5 JRPGs That Aged REALLY Well & 5 That Did NOT 

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The way I gasped when Ni No Kuni came up. I get your points but I really like the game for those same reasons. Different strokes for different folks ig

Earthbound has some of the most convenience features of any SNES game (including some features that most games don't even have today) Rolling HP Instant-killing weak enemies Advantage attacks Expanded inventory spaces with more characters Fast-travel Saving EXP when dying Being able to take a hit that should kill you but still stay alive at 1 HP. This game is a pioneer of convenience. I played it for the first time in original form in 2021 and never once had a problem with it.

This topic is kinda hard to talk about with JRPG fans because many seem to have a very warped view of what it means for a game to age well.

The "true" version of Dragon Quest 7 is the 3DS one, and that one is awesome and highly playbale by today standards.

I think some have aged well but they are not to your taste, which is fine because everyone has their own preferences.

Nintendo really should do a remake of the whole Earthbound/Mother trilogy.

Man, these are some hot takes! But I respect it. I feel like some of these takes, especially on what didn't age well makes sense. But you're definitely spot on with games like Grandia. That game is just downright fun! And totally agree on DQVIII, we absolutely need that bad boy back! Ooof on Earthbound! haha but TACTICS BABYYYYY! It's true. Flippin love this game. Nice video, brother!

Ni No Kuni doesnt hold up!?! Agree to disagree!

Taylor is out of pocket for this one.

Similar to your modern version issues w/ Grandia 1, if you ever play Grandia 2 (which is also great), please ensure you are playing the 2015 Anniversary Edition, not the 2019 HD Remaster. For instance, on Steam (pulled from the top review): - Open "Properties" Menu from your library - Click the "Beta" section - Under "Select Beta you want to opt into", select "anniversary_edition" and close the window. Anniversary Edition was the old PC Remaster which was already functional and non-buggy. New "HD Remaster" ver (based on Switch ver) has lot of issue despite the patches. This replaced the AE ver.

Earthbound doesn't totally reset you after death. Getting party wiped only puts you back to the last location you saved, but you keep all the EXP you made along the way. I was shocked just how convenient this design idea was! I think it has aged better than many may think. A lot of new games don't even do this.

Great video! I haven't played Ni No Kuni since it came out and I consider it to be one of my favourite games so I disagree but I also haven't played it for 10 years... I will say though that I replayed Earthbound last year and still found that it held up. I didn't have any issues with it whatsoever haha, that's coming from a person who clearly loves the game, but I wanted to see how it felt after all these years. I still loved it and still consider it my favourite game, but I do know it's old and that a lot of modern gamers may have issues with it. Despite my tears with your Earthbound pick LOL loved the video! :D

Earthbound definitely has its flaws and it isn't for everybody. But for me, the charm and humor of the game far outweigh any of my gripes with it. It is one of the only RPGs that I have played more than once. My only real complaint about it is the inventory management, which is limited and cumbersome. I enjoyed the entire trilogy, but I think every RPG fan should at least play Mother 3, as that is arguably the peak of the series.

I'm surprised with how anything ps1 jrpgs showed up in this video. I would like to toss in Dot Hack GU and Radiata Stories. Both games look so good even on the ps2. And both have gameplay mechanics and themes I haven't seen all to much in modern jrpgs today. And fortunately GU does have the last recode remaster. But Radiata is truly unique with being Suikoden but as An action rpg and its kicking mechanic

...How can you talk about classic JRPGs and say that FFV started the job system in the series? FFIII started that.

I disagree on Ni no Kuni the "fetch quests" are made good because of the reason behind them, it is ROLE playing game after all, and the combat system is effectively more action oriented pokemon with a party. I'd say it holds up. With the Legend of the Dragoon, i'd say the plot kinda makes up for any issues with the graphics and the fights are challenging enough even if they are simple.

OK so I see where you're coming from with some of these choices... especially in the case of like Super Mario RPG and such holding up. Some I can't speak on as I don't have the experience with them. Now as someone who just got into the SaGa series a few years ago thanks to the mobile game Re;univerSe and I played SaGa Frontier first. I can partially understand your gripe with the leveling and battle system, but for me I consider it a little more fun and from my observations of FF2, SaGa Frontier is more forgiving with the stat leveling. Same guy who did the stuff for FF2 pretty much directs the SaGa series as a whole. But hey to each their own. I'm liking a lot of the SaGa series. I think the characters are pretty cool. I like how things unfold as you go along. I will admit the games are a touch difficult because you can walk into situations you shouldn't be in but overall, they are a nice pivot to me for JRPGs.

Awesome video Taylor, and a great mix of games on this list!

FF2 wasn't "random" leveling. You used equipment and leveled that stat. I.e using a sword leveled your sword, taking damage would increase your health since you toughened up through it. It isn't good, but it's far from random.

Man! Keep it up! I miss a lot your videos man! Don’t disappear for too long =)

11:28 All we asked for was either it ported to nso or for sale on the eshop. But they made an incredible remake that pretty much has the same charm 😊

All these games are why I don’t care for the more “modern” JRPG’s. You sound overtly critical, even grumpy.

I dunnoooo, as far as old and old-ish jrpgs go, you can do a lot worse than Earthbound and Ni no kuni...

I remember renting DQVII from Blockbuster after playing FF9 and I was disgusted by how old and crusty it was. Like, as a kid I actually felt I had been scammed with false advertising by the Toriyama cover art. I begged my mom to let me go back and return it the same day so I could get something else to play that weekend, lol.

Great video. Love the unique topic. I agree with most of your picks of the games I've played. But this is a very subjective topic and you did such a great job of explaining your point of view.

Gonna be honest, I kinda came here expecting to see a hard stance on where FF7 stands on the aged well or aged poorly spectrum.

Tough discussion here but I got goosebumps while you were talking about tactics, I have played it many times and many ways and you absolutely can become a God outside of Orlandu lol litterly my only gripe with tactics is I wish the AI was a bit smarter. But if the remake is true they will probably add an edited AI mode or a hard mode or something like that. 1 thing you forgot to mention in Grandia is how everything lvls up from your magic to your weapons and characters not a common element in Rpgs in general even today.

Ni no Kuni hasn’t aged well? Gonna disagree there. Played it recently on my PS3 and can’t imagine ever calling anything in that game “boring”. Not every game I play has to have action oriented combat. Plus the story and visuals hold up so well. But I guess to each their own. Earthbound… I suppose. It’s just so bizarrely unique though. So half agree there. Your points are very valid on that one. The others, yeah good takes I think.

Goes to show context does a lot for how people appreciate games, when you get into one and see some exciting new things, it's a lot easier to look past certain flaws. We're spoilt for options now so games gotta work harder to be better than others. I don't know if i like "aged poorly" though, some of these things put people off at the time, they just also ended up with loud champions at the time. Saga Frontier was a weird game that a fair few people really didn't like when it came out, those games have always been a niche thing for a very specific sort of player.

To me a game that aged so well it's Mario and Luigi: superstar saga. IT'S SO FUN 😍 Great story, great minigames and great world building

The problem with most of the games you rule as not holding up to modern standards is that taking time to emerse yourself in a video game is not something anyone can do. And like in other mediums that can be vehicles for art, context is part of what makes them interesting. Having time, like when you are a kid, might mean you spend more time exploring what the game has to offer, other than just being pissed you are not progressing to the credits. Earthbound and Saga frontier, i think, fall into that category of games worth your time. I'm playing the remastered version of grandia one on switch, i'm no purist, i enjoy reamasters and remakes. But it is tricky... If someone with the mindset you displayed got to work on an earthbound remake or remaster they might make it a different game altogether. Some gameplay mechanics are part of a game's character. That being said i'm not into dark souls, and you might not be into this rpgs. It is fun to sare our opinions about both the games we loved and the ones we didn't, but tried to play anyway not seeing what someone else saw in them. Variety is the spice of life.

We as a fan base know how you feel about the trails series, but Trails in the Sky first and second chapters hold up really well aside from a notorious section in the second chapter towards the end.

Shame that Ni no Kuni doesn't hold up for today, but even at 2013 it had massive issues. How the hell a game which is in the monster taming genre won't let you catch your first monster right away? It takes around freaking 5-6 until you catch your first one with your first three are auto given to you. And even then when you get the option to do it, you barely have any control on what you catch and it is mostly random. Really kills the joy in New Game Plus, a thing that I want to do in the genre. (I replayed each of the mainline pokemon games on switch for 3-4 times and had a blast)

Yesss, I agree with ni no, I picked it up last year but something about it never really caught me, it just felt bare

I find it odd that one of the complaints about Dragon Warrior VII is that it can take over 100 hours to beat. How is that a bad thing? That's one of the reasons why it's one of my favorite RPGs of all time, since not only was it long, but it was fun and I enjoyed every hour of it. Plus, there are many other RPGs that can take that long, so that's just an odd perspective.

Sorry I’m a week late as always I appreciate you I’ve been blessed to see all from 1980-Now what a life of gaming especially JRPGs

Excellent video, I agree with you on everything! Which is normally not the case. 😅

Oh but definitely with tactics chapter 4 is a big difficulty spike for casual players who are pretty much just playing the story without any extra grind.

I love legend of dragoon! Did beat it again last year

One minor correction: I don’t believe FF5 was the game that created the Final Fantasy job system. It was actually started in the very first Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy III for the NES really took it several steps further. I do think it was perfected in FF5, which eventually led to FFT. Other than that, I do agree with some on this list. But then again, I am not a modern-RPG gamer lol If you think these games aged poorly, try playing The Granstream Saga lol

I played ni no kuni and earthbound for the first time just a few months ago and I adore dragon quest vii. No nostalgia attached here since I’m only 20 and didn’t get into jrpgs until 5 or 6 years ago but I guess I have a higher tolerance for games people might say are bad or haven’t aged well and can really appreciate games people might hold in a negative light (for example, dragon quest 2, mother 1, the snes smt games, persona 1, etc. are some of my favorite games ever). That being said, suikoden 2 and ff tactics very rightfully belong here as aging amazingly, and if I had to put a suggestion in here I’d definitely say secret of mana did not age well

I disagree on Saga only having one good thing to come from it. The Last Remnant is underrated.

Final Fantasy Tactics did get a remake for more modern consoles with the War of the Lions port to the PSP

WHEW!! Man, you're gonna catch some HEAT for this list LOL!! The BALLS on this man! But you can't please everybody and you like what you like. I respect your moxie!

Man I tried to go back to Grandia a few years back and I found it kinda rough. Maybe it's because I played it a ton back in the day so the charm wore off a long time ago. The OST for the random encounters absolutely slaps tho, especially when you get ambushed. More games need adaptive soundtracks like that.

Rare I know most of these. I turned my copy of Ni no Kuni off at Shadar and still really want to finish it. Chrono Trigger I played in 2021 and gosh does it hold up! Chrono Cross does to to a point, but I found finishing both a bit of a chore.

It all depends on perspective i replay DQ7 recently on for me it hold-up. It like saying Sword of mana or Golden son dosen’t hold-up in 2024

One thing that make a jrpg aged well for me is the QoL.

Thank you

3:02 Dragon quest 9 and 10: Are we a joke to you? I would add Shadow hearts 1 in the ones that hold up pretty well, thou it's technically a ps2 game so it could be kinda cheating. Chrono cross also hold up pretty well, and that's an actual ps1 tittle. As for the ones that doesn't hold up, at least gameplay-wise, I would add Final fantasy 7 and Xenogears. I think the original SMT Nocturne also doesn't hold up well. Also, I think Earthbound hold relatively well, that's, it only needs some few modern tweaks that could be added in a remaster.

Ah nice ^^ I mostly agree with your pics. Only thing. I never liked FFT that mutch. But with the rest i agree strongly ^^

FFIV was the first game to have main characters coming and going.

Not a bad video! I just cannot EVER agree that Ni No Kuni doesn't hold up! It's just so perfect still to me. I do agree pretty much with all your other picks.

Great as always but man something about old ps1 games taking an eternity will always have be a certain charming quality to me. Played legend of dragoon for the first time like 2 or 3 years ago and really enjoyed it despite the snail pacing

Only recently played The Legend of Dragoon for the first time and i made the mistake of playing it almost right after the original FF7 and it was a total slog to get through in comparison i couldn't even finish it.

Maybe it’s just me but I come back to Legend of Dragoon ALL the time just to hear those cheesy addition lines. Plus the story/gameplay just has perfect pacing for my tastes.

I am with you on Ni No Kuni, I played it for the first time recently and got bored with it really quick

I am going to agree to disagree with you on Ni No Kuni as well. True, it was a definitely bright spot when the genre was really hurting, but I think it still holds up. I guess for me what doesn't hold up well are mechanics that I may have put up with back then, but I don't have much patience for now (random battles and limited saves--- things that a certain 2D HD series has now for example!).

I love Earthbound and have played and replayed it so many times. That said, the inventory system is clunky, messy, and irritating rather than challenging. I think the story still holds up, and even the combat, but some of the crunchier systems like inventory and RNG-based homesickness and all those forced interruptions... yeah, I can agree there.

If modern pixel art games with 3d backgrounds are HD-2D games, should the old ones be called SD-2D games? 🤔

I would add the Trails in the Sky games. Not too old, but they look like PS1 games. They're still amazing.

Such a terrible take on Earthbound. I never played it when I was a kid and I fucking LOVE this game after playing it on the switch.

I'm going to play every last one of these games, which isn't as much as it sounds, Finished 2, started 4.

Agreed. Sagas F was ridiculously mid to me. Halfway through, I stopped and loaded up Wild Arms 2 again😂 Wasn't insanely great but left me far less bored. Personally haha

The grandia remaster was really sad i still prefer playing my ps1 version rather than that. Suikoden 2 is timeless its the only rpg i finished during my early years for more than 10x and played all characters not even my favorite FFVII which i played to max hrs had that treatment

I respect your opinions, but disagree with a lot of this list. I think part of the issue is your definition of "holds up." I can see what you're saying when it comes to graphics, but I don't really get where you're coming from otherwise. But this video did help me think more deeply about the games that I love that you don't think hold up!

Legend of Heroes Trails series for the most part still copies Grandia's playable characters that are not always available.

Playing Chrono Trigger for my first time right now

That's a terrible take on SaGa Frontier. Progression for humans are faster than other RPGs, otherwise a routes wouldn't be around 15 hours in length. Every battle you can potentially gain a new skill or raise your stats, that's not the case in other RPGs in which you just fill up an experience guage and have to wait for a level up. That is even discounting the other three races which you omitted that have different methods of growth. Combat is great, using different skills and seeing what you can combo into one another is addicting, same with sparking new skills.

You're going to have to take an L on Earthbound, that game is classic!! A pioneer in JRPG's that holds up well today, granted it isn't an easy game but that is in no way a reason to not play it. Keep the greatness alive and keep on kick'n alien butt with physic powers!

I need to disagree with Ni No Kuni. As someone who played it for the first time on pc last year, it's a cute and simple relaxing game you can play at the end of a long day. I haven't finished it but I do plan on doing so. And once I'm done I plan on playing Ni No Kuni 2 as well.

Currently playing through dragoon for the first time (at final boss) and that game definitely needs some quality life improvements. Feels like a slog at times, especially with the unecessary long attack animations!

Personally, I'd swap Super Mario RPG and Dragon Quest VII... I was incredibly excited for the Switch Remake of Super Mario RPG, but some hours in I just... stopped caring. I don't find the whole style as charming as expected and I'm really not a big fan of the humour... I'm really glad that the remake exists, and I'll give it another go at some point, but I just enjoy the old Dragon Quest games so much more for some reason. DQ7 kept me hooked for 120 hours and to this day I'm thinking of doing another playthrough, possibly even trying the original.

I disagree about Earthbound. One of the best games ever

Putting Ni No Kuni on this list is a very hot take, But i do understand you're reasoning. The biggest flaw with NNK is that for a Pokemon-like game it takes you well into the first Island to be able to catch your first monster, Personally i think the reason it got critically accalimed in the first place is because it came out during the JRPG flop era. Legend of Dragoon seems like a Love it or Hate it kind of game but in my personal opinion it tried to do something different but it just quite couldn't execute them properly. As much as i like FFT, The game has not aged well in some regards and is very unbalalnced in terms of classes and in special characters. Also chapter 4 is where the game takes a giant dump in both difficulty and storytelling. Also putting DQ7 and Earthbound in as not aged well?, Ooof those sure are spicy takes.

Your SaGa hot take was the hottest take I've ever read, well done. Still disagree though, Octopath is inferior to any of the Romancing games.

Haven’t played the first Ni No Kuni but the second one bored me to death so i’ll support your hate for the first one 😂 On a more positive note, i thought Final Fantasy 4 Advance holds up very well to this day and im not a retro gamer at all

Cool list, though I’d swap SMRPG and Earthbound. Played both recently and I enjoyed Earthbound MUCH more.

“Ni No Kuni” DEFINITELY holds up! It’s Studio Ghibli! The combat is a little odd at first but grows on you. And your familiars are basically Pokemon. “Doesn’t hold up”! (But I agree about “Earthbound”. Been trying to play that classic forever. Sooooo slow & boring)

legend of dragoon is fun as hell, ni no kuni can suck it tho. also earthbound is GOATed

Saying Earthbound doesn't hold up, Brave Words my friend... ;P

Chrono Trigger is the greatest game ever made. I’ve beaten it almost 100 times.

FF Tactics? I don’t think as many modern gamers would I agree. I think the difficulty spikes and esoteric leveling system make the game too difficult to be any fun. And the way leveling up characters is broken just makes it so the game is either way easy or way too hard.

Funny, just like many others, I love Ni no Kuni, DQ7 is my favorite DQ, don't think SMRPG holds a candle to almost all M&L games, did enjoy Earthbound, and think WotL puts FFT to shame. Maybe these takes are to get more interaction in the comments section, idk?

I tried playing Earthbound for the first time this week after hearing so much good about it, and I have to agree. It doesnt hold up, the game was more tedious than anything

Oh no worries, I'm a Mother fan and I agree. Heck, I'd say it's not just Earthbound that hasn't aged well but the entire trilogy. The first game especially is utter pain with how unbalanced it is and the third game barely fixed anything compared to the previous two. The stories are great, but if they ever decide to remake them then they need to completely overhaul the gameplay.

Totally agree with Earthbound. I understand how much people appreciate how great the story or charm were for the game, but the gameplay and its multiple flaws made it annoying to play through.

Not a jrpg but i' d say that Undertale doesn't hold up anymore. It was innovative at the time, it's still funny and has attention to detail but many similar games have expanded on the idea.

I am going to vehemently call you out on bashing the SaGa series and Octopath as it is a completely different game and the series is KNOWN for being very difficult. Octopath strays far from this difficult path.

Good list, and I agree with your 'not' choices. DQ7 is WAY too long, Legend of Dragoon's translation is pathetic, Earthbound's limited inventory is torture, and despite trying 3 different games in the series, I don't think I will ever understand SaGa games and their deliberate obscurity. It's popular to say "old games are better," etc., but unless these games were your childhood, you're left wondering what all the fuss was about.

yeah a lot of these PS1 games i cant see myself playing today either. i'm sorry if i sound like a jerk here but i have higher standards for gaming in 2024 and nostalgia alone doesn't do it for me , and that's a shame because these games are classics and deserve to be played just not in og form.

I agree with many of your points, little one, but I strongly disagree with your assertion that Dragon Warrior VII / Dragon Quest VII doesn't hold up. What a sad take.

Ni no kuni for the ds is way better than the ps3 modern consoles remasters also is the original version is a complete diferent game.

I was always confused why Ni No Kuni was highly praised. It didn't hold up even on initial release imo, which I was very saddened by. Level 5 lost its luster that day.

Finally, someone realizing Legend of Dragoon really wasn't that good.

I'm here for the salty comments.😂

Ok. No no Kuni doesn't hold up because of some fetch quests (which is still basically the main motive for 90% of jrpgs today lol) but suikoden 2 with the blandest and worst dungeons in gaming holds up? Mind you, I think both hold up. Just disagree with the NNK not.

Let's agree to disagree about this one.

I've played Ni No Kuni 2 recently and it only made me look back at Ni No Kuni 1 and I replayed it and still loved it. Sorry if it didn't feel the same way for you. As for Earthbound, I kinda agree. I used to love that game and still do, but man I do not want to play it again.