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Resetera's Top 101 Essential RPGs - Final Update. Top 101 up plus many extras.
- Thread starter kswiston
- Start date
There's no getting off this hype [doom]train!
I'm with you on this train !
THE VIII TRAIN IS STILL GOING.
Well....at least KOTOR II made top 50 even though it deserves to be top 20-30 and ahead of the inferior first game. Kind of amazing that WoW, the most successful MMO of all time, is below a game that never officially released in the West. Haven't played either so can't say which is better, just thought that interesting.
Also sad that the all time best combat in a RPG ranked outside the top 50.
Also sad that the all time best combat in a RPG ranked outside the top 50.
YT Playlist with all OST highlights so far here.
Full OST highlights breakdown here.
@ me if you want a song from any of these games added to the playlist, and post the song in here.
#50 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords OST Highlights
The Sith Lords
Kreia
The Rebuilt Jedi Enclave
#49 World of Warcraft OST Highlights
A Call to Arms
Invincible
Howling Fjord
#48 Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride OST Highlights
Tower of Death
Magic Carpet
Town
#47 Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars OST Highlights
Beware the Forest's Mushrooms
Hello, Happy Kingdom!
Fight Against an Armed Boss
#46 Mother 3 OST Highlights
Love Theme
Mom's Hometown
Rock and Roll (Spicy)
Another strong set of soundtracks, Mother 3 in particular. KOTOR 2's is very atmospheric and moody, I love it.
Full OST highlights breakdown here.
@ me if you want a song from any of these games added to the playlist, and post the song in here.
#50 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords OST Highlights
The Sith Lords
Kreia
The Rebuilt Jedi Enclave
#49 World of Warcraft OST Highlights
A Call to Arms
Invincible
Howling Fjord
#48 Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride OST Highlights
Tower of Death
Magic Carpet
Town
#47 Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars OST Highlights
Beware the Forest's Mushrooms
Hello, Happy Kingdom!
Fight Against an Armed Boss
#46 Mother 3 OST Highlights
Love Theme
Mom's Hometown
Rock and Roll (Spicy)
Another strong set of soundtracks, Mother 3 in particular. KOTOR 2's is very atmospheric and moody, I love it.
Three of these were on my ballot so all-in-all a pretty good update. I have to admit my eye involuntarily twitched when I saw SMRPG one slot above DQ5 but, to each their own :p haha
KOTOR 2 is my favorite Star Wars media product. Avellone nailed the kind of moral quandaries that you don't often see in Star Wars due to the reliance on a light side/dark side dichotomy in most of its media. It's a very special game and the modders who put together the Restored Content Mod truly blessed us.
If Mother 3 ever gets an actual localization I expect that could bump it up to top 30 at least. It's a game that's similar enough to EarthBound that EarthBound fans will like it, and different enough that people who didn't like EB might end up liking Mother 3 anyway.
KOTOR 2 is my favorite Star Wars media product. Avellone nailed the kind of moral quandaries that you don't often see in Star Wars due to the reliance on a light side/dark side dichotomy in most of its media. It's a very special game and the modders who put together the Restored Content Mod truly blessed us.
If Mother 3 ever gets an actual localization I expect that could bump it up to top 30 at least. It's a game that's similar enough to EarthBound that EarthBound fans will like it, and different enough that people who didn't like EB might end up liking Mother 3 anyway.
Is there any chance XIII made it into the list ? It would be even more glorious lol.
Why? For Panzer Dragoon Saga or SF3, sure. Distribution was shit.
But SF1 and SF2 had no such issue, and have been ported on just about every single modern platform.
I'm curious where some of the other Final Fantasy games ranked now that we are in the Top 50. It's going to contain VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII and Tactics.
Lmao bless you for these gifs
Mother 3 in top 50 despite the circumstances going against it is quite impressive.
I can't see both BiS and SS making it this high. If one had already appeared I would assume the other is not far behind, but neither this far in makes me think the vote splitting between them screwed both over.
I can't see both BiS and SS making it this high. If one had already appeared I would assume the other is not far behind, but neither this far in makes me think the vote splitting between them screwed both over.
IV, V and XV already made it into the list.
VI, VII, IX, X no doubt will made it into the list.
Based on the discussion here, it seems VIII and XII will made it into the list.
So barring the first three FF, does this mean XIII the only Single Player FF that doesn't made it into the list ?
The only FF games that will not make the list seem to be I-III, XI, XIII, and XIV.
Sega drug the name of Shining through the dirt so badly that maybe people didn't want to try the better games in the franchise?
Though it could just be that SRPGs are really niche exception being certain franchises and most of Sega RPGs, pre-Dreamcast seemed to be overlooked due to many RPG fans growing up here with only a SNES or PS1.
Honestly the only disappointment I have for the whole list is FFXIV being missing, though I understand why. Doesn't have quite the legacy of WoW yet and a lot of FF fans probably don't want to devote time to an MMO (even though it's totally worth it in this case). Maybe once the next expansion lands and they streamline Realm Reborn more people will pick it up
In hindsight I didn't help though, I only gave it one point. Next time I'm probably gonna give it more support, especially as I finish up Stormblood
In hindsight I didn't help though, I only gave it one point. Next time I'm probably gonna give it more support, especially as I finish up Stormblood
There are two types of people in the world: the people who love Final Fantasy VIII and those who are wrong.
I would give Heavensward a point. But ARR is kind of a drudge to get through and its story isn't all that great. Stormblood, I feel, was unable to capitalize on Heavensward, and felt less ambitious than it. SB also feels like it leans too heavy into its fanservice while HW feels original. Idk. It was hard for me to leave it out of my vote, but at the same time I haven't been thrilled with it since Patch 3.3.
Yea XIII is toast by a long shot. It's kind of a shame too because I wouldn't have minded if it squeaked onto the list at the low end (i.e. in the 90s or something). It has issues but the combat is fairly unique and has a lot of interesting concepts, and the audio-visual presentation is still showcase-tier.
That being said, to occupy this one theoretical spot on the low end of the list, I would've sprang for Lighting Returns anyway myself so yea...XIII's really just out of luck.
Speaking of unique battle systems, I'm going to plug Resonance of Fate again, which has been mentioned a few times in here.
Picture the great JRPG hidden gems from the PS1 and PS2 era. This is the PS3 era equivalent of that. A very creative game where the battles play out turn-based, but with a lot of strategic options and a lot of style (as you can see from the gif). Plus it's quite rare to see a JRPG where firearms are the primary weapon. And low-key the best thing about the game is the main cast who have fantastic chemistry. Very worth looking into.
That being said, to occupy this one theoretical spot on the low end of the list, I would've sprang for Lighting Returns anyway myself so yea...XIII's really just out of luck.
Speaking of unique battle systems, I'm going to plug Resonance of Fate again, which has been mentioned a few times in here.
Picture the great JRPG hidden gems from the PS1 and PS2 era. This is the PS3 era equivalent of that. A very creative game where the battles play out turn-based, but with a lot of strategic options and a lot of style (as you can see from the gif). Plus it's quite rare to see a JRPG where firearms are the primary weapon. And low-key the best thing about the game is the main cast who have fantastic chemistry. Very worth looking into.
Speaking of MMOs, provided I'm alive and not banned next year, I'm going to mention The Secret World, criminally underappreciated game with one of the most interesting settings video games can offer. It also has some of the best adventure quests in recent years.
That update is amazing. DQV, Super Mario RPG and Mother 3 did well.
Also, I had no idea that Tanabe was a writer on Mario RPG. Very interesting.
It will appear along KH2, certainly.
Also, I had no idea that Tanabe was a writer on Mario RPG. Very interesting.
It will appear along KH2, certainly.
Diablo 2:
"It had a perfected gameplay loop"
Hell. No.
Farming the same boss for hours is completely soul crushing and the game's post campaign content is just bad.
"It had a perfected gameplay loop"
Hell. No.
Farming the same boss for hours is completely soul crushing and the game's post campaign content is just bad.
I think only Pokémon R/B/Y, PM:TTYD and XB1 remain on my list that could reasonably rank.
I guess TWEWY could make it too. Saw it a lot on lists, but top 50 might be too much of a hurdle.
Happy that Motoi Sakuraba is well represented. My favourite composer.
I guess TWEWY could make it too. Saw it a lot on lists, but top 50 might be too much of a hurdle.
Happy that Motoi Sakuraba is well represented. My favourite composer.
Nightmare and Hell is the post campaign content.
The boy is popping up everywhere. He might The the composer MVP. The director MVP races will be much more varied I bet.
Super happy to see Dragon Quest V in the top 50. I'd personally put it it higher but I'm still glad it's received some recognition.
AND NOTHING STOPS THIS VIII HYPE TRAIN LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
AND NOTHING STOPS THIS VIII HYPE TRAIN LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Yeah, it ranked so much higher than I expected. Much better result than I ever could have hoped for, honestly.
I've never played any of them, and was going to ask which version is worth jumping into in 2018 for a newbie. All I knew about these games was that it had a Landstalker/Alundra-ish art style and that it contains the majestic centaurs that are missing from other RPGs. Unfortunately damnation has a demotivational effect on me.
I really should play KOTOR 2 at some point, I remember trying to get into it right after I beat the first game and it was so buggy and janky I couldn't deal with it.
I wonder if WoW made it so high because the expansion is about to come out. Not saying its not popular by any means but expansions generally bring a lot more renewed interest in the IP where as next year we won't have that to keep it on peoples minds.
Great job DQV making the top 50, its easily still my favorite in the series and I'm glad to see it make it so high despite me not voting for it.
Super Mario RPG I would have liked a little higher but I can understand its overshadowed at this point both by TTYD and other SNES RPG's of its era, its such a neat game though really wacky and fun and not super serious something that more RPG's could stand to do TBH.
Mother 3 making it this high despite not having an official release in the west is crazy. I wish I knew why Nintendo sits on that game despite people constantly asking for it.
Start with Shining Force its on steam for 1$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/71120/Shining_Force/
The second game is also 1$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/71160/Shining_Force_II/
The only bad thing about the first game is that some of the mechanics are a bit dated, like your characters can only hold 4 items so when your main characters inventory is full you have to go and move around items to clear up space to open chests to get new items. It's not that big of a deal as you don't open chests that much (a few times every chapter) but its one of the things that the second game fixed so if that deeply concerns you then I'd start with the second game instead and see if you like that better or maybe look up the GBA remake of the first game which also doesn't have that problem.
It's an amazing series that is criminally underrated.
I wonder if WoW made it so high because the expansion is about to come out. Not saying its not popular by any means but expansions generally bring a lot more renewed interest in the IP where as next year we won't have that to keep it on peoples minds.
Great job DQV making the top 50, its easily still my favorite in the series and I'm glad to see it make it so high despite me not voting for it.
Super Mario RPG I would have liked a little higher but I can understand its overshadowed at this point both by TTYD and other SNES RPG's of its era, its such a neat game though really wacky and fun and not super serious something that more RPG's could stand to do TBH.
Mother 3 making it this high despite not having an official release in the west is crazy. I wish I knew why Nintendo sits on that game despite people constantly asking for it.
Shining Force 3 was the highest and barely missed the cut, it was 102. It'll be showcased in some runner up stuff. I agree it sucks though, I'd wonder if Sf1 or 2 would rank if votes weren't split between them. I didn't vote for SF2 since I like 1 and 3 more but its still right up there for me.
Start with Shining Force its on steam for 1$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/71120/Shining_Force/
The second game is also 1$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/71160/Shining_Force_II/
The only bad thing about the first game is that some of the mechanics are a bit dated, like your characters can only hold 4 items so when your main characters inventory is full you have to go and move around items to clear up space to open chests to get new items. It's not that big of a deal as you don't open chests that much (a few times every chapter) but its one of the things that the second game fixed so if that deeply concerns you then I'd start with the second game instead and see if you like that better or maybe look up the GBA remake of the first game which also doesn't have that problem.
It's an amazing series that is criminally underrated.