I always appreciated the "Have a great test of your day" at the end of your videos. It's oddly comforting, especially compared to the usual "don't forget to like, comment and subscribe" you get from most other content on this site. I hope you're not letting the aggressive comments of children and shut-ins affect you. Your videos are seriously some of the most informative I've run across. I value this channel immensely, and I would hate to see you give up due to UA-cam comments.
Huh, just today I was considering changing my opening to "WHATS UP YOUTUUUUUUUBE." (I'm kidding) Thank you for watching. "Aggressive" comments don't bother me, it's just video games, I'm just one guy, they're just one person, it doesn't matter. There are more important things
Suikoden feels very much like a SNES RPG that changed platforms mid-development. The structure of the game, the layout of towns, the combat system, it's doing its very best to take every cue from SNES RPG classics.
I actually played a ton when I was ill and housebound. When I went to do groceries once I was well, I was buying drinks like I was stocking up on potions before a battle!
It really was. The characters are all fantastic and feel real, the art is GORGEOUS, the soundtrack is phenomenal (although it can be a bit repetitive), and the pseudo-tactical combat is an absolute blast. The only gripe I have is that MP replenishment is ridiculously scarce and expensive, so you're almost forced to avoid battles, which means you tend to go into boss fights underleveled.
I had recently got a GBA when the first M&L came out and went into it with no knowledge after picking it up in a shop. What a great game. It crashed when I replayed it through emulation like 15 hours in so didn't get to replay the whole thing 😢 might do it sometime soon since its a long time since i had that Xperia Play
Holy crap... no bitching here! You mentioned my favorite RPG on a handheld system, of ALL TIME. Radiant Historia is a masterpiece and something I mention over and over on my channel. The combat is SO good. The graphics and music are SO good. Why does no one talk about it...? Glad you gave it some love. I need to get back to it though... I'm about 25 hours in. Wild Arms rules, as does Grandia. Arc the Lad is very SNES-like! Great list, good sir.
I saw high praise for Radiant Historia but I hard time getting into it. I was really put off by the minimal gameplay at the beginning. Like they don't give you any control to navigate it felt like, just got thrown into cutscene after cutscene.
Ah, great list! You actually compiled a excellent set-up for anyone looking to expand thier horizons, and huge props to you for including some oft-overlooked gems like Ogre Battle 64 and Rdiant Historia :D
I've never owned an SNES, so your channel is a great way to vicariously explore the console. Definitely planning to get a Switch Lite and Switch Online someday for the SNES games.
@arostwocents I got a Switch Lite later that year :) Most recent console purchases were a PSP and Series S. If it weren't for being currently unemployed, I would be deep in the vintage game pipeline. And yes, I emulate sometimes, but I prefer the feel of playing on OG controller style
I'm glad someone finally mentioned the greatness that is Phantasy Star IV. Even being a huge Nintendo fan, PSIV and the two Shining Force games on the Genesis are some of my favorite of all time.
To be honest, I personally prefer Phantasy Star IV to Chrono Trigger, though I accept this is probably an unpopular opinion. I do think they are the two best JRPGs of the 16-bit era.
The Shinning Force games & especially the Phantasy Star games were amazing rpg's and were my favorite series growing up. I highly recommend everyone to play them.
I got “Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology” on 3DS for Christmas this past year and loved it! Amazing stories and characters! I’m not the biggest fan of the battle system, but it’s not bad at all, just not my favorite. They tried something new with it and succeeded.
I liked Radiant Historia, but there was a certain part where the difficulty shot up so high I just decided to ignore it. "Nostalgia" for the DS, on the other hand, is an excellent and unique JRPG that is definitely inspired by steampunk and Indiana Jones, well worth playing.
Glad to see Ogre Battle 64 getting some love. I first played that game back in the 90s holy shit did it ever exceed my expectations. Most N64 games have not aged well, but Ogre Battle 64 actually stands out because it has aged SO well.
Man, your channel is so good. So many well-made, consistently entertaining videos. This is one of the best places for soaking up retro game nostalgia. Keep up the good work!
I finish that game over 7 times to get as many different endings a possible. Over 500+ hours on my old cartridge though i think you could only have 3 saved files.
Also to name a few more RPGs, for Playstation 2: Dark Cloud: Action RPG, Zelda meets Roguelike with some Actraiser thrown in. Xenosaga: Spiritual Successor to Xenogears, though a lot less emphasis on giant mech combat. Drakan: The Order of the Flame. Sequel to a PC game of the same name, it's an action RPG where you run around on foot as a girl with melee, ranged and magic combat, but sometimes hop on your dragon friend for some flying action too. For Playstation 1: Tales of Destiny. Take Tales of Symphonia, speed it up a bit, modernize the graphics a little, and you got yourself a solid and fun action RPG. There are more Tales games, but I never played much of them. They run along a similar line. Star Ocean 2: Sequel to Star Ocean, which was never released over here. Definitely worth a look. Final Fantasy Tactics: Tactics Ogre, only far better. More detailed combat/equipment/character classes, better graphics, etc. Pass on the remake, get the original. Vandal Hearts: Wish I hadn't lost the CD to my copy of it... but it's a FFT/Tactics Ogre type game that I've heard good things about it, played it a little, loaned it to my cousin, never saw it again lol. Tactics Ogre: There's a PS1 port of TO, and it seemed rather good, unlike a lot of PS1 ports of SNES RPGs that barely function (Here's looking at you, Chrono Trigger...) Legend of Mana: Kinda like Secret of Mana, but a bit different. Some people don't like the episodic story that is difficult to figure out how it all fits together, and a lot of people get lost in the story. Even if you ignore the story, there's still some fun gameplay to be had. It has THE most complicated but most customizable crafting system in the game with its reforging. It also has a ridiculously awesome theme song, sung in Swedish, called "Song of Mana" (very aptly named; the woman's vocals sound absolutely magical and enchanting).
I'm not sure I'd classify Dark Cloud as a RPG but a dungeon crawler with light RPG mechanics i've played Drakan: The Ancient's Gates but never Order of the Flame, might try it, not what I'd think to call a RPG either also i'd recommend ToD:DC over the original just due to the battle system, yeah it's Japan-only but there's a translation and even a patch in the works
Tactics Ogre is infinitely better than FF Tactics. Story is orders of magnitude more developed, better class evolution, and (if you get the PSP version) the COTA system greatly increases replayability.
If you liked Breath of Fire 3, then the fourth game is a must. It's improved in just about every respect but the plot is interestingly split between the main dragon man, Ryu (like every BoF game) and the primary villain who you play as from time to time. It's worth checking out if you ever have the time.
Eh, BoF 4 has a few huge difficulty spikes in the game that require oodles and oodles of level grinding near the end, while BoF 3 is not quite as harsh about that (but is no pushover either). I mean, seriously, I was breezing through bosses and then stepped into the final dungeon and could barely handle the normal battles it was that ridiculous.
Has Capcom released BoF 3 or 4 outside of the original Playstation? I remember beating BoF3 when I was a teen, loved it, but got stuck in BoF4 pretty early on due to a scratched disc. I never owned a PS3. I'm really hoping these games make it on to Steam or the Ps4
@@Dhalin Weird. I don't remember a difficulty spike. I know some of the bosses had like specific strategies and stuff. But I was probably over-leveled anyway. I never ran from battles and I like to grind here and there. Like of course new sword more expensive than everything I've earned, I'm not moving on until I get you hahaha. But naw, 4 is amazing. I like 3 better, but not by a ton.
Two games I want to share that weren't in the video are Brigandine and Star Ocean: The Second Story, both for the PSX. Brigandine is to me the best SRPG on the PSX. The bevy of characters, monsters, and classes is great. Replayability is great with each faction giving a new experience. The only downsides to this great game are the battle scenes (awful 3D graphics that slow down the gameplay but can be turned off) and the lack of a final boss (that the Japanese version has). If you like games like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Shining Force, this is a must play. Star Ocean: The Second Story is my favorite RPG for the PSX, just narrowly beating out Xenogears. The combat is fun, the cast of characters is diverse, and again good replayability in trying out both story lines. Someone else will have to point out the downsides to this game, because I can't think of any. Anyway, great video!
It's good, but I honestly just like BoF3 more. May be pure nostalgia, but I've played through both of em just recently, I think it's the more colorful vibe BoF3 gives, as well as the dragon system in it. I never really liked the dragon system in BoF4, and the art just feels kinda of ... "bland".
Agreed I started away from the battle network games for too long because I thought they seemed way too childish and also stunk of the " let's make something Pokemon kids will want to play" that was EVERYWHERE for a looong time between the gbc and gbas lifespan. Once I played them though-the MMBN games, I mean- I was blown away. It might've been because I was really desperate for an RPGs that had unique battle systems/settings, and boy, oh boy, MMBN DID NOT disappoint. The combat system in those games is - I'm not being hyperbolic here- probably my favorite of all time. Also, any top-down, SNES-era stule rpg that isn't set in a medival-fanstasy or steampunk kind of setting will always get at least a playthrough for me. Although, I will say that the battle network story never really blew me away, I wasn't disappointed by, as I didn't go in expecting to be blown away by it. That said though, going with the context of this video, could you see tthe battle network games being made for SNES? I could go either way with that
No complaints here mate You hit pretty much every noted you could. OH wait WHERE"S FINAL FANTASY TACTICS lol. I picked up Ogre battle 64 a couple years ago knowing it would likely go up in price. Have yet to play it, but that little blurb got me pumped
God, I'm so glad you mentioned Radiant Historia. I wasnt expecting it to pop up at all, but its truly a spectacular game that handles time travel very well. I'd also like to add the game Nostalgia to the list, for people who love Final Fantasy games. It's a charming FF-esque game with great graphics for being on the DS, and good music.
played all of those. I think Lunar was my second favorite game. if you got time, you should try thousand arms since that one made me laugh on more then one occasion growing up.
I'm roughly 20 hours into PS4, I was worried about the insane grinding I heard about, but it's not too bad. Its true it's one of the better 16 bit RPGs, anyone who's played the SNES classics needs to play it. Its a piece of history.
Well, what'd you expect from UA-cam comments. Baiting and trolling stuff. Being serious, I'd say there's not much missing here, bar the Japan exclusive stuff from the 5th & 6th gen stuff and even then that's nitpicking.
Way too many to list that are of the lengthy variety. Valkyrie Profile isn't talked about much, Jade Cocoon is an interesting take on collector RPGs like Migami Tensei or Pokemon. Legend of Legaia is worth a look as well. For actual non western releases I'm drawing blanks at this point.
A few summers ago I decided to catch up on all the jrpgs I missed over the years. First games I picked for my "Summer of JRPGs" were Lunar 1 or 2 and... it ended after that. Unfortunately I played, what were for me, the best two first.
At the SNES subreddit, people sometimes ask, "I want to get into JRPGs, what should I start with?" Some respond with "Chrono Trigger," and it's like... No! Don't start with the absolute best out there, there's only disappointment with every game you play afterword. Work your way up to the best. Unfortunately there may not have been a way for you to know how good Lunar 1 and 2 were ahead of time. But you should still check out Xenogears.
How about Sword of Mana? It's a re-imagining of Final Fantasy Adventure on the GBA that, gameplay-wise, tries to tie it in better with other Mana games. It's worth checking out for those who like Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3.
i've heard black sigil on ds is also quite similar to chrono trigger. not as good as radiant historia but still pretty good. think i might start radiant historia and see what all the fuss is about.
huge props for the BOF3 mention, i feel like bof 3 hits all the high notes, except it could have done for a bit more character customization. but the art, the story, the mini games... stellar game. a full gamming experience.
Lunar 2 for the ps1was a masterpiece that came with a leather bound book, a solid ass pendant, discs on how they made the game and such. And much much much more. How dare you not mention that game!!! Nah jk, you mentioned the first one, but the second one is a fucking masterpiece. Keep up the good content.
The Golden Sun games are sheer classics. Played them tons back in my middle school days. Leveled every character to Lv99 in Lost Age and would play the Coliseum with a finished file for hrs on end re-fighting bosses, back in the good ol days when I actually had time to do stuff like that. Great recommendations here! I look forward to play all of these titles. SnesDrunk, have you played Shining Force 1 yet? I haven't played 2 very much yet but the sound effects in SF1 are soo satisfying, they're like shotgun blasts! It's worth mentioning them both, it also has great characters and a fun story and the game play/graphics and music are all similar to 2.
For not being an 'expert' on PSX JRPGs, you did a pretty good job of picking out some of the best ones. I've played most of those that were translated into english and I'd say the best three I've had the pleasure of playing are Grandia, Suikoden II and Xenogears. The PSX really was blessed when it came to JRPGs.
You did a fantastic job with this. You missed a few GBA RPG's(Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Riviera: The Promised Land, Mazes of Fate), but other then that I believe you covered almost all of them. All of those Pokemon games and Beyond the Beyond for the PS1 are the only other games I can think of off the top of my head. The latter definitely looks 110% like a SNES RPG. It was actually made by Camelot and is very similar to Golden Sun, but it was made long before it and it has a few annoying flaws.
Ogre Battle 64 is a great mention. If for no other reason than it's a solid 2D sprite based RPGish game on the N64 (a rare treat for folks of a certain temperament). If you don't need a ton of bells and whistles in your RPG, some fun mentions on DS would be Nostalgia and Glory of Heracles. The latter being the first game in a long series of solid RPGs to finally make it to the west.
Shin Megami Tensei for the SNES is a pretty good one. Neon Genesis made a patch for it some time ago. I recommend a guide for the maps, since it gets a little easy to get lost at times.
Great list I would add final fantasy tactics to the list in an eta of ground breaking fmv and 3d graphics it if pews both and delivered deep systems beautiful sprite work and somehow made grinding fun it took an older simpler style and approach to the next level One of the best tactical rpgs out there Grandia has a very satisfying story glad you mentioned it
I think I just recently made a similar comment on another video about classic JRPGs, but the first two Lunar games were first released on the Sega CD (the first one, the original version of Silver Star Story Complete, was just subtitled as "The Silver Star").
Just tossing one more game into the ring, but if you played Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle on the SNES and liked Ogre Battle on the Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance has a prequel game to Tactics Ogre called Knight of Lodis that's surprisingly fun. It incorporates a kind of achievement system into the class system, so that earning the achievement for hitting two enemies with one weapon attack unlocks the spear-wielding valkyrie class, or getting a spell to hit three enemies at once unlocks a more AoE-focused caster class. I've seen a lot of streamers playing all four Ogre games as part of the same challenge, like Coffee Potato beating all four using only faeries, a challenge nearly cut short by one particularly angry chicken enemy.
I love Xenogears in an unhealthy way. Just that background track being played while he spoke about it was giving me all the feels. Such a massive epic of a game. It's a shame that the second disc was rushed and handled so poorly. The rest of the game is pure A+ to me.
excellent video! Suikoden is my fav RPG series, it's very fast and very little grinding, with a collectathon of characters. Def a good pick for SNES types.
Would you consider reviewing Vagrant Story? If you haven't played it before you're in for a unique experience, and it's pretty short so i believe it's ideal for busy people
Liked your video, but for rare weird yet great games, in my opinion you by passed a game thats consider a cult game, with great reviews, but plays differently then the majority of its peers. Vagrant Story for the playstation console fits perfectly into this video. Keep up the great work, love your videos from games when i was a teenager, heck even reminded me of the names of games I had forgotten the titles of.
My very first RPG was Chrono Trigger, and will always be the best one. Others that grabbed me the same way, that I consider to be very similar (other than FF games): -Legend of Dragoon (PS1) -Xenosaga (PS2) -Legend of Heroes: Song of the Ocean (PSP) All of these had elements reminding me of CT and captured me in their immersive story and gameplay.
Since you mentioned lunar silver star story complete. There's also the sequel Lunar Eternal Blue complete on the same system since it's quite an improvement of the first game and answers quite a few questions from the previous game.
nice video, have you ever played Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled on the Nintendo DS? made by a small 4 person team in Canada. It's like an indie Chrono Trigger. HIGH encounter rate though.
sargesmash1 Yeah I totally understand that criticism. That's what made the game slightly frustrating. But a small team and small budget will cause such things. I'd love to see those developers try again.
A very SNES like RPG you'd like is Beyond The Beyond. It was made by the guys who'd later go on to make the Golden Sun games, and you can where that got some ideas from those games in this game.
Man. I really enjoy your channel. I found it looking for vids that played more than 1 rpg song at a time. I have been subbed for a good while now and I gotta say. I love how you acknowledge Breath of Fire and Lufia once in a while. I know they aren't the best RPGs. But for me, they kind of got me into the genre. So thanks for that. Off to go get Radiant Historia.
I recommend Treasure of the Rudras, it has a fan translation. The gimmick of the game being that you "name" your own spells, and depending on the name you get different kinds of attacks.
sometimes that concept causes major problems for me.. name a spell fire and it turns out to be ultima or something like that.. then name another one ultima and its like cure! Other than that the game was great for me!
Alundra, Breath of Fire 4, Legend of Mana, Tales of Destiny and Valkyrie Profile are nice additions from the PS1; Crimson Gem Saga, Tales of Eternia and Tales of Phantasia are my favourites from the PSP ♥
Love your videos SNESDrunk, thanks to you I have discovered so many amazing classic games. If you ever start producing videos on RPGs from Dreamcast and beyond please make it a point to mention Skies of Arcadia. Skies of Arcadia is an Amazing JRPG developed by Sega for the Dreamcast and later ported to the GameCube. This games was simply amazing. It featured some of the best turn based party combat of it's time while also including airship turn based combat as well. The world in which Skies of Arcadia takes place was vast, and such a joy to explore. Its characters were extremely likable, and quite expressive for the time. The game's sound track was extremely catchy and oh so memorable. The only JRPG that has truly come close to matching the brilliance of this game was Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii.
SNES drunk, Have you played Persona 3 & 4 on PS2. They play like Final Fantasy VI but a bit at a faster pace. You summon monsters (or in this case Personas) and you fight shadows plus you get to choose which girl you get to date. I don’t hear people talking about both games as they are the best games in Persona I’ve ever played. Such amazing Hidden Gems (Mainly Persona 3, not P4 because that game isn’t obscure anymore).
Radiant Historia is pretty great. Fun story, I bought a copy of this from some lady at a flea market dirt cheap but when I popped it into my DS I found out it was actually the Japanese version.... Great list, especially since it's out of your comfort zone.
Great review. There's some titles on this list that I already love and some that I think I would if I had the chance. I would suggest the Dysgia series, but that was on PS2, so it might be a little out of your spectrum of review. Still, a great series that utilized the "tactics" RPG style very well.
to add a few more from the PSP, Crimson Gem Saga, rather difficult at the beginning and comes off as a tad grind-y, but it is an RPG through and through. Also check out Mana Khemia, it's an RPG with a slice-of-life anime feel, where you get to go to magic school and manage your day to day activities.
Albert Odyssey on the Sega Saturn. Magic Knight Rayearth and Shining Wisdom on the Saturn are pretty SNES like too, but less RPG-y. There's a metric ton if you include non-translated Saturn titles like Slayers Royal 1 and 2, Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden, Linkle Liver Story, Maho Gakuen Lunar, the Langrisser series and WAY too many others for me to completely list. I get the feeling none of these were brought over because they weren't showing off the Saturn's 3D capabilities and looked too much like SNES games.
I had an N64 and PS1 growing up. Recently got a modded Saturn and Holy Shit, Panzer Dragoon Saga blows away ANY PS1 RPG or N64 fantasy adventure game ive ever played. Game needs wayyy more exposure than it originally got. Had the same feeling I got playing it that I got when I first saw Avatar in Imax3D, the world and atmosphere is so engrossing and cohesive. Short game but truly one of my top favorite games of all time now easily, took my time and lasted me some 30ish hrs to complete iirc.
Some very unique, obscure, but good stuff that didn't got mentioned in comments as far as I've seen: Soma Bringer for DS is action (think anime Diablo II) RPG by some of the guys who made Xenogears got an english patch Growlanser is a mostly japan-only series, but Generations bundle got released for PS2 and part IV on PSP. They are very unique non-grid based action-tactical titles SaGa series was most interesting on PS1 with 2 SaGa Frontier titles, the second having amazing watercolor art style and story spanning a century of historical events from two different points of view: a prince struggling for his heritage and an adventurous commoner, epic battles of the first storyline serving as backdrop for the second. Unlimited Saga on PS2 is something can't-exactly-put-into-words degree weird, just check out some gameplay. And some say it's actually good beneath all... that. The original Valkyrie Profile (or it's PSP remake VP: Lenneth) has one of the best RPG battle system period with great story and setting as well. It's no short of a masterpiece somewhat faded into obscurity.
I always appreciated the "Have a great test of your day" at the end of your videos. It's oddly comforting, especially compared to the usual "don't forget to like, comment and subscribe" you get from most other content on this site.
I hope you're not letting the aggressive comments of children and shut-ins affect you. Your videos are seriously some of the most informative I've run across. I value this channel immensely, and I would hate to see you give up due to UA-cam comments.
Huh, just today I was considering changing my opening to "WHATS UP YOUTUUUUUUUBE." (I'm kidding) Thank you for watching. "Aggressive" comments don't bother me, it's just video games, I'm just one guy, they're just one person, it doesn't matter. There are more important things
Suikoden feels very much like a SNES RPG that changed platforms mid-development. The structure of the game, the layout of towns, the combat system, it's doing its very best to take every cue from SNES RPG classics.
Reading the comments makes me wanna get rich and catch up on RPGs for the rest of my life.
lol same!
I actually played a ton when I was ill and housebound. When I went to do groceries once I was well, I was buying drinks like I was stocking up on potions before a battle!
Goals!
3 words
M
U
Late
More money more problems....
you’ll never be able to play them all!
Ogre Battle 64 was incredible! Loved creating my own army with awesome characters like Ankiseth, Destin, and Biske.
Radiant Historia was a sleeper hit. Yoko Shimomura outdid herself with the soundtrack.
the white chronicles theme is a biggg reminder of secret of evermore sountrack for me.
It really was. The characters are all fantastic and feel real, the art is GORGEOUS, the soundtrack is phenomenal (although it can be a bit repetitive), and the pseudo-tactical combat is an absolute blast. The only gripe I have is that MP replenishment is ridiculously scarce and expensive, so you're almost forced to avoid battles, which means you tend to go into boss fights underleveled.
I beat that game about a year ago my first nds game ever play
When does she not? All of her music is amazing
I'm so glad you remembered Radiant Historia. The Mario and Luigi games are also great. Particularly the first and third ones.
Nearly failed college playing Mario and Luigi and FF Tactics Advance
Of course. And also the first two Paper Mario games.
I had recently got a GBA when the first M&L came out and went into it with no knowledge after picking it up in a shop. What a great game. It crashed when I replayed it through emulation like 15 hours in so didn't get to replay the whole thing 😢 might do it sometime soon since its a long time since i had that Xperia Play
Holy crap... no bitching here! You mentioned my favorite RPG on a handheld system, of ALL TIME. Radiant Historia is a masterpiece and something I mention over and over on my channel. The combat is SO good. The graphics and music are SO good. Why does no one talk about it...? Glad you gave it some love. I need to get back to it though... I'm about 25 hours in. Wild Arms rules, as does Grandia. Arc the Lad is very SNES-like! Great list, good sir.
You should strongly consider finishing Radiant Historia
Totally plan on it, this year. I got super sucked in on my Front Mission repro cart haha.
I saw high praise for Radiant Historia but I hard time getting into it. I was really put off by the minimal gameplay at the beginning. Like they don't give you any control to navigate it felt like, just got thrown into cutscene after cutscene.
*****
I hear you, thing is I actually dug RH's story, as opposed to GS which felt like the same old stuff
Weird, I've never heard of that game before this video but it seems interesting! I'll have to check it out
You should check out Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast and GameCube.
Hell yes! When Skies came out, I had played so many "epic" RPGs that I forgot they could be fun. This game reminded me of that.
Top 3 rpg ever
when i first heard of skies, i didnt expect anything.
as soon as i started playing, i was HOOKED
I feel like he’d love that game
That game is amazing, but this video was specifically about SNES style games, and Arcadia doesn't fit into that category
Ah, great list! You actually compiled a excellent set-up for anyone looking to expand thier horizons, and huge props to you for including some oft-overlooked gems like Ogre Battle 64 and Rdiant Historia :D
Thank you for watching
I've never owned an SNES, so your channel is a great way to vicariously explore the console. Definitely planning to get a Switch Lite and Switch Online someday for the SNES games.
Get an Android and a clip on controller 😉 a cheap (sub £100) Chinese phone will play everything perfectly.
@arostwocents I got a Switch Lite later that year :) Most recent console purchases were a PSP and Series S. If it weren't for being currently unemployed, I would be deep in the vintage game pipeline. And yes, I emulate sometimes, but I prefer the feel of playing on OG controller style
Love Golden Sun, I agree that they are pretty text heavy, but I think they are still worth playing
I just finished the first one and yeah i do think the amount of dialogue is ridiculous but i had fun
solar boy django
I'm glad someone finally mentioned the greatness that is Phantasy Star IV. Even being a huge Nintendo fan, PSIV and the two Shining Force games on the Genesis are some of my favorite of all time.
To be honest, I personally prefer Phantasy Star IV to Chrono Trigger, though I accept this is probably an unpopular opinion. I do think they are the two best JRPGs of the 16-bit era.
Ogre Battle 64 is one of the greatest games ever made!
The Shinning Force games & especially the Phantasy Star games were amazing rpg's and were my favorite series growing up. I highly recommend everyone to play them.
Both Lunar games are some of my favorites.
Mine too
I got “Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology” on 3DS for Christmas this past year and loved it! Amazing stories and characters! I’m not the biggest fan of the battle system, but it’s not bad at all, just not my favorite. They tried something new with it and succeeded.
Oh man Lunar brings me way back. There is a sequel that's great too!
Yeah I wish they made more lunar games
I liked Radiant Historia, but there was a certain part where the difficulty shot up so high I just decided to ignore it.
"Nostalgia" for the DS, on the other hand, is an excellent and unique JRPG that is definitely inspired by steampunk and Indiana Jones, well worth playing.
Glad to see Ogre Battle 64 getting some love. I first played that game back in the 90s holy shit did it ever exceed my expectations. Most N64 games have not aged well, but Ogre Battle 64 actually stands out because it has aged SO well.
Fantastic game
needs a sequel
Play suikoden 1 and 2 is a must
Echo echoo echoooooooo
and Suikoden 3 and 4 and 5 and Tactics.
and suikoden tierkreis for ds
I'd say Suikoden II is the only one real _must_ in the series. There are other good ones, but none that come close to it.
StraightOuttaJarhois V is almost on the quality level of II, but IV is an UNHOLY ABOMINATION that should never be played by anyone, ever.
Man, your channel is so good. So many well-made, consistently entertaining videos.
This is one of the best places for soaking up retro game nostalgia.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Corey
The three Fire Emblem games on GBA (6 7 and 8) are great if you haven't checked them out. 7 and 8 were released in English.
Cool to see someone show some love to fire emblem!
Lots of good looking games in this list that I missed over the years.
Great video SNES Drunk....one of the best retro game reviewer on UA-cam. Always well balanced.
Thank you for watching
Awesome list! Can't believe you mentioned Wild Arms, Xenogears, Shining Force, Golden Sun, some of my favorites growing up!
Oh, how many, many times I've played Ogre Battle 64...
I think it was my first game ever that I had put like 200 hours in, ommgerrrrrrrrrrd that game is SO LONG but you never feel it.
I finish that game over 7 times to get as many different endings a possible. Over 500+ hours on my old cartridge though i think you could only have 3 saved files.
One of my all time favorites.
@Kabob Brewster is that all? i'm gonna buy 6 of em!
Brave Fencer Musashi!
not really a chrono trigger type of rpg. More action adventure imo
MegaMan legends was my favorite ps game. The way they kept it light hearted in spite of the post apocalyptic setting was great.
Mother 3 should have been on the SNES.
Worth playing?
Also to name a few more RPGs, for Playstation 2:
Dark Cloud: Action RPG, Zelda meets Roguelike with some Actraiser thrown in.
Xenosaga: Spiritual Successor to Xenogears, though a lot less emphasis on giant mech combat.
Drakan: The Order of the Flame. Sequel to a PC game of the same name, it's an action RPG where you run around on foot as a girl with melee, ranged and magic combat, but sometimes hop on your dragon friend for some flying action too.
For Playstation 1:
Tales of Destiny. Take Tales of Symphonia, speed it up a bit, modernize the graphics a little, and you got yourself a solid and fun action RPG. There are more Tales games, but I never played much of them. They run along a similar line.
Star Ocean 2: Sequel to Star Ocean, which was never released over here. Definitely worth a look.
Final Fantasy Tactics: Tactics Ogre, only far better. More detailed combat/equipment/character classes, better graphics, etc. Pass on the remake, get the original.
Vandal Hearts: Wish I hadn't lost the CD to my copy of it... but it's a FFT/Tactics Ogre type game that I've heard good things about it, played it a little, loaned it to my cousin, never saw it again lol.
Tactics Ogre: There's a PS1 port of TO, and it seemed rather good, unlike a lot of PS1 ports of SNES RPGs that barely function (Here's looking at you, Chrono Trigger...)
Legend of Mana: Kinda like Secret of Mana, but a bit different. Some people don't like the episodic story that is difficult to figure out how it all fits together, and a lot of people get lost in the story. Even if you ignore the story, there's still some fun gameplay to be had. It has THE most complicated but most customizable crafting system in the game with its reforging. It also has a ridiculously awesome theme song, sung in Swedish, called "Song of Mana" (very aptly named; the woman's vocals sound absolutely magical and enchanting).
I'm not sure I'd classify Dark Cloud as a RPG but a dungeon crawler with light RPG mechanics
i've played Drakan: The Ancient's Gates but never Order of the Flame, might try it, not what I'd think to call a RPG either
also i'd recommend ToD:DC over the original just due to the battle system, yeah it's Japan-only but there's a translation and even a patch in the works
If you haven't checked it out yet, Star Ocean got a fantastic remake for the PSP. Tales of Eternia is also a damn good game for PS1
@@ZombieJesus1987: I've tried the Star Ocean remake actually, and am looking forward to Eternia when I finally get around to it
@@dmas7749 Tales of Eternia is one of the better games from the Tales series IMO
Tactics Ogre is infinitely better than FF Tactics. Story is orders of magnitude more developed, better class evolution, and (if you get the PSP version) the COTA system greatly increases replayability.
Nice to see Radiant Historia get some love. Absolutely outstanding game.
A masterpiece!
If you liked Breath of Fire 3, then the fourth game is a must. It's improved in just about every respect but the plot is interestingly split between the main dragon man, Ryu (like every BoF game) and the primary villain who you play as from time to time. It's worth checking out if you ever have the time.
Eh, BoF 4 has a few huge difficulty spikes in the game that require oodles and oodles of level grinding near the end, while BoF 3 is not quite as harsh about that (but is no pushover either). I mean, seriously, I was breezing through bosses and then stepped into the final dungeon and could barely handle the normal battles it was that ridiculous.
Indeed. The guy needs some playtime on that, and suikoden 1, too.(best OST, nice story)
Has Capcom released BoF 3 or 4 outside of the original Playstation? I remember beating BoF3 when I was a teen, loved it, but got stuck in BoF4 pretty early on due to a scratched disc. I never owned a PS3. I'm really hoping these games make it on to Steam or the Ps4
IceHedge BoF4 had a PC Windows version. Don't know if it works on Windows 10 though, or if it's on Steam or another digital game store.
@@Dhalin Weird. I don't remember a difficulty spike. I know some of the bosses had like specific strategies and stuff. But I was probably over-leveled anyway. I never ran from battles and I like to grind here and there.
Like of course new sword more expensive than everything I've earned, I'm not moving on until I get you hahaha.
But naw, 4 is amazing. I like 3 better, but not by a ton.
"Being humble doesn't work as well as being aware"
Love the videos
Two games I want to share that weren't in the video are Brigandine and Star Ocean: The Second Story, both for the PSX.
Brigandine is to me the best SRPG on the PSX. The bevy of characters, monsters, and classes is great. Replayability is great with each faction giving a new experience. The only downsides to this great game are the battle scenes (awful 3D graphics that slow down the gameplay but can be turned off) and the lack of a final boss (that the Japanese version has). If you like games like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Shining Force, this is a must play.
Star Ocean: The Second Story is my favorite RPG for the PSX, just narrowly beating out Xenogears. The combat is fun, the cast of characters is diverse, and again good replayability in trying out both story lines. Someone else will have to point out the downsides to this game, because I can't think of any.
Anyway, great video!
Good stuff here, thank you
The only downside I can come up with from Star Ocean was the soundtrack. It just didn't do it for me.
I loved Brigandine. It had flaws, but I played it all the time.
I NEVER see Brigandine talked about anywhere, but it was the first SRPG I ever played, and thus I love it.
It's good, but I honestly just like BoF3 more.
May be pure nostalgia, but I've played through both of em just recently, I think it's the more colorful vibe BoF3 gives, as well as the dragon system in it.
I never really liked the dragon system in BoF4, and the art just feels kinda of ... "bland".
Loved Ogrebattle 64 and the original on the SNES. Not sure how many times I played through them.
I'm not sure how they're classified really but I enjoy the Megaman Battle Network series quite a bit.
Yeah it's like taking Megaman and going very nearly full cyberpunk. Very very fun! why no compilation ;(
Agreed
I started away from the battle network games for too long because I thought they seemed way too childish and also stunk of the " let's make something Pokemon kids will want to play" that was EVERYWHERE for a looong time between the gbc and gbas lifespan.
Once I played them though-the MMBN games, I mean- I was blown away. It might've been because I was really desperate for an RPGs that had unique battle systems/settings, and boy, oh boy, MMBN DID NOT disappoint. The combat system in those games is - I'm not being hyperbolic here- probably my favorite of all time. Also, any top-down, SNES-era stule rpg that isn't set in a medival-fanstasy or steampunk kind of setting will always get at least a playthrough for me. Although, I will say that the battle network story never really blew me away, I wasn't disappointed by, as I didn't go in expecting to be blown away by it. That said though, going with the context of this video, could you see tthe battle network games being made for SNES? I could go either way with that
Im sure you love the never ending dungeon stuff.
No complaints here mate You hit pretty much every noted you could. OH wait WHERE"S FINAL FANTASY TACTICS lol. I picked up Ogre battle 64 a couple years ago knowing it would likely go up in price. Have yet to play it, but that little blurb got me pumped
God, I'm so glad you mentioned Radiant Historia. I wasnt expecting it to pop up at all, but its truly a spectacular game that handles time travel very well.
I'd also like to add the game Nostalgia to the list, for people who love Final Fantasy games. It's a charming FF-esque game with great graphics for being on the DS, and good music.
Radiant Historia is a masterpiece
played all of those. I think Lunar was my second favorite game. if you got time, you should try thousand arms since that one made me laugh on more then one occasion growing up.
I'm roughly 20 hours into PS4, I was worried about the insane grinding I heard about, but it's not too bad. Its true it's one of the better 16 bit RPGs, anyone who's played the SNES classics needs to play it. Its a piece of history.
Do you have an opinion of ps3 vs ps4? I own 3(had better box art than 4😂), but always hear about 4.
well done video honestly.
Thank you, but what about dishonestly?
Well, what'd you expect from UA-cam comments. Baiting and trolling stuff. Being serious, I'd say there's not much missing here, bar the Japan exclusive stuff from the 5th & 6th gen stuff and even then that's nitpicking.
I don't know why but I never even thought of Japan-only stuff from that era, is there anything in particular you know of that's worth mentioning?
Way too many to list that are of the lengthy variety. Valkyrie Profile isn't talked about much, Jade Cocoon is an interesting take on collector RPGs like Migami Tensei or Pokemon. Legend of Legaia is worth a look as well. For actual non western releases I'm drawing blanks at this point.
Bahamut Lagoon
I'm a simple man. I saw someone reference Ogre Battle 64, I clicked "Like" & subscribed.
yess
A few summers ago I decided to catch up on all the jrpgs I missed over the years. First games I picked for my "Summer of JRPGs" were Lunar 1 or 2 and... it ended after that. Unfortunately I played, what were for me, the best two first.
At the SNES subreddit, people sometimes ask, "I want to get into JRPGs, what should I start with?" Some respond with "Chrono Trigger," and it's like... No! Don't start with the absolute best out there, there's only disappointment with every game you play afterword. Work your way up to the best.
Unfortunately there may not have been a way for you to know how good Lunar 1 and 2 were ahead of time. But you should still check out Xenogears.
How about Sword of Mana? It's a re-imagining of Final Fantasy Adventure on the GBA that, gameplay-wise, tries to tie it in better with other Mana games. It's worth checking out for those who like Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3.
Very happy to see Radiant Historia there. One of my favourite RPGs of the past 10 years. I like to refer to it as the true sequel to Chrono Trigger.
i've heard black sigil on ds is also quite similar to chrono trigger. not as good as radiant historia but still pretty good. think i might start radiant historia and see what all the fuss is about.
IMO the best video you've done, highlighting the best games of the genre for that era
Thank you for watching
Your channel is one of the only ones I regularly check. Keep it up!
Thank you Robert
Thanks for giving ogre battle 64 some love it was easily one of the best rpgs ever
huge props for the BOF3 mention, i feel like bof 3 hits all the high notes, except it could have done for a bit more character customization. but the art, the story, the mini games... stellar game. a full gamming experience.
Lunar 2 for the ps1was a masterpiece that came with a leather bound book, a solid ass pendant, discs on how they made the game and such. And much much much more. How dare you not mention that game!!! Nah jk, you mentioned the first one, but the second one is a fucking masterpiece. Keep up the good content.
Golden Sun the Lost Age is probably my favourite game alongside Chrono Trigger, damnit the gameplay from it is perfect
The Golden Sun games are sheer classics. Played them tons back in my middle school days. Leveled every character to Lv99 in Lost Age and would play the Coliseum with a finished file for hrs on end re-fighting bosses, back in the good ol days when I actually had time to do stuff like that.
Great recommendations here! I look forward to play all of these titles.
SnesDrunk, have you played Shining Force 1 yet? I haven't played 2 very much yet but the sound effects in SF1 are soo satisfying, they're like shotgun blasts!
It's worth mentioning them both, it also has great characters and a fun story and the game play/graphics and music are all similar to 2.
For not being an 'expert' on PSX JRPGs, you did a pretty good job of picking out some of the best ones. I've played most of those that were translated into english and I'd say the best three I've had the pleasure of playing are Grandia, Suikoden II and Xenogears. The PSX really was blessed when it came to JRPGs.
You did a fantastic job with this. You missed a few GBA RPG's(Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Riviera: The Promised Land, Mazes of Fate), but other then that I believe you covered almost all of them. All of those Pokemon games and Beyond the Beyond for the PS1 are the only other games I can think of off the top of my head. The latter definitely looks 110% like a SNES RPG. It was actually made by Camelot and is very similar to Golden Sun, but it was made long before it and it has a few annoying flaws.
Thank you, and thanks as always for watching
You should do a video on Rocket Slime. Heavily underrated
Ogre Battle 64 is a great mention. If for no other reason than it's a solid 2D sprite based RPGish game on the N64 (a rare treat for folks of a certain temperament).
If you don't need a ton of bells and whistles in your RPG, some fun mentions on DS would be Nostalgia and Glory of Heracles. The latter being the first game in a long series of solid RPGs to finally make it to the west.
Shin Megami Tensei for the SNES is a pretty good one. Neon Genesis made a patch for it some time ago. I recommend a guide for the maps, since it gets a little easy to get lost at times.
Lunar has an amazing remake for the PSP. Definitely my favourite version of the game. Nall isnt annoying in this one!
Great list I would add final fantasy tactics to the list in an eta of ground breaking fmv and 3d graphics it if pews both and delivered deep systems beautiful sprite work and somehow made grinding fun it took an older simpler style and approach to the next level
One of the best tactical rpgs out there
Grandia has a very satisfying story glad you mentioned it
I think I just recently made a similar comment on another video about classic JRPGs, but the first two Lunar games were first released on the Sega CD (the first one, the original version of Silver Star Story Complete, was just subtitled as "The Silver Star").
Just tossing one more game into the ring, but if you played Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle on the SNES and liked Ogre Battle on the Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance has a prequel game to Tactics Ogre called Knight of Lodis that's surprisingly fun. It incorporates a kind of achievement system into the class system, so that earning the achievement for hitting two enemies with one weapon attack unlocks the spear-wielding valkyrie class, or getting a spell to hit three enemies at once unlocks a more AoE-focused caster class.
I've seen a lot of streamers playing all four Ogre games as part of the same challenge, like Coffee Potato beating all four using only faeries, a challenge nearly cut short by one particularly angry chicken enemy.
Xenogears is pretty much my life force. I've played through it from start to finish at least 15 times by now.
Lunar on the Sega CD is almost a completely different game than the Sega Saturn (Japanese only) or PS1 ports. Both version are amazing though.
I love Xenogears in an unhealthy way. Just that background track being played while he spoke about it was giving me all the feels. Such a massive epic of a game. It's a shame that the second disc was rushed and handled so poorly. The rest of the game is pure A+ to me.
The Legend of Dragoon on PS1 was my favorite JRPG.
I really enjoy your videos and takes on things. Your opinions are usually unbiaised and well-thought. Keep it up bro!
Thanks for watching Simon
excellent video! Suikoden is my fav RPG series, it's very fast and very little grinding, with a collectathon of characters. Def a good pick for SNES types.
Would you consider reviewing Vagrant Story? If you haven't played it before you're in for a unique experience, and it's pretty short so i believe it's ideal for busy people
Sure, but it'd be at the bottom of a huge pile at the moment
Liked your video, but for rare weird yet great games, in my opinion you by passed a game thats consider a cult game, with great reviews, but plays differently then the majority of its peers. Vagrant Story for the playstation console fits perfectly into this video.
Keep up the great work, love your videos from games when i was a teenager, heck even reminded me of the names of games I had forgotten the titles of.
Great video. Glad to see Golden Sun get a mention.
Thanks Jeff
Legend of dragoon anyone?
great game, but its definitely not a SNES style RPG lol
HEAT!!
Hmmm?
@@MerkhVision it pretty much is, just with the addition system added on to keep battles from becoming boring.
Rhapsody, on PS1.
I loved to play it with my sisters!
My very first RPG was Chrono Trigger, and will always be the best one. Others that grabbed me the same way, that I consider to be very similar (other than FF games):
-Legend of Dragoon (PS1)
-Xenosaga (PS2)
-Legend of Heroes: Song of the Ocean (PSP)
All of these had elements reminding me of CT and captured me in their immersive story and gameplay.
Since you mentioned lunar silver star story complete. There's also the sequel Lunar Eternal Blue complete on the same system since it's quite an improvement of the first game and answers quite a few questions from the previous game.
nice video, have you ever played Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled on the Nintendo DS? made by a small 4 person team in Canada. It's like an indie Chrono Trigger. HIGH encounter rate though.
No I have not played it, thanks for the rec
EarthBounder89 : I bought that game on release, and while it has its flaws (balance is really broken), I had fun with it.
sargesmash1 Yeah I totally understand that criticism. That's what made the game slightly frustrating. But a small team and small budget will cause such things. I'd love to see those developers try again.
A very SNES like RPG you'd like is Beyond The Beyond. It was made by the guys who'd later go on to make the Golden Sun games, and you can where that got some ideas from those games in this game.
Man. I really enjoy your channel. I found it looking for vids that played more than 1 rpg song at a time. I have been subbed for a good while now and I gotta say. I love how you acknowledge Breath of Fire and Lufia once in a while. I know they aren't the best RPGs. But for me, they kind of got me into the genre. So thanks for that.
Off to go get Radiant Historia.
Thank you for watching!
Just played through Radiant Historia last year. It's fantastic
I recommend Treasure of the Rudras, it has a fan translation. The gimmick of the game being that you "name" your own spells, and depending on the name you get different kinds of attacks.
sometimes that concept causes major problems for me.. name a spell fire and it turns out to be ultima or something like that.. then name another one ultima and its like cure! Other than that the game was great for me!
Fantastic look into some other system's RPGs! Xenogears happens to be my favorite RPG on the PS1.
Thank you Jake
Alundra, Breath of Fire 4, Legend of Mana, Tales of Destiny and Valkyrie Profile are nice additions from the PS1; Crimson Gem Saga, Tales of Eternia and Tales of Phantasia are my favourites from the PSP ♥
Love your videos SNESDrunk, thanks to you I have discovered so many amazing classic games. If you ever start producing videos on RPGs from Dreamcast and beyond please make it a point to mention Skies of Arcadia.
Skies of Arcadia is an Amazing JRPG developed by Sega for the Dreamcast and later ported to the GameCube. This games was simply amazing. It featured some of the best turn based party combat of it's time while also including airship turn based combat as well. The world in which Skies of Arcadia takes place was vast, and such a joy to explore. Its characters were extremely likable, and quite expressive for the time. The game's sound track was extremely catchy and oh so memorable. The only JRPG that has truly come close to matching the brilliance of this game was Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii.
Thank you Manuel, would love to get into DC stuff and Skies of Arcadia if I'm ever able to reliably capture footage for it
SNES drunk, Have you played Persona 3 & 4 on PS2. They play like Final Fantasy VI but a bit at a faster pace. You summon monsters (or in this case Personas) and you fight shadows plus you get to choose which girl you get to date. I don’t hear people talking about both games as they are the best games in Persona I’ve ever played. Such amazing Hidden Gems (Mainly Persona 3, not P4 because that game isn’t obscure anymore).
Radiant Historia is pretty great. Fun story, I bought a copy of this from some lady at a flea market dirt cheap but when I popped it into my DS I found out it was actually the Japanese version....
Great list, especially since it's out of your comfort zone.
Ogre Battle 64 is in my top 10 games of all time. Amazing story, soundtrack, gameplay, depth.
Another awesome video! Keep up the great work and keep making awesome videos! You have helped me discover some really great games. Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to watch Gabe
Phantasy Star and Shining Force rock. Even the Genesis' soundchip could not ruin them.
Thank you so much for this vid. This game me some ideas as for what to play next.
Nice list. Lots of titles I missed
I'm surprised the Pokemon games weren't mentioned in the video or in the comments
It's always exciting to see sega saturn games in these lists..
Love it
Great review. There's some titles on this list that I already love and some that I think I would if I had the chance. I would suggest the Dysgia series, but that was on PS2, so it might be a little out of your spectrum of review. Still, a great series that utilized the "tactics" RPG style very well.
to add a few more from the PSP, Crimson Gem Saga, rather difficult at the beginning and comes off as a tad grind-y, but it is an RPG through and through. Also check out Mana Khemia, it's an RPG with a slice-of-life anime feel, where you get to go to magic school and manage your day to day activities.
Albert Odyssey on the Sega Saturn. Magic Knight Rayearth and Shining Wisdom on the Saturn are pretty SNES like too, but less RPG-y.
There's a metric ton if you include non-translated Saturn titles like Slayers Royal 1 and 2, Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits Bushido Retsuden, Linkle Liver Story, Maho Gakuen Lunar, the Langrisser series and WAY too many others for me to completely list. I get the feeling none of these were brought over because they weren't showing off the Saturn's 3D capabilities and looked too much like SNES games.
Love your videos, short and sweet!
Thanks for watching
SNES drunk keep them coming!!
I had an N64 and PS1 growing up. Recently got a modded Saturn and Holy Shit, Panzer Dragoon Saga blows away ANY PS1 RPG or N64 fantasy adventure game ive ever played. Game needs wayyy more exposure than it originally got. Had the same feeling I got playing it that I got when I first saw Avatar in Imax3D, the world and atmosphere is so engrossing and cohesive. Short game but truly one of my top favorite games of all time now easily, took my time and lasted me some 30ish hrs to complete iirc.
I remember getting ogre battle 64 for Xmas. Good game
Another informative and well made vid. Thanks Drunk.
Thank you for watching
Some very unique, obscure, but good stuff that didn't got mentioned in comments as far as I've seen:
Soma Bringer for DS is action (think anime Diablo II) RPG by some of the guys who made Xenogears got an english patch
Growlanser is a mostly japan-only series, but Generations bundle got released for PS2 and part IV on PSP. They are very unique non-grid based action-tactical titles
SaGa series was most interesting on PS1 with 2 SaGa Frontier titles, the second having amazing watercolor art style and story spanning a century of historical events from two different points of view: a prince struggling for his heritage and an adventurous commoner, epic battles of the first storyline serving as backdrop for the second. Unlimited Saga on PS2 is something can't-exactly-put-into-words degree weird, just check out some gameplay. And some say it's actually good beneath all... that.
The original Valkyrie Profile (or it's PSP remake VP: Lenneth) has one of the best RPG battle system period with great story and setting as well. It's no short of a masterpiece somewhat faded into obscurity.