PS1 PSX JRPG Mega Thread

[non-xerox-possibility]

exactly as it says on the tin, a thread for all the various JRPG games that came out on the original PlayStation following the blaze of glory that was Final Fantasy VII's release

 

[DarcyT]

So this doesn't include anything before Final Fantasy VII's release?

 

[Don Patch]

I'm a sucker for monster-collector style stuff.
Jade Cocoon was a rad time!

(minus the tank controls, lol)

 

[non-xerox-possibility]

So this doesn't include anything before Final Fantasy VII's release?

it could do! lol, I worded it that way because JRPGs as a genre got super popular immediately after FF7 came out, XD

 

[DarcyT]

it could do! lol, I worded it that way because JRPGs as a genre got super popular immediately after FF7 came out, XD

I would probably disagree somewhat with that. However, the conversation is about naming games, so I guess I'd have to mention Wild Arms. While not super unpopular, for a PlayStation exclusive, it barely got noticed next to Square's mountainous foothold in the RPG genre.

I'll be honest, I've probably played less than an hour of it when I was younger, but the 3D visual style and multiple camera angles in and out of battle (I'd never played an RPG outside of Pokémon at that time) really cemented itself in my memory.

Looking at it now, it's not super appealing. But even more reason for Sony to do either a decent remake of the first game as part of a trilogy, like Square have done with FF7, or do a complete remake collection of all three, with improved visuals and modern amenities.

 

[Spike's iconSpike]

We had this at home, I hope it qualifies. It wasn't great but not too bad either.

 

[Yuu Suzuki]

Kouklotheatro! or known for some reason in the west as Eternal Eyes.
I'm a fan of monster catcher games so this is a must for me.

 

[Don Patch]

I would probably disagree somewhat with that. However, the conversation is about naming games, so I guess I'd have to mention Wild Arms. While not super unpopular, for a PlayStation exclusive, it barely got noticed next to Square's mountainous foothold in the RPG genre.

I'll be honest, I've probably played less than an hour of it when I was younger, but the 3D visual style and multiple camera angles in and out of battle (I'd never played an RPG outside of Pokémon at that time) really cemented itself in my memory.

Looking at it now, it's not super appealing. But even more reason for Sony to do either a decent remake of the first game as part of a trilogy, like Square have done with FF7, or do a complete remake collection of all three, with improved visuals and modern amenities.

I've wanted to try Wild Arms, just never had the time.
A weird selling point fro me was that it got mentioned on GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka), lol
TBH, I'm not even sure why that sweetens the deal for me, lol

 

[Don Patch]

We had this at home, I hope it qualifies. It wasn't great but not too bad either.
View attachment 101

Just looked it up and thought "This seems pretty neat. Total Golden Sun vibes."
Scrolled through the wiki; would ya believe it, it actually IS a Camelot joint. Too cool!

 

[DarcyT]

I've wanted to try Wild Arms, just never had the time.
A weird selling point fro me was that it got mentioned on GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka), lol
TBH, I'm not even sure why that sweetens the deal for me, lol

Like, I crap on it, but I'd still recommend it any day, if at least only because it's a Sony exclusive (last time I checked anyway).

Manga is always a good selling point.

 

[It's Thinking 2]

I've played The Legend of Dragoon, Chrono Trigger, Wild Arms 1 and 2, FFVII, FFVIII, FFIX, and Final Fantasy Tactics. Enjoyed all of them.

 

[non-xerox-possibility]

I know what my personal favourite is

 

[Ajderniz]

exactly as it says on the tin, a thread for all the various JRPG games that came out on the original PlayStation following the blaze of glory that was Final Fantasy VII's release

During my late teens (a very short while ago), instead of doing something productive that would've landed me at a better spot than I'm at right now, I did a sort of binge/crash course of a selection of good JRPGs for the PSX. One that stood out was Xenogears!

No hidden gem by any means, but for some reason it clicked in a way that no other game had at that point. I'm very cynical, mind you, and particularly disagree with this game's philosophy; and still, its story managed to captivate me, as it felt more engaged, riskier, darker than other games. The fact that

Spoiler: thing happened

the quaint little village you started out at got absolutely destroyed as one of the first events to occur

was shocking, and so was the rest of the story. Or half of it, at least.

It's got one of the most disappointing finales of any JRPG, and it's a damn shame, because what it tells is of world-ending proportions, but it lacks the means to impact in the same way as Disc 1 did. I was so disappointed, I didn't even bother beating the final boss. As is usual with the overly-ambitious-video-game-from-the-late-90s genre, it got rushed into being just a brief glimpse at the face of God.

 

[symplily]

my fav jrpg in the system

 

[PhrawzT]

Always gets overlooked due to Square's other games, but a great game with branching paths and tons of replay value.

 

[Raishinshi]

One of my favorite games of my childhood is Legend of Legaia, had a really unique battle system for the time with directional commands and really nice and flashy attacks. The USA version is really grindy and takes a lot of time to gain levels and money, but it was a blast to play.
Unfortunately the sequel was not up to par and the franchise died there.

 

[Gorse]

Guardian's Crusade is an obscure but very well-regarded entry in what I'd call the "buddy RPG" genre, where the player has a partner character that grows and changes throughout the game (see also Okage: Shadow King on the PS2). The little blob creature next to the knight there is a virtual pet that you can feed items to and play with during the storyline. Depending on your choices, he'll do a variety of actions during battle – performing powerful attacks, healing you, or transforming into a friendly monster, etc. – and can gain new abilities for use in the overworld. You don't have any other party members, and he can turn on you if you mistreat him, so finding the right ways to raise him well throughout the standard JRPG jaunt is essential (and a huge part of the the fun).

The game also has an excellent presentation – the characters are extremely simple and cartoony (think Little Big Adventure), but have a ton of unique animations and personality in and out of battles. Like many PS1 RPGs, this game's storyline is a heavy parody of traditional role-playing adventures from the NES/SNES era, so there are plenty of laughs and cute moments to keep you moving forward. The tag-along monster is very endearing – it's essentially a boy and his pet story – as is the relationship between the player character and the little mom-fairy who's the third member of the team. I'm not really one for long-form JRPGs, but Guardian's Crusade is a welcome exception to that rule. (The soundtrack is also extremely rad.)

 

[Don Patch]

View attachment 167
Always gets overlooked due to Square's other games, but a great game with branching paths and tons of replay value.

Yeah, kinda surprised no one brought this up yet.

 

[DunkeyKong]

A special place in my heart

 

[silverfoenix]

Guardian's Crusade is an obscure but very well-regarded entry in what I'd call the "buddy RPG" genre, where the player has a partner character that grows and changes throughout the game (see also Okage: Shadow King on the PS2). The little blob creature next to the knight there is a virtual pet that you can feed items to and play with during the storyline. Depending on your choices, he'll do a variety of actions during battle – performing powerful attacks, healing you, or transforming into a friendly monster, etc. – and can gain new abilities for use in the overworld. You don't have any other party members, and he can turn on you if you mistreat him, so finding the right ways to raise him well throughout the standard JRPG jaunt is essential (and a huge part of the the fun).

The game also has an excellent presentation – the characters are extremely simple and cartoony (think Little Big Adventure), but have a ton of unique animations and personality in and out of battles. Like many PS1 RPGs, this game's storyline is a heavy parody of traditional role-playing adventures from the NES/SNES era, so there are plenty of laughs and cute moments to keep you moving forward. The tag-along monster is very endearing – it's essentially a boy and his pet story – as is the relationship between the player character and the little mom-fairy who's the third member of the team. I'm not really one for long-form JRPGs, but Guardian's Crusade is a welcome exception to that rule. (The soundtrack is also extremely rad.)

I fell in love the moment I first rotated a camera & opened a chest.
It also has memorable events even for someone with poor memory like me~
Maybe due to replaying it to get all Living Toys & transformations.. this was my first time trying to get 100% completion in any game! next was Castlevania SOTN

 

[silverfoenix]

Tales of Eternia (Tales Of Destiny II) was my introduction to the Tales series!

A beat 'em up JRPG that somehow made me grind the same move set !!!
Later I was confused for the name since Tales of Destiny 2 was released on PS2 ?

You gotta understand that 3 Disc games were a gamble (for the same price could get you three different games were I used to live), to this day it was by far the best purchase since the adventure is worth it.
Imagine my surprise when I learned you could co-op using an in-game ring accessory!

 

[dejiko]

View attachment 167
Always gets overlooked due to Square's other games, but a great game with branching paths and tons of replay value.

THIS! this game is my childhood! the best ost and every time i hear scars of time i start crying ; w;

 

[Inkingsama]

Parasite Eve my beloved. The chrysler building sucks but the true final boss was worth it.

 

[Don Patch]

Parasite Eve my beloved. The chrysler building sucks but the true final boss was worth it.View attachment 282

Love how the cover art is totally X-Files lookin! :)

 

[September2wenty8ight]

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Bardysh Kromeford no Juunin came out in 1999. It's a pretty nice game.
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