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What are the best PS1 RPG's not named Final Fantasy?
- Thread starter Bomblord
- Start date
I just beat Xenogears last night for the first time and I really enjoyed it. Disc 2 is sort of a mess, but if you enjoy the game more for the story than the gameplay you won't be too upset about it.
So Threads of Fate is an action RPG, it was called Dewprism in Japan.
You can choose whether to play as a boy named Rue or a girl named Mint at the outset. Rue's story is kinda serious and a typical JRPG story, you're seeking an ancient relic to ressurect a friend or something. Mint, on the other hand, is almost like getting to play a villian. She's greedy, bratty spoiled princess and she's absolutely hilarious. She wants the same relic (the Dewprism) so that she can one up her sister and rule the entire world. The gameplay is a 3D action-rpg and pretty fun by itself. The music pretty great as well, the guy who did it also worked on FFX and FFIV's music (the DS version). Mint is really what makes the game for me though, I wish we had more protaganists like her.
There's a quick intro to how the game works in pretty good quality Oh! And if you have a PS3 it's a PSOne classic for only like 6 bucks.
That is high but it really is an all time classic.
I agree with the others who have posted Grandia.
The feeling of adventure you get on that first disc is as good as you will get in any game. It is really amazing.
Suikoden 1 and 2. Chrono Cross, Persona 1 and 2, Kings Field, Tactics Ogre, Vandal Hearts 1 and 2, Breath of Fire 3 and 4, Legend of Legaia, Xenogears, Vagrant Story. WILD arms.
Suikoden 1 & 2. Although 2 is better, 1 isn't too long and shouldn't be skipped imo. Grandia is a pretty good, quirky rpg. Breath of Fire 3 and 4 are fantastic.
As others have already said, Vargrant Story, Xenogears, Parasite Eve (not sure on the second one), Chrono Cross, and Alundra are all top notch.
I'm actually trying to play through some of the lesser known jrpgs from the system. I'm playing Threads of Fate at the moment and will play Legend of Mana, Wild Arms 1 & 2, and Arc the Lad in the next few months on the Vita.
I wish we had more of them on the PSN store. Brave Fencer Musashi, Star Ocean, Saga Frontier, Kartia, Lunar series, Valkayrie Profile, Legend of Legia, etc. are sorely missing.
As others have already said, Vargrant Story, Xenogears, Parasite Eve (not sure on the second one), Chrono Cross, and Alundra are all top notch.
I'm actually trying to play through some of the lesser known jrpgs from the system. I'm playing Threads of Fate at the moment and will play Legend of Mana, Wild Arms 1 & 2, and Arc the Lad in the next few months on the Vita.
I wish we had more of them on the PSN store. Brave Fencer Musashi, Star Ocean, Saga Frontier, Kartia, Lunar series, Valkayrie Profile, Legend of Legia, etc. are sorely missing.
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No PS3 so that's out of the question but it's about $30 on ebay. Honestly, I'm really liking that intro you posted this is definitely going up there on my possibilities.
So far I got Threads Of Fate, Breath of Fire, Xenogears, and Grandia.
Chrono Cross and Vagrant Story are 2 of the best JRPGs ever made period. I actually like CC a lot more than CT.
Legend of Legaia has a very unique turn-based battle system, unique dark story and tight knit group of characters filled with emotions.
All great games! I would say Threads of Fate isn't as heavy a time investment either. IIRC you can get through Mint's quest in under 20 hours.
Alundra 2 sucks, OP. Play the original.
The best game Squaresoft did for the PS1 thats not called FF is Parasite Eve. Play that one, its a hollywood movie with great characterization and an actual strong female lead thats never sexualized in-game. Play and learn to love the original, stay away from the sequel.
Valkyrie Profile is also fucking amazing.
The best game Squaresoft did for the PS1 thats not called FF is Parasite Eve. Play that one, its a hollywood movie with great characterization and an actual strong female lead thats never sexualized in-game. Play and learn to love the original, stay away from the sequel.
Valkyrie Profile is also fucking amazing.
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Do you have a Vita or PSTV? Threads of Fate looks really good on the Vita, as do most of the PS1 RPGs for that matter.
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I have the PSTV no Vita. Last PS1 game I played on it looked.... not that good. I'll see if I can find some gameplay.
Suikoden 2, vagrant Story, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, Xenoggears, Wild Arms, and I know you said no Final Fantasy but did you ever play Tactics?
Chrono Cross is my favorite RPG of all time, so this is a pretty easy question for me. I still play through it about once every couple of years, so I think it holds up excellently.
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If you like SRPGs you should absolutely play Vandal Hearts. It is like a fusion of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics mechanics and holds up really well today. Has some very inventive map design too, like unique win conditions that keep you on your toes and really out-there map concepts (like a moving train, for example).
Yeah, I don't really know how they look on the pstv either. I just figured it would be an easier purchase @ $5.99 vs. $30. If it looks like trash though...
I will say this though. If you are wanting to get into the PS1 library, the Vita is a good way to go about it. Games look really good on it and there are a lot of classics on the store for dirt cheap. There are also some homebrew benefits for the Vita but I can't really speak to that as I haven't done anything like that with mine.
Suikoden 2 is the best RPG on Playstation, full stop. The localization is bad, but otherwise I think it holds up quite well. Graphics are a vibrant 2D with lots of unique animations. The characters and story are some of the genre's strongest. And the core gameplay hook, where, in addition to normal RPG adventuring, you recruit unique NPCs to join your army and expand/bring life to your castle is rock solid. Many games have borrowed the idea without any of them doing it nearly as well as Suikoden.
You should also play the first Suikoden game. It's a good game in its own right, with an all-time classic soundtrack and a tidy 16-20-hour run-time. But just as important, one of the pleasures of the Suikoden series is seeing characters return and history develop in the game world.
You should also play the first Suikoden game. It's a good game in its own right, with an all-time classic soundtrack and a tidy 16-20-hour run-time. But just as important, one of the pleasures of the Suikoden series is seeing characters return and history develop in the game world.
Are the Lad 1-2 deserve mention. Oft overlooked because their late localization. 1 is short (under 10 hours) and a little simple, but 2 is much longer and one of the best RPGS on the system. Very much reminds me of Trails in the Sky which though not PS1, is worth checking out.
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Yea that's the issue I also have a preference for owning games physically. I found some gameplay that seemed to be Vita and it didn't look too hot. Want to experience the games looking decent (upressed and maybe some filters depending on if they are 2D or 3D) thanks for the suggestion though!
Ah, well I can understand that. Maybe you just have to see it in person on the Vita cause it looks really good to me. I have the OLED Vita though so I guess that could be it.
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Well I'm judging it blown up to my monitor (usually connect my PSTV to it) as that's how I will be playing it. I'm certain it looks way better on a handheld.
man, everyone's pretty much mentioned the Best of's in this thread already, even some id forgotten about (Kartia, damn!). honestly, not one title listed here is bad (some may not be quite as great, but all are worth a play). really makes me wish there was better backwards compatibility and a much broader catalog for PS4. id easily go in on every title mentioned here if they managed to fully integrate them into a BC library.
Suikoden 1 and 2, Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean the Second Story and Xenogears are must plays. While not as widely acclaimed I liked Wild Arms, Granstream Saga and Thousand Arms are pretty fun. DW7 is very good but veeeeeeeerrrrrry long.
EDIT: Almost forgot Persona II EP. Different feel from the modern Persona games but wprth it once you learn the game's systems
EDIT: Almost forgot Persona II EP. Different feel from the modern Persona games but wprth it once you learn the game's systems
Tales of Phantasia and Persona 2 Innocent Sin!
These are fan-translations though, but they're excellent games!
These are fan-translations though, but they're excellent games!