MrPopo wrote:And FF6... I just don't know guys. I find 4-5 to be just as awesome, if not better in ways.
6 is the whole package. It's got the best graphics of the SNES titles, it has the best characters (in my opinion), it has good character customization through the esper bonuses and a variety of relics (though V beats it out in customization), and it by far has the best villain. Plus, you fail at saving the world.
While I do agree that 6 is the best SNES FF, and that 9 is definitely not awful, but definitely not the 3rd best and doesn't need to be here when main series FF already has 2 slots, why do people like Kefka so much? I've always thought he was a pretty terrible villain. He really just wants to destroy the world for no reason at all other than mustache-twirling evil (if he had one he'd do it). Other than the fact that he does some despicable things and he's weird, I don't see how he's well written. He's frankly one of the most one-dimensional characters in that entire game, especially compared to his counterpart, the emperor. Perhaps people say he's a "good villain" because he does despicable things, and that's their definition of "good?" A good villain to me is one who has realistic motives, and ideally one that the player can even sympathize with. Fire Emblem usually tries to have at least one or two in each game. Like in FE: Awakening for example:
On the topic of the list, however, I disagree with most of it. This has mostly to do with my very narrow definition of JRPG though. A JRPG, to me, is one that sticks to the classical way that JRPG's functioned: A party of however-many heroes which fight whatever in turn-based, immobile battles. If there's movement of characters (SRPG, Tales style, even FF XII style) it deviates too much from that. While I love the Tales franchise to death, I'd never call it a "JRPG." To me, Phantasy Star, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy (at least most of them) are examples of what a JRPG is.
On the subject the actual list itself though on more of a reference of "(general) RPG's you should play," I shall foist my opinions of the ones I have played upon youse:
1. Final Fantasy VI - YES : My personal favorite Final Fantasy game, and a great example of how to write a character-driven narrative with no real main character (something FF XII would later do).
2. Illusion of Gaia - NO : Barely being an RPG in the first place aside, a lousy English translation and an (alegedly) fantastic sequel that was released officially in English speaking territories give this no real reason for this to be on the list at all.
3. Chrono Trigger - YES : One of the best and most unique games Squaresoft ever made. Definitely a solid choice given the great characters and wildly shifting story arcs you can do for different endings.
4. Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete - NO : I don't like the Lunar games at all (at least the PSX ones). They're way too hard by design, and just aren't enjoyable to play at certain points because they require so much grinding. Especially when some bosses have their max HP based off of the main character's, it's just a punishingly difficult game that, to me, is outshined by other, better real-time action-battle RPG's on the PSX. Games like the Tales series, and even Tales' little sibling Star Ocean, another series I don't care for too much, I'd put above Lunar.
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 - MAYBE : I did not care for the writting philosophy (a very heavily relationship-based story with a silent protagonist) of this game, or the largely timed element. These are largely personal preferences though, and therefore I reserve judgement on this game.
6. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - NO : It's an interesting game, but it's SOOOOO slowly paced. It takes forever to get anywhere at all, and the gameplay just isn't compelling enough to warrent sticking with it. I'd actually recommend the original DS game over this, primarily becasue the battle system is more Dragon Quest-like (in how you recruit monsters and it's turn based) and the story moves much faster.
7. Xenoblade Chronicles - YES : (Not being a JRPG aside) I didn't like it enough to finish it or keep it, but if you like MMO's and/or anime, you'd definitely love this game. I know enough people who do love this game that I'd say it warrants being on the list. The combat just dragged for me after a while, and I didn't appreciate some of the narrative tropes they used for exposition on the villains. (also withholding your last part member until like 40+ hours in is a very annoying thing to me, plot be damned).
9. Dark Souls - YES : (Not being a JRPG aside) Given how popular the series is and how untraditional the storytelling is, I'd say it's at least worth trying out to see how you like it. Though, from what I've heard, DS3 would probably be a better entry point for the series because of how much more forgiving the upgrading system is for your weapons.
11. Final Fantasy IX - NO : If there had to be a FF main-series game on here in addition to the big 2 people like (6 and 7), I wouldn't pick 9. It's a good game, but it's not incredible. I'd pick 4 or 10 over this game any day, just because 4 was such an innovation in how it improved on 2's gameplay philosophy. 10 had a cool battle system, leveling system, and, while the characters were poorly acted and annoying, the overall plot was interesting and pretty cool.
12. EarthBound - YES : It's a cult classic that's worth playing on the grounds it's so different, especially for other games of the time. I wouldn't say it'd make a bad first JRPG (as it was one of my first ones), I'd say it's much more effective to appreciate Earthbound when you have a firmer expectation of what JRPG's are "supposed" to be. It'd be like if The Stanley Parable were the first First-Person genre game you'd ever played.
13. Final Fantasy VII - YES : Though I don't care for it that much, it was a landmark game, and it's so popular I'd say it's worth at least trying for cultural literacy's sake.
14. Radiant Historia - NO : The concept was cool and the battle-style was different, but all of the constant retreking through literally the exact same scenes just bored me after 15 or so hours. A cool game, but not a great game.
16. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals - YES : I'd say this falls under a similar catagory as Earthbound for me. It's a good game, despite of what it gets wrong with its story telling and music cues, and it's also good on how it changes up your expectation of what a JRPG is supposed to be with all of the puzzle elements.
17. The World Ends With You - YES : (Not being a JRPG aside,) One of my favorite DS games ever, and one of SquEnix's best new IP's since their merger. An absolutely fantastic game that, yes, "you absolutely have to play."
19. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride - NO : Though I like this game a lot, it's not the best Dragon Quest. Not by a long shot. I haven't played DQ VII or DQ VIII, but Heavenly Bride is only the best of the not-incredible DQ games, which isn't saying a lot :/
21. Secret of Mana - NO : SD 2 is just so much better, it's kinda pointless for it to be on this list. Not much more to say on it, really.
24. Tales of Vesperia - YES : Probably the best Tales game (or at least damn high up the list). With actually the whole cast being full of memorable, dynamic characters and a story that handles its climaxes very well (despite the slow start), I'd say if you're only gonna play one Tales game, this is the one I'd recommend.
26. Fire Emblem Fates - NO : Awakening had better localization of the story of side characters. On the lazy localization alone, I will say that, though the game may be great, Awakening would be a better one-off/entry point of the series strictly on those grounds of direct comparison.
I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me
