Top 5 Most Criminally Underrated SNES JRPGs (30th Anniversary)

[@LightFykki]

Always glad to see a video like this to remind myself of my ever-growing backlog.

[@isidoro19david65]

Yup,at the moment i am playing dragon Quest Monsters for gbc and Dragon Quest 2,there is still a ton of RPGs that are on my list

[@MegaKabou]

30 years and the Illusion of Gaia music still brings me back. I loved that game

[@frankmyers8062]

Such a great game. Secret of mana has an amazing soundtrack as well.

[@nadirsaleh7839]

Spot on bro! Terranigma and Lufia 2 are some of my favourite games on the SNES

[@jackal327]

Lufia 2 is the truly best hidden gem, I played this game so much, it's a great part of my childhood.

[@civoreb]

I fucking love this game. My favorite SNES rpg personally

[@adamclark8994]

"Long live the Nintendo.' Great video. I'm looking forward to playing some SNES rpg's one day.

[@koekjpg5376]

I saw the Ark thumbnail and I liked it since Terranigma is my favorite game of all time. Then I remembered you also liked Lufia II, my second favorite game of all time, and wondered if that would get a spot on here as well. I was not disappointed.

[@ReaveIdono]

Lufia 2 is my favorite JRPG of all time. Sometimes tied with Wild Arms 2 if I've been playing it.

[@arronknox2884]

i love ogre battle so much. I've only beat it twice, but I really love the class system and the upgrades to the units. I do with they had more to the classes but it's amazing none the less

[@tanguyremond6383]

One of my favorite JRPG of all time (which is so unduratted and ignored by critics) is Live a Live. The game is so cool with his multiple characters and scenario where each one take place in a different time period. If you have never played this game, go check it out. Btw the soundtrack is made by Yoko Shimomura, aka the composer of Kingdom Hearts and the Mario & Luigi.

[@RyotoCZ]

Lufia 2 was my first true JRPG I played, so it was like my introduction to this genre... so good memories with that game, and man... that soundtrack was so beautiful. And before that it was... well, also probably JRPG, but it was on NES and is probably less known... Little Ninja Brothers, haha... but it wasnt bad. It had action combat, but boss fights were turn based...

[@lindenstromberg6859]

Terranigma is probably one of my top 6 favourite games from the 16-bit era, if not #1. My other top 5 are Dragon Quest 5, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy 6, and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. All were SNES games, although it's the only one that actually came out on SNES where I live, officially... although games like CT and FFIII/6 were fairly easy to get via import... Earthbound was more difficult and more expensive, but luckily I was able to get a deluxe version with the guide and some other things included... the guide is the best guide I've ever seen in a game, written like a vacationers pamphlet.

[@GT-li8wg]

Holy cow I am SO grateful to see a Lufia game as number one. The story, the balance, the flow. This game was my childhood joy lol. Secret of Evermore would have been my other choice.

[@DannyDDeMaio]

Terranigma is my FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIMES

[@finaltheorygames1781]

The SNES really proved itself as a system because it was strong enough to compete head to head against the 32 bit systems at the such as the Playstation and Sega Saturn, thanks to its expansion chips and great games.

[@roguerifter9724]

I'm not sure about five but Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen, Secret of Evermore, and Robotrek would make this list.

[@sleeperyjeemtoybox]

Tee-Hee, still got the first 3 sitting (gray import at £60 a game back then), Ogre is probably my fav of the three, my fav tactic was making a unit with 3 werewolves and using night bells to give me their 3 attacks bonus...such an easy exploit. Oh and loved the different story endings that you see you exulted as a saviour or assassinated as a villain.

[@nickbuckman6765]

Great list man, but one quick correction - Illusion of Time is the alternate title (used in Europe and Australia), while Illusion of Gaia is the original (used in Japan and North America).

[@Sinistralx]

I'm sitting here, scrolling through the comments, seeing multiple people who have played Lufia 2... And I'm almost just brought to tears... Like the bridge of time, Just for a little while, has been connected. Before there were great graphics, high-powered systems, extra downloadable content, etc... There was just a simple game on a simple system. But that game... Caused more sleepless nights, more hair tearing curses, more controller throwing frustration... And ultimately.... More tears and tissues than any other RPG I've ever played before. The very words in the instruction manual: 'The world of Lufia... Is much larger than most RPG worlds.' And for that time back then, It was overwhelmingly so... The journey was merciless, long and hard, filled with triumphs and utter blackest defeats. It boasted, to this day, one of, if not the greatest optional dungeons (99 floors of the no save Ancient Cave) I've ever come across in an RPG. .... And it was worth every single damn second. I like to think of myself as a traveler, trying my damned hardest to liberate as many of these RPG worlds as possible... But the particular events of Lufia... Still haunt me even to this day. Of all the titles I have ever played, This one here, hands down had the biggest effect on my jrpgic career. The skills I was forced to develop (back then I had no internet access whatsoever... So spending 8 hours on one puzzle...yeah..) Have stuck with me nearly 25 years later because of it. All I can say is if you, reading this, haven't played Lufia 2 to completion... Add it to your to do list today. It's worth it... And that's the understatement of 2021. I've been impressed with your channel for quite some time Eric... but If you put Lufia as the number one... I guess it's undisputable proof that you've been around the world and back again. Hats off to ya.

[@decusq]

Lufia 2 also has some of the best Battle music and Boss themes from the Snes era. The Sinistral Boss theme alone is praiseworthy.

[@civoreb]

#1 is my favorite SNES jrpg and only one I have played through more than once

[@ThePerro]

I loved the first Breath of Fire, especially the soundtrack!

[@nickwierenga987]

Don't feel bad about only owning super Mario rpg it's Deff one of the best there is

[@paulyshore1942]

It’s so weird to me seeing so much Lufia 2 love 20 ish years later. I lived that game and assumed hardly anyone noticed it or liked it at the time

[@lazyPawdy]

I loved BoF. It’s mechanics was great! I played it in my teens when everyone was on their ps2, but I still liked snes games lol.

[@Fhuru09]

Terranigma at the beginning i didn´t like but i tried again one of the best action rpg i ever played, the gameplay is better than the most games today and the story blown my mind and the ending what a twist, the cultural references were spot on. Please don´t ask for a remake it´s a bad ideia these days.

[@mmert138]

Absolutely! It is such a shame that not many people know this game. The tie-ins with real world is really awesome and the story made me cry like a child in my 25 years of age.

[@Falconslash3]

Lufia II is indeed amazing for it's time. For me the onyl thing I'd change with a remake would be an optional hard mode like with most JRPGS

[@Swaytekk]

Go Eric! I love the SNES and the loooooooong list of RPGs it has

[@tommymohlen8919]

Pleasure as always my good Sir! Glad i actully own some of these golden nuggets

[@oatsen1618]

Lufia 2 is my favorite game of all time. Still play it.

[@cooldj06]

Same here, it’s easily top 5 for me because nostalgia lol

[@gensaikawakami341]

Damn, SNES is younger than me?? Time to start crossing off ye olde bucket list I guess.

[@Dresden0478]

Lufia 2!!!! My favorite jrpg of all time hands down.

[@toddbegin5217]

Dragon View should be on this list! For a sequel to the laughable Drakkhen, they did an amazing job on the second!

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Agreed, I really liked that one for what it was.

[@Yemith_Gaming]

Glad to see your channel growing, I think I subscribed when you were in the thousands., loved the first 3 games. Ogre Battle and Breath of Fire 1. I know I beat Legend of Gaia but don't remember it at all. Ogre Battle I got a semi bad ending, but I never completed another playthrough although I started many. I beat Lufia, enjoyed it. Lufia 2 started but never finished.

[@videogamersadvocate9925]

The Super Nintendo is where my love of JRPGs started but there are so many I've never played. That's not even counting the ones that were released exclusively on the Super Famicom in Japan. From this video, I want to try Illusion of Gaia.

[@damaged_good7666]

Still play Illusion of Gaia at least once every 2 years. It's my favorite SNES game and COMPLETELY underrated. Glad this title got some attention on your channel, Erick!

[@UKMikey]

I don't care, BoF 1 is my favourite BoF. I guess because it was my first

[@Absorber999]

Terranigma is truly criminally underrated. It was WAY ahead of its time in terms of Action RPG gameplay and story

[@mmert138]

Totally agreed. It has one of the best stories in ideo games, even counting the modern games.

[@gonzalowong9894]

I agree breath of fire 1 is an eccellent tirle. I just love that game. All these underrated jrpgs are pretty awesome. I had hard times at luffia 1 and I still haven't beaten it, cuz I don't know where to go. I haven't played ogre battle for a simple reason. I suck at strategy rpgs

[@maclovio9015]

Excellent list. As someone who grew up as a teen with SNES RPGs, this list is 100% accurate. My cardinal sin was not giving Lufia II a try. 25 years later, as of this post, I'm playing it and enjoying it! I love the fact that it didn't try to be another FF clone. Only 5hours into the game but it has pulled me in. I feel like like a teen back in the 90s when I play this game. p.s. Ogre Battle is an acquire taste. Excellent game/series if you can get pass the micro-management part.

[@oziphantom9465]

The reason I've seen for why America didn't get Terranigma was ; It was 1996 and the US market for the SNES was really small, they had moved on to the PS1 and Nintendo 64. While in the PAL region the N64 wasn't out yet and the SNES market was still decent.

[@Mana2Burn]

I played and cherished all of these games. Great list.

[@ShyamWolf]

and here I have played all of them and LOVED them all... and yes lufia 2 is in the top 5 all time best JRPGS up there with chrono trigger,

[@cooldj06]

Yes! I loved both of them, some of my oldest memories are me playing lufia 1.

[@nightvampire1]

Loved the Breath of Fire and Lucia games. Beat Gaia also but put it just under the other two. Ogre wasn't really my thing. The most surprising RPG for me and very enjoyable was Tecmo Secret of the Stars.

[@frankmyers8062]

I've never heard of secret of the stars... I missed that one.

[@nightvampire1]

I just saw the name at a rental store one day. I always associated Tecmo with sports. I thought it would be terrible since it was a genre they never did but the name made me curious. I am glad I took a chance and tried it.

[@EvilHienSan]

Played Orge Battle from start to finish...twice. Once with the normal and last with best ending with almost every character and gear piece. Heck, even had a couple Liches with 100 in Charisma and Alignment.

[@chronofantasy1987]

Yep. I've played through every single one of these games. Even in the early 2000s these games were hard to get but in the early 2000s on my very own windows 2000 PC with a 2GB hard drive I used to emulate snes and just about every RPG on there back then. So although these games are hard to get physically if you want to collect there's this other option. However, the first breath of fire can be played right now digitally through the snes app on the Nintendo switch if you pay $24 a year for their online membership.

[@josephcoffey2175]

I've only played 2 of these listed titles BOF and lufia 2, and I agree lufia 2 is seriously under rated, and one of my favorite jrpg titles on snes, I like it just as much as crono trigger, great memories of playing these titles, wish I could've checked out the other titles, they all look fun, and great video 👍🏻

[@Xebusc]

Breath of fire 1 is the only one I’ve beat lol

[@bernardoespindola2987]

Lufia 2 is indeed one of the best jrpgs ever made... idk why so many haven't played it... Great vid

[@RamundHallgrimsson]

Word to God Lufia 2 is the best JRPG experience I've had on the system, more than some classics I've played before it like FF4 and CT. The plot and characters felt somewhat more homely and cozy, the puzzles were great fun for me simple as they might be (except THE HARDEST PUZZLE OF ALL TIME that one took me ages), beating the first Gades encounter is still one of my fondest JRPG memories, the item system with pretty much everything having a skill you could use is genius, and Ancient Cave could be a game all on its own and offers more replayability than most other games of its era. An even bigger crime than how underrated it is, is what has been done to the series after it, Lufia didn't deserve the fate that befell it after Lufia 2.

[@alucardvania986]

Good list Erik! Recently I had some good fun playing through Robotrek and Aretha. Robotrek is definitely a bit different due to the battle system and robot creation, whereas Aretha is very much your typical rpg stuff but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

[@Sinistralx]

Woah... Another fellow traveler who knows Robotrek. My very first RPG almost some 30 years ago...god.. still love that game today.

[@alucardvania986]

@@Sinistralx a little challenging too which is always welcome. Must have been tough for a 1st rpg. I can only assume not that many played it because of the awful boring box art that does not represent the game at all!

[@Sinistralx]

@@alucardvania986 XD I never did understand why that pic (a spacecraft?) was on the box. But ya, it was indeed challenging…and I learned so much about rpg mechanics from just that game. Up until that time I’d always been a fan of side scrollers, with Megaman being my favorite. Seeing a boss/enemies that I had to rationally consider my actions against was a game changer, to say nothing of gradually seeing myself getting stronger while learning more about an interesting story. 30 years later…and haven’t looked back since.

[@isaachernandez3830]

totally agree on the Lufia II one of my favourites on the SNES, see you guys next time!

[@jole8723]

That ps2 inyuasha game was pretty fun though. I was wondering when it was going to pop up on one of your vids.

[@astaynax7531]

I'm happy to say I've finished all the games in the list. The sad part of it is I rented all the games(outside of terranigma for obvious reasons for someone living in North America) and wasn't able to buy the games to help the developers out....

[@mitsurugi999]

Lufia 2 is one of the best jRPGs out there. Finished it 3 times as a kid and loved it entirely.

[@countzrathknock6737]

Lufia 2 was my favorite Game on the SNES. Honestly may be my favorite game of all time.

[@geraldulm5008]

Lufia 2 is by far my favorite game of all time. It was wayyyyyyy ahead of its time.

[@Terrancontrol]

I like them all on the list, but Illusion of Gaia is one of the highest stories. When I was a kid, I thought the game too hard and the story confusing. As an adult, the game seemed so easy and the story a thing to remember forever. If it was a novel, I would have seen it as a masterpiece. Ambitious for the era.

[@virgilioperez830]

Ogre battle was one of my favorite snes rpgs. Man I put so much time in that game going from spot to spot. Trying to find all the hidden treasures. And another great rpg is bahamut lagoon 😗🤏🤌

[@tommyzorera]

Stretching 8:7 content to 16:9 makes makes Baby Jesus cry.

[@nickwierenga987]

What!? There's an inuyasha game!? Gotta check that out boss

[@FredSpade]

SNES is my favourite console.

[@petryz2tv]

Erick have you ever played Dark Law Meaning of Death? it's an awesome SNES JRPG and I feel like it's very underappreciated, great video as always!

[@ChrisZerotani]

Terranigma is fantastic! And Lufia 2 too. These games are on my top 10 best games of all times.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

Great list, Id probably only add Robotrek because almost no one has heard of it and its a really fun unique game.

[@radonstone]

Currently playing March of the Black Queen. The alignment system is a pain in the ass but overall it has been very enjoyable. Terrnigma is one i have yet to finish, great game too. Lufia 2, beat it some years back, another banger.

[@mmert138]

Damn, Terranigma is one of the best experiences I have ever lived. Everyone must play and get depressed because of this game at least once in their life.

[@helmutast9888]

Nice Video. Whats about those two games: Live A Live and Rudra No Hihou; I think they are great and criminaly underrated too

[@gametourny4ever627]

Couldn’t agree more with these picks and happy to say I own all of them. Only have finished Breath of Fire and Lufia 2 though. Need to play the others.

[@steammachine3061]

Terranigma is often the game i completely forget about when im emulating. Mainly as when im downloading rom sets its usually the north American versions i download so completely forget terranigma. Im rather supprised i havent seen you cover a list of best English patched rpgs as there doesnt seem to be a day that goes by without an rpg on some system getting an english patch. Its a very neglected area of gaming by many reviewers and there's always something new to discover

[@zodiacknightleo1209]

Completely agree with Lufia 2. I've logged more hours in that game than Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 2 and 3, and Breath of Fire 1 combined. The ending still makes me feel sad.

[@teefa85]

I actually liked the first Breath of Fire better than the second. Mostly due to the Dragon system...one was abusive, sure, but two over-corrected since you got one shot unless you restored your MP. I'm happy the PSX games found a happy balance with the losing SP every turn system. Lufia II was actually the second game I brought for myself (the first being Chrono Trigger). It's still one of my favorites...I was doing a series replay last year during quarantine, and had a hilarious time where I had every awesome Ancient Cave equipment for Selan so she spent half the game as a walking tank of a mage!

[@ThomazSDA]

I own like three games in this list lol. Terranigma is sooo good. It's absolutely crazy how good it is. I love the story. I also can't count the times I have replayed Lufia 2. Especially because my game files got deleted often if I hit the cartridge while the game was on lol. Not a big deal, I'd just play it again haha. All those hours in the Ancient Cave... Good stuff. :) I recently picked up Soul Blazer, should probably play it soon (I have IoT also), but guess I gotta grind my weapon Orbs in Secret of Mana first. ;)

[@LefaiaLeFay]

i love the Chapter Selections in the Videobar ... Terra Enigma ..and Luffy 2 Rise of the Sinistros are Great underrated SNES games

[@nickwierenga987]

Totally forgot about lufia2 man I am just realizing how old I really am lol

[@silver924]

Love all these games, except OB, since I didn't play it. Imho Terranigma is on the same level as Chrono Trigger and FF6, if not better.

[@robcharreviews5609]

I always thought Lufia II: Rise Of The Sinistrals should have had better recognition then it got. It also is my most favourite video game of all time. Nothing against the Final Fantasy games, I love the Final Fantasy games as well, but there were a few that hit home for me more then the Final Fantasy games. Lufia II is one of them, as well as the first two games of Suikoden

[@DreamMarko]

I played Ogre Battle :D

[@gabrielgray]

the first breath of fire is pretty solid.. and has cut scenes.. which was lacking in part 2 and 3

[@luna_kits2345]

Currently playing Lufia 2 on my mobile phone using retroarch , a great game.

[@willjohnboy]

Illusion of time is what it was called in Europe I got it when it came out and is still my 3rd favourite snes jrpg behind ff6 and chrono trigger.

[@finaltheorygames1781]

I just realized that I've been playing this console for 30 fu*king years of my life.

[@leonidaschryssinas1723]

Terranigma's PAL release was also available in Australia - go figure !

[@vvolfflovv]

Some stand out, unique gameplay and stories in these gems.

[@Nirakolov]

Ok, realtalk: What are the worst RPGs on the SNES? cuz pretty much all of them are excellent... with Lufia 2 being my favourite (and I really like Paladin's Quest)

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Probably 7th Saga due to its balance issues.

[@ltb1345]

I enjoyed playing Breath of Fire on my 3DS.

[@RyeAkai]

Played and loved all of them. Not sure I would call them "underrated" though. I mean, I absolutely adore all of those games. I love BoF more than I love BoF2 at least, and it's an amazing RPG for its time. And as an old fan of the genre, would even enjoy today. I'm also a huge fan of the whole Ogre saga, and while I do think Ogre Battle 64 is superior in every way to March of the Black Queen, the SNES one is the blueprint for the 64 one, and it's still a really good game. Illusion of Gaia is an amazing game, and maybe the one in the list I could call criminally underrated, though Terranigma is a name that always comes up in conversations I've heard or read (or been part of) for best SNES RPG. Finally, Lufia 2 is another great one from the console which is also right up there for top RPG for the console. I'll just go and say it. I prefer Lufia II over Chrono Trigger. Nothing against Chrono Trigger, just a lot of praise from me to Lufia II. But again, I do admit I've only read or heard praise for Lufia II whenever it comes up. Hidden gems? Not quite either probably? I think most people at least know about these titles. I get they're no Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy in terms of fame, so maybe compared to those you might both consider them hidden gems and underrated games. My 2 cents?: Live-A-Live. This game is absolutely amazing, but I do understand it wouldn't make the list because it's part of the ONLY IN JAPAN brand (fan translated though).

[@tommj4365]

I thought these were all well rated, but either way they deserve attention as being among the best

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Love Lufia 2, would hardly consider it underrated at all considering it's the only one of the series to get a remake (an unpopular remake but still). If Terranigma counts, then so does Front Mission. Loved that series and hated to see it die.

[@dustinb5908]

Played all three Quintet trilogy games via emulator back to back to back.

[@DKarkarov]

I find this list really odd, not only did I play and own all these games (other than terranigma, which I did play and found it very underwhelming and over rated) I could swear many of them got big pushes from nintendo power and coverage from a lot of gaming mags. I appreciate the Soulblazer mention which I thought was better than Illusion of Gaia and certainly better than Terranigma. Either way this is a list of good games, Lufia 2 being the best of them for sure.

[@isidoro19david65]

Most of these games are not hidden gems or obscure people that love jrpgs already talked About them so much i have them on my phone since may

[@SBaby]

2:46 - I love how it's always referred to as the Quintet or Soul Blazer TRILOGY, yet there are four games in it.

[@taxidermyable]

what's the fourth one? soul blazer, illusion of gaia, terranigma and..?

[@SBaby]

@@taxidermyable Believe it or not, Granstream Saga.

[@SBaby]

@@taxidermyable It's technically more of a spiritual successor, but the fanbase considers it to be part of the series, since it was made by most of the same production team and it fits into the same genre. Also like its predecessors, it throws a bunch of gut punches at the player.

[@quintussilenius4324]

Some say Terranigma was never released in North America because of its strong religious themes... but whether this is true or not, we may never know. (one of my all-time favorite games btw)

[@FredSpade]

Interesting and plausible theory.

[@tchitchouan]

It's true America is too sensitive to religious themes.

[@RekkaAlexiel]

That's not why. Enix closed up shop in NA. No publisher, no game. End of story.

[@fuzzylogic3017]

Breath of Fire (1 & 2) are both available on the Wii U Virtual Console.

[@Jinzo126]

Hi, i own #4/2/1 (#4 In the Complete in Box) And #1 and 2 are my Favourite SNES RPGs. But i Live in Germany, where many of the Classic SNES RPGS where never Released (FF 4/6, Earthbound, Mario RPG, Crono Trigger etc.) So many of those Hiden Gems where the Only on we could Play. (Im not sure About #5 and 3, never saw them Back in the Day, only Played #5 recently Per Digital Version)

[@javielinmf3861]

All of them are favourites of my childhood!

[@Kiorra]

I don't know if Shadowrun is a japanese game, but I recommend it anyway.🤣

[@ShyamWolf]

it's vary good to.

[@YeOldeGamerGrampsofOlde]

No Star Ocean? For all it's worth, at least that series of games is still thriving and the first game was re-released on the PSP and remastered with the Second Story's graphics and combat system as a digital game only. Limited Run Games NEEDS to release that game in physical form.

[@360Blader]

I would say Emerald Dragon is a good game to look into if you guys have not tried or heard of it. Full fan translation is out!

[@toolman4745]

I've played all of these games aside from Terranigma. and I played Ogre Battle on the PSX. I don't know if I agree with Lufia 2 being underrated because pretty much every JRPG fan out there will tout it for how good it is. But great list

[@mmert138]

Would totally recommend Terranigma. It has an awesome soundtrack and its story is one of top 10 all time video game stories imo.

[@ranzigerkaefer]

Illusion of Time is such a great game. While the main story is simple, it manages to give you twists and turns over and over again and the atmosphere is really immersive! It's a game for adults, for it deals heavily with self-sacrifice and lose. Graphics are a weak point, similar to games like Soul Blazer or Actraiser. But the music is great! Is it better than Secret of Mana, Terranigma or Secret of Evermore? Maybe not. But those are the gold standard for SNES RPGs. To me, it's still better than early FF like IV or V.