Recently got the urge to complete some classic JRPG's that I never got the chance to play.

The only JRPG I've played to completion was FFX.

I have heard that Chrono Trigger is the best JRPG I can play, but can any of you guys attest to this?

Feel free to recommend some games! PS1 era or earlier!

You asked for it, bro.

Tactic Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (FT)
Chrono Cross
Legend of Dragoon
Persona 2: Both games (Innocent Sin has been fan translated)
Vagrant Story
Final Fantasy Tactics
FFIV-VII, FFIX
Suidoken
Xenogear
Valkyrie Profile
Terranigma
Breath of Fire series (up to 3 or 4)
Bahamut Lagoon (fan translated)
Earthbound
Fire Emblem -- Monshou no Nazo (FT)
Live-a-Live (FT)
Lufia (both games)
Sailor Moon RPG
Seiken Densetsu 3 (FT)
Star Ocean (FT)
Secret of Mana
Super Mario RPG
Tales of Phantasia
Pokemon Gold + Blue

At 12/6/11 12:45 AM, towelie101 wrote: You asked for it, bro.

Chrono Trigger is definitely worth playing, OP.

Also, SRW Alpha Gaiden is a must as well.

Phantasy Star IV !

BEAT ME TO IT!!!!

Chrono Trigger is my all-time favorite.

I'd recommend all of Quintet's games on the SNES, other than Illusion of Gaia, which many people really liked but I struggled to get into it as well as their others. Terranigma, in particular, is definitely worth a try. It's pretty difficult to find around, especially in the US, however it's an absolutely amazing game. It's slightly reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, however I definitely prefer this game - the atmosphere is just incredible and despite my general lack of interest in JRPGs that feeling caused it to become my favourite game of all time.

I feel like I should credit RobotTaco for introducing me to it about three years ago back on the party in its prime. :3

The Golden Sun games on the GBA are worth a try.

At 12/6/11 08:33 PM, ZJ wrote: The Golden Sun games on the GBA are worth a try.

He asked for games that came before or during the PS1-era, yo. Seconding it anyway.

As ZJ mentioned, the Golden Sun games are a godsend... and this is coming for someone with a distaste for JRPGs.

Also, Tactic Ogre series are definitely good games and if you can get a hold of a copy then I reccomend Panzer Dragoon Saga. A copy can go for 100-200 dollars and you'll need a Sega Saturn to play it, so emulation is probably your best bet.

Brave Fencer Musashi.

Have fun playing a epic RPG.

Chrono Trigger is an excellent choice for the SNES, as well as FF3 for the same console.

But my all time favorite is Xenogears for the orginal PS, it's one of the few Jrpgs that really have an amazing story and gameplay as well. It's a shame that disk 2 was largely filler, and that's probably why it gets so overlooked compared to other Jrpgs.

Arc the Lad
Arc the Lad 2
Legend of Legaia
Beyond the Beyond
Star Ocean: the Second Story
Saga Frontier
Saga Frontier 2
Xenogears

I can only think of a few so I'll put some description about it, well some atleast.

Final Fantasy IX- This game kept me playing all the way to the end you get eight characters to use and overall it was one of the best game I've played had a very nice story as well.

Pokemon Crystal, Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, and Silver- The first two generations of Pokemon were well worth the time to play. They were very enjoyable so I would say you should try them. Cant really say much about the games though just the same Pokemon.

Here is a big ass list of JRPGs you should play

*NES
-Final Fantasy
-Final Fantasy II (Japan Only)
-Final Fantasy III (Japan Only)
-Dragon Quest
-Dragon Quest II
-Dragon Quest III
-Dragon Quest IV
-Mother (EarthBound Zero) (Japan Only)

*Super Nintendo
-Final Fantasy IV
-Final Fantasy V (Japan Only)
-Final Fantasy VI
-Secret Of Mana
-Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret Of Mana 2) (Japan Only)
-Chrono Trigger
-EarthBound
-Super Mario RPG Legend Of The Seven Stars

*PlayStation
-Final Fantasy VII
-Final Fantasy VIII
-Final Fantasy IX
-Final Fantasy Chronicles (FF IV and Chrono Trigger)
-Final Fantasy Anthology (FF V and FF VI)
-Final Fantasy Origins (FF I and FF II)
-Chrono Cross
-Dragon Quest IV
-Dragon Warrior VII

Chrono trigger is pretty cool. It did take a while to catch on, I swear I had no idea what the fuss was about, I thought the game sucked and was bare basic. At first. After you get past the future and you are introduced to more characters and the plot gets heavier the game really catches on. Just expect a fair amount of "where the hell do I go next?" puzzles.

As for parasite eve, it shows promise. It's a survival horror game but also an JRPG. This leads to the obvious: it's not scary. Ooh a monster jumps out of nowhere, it's not attacking me nonstop or chasing me, it's standing there meanwhile im trying to figure out weather to attack or heal myself. But it is fun. Pretty good RPG. I don't recommend parasite eve 2 however. That one is more like a resident evil game.

At 12/7/11 10:33 PM, ZeldaFan64DS wrote: -Final Fantasy V (Japan Only)

Actually I think it was ported to the PS3. There's been alot of final fantasy game flooding the store lately. Also final fantasy 6 came in recently as well.

FFV was ported to PS1 years ago along with FFVI. They called it Final Fantasy Anthology. I should still have that somewhere.

At 12/6/11 10:00 AM, Travis wrote: I'll give you a list of 5 games you HAVE to play...

Pretty much Travis' list. Out of all of them though I would recommend Parasite Eve over the rest.

At 12/6/11 09:03 PM, towelie101 wrote:

At 12/6/11 08:33 PM, ZJ wrote: The Golden Sun games on the GBA are worth a try.

He asked for games that came before or during the PS1-era, yo. Seconding it anyway.

Maybe He say so but they are a full list of good old-school JRPG on Gameboy Advance
Keep looking because theyre are so many

Whats not more old-school than Gameboy advance ? Its more old-school then ps1

There's a little bias here since it was my first JRPG, but I'd start with Super Mario RPG. It's lighthearted, it's fun, you don't go deep into number crunching, but there' enough strategy required that you'll stay engaged. Honestly, as great as good JRPG is there's almost always large chunks of the game where you're forced into a downtime where you're waiting for the story and the gameplay to pick up again. SMRPG has almost no moments like that.

At 12/7/11 11:26 PM, Sense-Offender wrote: FFV was ported to PS1 years ago along with FFVI. They called it Final Fantasy Anthology. I should still have that somewhere.

If FFV is to be played, I highly recommend the GBA port for better loading times, even if the cartridges are now very rare.

Final Fantasy I to IX (excluding III for some reason), Vagrant Story, Xenogears and Chrono Trigger on on PSN, knock yourself out OP. I'd recommend Final Fantasy VI, VII, IX and Chrono Trigger the most though.

At 12/8/11 02:17 PM, MikeyS9607 wrote: Final Fantasy VII
Great graphics for the time

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

At 12/8/11 02:17 PM, MikeyS9607 wrote: the most overrated OST ever

FTFY. The majority of FF soundtracks (or JRPG soundtracks in general really) were just as good, if not better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THsnwdDrv yo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXOzwiJZj Gg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYDT_Y6Jj 5c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_7u16pL4 As
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx_Qqzs4c fk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWE0nlhpd q8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi155MoyN Kg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRCjjiTR 7I&feature=related

FFX had a better OST than all the other FF games, I'd say, though Makou Reactor is a decent track.

The Ys Series makes a great example

To avoid being repetitive, considering that a lot of other ppl have already recommended games like Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG.

I'd recommend these:

Paper Mario
Jade Cocoon (only played the demo, but most likely would've completed it, if I owned it; still remember the battle theme music to this day!)

If you love a [really REALLY big] challenge, sink your teeth into this duopoly:

Alundra
Alundra 2

At 12/8/11 06:40 PM, Nemo103 wrote: The Ys Series makes a great example

I second this

Crud, I can't believe I forgot to mention Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon!

I can't believe no one has mentioned "Illusion of Time" for the Snes.
One of my absolute favorites.

The classic set: Dragon Quest 1 and 2, the earliest Final Fantasy series (I up to VII) and an obscure JRPG by the name of Nazo no Murasamejou.