Top 10 Best JRPGS of ALL TIME!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Massive thank you to Atlus for sponsoring today's video! For more information on Persona 5 Tactica be sure to checkout the link below! Persona 5 Tactica: i.try.games/persona-5-tactica/rzfmyq

[@DarioKalen_Kagenui]

The game looks great, might need to buy it next year or so, the style reminds me a bit of Code Name STEAM. 💯 Great ad btw, you did a real good job. 🔥

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

@@DarioKalen_Kagenuithanks a ton, I truly appreciate it! And yeah Code name Steam is so fun!

[@Vulpas]

@@HallowedBeThyGame Bluepoint? They'd turn Dart into a gay black man.

[@SadTown99]

@@HallowedBeThyGameNot a JRPG, but I invite you to dive into the world of “ Fear & Hunger 2: Termina “ a disturbing horror RPG with unique turn based combat… it’s a one of a kind experience.

[@ayasolaris4971]

Legit I thought you put on the list above Chrono Trigger 😂

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

The Legend of Dragoon Needs an Remake

[@unconditionallove3820]

And bring back the abandoned sequel

[@keithmack4213]

I loved that shit growing up

[@VietPho]

Is this the one where you breed different monster types ?

[@TheGameOverture]

Best game ever.

[@fenixchief7]

​@@VietPhonah man. Maybe thats SMT you mean.

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

My Top 10 JRPG of All Time are: 1. Persona 5 Royal 2. Persona 4 Golden 3. XenoBlade Chronicles 3 Including Future Redeems 4. XenoBlade Chronicles Definitive Edition 5. Fire Emblem Three Houses 6. Lost Odyssey 7. FF7 8. FF9 9. Triangle Strategy 10. Fire Emblem Engage

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Quality list! Thanks for sharing! Xenoblade, Xenogears, and Xenosaga are just top of the mountain gaming

[@BigBossCQCLegend]

⁠@@HallowedBeThyGameI Only Played XenoBlade and have to play XenoGear and XenoSaga

[@Chaosmite]

My favorite is probably the one that got me into JRPG is FFX. The story of FFX just kept twisting my heart and it’s just so good man.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

It really is that good

[@acloserlook5823]

I thought maybe I saw ffx through the nostalgia goggles, so I replayed and man; it really is solid all the way around. And the story is SO distinctly Japanese, with all of the characteristic weirdness that entails. Absolute classic 🎉

[@Al-ok1lj]

The Square/Nintendo relationship of the 90s gave us great games. The one that got me into jrpgs was FF4 (FF2 in the States). Great story. Great characters. And an ending that just made me have a moment of silence.

[@byronbarrientos8471]

Only cause you said square/Nintendo and I have nobody else to vent to.. to this day I PRAY Square enix colabs like they did with Disney and get a kingdom hearts scope game with Nintendo characters. That's my dream. Turn based or action doesn't matter I'd just love a game like that. Hell could even be a smash bros spin off where they hop multi game worlds to fight a great evil. That is all, thank you for listening to my TED talk.

[@NoctLightCloud]

​@@byronbarrientos8471Funnily enough, KH was created because the Square devs saw Mario 3D on the N64 for the first time and wanted to create a rival game that could keep up with Mario. And they chose Mickey Mouse since he's even more recognizable than Mario. Also, they initially had Dissidia planned as a Kingdom Hearts game, but since Mickey couldn't be in a beat-em-up game, they switched to FF characters, instead.

[@YennyStark]

Your commentary on FFX & VII made me teary eyed - thanks for sharing your story and your picks!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you so much for your kindness and watching!

[@ZeroFksGvn]

Pretty solid list for turn based RPGs, I’d have probably squeezed in Suikoden II & Final Fantasy Tactics somewhere for my list as those are two of my favorite of all time alongside Xenogears.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I’m really stoked to play suikoden with the remasters!

[@notomelette247]

Final Fantasy Tactics is fantastical.

[@bennettreib]

Agree. Suikoden 2 needs a spot!

[@nintenjoel]

This is a fantastic list, but if there's one game I'm always stoked you mention, it's Radiant Historia. I can't believe how many people have not experienced the majesty of that game. I played the original DS version, but haven't started the 3DS version yet. Either way... The combat, characters, music, atmosphere, and combat are all top notch. If anyone reads this, and HASN'T played it, you absolutely owe it to yourself to do so. RH NEEDS a switch port! Great video, and list as always!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I’m so happy another mega Radiant Historia fan is watching. It really deserves to be a massive staple for JRPGs! Truly a game I will always love!

[@DanofWar101]

Yeah Joel you must ask me once a month if I've played RH yet and nope, still haven't lol! But if they they ever port it to the Switch or other modern consoles? I'll be the 1st in line to buy it since you've praised it so much!

[@leestrz4153]

An amazing game. I always recommend this and radiata stories to jrpg fans

[@JeannieLove]

I recently found out the ppl that worked on it also worked on Radiata Stories.

[@kr1me2000]

I think alot of people miss this game because the 3DS would release AMAZING games every months. The truth is that Radian Historia (the 3DS remake) was my favorite JRPG on the 3DS. Just talking about it i want to go back and play it again.

[@davidgarland8078]

Great list dude. Many of my top favorites as well. You got me emotional every time you started talking about your brother as I had that same relationship with mine. My youngest brother almost passed away from ketoacidosis and just playing some of his gamed gets me choked up now thinking about what could have happened. Moments like that make you appreciate life that much more. Take it easy dude. Definitely earned a subscriber

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you so much and I’m so terribly sorry you have all had to go through that… so scary and happy things worked out! Welcome to the community and I hope you have a wonderful week!

[@mattyclad9185]

If they remastered or even ported Radiant Historia to the Switch, I would buy it day one full stop. This game is 100% must play.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I completely agree!

[@hey.gamers20]

My top 3 is Grandia 2, Final Fantasy 6 and Skies of Arcadia, . Congratulations on 30k subscribers but you deserve much more , the quality of your content is always superb.

[@monicakislo7845]

grandia 2 is my favorite, i love the characters the most

[@hey.gamers20]

@@monicakislo7845 Ryudo, Elena , Millenia, Mareg, Tio , Melfice, Roan , Gatta love then all too.

[@SalKhayer]

I loved Grandia 1. Should I be giving 2 a shot these days? Mind you, I'm no longer 12yrs old and have a whole ass business and a family and shit to take care of, so I won't be able to dedicate as much time as I might want -- would playing sporadically be okay for me to get engrossed in the story/characters?

[@artoriuscinggisqahan382]

Why not ffix

[@hey.gamers20]

@@SalKhayer in my opinion Grandia 2 is timeless

[@atricks6418]

I feel like I'm the only person to have Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean in their top 10 JRPGs. Absolutely core childhood memory, pure nostalgic, and was the most unique combat system to me playing it. Also the endless side quests and fun systems of trapping magnus and using it on another item to open secrets/etc was so new and interesting.

[@danthompson2970]

Nice to see some love for Radiant Historia!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

It's so good!

[@danthompson2970]

My list: 10. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance 9. Dragon Quest V 8. Nier: Automata 7. Fire Emblem Awakening 6. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC 5. Xenoblade Chronicles 4. Persona 4 3. Suikoden II 2. Chrono Trigger 1. Final Fantasy VI Honorable mentions for Radiant Historia, Skies of Arcadia, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna, Persona 5, Dragon Quest XI, Octopath Traveler II, Secret of Mana, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden III, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Tales of Berseria, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Final Fantasy X, and Golden Sun.

[@backupschmliff1156]

Final Fantasy VII is NOT overrated. I can never choose between Persona 5, Final Fantasy VII, and Shin Megami Tensei IV. The three best of the big 3. The cast, story, and world is perfect in all three for me. Dragon Quest is at a respectable 5th place, with Trails sitting in 4th for me, as far as "the big x" goes.

[@lachlanwoolacott8698]

100% agree, 10/10, no notes. Massive W for the three GOATS

[@Mikey___]

Dude, huge congratulations to you for that recognition from Atlus, that's BIG! Thank you for the great video, I have a little overlap with you, most notably I'd have legend of heroes and Ys games in there. Still SMT V I am 100% with you, to this day I still hum the music from the Shiva fight!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you so much! Yeah Shivas theme is next level. Gosh yeah Ys and LoH deserve to be on anyone’s top 10. Fantastic picks!

[@UltimateDrDoom]

FFIX Skies of Arcadia Star Ocean 2 DQ11 DQ5 Persona 5 Royal Grandia II

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Fantastic list!

[@UltimateDrDoom]

In that order as well. With a shout out to Fire Emblem genealogy of the holy war and Tactics Ogre.

[@NoctLightCloud]

my favourite RPGs are also FFVII and FFX, and Kingdom Hearts 2

[@JasonwithaJay]

1. Chrono Trigger 2. Final Fantasy III (SNES) 3. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana 4. FFVII 5. Persona 5 Royal

[@medstudentmama1422]

The sprites of Chronotrigger. 😍 I played the PS1 at a friend's house and was always envious of her game selection.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Such fun memories!

[@Bluzlbee]

You should check out Seiken Densetsu 3, some of the most beautiful art ever and best OST ever

[@LayHon0217]

It's absolutely insane to me to imagine a top with games like Radiant Historia, golden era Final Fantasys, Chrono Trigger, P5R, and Xenogears, yet in the middle of it all there's ... freaking DQXI. Not dissing you out for this one, you like what you like, that just felt really out of place lol

[@JolteOnWisconsin]

My first persona game was vanilla persona 5, bought it on the PlayStation store on sale for 10 bucks. I was blown away by the presentation, story, characters, music…one of my favorite video games of all time!

[@rodolphdeguzman2228]

1st time ofc, final fantasy 6 is the bestf or me

[@unlucky_thir13en]

Saw this was a 30-minute video and planned on watching just a few segments. Ended up watching the whole thing. Great list, compelling coverage on each. Had me nodding my head on the games I played, and itching to check out the ones I haven't.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Awesome, thank you!

[@medstudentmama1422]

My wallet is lighter this morning because I couldn't wait to buy Radiant Historia.

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

My top 10: 10) Persona 4 9) Persona 5 8) Trails of Cold Steel 1 7) Dragon Quest 11 6) Trails of Cold Steel 4 5) Final Fantasy 8 4) Final Fantasy 10 3) Shining Force 3 2) Trails of Cold Steel 3 1) Final Fantasy 7

[@femtrooper]

Fantastic video!!! Also, OMG YES to games being favourites because of how they made you feel. This is what I am all about. That explains all of my favourite games!!!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I’m so happy I’m not alone there! That really is just the most important thing to me.

[@Makore94]

Nice list! I would add Golden Sun for sure.

[@inspired2rock1]

Wow…I’ve never come across another streamer with a top 10 list so incredibly close to my own. Subscribed 💯

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Wow, thanks! So cool!

[@leeroycgna]

Did you ever play any of the Suikodan games? I enjoyed #5 the most.

[@timeconsoomer]

As much as I love the persona/smt franchise, considering the sponsorship, I find it a bit too much to put 3 atlus games in the "top 10 of all time".

[@Lynrowen]

Early video from our man Ren!? Let's go!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Hope you enjoy!

[@ALHOW7]

Had to give you a like because I agree with your #1 and 2. 2 of the best jrpgs I’ve ever played. Also I agree that Persona 5 as 1 of the best soundtracks of all time.

[@slider5275]

Great list. I locked down Ann in P5R but I had a hard time choosing between Makoto, Hifumi, and Chihuya. But I ran with my Panther :)

[@thepaper888]

Don't forget to stop by ps3 eshop to get a ton of ps1/ps2 games not available elsewhere. Games that cost hundreds to over $1000 IRL for used copies for $6-$20 each on ps3 eshop. I know its digital and physical media is best, but if there is no other option and for the sake of preserving gaming history. Xenogears, Vagrant Story, all the Suikoden, Parasite Eve 1+2, old SMT/Persona, FF1-9, Tactics, Grandia , Mega Man Legends 1+2, Misadventures of Tron Bonne. Take advantage of the ps3 eshop while it's up. I know emulation is an option, just saying in case. RIP eshops: Wii Wii U DSi 3DS

[@DarioKalen_Kagenui]

Great list. Such amazing games. 🔥💖

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Glad you like them! And thank you!

[@RwnEsper]

Great list Ren! Mine would be a bit different, but all of these are respectable choices. Man, I'm SO behind on finishing my RPGs! For lists like this, I like to break them down by system: 1) Dragon Warrior 3, NES 2) FF4, SNES 3) Phantasy Star 4, Genesis 4) Breath of Fire 3, PS1 5) SMT 3, PS2 6) Golden Sun Duology, GBA 7) Chrono Trigger, NDS 8) SMT Devil Survivor OC, 3DS 9) Persona 5 Royal, PS4 (I STILL haven't finished it though!) 10) SMT 5, Switch (OR THIS ONE 😂) As always, this list is subject to change based on my mood. Also, these are my favorites; the 'BEST' games would be largely different, but these are the ones that made the most impact on ME when I played them.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Love your list! Gosh I am so excited to play Phantasy Star 4. It looks so amazing and a timeless classic. Thanks for sharing your list!

[@bigoleon]

What a game makes u feel…i agree. And God rest your brother. I still have mine but thinking of losing him or not having gotten to the adult finish line is crushing me. Subbed.

[@alexshinra1066]

1: final fantasy 7,x 2: chrono trigger 3:Grandia 4: luna Sylver star story 5:Persona 5 6: Dragon quest 8 7:lufia 2 8: Xenogears 9: breath of fire 4 10: wild arms

[@bepstein111]

Great list. Thanks for sharing!

[@mechaotakugamer]

My current top 10 would be Dot Hack Gu Vol3 Tales of the Abyss Ar Tonelico 2 Yakuza Like a dragon Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Final Fantasy 7 Remake Radiata Stories Persona 5 Royal Shining Force Exa Kingdom Hearts 2

[@NivraNabru]

#7 square should give it to GEMDROPS and let them cook xenogearsR please! with all full content of disc 2

[@Noumakara]

Star ocean r is so perfect. That’s what a remake should be!!!

[@Tyler16bit]

My JRPG playing grandma and I watched this video, and I was glad to see P5R and FF6 ranked so high as they're definitely up there for me!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

That’s so awesome! Your grandma sounds like the coolest!!!

[@AnimeAddictsPodcast]

Aside from one choice, this is one of the most solid top 10 lists I’ve seen. Good job.

[@Anthony-qt8wv]

I played Final Fantasy VII for over 900 hrs. That game really sucked me into it's world. I was trying to find my old saves I had on my memory card but it got lost somehow. :(

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

That's incredible!!! I'm sorry about your memory card tho....

[@asasipogi]

Make a new one!

[@user2125]

FF6 >>> FF7. FF7 was fortunate to find itself in a new generational stage and in the prime of the Play Station age, which allowed it to reach a larger audience. Sadly, FF6 was the opposite. When it didn't even have the name that corresponded to it called FF3 in the West and no one expected anything from it, not even Nintendo... Even so, with a small fan base compared to FF7, those of us who were lucky enough to play it know that with only 16 bits it can handle consoles twice as large...

[@PauloRPGGamer]

This is a great list! But for me it’s very hard to make a top 10 list because there’s so many great JRPGs specially in the 90s era, like Suikoden II

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Very true!

[@marcusbayley5126]

Persona 5 13 sentinels persona 4 ff7 remake octopath traveler 2 yakuza 7 radiant historia devil survivor trails in the sky sc persona 3.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Love your picks!

[@johnray527]

I had to think for a minute about what my Top 10 would be. I think we overlap by half: Chrono Trigger, Persona 5, Radiant Historia, FF6, and FF7 would all be on mine.

[@jeremiahstenzel789]

My personal favorites off the top of my head, not counting tactical or action rpgs: Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy 6, 7, 10 Dragon Quest 11 Persona 3. 4, 5 Trails of Cold Steel series Super Mario RPG

[@radicalcentrist4990]

I haven't played enough of them to have a top 10, so here is a top 5: 1. Persona 5 2. Persona 4 3. Final Fantasy X 4. Final Fantasy 7 5. Yakuza Like a Dragon FFX is the one that got me into JRPG's, so it will always be up here no matter what. Yakuza Like a Dragon is probably the odd pick here, but it does play like a JRPG, it has classes, leveling, it is party based, turn based combat, has tons of minigames, side quests.

[@shredda3165]

Thank you, I never got the hilarity of the ffx meme unless of course you never played it or didn't pay attention to the dialog literally seconds before....the context is definitely there

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I agree!

[@GT-li8wg]

Breathe of Fire 3 Vanguard Bandits Parasite Eve Ff7 Tactics: Wotl P5R Chrono Trigger Secret of Mana Star Ocean 2 FFX Off the top for me

[@kirindas4691]

Thanks for the list and congrats on the sponsored video! I still need to try 3 games on your list that I've never played. Legend of Dragoon, Xenogears, and SMT V. It's been so packed with games that I'm not sure when I'll be able to squeeze them in.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much! I’d love to hear what ya think of them if you pick them up and try them!

[@missionmetaverse5240]

A wonderful list! Final Fantasy VI is far and away for me #1. The other nine in no particular order are Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5 Royal, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Dragon Quest III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I didn't think it was possible, but the remake has passed the original for 7. The game has made me love the characters more than I ever did before.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for sharing and yeah remake made the characters I always love feel even more real!

[@missionmetaverse5240]

@@HallowedBeThyGame that's exactly how I feel!!!

[@linkvagar2336]

10. FFIX 9. FFVII 8. Fire Emblem: Three Houses 7. Suikoden V 6. Legend of Dragoon 5. Dragon Quest XI 4. FFX 3. Lost Odyssey 2. Persona 5 1. FFVIII

[@urlawyerslawyer788]

The Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy Tactics snubs hurt my soul lol I kid, this is a respectable list.

[@badmeetsevil6163]

Final Fantasy IX & Golden Sun snubs hurt too

[@ahmedema3389]

It’s really hard to choose between smt v, fire emblem three houses and y’’s8 the lacrimosa of dana But i would choose y’’s 8, everything about it is perfect, the story the combat the gameplay the characters, i love it

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Ys 8 is so incredible!

[@FlyingFistOfJuda]

Smt V over Chrono Trigger, FFX, and Dragon Quest 11 is absurd.

[@BriddahOnFire]

I myself am just not a fan of turn-based combat, and I'm not familiar with the older games of this genre, but Persona 5 Royal was just a masterpiece for me, where I didn't only not MIND the turn-based, but found it absolutely PERFECT for that game.

[@GeoChad71]

Great list man, great video period. I’m glad I found your channel.

[@dobadobadooo]

Solid list, though most of these picks were pretty easy to see coming lol. Anyways, my own top 10 JRPGs would be (I know you said only turn-based games, but eh): 10. *Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride* 9. *Persona 4 Golden* 8. *Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology* 7. *Yakuza 0* 6. *Chrono Trigger* 5. *Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King* 4. *Suikoden II* 3. *Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door* 2. *Skies of Arcadia Legends* 1. *Tales of Symphonia*

[@dinsmeteorite5068]

Great list although when you talked about Final Fantasy VI you had a moment where you talked about a completely different game it sounded like. Macca in Final Fantasy instead of Gil? VI has multiple different endings? Mine top 10 are: 1) Final Fantasy VII 2) Persona 4 Golden & Royal 3) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door 4) Fire Emblem Awakening 5) Xenoblade Chronicles 6) Chrono Trigger 7) Mother 3 8) Terranigma 9) Dragon Quest XI 10) Tales of Symphonia

[@nicoperez1064]

I wholeheartedly agree that all these games are amazing, must play games for JRPG fans, but limiting how many games per franchise would've helped spread the love. One game I am totally fell in love with was Yakuza 7/Like A Dragon 7/Yakuza: Like A Dragon, whatever you want to call it. For anyone that hasn't played it, if you like turn based JRPGs, I can say without a doubt that you will come to at least like it if not love like I do. I've probably played through it 3-4 times already, just so I can be with those characters in that world and using the systems and mechanics to interact with them. And I can confidently say I will be playing through it again before playing the next instalment

[@WallyWallcakes]

Radiant Historia! I played Perfect Chronology on the 3DS for the first time a couple of years back and...wow. I can't believe I never played it sooner. It was sooooo much fun. I definitely need to go back and play it again. Nice video! Some great games in here!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

That's awesome! Radiant Historia is truly one for the history books!

[@FrappMocha]

Congrats Hallowed on 30K Subs!! Just a matter of time for you to reach that. Congrats as well for the Atlus sponsorship! Well deserved m8! Quite a list here! Legend of Dragoon and FFVII is my jam as well. Some of these I haven't played but in a pick up list, like SMTV and Persona 5. Awesome vid, Hallowed! Keep rocking my dude 🍻👍

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks a ton! And I cannot wait to hear what ya think of SMTV and Persona 5! Hope you enjoy them and thanks for all the support!

[@DarkAkuma86]

I would definitely add Lunar Silver Star Story Complete and Legend of Legaia. If you haven’t played legend of legaia i would definitely recommend as though the combat isn't groundbreaking, its still a lot of fun choosing high, low, left, and right and discovering special attacks hidden behind certain combinations. Then add that you dont learn any spells, you just have a small chance to absorb enemies when landing a killing blow and can then summon them as spells later. It also blew me and my brothers mind in the age of the PS1 with your equipment changing the way your characters looked in combat.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@sang3tsu]

My top JRPGs are Persona 5 Royal, Grandia 3, Dragon Quest 8, Fire Emblem Three Houses and Path of Radiance, and Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2.

[@simeon9506]

What a great and surprisingly emotional video. It reminded me of the times I shared with my brothers and sisters playing various games while sharing a save file. We can’t find the time to play anymore.

[@josegurrola9021]

Very little experience in the JRPG genre. Played persona 4 golden and recently finished P5R. 100+ hours of just pure excellence and fully support it as a contender for top soundtracks of all time Have SMT V and FF7 so those will be moving up on my backlog. Thanks for the video

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

Love this list! Great to see the Legend of Dragoon, Chrono Trigger, FFVI, and FFVII all on the same list! It sounds like I need to check out the Persona series. Cheers and rock on!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much! Hope you let me know what you think if you do!

[@sethchandler4170]

Start with persona 4 golden before you play persona 5. 4 is the superior game. It has the better story, the better music and the better cast of characters. While 5 is more slick, stylized and has the better dungeons, in every other regard it feels like a second rate attempt at a copy of what 4 did right.

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

@@sethchandler4170 thanks for the pro-tips!

[@mcbill7352]

​@ChicagoRetroGamer ignore him tbh. There is so much contention between fans as to which is the beat you can only really decide for yourself. I would suggest p5 first as it is more modern and approachable, however p4 golden is absolutely fantastic as well

[@sethchandler4170]

@@mcbill7352 If you play 4 first you can see all the ways 5 tried and failed at copying the successes of 4. 4 has the better cast of characters, the better setting and a better and tighter story. The goal and mission of 4 is logically consistent as well. 5 tries to recreate the Scooby gang effect of 4 but doesn't take the care in the story to properly do it. 5's story is such an inconsistent mess that the main cast questions whether they are the villains and never produce a good answer because the morality of 5 is a giant rats nest of nonsense. What they grapple with in 4 is a murder mystery in a small town. What they grapple with in 5 is justifying brainwashing people for their own admittedly ill begotten ideology. In 5 you are doing a Stepford wives to people and justifying it without any real thought or explanation greater than because we say so. It's the same logic people have used to justify eugenics which is why people with any understanding see it as evil no matter how virtuous or pure the people employing it claim to be. Like many things modern, persona 5 is bells and whistles with rat turds inside and persona 4 is a masterpiece in aged and weathered graphics and procedurally generated dungeons. Start with 4 it's masterfully efficient and has no wasted moments. It is much more about substance and it's music is also masterpiece quality.

[@DJRQD2]

Dude. I think you have almost the same taste in RPGs as I do. Great list!! I was watching like agree, agree, agree and then you got to Radiant Histora. Super agree!! That game surprised me so much that I first played it on the DS and went out a bought a 3ds just to play the 3ds version with the voiced dialogue. Top 5 best rpg of all time!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Hey, thanks! Radiant Historia is so incredible! Psyched a fan of it is watching!

[@asafpm8196]

While I agree that SMTV is one of the best games I've ever played, I don't think it's the best one. SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked beats it in all aspects except for exploration imo

[@pricebless]

Legend of Dragoon was my husband’s favorite game. He’s passed away and I loved watching him playing that game. He is the reason I got into playing rpgs today.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I’m so terribly sorry for your loss.. there’s a magic in games that can preserve memories of our loved ones perfectly. Thank you for sharing your story!

[@shoked99]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks for watching!

[@DanofWar101]

Congrats on 30K + subs! It's totally deserved! And what a fantastic list! There's only 1 series that I think I've never heard you mentioned before and it's Suikoden? Have you ever played any of them? It's my favorite series and Suikoden 2 is my favorite game of all time! Doing those top 10 lists are hard to do because besides my top 3 the rest of them can all move depending on how I feel on a certain day! So here's my Top 3: Suikoden 2 (PS1), Dragon Force (Saturn), Parasite Eve (PS1). But 1 game this year that completely made me question revisiting my Top 25 list is Sea of Stars... Holy Hell what a game that was! You talk about emotions in games well that one definitely made feel something and it's rare that it happens! Have you heard and or tested the HD Texture Packs for emulators on PC? Because one was made for Xenogears by a fan and it's impressive! Great video and keep up the good work!

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks so much for all the support and it’s genuinely a blast chatting about games with you! I sadly haven’t played Suikoden series yet but will be there day 1 for the remasters! They look incredible 🤩 also Sea of Stars would absolutely make this list if it went up to 25, that game is something special and an instant classic!

[@gun-nut]

I also love the suikoden series with 2 being my favorite

[@stevzor]

Hey man great video! I remember playing FF7 back in the day and man oh man I Was hooked into that story something crazy right off the bat, it just completely captured me, I remember it being so exciting getting off the train at the beginning and running through fighting with Barret and the crowd haha, brilliant game and story. I'm actually just about to pick up the new steam deck oled for the purpose of chilling out away from the pc desk to play through all the Final Fantasy games as I've yet to play/complete a good number of them! After the FF's are all done I will be looking for the next JRPG series to get stuck in to!

[@elsiebartlett6808]

Was looking at your thumbnails, and couldn’t understand how you didn’t have FFVII on the list. So glad I was wrong. Subscribed. Great list! A lot I still haven’t had a chance to play, though I have the hardware. This video is pushing me to pick some of these up, thanks!

[@TheLegendarySwordMaster]

Final Fantasy vii ix x x-2 xv kingdom hearts 1 2 3 bbs ddd mom and tales of xillia and eternal sonata persona 4 golden and persona 5 royal my list

[@yannispirou101]

Persona 4/5 Final Fantasy 6/7/7R/9 Xenoblade Chronicles 1/3 Nier Replicant/Automata

[@felman87]

Congrats on the 30k subs

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you so much 😀

[@cadenfrankovich2694]

No love for Trails😭😭 Great list though! Id swap out FF6 for trails in the sky fc & sc, personally😁

[@keymo9480]

Great list! I definitely need to check out Radiant Historia. It gets brought up a lot in lists and I just never have gotten the motivation to get into it before.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thank you and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you give it a go!

[@keymo9480]

@@HallowedBeThyGame I will definitely look up a let’s play of it. Nowadays I don’t play games. I just watch Let’s Players like it’s Netflix. Haha

[@ShadowOfMassDestruction]

Persona 3 FES holds a special place in my heart. I know the Remake just came out and it's fantastic but the old crusty graphics and the calm, creepy vibe of old P3 just brings back memories of joy, I'm also just sentimental for games on the PS2 in general lol.

[@Jrdotan]

Mine would be very different, there was a time i got SO invested into Jrpgs i ended up finishing every localized game in the snes kibrary and thays saying a lot (as well as some fan translated titles) My top 10 would be: 10- SaGa 2 (gameboy): Customization and replayability are quite high, i really like the race system and how its well integrated into the gameplay, you can play as a grindy race such as humans or go to addaptative ones such as monsters, combat is very simple but fun, builds are very diverse, i love the music and find the overall experience unforgettable. 9- Kingdom hearts 2: i used to love this, much less so now because plot sucks way too much, but theres not a single action rpg battle system better than this one. 8- SMT devil survivor: the only one i could get into, no shitty dungeons like the rest of the series and even tho the systems are extremely simplistic, plot progression and overall characterization is quite op tier 7- Dragon quest 3: awesome customization, great encounter design (as good as frontier's), excellent dungeons and fantastic class system, plot sucks, but everything else is up there. The best DQ as far as im concerned. 6- Final fantasy 9: not the biggest FF fan, but this one is great. I had a blast with how great the cast is and how natiral theie chemistry felt, pacing was mostly good and i liked the minigames in this game, itemization was surprisingly good eitger, not a single item was useless and it really helped into bringing everything together. Sadly dungeon design isnt good and the plot gets fucked up at the end, but it was good until that point.. 5- Atelier iris: i always loved this game since i was a children, its very easy, so quite good as an introductory jrpg and it has such a good pacing and calm atmosphere. Dungeons are nice and the alchemy system is quite addictive, even after so many years o still remember its OST and nice feel, very comfy. 4- Front mission 3: I LOVE mecha and this is fucking Top tier mecha experience, i love everything about its customizarion and setting, its such an awesome experience and i really love jow different the plot is compared to its contemporanies. 3- Chrono trigger: Legendary as it is, i dont think anybody would doubt about this pick. 2- Nier replicant: Best cast of characters and its mostly solid as a story and quite memorable as an experience. I loved what yoko taro did with this game. It felt like a massive tribute to videogames as a whole. 1- SaGa frontier: all around peak,i love its battle systemand the fact exploration isnt done based on quests for the most part, but just optional if you desire to do so, every character having different final bosses and the themes being so fun ans diverse helps,. The techs are awesome and i really dig its OST either. Honorable mentions: Treasure of rudras, Suikoden 3 (this game villain is the best one ive ever seen in jrpgs), wiild arms 3, grandia, EVO theory of creation, treasure of rudras and FF tactics.

[@jefferrrson1x]

Subscribed due to your 3ds list. And one of the best handles of all time. 🙏🏽 lol so good.

[@icedmosquito109]

Definitely going to give Legend of Dragoon a shot now that you recommended it.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Hope you have as much fun as I did!

[@CJ_IceCissalc]

Such a great list! So many incredible games and like you’ve mentioned, the task of picking the games and leave so many great games out is such a difficult task! Hearing you talk about how much the gameplay and combat system impact on the overall how the JRPG works and how it’s essential to keep the player into continuing the game is so true! You gave the example in Crono Trigger active battle system, or the materia system in FFVII, so true! Have you played the Grandia 2 game? For me it has the best battle system on a turn based game it feels so natural organic, it’s such a shame imo that I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else. And since the first time I’ve played it I kept wondering how the Pokémon games would feel with a blend of Grandia 2’s battle system blended with the Active Battle of Crono Trigger. Maybe I should create a interactive demo of how it would be and see if people would like it as much as I picture it in my mind and who knows at some point we get a game like this in the franchise

[@lambertar]

Grandia 2 was such a great game ❤

[@devinreed21]

Great list. My favorite JRPG of all time is easily Persona 5 Royale. I’ve beaten it twice and am about to start it again for the 3rd time!

[@lachlanwoolacott8698]

Persona 5 Royal and Final Fantasy 7 are the Goats

[@nickmaestro]

Such great choices. Final Fantasy X was my very first JRPG, wow what a journey. Xenogears along with FFX are the only games to date where I shed multiple tears at the ending. I just finished Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology, absolutely incredible!!! FF6 is my favorite of the old school FF titles, FFVII original was great for me until we left Midgar. The story sort of spiraled out of control for me. This was after playing Final Fantasy Tactics.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

FFX and Xenogears hit so hard man, thanks for sharing and happy you enjoyed the video!

[@ryukan250]

Interesting thoughts on FFVII...I also thought the story became a bit messy and the graphics...dear god, it might be the ugliest JRPG i've ever seen - both in the blocky polygons and the bleak steampunk setting of the Midgar world. The modern remake is beautifully crafted in the graphics and world building department but again, I found the story lacking and I didn't really care for most of the characters.

[@Ausluc007]

FF 4, 6,7, 13, 15, and 16 are my top FFs. Xenogears is my fav jrpg of all time followed by the XBC series. The first XBC is my very favorite out of those. I really liked Legend of Dragoon and Radiant Historia. Radiant Historia is the jewel of rpgs on the DS. Chrono trigger really good. I still gotta play Chrono Cross someday and FF 10 and 12. Last story is high up there too and I never hear about that game. Tales of Symphonia and Berseria. Fire Emblem Three Houses and Engage. Not really as into Dragon Quest and Persona, but I really liked Persona 4 Golden. I never played SMT yet. Golden Sun games were good. Mario TTYD and Bowsers Inside Story are really gun. Secret of Mana was a favorite childhood one. Harvestella is excellent and feels like such an old school square game while feeling modern at the same time with beautiful visuals. That is all I can think of right now, but I have played lots more rpgs over time so I am sure there are more.

[@TheBlueDeath123]

Your channel is booming! Gratz! My fav is FF6 but FF10 is in my top 10. Uematsu is a genius

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I sincerely appreciate all the support of the years too my friend. It's been a blast talking about our favorite games!

[@TheBlueDeath123]

@@HallowedBeThyGamealways happy to nerd out lol

[@medstudentmama1422]

I wonder how punishing the "merciless" difficulty is in Persona 5 Tactics?

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Haha good question 😳

[@joelabraham6834]

It's not that hard to beat the game, but super hard to do some of the optional objectives.

[@viddysgamingviddyos4710]

Well I like Persona 5/Royal, Final Fantasy 6 and 7 and especially Chrono Trigger. Oh wait there are 6 other games here I've not played...

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Would love to hear what ya think of them if ya get a chance to play them

[@Kross415]

To Zanarkand will always be one of the best songs in videogames ever.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

I agree!

[@JoseChavez-fz2ty]

I can't believe you've done this to me... having to choose?! Your list is fantastic. We have some crossover with Radiant Historia and FF6. Both of those games are in my list for pretty much the reasons you listed. Here are a couple of games that jumped out at me when i first thought of when asked this question. - Persona 4: by the time this game came out i was already a SMT fan and had bought a few of their previous titles (like P3). P4 has a great cast, interesting dungeons, the social link system and the press turn combat. I also loved the thought that was put into the design and decisions behind the characters and their Tarot designations. Dragon quest 6: fragments of a forgotten past. ....i am a sucker for job systems. This game is a slow burn... but i appreciate that this game took its time without feeling padded. Gave me room to explore and get to know the cast while also letting me explore the different jobs. Final Fantasy Tactics. Job system? This is the game that introduced me to that mechanic and I loved trying to break the game. First game i ever put more than 100 hours into. At this point i would refining the war ofb the lions version over the original but both are great. Last but not least Star ocean 2nd story (and potentially the remake). This was my absolute favorite game for a long time. The various party members, the 2 story lines... the private actions that let you see everyone interact... then there's the combat and the crafting systems that are so well done. There's so much to chew on in the game. I could talk about it forever Honorable mentions: Suikoden 1, chained echoes and valkyrie profile

[@Rohan_Trishan]

Nice list. I will have to check out the game "Radiant Historia" since I have seen multiple recommendations that it was a great game. I've missed out on plenty of the handheld only games.... but my favorite RPG for handhelds is "Golden Sun", which is an amazing game that came out on the gba. It is a pretty popular and favorite choice for top ten lists, esp for handheld or sprite based games. But yea, cool game with the classic "world will end" scenario... the combat system was turn based for the most part, and u could collect these "djins" which were like an armor or weapon but in the form of an alien looking pokemon style pet. But they had 1/4 of the elemental affinities, earth fire wind water (ur 4 man party had a character who specialized in one of those elements), so a wind djinn that when attached would buff your stats plus give u extra abilities and spells you could learn while using it. But it was fun, had a whole world to explore and story to watch develop, there were some dungeons too with little puzzles that u had to solve and even use the djin magic to push/pull stuff or light some torch with fire or swim over water and everything like that. It had a sequel which was just as good, basically the same game style with a few improvements or additions, and this time your party included people u ran into or fought in the first game as enemies..... so the sequel was like seeing the story from the other perspective, whcih was interesting. I also never played any of the shin megami tesnai/persona games, despite it being a popular recommendation. I dont have any newer systems so I can't replay anything released for console in the last 10-15 years, but could prob find some older versions thru emulation...... if they got a SMT/persona game for gba advanced or DS, or even snes, then perhaps I will check it out. I don't have the time to grind out lvls like I used to, but if the actual gameplay combat and story is good then I prob won't even care and just binge on the gameplay for fun. Also, a remake of Xenogears would be amazing. Everyone wants to see what the game would be like if they had a chance to finish their story and add in real content to that 2nd disc, instead of being rushed and having to just skip most of it with summaries and cutscenes. Not sure if the original creators and story devs are interested in it.... but it should happen. I loved Legend of Dragoon too.... it was called an "FF clone", but that could be said for any turn based rpg. But cool story and character design, I loved the dragoon transformations or armor look but its too bad that the dragoon forms happened rarely and not super powerful like you would think. The combat and timed attack system is something I always liked..... might force u to pay attention to push the correct buttons on time, instead of just mindless spam attack to get past an enemy encounter..... so yea u did have to pay more attention, but stll fun to learn the patterns for the vairious special techniques.

[@DominikChoczynski-ev1ie]

God bless you brother. I share very very similar memories with The Legend of Dragoon, Final Fantasy 10 (I cried when I replayed it last year), and of course Final Fantasy 7! My all time favorite not just JRPG but game of all time!

[@omegaweapon116]

I'd put both Dragon Quest VIII and XI on that list. And I know a lot of people don't like FFXIII, but I just played the whole trilogy recently and really enjoyed it. Music, gameplay, graphics...it was all great

[@dalastdon2574]

XIII gets way too much hate. I really liked the cast even though the story is nonsense. The battle system might be my favorite version of the ATB style.

[@zachholstine]

Got radiant historia in my backlog and definitely got to get to it soon. A couple different ones from my list is trails of cold steel and golden sun 1-2

[@Solid--Snake]

xenogears will forever be my favorite turn based rpg, and one of my favorites of all time. an experience i'll never forget

[@ryanoneill9333]

Hey man, hope all is well. Great list and breakdown!! Much appreciated.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

Thanks, you too! I’m doing great and hope you are as well!

[@ryanoneill9333]

@HallowedBeThyGame you definitely do a great job when you explain things about the games. Thanks again.

[@sergioolivares9837]

FF7 is one of the best games ever made. You had to play it around the time it was released to truly understand it’s impact.

[@HallowedBeThyGame]

That's so true, the majority of haters have no idea how much of a game changer FF7 was when it launched

[@adamt2748]

I’m so happy you gave LoD some love