Like this page and what I do here? Consider supporting me on patreon! www.patreon.com/davidvinc [0:40] - 10) The Corridor - Fragile Dreams [1:27] - 9) The Ether Mines - Xenoblade Chronicles [2:31] - 8) The Labyrinth of Mirrors - Baten Kaitos [3:16] - 7) The Blue Cave - Quest 64 [4:01] - 6) The Wilderness Ruins - Opoona [4:56] - 5) Rebena Te Ra - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles [5:53] - 4) The Challenge Dungeons - Final Fantasy 4: The After Years [7:17] - 3) Tarazed - Baten Kaitos Origins [8:24] - 2) Moonstone Mountain - Skies of Arcadia [9:35] - 1) Iselia Human Ranch - Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
"The corridor, more like the borrador!" I swear I was sitting there for like five minutes wondering what the Spanish word for eraser had to do with long hallways
Also, we need to bring back Worst Dungeons for the PS4 era. One suggestion: Fodina Caestino from FFXV. Ever play a level in a JRPG where your party is passively aggressively mad at you while another party member has been rendered blind for life? I gotta say, it's not something I normally come across, and if the intention is to get across that awkward tension, then this level succeeded. Doesn't make it a joy to play through, but...anyways, we need some for that era.
"And Endless Ladder." I'm still in a dream, Snake Eateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer! "Only Mention of the N64" Unsurprising, there was only 7 RPGs on the console, and one of them was Ogre Battle 64 which map wise was like an RTS.
@@davidvinc Ogre Battle 64, Aidyn Chronicles, Paper Mario, Quest 64, Hybrid Heaven, and Shadowgate 64. Okay 6. There's others you could probably count to if you wanted.
ShadowWolfRising Shadowgate 64 is an adventure game imo. However, Guantlet and Megaman 64 could both count as RPGs if you wanted too. Apparently people consider Hercules an rpg but I’ve never played it. I believe there’s Japanese only games that are RPGs for N64 as well. How many of them are worth playing? Um, Paper Mario and Ogre Battle for sure. Mega Man and Gauntlet are worth playing but are better on a different system. Hybrid Heaven is interesting from what I remember, but’s it’s been awhile.
And now it's the opposite. The Switch is now the go to place for a lot of new games and PS5 has been driving devs away with unreasonable demands and censorship.
I remember the worst dungeon for me was in Baten Kaitos. I believe you end up on a ship with no way to leave and you have to fight a pretty difficult boss fight. Since you can't level up either because of the type of save point I was stuck on that for a long time and got lucky.... You think they would learn their lesson but then in Origins... the damn holoholo bird almost made me quit that game
I'm lucky that the first time I played through the game that I was on a respectable level (only a bit underprepared, but that made the fight fun). But I saw the potential of getting stuck there and I believe I'd be flipping at the game if I wasn't prepared.
"best dungeon" sounds like an oxymoron. I can't even think of one dungeon in any game I actually thought was good. They're typically included to put in obstacles to fluff out games. Or were, many RPGs no longer have dungeons or use them incredibly sparingly: Witcher 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles X come to mind.
Honestly, a worse dungeon from Xenoblade is the Bionis Interior. Same amount of branching paths, but now if you're knocked off, you straight up die and are whisked back to the last LANDMARK you hit. Doesn't help that the worst boss in the game is waiting at the end.
Not the first time Quest 64 has been on a list with Worst in the title. I think this is my first comment since I got a new laptop. The other one took a nap one morning in early January, as I was watching you LP Beyond the Beyond, and never woke up. :'( RIP my old PC (1896-2019)
"What are the worst dungeons that I haven't covered?" You already know which one I hate the most. But to limit it to JRPGs.... Uh...Labyrinth of Amala from SMT: Nocturne? I Really don't know, no dungeon really infuriated me like The Fade did.
Everyone seems to hate the fade, but I actually didn’t mind it. Maybe because I went there first and just got it over with before I went to the message boards and saw everyone bitching about it.
I agree with garfreeek. It would be cool to see a list of the 10 worst dungeons overall. You could also do lists of the most complicated RPG puzzles and the worst dungeons of specific series like Final Fantasy and Tales.
One of the WORST dungeon puzzles was Megaman Battle Network, Elecman map. The puzzle wasn't even fun anymore. Just infuriating because of random battles. Ridiculous batteries...
Another one to remember is FFX's Bahamut Fayth puzzle. It's the *only* mandatory one that I recall that has enemies during the puzzle section, and the platform pathing and quicktime picking of direction can be so obtuse, and it takes *so damn long* to traverse on the platforms. Also, like... nearly all of the Xenosaga 2 dungeons. I love the series, but the walk speed is far too slow in all the games for the amount of real estate you traverse in the dungeons, and a *lot* of the dungeon rooms are just open floors or empty corridors. But X2's were the most agregious, with nothing burger on top of nothing burger of a dungeon, with *way* too much needless back tracking.
One day I'll find someone who'll mention Crystal chronicles: crystal bearers on an rpg list. People seem to forget it exists and it was pretty interesting to play. The storyline was ok, but the best bit was the AI of the monsters - and how you could use it to your advantage.... Maybe one day
The worst dungeon on an RPG I've played would be either The world that never was (KH2, horribly samey) or, to keep it in mandatory dungeons, the Syrcus (Crystal) tower in FFIII all the way to the Dark World. It ruins basically everything in FFIII otherwise. At least it's endgame, but let's just say climbing its floors, then beating six bosses without a save point is... cruel.
I love Dawn Of The New World, I love most of the new cast, including Emil, (who's excellent), I will easily defend the game in most regards, but yeah, there's absolutely no way of defending the Iselia Human Ranch sequence. It's basically a longwinded chore with absolutely nothing fun to it, definitely deserves this spot.
Totally agree. Enjoyed the game, loved Emil but at this dungeon my god. I swear they went out of their way to make it as long and annoying as possible. Especially frustrating since there was nothing annoying about the ranch when we visited it in vanilla Symphonia so what the hell XD
I never minded Rebena Te Ra. I actually kinda liked it. Conall Curach on the other hand can go die in a fire. It's a friggin' slog that never ends and has the cheapest boss in the game to boot. Worst dungeon by a colossal landslide.
I think you can pretty much put every Quest 64 dungeon into that one slot. They are all pretty boring, have high encounter rates, and don't even have good music. Plus the fact that there are usually no save points in the dungeons mean if you aren't careful, bam. Back to your last save with any items you used gone, though you do at least keep the experience you got, which isn't saying much.
Hmmm surprised that a dungeon from Aidyn Chronicles was never added to the list because believe me at least a couple of them would've been on this list. The Goblin Stronghold and Shamsuk's tower would've made good contenders. Especially since they both have pain in the ass fights at the end.
Only played Fragile Dreams from that list. It's been a long time since than so I can't remember much. Anyway, it's sad that this interesting series is going to end. As others already said you could make best dungeons or maybe most creative/innovative dungeons.
Yo what about the Ymir Forest from Tales of Symphonia 1? Or the temple of Darkness? Those dungeons are ridiculously tedious and annoying no matter how much you beat them.
YO did I just see a Lost Kingdoms clip!? I love how you had to lump all 3 consoles together, that's hilarious. #10. Corridor sounds like it could be a good art-game type experiment. Or to psyche the player out like in Silent hill 2.. but yeah, not sure about during an RPG though! #6 Opoona.. That's an unfortunate name xD. Damn, it's got some nice music! #5 Lol Crystal Chronc. Tried playing that solo back in the day.. bad idea. Being hit by an enemy to activate a switch.... nope!nope! That's often the shame about challenge dungeons. I really love the Lost Kingdoms Duology, but II's bonus dungeon, the 'Proving Grounds' is a massive repetitive slog of battle rooms. No checkpoints, I think it's like 40 levels, with 4 battle rooms in each. I got to lvl 37 or something on two occasions and got stun-locked to death by large enemies, no invincibility when you've been knocked down.. no way to avoid taking further damage or get back up. I really hate having to give up on a game! Aw man, if this is your last vid in the series it's like the end of an era!
(Skies of Arcadia) How the Heck do you think Moonstone Mountain is worse than Mt. Kazai? in Mt. Kazai, every time you go in the water, your walking speed is now a snails pace and that unskippable BS scene of Vyse walking into the water.
While I agree with you #1 pick I'd have much rather you put the entire game up there. Remember how you said that FFIV: The After Years was a game that you were greatly looking forward to because the original FFIV was your absolute favorite and then was severely disappointed with the follow-up? Well, that was me when I heard about Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World because I absolutely LOVED the first Tales of Symphonia and then that game came out and nearly destroyed my faith in the entire JRPG genre. It took 11 years before I would even touch another Tales of game again, and even then the stigma from Dawn of the New World taints my enjoyment of the entry I'm playing... Ugh...
Dawn of the New World is probably the worst Tales game I've ever played, as well as one of my least favorite JRPGs. Fortunately, I have Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss and Vesperia to make up for that.
Honestly one the worst dungeons I have played in anything that can be considered a dungeon is a tie between World 5-5 (Paper Mario: Sticker Star), Black Bowser Castle (Paper Mario: Color Splash), & World 3-12 (Paper Mario: Sticker Star) Here are reasons why these 3 are considered the worst World 5-5 (Local Carnivorous Plant steals A Shiny Crown Sticker): You have Kersti taken away & now you have go through trying to not fight enemies with kersti or your battle will take like almost a light year & mostly because, it's in the same world as the hardest level in Sticker Star, 5-3 (Fish Bait Chase) Black Bowser's Castle: Honestly, It houses a difficult Bowser fight & BS moments (The reason I say Sticker Star is better than Color Splash) World 3-12 (Whiteout Beach/Squidrock Land of Gooper Blooper): The Boss, enough said
From the description, the corridor sounds like the worst of this bunch to me. I'll take a little annoyance over sheer boredom any day when it comes to dungeons. I've been playing Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition recently, and it occurred to me after it forced me to go through a desert with an annoying canteen water meter that the obnoxious water meter made me more engaged with the dungeon than I was in most of the recent Tales dungeons, which are mostly brainless corridors (I skipped Zestiria, so I have no comments on that game). Of the games I did play from this list, Xenoblade, Skies of Arcadia, and Dawn of the New World, the only one of the three I remember bothering me with its dungeons was Skies of Arcadia. I don't really recall the game very well (I played it around 16 years ago, so it's been a long time), but I remember that I didn't enjoy its dungeons too much, mostly only due to random encounters and a lack of healing items or something like that. As for Xenoblade, I had no issues with any of its dungeons; the game features numerous warp points, which can be accessed at pretty much any time, and I didn't mind getting lost since I enjoyed wandering the areas, looking for treasure and just exploring. Dawn of the New World is a terrible game, and I actually remembered that dungeon after you mentioned it, but I don't recall being too bothered by it. It's possible that I'm more bothered by everything else in the game, such that the dungeon design seemed okay in comparison to the game's overall badness, or that I'm just willfully blocking my memories of the game, but I feel like I didn't really hate any of its dungeons.
Anyone here after the Nintendo Leak? You know, the one where the schematics/blueprints of N64, GameCube and Wii were leaked? Hoping for better emulators or better yet: Chinese "console on a chip" clones of N64, GameCube and Wii, as it was with NES on a chip.
No 3DS compilation of worst dungeons? There are quite a few in otherwise good games that earned my ire, such as YHVH's Universe in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse or Dreamy Wakeport in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Okay, how about Best RPG Dungeons?
HATED the Blue Cave. My friend ended up going out the wrong exit 3x in a row because EVERY time you leave combat you're orientated randomly. Such a boring, god awful dungeon.
"Ether Mines".. yep, replaying Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition on Switch and forgot how much of a boring slog the dungeon was, Mechonis Field went on way too long as well.. least the actual music was really good on Mechonis though.
I disagree about the Nintendo 64. It wasn't as good as the SNES, and was the beginning of the Nintendo consoles' decline as far as RPGs went, but it had some amazing games. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 and Super Mario 64 were arguably the best games in the respective franchises.
I was with you with most of them, but when you went for Arcadia, you went to far. The dungeon is supposed to be tedious in the sense it sends you back, because a crazed trap master made it to keep slaves from escaping. Also UNLESS you are under leveled the monsters are usually pretty easy here. I have NEVER had monster or level issues in that game because I am thorough. And that single bad pick made me question if you are blowing the other ones out of proportion too.
re: Tarazed, after you complete one of the four blocks, you can actually skip the other three in exchange for many consecutive battles. You have to go to the top window overlooking the big room with all the soldiers, and check it (maybe a few times) and you'll get the option to break the glass and fight.
Admittedly, having the guide for Baten Kaitos, with maps of the labyrinth areas layered over the broken screens, is only half the recipe you need to navigate it. Thankfully, the other component is something the game provides: one of the mirror shards is always centered on your feet from a normal camera angle. Thanks to that, you actually can have a decent idea of where you are.
I traded my new Gamecube and Smash Bros to my friend for his old PS2 and FFX. I understood why Nintendo didn't get more mature games. But it always confused me how they couldn't manage to wrangle some more jrpgs.
I like Xenoblades mines a lot, the multiple paths helps it feel more like a real area than just a random dungeon and there are a ton of secrets and unique monsters to fight. I would have kind of agreed if you said Mechonis Plains, but even that's not too bad. This kinda shows how much you had to reach to find ten imo
In an objective kind of view I would have to admit that most things in the Mechonis are plain and "boring". However, I love the mere thought of traversing the interior of a titan! It's the same with the Bionis. This alone coupled with my wish for everything that makes this great game longer made me enjoy the Mechonis part. And yeah, the mines are great too.
I love Xenoblade Chronicles, but I would have lined the top 5 worst dungeons from this list: 1. Mechnonis 2. Ether Mines 3. Bionis Interior 4. The Tomb 5. Prison Island But, to be fair, I have not played most of those games you listed. I think Xenoblade games are usually great, EXCEPT for their dungeons.
Worst 3DS dungeons could be good. You're pretty safe, as nearly all of the major 3DS games have finished coming out, and the 3DS had a LOT of RPGs just like the DS did.
For worse, challenge dungeons were made like that deliberately because they were designed so players spent their time waiting for the next chapter to be released in between, getting to the level cap of 40 for everyone (50 for Kain's). Of course, on Wiiware, it becomes optional because I believe the game was completed by then. Basically they were there to farm adamantites (which you could actually even seed, a player actually did this). I never even bothered, being honest.
Kinda sad to see this series go as it was always a lot of fun to relive and share the frustration of certain JRPGs. As for this list, I haven't played most of these since I, too, eventually switched home consoles from Nintendo to Sony around the time of the N64, since there were almost no RPGs on those systems. And I hardly remember anything about Tales of Symphonia: the New Dawn (probably a subconscious self-protection measure), but I do recall that particular dungeon! Those tedious puzzles took way too long.
Top 10 Worst RPG Maker Game Dungeons. With the added rules of A) no obvious crap (see Pikasprey’s Bad Fan Games videos for examples), and B) they have to be actual RPGs with battle systems (so none of those horror games).
Yeah, and they still switch cancel and confirm for the west to this day. I hate when I play fan translated games and I have to manually switch the controls around on my emulator.
davidvinc Muscle memory is hard to achieve with PS1 JRPGs due to this also. Square being the menu(FF8) for some games and the triangle buttons for others. With the SNES,DS and 3DS makes things worse because the A button on Nintendo systems are where the O button is on Sony systems.
No it's not, X is no and O is yes. See wikipedia translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25E4%25B8%25B8%25E5%258D%25B0&prev=search
There was some Mega Man collection released for the PS2 that was unplayable for me because they switched the attack and jump buttons from how they were on the NES and SNES. I had to return it because there was no way to switch the controls around in the menu.
For fun, how about making a list of the top 10 worst dungeons of all time? I'm kind of curious how the worst of each list stacks up against the others.
At first I thought Floating Monastery (aka World of Mammon) would make the list. That's my least favorite dungeon in Quest 64, but I will never argue with anyone who says Blue Cave is worse.
I agree that the ether mines in xenoblade was a low point in the game (but an otherwise fantastic game!) The extra dungeons in FF4 after years were pretty bad but I did love that game. I thought it was a great sequel and I’ve gone through it several times. I just skip those optional dungeons.
Also I recently played Moonstone Mountain on the Dreamcast version of Skies of Arcadia for the first time. And the Dreamcast version had a higher encounter rate. I didn't actually find it bad at all. The slave at the beginning tells you about the circles not always being right, and it only took me about 5 minutes to backtrack (plus a few more minutes for some battles) after accidentally falling down the wrong (well right really) hole where the treasures were. I found that little switch puzzle in Maramba's well more annoying because there wasn't much indication of what was being changed outside the two closest gates (probably doesn't count as a dungoen though).
Admittedly, I LOVE Xenoblade's Ether Mine! Design and music give you such an unsettling, mysterious feeling and the Central Pit is just so unexpectedly massive. The only thing a bit tedious on the way down is the fighting but when you make it and your greeted by Xord and the Ether river you know it was worth it. I also love the story progression in the mines from what made you go there in the first place to trying to save Juju. And especially the way up again. All these sequences with the characters questioning everything, you really feel how the atmosphere gets on their nerves as well. I know the story is one of the biggest reasons I love this place and therefore I would go with Tephra Cave when it comes to "bad" dungeons. Even though one could say that exploration becomes wonderful in the endgame, the beginning feels kinda lame.
I bought Opoona used a while ago, I have every intention of playing it someday. Then only us 2 will have played it, which will make it tie with Little Ninja Brothers for the NES for the title of "RPG most forgotten in time"
I remember in Tales of Symphonia that I hated the Tower of Salvation with the Angel City on top since I got lost at one point. Also, Volt's dungeon and that one Desian dungeon later (I think) with those moving elevator platform dropping things where you have to start over if you're not fast enough on them or something.
Surprised not to see something from Aidyn Chronicles on this list. Extremely underrated gem. It's not without its heavy flaws, but still enjoyable once you figure out how the system works.
@@davidvinc so you put Ether Mines on the list cause it's non-linear and difficult. Sounds like a pretty silly reason to put it up there considering the Bionis Core is 10000000000 times worse.
Admittedly looking forward to the Top 10 Best N64/Gamecube/Wii RPGs, even though I'm pretty sure N64 wouldn't be mentioned at all if Paper Mario wasn't on the list.
The Baten Kaitos one really isn't that hard to figure out. I liked the idea. Also yes, Blue Cave was terrible. The only thing I found that helps is that when you beat an enemy, Brian faces the way he was facing when you entered the battle.
Okay, I avoided Rebena Te Ra for the longest time because I’m a Larry Loner, but ever since I took the plunge, it’s been my favorite dungeon in the game. Both David and the guide overstress the dungeon’s focus on multiplayer, though. Yes, it’s the most multiplayer focused level in the game, but near impossible solo? Not even close. Hell, the only part that IS impossible solo is getting access to a completely optional treasure room.
Skies of Arcadia Moonstone Mountain is easy and the difficulty spike is not that high with the right equipment and a bit of grinding earlier. Yeah, if you are not carefull you fall and have to start all over again, but it is not that bad. I feel like a lot of game dungeons have become easier with every console generation, as have a lot of games with random encounter battles.
I'm into Xenoblade chronicles at the moment (on the nintendo switch, haven't done it before) annnnndd, I'm really glad to hear that the ether mines are the worst dungeon of the game. It made me take a break after completing it cause the story (and that horrible dungeon) weren't as good as what I was expecting for the game. Fortunalety, I came back and discovered more interesting parts after that
Law City of Zenbeatos - Legend of Dragoon, PS1. Probably my favorite JRPG of all time, but I hate the boring idea of turning the US Congressional system of passing laws into a dungeon. Wings of Light - Tales of Legendia, PS2. Youve mentioned it before, but why the hell is it so needlessly long? (Plus post game, you have have to do it AGAIN) Sphere Company, post game - Star Ocean 3, PS2. Optional, yes. But 100+ floors of tedium that you have to explore because they contain the best equipment and moves in the game, followed by facing every boss in the game, in a suped up pallet swapped form, every 10 floors, before you reach the top and face the hardest boss you've faced yet.
Wait seriously? the iselia human ranch? that's number one? Bruh. That wasn't even that hard. I guess I may be biased since its my favorite tales game but still. Yeah It is a LITTLE annoying but I found the dungeon in general to be relatively EASY
Are you serious? The ether mines and Mechonis field? Literally 99 percent of jrpg dungeons are labyrinths with boring looking corridors and you choose this? Sure, it's your list but I really don't see the logic.
Get the feeling you really don't like Nintendo.... Edit: didn't realise it was part of a series from other systems too! The more you know... Scratch my comment 😉
Number 10: "It's a straight line, how boring"
Number 9: "There're multiple paths, how annoying".
Welp.
Two extremes back to back.
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[0:40] - 10) The Corridor - Fragile Dreams
[1:27] - 9) The Ether Mines - Xenoblade Chronicles
[2:31] - 8) The Labyrinth of Mirrors - Baten Kaitos
[3:16] - 7) The Blue Cave - Quest 64
[4:01] - 6) The Wilderness Ruins - Opoona
[4:56] - 5) Rebena Te Ra - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
[5:53] - 4) The Challenge Dungeons - Final Fantasy 4: The After Years
[7:17] - 3) Tarazed - Baten Kaitos Origins
[8:24] - 2) Moonstone Mountain - Skies of Arcadia
[9:35] - 1) Iselia Human Ranch - Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
I'd strongly disagree with the ether mines, it was a very interesting area which had a great boss.
God, someone finally agrees that the Iselia Human Ranch was just plain bad. I loved Dawn of the New World, but the IHR was annoying.
Forgets Shadow Temple.
And Forbidden Fortress.
OoT and Wind Waker
@@meisterschwert5565 do you mean the Forbidden Woods?
@@annamarielee3 I'm talking about the Helmaroc king boss fight from Wind Waker or the Bongo Bongo battle from Ocarina of Time from Zelda.
"The corridor, more like the borrador!"
I swear I was sitting there for like five minutes wondering what the Spanish word for eraser had to do with long hallways
You'll want to erase the dungeon from your memory?
bwahaha
Also, we need to bring back Worst Dungeons for the PS4 era. One suggestion: Fodina Caestino from FFXV. Ever play a level in a JRPG where your party is passively aggressively mad at you while another party member has been rendered blind for life? I gotta say, it's not something I normally come across, and if the intention is to get across that awkward tension, then this level succeeded. Doesn't make it a joy to play through, but...anyways, we need some for that era.
"And Endless Ladder."
I'm still in a dream, Snake Eateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!
"Only Mention of the N64"
Unsurprising, there was only 7 RPGs on the console, and one of them was Ogre Battle 64 which map wise was like an RTS.
7? I can barely think of 3.
@@davidvinc Ogre Battle 64, Aidyn Chronicles, Paper Mario, Quest 64, Hybrid Heaven, and Shadowgate 64.
Okay 6.
There's others you could probably count to if you wanted.
Aidyn Chronicles just as a game alone is a tedious slog with unintuitive mechanics and horrible dungeon design.
ShadowWolfRising
Shadowgate 64 is an adventure game imo. However, Guantlet and Megaman 64 could both count as RPGs if you wanted too. Apparently people consider Hercules an rpg but I’ve never played it. I believe there’s Japanese only games that are RPGs for N64 as well. How many of them are worth playing? Um, Paper Mario and Ogre Battle for sure. Mega Man and Gauntlet are worth playing but are better on a different system. Hybrid Heaven is interesting from what I remember, but’s it’s been awhile.
And now it's the opposite. The Switch is now the go to place for a lot of new games and PS5 has been driving devs away with unreasonable demands and censorship.
I'm 100% with you on how HORRIBLE it was for Nintendo to use cartridges.
I remember the worst dungeon for me was in Baten Kaitos. I believe you end up on a ship with no way to leave and you have to fight a pretty difficult boss fight. Since you can't level up either because of the type of save point I was stuck on that for a long time and got lucky.... You think they would learn their lesson but then in Origins... the damn holoholo bird almost made me quit that game
The Goldoba. I remember that crap.
Kinda weird how the worst moments of both Baten Kaitos games is right at the start of the second disc...
Rellik165 so true
I'm lucky that the first time I played through the game that I was on a respectable level (only a bit underprepared, but that made the fight fun). But I saw the potential of getting stuck there and I believe I'd be flipping at the game if I wasn't prepared.
Do another one but with best dungeons!
Yes please! Would love that!
I don't think there's 10 candidates for a list like that(I'm kidding in case its not obvious...)
"best dungeon" sounds like an oxymoron.
I can't even think of one dungeon in any game I actually thought was good. They're typically included to put in obstacles to fluff out games. Or were, many RPGs no longer have dungeons or use them incredibly sparingly: Witcher 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles X come to mind.
“So the designers in all their wisdom decided to break it up. With a ladder.”
Me: “What a thrill...”
With darkness and silence through the night...
Honestly, a worse dungeon from Xenoblade is the Bionis Interior. Same amount of branching paths, but now if you're knocked off, you straight up die and are whisked back to the last LANDMARK you hit. Doesn't help that the worst boss in the game is waiting at the end.
I would like to see your top 10 JRPGs of all time (across all platforms)
Or maybe top 10 JRPG characters
I like the idea of characters
Not the first time Quest 64 has been on a list with Worst in the title.
I think this is my first comment since I got a new laptop. The other one took a nap one morning in early January, as I was watching you LP Beyond the Beyond, and never woke up. :'(
RIP my old PC (1896-2019)
"What are the worst dungeons that I haven't covered?"
You already know which one I hate the most.
But to limit it to JRPGs....
Uh...Labyrinth of Amala from SMT: Nocturne?
I Really don't know, no dungeon really infuriated me like The Fade did.
Everyone seems to hate the fade, but I actually didn’t mind it. Maybe because I went there first and just got it over with before I went to the message boards and saw everyone bitching about it.
N64-Aidyn cronicals the first mage-necromancers tower
GAME CUBE-Virtua Quest-the abandoned army base server
WII- Skylanders Giants-wililen village
whaaaa, Tarazed wasn't even the worst dungeon in origins.... love any mention of the game though :3
I agree with garfreeek. It would be cool to see a list of the 10 worst dungeons overall. You could also do lists of the most complicated RPG puzzles and the worst dungeons of specific series like Final Fantasy and Tales.
I wanted to post this idea and am glad to see others agree! A penultimate list of the worst dungeons out of your top 10 lists would be amazing!
One of the WORST dungeon puzzles was Megaman Battle Network, Elecman map. The puzzle wasn't even fun anymore. Just infuriating because of random battles. Ridiculous batteries...
Another one to remember is FFX's Bahamut Fayth puzzle. It's the *only* mandatory one that I recall that has enemies during the puzzle section, and the platform pathing and quicktime picking of direction can be so obtuse, and it takes *so damn long* to traverse on the platforms. Also, like... nearly all of the Xenosaga 2 dungeons. I love the series, but the walk speed is far too slow in all the games for the amount of real estate you traverse in the dungeons, and a *lot* of the dungeon rooms are just open floors or empty corridors. But X2's were the most agregious, with nothing burger on top of nothing burger of a dungeon, with *way* too much needless back tracking.
One day I'll find someone who'll mention Crystal chronicles: crystal bearers on an rpg list. People seem to forget it exists and it was pretty interesting to play. The storyline was ok, but the best bit was the AI of the monsters - and how you could use it to your advantage.... Maybe one day
Make the video :D You can do voiceover if you wanna stay anonymous. I'd watch it
I was expecting Bionis Interior for the Xenoblade entry. But you're right, Ether Mine isn't really that good either.
Bionis Interior isn't that bad as a dungeon, I think. WELL, EXCEPT FOR THE BOSS OF COURSE.
@@simonelovino4021 YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE
Not liking the Mirror Maze sounds like a two braincell problem. It's pretty easy if you stop and look at it.
LOL at "The Borridor"! Also, Are you kidding me with the broken mirror labyrinth? That is a crazy and horrific thing to do to the player haha
The worst dungeon on an RPG I've played would be either The world that never was (KH2, horribly samey) or, to keep it in mandatory dungeons, the Syrcus (Crystal) tower in FFIII all the way to the Dark World. It ruins basically everything in FFIII otherwise. At least it's endgame, but let's just say climbing its floors, then beating six bosses without a save point is... cruel.
Same exact story as you David. Was a Nintendo kid up until the 64 and then switched to PS1. "More like a BORE-A-DORE..." : Quote of the day.
Zosma Tower from Battle Kaitos is one of the places I hate the most in any videogame
I love Dawn Of The New World, I love most of the new cast, including Emil, (who's excellent), I will easily defend the game in most regards, but yeah, there's absolutely no way of defending the Iselia Human Ranch sequence. It's basically a longwinded chore with absolutely nothing fun to it, definitely deserves this spot.
Totally agree. Enjoyed the game, loved Emil but at this dungeon my god. I swear they went out of their way to make it as long and annoying as possible. Especially frustrating since there was nothing annoying about the ranch when we visited it in vanilla Symphonia so what the hell XD
I never minded Rebena Te Ra. I actually kinda liked it.
Conall Curach on the other hand can go die in a fire. It's a friggin' slog that never ends and has the cheapest boss in the game to boot. Worst dungeon by a colossal landslide.
I think you can pretty much put every Quest 64 dungeon into that one slot. They are all pretty boring, have high encounter rates, and don't even have good music. Plus the fact that there are usually no save points in the dungeons mean if you aren't careful, bam. Back to your last save with any items you used gone, though you do at least keep the experience you got, which isn't saying much.
Hmmm surprised that a dungeon from Aidyn Chronicles was never added to the list because believe me at least a couple of them would've been on this list. The Goblin Stronghold and Shamsuk's tower would've made good contenders. Especially since they both have pain in the ass fights at the end.
Only played Fragile Dreams from that list. It's been a long time since than so I can't remember much.
Anyway, it's sad that this interesting series is going to end.
As others already said you could make best dungeons or maybe most creative/innovative dungeons.
Yo what about the Ymir Forest from Tales of Symphonia 1? Or the temple of Darkness? Those dungeons are ridiculously tedious and annoying no matter how much you beat them.
I love the labyrinth of mirrors it so original and I think this is what we need now in Jrpg
Once the next-gen consoles come out, could you do a top 10 worst RPG dungeons - PlayStation4 edition?
Edit: Forgot the "please." My apologies.
The space factory in Persona 5 will probably make that list...
YO did I just see a Lost Kingdoms clip!? I love how you had to lump all 3 consoles together, that's hilarious.
#10. Corridor sounds like it could be a good art-game type experiment. Or to psyche the player out like in Silent hill 2.. but yeah, not sure about during an RPG though!
#6 Opoona.. That's an unfortunate name xD. Damn, it's got some nice music!
#5 Lol Crystal Chronc. Tried playing that solo back in the day.. bad idea. Being hit by an enemy to activate a switch.... nope!nope!
That's often the shame about challenge dungeons. I really love the Lost Kingdoms Duology, but II's bonus dungeon, the 'Proving Grounds' is a massive repetitive slog of battle rooms. No checkpoints, I think it's like 40 levels, with 4 battle rooms in each. I got to lvl 37 or something on two occasions and got stun-locked to death by large enemies, no invincibility when you've been knocked down.. no way to avoid taking further damage or get back up. I really hate having to give up on a game!
Aw man, if this is your last vid in the series it's like the end of an era!
(Skies of Arcadia)
How the Heck do you think Moonstone Mountain is worse than Mt. Kazai? in Mt. Kazai, every time you go in the water, your walking speed is now a snails pace and that unskippable BS scene of Vyse walking into the water.
While I agree with you #1 pick I'd have much rather you put the entire game up there. Remember how you said that FFIV: The After Years was a game that you were greatly looking forward to because the original FFIV was your absolute favorite and then was severely disappointed with the follow-up? Well, that was me when I heard about Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World because I absolutely LOVED the first Tales of Symphonia and then that game came out and nearly destroyed my faith in the entire JRPG genre. It took 11 years before I would even touch another Tales of game again, and even then the stigma from Dawn of the New World taints my enjoyment of the entry I'm playing... Ugh...
Dawn of the New World is probably the worst Tales game I've ever played, as well as one of my least favorite JRPGs.
Fortunately, I have Phantasia, Symphonia, Abyss and Vesperia to make up for that.
Honestly one the worst dungeons I have played in anything that can be considered a dungeon is a tie between World 5-5 (Paper Mario: Sticker Star), Black Bowser Castle (Paper Mario: Color Splash), & World 3-12 (Paper Mario: Sticker Star)
Here are reasons why these 3 are considered the worst
World 5-5 (Local Carnivorous Plant steals A Shiny Crown Sticker):
You have Kersti taken away & now you have go through trying to not fight enemies with kersti or your battle will take like almost a light year & mostly because, it's in the same world as the hardest level in Sticker Star, 5-3 (Fish Bait Chase)
Black Bowser's Castle:
Honestly, It houses a difficult Bowser fight & BS moments (The reason I say Sticker Star is better than Color Splash)
World 3-12 (Whiteout Beach/Squidrock Land of Gooper Blooper):
The Boss, enough said
I am always looking forward to your videos. This is my favorite JRPG channel on youtube.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoy it!
From the description, the corridor sounds like the worst of this bunch to me. I'll take a little annoyance over sheer boredom any day when it comes to dungeons. I've been playing Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition recently, and it occurred to me after it forced me to go through a desert with an annoying canteen water meter that the obnoxious water meter made me more engaged with the dungeon than I was in most of the recent Tales dungeons, which are mostly brainless corridors (I skipped Zestiria, so I have no comments on that game).
Of the games I did play from this list, Xenoblade, Skies of Arcadia, and Dawn of the New World, the only one of the three I remember bothering me with its dungeons was Skies of Arcadia. I don't really recall the game very well (I played it around 16 years ago, so it's been a long time), but I remember that I didn't enjoy its dungeons too much, mostly only due to random encounters and a lack of healing items or something like that. As for Xenoblade, I had no issues with any of its dungeons; the game features numerous warp points, which can be accessed at pretty much any time, and I didn't mind getting lost since I enjoyed wandering the areas, looking for treasure and just exploring. Dawn of the New World is a terrible game, and I actually remembered that dungeon after you mentioned it, but I don't recall being too bothered by it. It's possible that I'm more bothered by everything else in the game, such that the dungeon design seemed okay in comparison to the game's overall badness, or that I'm just willfully blocking my memories of the game, but I feel like I didn't really hate any of its dungeons.
They fixed the ether mine in the definitive edition by making it brighter and much easier to know where you going
Anyone here after the Nintendo Leak? You know, the one where the schematics/blueprints of N64, GameCube and Wii were leaked? Hoping for better emulators or better yet: Chinese "console on a chip" clones of N64, GameCube and Wii, as it was with NES on a chip.
No 3DS compilation of worst dungeons? There are quite a few in otherwise good games that earned my ire, such as YHVH's Universe in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse or Dreamy Wakeport in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
Okay, how about Best RPG Dungeons?
I'll do 3DS worst dungeons when the 3DS stops getting new games. Thanks for the suggestions!
HATED the Blue Cave. My friend ended up going out the wrong exit 3x in a row because EVERY time you leave combat you're orientated randomly. Such a boring, god awful dungeon.
"Ether Mines".. yep, replaying Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition on Switch and forgot how much of a boring slog the dungeon was, Mechonis Field went on way too long as well.. least the actual music was really good on Mechonis though.
I really loved that dungeon.
I disagree about the Nintendo 64. It wasn't as good as the SNES, and was the beginning of the Nintendo consoles' decline as far as RPGs went, but it had some amazing games. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64 and Super Mario 64 were arguably the best games in the respective franchises.
Glad I was suggested this video! Subbed. Always like unique topics like this
I was with you with most of them, but when you went for Arcadia, you went to far. The dungeon is supposed to be tedious in the sense it sends you back, because a crazed trap master made it to keep slaves from escaping. Also UNLESS you are under leveled the monsters are usually pretty easy here. I have NEVER had monster or level issues in that game because I am thorough. And that single bad pick made me question if you are blowing the other ones out of proportion too.
re: Tarazed, after you complete one of the four blocks, you can actually skip the other three in exchange for many consecutive battles. You have to go to the top window overlooking the big room with all the soldiers, and check it (maybe a few times) and you'll get the option to break the glass and fight.
Admittedly, having the guide for Baten Kaitos, with maps of the labyrinth areas layered over the broken screens, is only half the recipe you need to navigate it. Thankfully, the other component is something the game provides: one of the mirror shards is always centered on your feet from a normal camera angle. Thanks to that, you actually can have a decent idea of where you are.
"Rebena Te Ra is almost imposible in single player"
_Laughs really hard in solo_
And here, I thought the Baten Kaitos one was gonna be the giant Labyrinth of Durh. That was definitely my least favorite ever.
Love your videos man! Keep up the good work
I love how you had to lump them all together to ger enough for a top 10. The struggle of only having enough money for a nintendo xD
I traded my new Gamecube and Smash Bros to my friend for his old PS2 and FFX. I understood why Nintendo didn't get more mature games. But it always confused me how they couldn't manage to wrangle some more jrpgs.
Timber Maniac that’s definitely not a problem lately.
I like Xenoblades mines a lot, the multiple paths helps it feel more like a real area than just a random dungeon and there are a ton of secrets and unique monsters to fight. I would have kind of agreed if you said Mechonis Plains, but even that's not too bad. This kinda shows how much you had to reach to find ten imo
In an objective kind of view I would have to admit that most things in the Mechonis are plain and "boring". However, I love the mere thought of traversing the interior of a titan! It's the same with the Bionis. This alone coupled with my wish for everything that makes this great game longer made me enjoy the Mechonis part.
And yeah, the mines are great too.
I love Xenoblade Chronicles, but I would have lined the top 5 worst dungeons from this list:
1. Mechnonis
2. Ether Mines
3. Bionis Interior
4. The Tomb
5. Prison Island
But, to be fair, I have not played most of those games you listed.
I think Xenoblade games are usually great, EXCEPT for their dungeons.
I loved Baiten Kaitos, tried it again a few years back but graphics really didn't age well.
idk tbh graphics are fine with the game. the only thing that’s REALLY aged with that game are like 2 dungeons and the terrible voice acting.
Have you done a Dreamcast episode of Top 10 Worst RPG Dungeons?
You need to combine Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn (Panzer Dragoon Saga) and Dreamcast games to even have 10 games.
The first Xenoblade is pretty great, but yeah, wasn't a fan of navigating the Ether mines and falling down in between broken paths.
You struggled with the ether mines in Xenoblade? That's just pathetic.
Worst 3DS dungeons could be good. You're pretty safe, as nearly all of the major 3DS games have finished coming out, and the 3DS had a LOT of RPGs just like the DS did.
For worse, challenge dungeons were made like that deliberately because they were designed so players spent their time waiting for the next chapter to be released in between, getting to the level cap of 40 for everyone (50 for Kain's).
Of course, on Wiiware, it becomes optional because I believe the game was completed by then. Basically they were there to farm adamantites (which you could actually even seed, a player actually did this). I never even bothered, being honest.
The dungeon in Skies of Arcadia isn’t that long. So it’s no big deal.
1:51 The game tells us that we must follow the path covered with moss. I had no problem in this at all!
Kinda sad to see this series go as it was always a lot of fun to relive and share the frustration of certain JRPGs.
As for this list, I haven't played most of these since I, too, eventually switched home consoles from Nintendo to Sony around the time of the N64, since there were almost no RPGs on those systems. And I hardly remember anything about Tales of Symphonia: the New Dawn (probably a subconscious self-protection measure), but I do recall that particular dungeon! Those tedious puzzles took way too long.
Top 10 Worst RPG Maker Game Dungeons. With the added rules of A) no obvious crap (see Pikasprey’s Bad Fan Games videos for examples), and B) they have to be actual RPGs with battle systems (so none of those horror games).
*Metal Gear Solid 3 has an endless Ladder*
And Rabena Te Ra was fucking AWESOME what are you smoking?
Personally, I hated the cloudvents of diadem way more than Tarazed
In Japan X is yes but O is no. Remember all those early PS1 games where O was confirm and X was to cancel?
Yeah, and they still switch cancel and confirm for the west to this day. I hate when I play fan translated games and I have to manually switch the controls around on my emulator.
davidvinc Muscle memory is hard to achieve with PS1 JRPGs due to this also. Square being the menu(FF8) for some games and the triangle buttons for others. With the SNES,DS and 3DS makes things worse because the A button on Nintendo systems are where the O button is on Sony systems.
No it's not, X is no and O is yes. See wikipedia translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%25E4%25B8%25B8%25E5%258D%25B0&prev=search
There was some Mega Man collection released for the PS2 that was unplayable for me because they switched the attack and jump buttons from how they were on the NES and SNES. I had to return it because there was no way to switch the controls around in the menu.
For fun, how about making a list of the top 10 worst dungeons of all time? I'm kind of curious how the worst of each list stacks up against the others.
At first I thought Floating Monastery (aka World of Mammon) would make the list. That's my least favorite dungeon in Quest 64, but I will never argue with anyone who says Blue Cave is worse.
I agree that the ether mines in xenoblade was a low point in the game (but an otherwise fantastic game!)
The extra dungeons in FF4 after years were pretty bad but I did love that game. I thought it was a great sequel and I’ve gone through it several times. I just skip those optional dungeons.
Rebena Te Ra in the remake in hard mode. That was hell. Especially playing Solo.
Also I recently played Moonstone Mountain on the Dreamcast version of Skies of Arcadia for the first time. And the Dreamcast version had a higher encounter rate. I didn't actually find it bad at all. The slave at the beginning tells you about the circles not always being right, and it only took me about 5 minutes to backtrack (plus a few more minutes for some battles) after accidentally falling down the wrong (well right really) hole where the treasures were.
I found that little switch puzzle in Maramba's well more annoying because there wasn't much indication of what was being changed outside the two closest gates (probably doesn't count as a dungoen though).
Admittedly, I LOVE Xenoblade's Ether Mine! Design and music give you such an unsettling, mysterious feeling and the Central Pit is just so unexpectedly massive. The only thing a bit tedious on the way down is the fighting but when you make it and your greeted by Xord and the Ether river you know it was worth it. I also love the story progression in the mines from what made you go there in the first place to trying to save Juju. And especially the way up again. All these sequences with the characters questioning everything, you really feel how the atmosphere gets on their nerves as well. I know the story is one of the biggest reasons I love this place and therefore I would go with Tephra Cave when it comes to "bad" dungeons. Even though one could say that exploration becomes wonderful in the endgame, the beginning feels kinda lame.
I bought Opoona used a while ago, I have every intention of playing it someday. Then only us 2 will have played it, which will make it tie with Little Ninja Brothers for the NES for the title of "RPG most forgotten in time"
Opoona is one of my favorite game ;)
MegaHarv
I have it and I like it
I remember in Tales of Symphonia that I hated the Tower of Salvation with the Angel City on top since I got lost at one point. Also, Volt's dungeon and that one Desian dungeon later (I think) with those moving elevator platform dropping things where you have to start over if you're not fast enough on them or something.
Surprised not to see something from Aidyn Chronicles on this list. Extremely underrated gem. It's not without its heavy flaws, but still enjoyable once you figure out how the system works.
Only game I played in there was Xenoblade! You should do something about towns, next, like a top 10 towns or something like that!
You read my mind, I’m going over to towns next!
@@davidvinc so you put Ether Mines on the list cause it's non-linear and difficult. Sounds like a pretty silly reason to put it up there considering the Bionis Core is 10000000000 times worse.
Top ten worst 3ds dungeons? If Thabes Labyrinth from Fire Emblem Echoes; Shadows of Valentia isn't on there I will riot
Admittedly looking forward to the Top 10 Best N64/Gamecube/Wii RPGs, even though I'm pretty sure N64 wouldn't be mentioned at all if Paper Mario wasn't on the list.
The Baten Kaitos one really isn't that hard to figure out. I liked the idea. Also yes, Blue Cave was terrible. The only thing I found that helps is that when you beat an enemy, Brian faces the way he was facing when you entered the battle.
Okay, I avoided Rebena Te Ra for the longest time because I’m a Larry Loner, but ever since I took the plunge, it’s been my favorite dungeon in the game.
Both David and the guide overstress the dungeon’s focus on multiplayer, though. Yes, it’s the most multiplayer focused level in the game, but near impossible solo? Not even close. Hell, the only part that IS impossible solo is getting access to a completely optional treasure room.
Skies of Arcadia Moonstone Mountain is easy and the difficulty spike is not that high with the right equipment and a bit of grinding earlier. Yeah, if you are not carefull you fall and have to start all over again, but it is not that bad. I feel like a lot of game dungeons have become easier with every console generation, as have a lot of games with random encounter battles.
How is there no mention of any of the dungeons in the aiden chronicals.
Fragile dreams is an amazing game. But yeah the corridor isn't the best...
I'm completely with you about the Human Ranch and this is from someone who enjoyed the Water Temple in OoT.
I'm into Xenoblade chronicles at the moment (on the nintendo switch, haven't done it before) annnnndd, I'm really glad to hear that the ether mines are the worst dungeon of the game. It made me take a break after completing it cause the story (and that horrible dungeon) weren't as good as what I was expecting for the game. Fortunalety, I came back and discovered more interesting parts after that
I find Iselia Human Ranch dungeon to be fun and challenging
It did notorious,but it's not necessarily bad
So, how long would the worst RPG Dungeons list be for the Xbox and 360?
He already did it for the PS3 and 360. Original Xbox had zero JRPGs.
You're making these videos about these games but you sound like you were just born in the year of 2000's
Law City of Zenbeatos - Legend of Dragoon, PS1.
Probably my favorite JRPG of all time, but I hate the boring idea of turning the US Congressional system of passing laws into a dungeon.
Wings of Light - Tales of Legendia, PS2. Youve mentioned it before, but why the hell is it so needlessly long? (Plus post game, you have have to do it AGAIN)
Sphere Company, post game - Star Ocean 3, PS2.
Optional, yes. But 100+ floors of tedium that you have to explore because they contain the best equipment and moves in the game, followed by facing every boss in the game, in a suped up pallet swapped form, every 10 floors, before you reach the top and face the hardest boss you've faced yet.
I LOVED skies of arcadia
+1
Should call those extras "dishonorable mentions" instead of "honorable mentions". 🤣
Wait seriously? the iselia human ranch? that's number one? Bruh. That wasn't even that hard. I guess I may be biased since its my favorite tales game but still. Yeah It is a LITTLE annoying but I found the dungeon in general to be relatively EASY
Do a list of worst dreamcast dungeons
In quest 64 i think after battle, protag always faces as he was before battle so it should be impossible to get disoriented
Lunar The Silver Meribia Sewers & Phantasy Star 2 Climit Control
Are you serious? The ether mines and Mechonis field? Literally 99 percent of jrpg dungeons are labyrinths with boring looking corridors and you choose this?
Sure, it's your list but I really don't see the logic.
Get the feeling you really don't like Nintendo....
Edit: didn't realise it was part of a series from other systems too! The more you know... Scratch my comment 😉