My Top 30 Favorite JRPGs Of All Time

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Part 1: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Part 2: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Part 3: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Part 4: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Part 5: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Part 6: • Top 10 Worst JRPG Part...
Best Party Members:
Part 1: • Top 10 Best JRPG Party...
Part 2: • Top 10 Best JRPG Chara...
Part 3: • Top 10 Best JRPG Chara...
Part 4: • Top 10 Best JRPG Party...
Part 5: • Top 10 Best JRPG Party...
Final Fantasy 4 Characters: • Ranking the Final Fant...
Final Fantasy 5 Job Classes: • Final Fantasy V JOBS R...
Final Fantasy 6 Characters: • Ranking the Final Fant...
Annoying Characters:
The Men: • Top 10 Most Annoying J...
The Women: • Top 10 Most Annoying J...
Part 3: • Top 10 Most Annoying J...
Worst Dungeon Series:
NES (8-bit): • 10 Worst NES RPG Dunge...
SNES (16-bit): • 10 Worst SNES JRPG Dun...
PlayStation: • Top 10 Worst PSX RPG D...
PlayStation 2: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
PlayStation 3 and Xbox360: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
Gameboy and GBC: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
GBA: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
PSP: • 10 Worst PSP RPG Dunge...
DS: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
3DS: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
N64, Gamecube and Wii: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge...
Nintendo Post-Game: • Top 10 Worst RPG Dunge... #gaymer #nintendo #rpg #playstation #xbox #asmr #atelier #steamdeck

[@theflyingninja1]

Can't beat the Golden Age of RPGs. It's like games companies have forgotten how to make a 'proper' JRPG. It's actually rare these days to see towns full of NPCs and almost unheard of to see a world map any more.

[@-lord1754]

Monolith unsurprisingly knocks it out of the park

[@Sinistralx]

Your comment almost brought tears to my eyes. I can remember renting an rpg on a Friday after school, traversing the world map, random encounters, new towns, etc…and blinking Sunday night wondering where my weekend went lol…miss those traveling days sooo damn much

[@michaelpatterson8007]

Fed 4G

[@gysahlfields7506]

My favourite games of all time and are JRPGs, as well as my favourite Genre. But traditional World Maps are a storytelling failure, and I am so glad JRPGs understood that at last.

[@mariowario5945]

@@gysahlfields7506 it's not all about the story buddy, it's about gameplay and battles along with exploration too. Look at rpgs roots in dnd and you sure will see, that rpgs are all about these things

[@stillthrashed5938]

Golden Sun 1 & 2 were so great games! Not only for GBA standards but for RPGs in general. Too bad the series never got the conclusion it deserved.

[@orcinusoafish153]

The entirety of the Mario & Luigi RPG series holds a very special place in my heart. They may not be groundbreaking like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy, nor are they my personal favorite JRPGs (that honor belongs to both Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade Chronicles), but they're fun enough in both their story and gameplay that I really recommend them to anyone who's just looking for a great time.

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

Superstar Saga, Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team are turn based JRPG classics in my eyes. They deserve more love now that Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is getting a Switch remake 20 years after release!!

[@autobotstarscream765]

"Final Fantasy IX, the last game on this list and the last of the classics." *SHOTS FIRED AT FFX*

[@ZaPaMi3]

I hate X and IX is one of my favorite games of all time.

[@ThyWordIsTruthJ17]

His opinion...

[@Richitsu]

@@ThyWordIsTruthJ17 no shit

[@tikkusircar7704]

Final Fantasy X? More like Final Hallway X

[@ronsilk6212]

Ps1 and ps2 are the best jrpg games ever in my opinion. The golden era

[@TheClamatoJuice]

For me it's SNES+PS1 ♡

[@mikedl1105]

I would call the SNES the golden age, with ps1 silver and ps2 bronze. I guess that makes NES platinum?

[@redinthesky1]

Snes and PS1 have so many good rpgs, especially if you dig into the translations that are available.

[@sharebear421]

Yeah no console can hold a candle to ps1 and ps2

[@andrewdyke5561]

Snes

[@klaymeister]

I heard the "Searching for Friends" theme for FF6 and was thinking how amazing the music for that game is. Then you said "can we just talk about the soundtrack?" Yes, yes we can.

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

My top 10 in no order Trails of Cold Steel 3 SMT DDS 2 Tales of the Abyss Star Ocean 2 Xenogears Tales of Graces f SMT DS Overclocked Trails of Cold Steel 2 Persona 4 Valkyria Chronicles 3

[@Bradley_Lute]

I was suffering through SMT DDS1 and had to put it down. It drops all the elements I love from the Persona series and other SMT games. I like monster collecting, choice trees and sim elements. Demon fusion is hours of fun. All missing in DDS. and the bland colour pallet on top. Persona 3 was such a gorgeous game comparedly and so fun to play. I'm sure I'll get through it amd like it eventually.

[@Bradley_Lute]

I'm excited to play SMT DS. I'm playing my first tactical rpg: Final Fantasy Tactics right now and loving the play style.

[@mrdarkstar3756]

Great list especially the Tales of picks are the best the series has to offer in terms of likeable characters and combat enjoyment

[@Animosity00]

This is the way

[@istrasci]

1:37 - I'm convinced that "Techno de Chocobo" can put absolutely anyone in the best of moods at anytime.

[@liveyourdreammedia]

Aaah yeah my lucky day, David uploads another list!

[@awesomemccool7285]

Thank you for doing this list. I've been looking forward to it.

[@carlosaugustoferreirakopp3383]

Great list! I love that you always put some hidden gems instead of predictable choices. I was surprised that you didn't put Dragon Quest XI, I loved this one!

[@joshuawatts6823]

I named my daughter after Noa from Legend of Lagaia... this list of the 30 favorites is right on par with what I would consider most of my favorites.

[@ericstaples7220]

Noah is a boy's name.

[@aka1721]

@@ericstaples7220 notice that OP didnt put an "H" in the name.

[@derekvinson6961]

Dude, I love your channel. I randomly came across it a few months ago and was so happy when I did. Keep up the amazing work.

[@CorndogRocket]

Love the nod to Legend of Legaia. That game seldom gets the love it deserves.

[@aroundthefur1210]

Your the guy from the Hamburger Train right?

[@jhix1816]

First game was epic! Only other jrpg that comes close is legend of dragoon!

[@serenavox5540]

I’d be hard pressed to make a list this vast to be honest but it would consist mostly of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy since those are what I had growing up. I did play the “oddball” games like Suikoden IV, Star Ocean 3... but this is why I love videos like this. Now I’ve got a list of stuff I want to check out!

[@liamobrien7515]

0:23- “And I’m probably biased cause I’m an old bitch” I DIED LMAO

[@codeninja1]

Your lists are how you like your jrpgs. No filler. 30 games in under 12 minutes? Excellent. Some games I've never heard of like that popolocrois which looks fantastic.

[@quezcatol]

This is a very solid list, I would include Persona 4,5 and trails in the sky FC and SC on my top 30 though but yeah- those FF & DQ games, Vesperia, Star Ocean 2, Grandia 2, Lost Odyssey, Lunar and Chrono Trigger would def be in my list as well.

[@nintenjoel]

Ohhhhhhh and the finisher!!!! #30 is one of my favorite games of all time and I constantly mention it on my channel! One of the best combat systems in a jrpg ever and an amazing story, to boot. Great vid!

[@FaceTheStreets]

Awesome list! Thanks for sharing

[@Esauofisaac]

"because no one wanted that dumpster fire Chrono Cross" Okay, calm down. It was shit, but it was MY shit ;__;

[@fionacoyne95]

I paused the video when he said that lmao

[@sharebear421]

It’s better than trigger

[@SnapshotNautilus]

This is a great list! There are a couple I didn't enjoy quite as much as you did, but overall I enjoyed listening through it as always!

[@Someguy-xu3oy]

Oh finally! Been watching your top 10s for years always wondered what your official top picks would be

[@alexiere]

I think you are my RPG soul mate...I miss the good times. Getting lost in the story, worlds, music. Great video.

[@Bradley_Lute]

2/3 of his list is old school playstation era and before and the last third is all the new games that had the old school mindset!

[@SVD978]

@@Bradley_Lute as it should be!

[@MrJules39]

Finally! I can watch one of your uploads! Currently playing through Ffvi and then onto your current let's play!

[@brentimeus]

This is the list I’ve been waiting for!

[@damikki]

What a fantastic list, I am going to try and play this list in order as there are so many classics to replay once again. Great video thank you 😊

[@chrischandler889]

Oh man but i love Chrono Cross. But I do get why it isn't what people wanted or expected. I also wanted something different but still have love for it.

[@MiamiSunrise]

This must have been hard to formulate. Some are easy picks but I wonder how difficult it was to dis-include some of them. Soul Blazer and Persona 4 would have made it into my top 30 overall, but since I haven't done such a list I'm not sure how I'd flesh this process out. Good on you for being able to finalize a list like this. There are SO MANY amazing JRPG experiences out there that you could have made a list of 100 and I'd bet you'd still be wishing to include others. I have to admit, out of every game you mentioned in here, many I have played and enjoyed, but of the ones I haven't, you know which one of the ones I haven't that I want to play the most? Popolocrois. For years now I have seen bits of that game and I absolutely love how it looks and its presentation amongst other things. A very satisfying game to just look at and I'm sure to play and it somehow looks to me like no other JRPG. Thanks David, this is a stellar list!

[@CountShadow]

Man, I really come back to this channel due to all recommendations here. I know a lot of them already, but some of your favorite games I already have high on my "to play list". Awesome games are just a rarity these days, but in SNES and PS1 days - holy shit. We were really flooded with gems. The only recent game that hit me like in the old days was Chained Echoes!

[@Rokabur]

Should have included Skies of Arcadia. My intro to RPG's in general and incredibly underrated.

[@lambertar]

Skies of Arcadia was great. I would've added Ogre Battle to the list too. In the end there are just so many good games.

[@drakewarnock1239]

My biggest takeaway from this list is that I need to pay closer attention to the PSP's library. I hadn't even heard of those two.

[@0twaster0i02]

So glad you mentioned Terranigma since I grew up with it and love it to bits!

[@larskaiser8131]

Great list, and it's easy to see your preferences in the genre and the passion you have for the games. And quite a few of them are also my favourite games! (namely: Grandia II, Final Fantasy IX, Radiant Historia, Golden Sun) The only series that I miss on the list that I value highly are the Trails in the Sky games (but they might be too long and convoluted to make it here) and the absence of any Shin MegaTen games (but again, I see that these aren't your preferred style of games and that is totally okay :) )

[@keymomusictherapy4739]

Interesting list! I’ll be looking up some of these.

[@HybridAngelZero]

I love so many RPGs that it's hard to compile a list, because I'll always feel bad for leaving something out, or I'll fall in love with a new game and wish I could add it. Still, I love a lot of the games on this list, and it's been cool seeing everyone else's lists in the comments as well

[@marciozelaya]

Man I also love golden sun and golden sun 2, they are my favorite rpgs and I played them a lot when I was younger, it makes kinda sad they are kinda forgotten though, Im glad you mentioned them!

[@raina1848]

Good point about Golden Sun. Dark Dawn ended on a cliffhanger and the series has been in limbo-land ever since. I wish they would make another sequel.

[@testosterone1014]

shocked that there were no megaten games.

[@mattshuey1]

lol I was not expecting the end of #25. Great varied list overall. Seeing it in release order gives us good insight into what makes an amazing jrpg as time goes on. This is a perfect companion primer for the Games That Made Me series.

[@alfredocoimbra5532]

You have listed a few of my favourites for your top 30. You have great taste in jrpgs, David.

[@luvlybaluga]

Quality stuff comrade. Didnt know Okami was an RPG @_@. Was surprised to find no Falcom Trails of games, or are they Legend of Heroes games? Have you not played them?

[@rabbyd542]

I love this list man! A lot of unsung heroes in it. That Chrono Cross though, David come on, I didn't have any other cool RPGs to play at that time lol.

[@pimej5460]

wow my wish has been granted! thank you david

[@user-rk2xi7iw9k]

Great video as always david! my personal top 10 would be 1-Persona 5 Royal (Royal version specifically since it irons out the biggest flaws and adds an incredible third semester) 2-Suikoden 2 3-DQ 11 S 4-Chrono trigger 5-FF 7 6-Lunar EB 7-Grandia 1 8-XC 1 9-Paper mario TTYD 10-Earthbound

[@wbrin2282]

No Xenogears? I feel that’s a staple on any such lists. ...

[@riougenkaku1762]

Maybe because of disc 2

[@grahf9436]

Right?

[@suprastevio2264]

Lost Odyssey is soooo incredibly underrated! I can't believe it hasn't become available by other means yet. You can't even emulate it even if you wanted to because the emulator itself isn't "there yet". It truly is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, lead by the Final Fantasy series creator. Just amazing.

[@suprastevio2264]

@Grust Totally agreed, it's sooo good 👌

[@danhalo1405]

There is no real need to make the game available by other means, Lost Odyssey was the best selling JRPG on Xbox 360 it sold almost like a million copies which was incredible sales numbers for a JRPG on that system and so the game is still plentiful available and cheap to get it is like 10 to 20 bucks on Amazon and ebay and all current Xbox systems are backwards compatible so it is no problem to find a way to play it also the game probably even is on game pass

[@j0nnyism]

Putting it on Xbox was a bad mistake. Xbox owners aren’t into playing jrpgs on the system

[@attentionscum9040]

They should do a HD remaster for this for all consoles, I think it would do waaaay better. To me, it's the last "true" Final Fantasy game after it had that amazing run from FF5 to FF12. One of my absolute favourites. Mistwalker Studios should do more. Like, releasing their most recent JRPG on *Apple Arcade*? Pleeeease. Who is making these decisions??

[@kayus83]

It´s not underrated, it came for the wrong console. X-Box 360 wasn´t the console for JRPGS.

[@ZackAceZero]

No better way to end the day , after a tiring shift at work , watching this video tucked under my blanket in the bed. Thanks David!

[@davidvinc]

Awww have a good night :)

[@R3DM4G3]

A great list with some amazing title... but I'm sad to see Wild ARMs couldn't make a spot on your list. I love the series so much and the wild west setting is just so unique.

[@Thorn99855]

Plus that opening anime and song. It roped my heart in from square one.

[@sillantro5149]

The gossipy side of me wanted to see you rank them! Hard to pick favs though

[@zeroherokero7629]

David have you ever heard / played the .hack series? I’m about to play through them for the first time as I heard they were p cool and I’m curious what you thought about them

[@alfredocoimbra5532]

I've played the. Hack series. It's not a cake walk and the hack skill in the game has a limit to how many times it can be used in one of the games in the series. Big fan of the anime that started the series as well as the anime given with the first set of the series.

[@dididothat4495]

Curious as well if you've played it. The gameplay can be hit or miss for some, but the story is best-in-class and I've still yet to find anything that quite hits that mark as far as what it tries to accomplish. It has a high emphasis on mystery, and character development. I've learned more about myself playing .hack than I have nearly any game. It's a very cerebral and psychological story. Especially the second set of games, the G.U. games. The focus is so much on the characters that you often forget that there's a larger threat or villain. The "save the world" storyline exists to compliment the interactions of the characters. Very clear that the intent of .hack was to more explore people than beat some evil god.

[@alfredocoimbra5532]

@@dididothat4495 haven't played G. U. Just the first 4 games of dot hack series. I'm a anime fan and I saw the first series of dot hack sign in college. I tried to finish the first 4 games and never beat the 4th game because of the hacking skill has a limiter on it for how many times it can be used.

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

Thanks for the content and Happy Thanksgiving! Saved this for today. Can't wait to see how much our lists coincide considering you're my long lost ripped jrpg brother lol

[@cmwaves]

Do you have a favorite game that isn’t an rpg? I don’t get how you don’t get burned out by all of the rpgs that you play. My favorite rpg is ff7 btw

[@cazimim3375]

Ty for the list David

[@thomasstockman9535]

People claim to like a good world map. David certainly sets the bar rather high, lol.

[@nickjohnson2726]

Had me crackin up till the video ended lmao 🤣 oh David

[@potatopower2144]

Thank you so much for talking about Lost Odyssey. It's truly a forgotten gem. One of my absolute favorite games of all time.

[@BlueGrovyle]

Hilarious that, with all the legendary tracks from Chrono Trigger to choose from, you opted to rickroll us.

[@Zchef85]

So glad to see SO2 on this list. Working my way through some of your videos that I misssed.

[@The-Cutmaster]

Definitely the golden age. Who knew that a pixelated rendering of an opera house could get all of us so choked up?

[@TenderViddlez]

Great list man!

[@cloudman_5719]

Excellent video David! Very entertaining 👍🏻 I dont remember you mentioning The Legend Of Zelda games in one of your videos. Do you not like them or you just dont consider them RPG's? Just wondering because you mentioned Okami in your list.. Grtz from the Netherlands

[@Paul_McSeol]

You inspired me. Been listening to the FF6 soundtrack all morning while doing finance work in the office. Made my day. Thanks, David!

[@nihilist1680]

Can you make Top 10 dungeons/caves in RPG games? When I search for that I only find lists of Top 10 Dungeon Games etc but that's not what I want. I would love to have a list of best dungeons in all RPG games based on the dungeon's lore, puzzles, visuals or whatever..

[@88Baronpekugram]

Speaking of soundtracks Can you do a top list of your favorite jrpg soundtracks?

[@Huddy40]

Great video, Skies of Arcadia deserves a mention for sure.

[@baronagony4767]

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment is my favorite. I love the modern setting, the party customization with the personas (that can be used by everyone not just the main), the fusion magic, and the contact system that gives you more options for random encounters. If anything I say play it for being the rare JRPG that lets you play as adult characters instead of a bunch of teenagers.

[@EstaviusMarx]

Too expensive to buy :(

[@leonard9624]

Yeah, i was really hoping they make the next persona like this.im tired of the whole highschool setting.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

@@EstaviusMarx Digital on PS3/Vita.

[@baronagony4767]

Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 are both excellent as well

[@MooeysAura]

MegaTen is just amazing in general

[@ayinwisdom]

Seeing that you have Legend of Legaia on your List, I wonder if you have played Legaia 2: Duel Saga? I feel like it has been severly underlooked and is actually a great game. I really love those reoccuring villanous Knights :D

[@angelos_triforce3436]

Hey davidvinc, what do you think of final fantasy 15?

[@acecrono9189]

We share the same love for world maps!

[@TJRex01]

I always regret not picking up Lost Odyssey when it came out. Is there any way to get it in minors modern platforms?

[@MaskedGuyCh]

Very solid list, there are at least 10 games that I would also put in my top 30 list. Haven't played Radiant Historia yet, but it's been within my plans to play it. Wonder if you played the 3ds remake and which version you think is best.

[@kylehill3883]

I can't wait to play Final Fantasy Legends 2 when the collection comes out for the Switch.

[@brennaegan9114]

Oh my God, I didn’t know about this!!! I bought the first one from a yard sale when I was 10, and it was the first JRPG I ever beat. ❤️ Can’t wait to buy this! 🥰🥰🥰

[@Parallelepiped2]

Interesting choices! I have Hexyz Force on Vita and might check it out! I’ve heard you mention Popolocrois several times, unfortunately not digitally available on Vita , might be good to pick up a PSP someday

[@abdoazar8343]

Did you finish cold steel 4? How did you find the story compared to 3?

[@michaelevelti8536]

I'm an older-ish gamer, but I'm glad to hear you mention Golden Sun, I remember picking it up at Blockbuster back in the day 😅

[@Nighttale233]

Golden sun for switch would be amazing

[@patsg1146]

That's a great list for the ages! You could do a top 10 Non-RPG with RPG elements (like Ratchet and Clank or Assassin's Creed, for example)

[@grisgotjunk8992]

Chrono trigger in is my favorite Rpg of all time. period.

[@XenosbioZ]

Dang, Okami? Tell me more! And the sewers in Xenogears really did kill it for you didn’t it lmao

[@ethanhunt3242]

The second disc does it for me. lol I love Xenogears but just like Metal Gear Solid 5 the fact that I know the game is unfinished and the third act is a super choppy, info dump, rush job, kills replayability for me. One redeeming thing about the Sewer level though is the arena mech battle opens up around that section of the game and that was my jam when I was little. Also as bad as the sewers are I absolutely dread going into the final dungeon haha

[@wedding2710]

Okami is, to me at least, the culmination of the OOT-style Zelda game. It's easily better than all the pre-BoTW 3D Zeldas (again, to me). Can't recommend it enough, either the originals or Switch port are 10/10 aesthetic experiences

[@vitradesk]

Great list!! ❤❤

[@davidvinc]

Thank you!! 😁

[@garrinpowell1382]

All in all a really great list. Two of my favourites are the Growlanser series of games and Wild Arms 2.

[@austins.2495]

It's so hard to pick a definitive favorite

[@jamescannon229]

So happy to see Grandia 2 on this list! One of my all time favorites.

[@AWPerative]

Glad to see Legend of Legaia made your list. I was hoping someone would revive the concept of fighting game slash RPG

[@Revz8bit]

I found out about Radiant Historia through this channel and man am I loving it so far! Download it off the eShop before it's gone! Physical copies on this one are pricey

[@matthewwhisper5503]

I honestly feel like Dave has a passion for JRPGS. Like an honest to God passion. And given the sandbox craze and American half butt excuses for rpgs, it's so nice to see a channel that keeps these games and the history of them, alive.

[@nicolasjonasson4820]

Is there a re-release of Okami in 60fps? Both the PS3 and PS4 port were 30fps IIRC

[@jinopostigo7987]

I love your taste in RPGs, and I agree with most of your picks. Xenogears and Star Ocean 2 have special places in my heart, as they were my first RPGs. I'd also add Wild Arms 2 in the mix

[@smokeldogg]

What are your least favorite RPGs, David?

[@davidvinc]

That's a good question, maybe I'll make a video on that subject :)

[@shannonwilliams7249]

You’re the best, David. The best on KZbin of what you do. Thank you.

[@adequaterandomgaming982]

Great list, lots of those titles make my personal list as well. Although I have to say, if you think Lunar has charm on the PS1, you should try it on the Sega CD or Saturn. To me, they took most of the game's charm in the PS remake (and it starts with the soundtrack...it just sounds off in the PS remake). If you can give another console's version a shot, you might get pleasantly surprised.

[@Richitsu]

"Got to be able to play it again and again, and have a different experience every time." Kind of sound like what you'd experience with Chrono Cross, every time, with the different variety of characters.

[@MinecraftMartin]

Great lists.

[@carlenberg6653]

Great list

[@johngrizzle9144]

Don't you dare talk trash about Chrono Cross! Greatest game of the PS1. Greatest soundtrack of all time.

[@docheckfire3979]

"They don't quite make 'em like they used to." As much as there's still games I like today, you're goddamn right. I'm curious about Legend of Legaia now as well.

[@oompaloompadoompa-de-doo3614]

Cool unique combat system

[@pablostadler6392]

I know people like the 2nd part, but boy do i love the original "Grandia". I think it's the game that got me into rpgs and later made me a Final Fantasy fan. Maybe it's nostalgia but every time i start "Grandia" again, tears come to my eyes.

[@flintmclintock8755]

I really loved Final Fantasy Legend 2, cool of you to mention it, such great gameboy music. Definitely the game i played during car rides. I have a lot of memories getting bad car sickness during the long car rides to my families house in Spain from the Madrid airport.

[@fionacoyne95]

This list was fantabulous!

[@Popnwinbee]

Great video as always, but Chrono Cross is a dumpster fire? How dare you! Keep up the great work!