Seeing as how this is JRPG issue still, thought I'd start a topic and maybe spotlight some games that every fan of the JRPG genre should play. Also, I imagine that I've missed a game or two and am interesting in what I should go back and play. Feel free to add an 'honorable mention' if you have a lot of trouble choosing. So here is my list:
[sub]I'm going to personally skip 1st and 2nd generation because I wasn't born yet and I'm not really sure if anything on ColecoVision counts as a JRPG...[/sub]
3rd Generation (8-bit NES/SEGA MASTER): Final Fantasy - It basically invented all the tropes of the genre. An easy pick IMO. It hasn't exactly aged well but I still play it every now and then for nostalgia.
4th Generation (16-bit SNES/GENESIS): Final Fantasy 3(6) - This was actually a tougher choice than I thought it would be. I really wanted to put Lufia 2 Rise of the Sinistrals on here, but it just can't hold up to Final Fantasy 6. Nothing was quite as expansive as FF6. It was really unlike any game I'd ever played before. The huge world, the world ending in the middle of the game, the variety of great and interesting characters, the myriad of secrets you could uncover - this game is still fantastic.
5th Generation (64 bit PS1/N64): Suikoden 2 - Another tough choice, as in my opinion the PS1 was THE Roleplaying Game console. I enjoyed FF7-FF9 tremendously (even the much Spooned FF8), but the game I keep coming back to is Suikoden 2. The character recruitment, the town building, the army battles, the duels, the minigames, this game really had it all. There is so much variety to the gameplay here that it feels like a different experience every time I play it.
6th Generation (DC/PS2/XBOX/GC): Xenosaga - To me this is no contest. I felt that the PS2 RPGs were lacking, going for pure spectacle in many cases. Xenosaga really stole the spotlight in storytelling terms. Some might say a little too much, seeing as how the whole 3 game series has like 100 hours of cutscenes. I personally enjoyed all the themes and sideplots, and I feel its one of the truly great epics of gaming. If I had to pick, I'd choose episode 3 as my favorite. I am also ashamed to say I haven't played any of the Persona series.
7th Generation (X360/PS3/Wii): Tales of Vesperia - Play this game immediately if you are a fan of JRPGs. It blows everything else out of the water. The dialogue is some of the best written (and best translated) I've seen in any JRPG by far. The characters develop in interesting ways, the voices are generally well acted (except for one child character, but he never stood a chance), and the story is epic and engrossing. The combat system and gameplay is also fantastic. It's a mix of real time and turn based, where you control the way your character moves around the battlefield (think Star Ocean 2 if you've ever played it). There is tons of stuff to unlock, tons of secrets to uncover, and a really deep item/equipment/skill system. Eat your heart out, Final Fantasy XIII. You wish you were this good.
EDIT to include handhelds:
Gameboy: Pokemon Red - When Pokemon first released I was already in High School, but I am not ashamed to admit I played this game everywhere I went. It may seem commonplace now, but Nintendo knew what they were doing when the unleashed Pokemon on the world. The originals are still my favorite (mostly because the game hasn't changed much in the past decade).
Gameboy Color: I have no idea
. This is a handheld that I did not own and am woefully ignorant of.
Gameboy Advance: Golden Sun - excluding tactical RPGs like Tactics Advance, Advance Wars, and Tactics Ogre I think Golden Sun is really the best traditional RPG on the GBA. The graphics and music are breathtaking for a handheld, the combat and magic system are deep and addicting, and it's a fun game if you can lose yourself in it. The story is trash though, sadly.
Nintendo DS: The World Ends With You - This game is just the right amount of silly JRPG cliches mixed with engrossing and deep gameplay. It's also one of the few DS games that I felt worked the touchscreen gimmick into the controls in an intuitive way.
Sony PSP: Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - I know this is a remake of the PS1 game, but I really feel like its earned this spot. The new scenes and animated movies are absolutely worth the price of entry, not to mention a great translation. If you've never had the joy of playing Valkyrie Profile on the PS1 and have a PSP you owe it to yourself to play this game.
So what are your picks? I know many people have their favorite generations of gaming (usually whatever is most tinted by nostalgia - 4th and 5th for me), but try and choose one per with maybe the odd honorable mention or two.
[sub]I'm going to personally skip 1st and 2nd generation because I wasn't born yet and I'm not really sure if anything on ColecoVision counts as a JRPG...[/sub]
3rd Generation (8-bit NES/SEGA MASTER): Final Fantasy - It basically invented all the tropes of the genre. An easy pick IMO. It hasn't exactly aged well but I still play it every now and then for nostalgia.
4th Generation (16-bit SNES/GENESIS): Final Fantasy 3(6) - This was actually a tougher choice than I thought it would be. I really wanted to put Lufia 2 Rise of the Sinistrals on here, but it just can't hold up to Final Fantasy 6. Nothing was quite as expansive as FF6. It was really unlike any game I'd ever played before. The huge world, the world ending in the middle of the game, the variety of great and interesting characters, the myriad of secrets you could uncover - this game is still fantastic.
5th Generation (64 bit PS1/N64): Suikoden 2 - Another tough choice, as in my opinion the PS1 was THE Roleplaying Game console. I enjoyed FF7-FF9 tremendously (even the much Spooned FF8), but the game I keep coming back to is Suikoden 2. The character recruitment, the town building, the army battles, the duels, the minigames, this game really had it all. There is so much variety to the gameplay here that it feels like a different experience every time I play it.
6th Generation (DC/PS2/XBOX/GC): Xenosaga - To me this is no contest. I felt that the PS2 RPGs were lacking, going for pure spectacle in many cases. Xenosaga really stole the spotlight in storytelling terms. Some might say a little too much, seeing as how the whole 3 game series has like 100 hours of cutscenes. I personally enjoyed all the themes and sideplots, and I feel its one of the truly great epics of gaming. If I had to pick, I'd choose episode 3 as my favorite. I am also ashamed to say I haven't played any of the Persona series.
7th Generation (X360/PS3/Wii): Tales of Vesperia - Play this game immediately if you are a fan of JRPGs. It blows everything else out of the water. The dialogue is some of the best written (and best translated) I've seen in any JRPG by far. The characters develop in interesting ways, the voices are generally well acted (except for one child character, but he never stood a chance), and the story is epic and engrossing. The combat system and gameplay is also fantastic. It's a mix of real time and turn based, where you control the way your character moves around the battlefield (think Star Ocean 2 if you've ever played it). There is tons of stuff to unlock, tons of secrets to uncover, and a really deep item/equipment/skill system. Eat your heart out, Final Fantasy XIII. You wish you were this good.
EDIT to include handhelds:
Gameboy: Pokemon Red - When Pokemon first released I was already in High School, but I am not ashamed to admit I played this game everywhere I went. It may seem commonplace now, but Nintendo knew what they were doing when the unleashed Pokemon on the world. The originals are still my favorite (mostly because the game hasn't changed much in the past decade).
Gameboy Color: I have no idea
. This is a handheld that I did not own and am woefully ignorant of.Gameboy Advance: Golden Sun - excluding tactical RPGs like Tactics Advance, Advance Wars, and Tactics Ogre I think Golden Sun is really the best traditional RPG on the GBA. The graphics and music are breathtaking for a handheld, the combat and magic system are deep and addicting, and it's a fun game if you can lose yourself in it. The story is trash though, sadly.
Nintendo DS: The World Ends With You - This game is just the right amount of silly JRPG cliches mixed with engrossing and deep gameplay. It's also one of the few DS games that I felt worked the touchscreen gimmick into the controls in an intuitive way.
Sony PSP: Valkyrie Profile Lenneth - I know this is a remake of the PS1 game, but I really feel like its earned this spot. The new scenes and animated movies are absolutely worth the price of entry, not to mention a great translation. If you've never had the joy of playing Valkyrie Profile on the PS1 and have a PSP you owe it to yourself to play this game.
So what are your picks? I know many people have their favorite generations of gaming (usually whatever is most tinted by nostalgia - 4th and 5th for me), but try and choose one per with maybe the odd honorable mention or two.
