Number 1 should have been Squaresoft. Yes, the company. They simply had far too many classics on PS1, that to leave any of them out is... well you can't do it. Xenogears, Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve 1 and 2, Brave Fencer Musashi, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy IX, Threads of Fate, Legend of Mana, SaGa Frontier 1 and 2, Square had a near flawless lineup of RPG's on the PS1. Also, not even a mention of Breath of Fire 3 and 4, Alundra, Dragon Warrior 7, King's Field 2, Shadow Tower, Azure Dreams, or Legend of Legaia?
I totally understand why FF VII (deservedly) got the top spot, but I was very grateful for the shout out to IX! My nostalgic favorite of all the Final Fantasy games. :)
+Micheal Sands It's always made me shed a tear that Legend of Dragoon never hit it off as much as it should. It does feature standard RPG storytelling and cliche characters, but the game play and battle system were spot on, and as simplistic as it seemed there was quite a bit of strategy needed for certain fights.
+Micheal Sands I loved Legend of Dragoon. Still do actually, never managed to get it to work with roms and such though. I never bought it but rented it from a videostore every once in a while. At some point I got stuck (somewhere on disc 4) and couldn't find out how to continue, walkthroughs weren't as easy to find back then. I didn't rent it for a few months, and when I wanted to get it again, they did not have it anymore :(.
+Micheal Sands Same, sad thing is I remember my game getting corrupted on Disc 4, couldn't buy or use items out of combat as my money was random jibberish. Still somehow beat the game just using my MP regen ring on the healer. xD
+Kevin McQueary (hemanshera777) I also was expecting at least a honorable mention, so I started to look for someone sharing my frustration in the coments
10 Xenogears 9 Chrono Cross 8 Legend of Mana 7 Breath of Fire 4 6 Lunar Silver Star Story 5 Final Fantasy 9 4 Final Fantasy 7 3 Legend of Dragoon 2 Final Fantasy Tactics 1 Suikoden 2
Legend of Dragoon was a really underrated game. I remember playing it for the first time and hearing actual voice overs during the FMV scenes, that was a first for me and really made the game so much more enjoyable.
I Totally agree with you! Chrono Cross is one of my favourite games ever! Not just on ps1 or rpg genres but all kind of games. And If I wasn't played Dark Souls. Definitely I would say it's my favourite! My opinion! ;)
Is this a joke? Why are FF8 and FF9 not there, I would assume it's because they didn't want to fill it with final fantasy games but then what the hell is final fantasy tactics doing there.
+MegaCapitalG I know Lunar 1 and 2 were (also some of my favorite games), but I didn't know about Grandia. Just looked it up; you're right. If that's the case, Lunar should totally be on this list!
I had a feeling it would get screwed over before I even watched. A PS1 game that shows all the different armor/weapons you wear, a combat/combo system that was deep, but understandable as opposed to just clicking attack. Makes me sick how it constantly gets over looked.
+Exiled ExDeath it did though. lots of feels. my only issue was that I beat it at lvl 45 with no issues. im happy to see it getting some attention in the comments. I guess ur right cuz the story ends way too soon.
That wasn't bad...but there was a lot of grinding to do, if I remember right. And entering combos in combat was irksome when you were trying to level up or gain cash. I preferred just rapidly pressing X to fight.
+Alex Savvas Thank you for confirming for me that Tales of Eternia exists, and it's not just something I dreamed up. Because I was pretty sure it was real, but for such a great game to go completely ignored and unacknowledged, even in a list of the best ps1 rpgs, had me starting to doubt my reality.
Tales is an okay series, but not a game changer like most of the list in this top 10. The series wasn't making a huge impact on the genre until Symphonia, which was also overshadowed by PS2 JRPGs. Vesperia is the only time that Tales really excelled as it literally have no competition during its time of release. You can replace Star Ocean with Destiny or Eternia as they have pretty similar gameplay and that's it.
Alex Savvas probably just a piece of shit that probably doesn't play a whole lot of RPG stuff nor even do much research other then a simple google search before calling it a day.
+Brett Hicks One of the best games I've ever played. Some of the best FMVs especially considering the time. Under Appreciated and sadly criticized for it addition system being too difficult. That's what made it fun. Mastering the additions. And overshadowed by every FF game again considering the time. Great memory from my childhood
Andrew Hayes You sir, are 100% correct The game is better in terms of world, characters, story, music, and gameplay. Its bloody fantastic, thats why its my favorite game. Not my favorite rpg, not my favorite psone game, no, MY FAVORITE FUCKING GAME PERIOD!
Grandia was the reason why I started and loved playing RPGs and eventually MMOs. No other game could ever give me a sense of adventure, discovery, and wonder. The most memorable part for me was getting past the End of The World and thinking there is so much more to see. Reaching the final boss, the one thing I truly remember learning was that there is no end to the greed of man - too deep for a child me back then haha.
'The Legend of Dragoon' is my all time favorite Playstation game. What I enjoyed most about it was how the battling system centered around your sense of timing although it really showed me gamings potential to portray a story and create a new world.
No love for Valkyrie Profile? Not even an honorable mention? :( And what about Parasite Eve? People tend to only remember Resident Evil and Silent Hill when talking about horror game in PS1.
There were so many great games on PS1 that they were bound to miss alot of them. Parasite Eve does seem to get overshadowed alot. I've nothing but great things about it.
I correctly predicted FFVII topping this list. But not having FFVIII and IX here is almost criminal. Unless a rule specifies only one game may represent a series, those two should have been in the top 3.
+Ken Zhang True, but FFT still has a better story than FF VII. Mostly because the biggest plot twist of the story hasn't been spoiled for everyone like in FF VII.
Yesterday, I downloaded FFT for my tablet, this game taught me so much about life, friendship, courage and the lies of the status quo... kids to day should play this games and learn, this games are like books but better and they can change your life.
I was glad Vagrant Story got a mention. It was an amazing game with a truly beautifully written story. It had some amazing game play elements including the craft system. It is a travesty that so few pay tribute to it.
+AnonEyeMouse Indeed, I believe it suffered of arriving a little late into the party - in the 2000, same year of release of the PS2. Amazing game nonetheless, probably mi favorite that I played as a kid on the PSX. I dislike JRPG's a lot, so for me to like this one it must be really good, and damn it is. From the great atmosphere and distinct art direction, to the super original and skill-based combat, it sure was a blast. I only hated that characters didn't have voice actors, apart from that it was a great video game.
FFVII is my childhood. I wouldn't say it's my favourite game ever, but it was for a really long time. It was my first console game after all. I remember playing mostly platformers and adventure games when I was a kid (Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider...), but the ones I really loved were rpgs. Sadly they weren't commonly found in local stores so FFVII was my only rpg for a couple years. Then I discovered VIII & IX (both of which I loved) thanks to a friend, but the only other rpgs I was able to play were Legend of Legaia and Wild Arms. And, seriously, Wild Arms has the best intro of any psx game if you ask me... that amazingly animated cutscene and that song...
You guys said that were counting down games that originated on PS1, but FF7 is just another entry on a franchise that started way before on another console... plus, where is Valkyrie Profile? which in fact originated on PS1 and is an entirely new kind of RPG.
Currently playing full playthrough of FFVII on an emulator on my phone with the high res textures and locked 60fps. It's a masterpiece. I haven't played it since I was 13 and I'm now in my mid 30s. I love to grind the rpgs I play. I'm level 85 already just starting disc 3. Currently obsessed with breeding Chocobos. Lol.
Omg your list is exactly as mine!!!Totally the same exept Wild Arms-->Thousant Arms and Vagrant Story--->Koudelka(honorable mentions Saga Frontier). Good Job m8 and great video
I mainly played the PS1 for the RPGs. I can't believe you didn't have Alundra on the list. That was one of my favorites along with Wild Arms, Grandia, FF7 and others. There was also that one Tactical RPG Atlus made that had a 2 player versus mode that was so much fun. My brother and I would play it a lot. I think it started with a K. Anyone know? I cant remember the name.
I'm quite happy with the position Xenogears got. It's one of my all times favorites(top 3). Beautiful and daring script, great cast of characters, awesome combat system, nice pace and a very good looker for 1995... I can hardly pinpoint any flaws for that game. Matter of fact i think you guys didn't praise it enough. Taking a look at that list it made me think that me and you guys probably played the same games when we were kids. It's not the first time that you guys nail a list that i just look at and think "i could hardly switch any position around". Thanks +Watchmojo.com !
No Legend of Mana in the list? you can have multiple companions, you can capture elementals by playing music, you can capture pets and train them, you can create your mecha golem, you can plant seeds in your garden, harvest plant and use it for crafting, you can make weapons and armors, you can make music instruments, you can change your weapon class anytime, interesting story that you need to unlock like puzzle pieces for each new area unlocked, awesome soundtrack, nice 2d sprites and artworks, and there's 2 player pvp too, saw a few second clips on the video, But how could you not include that?
Every time I think about these games it really inspire me to play all of them. I wish I could have all the time to play all of them and 100% complete each one. That would be a great achievement.
+Michael Kao I agree! Much respect to FF7 as it was a game changer, but take that out of it, and FF9 is better than it in virtually every way. 9 and 10 are my personal favourites (and I've played 7 thru 12).
Nice list, glad to see Vandal Hearts at least got an honourable mention. That was the first game i played on the console as a kid and it blew my mind having only played 2D games prior. The story, music and death animations made it really feel different to anything i had played on the previous gen. I didn't enjoy Vandal hearts 2 as much due to the combat system, but any RPG fans should definitely check both of them out if you haven't already!
+TheGrandRevo Overrating? Are you insane? Everyone is criticizing it for bullshit reasons nowadays. If any FF is truly, objectively overrated, it is VI.
+Derek Julian I didn't play VII myself but when I got into Final Fantasy franchise, it was everything that I heard of. VI on the other hand was quite the opposite. It had the most involving story of any game I'd played in my life and I was truly glad that people actually deemed it the best.
I was and still am a huge fan of a lesser known PS1 game called Brigandine which was great on game play, originality and replay ability. Good list. Many favorites of which I still own half of.
The things I played that weren't on the list that I liked are Front Mission, Jade Cocoon, Valkyries profile, Breath of Fire III, and Tales of Destiny 1 & 2. Also... It is not my favorite but I was obsessed with Beyond the Beyond. That game took less than 100MB of Disc space but the game was hella long! My timer stopped at 99 hours but I kept going. I lost my saves before because my files got corrupted due to many transfer with Dex Drive. My heart sank when that happened because I've spent so much time and I was near the end. That game still haunts me.
Azure dreams was one of the best games I ever played. Complete with 7 possible girlfriends, a casino, bowling alley and "horse racing" track, not to mention a hundred different familiars you could train, evolve and fuse. I had over 200 hours logged in on that game. Along with Final Fantasy Tactics.
FF7 and Crono Cross (amazing soundtrack indeed) were the only ones that blew me away (I also beat FF8, FF9, FFT, Vagrant Story and Xenogears, but none was even close to the first two for me).
I love how people always rag on people for choosing FFVII in top ps1 lists, Sure, both VIII and IX are amazing, and in some people's opinions, better. But you have to realize that VII holds more significance, in that it was the first FF game most westerners ever saw, and to those that already knew the series, was the first 'next-gen' release. So even if it's not better than it's sequels, it's much more important.
Nr.1 could never be any different game than the one mentioned here. I'd order the other 2-10 a little differently, but they are in my personal top-list aswell. Nice taste of games, i hope we are not alone ^^
What a pity you didn't mention Jade Cocoon. While the sequel for the PS2 wasn't great at all, the first game was really something unique and special and I loved playing it. So much in fact, that I cleared the demo of it about 30 times before I could finally play the game.
I see the charm of how final fantasy IX greatly reflects its past instalments and how visually impressive it is (even for the psx) I see how people think this is one of the best, but when you look at the history of final fantasy, FFVII was going to be a critical phenomena and a game changer as soon as it was announced for the psx. Yes even though I am fully aware of the Internet haters making this game one of the most overrated games ever (yet will still defend Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time as the best game ever(though it's not) I still love this game and think of it as the best in the series. Let the IX fanboys, VIII fanboys, VI fanboys, IV fanboys (if there are) and the X fanboys come for me I DONT CARE.
