Greatest Playstation RPGs of all time

Tek7 (Legacy)

CGA & ToJ President
What do you think are the greatest Playstation RPGs of all time?

I'm hoping to pick up a Playstation 2 next year, but I plan to pick up a few inexpensive PS1 titles to tide me over until then.

Here's a list I've compiled from other online sites:

#49. - Dragon Warrior VII
#44. - Chrono Cross
#27. - Xenogears
#24. - Suikoden
#20. - Star Ocean The Second Story
#18. - The Legend of Dragoon
#16. - Final Fantasy IX
#15. - Final Fantasy V (SNES port)
#12. - Grandia
#11. - Final Fantasy VI (SNES port)
#10. - Chrono Trigger (SNES port)
#9. - Lunar: The Silver Star
#6. - Suikoden II
#4. - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
#2. - Final Fantasy VII
#1. - Final Fantasy IV (SNES port)

Wild Arms 2
Tales of Destiny

23. Final Fantasy Tactics
22. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
18. Final Fantasy VII
17. Grandia
7. Final Fantasy VIII
6. Vagrant Story

User Favorites
  • Legend of Legaia
  • Breath of Fire III
  • Wild Arms
  • Thousand Arms
  • Alundra
  • Persona
  • Valkyrie Profile
  • Jade Cocoon
  • Vandal Hearts
  • Vandal Hearts 2
  • Azure Dreams
I'll likely start with Lunar: The Silver Star, but wanted to get some input from other gamers first.
 
I liked FF7, FF9(!!!) and FFtactics.

Having said that FF10 was great from the perspective of story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

No word yet from me on FF10-2, just don't go there.

If you're looking for expensive titles, FF12 looks really sweet. I've played a little bit of it and I think it is amazing.

For a fun RPG that is regrettably low on the story factor, I liked playing Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. It's kind of a mix between Final Fantasy Tactics and some sort of amazing puzzle game.
 
#49. - Dragon Warrior VII
not that great in my opinion
#44. - Chrono Cross
horrible disappointment
#27. - Xenogears
never played
#24. - Suikoden
one of the best games made
#20. - Star Ocean The Second Story
i love it ^_^
#18. - The Legend of Dragoon
coulda been better
#16. - Final Fantasy IX
not that great, a filler rpg
#15. - Final Fantasy V (SNES port)
ok
#12. - Grandia
so so
#11. - Final Fantasy VI (SNES port)
great
#10. - Chrono Trigger (SNES port)
A LEGACY
#9. - Lunar: The Silver Star
very good
#6. - Suikoden II
just a hair under the first
#4. - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
very good
#2. - Final Fantasy VII
same as VI
#1. - Final Fantasy IV (SNES port)
Quote:
Wild Arms 2
lame
Tales of Destiny
did not like
Quote:
23. Final Fantasy Tactics
FREAKING AWESOME STORYLINE AND GAMEPLAY
22. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
good
18. Final Fantasy VII
LEGACY TITLE ZOMG!
17. Grandia
bleh, very poor
7. Final Fantasy VIII
amazingly good if u played it all the way through
6. Vagrant Story
ghetto

User Favorites

* Legend of Legaia
i lvoed this classic
* Breath of Fire III
i loved it
* Wild Arms
loved it
* Thousand Arms
haha so awesome
* Alundra
worst game ever
* Persona
never played
* Valkyrie Profile
heard its very very good
* Jade Cocoon
never heard of it
* Vandal Hearts
good tactics, nice filler
* Vandal Hearts 2
never played
* Azure Dreams
boring


and holy crap ive played alot of rpgs..... mnore than i ever that i had
 
I played Lunar for about 30 minutes last night. The voice acting was bad, the NPCs were a bit dry, but, for some reason, I found myself caring about the characters almost immediately. That alone is holding my interest. The only thing that may make me put this game down before too much longer is the weak battle system.

I'll try to tough it out to see if it gets more interesting, but I hear Xenogears calling my name and its siren call is difficult to resist. Besides, I want to finish Xenogears so I have the full background before playing Xenosaga.

I should also mention that I'm looking for a more mature RPG. So many titles feel as though they were developed with a target audience of 8-12 year olds. Games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI have more complex characters, darker chapters, and a deeper plot. I doubt I'll ever find anything to top the experience of CT, but I've been searching "the next big thing" for a while now.

Oh, and I don't think Chrono Cross was a huge disappointment, considering how the story develops late in the game. The battle system was fun, the characters were endearing (though not always emotionally engaging), and the overall plot was interesting. If Chrono Cross hadn't had "Chrono" in the title, I think people would have expected less and appreciated it more.
 
i personally like THe Legend ofDragoon and FF a lot, as well, i find the Breath of Fire series as well as Grandia good. Hello my name is Andrew, and im addicted to RPGS. *bows*
 
There was only really one big RPG I ever played, that was FF X, that was an awsome game, mostly because it just went on and on and on, I watched my older bro play the entire game though, it took forever! Also the story was griping from begining to end, and the charecters were unforgettable.

I did play one lunar game, but I don't think it was like the playstation versions, the one I played was for the DS. The charecters were the only thing that kept my playing. The gameplay was lacking, the story line was boreing, the battle was repetitive, and the game itself was very short, (beaten over a 4 day period of off and on playing), and even the puzzles were pretty lacking. But as I said, this was for the DS, so don't take my word for it, it could be totally different on the playstation.

My suggestion is that you get your hands on FF X, you will be addicted by it in a very short time, and it will last you a long time, for whatever it's price is it is worth it, we got it at $50, and we were very satsified.
 
The first person to say Kingdom Hearts was a great RPG gets my new free 100 dollar boot up their nose.

(What I mean by that is, I got boots worth 100 dollars for free... see, the army is getting rid of their black boots and switching over to tan/grey so they're just throwing away the old ones, and my dad got me a pair. They are AWESOME!! they look cool and have incredible arch/heel support :D)
 
I loved FF Tactics but it wasn't as good as the game it copied in my opinion. The game I'm referring to is Vandal Hearts. I loved that game and it was the first turn-based strategy/rpg I had ever seen. The Playstation is the last console I ever bought...until now. I bought my 6-year old a Gamecube for Christmas.
 
There was only really one big RPG I ever played, that was FF X, that was an awsome game, mostly because it just went on and on and on, I watched my older bro play the entire game though, it took forever! Also the story was griping from begining to end, and the charecters were unforgettable.

I did play one lunar game, but I don't think it was like the playstation versions, the one I played was for the DS. The charecters were the only thing that kept my playing. The gameplay was lacking, the story line was boreing, the battle was repetitive, and the game itself was very short, (beaten over a 4 day period of off and on playing), and even the puzzles were pretty lacking. But as I said, this was for the DS, so don't take my word for it, it could be totally different on the playstation.

My suggestion is that you get your hands on FF X, you will be addicted by it in a very short time, and it will last you a long time, for whatever it's price is it is worth it, we got it at $50, and we were very satsified.
blah im sorry but ffx was a horrible game. Tidus was a noobie jerk who whined to much and was like zomg im having a date underwater and floating around in a cutscene...... i was really disappointed in ffx


kingdom hearts was a good rpg, i liked it alot, kh2 had waaay to long of an intro, it was like watching a 5 hour movie
 
I'll comment on the ones I've played.

#49. - Dragon Warrior VII-- not the greatest, IMO.
#44. - Chrono Cross-- I can see why people went nuts over this game, but it never appealed to me. I enjoyed it, but not as much as some of the superfans.
#27. - Xenogears-- Solid title, again, not my cup of tea (didn't like the characters much), but I can see why people swear by this one.
#24. - Suikoden-- Never Played (NP)
#20. - Star Ocean The Second Story -- NP
#18. - The Legend of Dragoon -- NP
#16. - Final Fantasy IX -- Unpopular opinion here, but I thought this was the best crafted FF of the PSOne era. It's a semi-retrospective on all the FFs up to that point in themes and plot, with a few of the most well thought out characters in the series. I HIGHLY recommend it.
#15. - Final Fantasy V (SNES port) -- Played it for a few hours, never got into it because I didn't like the leveling system (by getting better in an area, you get worse in another).
#12. - Grandia -- NP
#11. - Final Fantasy VI (SNES port)-- The best overall FF of all time (though VII, VIII, IX, and XII are all very good). If you never played it on SNES, track this down. You will play it for a month straight.
#10. - Chrono Trigger (SNES port)-- Ditto to what I said about Chrono Cross.
#9. - Lunar: The Silver Star -- NP
#6. - Suikoden II -- NP
#4. - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue -- NP
#2. - Final Fantasy VII -- Cloud. A main character with schizophrenia.
#1. - Final Fantasy IV (SNES port) -- Good, but not great, IMO.

Quote:
Wild Arms 2 -- NP
Tales of Destiny -- NP

Quote:
23. Final Fantasy Tactics -- Excellent battle system, great characters, OK story. Church = bad, so if that bothers you...
22. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete-- NP
18. Final Fantasy VII-- double
17. Grandia -- NP
7. Final Fantasy VIII-- Another great FF title, similar to VII but a strange magic system.
6. Vagrant Story -- NP

Hope that helps.
 
[toj.cc]WildBillKickoff;196013 said:
I'll comment on the ones I've played.

[...]

#16. - Final Fantasy IX -- Unpopular opinion here, but I thought this was the best crafted FF of the PSOne era. It's a semi-retrospective on all the FFs up to that point in themes and plot, with a few of the most well thought out characters in the series. I HIGHLY recommend it.

[...]

#11. - Final Fantasy VI (SNES port)-- The best overall FF of all time (though VII, VIII, IX, and XII are all very good). If you never played it on SNES, track this down. You will play it for a month straight.
/agree

If not for the opening cutscene, fantastic graphics, and excellent battle system, I would have reached my hand through the television, smacked the angst-y scowl off Cloud's face, and played through FFVI for a third (or fourth?) time. Seriously. Cloud annoyed me.

FFVIII had the same weakness: a main character with whom I could not identify or empathize. The graphics were amazing for the Playstation, but the jump wasn't quite the leap between FFVI and FFVII. Tack on the awkward Junction system and a glaring lack of interesting characters (Aeris kept me playing FFVII through its dullest chapters) and you see why I've never made it past the first scenario on the second CD.

Within the first few minutes of FFIX, though, it was obvious that Squaresoft had finally listened to their old school fans. Zidane is immediately likeable and the idea of a Princess trying to escape with an acting troupe is so endearing that you don't care if it's cliche. The environment is engrossing and the lighthearted feel draws the player in long enough to give them a chance to care about the characters (especially Garnet, who remains one of my favorite female FF series characters). The highlight for me, though, was the deep and troubling sequence where Vivi, the Black Mage, questions the nature of his own existence. The only downside to the quality of the game is that it makes the game's weak ending that much harder to bear.

P.S. Terra rocks.

[toj.cc]WildBillKickoff;196013 said:
23. Final Fantasy Tactics -- Excellent battle system, great characters, OK story. Church = bad, so if that bothers you...
Welcome to every Japanese RPG ever made. If a character is a high-ranking member of an organized religion, he or she emerges as a major villain by the time the last act rolls around.

Seriously. I can't think of any exception--which offends me not only as a Christian, but also as a writer. Stereotypes FTL.
 
i thought the end with the intricate storyline of the church and black knights or whatever they were was really awesome, took me like 3 runs through the game ebfore i understood it all, and tek i think u look at the game to much through writers eyes, cuz i could easily indentify with cloud, squall...... sometimes but not much, i hated zidane so much him and tidus.....
 
My opinions on some of these games.

FFIV - Overall, decent.
FFV - Agree with WildBill on this, never got into it after a few hours.
FFVI - Best overall Final Fantasy. Best storyline, great characters, best music.
FFVII - Overrated. I can't stand it when people claim it's the best FF ever.
FFVIII - Never got into it much, the battle system was pretty bad.
FFIX - I agree with others on this, it was very well done and it's personally my favorite Final Fantasy.
FFX - I thought it was a lot of fun, but the story was weak.
FFTactics - tons of fun, great story, lots of strategy.
Chrono Trigger - Decent, nothing special. A tad overrated like FFVII.
Chrono Cross - Worst RPG ever. I hate it with every fiber of my being.
 
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