It is always interesting to hear a personal best games list because it gives a glimpse into how someone connected with these games and what they mean to them as a gamer. You discover what elements of a genre are more important than others to this person and what it is about games that hold appeal. Then you can compare that to yourself and see where you overlap in what is important to you in a game. No two gamers will have the exact same priorities, there may be many similarities but what keeps you to continue playing games you enjoy is something very personal, and sharing the reason these games are so important to us without any grandstanding egos getting in the way is something that should be done more often. Regardless of how much your personal list might overlap with OJ's, just sharing which games we think are special and telling why is a great thing in itself. That is the core of who you are as a gamer.
Man, by far the best video you’ve done in a while. Bluntly I don’t like your news coverage, but when you cover just games I find your enthusiasm infectious. I would like to see you cover more classics you enjoy in an in depth way.
Some of my favourites: Final Fantasy 9 Dragon Quest 11 /Dragon Quest 8 Kingdom hearts 2 Paper Mario TTYD Super Mario RPG Tales of Berseria Shin Megami Tensei V Persona 3 Reload / Persona 5 Royal Persona 5 Tactica The World Ends With You/Neo The World Ends With You Fire Emblem Engage/Fire Emblem Three Houses Fire Emblem Three Hopes Baten Kaitos Xenoblade chronicles Pokemon Platinum
Kinda disappointed I didn't see the Legend of Heroes series on here. That series IMO has the most "humanity" needed when we're talking about the "role playing" aspect of rpgs. Plus Dragon Quest 11 had me choked up when you saw a certain character's lifeless body on screen considering I have a daughter.
I haven't played many JRPG's, so my list has literally all I played from the genre: 1. Persona 5 Royal 2. Final Fantasy X 3. Persona 4 Golden 4. Final Fantasy 7 5. Nier Automata 6. Final Fantasy 12 7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon 8. Final Fantasy 13 I'm more into western RPGs, but I still consider the Persona games, FFX and FF7 to be some of my favorite games of all time in general.
I'm really missing the Legends of Heroes series (Trails in the sky, Trails from Zero, Trails in Azure, Trails of Cold Steel I-IV etc). Totally agree with FE three houses and Persona 5 Royal
I am surprised Ys Viii Lacrimosa of Dana is not on your list. I played Astral Chain, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Octopath Traveler and all three of these cannot hold a candle to how good Ys Viii is.
He put Chrono Trigger as #1, so cut him some slack. He doesn't even have Golden Sun on this list. He got XenoGears, Fire Emblem Awakening and Dragon Quest VIII on the list.
@@vittoriopugliese3352Golden Sun, the handheld JRPG with a 91% metacritic, literally higher than any other dedicated handheld JRPG (2nd only to Fire Emblem Awakening at 92%). You think that is the worst? Really? Very few JRPG's have a metacritic above 90%+ FFVII Remake only has an 87% and VII Rebirth is only 92%. The highest rated Ys is only 85% (Ys VIII). The highest Trails game is 83% (Trails in the Sky the 3rd). If you think Golden Sun is the worst JRPG, then you simply don't like JRPG's.
@@michaelp4122 I love Golden Sun but if it's necessary in a list then it should be in the Ugliest JRPG's of All Time. It looks really bad and I already thought that when it came out. Still, you guys cry too much about not having your favs on the list when you surely haven't played all of the games in this list. You don't have to play all of them to make a list and maybe he just didn't play any Ys, Trails game till the end.
1. Final Fantasy VII 2. Final Fantasy IX 3. Chrono Trigger 4. Skies of Arcadia 5. Dragon Quest VIII My personal top 5. I feel these games have absolutely impeccable pacing and only JRPGs i would consider absolutely flawless.
Chrono Trigger can't be beaten at this point. I tried introducing this game to people who never played it or heard of it. No hype, just "Hey, try this old game out". The results were what I expected. After an hour, they are hooked. After a day they can't drop it.
Just curious, how old are the ppl you're introducing it to? Or have they had experience with more snes-era games? I'm 25 and wondering if I could enjoy it. Only game I've played from snes era is A Link to the Past, and some parts of it were kinda difficult/confusing for me without a detained guide.
@@giginoelani5880 Hi, I am 30, so we are not that far. I played it on my PC when I was around 15. Chrono Trigger is a bit interesting regarding difficulty. The game mechanics are not hard at all. Everything is intuitive. The game has 10+ endings, so you will eventually get a guide to finish it all. I wouldn't recommend starting with a guide. You will probably not find anything too difficult if you pay attention to the story and explore. I was captivated by the idea of time travel, so I would scan every corner of the game in the present and past to see how it changed and why. The game has a few major endings, and the most important choices are made in the second half of the game. I can't stress enough how important it is to pay attention. One of the most important choices in the game is completely optional and you can go to the final boss without doing it. That changes the ending. A link to the past is probably harder in terms of following things even if you pay attention, so you will probably be ok with CT. The game has a lot of "optional" quests and storylines. You can even kill a major character and it cuts you from an amazing storyline. The game has a lot of replayability. If you decide to play it, the Steam version is probably your best option. It was horrible on release, but it's fine now. The remaster was well done and faithful. You can pick the original instead of the remaster too. When you start a new game, you can choose "active" or "wait". Active makes the enemy attack you if you take too long on your "turn". It makes the combat more than just turn-based. I only play on active, but you should try both. Wait could be better early on so you can get used to the game. The mini-map has no combat and no random attacks when you are exploring. I mentioned how the most important choices are in the second half, but a lot of what you do will have interesting effects on the game and the story. Even your behavior during the opening of the game (The Millenium Fair) has a very cool effect on the story a few hours in. I already wrote too much, so I will stop. I suggest you do a blind first run. The soundtrack is as amazing as the game itself, so enjoy. The team who made it was not called "The Dream Team" for nothing.
I haven't played through it yet but so far the game is underperforming in almost every area. Story, characters, dialogue. I can't remember when I've been so bored with a game. A huge disappointment for the hype surrounding it. Maybe the problem is that I'm used to good story, dialogue, interesting characters, fun gameplay in CRPGs. I really have to force myself to keep playing. Perhaps the story will be interesting somewhere. Maybe the people you recommended to play chrono trigger never played anything but candy crush, or boomers who only know the Super Mario bros.
@@TisztaVizet-1 The game is a classic for a reason. if you don't like it, the problem is with you. It's either not your kind of game or you are too influenced by the hype to enjoy the game. Some people can't get used to older JRPGs and their combat. CT had a lot of innovation in combat, defining what came next. I wonder how many JRPGs you played before? Anyone who likes the old Final fantasy, old Zelda or Secret of Mana will probably love CT. It makes no sense to evaluate the game based on "rpgs" from today, they are a different genre. As for the story, it goes like this at the start (with minimal spoiler): - The game introduces the world and the millennium fair. It's a slow start. - The game introduces time travel. The mystery surrounding the queen and marle is quickly introduced. That should grip you for a bit. - You finish the ""past" storyline and goes to "???". I won't spoil it if you didn't reach this part yet. This new place has a lot of questions and mysteries, if you are not intrigued by now this game is probably not for you. This is where the game presents you with the main storyline. I wonder how deep you are into the game. Like a lot of older games, this game doesn't throw you in the middle of a super complex situation. It starts slow and grows. It has a lot of small things it presents to you and invites you to explore.
@@freedomextremist7215 I like rpg, can be crpg or jrpg. I don't mind the retro feel and look, because I loved undertale, stardew valley, and those are not beautiful games either. My problem with Chrono Trigger is neither that it's an rpg nor the mechanics of the game. The problem is that in the 10 hours so far nothing has happened that is above mediocre. Both the story the characters and the writing are shallow. I also don't feel anything outstanding or unique about the world the game opens up to me. Probably my problem is that I feel the story, characters and dialogues are made for 12 year old children. After a Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1,2,3, Witcher 1,2,3 etc. one has expectations for the quality of story, characters, text. After a Yakuza, or Persona 4 etc there is a level to what I say is fun. And after Darksouls 1,2,3, Disco Elysium, Journey etc. there is a level at which I say the game has an "outstanding atmosphere". Of course, in 1995 these games didn't exist yet, so in the absence of stimulus, Chrono Trigger might have been considered epic in those days. With 10 hours of playtime now I feel that this is no longer true with today's demands.
2 is my favorite, but I really enjoyed 3. The story is interesting, but the villains aren't as memorable as 2 or 1. I would say what happens with Noah and Mio is peak story telling and the climax for the game (THAT SCENE) was heart wrenching and the twist was immaculate. I'd say Zed was just a weak main villain but overall the game was amazing, and the ending of the dlc makes me hopeful for the future. A future connected. @@bethanyh1637
I would say XC2 is my favorite, XC1 being second favorite and XC3 being my least favorite. I don't know how to explain it but for all the improvements XC3 made, there was just something missing that it's predecessors had and I've never been able to put my finger on what. They're all great though and I can completely understand why any one of them would be someone's favorite.
My List: Honorable Mentions: XenoBlade Chronicles 2 with Torna, XenoGears, Lost Odyssey, Triangle Strategy, Chained Echoes, Sea of Stars, FF6 and Chrono Trigger 8. FF9 7. FF7 6. Persona 4 Golden 5. Fire Emblem Three Houses 4. XenoBlade Chronicles Definitive Edition 3. XenoBlade Chronicles 3 and Future Redeemed 2. Persona 3 Reload 1. Persona 5 Royal and Number 1- 5 are in my Top 10 VideoGames of All Time
I am playing the Remake right now and for someone who doesn't played 7 back then: the Story is really good and i love Sephiroth and Tifa and the graphics but - at least the first one - is tedious
Look man, I know this is your list, and I don't know if you tried to name a lot of different games and series in order to have a diverse list, but there is NO WAY IN HELL that games like Pokemon, Triangle Strategy, Secret of Mana, Octopath Traveler, etc are better than FF10. The fact that many of those games (and others such Astral Chain lolwut?) are higher than FF9 is also very bizarre.
Great top 25 list, although there’s a few RPG franchises missing, especially with the trails of/Kiseki/Legend of Heroes series but outside of that top notch, although Xenogears is in my top 10 and would have been in my top 5 if not for what happened with the budget and the second disk debacle. One day OJ when your old as dust you’ll get down on this series and fall in love with it lol. Even then though Xeno series is peak RPG franchise still, imo.
Fire emblem was the first RPG I ever played on the GameCube & at the time I did not care for Strategy RPG type games... All of the changed after I played that Amazing game!!! It was so good!
Crazy how people are saying you're crazy for your preferences lol. This is an amazing list that proves you're a solid jrpg fan. I also love the astral chain mention. Such an underrated game. I how platinum follows through with the sequal they mentioned years ago.
The first XC is by far the best game in the series, two or three never reached that level of story telling, and those Prison Island cut scenes are amongst the best in all of gaming. Also, the time the first game came out was more impressive, the game was stunning for a Wii game.
OG you really need to start playing the Trails and Ys series. You owe that to yourself. I know it's a big time investment to catch up but given your tastes so far, there is no way that you will not love these franchises.
If he wants a taste of both series in one game, he can also try Tokyo Xanadu eX+. Granted - It's not a great and impressive as the Trails or Ys series, but at least it give a "taste". By the way - The next Tokyo Xanadu game is in development, and I am happy for that. Another game series to try is the Atelier series (and Blue Reflection series) from Gust. Also - Not at the impressive level of the Trails or Ys series, but if you are a bit burned out by heavy and sometimes dark games, the Atelier series are guaranteed to brighten up your mood.
As someone who also has FF 6, 9 and Chrono Trigger on his personal list of greatest games of all time, and is currently a Falcom addict, I have to agree. If you loved FF 6, 7, 9 and 10, Dragon Quest 5 and 8, and Chrono Trigger back in the day, you will absolutely LOVE Ys and trails today. Daybreak was my most eagerly anticipated new thing of 2024, by a lot.
Amazing video, thanks man. I don't really play JRPGs, but you inspired me to give some a try. I've been wanting to play Xenogears and the Xenoblade trilogy.
Fire Emblem Three Houses is a great introduction to JRGPs. It's really good and detailed but really user friendly. RPG elements are treated without rush and the teaching part of the gameplay is very intuitive.
Xenoblade is a really good series but do know they all do take a few hours to really going and while in this list future redeemed is bundled with 3 you MUST Play future redeemed after all 3 since the plot is made to answer most mysteries from the trilogy while you can play 3 first if you're fine with missing out some references.
I’m so happy to see Final Fantasy 10 on this list… even if you put it on number 25 since I would put it number 1 on my personal list. The best story with such amazing games as its themes and messages spoke to me on a personal list
You need to play the Shadow Hearts games, the second, and best, Shadow Hearts: Covenant features a pro-wrestling vampire who finds his weapons in the environment, a wolf who fights other dogs to learn new abilities, a puppeteer who gains skills by getting dresses for his doll, and even had Rasputin as one if the main villains
Amazing games, storytelling is top in these games. I hate say this cliché line, but I so genuinely find these games so underrated. I really wish for a HD remaster of these.
Developed by the same people who made Lost Odyssey. I haven't played this, but when I get a Steam Deck, this is #1 on my list. I prefer to play portably (Switch has been a blessing).
@@TysonGiffordMEYea, I own this for PS2, but I can't see myself playing on a PS2. If not a Steam deck, a PC with a PS2 controller adapter Koudelka for PS1 as well, same developers.
You a real one for giving fire red and leaf green some love. Those are my favorite Pokémon games and I think all the other ones get mentioned over them
beh dai è andata bene alla fine con chrono trigger, mi aspettavo giochi pokemon o digimon al primo posto. cmq riguardo a finalbout (sono un 88) mi hai sbloccato un ricordo di un mio amico che mi aveva menzionato di aver fatto un torneo al mare penso a riccione ai tempi della ps1, pensa te. Lui era un mostro perchè riusciva a schiacciare i tasti piu' velocemente quando faceva l'onda e poi sapeva usare le combo.
Concordo 100%. Xenoblade 2 e 3 sopra Xenogears è sacrilegio. Poi Astral Chain quarto (con NieR Automata ventitreesimo) e Fire Emblem Awakening terzo? Proprio non so come faccia.
@@vittoriopugliese3352 Look bro, Xenogears has got a great story, but the gameplay is incredibly dated nowadays, if someone values gameplay over story, i can completely undesrtand why Xenoblade 1/2/3 are above it
@@komakuga4731 Dated? You have no sense of contextualizing things to their time. Remember that it's a 1998 game, and for what could be done in 1998 it had an impressive gameplay, with a unique turn-based battle system focused on making combinations of attacks to learn special moves called deathblows. Also the fact that a 1998 game has two different battle systems, alone, is something to be amazed by. The explorable places before Disc 2 are also very detailed and complex, with NPCs not repeating just the same line always, and while some dungeons can be bad (looking straight at you, Shevat shafts), at least the dungeons that can piss you off always have a map so that you don't get lost, and some dungeons like Solaris at the end of Disc 1 are awesome, not to mention impressive sequences of battles that really ramp up the tension such as the various Knight gears and the Hecht in Kislev, the battles in Shevat's reactors, the Elements battles when acquiring the Andvari, and the sequential boss Amphisbaena and Opiomorph in Disc 2, and then the final battles with Id and Grahf in late disc 2. The graphic style is impressive, combining 3D for detaile setting and Gears with stylized and brightly-colored 2D for the characters to stand out. It's true the platforming can be janky sometimes, but JRPGs usually aren't made for it, so the fact that it experimented with it in 1998 and it's mostly acceptable is already an achievement. And Disc 2 can be forgiven. Sorry to say that, but XG's battle system is better than FFVII and one of the best turn-based combats in games at least in its time.
Hot take is trails isn't that good of a series. Gameplay is good but too many characters and poor story arcs make it hard to want to continue. The gameplay can't save the story for me.
Fantastic list and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed hearing your rationale for the placement of each title. I need to check out a LOT of these! Just getting back into JRPGs after a looooong time away.
@@edulohay956 It is really special. The one negative I have is that the loading times when entering a battle are absolutely atrocious, one of the most egregious in final fantasy. You cannot play this game at normal speed.
Kinda bummed out Dragon Quest 11 didn't make it to the list. That game tooked the series into an evolution by upgrading hardware, while still keeping it's formula. With fun worlds, interesting plots, memorable characters and gameplay still being traditional, yet still compelling, Dragon Quest 11 is an excellent example of how every RPG should stay in it's formula. Although I am glad Dragon Quest 8 is in the list. That game is still fantastic.
Xenogears is definitely #1 on my list. I love it so much so that it would be #1,2, and 3 on my list because it's that much better than everything else, in my opinion, of course. If I were to win the lottery, my 2nd purchase after my dream home is to somehow fund a remake. I'll happily pay any of the copyright fees.
Before oil was a huge deal China, middle eastern countries, etc became really rich off of salt. It's also critical to surviving in a dry and hot environment since it helps the body retain moisture. Also, triangle strategy is the next thing to a FF Tactics remake imo. Awesome game
Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2 (Sen no Kiseki) are by far my favourites. 3 and 4 are also nice but have definite shortcomings. Other favourites would be Shadow Hearts 2, Arc the Lad 2, Breath of Fire 3 and Tenchi Sozo to name a few. Still waiting for a new Ar Tonelico and having a Grandia remake in the same quality of Star Ocean 2 R would be very appreciated.
OJ! Love and respect your list! I was surprised not to see Legend of Dragoon, Star Ocean 2, and Golden Sun. I’m sure you have buy if you haven’t played any of them. I’m sure you would love them!
Top 3: 1. eternal sonata 2. Ff8 3. Ff7 Rest of top 25 rough order but consider them all 4= Neir Automata Last remnant Ff10 Ff13-2 P5r Golden sun 1 and 2 Breath of fire 4 Lost odyssey Ni no kuni DQ8 and 11 Ff6, T and 2 Resonance of fate La pucelle tactics Valkyria chronicles Baten kaitos Digimon world Jeanne D'arc And FF9
*Shining Force 3* I noticed a lot of tactics games on your list, and like you Awakening is my favourite Fire Emblem. But try Shining Force 3 Scenarios #1-3. Scenario 3 specifically is my favourite tactics game. It's like Golden Sun and Fire Emblem had an N64 baby. It's basically perfect! You do need to play Scenarios #1 & #2 first, and you will be able to import character weapons and stats when you start Scenario 3.
@@zeusapollo6504 I haven't played IV yet, but I played VI. I loved VI, but the PS1 FF's IMO were peak FF. My point was it's a pretty massive update. There are elevation changes in scenario 3, and with character data being imported between games the scope of the project is much, much bigger. I really loved SF3, Camelot put more effort into this game than any other game. It felt like their swan song for Sega. Also side note, there is a spell where you summon a dragon and red/blue light flash on the screen repeatedly. It felt like the scene in Simpsons where Bart & Lisa got seizures in their Japan trip episode. I've never had a seizure playing a video game, but I swear it was very possible with this summon I dub "Seizure Dragon." They changed the colour sequence in scenario's 2&3, I assume because people got seizures in scenario 1.
SQUARE really needs to REMAKE Chrono Trigger, just like how they remade Trials of Mana. And I've loved all 3 Xenoblade Chronicles games, just took me a year after I stopped playing XC3, because i suffered from burnout. Also Trinity Trigger is a great game too.
Xenogears... This was my very first RPG at 13 years of age. This was the game I asked for for my birthday that year and I have been a fan ever since and nowadays I play almost nothing but RPG and JRPG type video games and I have to say that this game was ahead of time in just about every way!? The musical score is simply amazing!! The two different types of combat add a fresh variety to a game genre that can get stale from time to time, but the story and the characters are characters and events that once you experience this game, you will remember those memories will stay with you and you will never forget!!! Such an incredible game !!!
I played both 1 and 2, and thought 1 was the slightly better game. They're both all time classics, but I like the characters in the first one a bit more than the characters in the second one. Just my opinion.
In what world does Diamond and Pearl, HG, SS NOT make the list? In what world is it “too many Pokemon games”? Diamond and Pearl with the varying changes to the series, especially to how it set up the competitive scene to what it is today was profound. HG/SS really showed what a remake should be. I would even argue in terms of the lore and narrative wise, Black and Whife should have made the list as it transitioned to a more darker story which was well implemented within the region that was Unova. If Scarlet and Violet hadn’t had as much technical issues, I’d have Scarlet/Violet in the top 3 games of the series due to how good the writing and story was. One of the hallmarks of a good JRPG is storytelling and Pokemon B/W and Scarlet/Violet nailed it.
I'm sorry, Diamond/Pearl are the low point of the Pokemon franchise. Red/Blue and Gold/Silver are the best Pokemon because only they include the original 230 Pokemon (They couldn't fit them all into Red/Blue). They also have the best Pokemon, why are there no more Fire Lizard starters? Dual type starters was a bad idea in gen 3/4. Black/White is my #3, but some of the Pokemon were really lame. A Fire Pig and...a Leaf? Victini, Genesect, and the dragon legendaries are amazing, but the 3 Goats and storms are......lame. Franchise has gotten better, but they need to put more effort into the Pokemon.
@@michaelp4122 black and white had the worst Pokémon in the franchise. Diamond/pearl is either my favorite or second favorite. Fire red and leaf green is the same thing. I love fire red leaf green more than the og ones just qol improvements For the third best it’s either emerald or x/y
What? Your list sucks, it feels more like a plug / shill for your personal preferences rather than an objective top 25. Xenoblade sucks and it's in the list twice and in the top 2? Fire Emblem Three Houses is top 3? Man this video sucks. I'll just get my gaming insights from somewhere else.
Congrats on not listening to the video. Shill? He said upfront MY FAVORITE JRPGS. Looks like you slipped the intro where he explains that. You don't need to announce your exit
Genuine question, did you ever play the Golden Sun series? The first two (and I personally really liked the third) are amazing, and personally they have to be up there in terms of RPG's. Maybe not top 10, but very close. Also the lack of Earthbound is sad. But you have a solid list. I stopped playing Pokemon after Sapphire and outside of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, I never got into Fire Emblem. I have Xenoblade 3, but I need to beat the second one first. Loved the first. Tales of Symphonia was also great.
For me my top 25 list is as follows. In no particular order 1. Wild Arms Alter Code F (PS2 Remake of the PS1 Wild Arms game) 2. Breath of Fire 3 3. Breath of Fire 4 4. Final Fantasy 8 5. Phantasy Star IV 6. Vagrant Story 7. Legend of Dragoon 8. Lost Odyssey 9. Blue Dragon 10. Jade Cocoon 11. Dark Cloud 12. Rune Factory Oceans 13. Harvest Moon Back to Nature 14. Kingdom Hearts 15. Atelier Iris Trilogy 16. Hyperdimension Neptunia series 17. Mugen Souls Z 18. Final Fantasy 7 Remake 19. Final Fantasy 6 20. Final Fantasy 10 21. Final Fantasy 15 22. Learn Japanese to Survive series 23. Alunda 24. Atelier Marie 25. Chrono Trigger
