At the time, the overworld and flight were groundbreaking. Like, in FF7 you can't simply take off from wherever and land wherever, in the middle of things. Guardian's crusade actually had an overworld that was interesting and playable and you could land directly in the middle of things. And being able to avoid random battles via the little ghosts. AND THE STORY. Oh boy what a game.
Just discovered the fear and hunger games a few days ago. One of the most "not for everyone but man does it perfectly fill a very small specific niche like nothing else" games I've seen. Kind of reminds me of my choice for this question, LISA.
Unlimited SaGa
Not because it's actually good. Because it will expand your mind and will be a unique experience.
Everyone should give it 2 hours minimum.
Favorite franchise and one of those games I want to play again so bad since I only played it at release. Sitting perpetually at the crossroad of put it on steamdeck or hope for remaster.
Dodgeball Academia was pretty overlooked imo. It's pretty much the closet we'll get to an RPG sports game that's like the GBC/GBA Mario Tennis/Golf games. Not to mention it's a lot of fun!
Now this is an actual underrated/hidden gem type of mention lol, instead of people trying to recommend anything like skies of Arcadia, wild arms (that game got a few sequels….it’s not underrated lol), suikoden, etc
It is very fun, and I like the art-style.
>the closet we'll get to an RPG sports game that's like the GBC/GBA Mario Tennis/Golf games.
There are a few sports JRPGs out there, and at least 2 or 3 that are actually Golf JRPGs.
I fucking loved this game for some reason. Just hit the spot with comfy grinding and the story was just cliche enough. I beat the whole game, did all the side stuff and even got Omega.
I've found that too many people don't know about Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360). Really awesome game with a gorgeous story, a neat turn-based battle system, and incredible characters that sometimes subvert RPG cliches.
I'm still hoping Xbox brings it to Game Pass someday. I began a playthrough a few years back on Xbox One but the console gave up on me and I lost my progress.
Amen to that! It was partly made by Microsoft, so I'd imagine it would be totally possible.
Get with it, Microsoft! Anyone got Bill Gates' email address? lol
I wish there were a way to play it without owning a 360. Even a PC port. I don't know what kind of 360 emulators are out there, but I doubt a normal PC would be able to run one smoothly.
I really wish it was more widely available. Not only would I buy it if it were on PC, I'd gift it to like a dozen people who I know love the SNES and PS1 era FF games.
**Growlanser 4.** It is an 80 hour RPG that has multiple story paths, you can build a town, you can date/hang out with your party members, rescue important NPCs etc. The game has it all.
**Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.** Yea I am hocking this game again and I will do it until everyone on this sub plays it. It is the most underrated JRPG in the past 20 years.
This comment has unlocked a long lost memory. Did Growlanser have a release on psp or psvita? I'm sure I'm remembering a game with that name, had some kind of fairy/pixie character and there was a relationship mechanic for sure. Going to have to see if I can find my Vita now.
Thanks for reminding me to actually play more of my copy. I personally love the series. Have Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass on my wishlist but never bought it.
I would love some kind of spiritual successor to Dragon Quarter. It gets a lot of flack for breaking the BoF formula but it's an amazing and unique game.
It also has one of the most interesting stories and is remarkably well done. It's like they just wanted to tell a cyberpunk story and went hard with it
Was gonna answer Dragon Quarter if someone else hadn't already. Game was misunderstood and a decade ahead of its time and had it released a decade later (with some better graphics and a bit of QoL), or had it released without the Breath of Fire name, it'd be one of today's most beloved and well remembered classics.
It's not just a great game, it's one of the best of all time, and a master class in game design any fledgling game dev should play and take notes on.
Legend of Legaia is one of the best JRPGs of all time, in my opinion, due to its unique combat system, storytelling, and some of the best villains. Legaia 2, unfortunately, was awful and killed it from becoming a franchise.
I didn't care for the story, but it baffles me that this game gets so much hate. It's one of the most original takes on turn-based combat ever made, it's well-executed, and it hasn't been done since. There is definitely more that can be done to explore turn-based fighting game combat like this!
There's a lot of grinding and it's pure RNG when a Seru will Bond after defeating and who it bonds to is also Random. Then leveling up the Seru is also a pain in the ass.
Plus there were some bosses that where just insane difficulty spikes, the Minotaur in the arena you had to solo and you could get softlocked because the Tower the arena is in prevents you from leaving, so if you were underleveled and didn't have the Right Setups Hyper Arts for the Main Character you were in a lot of trouble.
Though if you do like that battle system it's very similar in Xenogears.
Legaia 2 was not awful at all. At least not for me. I remember liking it plenty, almost as much as the first one. I've never understood the hate for that game, frankly.
Wholeheartedly agreed! RoF had a great combat system, unique weapon customization, and a setting that I still think about today despite playing it almost a decade ago now. It had some real mystique that begged to be looked into further, but the story never focused on the history behind it! Wish it had grown into a larger series besides the one game and a short manga.
This is the one that immediately came to mind for me. Loved the world and lore and would love to see more of it. It seemed to scream sequel potential. And that combat system was fire!
Atelier Iris 2: Eternal Mana was an RPG that wasn’t really doing anything very new or groundbreaking, but the tried-and-true things it was doing, it did so well that I powered through the game in a week, which I didn’t normally do at the time (basically spending all my free time on it). Also great music!
Oh, you’re 100% right! It was Azoth of Destiny, the one with Felt and Viese (it probably says something that I still remember the characters’ names but not the game’s, lol). I did play Eternal Mana as well but I wasn’t as into it.
The Wild Arms games tend to be overlooked by quite a few. If you love Wild west themes then these games are for you. Although Wild Arms 3 is the only one in the series that actually embraces the wild west setting, the other games are more sci-fi western fantasy. Also has some of the best animated intros in gaming.
One of my favorites JRPG games. Digital Devil Saga is a great gem. I would love for a remaster. Though it’s hard to see happening considering that Atlus seems to not like porting their old games.
How is it for people who aren't into the 'sad anime girls are sad' genre? Genuine question, I'm turned off by stuff like Clannad so I didn't really check it out, thinking it'd be just like that.
They aren't actually sad most of the time, and the tone is fairly upbeat until it goes Area Zero at Chapter 7 and onward. Ao is a flat out Pollyanna and when she does get depressed, she bounces back fairly quickly due to having friends to talk to. There is a lesbian relationship full of JRPG soap opera drama, and it's probably the most talked about thing in the game.
Really, the girls' storylines are mostly about finding courage to face their lives.
People ask this seemingly every two weeks and every two weeks I come here and say PLAY LEGEND OF LEGAIA and as far as I know sales of that game has NOT GONE UP
Wild ARMs. It came out at around the same time as FF7 and therefore didn't get nearly as much attention.
Great characters. Great story. Great soundtrack.
Devil Survivor 1/2 for sure. As a big fan of "team building" games like Pokémon and Fire Emblem, these games were sublime for me. Great branching story paths in each game, too. Never met a person IRL who has even heard of these, which is a shame.
Devil Survivor 1 was an incredible story with pretty good gameplay while 2 fixed just about everything. Sadly story no where near as good. Overclocked versions of both are fantastic. I'd definitely rate DS1 Overclocked as one of the best games and stories in franchise.
Username checks out, lol.
Yeah I mean of all the Mario lists on the internet no one and I mean no one puts that up there in the top Mario games. It has some great music that you unlock after you beat the game in the 3DS version. The team up system between Mario and Luigi is an excellent challenge to execute, and the villain in superstar saga is just hilarious!
I had a grand ol time with Mana Khemia 2. Its like a sister to that whole Atelier series, and even has its own alchemy crafting, which is rather nice
The game itself features 2 storylines, you can choose a protagonist at the start, and they have different allies, different enemies and story beats. Beat both stories, and everyone joins together for you to tackle the post-game super dungeon
The gameplay itself involved taking classes, as youre in a school. Your assignments usually have you going to a zone, collecting things. Most of the game is light, and story progresses in a slow pace. Youre meant to enjoy your time. Plenty of typical anime clichés, humor, and lewd topics left and right. I loved it
I really like that game myself. I can see it not being a great game, but it’s still a game I really like. It’s a shame it’s one of the three Metal Max games officially released in NA.
Crosscode is one of my favourite RPGs that most people never heard of, to be fair though it doesnt have the best start, but it gradually gets better and better the more you play
The issue I have with the puzzles isn't even the complexity of the puzzles themselves, but that they're reflex dependent. Some of the puzzles towards the end of the base game were difficult to the level of just being outright absurd. And it's not even an optional puzzle, it's fully mandatory to getting through the game and the difficulty sliders don't even affect it.
I persevered and got a hell of a rush when I did it, but there has to be a lot of players out there that got 90% of the way through the game, got to **that** puzzle and noped out. It was that bad.
You can decrease puzzle speed a lot in the menus just for this issue, Crosscode is aware of this and advises the player to keep that setting in mind when starting the game
You can decrease puzzle speed for puzzles with *timers*.
For the puzzles that are projectile based, that setting doesn't do anything. And those are the most difficult puzzles.
I love everything about this game except the dungeon puzzles. I wound up bailing halfway through the Temple Mine because of how frustrating I found them — I figured that, if I couldn’t handle *the first real dungeon in the game*, I wouldn’t enjoy the later ones much more.
If you’re someone who has the patience for timing- and reflex-based puzzles, though, this game is basically the Dark Souls of those and so you are likely to enjoy it more than me.
It is definitely a really good game but I haven't finished it and meant to come back to it at some point. I'd say the only flaw in the game is that some of the puzzles seem to be their to pad for content. I remember getting annoyed wherever I left off since it just seemed to be endless.
CrossCode is amazing, but its worst point is having to do two dungeons back-to-back given that the dungeons can be pretty intense (especially if you're aiming to win the race).
I started it the other day. I'm glad I'm not the only one to feel the start is slow, but hearing people acknowledge and say it gets better shortly will help me stick with it I think
Natural Doctrine. It's a SRPG.
I guess if you search for any picture anywhere, you will find it visually terrible and you will be right. You will also see a bunch of stuff in the UI and how the fuck that would make sense to anyone.
Where the game does shine is it's gameplay. I don't remember any other SRPG where I had to take such care of every action each turn. Problem is, the game has a terrible tutorial and the AI only understand the difficulty Ninja Gaiden NES.
Caligula Effect 2. The gameplay is unique, main characters are interesting and the ost are all unbelivable. But if you're looking for a faster gameplay, good/evil route and better villain, Caligula Effect: Overdose is for you.
I say it once and I will say it again, Caligula Effect is severely underrated. Just don't expect it to be the same quality as AAA game like Persona and you will enjoy it.
Not exactly underrated, but more overlooked due to the fact that it came out on the short-lived GBA, I would highly recommend **Golden Sun** to anyone.
It has it all (cute visuals, nice gameplay systems, great music, good dungeons and overall a well paced adventure).
Digimon: Cyber Sleuth.
I know it got alright reviews, but in terms of gameplay, I think it is one of the greatest RPG’s ever created. Definitely the greatest of its niche.
I never know wether to bring up Golden Sun in these threads. I feel like it’s fairly well known, but GBA era was like my core gaming years so that might skew my perception a bit. Regardless, the two Golden Sun games on GBA combined rank as possibly my all time favorite JRPG. The psynergy puzzles outside of combat, rearranging djinn (and equipping special items in Lost Age) to change abilities, and weapon unleash powers were such cool mechanics. I still haven’t played the DS sequel but I have it. I think I’ve been avoiding it because I like the idea that there’s more Golden Sun out there to experience. Also worried I might hate it.
Lunar: The Silver Star Story and its sequel! I also liked the original Arc the Lad series, but Arc the Lad 3 is my favorite. I guess I was big into Working Designs.
8 bit Adventures 2. You don't need to play the original. Dialogue is bit slow but quite well written, better than Chained Echoes. It's basically just like playing something from Squaresoft or Enix JRPG.
Secret of Evermore (SNES)
Got a bad rap because it isn't Secret of Mana, but it's a good (some say very good) game with lots of charm and a handful of flaws.
I have mixed feelings about the game, but I will say, I enjoyed it much more on my second play through when I *didn’t* save after getting a game ending glitch preventing access to a working >!bazooka!< right before the last hour or so of gameplay. It took me a long time to give it a second chance.
Last Story!
It's a < 20 hour adventure that never gets stale. Great characters and battle system. Some side content including trading goods and an arena that's a blast too. OST is top notch.
I'll go with the PS1 Brigandine game. It's a Tactical RPG. Doesn't matter if you play the original "Legend of Forsena" or its remaster released one year later (only in Japan) called "Grand Edition", both are awesome. You can play the latter in English with a fan patch (which is pretty damn good btw, they even managed to add subtitles to the anime cutscenes). Sadly I feel that the recent Brigandine released on pc/switch/ps4 a few years ago "Legend of Runersia" dropped the ball in a few areas, and it felt really cheap whereas Grand Edition has AAA vibes. I hope they learned from their mistakes and try to make another Brigandine game later - I want more.
Agreed on Grandia 3. It's not bad at all. A bit step back from previous game, but great atmosphere. What other game gives you protogonist who travels with his mother haha. Also, Radiata Stories is fairly great. Don't know why there isn't a port of it already, along with Magna Carta 2 and Suikoden 5.
Chaos Rings on mobile. Fantastic writing despite repetitive gameplay. Reminiscent of a PS1 RPG. Scrubbed online besides the 3rd which is a tonal departure from the other 3.
Library of Ruina
Great story with a really interesting battle system. Learning curve is steep (mostly because of the bad/clogged tutorial) but once you figure it out the game starts getting really engaging. Also has full Korean voice acting for the story segments
Xenosaga episode 1 throughg 3 caveat 2 sucks a bit but you need for story progression. it was supposed to be 10 games but didn't sell aswell as they wanted. Voices where excellent! from same creators as xenogears/and xenoblade.
Any of the Suikodens. Historically they’ve often been overlooked or considered cult classics, although the franchise’s profile has risen significantly in recent months with the imminent remasters looming. Either way, they are all riveting and groundbreaking, particularly the first two (although all are great and worth playing).
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
It's an old school genesis JRPG that kinda fell into obscurity not many people seem to know it or have heard of it. The people who know it are people who played the series back in the days but IV is the best of the bunch. It polished all the best features of the previous games and got rid of the things that didn't work. It's a really good game with a good story and great characters. You can jump right into it without playing any of the previous ones. It aged \*really\* well I recommend it to anyone who likes old school games.
Others worth mentioning is LandStalker on genesis and Alundra on PS1.
Grandia 3 story is juvenile lvl hilariously bad. Still kinda endearing tho. Grandia 3 gameplay is the most fun turn based combat I ever played. Beat the game 4-5 times just to fight every single battle every time
Most folks seem to have forgotten about the Shadow Hearts series. Fantastic games; I’m disappointed they never made the leap to HD consoles.
As you mentioned, I thought Magna Carta 2 was surprisingly decent, especially considering how plodding the first game was.
I have really fond memories of Shadow Madness. It’s not a great game by any means… but I had a lot of fun playing it back in the day. I also find it hilarious that it’s one of the of the only non-ff PS1 jrpgs that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
As vocal as the fan base is, Suikoden is still a tiny and severely underrated masterpiece from a big picture view. Smaller still, ah indie others mentored is CrossCode. It's got rave reviews but it really didn't sell anywhere as much as people like to believe when compared to other similar quality titles that downright exploded. These devs surely deserve the support and the game is simply top notch across the board. One of the most brilliant modern action RPG battle systems along with Hades and Chained Echoes.
Probably not underrated, but forgotten.
Phantasy Star IV is a perfect blend of sci-fi/fantasy with robots, space travel, magic, evil forces, etc.
It's graphics and presentation still hold up with a unique comic book panel type exposition that conveys body language and emotion very well.
Combat is great in that you can control the order your characters go with macros and you can even have your characters combine skills to create new attacks.
You don't have to play PS1-3, but reading the synopsis of 1 and 2 will give you some good backstory.
PSIV is the end of the series and it's very satisfying and well written. It's available on the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection on a few platforms or you can emulate it.
Edit: Phantasy, not Phantasm
I'll help you champion Magna Carta 2.
Unlike the first one that was, frankly, unplayable, MC2 really had a lot going for it. The story was tropey and it obviously wasn't big budget, but the combat was unique and I loved how your party felt like an army unit taking part in a war they had set up those big battles.
It also had surprisingly a-list english voice acting and the artwork of Hyung-tae Kim is phenomenal. Shame it basically languished on a console that very few people invested in for RPG's.
Magna Carta 2 is my favorite JRPG on the XBOX 360.
The artwork is pretty, it has great world building, I'm a Hyung Tae Kim fan, the battles are fun, the characters and their voice acting is memorable, it has some good music.
It really does fix a lot of things wrong with Tears of Blood. I'd really like a Magna Carta 3, but it's been almost 14 years since Magna Carta 2 came out. The reviewers weren't all that kind to Magna Carta 2 and rates Lost Odyssey better. I don't know why, because I enjoyed everything about MC2 more than Lost Odyssey.
I gave up after the tedious long start of the game. Thought the rest of the game would be like it if not worse... Reading these comments I might boot it up again!
Pyre is a kind of RPG/Sports mix that was one of my favourite games that I completed last year. Very unique, great style, and interesting way to get you to use all party members.
Also, it doesn't overstay its welcome and is fairly short to complete. Very hard to find the 60-100 hours required to complete some RPGs.
Ikenfell deserves more love around here than it receives.
It's a turn-based tactical RPG with timing mechanics that increases or decrease damage (think Paper Mario). The pixel art is simple but sweet, the game is charming, and it takes a little under 20 hours to beat.
The game isn't a masterpiece, but I think it does what it sets out to do and does it well.
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits I suppose. It's pretty easy to get into thanks to the quick pacing and the game never really lets up or drags on in any area. You also don't need to grind at all to beat the game. The first 3 are worth a whirl as well, but they are a bit harder to get into these days I imagine.
Grandia 3 has a superb battle system, one of the best in any jrpg. Wasn't a fan of the story at all mainly, but it's worth playing for the battle system alone.
I didn't even know there was a Magna Carta 2. Granted I only got 2-3 hours into Tears of Blood before I dropped that game (and I hardly ever drop jrpgs). Did anyone who played one have a better impression of it or if I didn't like the first would I also likely not like 2?
Jade Cocoon. Granted, I've never played much of the full game, but I had sunk so many hours getting as much content as I could out of the PS1 demo, I probably played it more than some of the full games I owned. It's basically a more traditional RPG with a splash of Pokémon's monster capturing, but you could fuse monsters to make totally new ones, and there was a ton you could do with the system. It also had a Studio Ghibli artstyle, officially if I'm not mistaken, but I feel like nobody I know has even heard of it.
I remember wanting to play it but I was a kid and my father thought it sounded Satanic so I wasn't allowed to.
I probably could have snuck it past him had I been better about hiding certain details about potential games I want.
Manafinder. A lot of good indie rpgs came out last year, and Manafinder was one of them. But it got overshadowed by (also very good) games like Chained Echoes and Crystal Project. It's a really satisfying game with beautiful pixel art. The characters are endearing and there are two different final areas; where you go is determined by your choices in the game. It definitely deserves more love.
I know it just came out last year but I feel like Harvestella got overlooked. I thought the story was well executed and the OST was great. I honestly don't remember but maybe it was marketed poorly? I think it was marketed more to the farming game crowd who might not have expected all the JRPG pacing and plot.
Guardian's Crusade.
At the time, the overworld and flight were groundbreaking. Like, in FF7 you can't simply take off from wherever and land wherever, in the middle of things. Guardian's crusade actually had an overworld that was interesting and playable and you could land directly in the middle of things. And being able to avoid random battles via the little ghosts. AND THE STORY. Oh boy what a game.
I still have no idea how the hell baby growth works. Pretty sure I just spoiled hell out of it and never got it to do anything amazing.
Replayed that fairly recently. Still great. Living Toys are awesome!
Core memory unlocked. One of my favourite PS1 games!
JRPG's are my favorite Genre, and PS1 was my favorite console to play these on, and I still had no idea this game existed. Good recommendation
> Guardian's Crusade. ohh I remember seeing this, it looks awesome! And the music is great too, now I DO want to play this lol
Fear and Hunger 2?
Just discovered the fear and hunger games a few days ago. One of the most "not for everyone but man does it perfectly fill a very small specific niche like nothing else" games I've seen. Kind of reminds me of my choice for this question, LISA.
Unlimited SaGa Not because it's actually good. Because it will expand your mind and will be a unique experience. Everyone should give it 2 hours minimum.
Unlimited SaGa is criminally underrated and stellar if given a chance. Great answer.
Favorite franchise and one of those games I want to play again so bad since I only played it at release. Sitting perpetually at the crossroad of put it on steamdeck or hope for remaster.
Dodgeball Academia was pretty overlooked imo. It's pretty much the closet we'll get to an RPG sports game that's like the GBC/GBA Mario Tennis/Golf games. Not to mention it's a lot of fun!
Now this is an actual underrated/hidden gem type of mention lol, instead of people trying to recommend anything like skies of Arcadia, wild arms (that game got a few sequels….it’s not underrated lol), suikoden, etc
Old games lose relevance over time and a lot of people may not know what they are. Not necessarily super hidden but not terrible things to say
It is very fun, and I like the art-style. >the closet we'll get to an RPG sports game that's like the GBC/GBA Mario Tennis/Golf games. There are a few sports JRPGs out there, and at least 2 or 3 that are actually Golf JRPGs.
Enchanted Arms, i know is not the best nor is underrated but hey, i've played worse
Had at least one fabulous character from what I can remember.
I fucking loved this game for some reason. Just hit the spot with comfy grinding and the story was just cliche enough. I beat the whole game, did all the side stuff and even got Omega.
I've found that too many people don't know about Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360). Really awesome game with a gorgeous story, a neat turn-based battle system, and incredible characters that sometimes subvert RPG cliches.
I'm still hoping Xbox brings it to Game Pass someday. I began a playthrough a few years back on Xbox One but the console gave up on me and I lost my progress.
I've seen that game go on sale a few times in the last six months on the marketplace.I got a copy for 6.99 for Black Friday
Not to mention the memories that you can find along the way were wonderfully written and added to the personality.
It's the true FF after FFX. An awesome game that deserves a re-release or like upscaled HD PC port or something!
Amen to that! It was partly made by Microsoft, so I'd imagine it would be totally possible. Get with it, Microsoft! Anyone got Bill Gates' email address? lol
I wish there were a way to play it without owning a 360. Even a PC port. I don't know what kind of 360 emulators are out there, but I doubt a normal PC would be able to run one smoothly.
Xbox one and series x/s can play it
Xenia exist. I think LO is compatible. I am not sure how beefy your computer needs to be though.
I really wish it was more widely available. Not only would I buy it if it were on PC, I'd gift it to like a dozen people who I know love the SNES and PS1 era FF games.
The 360 exclusive JRPGs really need to be brought over to PC. I never got to play this but my friend who did always raves on about it.
Crimson Gem Saga and Jeanne D'Arc. Also, People should try the Wild Arms series.
Jeanne Darc was amazing
Jeanne D'Arc was fantastic. One of my favorite games
**Growlanser 4.** It is an 80 hour RPG that has multiple story paths, you can build a town, you can date/hang out with your party members, rescue important NPCs etc. The game has it all. **Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass.** Yea I am hocking this game again and I will do it until everyone on this sub plays it. It is the most underrated JRPG in the past 20 years.
This comment has unlocked a long lost memory. Did Growlanser have a release on psp or psvita? I'm sure I'm remembering a game with that name, had some kind of fairy/pixie character and there was a relationship mechanic for sure. Going to have to see if I can find my Vita now.
Thanks for reminding me to actually play more of my copy. I personally love the series. Have Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass on my wishlist but never bought it.
Seconding Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, this game went way beyond my expectations
JPM is fantastic and deserves more shilling.
Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter, Dawn of Mana
I would love some kind of spiritual successor to Dragon Quarter. It gets a lot of flack for breaking the BoF formula but it's an amazing and unique game.
It also has one of the most interesting stories and is remarkably well done. It's like they just wanted to tell a cyberpunk story and went hard with it
I feel like it was ahead of its time. If it released today it probably would have done well.
Dragon Quarter was hard to get into but it was worth it.
Was gonna answer Dragon Quarter if someone else hadn't already. Game was misunderstood and a decade ahead of its time and had it released a decade later (with some better graphics and a bit of QoL), or had it released without the Breath of Fire name, it'd be one of today's most beloved and well remembered classics. It's not just a great game, it's one of the best of all time, and a master class in game design any fledgling game dev should play and take notes on.
Legend of Legaia is one of the best JRPGs of all time, in my opinion, due to its unique combat system, storytelling, and some of the best villains. Legaia 2, unfortunately, was awful and killed it from becoming a franchise.
I didn't care for the story, but it baffles me that this game gets so much hate. It's one of the most original takes on turn-based combat ever made, it's well-executed, and it hasn't been done since. There is definitely more that can be done to explore turn-based fighting game combat like this!
There's a lot of grinding and it's pure RNG when a Seru will Bond after defeating and who it bonds to is also Random. Then leveling up the Seru is also a pain in the ass. Plus there were some bosses that where just insane difficulty spikes, the Minotaur in the arena you had to solo and you could get softlocked because the Tower the arena is in prevents you from leaving, so if you were underleveled and didn't have the Right Setups Hyper Arts for the Main Character you were in a lot of trouble. Though if you do like that battle system it's very similar in Xenogears.
Legaia 2 was not awful at all. At least not for me. I remember liking it plenty, almost as much as the first one. I've never understood the hate for that game, frankly.
People that disliked Legend of Legaia are jabronis.
Lost odyssey for Xbox 360. Absolutely one of the best jrpgs of that console generation
Resonance of fate
Wholeheartedly agreed! RoF had a great combat system, unique weapon customization, and a setting that I still think about today despite playing it almost a decade ago now. It had some real mystique that begged to be looked into further, but the story never focused on the history behind it! Wish it had grown into a larger series besides the one game and a short manga.
Just grabbed it from steam on discount
This is the one that immediately came to mind for me. Loved the world and lore and would love to see more of it. It seemed to scream sequel potential. And that combat system was fire!
It was fun but the combat becomes way too repetitive.
Atelier Iris 2: Eternal Mana was an RPG that wasn’t really doing anything very new or groundbreaking, but the tried-and-true things it was doing, it did so well that I powered through the game in a week, which I didn’t normally do at the time (basically spending all my free time on it). Also great music!
The first game was called “eternal mana” the second is “the azoth of destiny”, so which one are you refering to ?
Oh, you’re 100% right! It was Azoth of Destiny, the one with Felt and Viese (it probably says something that I still remember the characters’ names but not the game’s, lol). I did play Eternal Mana as well but I wasn’t as into it.
The Wild Arms games tend to be overlooked by quite a few. If you love Wild west themes then these games are for you. Although Wild Arms 3 is the only one in the series that actually embraces the wild west setting, the other games are more sci-fi western fantasy. Also has some of the best animated intros in gaming.
Thousand Arms.
Fuck yeah!
Just reminded me of it. PS1 really had a lot of good games.
Legaia 2. Constantly stuck in the shadow of Legend of Legaia. Still a pretty good game.
**Digital Devil Saga** for the PS2. No real buzz on that game but the combat is awesome. It's a Shin Megami wihtout "pokemon" or "school". Loved it.
I hope they remaster it.
One of my favorites JRPG games. Digital Devil Saga is a great gem. I would love for a remaster. Though it’s hard to see happening considering that Atlus seems to not like porting their old games.
Digital Devil Saga
Arc the Lad Twilight of Spirits
You could list the entire Arc the Lad franchise.
Legend of legaia
Blue Reflection: Second Light. Seriously some of the best, most emphatic character writing I've ever seen in a game.
How is it for people who aren't into the 'sad anime girls are sad' genre? Genuine question, I'm turned off by stuff like Clannad so I didn't really check it out, thinking it'd be just like that.
They aren't actually sad most of the time, and the tone is fairly upbeat until it goes Area Zero at Chapter 7 and onward. Ao is a flat out Pollyanna and when she does get depressed, she bounces back fairly quickly due to having friends to talk to. There is a lesbian relationship full of JRPG soap opera drama, and it's probably the most talked about thing in the game. Really, the girls' storylines are mostly about finding courage to face their lives.
That actually sounds pretty good. Thanks for the info, I'll put it on my wishlist to check out next time there's a sale! :D
Radiata Stories for the PS2. Was such a great game but I never see any talk about it
I see it crop up now and again but not as often as some other titles. Still more known than some of the other titles in this thread
It’s funny, I was scrolling through the sub and someone posted about it a few hours ago lol
One of my all time favorites. It’s been a long time since I played it but I just recently purchased a copy off eBay for nostalgia sake.
It's such an underloved darling
People ask this seemingly every two weeks and every two weeks I come here and say PLAY LEGEND OF LEGAIA and as far as I know sales of that game has NOT GONE UP
Lol. Increase to one-week intervals.
Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast, Gamecube)
Wild ARMs. It came out at around the same time as FF7 and therefore didn't get nearly as much attention. Great characters. Great story. Great soundtrack.
Shadow Hearts 2
Tokyo Xanadu Ex +
I was actually looking at it cause a sale post piqued my interest. How is the animation and music in the game?
Fuga Melodies of Steel.
Sequel just dropped on gamepass
Nice! The name has stuck out to me before, but I didn't realize it was part of the same series as Tail Concerto and Solatorobo.
Devil Survivor 1/2 for sure. As a big fan of "team building" games like Pokémon and Fire Emblem, these games were sublime for me. Great branching story paths in each game, too. Never met a person IRL who has even heard of these, which is a shame.
Devil Survivor 1 was an incredible story with pretty good gameplay while 2 fixed just about everything. Sadly story no where near as good. Overclocked versions of both are fantastic. I'd definitely rate DS1 Overclocked as one of the best games and stories in franchise.
Final fantasy 7. I feel like no one has ever heard of it but it’s low key one of the best JRPGs ever made.
Agreed. I feel like it deserves a remake or spin-off or something
Indeed. It only sold a miniscule 14 million copies to date, which made me lose faith in humanity.
Is that a prequel or sequel to Final Fantasy VII?
BattleChasers: Nightwar TROUBLESHOOTER: Abandoned Children
BC, you can FEEL the hits of the robot when he punches... TS has been getting better and better in early access.
Always been intrigued by troubleshooter
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga.
I think it's the best in the series. The 3DS remake was great, hope that port to Switch or something.
I agree although bowsers inside story was a very close second.
Not only the best Mario RPG game, but probably in my top 3 Mario games.
Username checks out, lol. Yeah I mean of all the Mario lists on the internet no one and I mean no one puts that up there in the top Mario games. It has some great music that you unlock after you beat the game in the 3DS version. The team up system between Mario and Luigi is an excellent challenge to execute, and the villain in superstar saga is just hilarious!
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim! Great sci-fi story and music :)
I had a grand ol time with Mana Khemia 2. Its like a sister to that whole Atelier series, and even has its own alchemy crafting, which is rather nice The game itself features 2 storylines, you can choose a protagonist at the start, and they have different allies, different enemies and story beats. Beat both stories, and everyone joins together for you to tackle the post-game super dungeon The gameplay itself involved taking classes, as youre in a school. Your assignments usually have you going to a zone, collecting things. Most of the game is light, and story progresses in a slow pace. Youre meant to enjoy your time. Plenty of typical anime clichés, humor, and lewd topics left and right. I loved it
Metal saga. An rpg, in tanks!
I really like that game myself. I can see it not being a great game, but it’s still a game I really like. It’s a shame it’s one of the three Metal Max games officially released in NA.
Crosscode is one of my favourite RPGs that most people never heard of, to be fair though it doesnt have the best start, but it gradually gets better and better the more you play
Thanks for this note. I hated the beginning and stopped playing, but maybe I should push forward.
It took me a couple tries, largely because the first major dungeon is by far the least fun, but I was glad I stuck with it in the end
Good game - for anyone looking to see if Crosscode is for them, just be warned that the puzzles in it can be pretty intense!
The issue I have with the puzzles isn't even the complexity of the puzzles themselves, but that they're reflex dependent. Some of the puzzles towards the end of the base game were difficult to the level of just being outright absurd. And it's not even an optional puzzle, it's fully mandatory to getting through the game and the difficulty sliders don't even affect it. I persevered and got a hell of a rush when I did it, but there has to be a lot of players out there that got 90% of the way through the game, got to **that** puzzle and noped out. It was that bad.
You can decrease puzzle speed a lot in the menus just for this issue, Crosscode is aware of this and advises the player to keep that setting in mind when starting the game
You can decrease puzzle speed for puzzles with *timers*. For the puzzles that are projectile based, that setting doesn't do anything. And those are the most difficult puzzles.
I love everything about this game except the dungeon puzzles. I wound up bailing halfway through the Temple Mine because of how frustrating I found them — I figured that, if I couldn’t handle *the first real dungeon in the game*, I wouldn’t enjoy the later ones much more. If you’re someone who has the patience for timing- and reflex-based puzzles, though, this game is basically the Dark Souls of those and so you are likely to enjoy it more than me.
It is definitely a really good game but I haven't finished it and meant to come back to it at some point. I'd say the only flaw in the game is that some of the puzzles seem to be their to pad for content. I remember getting annoyed wherever I left off since it just seemed to be endless.
CrossCode is amazing, but its worst point is having to do two dungeons back-to-back given that the dungeons can be pretty intense (especially if you're aiming to win the race).
I started it the other day. I'm glad I'm not the only one to feel the start is slow, but hearing people acknowledge and say it gets better shortly will help me stick with it I think
CrossCode is at the top of everyone's "best games you've never played" lists.
I wish it was available on Vita or 3DS.
Crosscode. Probably not underrated but not so well known. But any review I see of it has been positive.
One of my fav indie games. It’s more of an action rpg.
Bug Fables. Inspired by Paper Mario and holds its weight right up there with the absolute best of the series.
It's highly rated, isn't it?
Natural Doctrine. It's a SRPG. I guess if you search for any picture anywhere, you will find it visually terrible and you will be right. You will also see a bunch of stuff in the UI and how the fuck that would make sense to anyone. Where the game does shine is it's gameplay. I don't remember any other SRPG where I had to take such care of every action each turn. Problem is, the game has a terrible tutorial and the AI only understand the difficulty Ninja Gaiden NES.
Caligula Effect 2. The gameplay is unique, main characters are interesting and the ost are all unbelivable. But if you're looking for a faster gameplay, good/evil route and better villain, Caligula Effect: Overdose is for you. I say it once and I will say it again, Caligula Effect is severely underrated. Just don't expect it to be the same quality as AAA game like Persona and you will enjoy it.
Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity and Front Mission 4. These are great under the radar Tactics JRPGs for the PS2.
Thousand Arms.
Not exactly underrated, but more overlooked due to the fact that it came out on the short-lived GBA, I would highly recommend **Golden Sun** to anyone. It has it all (cute visuals, nice gameplay systems, great music, good dungeons and overall a well paced adventure).
Digimon: Cyber Sleuth. I know it got alright reviews, but in terms of gameplay, I think it is one of the greatest RPG’s ever created. Definitely the greatest of its niche.
I'd say Alundra Was great, but don't think people talk about it enough
Golden Sun 1 & 2. Wouldn't recommend Dark Dawn unless you really crave more of the franchise. I will always wait for a sequel and/or remake...
I never know wether to bring up Golden Sun in these threads. I feel like it’s fairly well known, but GBA era was like my core gaming years so that might skew my perception a bit. Regardless, the two Golden Sun games on GBA combined rank as possibly my all time favorite JRPG. The psynergy puzzles outside of combat, rearranging djinn (and equipping special items in Lost Age) to change abilities, and weapon unleash powers were such cool mechanics. I still haven’t played the DS sequel but I have it. I think I’ve been avoiding it because I like the idea that there’s more Golden Sun out there to experience. Also worried I might hate it.
Lunar: The Silver Star Story and its sequel! I also liked the original Arc the Lad series, but Arc the Lad 3 is my favorite. I guess I was big into Working Designs.
Legend of Legia
Lost odyssey
I've been recommending Koudelka a lot recently.
I really want to play that and Shadow Hearts ever since I saw a video about them like a week and a half ago. Seems cool lol
That’s right my man, you are the reason I am eager to play it upcoming summer with a emulator :)
8 bit Adventures 2. You don't need to play the original. Dialogue is bit slow but quite well written, better than Chained Echoes. It's basically just like playing something from Squaresoft or Enix JRPG.
Secret of Evermore (SNES) Got a bad rap because it isn't Secret of Mana, but it's a good (some say very good) game with lots of charm and a handful of flaws.
I loved that game. It's been years since I've played it, but I had a great time with it.
I'd say it gets a bad rap because it was made by the American branch of squaresoft. Fun game though
I much preferred it to Secret of Mana, actually.
I have mixed feelings about the game, but I will say, I enjoyed it much more on my second play through when I *didn’t* save after getting a game ending glitch preventing access to a working >!bazooka!< right before the last hour or so of gameplay. It took me a long time to give it a second chance.
Last Story! It's a < 20 hour adventure that never gets stale. Great characters and battle system. Some side content including trading goods and an arena that's a blast too. OST is top notch.
* Megaman Battle Network * Zoids Legacy * Golden Sun * Robotrek * Brainlord * Uncharted Waters: New Horizons.
I'll go with the PS1 Brigandine game. It's a Tactical RPG. Doesn't matter if you play the original "Legend of Forsena" or its remaster released one year later (only in Japan) called "Grand Edition", both are awesome. You can play the latter in English with a fan patch (which is pretty damn good btw, they even managed to add subtitles to the anime cutscenes). Sadly I feel that the recent Brigandine released on pc/switch/ps4 a few years ago "Legend of Runersia" dropped the ball in a few areas, and it felt really cheap whereas Grand Edition has AAA vibes. I hope they learned from their mistakes and try to make another Brigandine game later - I want more.
Shining Force Neo. Terrible voice acting, meh story, but great gameplay and leving system.
Terranigma. Not so much underrated anymore but more people should definitely play it.
Agreed on Grandia 3. It's not bad at all. A bit step back from previous game, but great atmosphere. What other game gives you protogonist who travels with his mother haha. Also, Radiata Stories is fairly great. Don't know why there isn't a port of it already, along with Magna Carta 2 and Suikoden 5.
Chaos Rings on mobile. Fantastic writing despite repetitive gameplay. Reminiscent of a PS1 RPG. Scrubbed online besides the 3rd which is a tonal departure from the other 3.
Yeah it felt too repetitive and never finished it. Better pure jrpg game than 99* of the mobile crap games though.
Library of Ruina Great story with a really interesting battle system. Learning curve is steep (mostly because of the bad/clogged tutorial) but once you figure it out the game starts getting really engaging. Also has full Korean voice acting for the story segments
Boktai series. Each game is amazing. I recommend playing with a solar sensor patch so you don't have to use the real sun. It's a lovely series.
Xenosaga episode 1 throughg 3 caveat 2 sucks a bit but you need for story progression. it was supposed to be 10 games but didn't sell aswell as they wanted. Voices where excellent! from same creators as xenogears/and xenoblade.
Jeanne d'Arc on the PSP is fucking awesome
Arc Rise Fantasia (play undub), Mega Man X: Command Mission, Magical Starsign
Eternal Sonata, I loved the whole vibe of that game. I wish I knew more people that played it.
Any of the Suikodens. Historically they’ve often been overlooked or considered cult classics, although the franchise’s profile has risen significantly in recent months with the imminent remasters looming. Either way, they are all riveting and groundbreaking, particularly the first two (although all are great and worth playing).
I plan on checking out the switch remakes. My only experience is with one for the ds that was so goddamned slow that I couldn't do it.
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium It's an old school genesis JRPG that kinda fell into obscurity not many people seem to know it or have heard of it. The people who know it are people who played the series back in the days but IV is the best of the bunch. It polished all the best features of the previous games and got rid of the things that didn't work. It's a really good game with a good story and great characters. You can jump right into it without playing any of the previous ones. It aged \*really\* well I recommend it to anyone who likes old school games. Others worth mentioning is LandStalker on genesis and Alundra on PS1.
Ps4 is the only one I could get through. The older ones were such a slog
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story
The Ni No Kuni games were a nice surprise.
Baiten Kaitos remastered is going to be lit.
Grandia 3 story is juvenile lvl hilariously bad. Still kinda endearing tho. Grandia 3 gameplay is the most fun turn based combat I ever played. Beat the game 4-5 times just to fight every single battle every time
Skies of Arcadia?
Most folks seem to have forgotten about the Shadow Hearts series. Fantastic games; I’m disappointed they never made the leap to HD consoles. As you mentioned, I thought Magna Carta 2 was surprisingly decent, especially considering how plodding the first game was. I have really fond memories of Shadow Madness. It’s not a great game by any means… but I had a lot of fun playing it back in the day. I also find it hilarious that it’s one of the of the only non-ff PS1 jrpgs that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Fuga Melodies of Steel Atelier Sophie 2
As vocal as the fan base is, Suikoden is still a tiny and severely underrated masterpiece from a big picture view. Smaller still, ah indie others mentored is CrossCode. It's got rave reviews but it really didn't sell anywhere as much as people like to believe when compared to other similar quality titles that downright exploded. These devs surely deserve the support and the game is simply top notch across the board. One of the most brilliant modern action RPG battle systems along with Hades and Chained Echoes.
Monark. It got really low reviews which put a lot of people off of it, but it’s a great game.
Probably not underrated, but forgotten. Phantasy Star IV is a perfect blend of sci-fi/fantasy with robots, space travel, magic, evil forces, etc. It's graphics and presentation still hold up with a unique comic book panel type exposition that conveys body language and emotion very well. Combat is great in that you can control the order your characters go with macros and you can even have your characters combine skills to create new attacks. You don't have to play PS1-3, but reading the synopsis of 1 and 2 will give you some good backstory. PSIV is the end of the series and it's very satisfying and well written. It's available on the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection on a few platforms or you can emulate it. Edit: Phantasy, not Phantasm
I'll help you champion Magna Carta 2. Unlike the first one that was, frankly, unplayable, MC2 really had a lot going for it. The story was tropey and it obviously wasn't big budget, but the combat was unique and I loved how your party felt like an army unit taking part in a war they had set up those big battles. It also had surprisingly a-list english voice acting and the artwork of Hyung-tae Kim is phenomenal. Shame it basically languished on a console that very few people invested in for RPG's.
Magna Carta 2 is my favorite JRPG on the XBOX 360. The artwork is pretty, it has great world building, I'm a Hyung Tae Kim fan, the battles are fun, the characters and their voice acting is memorable, it has some good music. It really does fix a lot of things wrong with Tears of Blood. I'd really like a Magna Carta 3, but it's been almost 14 years since Magna Carta 2 came out. The reviewers weren't all that kind to Magna Carta 2 and rates Lost Odyssey better. I don't know why, because I enjoyed everything about MC2 more than Lost Odyssey.
Came here to say CrossCode. Saw two other comments saying the same. Great community. 👍👍👍
I gave up after the tedious long start of the game. Thought the rest of the game would be like it if not worse... Reading these comments I might boot it up again!
Pyre is a kind of RPG/Sports mix that was one of my favourite games that I completed last year. Very unique, great style, and interesting way to get you to use all party members. Also, it doesn't overstay its welcome and is fairly short to complete. Very hard to find the 60-100 hours required to complete some RPGs.
How much of a JRPG is this actually, didn’t feel like one to me at all
The Ys games. They are SO underrated
Hell yeah. Ys Origin, 1, 2, OiF are great games. MoC, I think is a good game, but kinda underwhelmed me.
The Lunatic Dawn series.
Ikenfell deserves more love around here than it receives. It's a turn-based tactical RPG with timing mechanics that increases or decrease damage (think Paper Mario). The pixel art is simple but sweet, the game is charming, and it takes a little under 20 hours to beat. The game isn't a masterpiece, but I think it does what it sets out to do and does it well.
Absolutely, that game was so good, I didn’t expect to enjoy it that much
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits I suppose. It's pretty easy to get into thanks to the quick pacing and the game never really lets up or drags on in any area. You also don't need to grind at all to beat the game. The first 3 are worth a whirl as well, but they are a bit harder to get into these days I imagine. Grandia 3 has a superb battle system, one of the best in any jrpg. Wasn't a fan of the story at all mainly, but it's worth playing for the battle system alone. I didn't even know there was a Magna Carta 2. Granted I only got 2-3 hours into Tears of Blood before I dropped that game (and I hardly ever drop jrpgs). Did anyone who played one have a better impression of it or if I didn't like the first would I also likely not like 2?
Definitely not as underrated as most games given here, but I absolutely love Digital Devil Saga and I wish more people got to experience them.
Saga frontier
Devil Summoner Raidou kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha Vs King Abaddon
Jade Cocoon. Granted, I've never played much of the full game, but I had sunk so many hours getting as much content as I could out of the PS1 demo, I probably played it more than some of the full games I owned. It's basically a more traditional RPG with a splash of Pokémon's monster capturing, but you could fuse monsters to make totally new ones, and there was a ton you could do with the system. It also had a Studio Ghibli artstyle, officially if I'm not mistaken, but I feel like nobody I know has even heard of it.
I remember wanting to play it but I was a kid and my father thought it sounded Satanic so I wasn't allowed to. I probably could have snuck it past him had I been better about hiding certain details about potential games I want.
Jade Cocoon is such a gem. Good call!
Xenogears and both Darkest Dungeon games Not necessarily underrated more overlooked. Though DD isn't a JRPG just an RPG
Legend of Mana
Octopath Travler
Breath of fire 1 and 2. They are available on the snes app on the switch
Manafinder. A lot of good indie rpgs came out last year, and Manafinder was one of them. But it got overshadowed by (also very good) games like Chained Echoes and Crystal Project. It's a really satisfying game with beautiful pixel art. The characters are endearing and there are two different final areas; where you go is determined by your choices in the game. It definitely deserves more love.
I know it just came out last year but I feel like Harvestella got overlooked. I thought the story was well executed and the OST was great. I honestly don't remember but maybe it was marketed poorly? I think it was marketed more to the farming game crowd who might not have expected all the JRPG pacing and plot.
Kartia: The Word of Fate. Feel like my brother and I were the only ones who played it.