Actually Awesomest JRPGs: The Voting Thread

Yelim, get in here.

So, here's how this is going to work.

You can vote for up to 10 games. These are assigned decending point values - 1st place gets 10 points, 2nd 9, 3rd 8, etc. Formatting is as follows:

And so on. If you don't format your votes I probably won't count them, because effort.

Voting closes on March 1. At that point, I'll tally the results and put together the Official List of JRPGS That Broken Forum (But Mostly the LP Forum and A Couple Games Forum Denizens That Sometimes Wander In) Likes, sorted by total scores.

I'll get my list up in a bit.

Here, I just need to ransack the dusty archive that is my brain. I'll be right back.

Oh, hey, how strict are you going to define JRPG anyway?

"An RPG produced in Japan, or one which purposefully apes the gameplay and stylistic tropes of such titles."

Very broad, to save us all time and suffering. If anyone's obviously trolling (for instance, Skyrim) with their votes, then that gets kicked out. (If you're going to vote for a non-Japanese JRPG (I dunno, Barkley or something), though, I advise you elaborate on that, because odds are I'm not familiar with it.)

Okay, let's see...

1. Dark Souls
2. Persona 3
3. Persona 4
4. Eternal Sonata

Aaand it looks like that's about all of the ones I've played. :/ (Well, I've never played Persona 4, but I did play 3 and I've watched a complete playthrough of 4, so I've basically played it.)

1. Persona 4
2. Persona 3
3. Atelier Totori
4. Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny
5. Final Fantasy XIII
6. Kingdom Hearts 2
7. Valkyria Chronicles
8. Final Fantasy XII
9. Kingdom Hearts
10. Disgaea

...gosh, I really haven't played as many JRPGs as I thought. But my mind's also blanking on a lot of them, and I'm trying not to count any where I've only played a tiny fraction of the game, or only read an LP of someone else playing it, and so forth. And it's tricky deciding how to arrange them when some have better gameplay, others better plot, and others just more things that appeal to my particular tastes.

Ah, the arbitrary nature of any ranked list.

I'll probably edit or clean up my post as I go along and remember more things. I'm actually quite limited to the consoles I have, so bear with me.

1.) The World Ends With You. - Some people hated the gameplay, I loved it. It wasn't boring and it kept me on my toes. Props for being a Square Enix game that defies their normal formula. The setting also drew me in: the possibility of an "underground" Shibuya was pretty original (more so that typical fantasy realms).

2.) Persona 2 - The battle system is Extremely outdated. However, I'm including Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment into this package) The story was amazing. It brought up a lot of questions about our society, rumors, the nature of human beings. It also shows that sometimes, good doesn't always win, and sometimes the antagonist gets his victory. When that happens, the group should just try again. In Eternal Sin, the protagonists were also older, not teenagers, some of which were over thirty years old. I think I liked that touch.

3.)

4.)

5.) Persona 3 - This game got me into the Shin Megami Tensei Series. It spoked to my mythology loving self. I didn't mind that I couldn't really control my team members, as it makes sense, really. A Leader cannot always control every action of his team, but he can lay out a few tactics. It's realistic to me.

I've got a few of my favorites down there, I'll decide and add more candidates and solidify my list as I go along.

Suikoden 2 - I have a certain fondness for Suikoden titles. I like going around and picking up countless many allies, up to a hundred I believe. Number two, however, was emotionally touching as well.

Disgaea - For the amazing SRPG experience and hilarious dialogue.

Digital Devil Saga - For the story and the feelings it made me feel for the characters.

Odin Sphere - for the amazing art and Norse mythology.

Dot Hack - Trying to figure out why I like this series so much. It may be a guilty pleasure of mine.

Radiant Historia - For making me cry.

Fire Emblem Sacred Stones - I generally love the perma-death system in Fire Emblem; losing characters in battle just mean that much more to you. This game is one of the first SRPGs I've ever played.

A Atelier game ? - My mind is processing...processing... (Atelier Iris, Mana Khemia....)

Mother Series - trippy.

Okami - For pandering to my mythological loves.

I agree with you on a theoretical level, but it's not quite realistic when your leader is near death and in desperate need of a Dia or three and a certain somebody decides to bust out a MARIN FUCKING KARIN instead.

Sacred Stones is generally considered one of the weakest entries in the Fire Emblem series; if SRPGs count on this list, I'd personally give this spot to Blazing Sword or Path of Radiance instead.

1. Persona 4
2. Tales of Vesperia
3. Valkyria Chronicles
4. Devil Survivor 2
5. Devil Survivor 1
6. Tales of the Abyss
7. Disgaea 3
8. Dark Souls
9. Fire Emblem Sacred Stones

Those would be all the jrpgs I've played. Except Agarest War, I guess. But fuck Agarest War, that game was creepy.

Ah, Mitsuru, how I loved you as a character, but how I hated you as a party member. At least Yukari wasn't all that bad as a healer.

I think I've only played the GBA Fire Emblem games. Sacred Stones just sticks out in my head since in was one of the first I've played.
What consoles are the other two on? I might want to look that up.

I disliked her design and personality though, so it kinda sucked that she was the best healer, haha!

Blazing Sword (or just Fire Emblem) is on the GBA, and Path of Radiance is on the Gamecube. The latest in the series, Awakening, is on the 3DS; definitely check that out if you have one.

Agreed. I generally disliked her personality, though she did get better as the game went on.

Sadly, I don't have a 3DS. I've been wanting it, though. There are quite a few games that I'd like to play, but can't at the moment.

1. Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden
2. Fire Emblem (Rekka no Ken)
3. Infinite Space (can't believe I forgot this one initially)
4. SMT: Devil Survivor 1 or 2
5. Final Fantasy VI
6. Skies of Arcadia
7. Suikoden
8. Shining Force

Some other titles I'm probably forgetting.

OOh, I knwo what list I'm compiling after work tonight~!

(Spoiler, P4, Suikoden and Star Ocean will be there.))

1. Chrono Trigger
Sheer fun factor, fight dinosaurs in a time machine.
2. Final Fantasy 6
3. Persona 4
4. The World Ends with You
Great atmosphere, fun combat.
5. Anghel's route in Hatoful Boyfriend.

1. Skies of Arcadia
2. Tales of the Abyss
3. Eternal Sonata
4. Odin Sphere

Working on my list now, but I was just wondering, would Valkyria Chronicles qualify as a JRPG?

I'm going to include a bunch of series because I like multiple games within them and am a stinker who doesn't want to use more than one number to list the different entries.

1. Persona series, (personal favotite) Persona 3
Argueably the Shin Megami Tensei series overall can be associated with quality in gameplay, story, and character- Persona is also most accessible to casual gamers (and least depressing in tone). I like that there is a normal life (school/job and friends) outside of the standard JRPG!verse (combat and saving the world), the characters too endear themselves through personal struggles and quirks while also fighting evil (or Chaos, to be SMT!correct). The battle system (especially magic) is a completely different language that has a harsh difficulty curve, but it also makes defeating a tough enemy very rewarding.
Persona 3 I like for it's commitment to theme. The cycling battle menu is reminiscent of a revolver chamber, while the character summon their Persona with a gun shaped evoker (bringing up questions of whether this fighting shadows is suicidal in nature, they're killing off a part of themselves or need that near-death rush to bring those Persona out). The final boss has over 14 forms available, and quotes that reference 14 Arcana that you become familiar with through Social Links and the Velvet Room. And the end (as well of some final Social Links) matches the theme being depicted in the enemies and struggle, there's a lot of finality while not giving of warm fuzzies really reinforces plot and raises questions on the nature of life and death.

2. Fire Emblem series, Geneology of the Holy War
A strategic game, but every unit is a character with a backstory and personality- who you can get killed and they will be dead permanently. In addition to a vast assortment of characters, it is also a game series know for stories full of betrayal and heroic quests that will drive you to charge into that final hurrah or simply survive it.
I'm one of those players who first played Rekka no Ken and got really attached to the idea of the Support system (where you see two characters interact with one another and gain bonuses for being beside their "support" on the battle field). However, the older entries are just as entertaining in terms of character and story if one can adjust to the clunkier gameplay. I favor FE4 because I don't have to pick and choose my team I GET THEM ALL, and really it's blacksheep mechanics are right up my grind-happy alley. Not to mention dat plot twist and Lover system, mmhm.

3. Baten Kaitos series, Origins
Likely less played because it's a Nintendo-only title, these two games have memorable characters, great story (humorous, dramatic, and surprising twists) and are a fun battle card system. The world building of the game!verse is obviously crafted with great care, and comes heavily into the plot so satisfactorily. Not to mention the first game has a canon self-insert and the second game has a canon OT3, they totally do!
While I adore both, the protagonist trio of the prequel, Origins (which came after Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean) have some of the most entertaining chemistry and interactions I've seen in a video game. Sagi, Guillo, Milly- YOU ARE THE BEST THREE.

4. Skies of Arcadia, Legends
A game about sky pirates, sky pirates, and it's as fun as it sounds! There are ship battles in addition to hand-to-hand turn-based JRPG stock, and you get to collect a crew to man the ship and populate your secret hide out as you battle against the Evil Imperialists and the megalomaniac who wants to take over the world! It's hard to think of this game and not think fun, the up-beat characters also help reinforce the having-a-good-time feeling, and while there are serious and even tear jerking moments, this JRPG will leave you wanting more happy times and adventure once you've finished it.
I played the updated version on the Gamecube (apparently the first version on the Dreamcast had an INSANE random encounter rate) and stuck with my kill-every-random-encounter attitude...and an in-game counter character called me on this behavior, calling it "Very brave or completely crazy. Maybe both." Time with Vyse, Aika, and Fina is always well spent (even when wasted trolling for map discoveries).

5. Disgaea series Soul Nomad and the World Eaters
Nippon Ichi has a special touch for humor, in both story and character- they embrace absurdity and play it well in the JRGP genre. Disgaea has you collect and train units to unleash upon the hapless populace your enemies, but it's the main characters and their silly antics that make these stories shine.
My favorite NI games is a standalone however (also know as Soul Cradle) and three letters explain why: G. I. G. The character of Gig, had the potential to be everything you hate about smug villainy and breaking the 4th wall except that he was done right. He's a baddie and knows it. Stuck in the main characters body? No big, you'll want to tap into his infinite cosmic power and then he'll take the driver's seat (not that he actually gets to in the main quest...though the Demon Route is another story). My favorite moment of him being a brat is when the party is wandering haplessly through the desert trying to find the boss monster and are heckled by these weird mini-monsters, so they ask Gig if he knows what's going on? Gig laughs and says "Yea." but refuses to tell them. Because what good would that do him? And it'd ruin all the fun. His English voice actor pulls off the arrogance so perfectly gushgushrant.
ALSO have you ever wanted the protagonist, when being handed the weight of saving the world, to say "Screw it, I'm joining the villains. Nay, I'll lead them!" This game gives you that option (only in a New Game plus) so you can fulfill that urge of being A COMPLETE MONSTER as the protag team struggles against you. What other game has that option?

6. Golden Sun series, The Lost Age
This is more along the lines of a traditional JRPG in terms of battle mechanics and storyline, but both are well done. Swords and sorcery at it's best, with a plot that begins as a rescue and widens in scope until it's the world the party is saving! The Summoning system (where you can call Thor to cast down lightning upon your foes) and the magic system where you customize by equipping little critters called Djinn, are some of the gameplay highpoints.
I like the second installment, because it switches to the "villains" of the first game (though only two survive and technically only one stays in your party) and explains the reasons why they started all that trouble- and it turns out they're just trying to save the world too. Not the most shocking of twists but it's laid out well and I like all the characters in the party enough that saving the world (again) with them sounds like a good time.

TBC this is going to be one looooooong list...

I counted it as one, but then, I'm using a pretty loose definition of JRPG. Is it a video game from Japan? Is there a lot of plot? Do characters level up in some manner? JRPG.

(ETA: And if anyone here knows what the "gimmicky exploits" in combat are for it, by all that's holy, tell me! People keep referencing them in another thread, but not explaining what they are, and if there's an easier way to win battles than I've managed so far, I'd love to know.)

1. Final Fantasy X
2. Devil Survivor 1
3. Persona 3 Portable
4. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
5. Baten Kaitos
6. Tales of the Abyss
7. Tales of Graces f
8. Shining Force

I'm not sure if the original .hack games would count since they're technically 4 seperate games, but are actually one single game.

This definition stinks. JRPG is a genre, not a nationality, and you seem to half-recognize that by allowing Western games that are in that genre, but then you also allow anything that's nominally an RPG as long as it's Japanese?

Anyway, given your criteria:

1. Dark Souls
2. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
3. Dragon Quest VIII
4. Final Fantasy V
5. Chrono Trigger
6. Final Fantasy Tactics A2
7. Cthulhu Saves the World

1. Final Fantasy Tactics
(it single-handedly made me like turn-based games at ALL)
2. Final Fantasy VI
(my first jrpg ever. such amazing world creation)
3. Dark Souls
(see the DS forums for details :)

1. Dark Souls

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Eternal Sonata (come on a game about Frederic Chopin's fever dreams?!?!?!)

The definition is fine, if you're playing by the spirit of the rules rather than trying to game them.I'm going to leave out SRPGS just because I see where they might fit in but I think they are more productively ranked relative to one another.

1. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter - strongest combination of innovation in mechanics and storytelling while strictly adhering to traditional JRPG forms. Not because they lack creativity, but like a poet that sets out to write a sonnet, the form matters when it channels creativity.

2. Yakuza 3: 4 is a better game, but 3 made it all come together for the first time. It looks like an open world game, you do combat like a 3d fighter, but the body of the game is all jrpg. I wish more of these games would adapt the form to quasi-realistic settings in order to profit from its efficiency.

3. Persona 3: Beautifully written, engrossing mixture of the relationship game genre and a Pokemon dungeon crawl. I'm especially grateful because I felt like it was a great way to soften the edges of SMT: Nocturne, which I admired greatly but did not find especially playable. It still kept that balance between hard, ugly edges and a laserlike focus on empowering the player.

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - I love the merger of Lovecraft with sci fi with SMT. The dungeon design holds the game back, especially relative to other dungeon crawlers out at the same time, but the story is excellent, and unfortunately edges out SMT: Devil Survivors despite their many charms. There's only so much demon pokemon I can take.

5. Shadow Hearts: Covenant - This is a title that's especially dated in terms of basic societal decency. However, it has an interesting, lively combat system hinged to a variety of different character development models within the same party. I love the plot of the game, even if it's at times like watching an old movie in terms of the ideas it considers hilarious punchlines.

6. Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria - Finally, a JRPG understands that we want the effort in the battlefield and not in the over-level that can just as easily be turned into something easy and 2d. And so they came up with a meaty combination of ideas that really push you out of your comfort zone in terms of tactical and strategic planning.

Honorable mentions:Wild Arms 3: Charming, the best in the series by far, and some really cool ideas worked in there with some of the worst writing this side of Final Fantasy and some silly platforming. .hack- yes, the combat was terrible and the serialization embarrassing, but the way the MMORPG was simulated with in-game writing remained one of the better experiments in character design. Xenosaga 3: it took 3 long games for the promise of rpg mech combat on one plane and traditional, space fantasy combat on the other plane to work out.As a player, you had to endure a couple of terrible missteps in terms of mechanics, and some frankly catastrophic choices in terms of story. But X3, the most underrated and yet most well-designed of the series, was almost worth it. Also if someone tells you they like X1, maybe stab them and run.


Dishonorable mentions: Final Fantasy Series: unfortunately, you peaked with XII which was the least JRPG of your titles. Fuck you for wasting my time with repetition, and fuck FF7 especially for being both your clumsiest combat design/technology blend and the worst plot ever blown out of proportion by people in search of a decent book to read. I'm glad you went a radically different direction with current gen titles, because your fans are terrible and will continue to lie to you. FFX was close to good. But there's no sense of balance in your combat design and no sense of taste in your writing, and in general the approach to encounters has always been behind the competition or setting awful trends. Rogue Galaxy: Just fuck you. You lazy hybrid of sci fi and fantasy. You lazy implementation of Western rpg ideas into JRPG tropes. Just fuck you. Lost Odyssey: I can't believe someone let this game go and ruin that writer's excellent vignettes with your pathetic mishmash of things that were hackneyed on the PS2 and are downright insulting on the xbox. Everyone involved with the making of this game should be ashamed. 4 DVDs of fuck you to anyone with respect for their own time.

Pending: Xenoblade, FF13, Chrono Trigger.

Probably missed a bunch, but I'm sure they'll come up. I did not include Etrians because they seem to me as distinctly in a more western genre mechanically, although obviously if I included Strange Journey that's a strange line to draw. I did not include Dark Souls because I'm not nuts.

I'm aware of that, but I'm not interested in splitting hairs over what exactly should be considered a JRPG; I'm assuming that our userbase is - for the most part - capable of handling that intelligently.

I figured that one or two people voting in good faith for something like Dark Souls would be an acceptable margin of error, and easier to manage than trying to get everyone to agree on a more technical definition of the genre.

Aaannnyyyway, my list. (Clearly, though, I need to start looking into the SMT series!)

1. Mother 3
2. Xenoblade Chronicles
3. EarthBound/Mother 2
4. The World Ends With You
5. Chrono Trigger
6. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
7. Tales of Phantasia
8. Xenogears
9. Tales of Symphonia
10. Disgaea

can you guess what long-suffering fanbase I am a part of

I was this close to including Mother, since there's a lot that still holds up, but at the end of the day the game is too clunky to justify it. Still worth playing.

edit: holy shit I did a best JRPG list without Chrono Trigger I mean what

Can I think of ten that deserve to be here, is the question.

1. Persona 4
My favorite game. I'm sure everyone's listed a million good reasons already for it to be here. In my opinion, they took most of the things that were brillant and wonderful from 3 and older, then fixed some of the things people had complaints about like no social links with the rest of your party you couldn't bang, etc. I enjoyed upbeat better than hopelessness. Just a really fun game with replay value, which I so rarely want to replay games. And it's one of very, very, very few games that I don't take much issues with how it ends.

2. Suikoden 5
Introduced me to the series. Beautiful art, music, character personalities, world... Story had twists I didn't see coming, replay value, a billiion things to do. Even if they don't get as much development as I want, being able to recruit 200+ characters you can interact with in yoru based in various ways is super fun. All the extra content like bath scenes, fishing, investigations... It's just so fun, the whole series is.

3. Suikoden 4
I technically tie this one with 5 when I talk about the series. Again, twists I didn't see coming, beautiful, amazing characters, iI think having the moving home base is AWESOME, replay value, minigames... I really love the series!

4. Star Ocean 3
One of the games I take HUGE issues with the ending. Even so, the gameplay is so much fun, I love the crafting system. The characters are extremely interesting and I got really invested in their lives. I liked the story even if it got kind of ridiculous toward the end. Sidequests and minigames are fun and refreshing. It's pretty and has enjoyable music. I liked the battle mechanics once I got used to them. It was my favorite game before I played P4 and only slipped bellow the SUikodens because those are easier for me to get back into replaying. SO3 can be kinda cumbersome to do multiple playthroughs of, even if the endings are really interesting.

5. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
I'm glad this one gets mentioned here. The battle system is unique. The characters love to break 4th wall and make the player laugh at an otherwise fairly heavy storyline. A lot of the the ideas feel to me at least very unique and interesting. Many of the in depth mechanics and side trips like powering up one character's weapon through outfits, some kind fo homoerotic wrestling sidequest for a guy's ultimate power, interesting bad guys... It just really a good game worth playing at least once.

6. Lost Kingdoms 2
I understand if this game and Lost Kindoms 1 get ommited, because I'm not entirely sure if it fits criteria. It is a Japanese game from a roleplaying perspective, but instead of traditional turn based battles and parties, there is one protagonist who fights with magic cards in real time, and you have minimal decision making points in the story as it's mostly linear level-clearing with cutscenes. This one less so than the original, as the story is expanded upon to be rich with character development and a few plot twists. One o fmy favorite games I own though. Female lead, the cards fighting is amazingly enjoyable, I liked the story a lot. Art and music and whole world are beautiful and interesting. Has cooler sidequests than the original. Replay value is good.

7. Lost Kingdoms
Like the last, I understand if it gets disqualified for the same reasons. Still, a female lead who grows strong over the course of the adventure. Beautiful with gorgeous art and music. The unique card battle system is fun. The story is limited but interesting. There's replay value. It's just a game near and dear to my heart I wish more people got to play.

8. Phantom Brave
Introduced me to Nippon-Ichi's games. The story is more coherant than some in the series(coughMakaiKingdomcough), I haven't played Disgaia yet so it may be better, but this is my pick from the same company. It's pretty, quirky, and the story made me cry for the female protagonist. Actually, it made me cry for a few people. The ammount of ability to customize characters is fun, and not as complicated as it gets in some later games. (See above coughing.) It provides pportunity for a casual player to enjoy the story, and more serious numbers people to build statistical death machines.

9. Mana Khemia
I think it's the game that introduced me to Gust games(Atelier anyone?), and was my favorite game for a while. Liked the characters, liked the battle mechanics, liked the story a LOT, I liked the crafting systems and games, replay value for the endings... A lot of the typical stuff I love in a game.

10. Ar Tonelico
The story got a bit cheesy and mary sue at points, but I loved the overall concepts. I just realized I was wrong the previous review, THIS game introduced me to Gust. Music is amazing. AMAZING. The idea of the dive systems and exploring the characters' psyches, even if those insipid women were barely worth it was soooo much fun as a concept. The spells and the battle mechanics were awesome. Sidequests are fun. It's pretty. I LOVED the good ending. It was just unique and exciting to play, despite it's faults.

I have to point out, I am picking these exclusively from games I've played. Otherwise others from the same series/developers may have made it like Disgaias, other Ar Tonelicos, other Personas, other Suikodens, the Mother series and more probably would have edged out others.

Really? I remeber the counter-intuitive menu bullshit ebing annoying, but once I got into the game I didn't hate it that bad. I know it's unpopular though. Maybe I have more forgiving tastes? Except for Final Fantasys, geegus, fuck.

...My god, someone else who's played the Lost Kingdoms games. Whether it fits criteria or not, I'm just happy this got mentioned, as they're wonderful, wonderful games. I've been hoping to find a copy of 2 for my girlfriend (well.. and myself), in fact, but man is it hard to find these days. As far as getting the series more exposure... there's always the option of doing an LP... I'd do one, but again, I don't own a copy of either game.

Amazon. I got them for like, $5. A couple years back though. Check anyway.

I was thinking of reccomending them to the LP Request thread, but it's actually an action/adventure platformer type thing, and the bulk of the game woul dbe fighting through the courses. A video LP would be more plausible than a screenshot one for effect. There'sjust not THAT much story to elaborate on in an LP IMO.

If someone found a smart way to do it though, I'd love 'em for it.

Limiting myself to games I own:

1. Persona 4 Golden

2. Persona 3 Portable

3. Shadow Hearts: Covenant

4. Shadow Hearts

5. Dragon Quest 8

6. Star Ocean 3

7. Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Best implementation of the Ring system of all three games. I feel like it's more a spin-off game than a direct sequel, however.

8. Tales of the Abyss

9. Valkyrie Profile: Silmaria
Don't have VP: Lenneth, unfortunately

10. Phantasy Star 3
Going old school here. 11 year old me though that having your controlled characters change in each generation depending on who you married was the neatest thing.

Western RPG Honorable Mention: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Sure, it's buggy as hell without the fan-patches. I still love it to undeath. "You win this round, sign!"

Final Fantasy VI

Final Fantasy XII

Final Fantasy X

Persona 4

Persona 3

Dragon Quest 8 (wish I had DS to play 9)

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

...and that's all I got, in no particular order. After the genius that was FFXII, FFXIII was just a massive disappointment. FFXIII-2 was better, but it doesn't even come close to ranking with the rest.

1. Final Fantasy (NES) Probably my first RPG video game.
2. Phantasy Star 2 (Genesis) The last JRPG I really enjoyed.

Shortly after Phantasy Star 2 I discovered the D&D Gold Box games in the bargin bin at Babbages, and later Baldur's Gate, and I haven't enjoyed a JRPG since.

ADDENDUM: In an episode of GamePro with JD Roth, I learned you can keep Nei alive in Phantasy Star 2 by stealing a Moon Dew with Shir the Thief prior to going to the weather control station. I did this, and learned she just takes up a slot in your party permanently and gradually becomes useless as there's no more items in the game she can use. The script still treats her as dead. Overall, it's a bad idea.

Super Mario RPG.

That is all.

1. Tales of The Abyss
2. Persona 4
3. The World Ends With You
4. SMT: Devil Survivor 2
5. Radiant Historia
6. Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and Lost Oceans
7. Tales of Legendia
8. Okage: Shadow King
9. Final Fantasy IX
10.Final Fantasy X

I feel like I'm missing some important game i loved in my childhood, but its not coming to me. Oh well.
I'm mostly ranking this by how many times I replayed the game so I assume my past self liked the game enough to trudge through cutscenes. grinding and horrible people.

Edit: Since the thread has obligingly debated over the definition of a JRPG, i'm changing up my list a bit and adding in a few games I had completely forgotten about, whoops.

1. Xenoblade Chronicles.
2. Final Fantasy XII
3. Chrono Trigger
4. Final Fantasy VI
5. Persona 4 Golden
6. The World Ends With You
7. Persona 3
8. Final Fantasy VIII
9. Skies of Arcadia
10. Tales of Vesperia

These are literally all the jRPGs I ever played. Discounting sRPGs like Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, and Valkyria Chronicles. That I can remember, at least.

1 - Dark Souls - I don't agree that it should be here, but if it's gonna be, then god damnit it's gonna win.

2 - Infinite Space - None of you other fuckers voted for this, and you're wrong wrong wrong. Go fix your mistakes right now.

3 - Xenoblade Chronicles - Absolutely brilliant game with (so far) zero douchebags in the party.

4 - Persona 4 - It'd probably be higher if I was further along it, but even with my limited experience it's a fantastic game.

5 - Persona 3 - same as 4, with a bit less polish and a game that feels "smaller" due to me playing the P3P version.

6 - The World Ends With You - Played the ipad version, and absolutely loved it. so many shiny badges...

7 - Nier - Another serious lack in other lists. One of the games on this list I most regret not finishing. Need to get back to this pronto.

8 - Tales of Vesperia - Great game that I played for aaaaages. The story goes some *really* interesting places, but I eventually ran out of steam.

9 - Lost Odyssey - in some ways it's objectively worse than some games below it (like, say, *as a game*). I needed to place it higher though, because the writing on the short pieces of fiction you find throughout the game is *breathtakingly* good. If the game's story had matched these, it'd be best-game-of-all-time material.

10 - Final Fantasy 12 - awesome game, marred by some really really shitty completionist-breaking quests. Zodiac Spear anyone?

11 - Final Fantasy 4 - Pretty great game I played on the PSP last year. need to go back to it. It remains the only "classic" jrpg I played, before FF7 apparently changed the genre forever.

12 - Final Fantasy 13 - The only one of these I finished. I know, I know. I was heavily medicated and forced to be in bed. It's pretty OK, but really flawed in pacing and storyline.

13 - Resonance of Fate - Good and flashy but repetitive combat, a really weird exploration system, and a confusing and badly told story conspired to make this game feel disembodied and unengaging. REALLY flashy combat though.

The top of this list is likely to become different in a few weeks, once I'm done with Ni No Kuni

Why? I mean, why wouldn't you filter further?

I have this, and the biggest roadblock is going to be that it's a pain in the ass to buy. The roadblock to me voting for it is just that I didn't actually like it very much but I appreciate it's not bad or anything. Just not for me.

If the game's story, if the game's mechanics, if any other part of the game had come close to matching the vignettes, it could have been a good game. As it stands, it's grotesque to give credit to it as a JRPG, and frankly I'm always a little surprised when I see that many people made it into the second disc.

The Zodiac spear was stupid. It was also somewhat overrated relative to other items that were not as concealed. In general, the FF series has had an embarrassing approach to item gathering, of which I think the most notorious would probably be FFX's ultimate weapons and the mythical, poorly understood puzzle of the Omega Chests. It was cutting edge filler before MMORPGs were a dominant paradigm.

Both 6 and 5 have a lot to offer (in that order), if you liked what 4 was hinting at. The DS/GBA versions are pretty good, although they are the only versions I know.

You have FF7 on your list. There are bigger structural problems afoot with these votes is what I'm getting at.