Classic RPG recommendations?

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Serious:
Sharing a TXT document would definitely be more efficient and save time at this point. Without having to go through multiple messages.

I’ve never thought of that honestly. I could figure out how to do that.
But tbh I think I was done anyway because I think it’s hella tiring to dig through everything I’ve played just to say “go play Phantasy Star IV for the Sega Genesis” lmao

I think the one out of everything here that will especially be a time sink that’s not from Megami Tensei are probably the Etrian Odyssey games, 3 especially

 

[χKai]

"Suggest me RPGs" so that I can get posts with over 100 game suggestions on each of them and then never play 'em

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

"Suggest me RPGs" so that I can get posts with over 100 game suggestions on each of them and then never play 'em

I like to put them on a wheel and choose what I play that way. I do it for every Castlevania since I can never choose

 

[moonbits]

Xenogears, How is it possible nobody recommended Xenogears? What is wrong with you all? lol

2nd disc sucks

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Xenogears, How is it possible nobody recommended Xenogears? What is wrong with you all? lol

I think the combat's mediocre imo
No strategy at all, it feels like the exact RPG that people like to complain about when talking about the random encounters
Story won't save that for me, but I could be wrong and the combat improves eventually

Regardless if I listed the PS1 games, I'd probably put it there simply because it's so beloved. For me though Breath of Fire anyday

 

[Deleted member 77791]

I have no idea if you know Japanese but I'll write them anyway by indicating if they are Japanese-only games as much as I know. I don't really follow if there are English patches of the video games I played before and if they do how much they cover. I don't wanna mislead people. Check if they have an English patch. It's really very disappointing when they say "X game finally has an English patch!!!" but it turns out it only translated the menus lol. Well my all-time top RPGs:

Spoiler: press to see list of video games

-SNES-

Zero4 Champ games (Japanese only)

Treasure Conflix (Japanese only)

Shadowrun

-SEGA Genesis-

Pirates! Gold

Rings of Power

-Gamecube-

Skies of Arcadia Legends

-PlayStation 1-

Racing Lagoon (Japanese only)

Breath of Fire 4

Shiritsu Justice Gakuen: Legion of Heroes (Japanese only)

Shiritsu Justice Gakuen: Nekketsu Seishun Nikki 2 (Japanese only)

(Note: These last two games seems like ordinary fighting game on the surface as the people who only know the non-Japanese version of the 1st video game had no idea the Japanese version features a school RPG and character creation modes so as its 2nd game that's completely removed from the English version of the 1st game because CAPCOM was too greedy translating the game.)

Persona 1 (No one can convince me to like Persona 2 games, same for Persona 3 lol)

-PlayStation 2-

Persona 4

Radiata Stories

Rogue Galaxy

Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance

S.L.A.I.

Steambot Chronicles

Kenka Banchou 2: Full Throttle (Japanese only)

Metal Saga

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus (I didn't care about any other game in the series as this one can be playable without them just fine.)

Dark Cloud 2

Baroque (PS2 remake)

Kaido Racer

-NDS-

Dragon Quest IX

Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madōshi (Japanese only)

Metal Max 3 (Japanese only)

-3DS-

Radiant Historia

-PSP-

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble

-Microsoft-

Deus Ex 1

Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas

Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

The Elder Scrolls series until Skyrim

The Bard's Tale Series

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Alpha Protocol

Hard Truck Apocalypse

Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Arx Fatalis

I could list more from newer games but they asked recommendations only for "classics" and "essentials". For example I don't think Persona 5 on PS3 (because I dislike Royal version) would be apropos for the purpose of this thread.

Some may chase me with torches for calling some of them RPGs because the sense of RPG people believe in is traditional party-based fantasy video games you have to level up by attacking whatever. I may seemingly have odd preferences for RPGs but that's my taste what can I say lol?

 

[MonkeyMondays]

My top picks

--NES--
-RPG-
Dragon Quest IV (Also on NDS)
EarthBound Beginnings (Mother 1)
Final Fantasy III
Metal Max
Sweet Home (if you like horror)

-Action RPG-
Crystalis
Zelda
Zelda 2 (Used to hate it as a kid, now I appreciate it more as an adult)

--SNES--
-RPG-
Breath of Fire II
Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest III (Also on PC)
Dragon Quest V (Also on NDS)
Dragon Quest VI (Also on NDS)
Earthbound (Mother 2)
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V (Can change jobssimilar to FF3)
Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (SimpleRPG, Simple combat, banging music, wort at least 1 playthrough)
Last Bible III (Megami Tensei Spin-Off. There are 2 other Last Bile games but I haven't played them)
Lufia II
Metal Max Returns
Robotrek
Romancing Sa-Ga 3 (Also on PC)
Star Ocean (Also on PSP, pretty sure it has other ports)
Super Mario RPG (Remade on the switch, still prefer this one as I don't like the chibi look on the switch)
Tales of Phantasia (Also on PSX with additional content)

-Action RPG-
A Link to the Past
Brain Lord (Good game but looks weird, you need to be good at analyzing stuff to make progress as the secrets/puzzles can be unforgiving, you could use a guide if you are stuck)
Dragon View
Illusion of Gaia
Secret of Evermore (Similar to Secret of Mana, but with notable differences)
Secret of Mana (Has multiple ports for other systems)
Seiken Densetsu 3 (It's the next game after Secret of Mana)
Soul Blazer
Terranigma

-Tactical RPG-
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren (Roguelike RPG, similar to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon if you played that, has an NDS port)
Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

--GBC--
-RPG-
Azure Dreams (Also on PSX with nearly twice the content, plus improved graphics)
Lufia: The Legend Returns

-Action RPG-
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (Can't recommend Oracle of Ages, I recently replayed both games and Ages was a pain)

--GBA--
-RPG-
Golden Sun
Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Mother 3
Riviera: The Promised Land (Also on PSP, I think it has new content as well)

-Action RPG-
Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Kingdom Hearts - Chain of Memories
Mega Man Battle Network 2 (Yes I skipped 1, as it was pain replaying it)
Mega Man Battle Network 3 (Starting from 3 they have 2 versions like pokemon, minor story changes, some bosses and enemies are different, and you can get different chip (aka attacks))
Mega Man Battle Network 4
Mega Man Battle Network 5
Mega Man Battle Network 6
Shin Bokura no Taiyou: Gyakushuu no Sabata
Shining Soul II

-Tactical RPG-
Advance Wars
Advance Wars 2
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

--SEGA Genesis--
-RPG-
Phantasy Star IV

-Action RPG-
Crusader of Centy

 

[stealthRUSH stealthRUSH]

-Brave Fencer Musashi
-Tales of Destiny
-Langrisser IV
-Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu
-Neutopia 1 & 2
-Beyond Oasis
-Magic Knight Rayearth (1995)
-The Legend of Oasis
-Okage: Shadow King
-Tengai Makyou Ziria

 

[Onizukataughtmestuff]

You don't know me but hopefully you can trust my taste in games.

Here's 5 you should play anyway you can cause resellers are out of their minds.
in order of appearance Panzer Dragoon Saga, Final Fantasy IX, Lost Odyssey, Lunar the Silver Star, Dragon Quest 5.

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Tales of Symphonia. I recommend the Gamecube version.
Also it's up to 4 player, so you can bring up to 3 friends along!

Chrono Cross
You'll laugh, you'll cry. You don't need to play Chrono Trigger to understand what's going on.

Final Fantasy IV
Starts out slow, but as you come to play more, discover that it is not as traditional as it leads to believe.

Final Fantasy VI
A high-paced, steampunk, action-packed story with memorable characters and a driven plot that makes sense.

Persona 4
A mixture between a murder mystery and slice-of-life high school anime.

Nice Selection of games need to try the Tales games personally.
P.S. not sure if leaving someone an orphan within in the first hour of the game is considered "slow start" LOL .

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The Dragon Quest games are really fun.
I think Dragon Quest V is the most beginner friendly, while also being a good showcase of what to expect from a typical Dragon Quest game.
Dragon Quest VII is my favourite, and is easily the longest.
Dragon Quest XI is the newest one, and probably easiest to get into.
Dragon Quest III is an incredible classic. But you really need to play through Dragon Quest 1 and 2 to really be able to appreciate it. Although while Dragon Quest 1 is fine, and can be finished in an afternoon. Dragon Quest 2 is twice as long, and is easily one of the most frustrating and annoying experiences I've ever had the misfortune to deal with.

I'd personally recommend playing Dragon Quest V first, then if you like it. Play through all of the games starting from the first, and working your way through them.
Use the SNES remakes for 1, 2 and 3, and the DS remakes for 4, 5 and 6. For 7 and 8, I'd recommend the original versions. 9 has never been re-released, so you'll need to play the DS version for that. 10 is an MMO and therefore has to be skipped. And as for 11, make sure to play the Definitive Edition.

They're not that long. It only took me a month to play the first six games in the series... then it took me a month just to finish the seventh game. Seriously, that game is LONG!

Dragon Quest 6 deserves a little more respect from the general gaming public, I agree with this post though good points given for each game in the series.

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Shining The Holy Ark
Skies of Arcadia
Grandia

 

[Viviana Santos]

I think the combat's mediocre imo
No strategy at all, it feels like the exact RPG that people like to complain about when talking about the random encounters
Story won't save that for me, but I could be wrong and the combat improves eventually

Regardless if I listed the PS1 games, I'd probably put it there simply because it's so beloved. For me though Breath of Fire anyday

The Persona 2 Duology has much worse gameplay than Xenogears, let's be honest.

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2nd disc sucks

I'm an Xenogears disc 2 apologist, but I respect your opinion (you being a Persona 4/5 fan is a Massive L though )

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

The Persona 2 Duology has much worse gameplay than Xenogears, let's be honest.

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Respectfully disagree, because at least Persona 2 has different battle mechanics like the turn order, fusion attacks, and the negotiation system, whereas Xenogears only really has its combos. This is not a defense for the abysmal encounter rate or the fact that fusion cards suck and make getting other Personas nigh useless though.

 

[moonbits]

The Persona 2 Duology has much worse gameplay than Xenogears, let's be honest.

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I'm an Xenogears disc 2 apologist, but I respect your opinion (you being a Persona 4/5 fan is a Massive L though )

Yeah I noticed you would disregard good gameplay just for story.

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Respectfully disagree, because at least Persona 2 has different battle mechanics like the turn order, fusion attacks, and the negotiation system, whereas Xenogears only really has its combos. This is not a defense for the abysmal encounter rate or the fact that fusion cards suck and make getting other Personas nigh useless though.

The mech battles are cool though

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Tales of Symphonia. I recommend the Gamecube version.
Also it's up to 4 player, so you can bring up to 3 friends along!

Boosted, I also recommend GameCube Tales of Symphonia. The later ports have a bit of extra content but the GameCube version also runs at a full 60 FPS. It’s the only version to do so, so if anyone cares for speed and stability, there ya go

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The mech battles are cool though

In concept yeah, but gameplay wise it’s kinda confusing imo. I was just spamming the first mech battle I got into because the mechanics were a bit weird. Threw me off a bit. I do have to admit that I may not have a complete opinion on those because the last time I was playing Xenogears was on a Steam Deck, and I got to the cave before something horrible happened that killed the data on all the games I had emulated on there (the SD card fell out). Many were inconsequential but losing the Xenogears and SMT IV data HURT

Also Bart my beloved

 

[UnDubious]

Respectfully disagree, because at least Persona 2 has different battle mechanics like the turn order, fusion attacks, and the negotiation system, whereas Xenogears only really has its combos. This is not a defense for the abysmal encounter rate or the fact that fusion cards suck and make getting other Personas nigh useless though.

None of which matters since it's so easy. In the end the battles are just a nuisance to put up with. Xenogears' battles were entertaining enough to me for most of the game, and only really got stale later on when I stopped getting new combos for a long stretch. The real flaw with Xenogears IMO is the dungeons are too damn long, which is partly mitigated by the fact that there aren't that many dungeons. But those sewers especially should have been half as long at most.

 

[Viviana Santos]

Respectfully disagree, because at least Persona 2 has different battle mechanics like the turn order, fusion attacks, and the negotiation system, whereas Xenogears only really has its combos. This is not a defense for the abysmal encounter rate or the fact that fusion cards suck and make getting other Personas nigh useless though.

Innocent Sin is quite literally one of the most brain-dead games I've ever played. Eternal Punishiment is definitely better since that game isn't incredibly easy to the point of being boring, but even the difficulty of Eternal Punishiment comes from the fact that unlike Innocent Sin you're forced to change your Persona relatively constantly and the bosses in the game are all damage sponges. At least Xenogears, even though it's a pretty easy game, I find much more fun compared to the Persona 2 duology since it doesn't have incredibly shitty mechanics like Demon Negotiation (which is way worse when compared to other Megami Tensei games thanks to the Fusion Cards) and Fusion Cards.

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At least Xenogears has a combat system that I find fun to play, unlike the Persona 2 duology where the combat system is incredibly boring and dull compared to other fifth generation RPGs.

Post automatically merged: May 16, 2025

Compared to other Fifth Generation era RPGs (such as Valkyrie Profile, Grandia, Final Fantasy VII, Tales of Eternia, Chrono Cross, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Breath of Fire III and IV, etc...) the gameplay of the Persona 2 duology is incredibly dull and boring.

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Sorry for yapping too much.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

None of which matters since it's so easy. In the end the battles are just a nuisance to put up with. Xenogears' battles were entertaining enough to me for most of the game, and only really got stale later on when I stopped getting new combos for a long stretch. The real flaw with Xenogears IMO is the dungeons are too damn long, which is partly mitigated by the fact that there aren't that many dungeons. But those sewers especially should have been half as long at most.

They all do matter, since Innocent Sin’s encounters are so frequent it helps to know the turn order in the case that you may have forgotten to restore your HP. Fusion attacks also make the fights way quicker except for bosses which is helpful since nothing puts up a good enough fight anyway. They also look cool but tbh that one just applies to both cases.

I can’t say much about the dungeons due to what happened to my Xenogears run but since the last place I remember was that cave that took ages to navigate, that’s something I’ll keep in mind.

Innocent Sin is quite literally one of the most brain-dead games I've ever played. Eternal Punishiment is definitely better since that game isn't incredibly easy to the point of being boring, but even the difficulty of Eternal Punishiment comes from the fact that unlike Innocent Sin you're forced to change your Persona relatively constantly and the bosses in the game are all damage sponges. At least Xenogears, even though it's a pretty easy game, I find much more fun compared to the Persona 2 duology since it doesn't have incredibly shitty mechanics like Demon Negotiation (which is way worse when compared to other Megami Tensei games thanks to the Fusion Cards) and Fusion Cards.

True but also counterpoint: motorcycle noises is hilarious no matter the situation /j

But yeah in a hypothetical Persona 2 remake, bringing the negotiation system back to normal is the first thing I’d fix. I’m not one to say some shit should be gone in a remake buuuuuuuuuut

Never played EP, so I don’t know what’s going on there. All I know is that I prefer EP’s music but I’m not spoiling the game itself until I actually get past its prequel. And whatever extra content is in it because I’m playing on the PSP

 

[Viviana Santos]

They all do matter, since Innocent Sin’s encounters are so frequent it helps to know the turn order in the case that you may have forgotten to restore your HP. Fusion attacks also make the fights way quicker except for bosses which is helpful since nothing puts up a good enough fight anyway. They also look cool but tbh that one just applies to both cases.

I agree, the Fusion Attacks are by far the best thing about the Persona 2 duology in terms of gameplay, I think they're even better than the All-Out Attacks of the modern games in the Persona series (since there are several types of Fusion Attacks, unlike the All-Out Attacks, which are all basically the same).

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And in general, the Fusion Attacks are much cooler in terms of visuals compared to the All-Out Attacks of Persona 3/4 (which I always thought were a massive downgrade) with the exception being Persona 5 since the All-Out Attacks in that game are visually stunning.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

I agree, the Fusion Attacks are by far the best thing about the Persona 2 duology in terms of gameplay, I think they're even better than the All-Out Attacks of the modern games in the Persona series (since there are several types of Fusion Attacks, unlike the All-Out Attacks, which are all basically the same).

I agree with this, when I was just taking a look at the series, I thought AoAs were SO COOL.
Then I bought Golden for the PC and realized people were robbed
Though to be fair, AoAs are more so meant to be like that team attack that was also in 4 as opposed to the occasional member randomly getting an extra attack in or the fusion attacks

I kinda miss the unique turn order though, that was fun. I like the idea of figuring out the game plan with my current turns before the enemy hits

 

[Deleted member 525181]

2nd disc sucks

And? you gonna review the game based on the 2nd disc? i suppose you are smarter than this. 2nd disc is not bad, it was rushed.

 

[UnDubious]

I was warned in advance about Disc 2 so I still liked it, and Disc 1 was as long as a full PS1 RPG anyway. Might have pissed me off otherwise, I don't know. But while I like a lot of PSX RPGs, Xenogears was the only one that really got me excited to play it when I woke up in the morning like when I was a kid. Even though it has flaws, I thought it was amazing all in all.

 

[Deleted member 525181]

I think the combat's mediocre imo
No strategy at all, it feels like the exact RPG that people like to complain about when talking about the random encounters
Story won't save that for me, but I could be wrong and the combat improves eventually

Regardless if I listed the PS1 games, I'd probably put it there simply because it's so beloved. For me though Breath of Fire anyday

Breath of Fire 3 combat is not bad (I mean, it's basic as shit; at least Xenogears has got combos, which makes the game less repetitive), but aren't you going to mention the exaggerated enemy encounter rate? Breath of Fire generally suffers from this, but especially 3.

 

[moonbits]

And?

and it sucks, I suppose you are smarter than this.

 

[solnK!]

Inazuma Eleven, all the games, they are underrated but super charming as well.
They´re soccer rpg´s, it´s a very cool fusion.

 

[Bump'n'Ys]

Some recommendations for both the OP and anyone reading, as well as my preferred version of each game where applicable (i.e. if a game was only released once, there's no other version to recommend) since older RPGs are known for having a lot of rereleases. Not an exhaustive list at all even for my own tastes, let alone in general.
Turn-based RPGs:
a) Wizardry 1-3 and Wizardry 5 (Llygamyn Saga and New Age of Llygamyn on PS1, you'll be able to export your characters from 1 all the way to 5, and you'll have Wizardry 4 to tackle as well if you're playing New Age of Llygamyn. Import friendly as both discs have English options, although the arranged version of Wizardry 4 in New Age of Llygamyn will remain untranslated iirc.)
b) Dragon Quest 1-3 (honestly, the whole series. 1-3 are imo the best starting point, would highly recommend on SFC or GBC. The remake of 3 is fantastic but I think it benefits more from playing an older version first to compare and contrast them with it).
c) Megami Tensei as a franchise is a pretty easy recommendation overall, I generally prefer the older Super Famicom and Famicom games in the franchise personally.

Action RPGs:
a) King's Field 1-4 are fantastic overall, 3 is my favorite.
b) Shadow Tower and in particular, Shadow Tower Abyss. The latter starts to feel more like an FPS by the end of it and it's a very unique game.
c) Ys (bump combat and "ark engine" games mostly, although I have a soft spot for Wanderers of Ys. I generally prefer how all the ports on Steam play, but the PC Engine CD arrangements of the OSTs for 1, 2, 3, and 4 are all so good. 4 is a weird one as there's 3 different games that could be considered Ys 4. Dawn of Ys easily plays the best of the two I played, but Mask of the Sun is closer to Falcom's canon and is at least very short. I haven't played Memories of Celceta on PS Vita.)
d) Brandish (Any version should be fine tbh. SNES doesn't display the automap at all times, you need to bring it up, but you can detect things like crumbling floors in multiple ways from the visuals, to using steel balls to test the floor, to even just examining it with the in game examine command (hold L/R+Y). Great mix of hack n' slash combat with controls similar to a first person dungeon crawler. Sounds clunky on paper but in execution I thought it was great. If you like it, Brandish 2 has a translation patch on both PC98 and SNES iirc.)
e) Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu/Revival Xanadu is an amazing game if you give it a fair shake, although it is fairly obtuse at first. Revival Xanadu on PC98 adds some extra music and updates the visuals while still staying in a similar art style to the PC88 original, highly recommended. Import friendly, everything but the opening and ending text crawl is in English already.
f) Super Hydlide/Hydlide 3, a far cry from the original Hydlide. It's a very cool game with systems like a day/night cycle, weight carry limits, class limitations on magic, and managing both your food and need to sleep. What might sound tedious at first ended up being very engrossing for myself. Hydlide 3 should play fine in most versions, but I find myself liking Super Hydlide on Genesis/Mega Drive most due to that absolutely fantastic OST.

 

[DOOP169]

Lunar and Lunar Eternal Blue (Sega CD versions)
Albert Odyssey (Saturn)
Breath of Fire III (PS1)
Xenogears (PS1)
Phantasy Star IV (GEN)
Shining force II (Gen)
Skies of Arcadia (GC)
Legend of Legaia (PS1)
Terranigma (SNES arpg)
Lufia 1 & 2 (SNES)
Shadow Madness (PS1)
Parasite Eve (1 & 2)

Some won't agree with the Sega CD Lunar's but OG is always the best experience, for me anyway.