The 25 Best JRPGs of All Time - IGN

Nintendo needs a Golden Sun & 2 remake. Camelot and Monolith could work on it together!

Also, the list is missing FFIX, Xenoblade, Chrono Cross and Legend of Dragoon. Hell, Blue Dragon is better than some on this list.
 
Straight line adventure with bad side quests and how quickly they recycle enemies is insane. Tell me how Tidus being a dream of the Fayth without consulting video essayists makes sense.
I've forgotten about the Tidus Fayth dream thing, maybe it really wasn't explained well, and as for linearity, that was never problem for me, since story and characters are most important for me in JRPGs, side quests - I never really thought they were good, or bad, just that they are the way they are, I could do them, or not.

Recycling enemies, again, it never bothered me at all, especially in game where you need to fight countless same enemies anyway.

To me, FFX is one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever experience when it comes to gaming.
 
I've forgotten about the Tidus Fayth dream thing, maybe it really wasn't explained well, and as for linearity, that was never problem for me, since story and characters are most important for me in JRPGs, side quests - I never really thought they were good, or bad, just that they are the way they are, I could do them, or not.

Recycling enemies, again, it never bothered me at all, especially in game where you need to fight countless same enemies anyway.

To me, FFX is one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever experience when it comes to gaming.
Hand waving criticism to glaze the game. 🙄🙄🙄
 
The top 3 are actually my top 3 in the same order however, expedition 33 now exists so it's hard tht the label not being jRPG there, considering it is a jRPG in everything except location it was made...
Well, exactly, it does make it a non-JRPG lol. I mean, those games in the list have barely anything in common all of them, I guess it's only that they have anime styled characters... And even so there are different anime styles from one to the other
 
my only working theory for anyone placing FFX at the top of the franchise is that they were born at a certain moment

Otherwise, it's not even something that belongs in the same conversation as a game like VI or VII
 
No Radiata Stories?
No Radiant Historia?
No Rogue Galaxy?
No Mana?
:rolleyes:


Radiata Stories undermined by its shallow combat and binary narrative pathing that limits replay depth, Radiant Historia – While conceptually rich, its time-travel mechanic often results in narrative repetition rather than any form of innovation... Never played Rogue Galaxy so wont comment on that but Legend of Mana wouldn't be on my list either personally... I enjoyed it overlal but Its fragmented storytelling sacrifices cohesion for artistic flair like most run of the mill jrpgs. I do say that nostalgia really plays a big role in this kind of list.
 
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I consider Final Fantasy X to be maybe the most overrated JRPG of all time.

Retarded unlikeable characters, retarded writing and direction, dumbass protagonist whose whole schtick is to loudly proclaim his ignorance so everyone has a reason to dump info on you.

Gameplay-wise it has that dumb character swapping mechanic so the only strategy, beginning to end, is "swap in whichever character can hit the enemy's weak point" which gets so old and tedious… especially since you're constantly swapping just so your party members can take some action and get AP for that battle.

Plus some of the worst, most infuriating minigames ever devised. So bad that whenever the topic of "worst JRPG minigames ever" comes up, it immediately turns into an argument about which one or FFX's minigames deserves that spot.
The thing I love about FFX is once you have status spells, that you can shut down almost every encounter by casting slow, haste, poison, regen, etc. to just auto-pilot the fights. Feels great and one of the few RPGs that allow you to use status effects on bosses. Also, the story, while linear, has a strong focus and isn't bogged down by multiple threads - you're supporting Yuna on her journey to become a summoner. There's a lot of annoying crap about it, I'll admit, and I never understood the appeal of blitzball, but I do adore FFX and was excited that's what IGN picked for their list. Due for a remake for sure.
 
I could say the exact same about VII.
I mean, you can say anything but it won't have much backing.

After all, FFVII has been resurrected so many times across different properties (many spinoff games; many appearances by its characters in other video games; movies; now high budget remakes) that it is undeniably the image bearer of the entire Final Fantasy franchise, whereas X has extremely small cultural presence comparatively. Comparing the image of Cloud or Tifa to that of Tidus or Yuna on a cultural level worldwide would be like comparing Mario to Waluigi.

In my case, I didn't actually play FF VII until 2000-2001 in college, which means I was playing it the same year FFX came out, so there wasn't such a big time gap. I then played FF VIII (disappointment, but a good attempt that just needed work), IX (didn't finish it because save game was erased; it felt like a spinoff, but well made) and then only the first few hours of FFX, only a year after finishing VII. There wasn't a huge time gap where either one belonged to a different era or childhood or whatever. And I immediately felt from the first hours of FFX that the franchise had died and lost its way. The game was the least gripping of anything in the series up to that point, at least starting from FFV.
 
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As someone who has played every game on this list, Clair Obscur not being on there is a travesty. Honestly I would slot it in top 5 in this list.

Edit: Ahh I see they trot out the "made in Japan" definition lmao

I haven't played that yet but I would consider that a French RPG since JRPG should be only about RPGs made by Japanese Game Companies
 
IGN lists are dumb.

I am not familiar with recent titles but I'd say it lacks like Valkyrie Profile.
I get they restricted to one per franchise to be more diverse but it's a bit annoying for an "all-time best" list.

I am not suprised by the hate/disapproval Final Fantasy X gets but it's the best FF for me so I am fine with it being on Top 3.

What bug me the most is the absence of Clair Obscur : Expedition 33. Maybe to recent for the list (and the stupid rule of "RPG made in Japan"... This is the dumbest thing I've heard and I never got the people defining JRPG by where the game was made.)


Japanese Role Playing Games are made by the Japanese? That's horse shit. Everyone knows Japanese Role Playing Games are made in New York City and Alabama.
 
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🙄 I mean those are all great games but to number them as if one is better than the other is silly. It leaves too much as well. Chrono Trigger is NOT the best JRPG ever. Great game, sure, but that's crazy. Bravery Default 2 is not even close to being as good as the first. Ni No Kuni 1 is also not even close to being as good as the 2nd. Tales of Vesperia over Symphonia? 😬 Nah dude. Who wrote this list? Wtf.

Dark Cloud 2 should be on there along with Dragon Quest V. I think they're too strict with what they define as a JRPG as Nier and Souls games count. I'd argue Omori counts too.
 
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Putting Chrono Trigger as #1 is a mistake: naive story, naive dialogs (the hero has no dialog at all! okay for a zelda game but i expect more from the "GOAT" jrpg), the villain is ridiculous (Lavos).
 




25: Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne
24: Breath of Fire 3
23: Golden Sun
22: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
21: Lost Odyssey
20: Star Ocean The Second Story
19: Bravely Default 2
18: Live A Live
17: Tales of Vesperia
16: Kingdom Hearts 2
15: Grandia 2
14: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
13: Xenogears
12: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
11: Octopath Traveler 2
10: The Legends of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
09: Pokémon Gold / Silver
08: Suikoden 2
07: Earthbound
06: Draogon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
05: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
04: Metaphor Refantazio
03: Final Fantasy X
02: Persona 5 Royal
01: Chrono Trigger

#22, #17, #16, #06, they all had horribly bad game development decisions that just ruined my playthroughs. Never finished these games because I hit a wall that effectively ruined 60+ hours of game play.
 
IGN lists are dumb.




Japanese Role Playing Games are made by the Japanese? That's horse shit. Everyone knows Japanese Role Playing Games are made in New York City and Alabama.
JRPG were created in Japan then it became a genre and can be made by any studio from any country.
 
They didn't say turn based. Otherwise the 1998 game Star Ocean The Second Story definitely wouldn't be here and neither would Tales of Vesperia or Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
If its actually just rpg's from Japan then there should be like 5 from software games.
 
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I bounced off tons of games in this list, but then again I'm not really a huge fan of the genre in general, even though Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, and FF VI are some of my all time favorite games, most JRPG 'S just bore me to tears with the melodrama. Those games seem to exceed the genre in many ways for me, though I recently beat Octopath Traveler 2 and I found it outstanding, so that one's an all timer as well. I don't love this list, but I've seen worse I suppose,..... definitely recency bias though.
 
JRPG were created in Japan then it became a genre and can be made by any studio from any country.
Exactly. Thrice is an American band, but they make Swedish Deathmetal music.

The Chinese restaurant down the street is in America but they make (slightly Americanized) Chinese food.

Clair Obscur is a JRPG. Chained Echoes is a JRPG. Sea of Stars is a JRPG.
 
Haven't ex employees from sites like IGN stated multiple times that these lists are put together without much thought because it's just a low effort way to generate traffic?
Guess it still works lol

Japanese Role Playing Games are made by the Japanese? That's horse shit. Everyone knows Japanese Role Playing Games are made in New York City and Alabama.

I mean, you can eat a great Neapolitan Pizza in New York. It doesn't stop being a Neapolitan pizza just because it's not made in Naples
 
Exactly. Thrice is an American band, but they make Swedish Deathmetal music.

The Chinese restaurant down the street is in America but they make (slightly Americanized) Chinese food.

Clair Obscur is a JRPG. Chained Echoes is a JRPG. Sea of Stars is a JRPG.

I mean, you can eat a great Neapolitan Pizza in New York. It doesn't stop being a Neapolitan pizza just because it's not made in Naples
Thanks for bringing the food example. Wanted to do the same but decided I will not bother starting this discussion.

I really don't get why JRPG can't be made outside Japan for some.
If Microsoft buy Final Fantasy IP to square, then produces (entirely in US)Final Fantasy XVII as a pure homage to golden age of JRPG, it will not be a JRPG ?!

JRPG is clearly a genre with some mechanics, codes etc.... Developer doesn't matter to define a genre of a game.
 
What the fuck is this garbage list? Where is FF9?!
Yeah I know. I think what they did was they took the top 3 from some other old list made by people who actually played those games. Then the rest from #4 down is mostly made of games they, in their limited knowledge, got to play, who knows maybe even finished, with some classics that made the list from the only guy or two on their staff who is actually qualified to make such list.
 
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Yeah I know. I think what they did was they took the top 3 from some other old list made by people who actually played those games. Then the rest from #4 down is mostly made of games they, in their limited knowledge, got to play, who knows maybe even finished, with some classics that made the list from the only guy or two on their staff who is actually qualified to make such list.
Nobody is qualified over there to do anything. They're all retarded
 
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