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Posted: May 27 2009 06:36 pm

Here's an interesting debate, which console/handheld system, past or present, do YOU believe had the best RPGs?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

(I personally vote PSX, I'll explain later if need be.)

Posted: May 27 2009 06:37 pm

Jeez, I wish I could vote for 2.

Posted: May 27 2009 06:47 pm

Playstation, a ton of great RPGs. SNES has its share but Playstation just has more of them.

Posted: May 27 2009 06:55 pm

It has to be either the PSX or PS2, both have a huge number of great RPGs (and obviously, the PSX was very much responsible for properly introducing us to the JRPG genre in Europe... for instance, none of the SNES Final Fantasies or Chrono Trigger came out over here because Nintendo apparently thought we didn't want to play them ).

However, I ended up voting for the PS2. Persona 3 and Persona 4 are easily my all-time favorite RPGs on any system, and the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei games on the PS2 (and other titles such as Final Fantasy X, which I've always enjoyed tremendously) are awesome as well.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:00 pm

lordsathien wrote:

Jeez, I wish I could vote for 2.

I'm with you. SNES just edges out the PS1 for me, though. The SNES just has too many amazingly plotted, well-written and beautiful looking games. Something about the 2D sprites, in the most skilled hands, were art in a way that was lost with the advent and subsequent improvement of 3D. Not that I would want to go back, you understand, but some things have to be sacrificed to progress, and the 2D sprite artform was one of those things sadly. Its taken until the last year or so for 3D graphics to catch up artwise to where 2D was at the height of SNES glory.

...And holy shit that was a non-sequiter. Anyway, uh, yeah, SNES ftw. More classics that changed gaming in more ways than the PS1, although only just.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:06 pm

Earthbound is more than enough to vote for SNES.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:08 pm

Ba'al wrote:

Earthbound is more than enough to vote for SNES.

Another RPG that never saw a PAL release. I hope this'll be fixed some day via Virtual Console, like they did with Super Mario RPG.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:12 pm

EB holds a special place for me, by being one of the few JRPGs that I actually took the time to replay and enjoy it. Everyone must have the joy in playing it.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:23 pm

SNES for sure. FFIV & FFVI, Breath of Fire 1 & 2, Lufia 1 & 2, Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana (close enough), Wizardry V (an awesome game), Paladin's Quest (alright), The 7th Saga, FF Mystic Quest (you at least have to admit to playing it), Mario RPG (great addition to the Mario library), Lord of the Rings Pt 1 (A very cool game with moss and barrow daggers, I never saw the rest of the series...), Illusion of Gaia (that's right, right?)

That's the limit of my experience, but those are great freakin games. Any console that puts out games of this caliber has got to be number 1.

Posted: May 27 2009 07:23 pm

I went with PSX over SNES because:

SNES:
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Final Fantasy IV & VI
Chrono Trigger
Tecmo Secret Of The Stars
Secret of Mana
Earthbound
Breath of Fire I + II
Secret of Evermore
Shadowrun

-vs-

PSX:
Xenogears
Suikoden I & II
Final Fantasy I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX
Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross
Breath Of Fire III + IV
Saga Frontier
Grandia
Persona I & II
Parasite Eve I & II
Alundra
Vagrant Story
Wild Arms I + II
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Valkyrie Profile
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Eternia
Legend of Mana
Dragon Warrior VII

Posted: May 27 2009 08:31 pm

Knyte wrote:

I went with PSX over SNES because:

SNES:
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Final Fantasy IV & VI
Chrono Trigger
Tecmo Secret Of The Stars
Secret of Mana
Earthbound
Breath of Fire I + II
Secret of Evermore
Shadowrun

-vs-

PSX:
Xenogears
Suikoden I & II
Final Fantasy I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX
Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross
Breath Of Fire III + IV
Saga Frontier
Grandia
Persona I & II
Parasite Eve I & II
Alundra
Vagrant Story
Wild Arms I + II
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Valkyrie Profile
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Eternia
Legend of Mana
Dragon Warrior VII

Ironically, that's exactly the reason I went with the SNES. Almost every single game on the SNES there is a classic. For the PS1, they may be good games, but I'd say only 1/2 of them have the staying power and had the impact of those SNES titles.

Posted: May 27 2009 08:38 pm

After the SNES was when all JRPGs started looking the same to me.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

I voted SNES. While not all of them are stellar, the biggest ones are amazing and there are just so many of them.

FF VI & IV, Lufia 1&2, Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana are my favorites from this bunch.

SNES RPGs:
7th Saga
Arcana
Brain Lord
Brandish
Breath of Fire 1
Breath of Fire 2
Chrono Trigger
Dragon View
Drakkhen
Dungeon Master
E.V.O. Search for Eden
Earthbound (Mother 2)
Eye of the Beholder
Final Fantasy 2
Final Fantasy 3
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Illusion of Gaia
Inindo: Way of the Ninja
Lagoon
Lord of The Rings
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
Might & Magic 3: Isles of Terra
Paladin's Quest
Robotrek
Romancing Saga 3
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana
Secret of the Stars
Shadowrun
Soul Blazer
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Terranigma
Ultima 6: The False Prophet
Ultima 7: The Black Gate
Ultima: Runes of Virtue 2
Uncharted Waters
Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons
Wizardry 5: Heart of the Maelstrom

Edit: I just noticed that re-releases are being counted towards the PSX. If we go down that road, we need to add the PC as the ultimate console for RPGs since it can play everything.

Posted: May 27 2009 08:46 pm

E.V.O. is kind of pushing the definition of an RPG in my opinion. That was more of an action game with choices. Also, I think the NES version of Shadowrun was more of a point and click type game than an RPG. I liked many of the RPGs on your list though.

Posted: May 28 2009 12:08 am

Geez, I wish I could vote for five. I personally think NES, SNES, GBC, PSone, and PS2 are all great consoles for RPGs.

Posted: May 28 2009 12:21 am

I would vote SNES, PS1, and PS2 at the same time.

Also, what's missing in what you wrote there Knyte, is Star Ocean 2.

Posted: May 28 2009 12:26 am

Mr. Bomberman wrote:

Also, what's missing in what you wrote there Knyte, is Star Ocean 2.

Also, Legend of Dragoon.

Posted: May 28 2009 01:24 am

PS2, SNES, and PS1, in that order IMO.

Its why I'm so dissapointed by the current crop of systems.

Posted: May 28 2009 03:58 am

I can't lie, the snes really doesn't hold a special place in my heart. When I was a kid my mom hardly had the money to keep us afloat, hell at one point she even had to sell my NES and my beloved Mega Man II just so she could pay the rent. By the time I actually started getting chances to do yard work for other peoople the PSOne was already established and I wanted one. My first games were FFVII and Chrono Cross, both were good games however it wasn't until I got a PS2 and obsessively started collecting RPG's that I found my system. I have alot of respect for the GBA, SNES, and PSOne as solid systems for RPG's (I'm especially fond of the times I got to play Seinken Denitsu Three on an SNES rom) I just find the PS2 to have a ridiculous selection of them. The PS2 is also the system that introduced me to the Shadow Hearts series, the first two easily being my favorite RPG's story-wise. It was still a pretty hard choice though.

Joined: Jun 10 2008 Posts: 172

I know the poll is for consols but the PC, for me, still has an unconquerable list of amazing RPGs. MMO and otherwise.

Baldur's gate
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights
WoW
KOTOR
KOTOT 2
Elderscrolls series
Fallout 3
Kings quest series
FF 7
Lotro

There are obviously tons more, I'm just to lazy to write them.

Posted: May 28 2009 10:54 am

Yea, I ended up going with SNES for reasons already stated by others, GP encapsulated my argument.

However I do wish there was an option to vote for two, PSX has some legends.

Joined: May 22 2008 Location: Goshen, VA Posts: 6544

GP, putting the SNES version of ANY Ultima game on your list equals pure fail. But otherwise I dig your list, my man.

Please don't respond in an angry fashion, but if you had played the PC counterparts first, you would agree. I also agree with your PC statement.

Now let us fist fight.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

joshwoodzell wrote:

GP, putting the SNES version of ANY Ultima game on your list equals pure fail. But otherwise I dig your list, my man.

Please don't respond in an angry fashion, but if you had played the PC counterparts first, you would agree. I also agree with your PC statement.

Now let us fist fight.

I can't be angry about your true statement. I was just trying to be thorough with my list.

Posted: May 28 2009 07:01 pm

The PC is out by default, since EVERYTHING short of Wii, X360, and PS3 games can be played on it. Not too mention PCs have RPGs dating back to the late 70s. There are litterally thousands.

Posted: May 28 2009 09:43 pm

Knyte wrote:

The PC is out by default, since EVERYTHING short of Wii, X360, and PS3 games can be played on it. Not too mention PCs have RPGs dating back to the late 70s. There are litterally thousands.

Yeah, PC pretty much has a "Game Genie" on its lexicon. PSX2, my last owned console, is still not up to par emulator-wise yet, also.