Chronicles.. there's too much to list!

[redaxis]

I'd suggest Dark Chronicle and Phantasy Star IV.

[hereticaneue]

Folks, I think a lot of you are missing the point, and that is because this article is slightly misrepresented here on N4G.

First: the article is not "the 4 JRPGs every gamer should play". The article is mostly a commentary on games the every RPG FAN should play.

Secondly: the article is a COMMENTARY. If you actually read the text, and didn't just skim through it to see the "4 JRPGs every gamer should play", then you would know the reasoning behind these choices.

The first two (Final Fantasy 7 and Kingdom Hearts) are simply what I have gleaned from the online JRPG community to be two that have some of the largest fan bases. That is not to say that they are what "every gamer should play", but simply that they seem to be VERY popular among the JRPG crowd.

The second two (Shadow Hearts and Valkyrie Profile) are MY OWN PERSONAL CHOICES. These are two games that profoundly touched ME as an RPG fan, and therefore I felt that I should recommend them to other RPG fans.

AND if you managed to get to the third page, you will see that I asked for a discussion about YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS to the list. This wasn't meant to be a definitive "you should play these 4 games because they are the best". It was meant as a commentary, and a call for other RPG fans to add theirs to the list as well.