Must play retro JRPG's?
Must play retro JRPG's?
In my childhood i have mostly played Final Fantasy and Kingdom Herts games. So i'm still lacking in some knowledge about older games. What retro games would you recommend or are must plays in your opinion?
I know i played Sword of Mana, but i wouldn't recommend it today anymore. But the one retro series i would still recommend ist Golden Sun and Golden Sun The Lost Age.
Chrono Trigger is a given. Xenogears is a close second, but that's one of those games you'll either really like or don't care much about. Personally, I only found the battle systems to be really lacking. The last thing I'll mention is pretty much every Dragon Quest, my favorites being 5 and 7. You can't go wrong with any of them, it's basically just a matter of how retro you'd like the game to be.
I really have to play Chrono Trigger at some point, heard way to often that it is a very good game. For Dragon Quest...was never really interrested in the style of these games, but i play maybe to upcomming remake/remaster of dragon quest 3. Just because it's more accesible for me.
Two I haven't seen mentioned are Illusion of Gaia and Super Mario RPG which is getting a remake soon.
In my brain, it seems to settle into two different categories. There are must-plays that I feel have aged well. Then there are the historically important games that may feel old: must-plays if you want to see where today's games came from.
Aged well
- Chrono Trigger
- Dragon Quest V
- Final Fantasy IV (PSP or Pixel Remaster version), Final Fantasy VI
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
- Tactics Ogre (Let Us Cling Together or Reborn)
Historically important
- Dragon Quest III
- Final Fantasy I, VII, Tactics
- Suikoden II (remaster coming soon!)
- Xenogears
- Ys I & II
And at the risk of dating myself, how old is retro exactly? I've seen some people call PS2 retro lately and that's just... 💀
Omfg, SMRPG an absolute must! And no list is complete without Chrono Trigger.
I'd say FF7, FFT, Suikoden 2 and to a certain extent Xenogears are, if not actually in the aged well, then just outside it, but still 100% must play. I'd also like to put forward FF9, and the Jade Cocoon games for consideration.
As a soon to be old fart, I'm sorry to say that PS2 is well and truly retro now, hell, another 5-10 years and PS3 will count.....
Why do you thin the Final Fantasy games doesn't aged well? I played them i thought it's fine. Dragon Quest III gets a 2D HD version from Square, maybe that's a good version to play.
I think you can't specify wha'ts retro exactly, yes some see PS2 as retro and something like Final Fantasy X is a retro game.
The original has things like Vancian magic and older dungeon design. VII is super early 3D, and Tactics is missing newer SRPG undo features--can't even take back a move! Random encounters in general are a hangup for some, but that's in all of mainline FF before XII anyway (DQ5 on the first list also has them).
Not everyone will be bugged by these things, of course.
You can look up lists for the definitive classics. I’ll throw in one of my personal favorites, Wild Arms. I still whistle the opening theme every so often.
I loved The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past.
Absolutely adored that game.
Earthbound
I’d like to add the Trails in the Sky series to this list!
I’m currently playing the second one and enjoying it immensely.
I would say everyone should play the whole trails series. (if you have enough time). As someone said, it's unclear what's retro and what is not retro. I haven't seen trails in the sky as retro, but it's sure worthy fir discussion
Romancing SaGa 3. Non-linear, open world exploration with a great story!