The Only 26 JRPGs You Absolutely Have to Play

[Xeogred]

I think a few FF's are warranted, because a major strength to the series is how varied and stand alone the installments are. But that's probably Phantasy Star's case as well along with many other franchises haha.

[MrPopo]

ExDeath wasn't out to destroy the world... he was out to destroy EXISTENCE ITSELF, THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE MEAN NOTHING! His character is completely bonkers and insane. He is a branch of SHEER EVILNESS and his armor design is one of the coolest things Amano ever designed.

No he wasn't. He was out to gain the power of the Void to control the world. It's only when you defeat him and he gets consumed by the Void itself that you get that speech about destroying existence. The Neo Exdeath that's spat out is an avatar of the Void, and that's who wants to end existence. Not Exdeath himself.

[Sarge]

Look at y'all, taking the plot of Final Fantasy V seriously. It's precious.

[Xeogred]

The death in FFV hits me harder than most of the others in the series.

Better question, BUTZ OR BARTZ?

[MrPopo]

Butz, hands down.

[Sarge]

I prefer Bartz because it doesn't sound like someone's going to pull a "I like big BUTZ and I cannot lie" when the subject comes up.

[Ack]

Kefka does have a reason why he is the way he is. He was the guinea pig for gaining magic enhancement via surgical insertion. He's so strange and seemingly one note because his mind has completely snapped as a result of the botched experiment. In fact he and Celes are pretty much two sides of the same depressed coin, with Kefka inhabiting all of the rage and hate while Celes takes much of the despairing.

When it becomes too much and Kefka absolutely gives into his hate to try to murder Celes, Gestahl tries to kill him...and so Kefka murders Gestahl. In fact the only instance in which we ever see Kefka experience any form of empathy is when he murders the emperor. He allows himself a moment to mutter, "Poor old..." and then immediately snaps back and berates him. Kefka then successfully remakes the world in the spirit of his own mentally ill mind, one sliding away into inevitable ruin where life is cheap and he is king but locked away in a tower built out of trash. It then comes down to Celes, the despairing side of the coin, to overcome her own depression as a result of her surgery and rebuild the only team that can stop Kefka.

Duality is a relatively common theme in FF6, and it's represented in quite a few ways:

Kefka/Celes, the two magically-infused generals
Edgar/Sabin, the brothers who chose their opposing life paths based on a coin toss
The World of Balance/The World of Ruin
The Human World/The Esper World
Two species coming together to form a hybrid offspring, Terra

Locke experiences a quasi-love triangle with two women, Terra and Celes(both of which represent duality in their own manner) while not actually recovered from the loss of his love, while Edgar masquerades as a different person, thus inhabiting two different costumes and personas. There are two airships in this world, owned by Setzer and Daryl. Cyan is forced to face the loss of his family twice, contending with anger and grief for the first run and then learning acceptance after the second. Two also gets represented in numerous minor ways: two major continents in the World of Balance, two monster characters(Mog and Umaro), two children characters(Realm and Gau), two relic slots, two choices for Ragnarok, two options for Shadow, two fights with Phunbaba, etc.

Also note that confrontation between the dual sides is inevitable. Setzer is forced to take on the second airship by reliving his memories of Daryl and her death. Edgar and Sabin are forced to examine the courses of their lives together. Celes, as the first of the World of Ruin characters, is inevitably forced to take on Kefka, her counterpart. Locke's love-triangle falls through and he later has to contend with the loss of his real love. Terra has to face her heritage to learn to understand herself before discovering she can love. Cyan faces the loss of his family twice.

Funny enough, the most mysterious character in the game is Gogo, who has no known gender and simply is. There is no personal progression for Gogo whatsoever. The other most mysterious character is Shadow, but the other state of his life is hinted at in his dreams.

[Jmustang1968]

While I love FFIV, the level of nuance and depth found in VI simply isn't there in IV.

[pierrot]

I read the title of this article, somewhere, and figured it was a waste of time to click on. I feel a bit validated, after seeing it here.

1. Final Fantasy VI - [no]
2. Illusion of Gaia - [absolutely not]
3. Chrono Trigger - [no]
4. Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete - [don't know. I would guess that it's good, but still a "no."]
5. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 - [haven't played it, but I'd guess it's a "no"]
6. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - [see above]
7. Xenoblade Chronicles - [same as above]
8. Xenogears - [maybe, but, no.]
9. Dark Souls - [why?]
10. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - [doubtful]
11. Final Fantasy IX - [loved the game, but no]
12. EarthBound - [absolutely not]
13. Final Fantasy VII - [no]
14. Radiant Historia - [don't know]
15. The Last Story - [possibly, but I doubt it]
16. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals - [doubtful]
17. The World Ends With You - [no]
18. Suikoden II - [yes, kind of]
19. Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride - [sure, I guess]
20. Final Fantasy Tactics - [maybe]
21. Secret of Mana - [absolutely not]
22. Final Fantasy Type-O HD - [is this a joke?]
23. Valkyria Chronicles - [why?]
24. Tales of Vesperia - [no]
25. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together - [eh, borderline]
26. Fire Emblem Fates - [doubt it]


For the criteria specified, 26 games is really too many. I'd argue that there are likely fewer than 20, and they should include:
-Dragon Slayer (or Xanadu)
-Dragon Quest (an early one: something between 1 and 4)
-Final Fantasy III
-Phantasy Star (maybe)
-Shin Megami Tensei (although I kind of like Megami Tensei better)
-Chrono Cross
-Suikoden III (after playing the first two)
-Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

[MrPopo]

You're ranking FFIII over FFVI? Your opinion is bad and you should feel bad.

Also, ranking Chrono Cross over Chrono Trigger. Do you even RPG bro?