Zack runs down the list of games he felt had the biggest impact on him as a fan during this provocative period. Oh, and enjoy the little rant at the end.
Dark Cloud 2 was the good one and FFX has aged pretty bad. You play the game now and is nothing more than a bunch of corridors put together with badly implemented cut-scenes and godawful voice acting. Battle system is the only thing that is still good but there are others with a better one like Shadow Hearts and Persona. FFXIII lovers will love FFX to death though because both games are so similar.
I said I hated FFX in the article. I don't think Dark Cloud is as good as people made it out to be, but that's personal opinion. DC2 was better and I liked building the town but I kind of forgot about it after I beat it. I have yet to play Shadow Hearts 2 and I knew I'd get flak for that! lol I said the game had to be released in America, and unfortunately Xenoblade hasn't, though I have played the import and enjoyed what I could understand of it. Can't wait for it to come here!
No, it really, really shouldn't. If you're incapable of discerning the difference between objective and subjective statements, that's YOUR problem that YOU need to fix--don't blame it on the rest of the world.
I said I hated FFX and Kingdom Hearts II was an honorable mention because although it was a lot of fun, it didn't leave as much a lasting impression (though the music sure did, I'll give you that).
The author of this list hasn't even played Persona 4.This list blows especially with Nier in it.As for Eternal Sonata it was an ok game but the story never came to fruition.
Yeah, I haven't played Persona 4 because that game is a huge time sink and it came out around the time I was going to college. I will find the time to sit down and play it one of these days. I loved watching someone play it, but I still don't think I'd put it on the list simply because it doesn't really offer something that personally impacted me inside the decade. As for NieR, it is indeed a very polarizing game as you probably could tell of the reviews around the game's release. We reviewed the game on the site and I could easily find things that both sides would like and dislike about the game based on perception. I personally loved Eternal Sonata's story and music and it made me want to learn more about the life of composers, which is why I put it on the list - I have already read a few biographies of people like Mozart and Chopin in reaction to my playthrough, for example.
If you plan to play Persona 4, you may as well wait for Persona 4: The Golden for the Vita which will have additional story, locations, game-play and character(s). It also has an easy mode, so you don't have to sink in more time trying to grind your characters up. :)
Its nice to see Jeanne D'Arc on your list, that's the game that made me buy a PSP in the first place.
very weak, eternal sonata is one of the worse games Ive ever played.
in no particular order
Dark Souls, WOW, Baldurs Gate 2, Morrowind, Final Fantasy X, Deus EX, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Witcher, knights of the old republic, Xenoblade Chronicles.
Dark Cloud 2 Deus Ex Persona 4 Star Wars KOTOR Morrowind Valkyria Chronicles Final Fantasy XII Mass Effect Xenosaga Shin Megami Tensei:Digital Devil Saga
Baldur's Gate SoA Skies of Arcadia Final Fantasy X Neverwinter Nights 2 Zelda OOT Morrowind KOTOR Suikoden Kingdom Hearts Valkyria Chronicles Demon's Souls Wild Arms Lost Odyssey Planescape Torment Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy VI
I can go on forever i believe i have too many favorites :3
Well maybe this is the author personal list, so i can't complain much. If me, i will put FF VI, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Radiant Historia, Dark Cloud 1 / 2, and many more in my list. But i'm glad that Jeanne D'Arc is on the list. I love that game. It's a high quality SRPG from level-5 and it should deserved more recognition from the majority of PSP gamer T_T
lol, I would love to make that list (Xenogears is my favorite game of all time), but a few of those don't fit in the decade, and I did put Radiant Historia as honorable mention. I really hope they do reprint it - many deserve to play it.
I would have thrown in the Ar Tonelico franchise on that list great story great music great art. And I would have also thrown in Legend of Dragoon as well. Same with Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and the Wild Arms Franchise along with Breath of Fire, Arc the Lad, Y's and Soukoiden.
A lot of the best JRPGs that I loved this decade are on portable devices. Sure there are some worthy RPGs on the console alot of times I did not find many fun.
Surprised that Crisis Core is not mentioned at all. That to me is the best Final Fantasy game this gen. The inclusion of Jeanne D'arc is a pleasant addition. Very underrated game that was.
I apologize if my tastes do not line up with your own. I only talked about RPGs that I felt that I had the most memorable experience with in terms of reflection. Many "landmark" titles people have brought up are either games I didn't like, didn't play enough of, or simply didn't affect me like it did them. I also laid down the rules that it had to be released in America and that I had to have either beaten the game or getting pretty close to the end. I feel that many people are either ignoring the write-up and instead just looking at the games, and I would encourage you all to do that to see why I chose this particular set of games. Thank you!
Why should it be confusing? For a great many people, JRPGs were the ONLY rpgs. I, for example, didn't know of there being another genre until this generation, and only Deus Ex and Dragon Age interested me in any significant amount.
People who started gaming in the late 80's/early 90's got lots of JRPGs to play, and the next few generations of consoles (specifically the SNES, PS1, and PS2) had an amazingly high number of top-quality titles.
Is it any surprise that these titles would have a larger impact on people than the newly "upjumped" WRPG genre? After all, games like Fallout and Fable DID exist before this gen, but they weren't nearly as popular or successful as JRPGs.
Well firstly, WRPG's have been popular just as long as JRPG's, I promise. PC gaming, prior to the last two generations, was equally, if not more popular than gaming on consoles, and that's where the vast majority of WRPG's fell during the late 80's/early 90's. They have simply been "branching out" these last couple of generations due to the waning popularity of PC gaming.
To be perfectly honest with you, though, I don't see what mainstream popularity has to do with any of this anyway. Neither sub-genre was all that popular before the late 90's.
What is really confusing is the mentality in which people seem to create this cultural bias toward RPG's from a specific region. Don't get me wrong, it would be just as confusing to me if it was a list of all WRPG's. There have just been so many incredible games from both regions, and the categorizations have become so meaningless, that yes, the whole process of "picking a side" confuses me.
eternal sonata? that game had a good story but i hated the battle system. also no tales of symphonia,no final fantasy 10 or 12(i liked 11 but 10 and 12 are much better imo),and no radiant historia? the only game on this list i agree with is vc(to be fair i haven't played any of these games besides es,ff11,and vc but still...)
Lost Odyssey should be more than honorable mention
No FF10 or KH? Or Dark Cloud? Those are some of my favorite games.
The author of this list hasn't even played Persona 4.This list blows especially with Nier in it.As for Eternal Sonata it was an ok game but the story never came to fruition.
very weak, eternal sonata is one of the worse games Ive ever played.
in no particular order
Dark Souls, WOW, Baldurs Gate 2, Morrowind, Final Fantasy X, Deus EX, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, Witcher, knights of the old republic, Xenoblade Chronicles.
yeah its kind of weak
My list
valkyria 3 - He did include 1 but 3 is better and he bithced
disgaea 4 - So sweet
devil survivor series - so sweet
thats a taste