So, what's the best 'single installment' JRPG game you know?

[yukihiroX]

IMO, I love and hate that many JRPGs have more than three sequels and are cross-platform.
So, I'm bored and too lazy to start a new series. I want to know the best "single-installment" game you know.

 

[MegaThrive]

I really like Skies of Arcadia. The gamecube release has some bonus stuff i believe.

 

[Yousef]

IMO, I love and hate that many JRPGs have more than three sequels and are cross-platform.
So, I'm bored and too lazy to start a new series. I want to know the best "single-installment" game you know.

Surprisingly complicated question because even stuff like chrono trigger has chrono chross. And xenogears, while is definitely a single game, was not intended to be one game and there’s a ton of expanded material for it. There’s lost odyssey but it’s tricky to recommend because it’s exclusive to Xbox.

Hmmm I’d probably go for an indie recommendation like CrossCode. It’s more action and it may not seem like it, but it’s 30 hours long. It’s definitely an rpg.
Hope this helps.

 

[RageBurner]

My vote would go to Radiant Historia for the DS. I think I mentioned it before. It's self contained (no sequels, just a re-release on the 3DS with one added character and changed character mugshots (for the worse, IMO).

Either way, the game has great graphics, sound, and an engaging battle system that relies on positioning (shifting, pushing, pulling), combos and timeline manipulation to get an edge in combat.

 

[Yousef]

My vote would go to Radiant Historia for the DS. I think I mentioned it before. It's self contained (no sequels, just a re-release on the 3DS with one added character and changed character mugshots (for the worse, IMO).

Either way, the game has great graphics, sound, and an engaging battle system that relies on positioning (shifting, pushing, pulling), combos and timeline manipulation to get an edge in combat.

Seconding this

 

[Rafa-dono]

I could say Okami, but Okamiden.
I could say Shadow of the Colossus, but Ico and The Last Guardian.
I could say Vagrant Story, but Ivalice Alliance.
So I guess The Legend of Dragoon for retro players and Until Dawn for a more recent example/horror piece.

 

[Estein]

My choice would be Odin Sphere(remaster),engaging story and fluid combat,the progression system was so well designed.

 

[RageBurner]

My choice would be Odin Sphere(remaster),engaging story and fluid combat,the progression system was so well designed.

Yeah Leifdrasir is definitely the best version of this classic.

 

[yukihiroX]

I could say Okami, but Okamiden.
I could say Shadow of the Colossus, but Ico and The Last Guardian.
I could say Vagrant Story, but Ivalice Alliance.
So I guess The Legend of Dragoon for retro players and Until Dawn for a more recent example/horror piece.

Legend of Dragoon is the GOAT PS1 JRPG, in my opinion, and will forever be.

Post automatically merged: Dec 19, 2024

My choice would be Odin Sphere(remaster),engaging story and fluid combat,the progression system was so well designed.

Never heard of it, and it seems cool. I will give it a try.

 

[Yousef]

Yeah Leifdrasir is definitely the best version of this classic.

It is. Especially since it has the original packaged in for those who want a curiosity playthrough or preservation.

 

[yukihiroX]

Surprisingly complicated question because even stuff like chrono trigger has chrono chross. And xenogears, while is definitely a single game, was not intended to be one game and there’s a ton of expanded material for it. There’s lost odyssey but it’s tricky to recommend because it’s exclusive to Xbox.

Hmmm I’d probably go for an indie recommendation like CrossCode. It’s more action and it may not seem like it, but it’s 30 hours long. It’s definitely an rpg.
Hope this helps.

The thing about JRPGs is I'm new to them. I'm an action RPG, CRPG, and WRPG guy, so everything is new to me. The games that sparked my love for JRPGs are Chained Echoes and Sea of Stars. So, the only JRPG series I've invested my time in are Final Fantasy and a couple of old Pokémon games, and some PS1 classics.

Post automatically merged: Dec 19, 2024

I really like Skies of Arcadia. The gamecube release has some bonus stuff i believe.

I will try the GameCube version.

 

[Rafa-dono]

Legend of Dragoon is the GOAT PS1 JRPG, in my opinion, and will forever be.

I prefer both Breath of Fire III and IV locked in eternal draw. But yeah, third place is LoD's.

 

[enhle]

IMO, I love and hate that many JRPGs have more than three sequels and are cross-platform.
So, I'm bored and too lazy to start a new series. I want to know the best "single-installment" game you know.

You

 

[RageBurner]

I prefer BoF3 to 4 by a bit of a margin. Xenogears is up there for me too in importance regarding PS1 RPGs.

 

[jankusanagi]

If limited to one installment, Xenogears, definitely

 

[Alina-Snowfairy]

I would say MS Saga: A New Dawn, a turn based Mobile Suit Gundam JRPG on the PS2. Has full suit customisation with weapon and mod swapping, even has the abillity to build your own Mobile Suits later on.

 

[Bonkers225]

This is a tough one. Chained Echoes count?

 

[TheGamesArchivist]

Xenogears for the goated characters, soundtrack, and storytelling

Thousand Arms for the sheer wackiness that I feel the JRPG genre kinda lacks at times. Like..."What's more terrifying than having to follow the tired trope of killing gods and overthrowing evil empires? DATING."

 

[Richter99]

Chrono trigger per snes e quello che mi e piaciuto di più anche se c'è Chromo cross per psx non e un vero sequel

 

[ObscureJigglypuff]

My beloved and kind of forgotten (or unknown i guess) Solatorobo, is my pick for this.

 

[Cocaine Owlbear]

This is a weirdly complicated question, even though it seems simple on the surface. The reason is that "series" and "sequel" don't mean to JRPGs what they mean to other genre. The two biggest series of JRPGs - Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest - are more like anthologies than actual sequels. They're almost all self contained stories - even the ones that are directly related to one another.

For instance, the first three Dragon Quest games are all part of the Erdrick Trilogy, but the games don't actually reference each other that much, and you could grab any of them at random and be fine - in which case, I'm going to suggest the recent Dragon Quest 3 remake available on Steam or either the Super Famicom or Gambeboy versions. The original is a bit rough around the edges, but was awesome when it first came out. God, I am old.

For Final Fantasy, the first 10 games are independent stories that are completely unrelated to each other; they don't even take place in the same worlds. (There are two side stories to IV, but they can be safely ignored). 6 is the best of them, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 are also good. The older ones are a bit tough to get through from a modern perspective, and IMHO 8 is absolute garbage (I know it has its fans and I'm not here for a fight, just offering an opinion).

Similarly, Chrono Trigger - the greatest JRPG of all time according to many - technically has a sequel, but you can play it or Chrono Cross without reference to each other without issue.

All of that said, I'm going to drop a special mention for Skies of Arcadia. As someone else mentioned, it really is outstanding. I bought the original Dreamcast version on the first day of its US release, and love it to this day. It feels kinda dated in places, but is 100% worth your time.

A more recent one that doesn't hail from Japan is Ikenfell, an indy game that's a wonderful JRPG style game with interesting tactical combat and a good story.

Someone mentioned Crosscode, which is getting a sequel, but it's a single game right now, so you could get in on the ground floor lol. It's a fantastic game, although it's an ARPG so that might not be what you're looking for.

Some other good single installment recent games include Ara Fell, Cosmic Star Heroine, and VOltAge: Genesis.

Have fun!

 

[MistHunter]

Good morning and...

lost magic (nintendo dual screen).
tomato adventure (gameboy advance).
treasure adventure g (super famicom).
crystalis (nintendo entertainment system).
faria: a world of mystery and danger! (nintendo entertainment system).
sweet home (famicom).
willow (nintendo entertainment system).
alcahest (super famicom).
brain lord (super nintendo).
dark law: meaning of death (super nintendo).
live-a-live (super famicom).
robotrek (super nintendo).
holy magic century / quest 64 / eltale monsters (nintendo ultra 64).
cave noire (gameboy).
kaeru no tame ni kane wa naru (gameboy).
vitamina oukoku monogatari (gameboy, not remembering english name).
metal walker (gameboy color).
scurge hive (gameboy advance).
away: shuffle dungeon (nintendo dual screen).
miitopia (nintendo 3ds).
cadash (sega genesis).
alisia dragoon (sega genesis).
el viento (sega genesis).
kenseiden (sega genesis).
miracle warriors: seal of the dark lord (sega genesis).
psychic world (sega genesis... port).
dragon valor (playstation 1).
magic castle (playstation 1 emulation, these recent years).
threads of fate/dewprism (playstation 1).

...that's all for now/today.

 

[yukihiroX]

Good morning and...

lost magic (nintendo dual screen).
tomato adventure (gameboy advance).
treasure adventure g (super famicom).
crystalis (nintendo entertainment system).
faria: a world of mystery and danger! (nintendo entertainment system).
sweet home (famicom).
willow (nintendo entertainment system).
alcahest (super famicom).
brain lord (super nintendo).
dark law: meaning of death (super nintendo).
live-a-live (super famicom).
robotrek (super nintendo).
holy magic century / quest 64 / eltale monsters (nintendo ultra 64).
cave noire (gameboy).
kaeru no tame ni kane wa naru (gameboy).
vitamina oukoku monogatari (gameboy, not remembering english name).
metal walker (gameboy color).
scurge hive (gameboy advance).
away: shuffle dungeon (nintendo dual screen).
miitopia (nintendo 3ds).
cadash (sega genesis).
alisia dragoon (sega genesis).
el viento (sega genesis).
kenseiden (sega genesis).
miracle warriors: seal of the dark lord (sega genesis).
psychic world (sega genesis... port).
dragon valor (playstation 1).
magic castle (playstation 1 emulation, these recent years).
threads of fate/dewprism (playstation 1).

...that's all for now.

that's a true Goat

Post automatically merged: Dec 19, 2024

This is a weirdly complicated question, even though it seems simple on the surface. The reason is that "series" and "sequel" don't mean to JRPGs what they mean to other genre. The two biggest series of JRPGs - Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest - are more like anthologies than actual sequels. They're almost all self contained stories - even the ones that are directly related to one another.

For instance, the first three Dragon Quest games are all part of the Erdrick Trilogy, but the games don't actually reference each other that much, and you could grab any of them at random and be fine - in which case, I'm going to suggest the recent Dragon Quest 3 remake available on Steam or either the Super Famicom or Gambeboy versions. The original is a bit rough around the edges, but was awesome when it first came out. God, I am old.

For Final Fantasy, the first 10 games are independent stories that are completely unrelated to each other; they don't even take place in the same worlds. (There are two side stories to IV, but they can be safely ignored). 6 is the best of them, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 are also good. The older ones are a bit tough to get through from a modern perspective, and IMHO 8 is absolute garbage (I know it has its fans and I'm not here for a fight, just offering an opinion).

Similarly, Chrono Trigger - the greatest JRPG of all time according to many - technically has a sequel, but you can play it or Chrono Cross without reference to each other without issue.

All of that said, I'm going to drop a special mention for Skies of Arcadia. As someone else mentioned, it really is outstanding. I bought the original Dreamcast version on the first day of its US release, and love it to this day. It feels kinda dated in places, but is 100% worth your time.

A more recent one that doesn't hail from Japan is Ikenfell, an indy game that's a wonderful JRPG style game with interesting tactical combat and a good story.

Someone mentioned Crosscode, which is getting a sequel, but it's a single game right now, so you could get in on the ground floor lol. It's a fantastic game, although it's an ARPG so that might not be what you're looking for.

Some other good single installment recent games include Ara Fell, Cosmic Star Heroine, and VOltAge: Genesis.

Have fun!

I totally agree. After considering the idea, a single installment in an JRPG is not necessarily one game in a series; it could be a single, self-contained story and gameplay style, like FFXII.

Thanks for your comment.

 

[MistHunter]

My beloved and kind of forgotten (or unknown i guess) Solatorobo, is my pick for this.

disregarding what it originally was with the first game, little tail bronx (and it's 'for safety' advertising spin-off)?.
I played solatorobo. it was addictive and a fresh change in the moment.

 

[ObscureJigglypuff]

disregarding what it originally was with the first game, little tail bronx (and it's 'for safety' advertising spin-off)?.
I played solatorobo. it was addictive and a fresh change in the moment.

I forgot about that little detail xd