The Best JRPG Story On EVERY CONSOLE (With the Fans!)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- Once again we did a video live, together. This time we rank the best story every written for a JRPG on every relevant console!
Join here to listen to my podcast: / ericklandon
I'm an author! Check out my books right here: www.amazon.com...
I also have a second channel! Subscribe to it HERE:
/ @ericklandonsecondchannel
Xenogears story is lifechanging experience for me. Such addictive and philosophical . They don't do that kind of games anymore.
I just started playing the game about two days ago for the first time. So far it is amazing.
xenoblade 3 have a very good narrative, mind blowing ones imo
they have never made a game like this before or after so technically you're correct. It was just unbelievable. I'll always remember my first time seeing Cane (hopefully that's how his name was spelled) and thinking that he was super cool and scary at the next time and then finding out that my suspicion to the backstory of his name was indeed from the bible and then everything else just being so fricken deep. I didn't even know about Jacques Lacan or Freud and the several other influencing philosophers and doctors at the time but thought the name Id was so genius in it's simplicity and ominousness. Anyway this conversation can go on for weeks
@@georgehatzimanolakis1904 I had experienced the same kind of mind opening my friend. Thanks to the story of video game.
These are my picks for a few consoles:
SNES: Final Fantasy IV
PS1: Xenogears
DS: Devil Survivor
Wii: Xenoblade Chronicles
PSP: Crisis Core
PS Vita: Ys VIII
Wii U: Xenoblade Chronicles X
3DS: SMT Strange Journey Redux
PS4: 13 Sentinels
Switch: Xenoblade Chronicles 3
I love Lost Odyssey so much. All of those dreams were amazing to get for how emotional they are
How did Final Fantasy X not make this list for PS2? The ending of that game broke me emotionally lol
Xenogears might be the best story in JRGs ever. The sheer scope is just incredible. It’s basically a finished senin mech manga/anime lol
Finished? Are you aware how much if xenogears story was cut due to the deadline
Xenogears remake should come soon and maybe the story to be complete
I feel like that's why it'd work better as an anime, or multiple games. The story was literally too big for one game.
@@scwintz101 yes lol. Very original take there mate. Funny thing about being alive when this was released, no one gave a crap back then about disc 2 shortcomings. We had nothing to compare it too. Me and my buddies couldn’t believe something like this could even exist. You honestly think jumping around a few additional dungeons and having more anima relics scenarios would somehow take this thing up a notch? This story has no equal in scope, even released as is.
The story was for all intents and purposes complete. They cut some details and condensed others. Yes it could have been much better presented but I think they said everything they wanted to.
Xenosaga was a bigger mess imo due to the scope of the story. They couldn't even keep Shion's character consistent. I'm glad they were reigned in to telling more focused stories with Xenoblade.
Also btw, if you like Xenogears, go watch Gundam, Macross, or hell, Zoids. Lots of very similar ideas. Zoids Genesis especially reminds me a lot of Xenogears.
You are so consistent with releasing your content! Always a great time watching your videos brother! Keep it up, much appreciated!!!!
It's not a RPG per say maybe action RPG but for OG Xbox Phantom Dust is probably the closest, extremely dark thought provoking story. The twist still has me thinking about it years later.
another great video bro, completely agree with Xenogears as best story. also its good to hear another person express liking "dad" neir over "bro", its a storyline that was rare back in the day to see a dad try and save their child, was more touching that i expected
Also agreed with Xenogears, I mean Xenogears is Xenogears, and I also prefer dad Nier, I have 3 siblings so I relate to him wanting to help Yonah no matter the cost, but seeing a poor dad doing dad is much more heart breaking
On PS2, my pick is Dragon Quest VIII. Great story. Great characters.
What?! No honorable mention of FF Tactics on PS1??? That easily is on my top 3 for PS1 JRPGs and quite possibly my favorite FF story next to FF6. The story is dark and themes are adult. The score. My. God. So good. And that ending! So brutal and sad. FF Tactics is one of my overall favorite gaming experiences.
Just sayin but I don't exactly like FFT for it's story is all, just overcomplicated and generally a mess according to the general thought I'd heard. Don't get me wrong it's a GREAT game... but to me it's 200% cuz of it's excellent game mechanics and level design. I just thought it's story was OK if not annoyingly complex. I just ignored much of the later stuff and followed a FAQ.
@@pdraggy xenogears story is at least twice as complex as tactics and still won the lis5
@@lucasbobo22 not sure it'd be my nomination than lol but it's his list ya know xD I'd not played Xenogears.
I played Xenogears day one (I'm old 😂) and it's in my top 3 JRPGs on PS1 too! I just thought it was odd not to even include it as an honorable mention...
I loved Ys IX. I vastly preferred it to Ys VIII. I loved the story, the characters, and the combat. I’m glad to see you stuck to your love for that entry and won’t budge. :)
I was fortunate enough to play Xenogears when I was 11yo, so that game made me have extremely high standards for rpg stories. I played most of the ones mentioned in this video but I completely forget the story if it doesnt leave an impact on me.
From the stories I remember, for me I guess it would be: FF6/Earthbound/IllusionOfGaia(Snes), Xenogears/ChronoCross/BreathOfFire4(PS1), Xenosaga/Drakengard/Persona3(PS2), Nier/Xillia2/Persona5(PS3), BatenKaitos(GC), XenobladeChronicles(Wii), DevilSurvivor/DragonQuestV/TWEWY(NDS), SMTIV/BravelyDefault(3DS), Muramasa/OdinSphere/FreedomWars(Vita);
Same here, I use it as a standard for almost any story in fact. Chrono Trigger and FF7 were the first games that blew me away with their stories and I thought they could never be topped until I played Xenogears. My compliments on understanding Xenogears at 11 by the way, I was 18 and even at that age it was pretty tough with English as third language.
did the reverse, only played xenogears in 2019 and it's crazy how that story blew everything else of the water
I'd even say playing it is a requirement to fully enjoy Xenoblade Chronicle 2 and 3
Breath of Fire 4 had an amazing plot, too Pretty unique and creative what was done with the relationship of the protagonist and antagonist cannot tell anything because of spoilers. But the pacing was also really great, the game and its story just flows. A crime this game gets hardly ever mentioned. One of the best OSTs and iconic artwork, too.
Its rather short, though.
For the PS2 era best story in my eyes Shadow Hearts. Shadow Hearts Covenant was amazing too. 3rd one wants pants.
pretty good pics on all the consoles! probably two I would add for NES are Destiny of an Emperor and Magic of Scheherezade which are sleeper gems
Destiny of an Emperor is definately a favorite of mine. Though DW4 was a solid pick.
Great Pick with Triangle Strategy. I loved that game and the story was amazing.
Xenosaga has my favorite game story of all time. Xenogears comes in next. Absolutely agree with Ys 9 for PS4. Loved that game and the story. As good as the Trails story was, it was tropey enough to drop a few slots.
The Xenosaga storey was insane and very complex. Really loved it
Final fantasy tactics advance was a good story. You should play it or watch a synopsis of it. Because it’s essentially about growing up and not being a kid. Dealing with death and turmoil in life and still finding growth through that was nice.
Although I wasn’t fond of the gameplay over FFT on PS1/PSP
The story on FFTA was pretty mature honestly. Check it out whenever you have time on your schedule
This game was great. I can't remember Golden Sun which I played as a kid but I do still remember FFT on the gameboy advance. A lot of people seemed turned off by the judges but I thought it was a nice mix to the traditional tactics gameplay.
"Story". The game has almost no story at all, there's less than an hour of story in the game
I liked that one too, but it was very long on side events and the Laws weaken the combat.
FFTA was basically The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe as far as plots go.
FFTA2 on the other hand, wonderful game, but it had no real main story. It's story is basically you are a kid who gets isekaied into FF12, have fun.
FFTA's plot would have been fine if it wasn't a followup to the earlier game which was just pitch-perfect in its tales of cruelty and tragedy
I think Legend of Dragoon really deserved a mention for the Playstation.
Facts
Nice video. You might think that Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is FFT for kids but for me FFTA was my first introduction to the Final Fantasy series as a whole. The story of FFTA is pretty neat and taugh me so many real life lessons as i was playing it.
Xbox had Elder Scrolls III Morrowind and Fable. Those are good stories, worth mentioning for sure.
Unpopular opinion: Final Fantasy X on PS2. The story is pretty average in the first half, but becomes mind-blowing by the end of the game. There are still events and details that make much more sense during a second playthrough.
I agree with Xenogears, but how no one sayed FF tactics on PS1/PSP!? This game is a master piece!
Agree so much about Xenogears. No game, movie, book or tv-show comes close to Xenogears.
If disks 2 finish completely, xenogear may be the best game ever made
@@hewmengshen7781 I would still argue it's the best story told in any medium :).
@@Trosgustavwithout a doubt. Best story of any RPG by far.
Hmmmm I dunno, I think there's stuff that rival it for sure
I am so sad I missed that stream although I have not played many of the modern consoles. Amazing video as always Erick.
Agree with Xenogears and Valkyrie profile 2. VP2 is soo underrated. The animation and graphics were sooo good for its time
Yeah VP2 looks very good for a ps2 game (if there are better looking games I don't know, I know like 3 games on there), a while ago after I finished VP1 I watched some footage and thought "nah, no way my laptop can run this game..."
Cold take: Persona 2 IS/EP have the best storytelling of the PS1 at level of Xenogears or even better.
PD: I love Xenogears
Live A Live deserves to be on here.
Suikoden II certainly has a riveting story on PS1.
radiant historia perfect chronology is an amazing game
Stories meant togive us advice on becoming heroes of our own lives. I'll be always grateful to those stories.
FFT and FFTA, both have amazing story 🙌
I would nominate Defender's Quest for combining fresh ideas with classic archetypes but thats mainly a PC game
Before watching, I'm going to put out my list based only on consoles I've owned and RPGs I've played on them (excluding ports and remakes of games I played on earlier consoles):
NES - Dragon Quest 4 (Note, I actually played this on Emulator years after it came out as this game didn't come out in my country, and importing/Converters weren't a big thing until the 16-bit gen)
SMS - Phantasy Star
GB: Final Fantasy Legend 2
SMD - Phantasy Star 4
SNES: Chrono Trigger
SegaCD: Lunar 2
Saturn: Panzer Dragoon Saga
PSX: Xenogears (My alltime favourite)
N64: Ogre Battle 64
Dreamcast: Skies of Arcadia
GBA: Fire Emblem 7/Advance
PS2: Xenosaga Episode 1 or Final Fantasy X (Xenosaga Episode 1 was my favourite start, but I was disappointed with Ep2 and Ep3, and FFX was a complete story).
DS: Radiant Historia (if not counting ports and remasters - otherwise Dragon Quest 5)
Wii: Xenoblade Chronicles
3DS: Fire Emblem Awakening or Fates (they kind of run together for me)
Wii U: Xenoblade Chronicles X
Switch: Witcher 3 (I know it's not from Japan or a Switch original - which is probably what Erick uses as criteria, but 1. I'm a gamer from an earlier time and don't personally draw genre distinctions based on countries of origin or art styles, not saying other's can't or shouldn't, just that I don't; and 2. This is the only console I own that has Witcher 3 on it) - otherwise Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (which I consider a distant second of the original titles - there are several remakes and remasters I like more, including FF4, FF6, FF7, FF8, FFX and the upcoming Suikodens).
I want to see how many matches there are.
Nero my beloved
terranigma, my beloved favorite game ever and ever.
PS 2: Shadow Hearts Covenant
The Golden Sun duology on Gameboy Advance has a great story.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who was triggered that Final Fantasy Tactics wasn't even mentionned when you went through the ps1 jrpgs lol.
He should've picked that for the PSP.
Phantasy Star IV: End Of The Millennium is my Sega Genesis pick for best story. Lunar I and II have the best stories on Sega CD.
I agree 100% on Nier!
I remember when i played it on my ps3, never heard about that game... just read a few reviews and bought it...
When i started playing it hooked me so much, i couldnt stop... i felt so many different emotions during the gameplay i cant describe... truly a masterpiece
It is a much darker story than automata
I hated Gestalt, but when I heard they were finally bringing over the Nier we should have gotten in the first place, Replicant, I absolutely loved that version. So much to the point I actually platinumed it.
@@phoenixxxashezWell the Replicant we got was a remaster anf fixed some things, the combat being one, reasonable that you liked that more
I wish that Valkyrie Profile wasn't so outrageously priced. 😢
My Duckstation reaction to that infotmation:
Echoing the rest of the comments saying that FFTA had a great story, just because it was made for children doesn’t mean it’s not well written or compelling. Just because something is more mature or edgier doesn’t make it a better story, stories can be charming or whimsical or funny and still be well written.
Solatorobo has a pretty good story with some pretty interesting plot twists
On Saturn, it's easily Shining Force 3. Maybe you would discount it since Scenario 2 & 3 never came out in English (officially).
On Saturn i would pick Panzer Dragoon Saga,
On Dreamcast - Skies of Arcadia nad Sakura Taisen 3 (this is more like Visual Novel, but if Erick count's 13 Sentinels as JRPG, so i also)
Legend of dragoon as well is my fave of all time
I put in over 10 hours into Final Fanyasy Tatics Advance and the story was almost non-existent. Unless I was playing wrong cause all I didn't was take on missions.
Can we plz get a list of all games mentioned as your picks. And honarable mentions suggest
Man, some of the things they're saying in SMT games that you're showing are exactly why I don't play that series. "The creator God is holding back humanity"...Ugh...
Nier replicant remake n nier automata is masterclass of storyline
No Utawarerumono series? This game make me cry a lot espicially in the third game
FF12 is my all time favourite and at this point I don't think any JRPG will ever surpass it. I didn't just play that game, I lived in that world for weeks and the characters and story had me completely engrossed.
I felt the same back in the days…completely trapped in this world.
I liked the game but I just didn't feel any kind of attachment to most of the characters. Balthier was probably my favorite character but the story focused more on Ashe and she didn't really have any depth to her character. I do agree that it was a world that you lived in. I love that version of Ivalice and for that reason I still place it high on games to replay.
i had this exatly feeling with NieR Automata
FF12 has an amazing world to get immersed in and do RPG addict things in it, but the story is too safe and bland. I think they were afraid of taking any chances with it.
@@arturboy777 I think the story got streamlined with Yasumi Matsuno left the project because of health reasons. He was the guy who crafted ivalice and directed ff tactics and vagrant story. We will never no what it could have been if he had stayed on until the end.
I loved this vid as always. So many consoles hahah. Maybe do a video on ranking character tropes like "the boisterous side-kick" and the "white mage girl"?
watched the video to make sure FFVI is the pick for snes. all good here.
Extra note:
- fate extra is a visual novel with JRPG element, so expect many reading
- it's ok to play fate extra with knowing fate series
- i don't know that fate extra ccc is sequel or prequel, but it is connected with fate extra
- fate extra have weird sequel called fate extella
- fate extra got remake that's expect release this year in PC
Doesn't matter what CCC is because it didn't leave Japan lol
And the remake is coming out in multiple platforms I think, I wish they fix the gameplay because I agree with Erick on that it has a good story, it's just that the combat is meh and the gameplay is repetitive
Xenogears is my fav story of any video game
SNES: FFIV also had a great story, especially the first half, before Cecil's full redemption and its the first story driven RPG on the SNES system. FFVI executed the narrative even better, but the second part of the game was basicly without story. and just grind up to beat the last boss, so i always consider FFIV the more influential game when it comes to story telling.
Megadrive/Genesis: Phantasy Star IV might be the best, but Phantasy Star II is a close second, you need to see the end after you beat the final boss, its very memorable and stands out of all the JRPGs i have played and this in 1989, its mind blowing.
PS1: Damn me i need to play Xenogears it never came out in pal regions during the 90ies/early 2k, same with Chrono Cross. So i can only vote for FF7 and Suikoden 1. Yeah i you see it right, i liked Suikoden 1's story much more than II's, despite beeing the bigger and perhaps better game. FF 7 should not be underrated when it comes to its plot this will be a grave mistake. The Sephiroth/Jenova/Shrina plot still confuses players to this day and i see hardly anyone that can figure it out. So as far as PLOT goes, FF 7 tops them all of those games i played on the PS1 in terms of creativity, in terms of just beeing well entertained, its Suikoden 1, i love the theme about Loyality, to your father, empire, the emperor. its well done and iconic for the japanese culture. The game has also a very fast pacing, despite characters not able to sprint.
Still...
If this wouldn't be a JRPG list, i would say Bloodomen 1: Legacy of Kain had the best story and narrative on the PS1, but its a western dark fantasy ARPG, since you mentioned adult stories/characters and endings so much, this is one of the best games in both categories.(it has not much to do with Soul Reaver, original dev team did not work on that one and the genre changed from zelda/diablo slasher to Tom Raider clone)
Gameboy: Sa-Ga II is my pick, too, what a great game one of my first JRPGs i thought when playing it, its weird system to get more powerful characters was quite addictive. Final Fantasy II should be Sa-Ga 0, same designer worked on it, and its kinda noticable.
My second choice would be Seiken Densetsu 1 Final Fantasy Adventure, i liked it much more than Secret of Mana, because the first game was more adult you started in an Arena and you had to fight to the death for the amusement of Dark Lord, where was also this mage Julius, basicly a duo of Antagonists, worked well in Star Wars and worked well in Shining Force 1- certainly worked well in FFA, too.
I think doing such games on a small gameboy with limited tech, was just magic.
Gamegear: Never owned it, but was the concensus not that the third Shining Force game "The Final Conflict" is the best one? It features some key characters from Shining Force 1+2 of the orignal genesis games unrelated to the game gear games, so basicly the story that happened between the original Shining Force 1 and 2. This is a story topic, so of course my vote is Final Conflict.
I plan to play DragonForce, Shining Force III, Xenogears and Ogre Battle 64 since i liked the orignal one on the SNES, but now i am trying out some of the Trails in the Sky and Valkyria Chronicles that can be played on the PC without emulation.
How do you have the time to play all these games? I really love (J)RPGs but they are so massive with hundrets of hours to play... Greatings, a RPG-lover from germany. :)
I'm wondering the same thing lol
YES!! YESS!! Baten Kaitos! And that's a perfect example why I love this channel!
"I'm not going to spoil it, but there's this amazing plot twist..."
Seriously?
PS1 has to be the hardest console to pick the best story for, so many excellent JRPGs for that console.
I found the story of Final Fantasy Legend III to be very good on Gameboy. Same with Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening even though that's more action adventure than action JRPG.
On Sega Saturn, it's Albert Odyssey: Legend of Aldean as that is the only Saturn game I ever played.
Triangle strategy for the switch wow.
Surprised nier automata is not even in honorable mentions in ps4 category.
Even though Lufia 2 was the first real RPG I ever beat and I loved it, I still agree that FF VI had the better story. Both were great, but FF VI went the extra mile in going beyond 'we have to save the world'. Lufia 2 is also the only game I ever played in Dutch, lol. Surprising there was a translation as there were so few RPGs coming to Europe anyway.
Baten kaitos is awesome. I'm glad it's on this list. I hope more people play it
baten kaitos is such a masterpiece
Honoring Mention: Tactics Ogre. Very good political story.
My picks (best stories):
NES - Final Fantasy III
SNES - Shin Megami Tensei II
PC-Engine - Linda Cube
Megadrive - Phantasy Star 4 (Sega Overworks, im huge fan of this studio)
Saturn - Panzer Dragoon Saga
Dreamcast - Skies of Arcadia / Sakura Taisen 3 (i can't decide, so i putted both games developed by same studio - Overworks)
PSX - Persona 2 IS & EP or Xenogears
PS2 - Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 or Xenosaga 1-3
PS3 - Nier
PS4 - Nier Automata
PS5 - ???
PSP - Valkyria Chronicles 3
PSV - Trials of Cold Steel 1-2
DS - SMT Strange Journey
3DS - Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Gamecube - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Wii - Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Switch - Valkyria Chronicles 1 & 4
I'll give you the story of Xenogears is great, and I think it would have been better off as an anime, especially if you consider the US version probably would have been even more censored if they had made it darker. The makers of all the Xeno games have proven they can't be given too much free control, as they can't keep the game scope in check, and needed someone over them who can rein in their scope while still allowing something truly great to come as a result.
Not even a mention of Tales of the Abyss makes me sad. That's my platinum standard for JRPGs. I've never played one that made me question if the party's actions were a mistake or not. On top of that, it has a lot of commentary on the validity of artificial life and identity, free will vs. predetermination, over dependence on religion to an unhealthy degree, whether or not the ends every justify the means. To me it was the most fun Tales combat system, with how much free control the free movement button gives you, combined with how the field of fonons worked once they had full elemental charge.
my Ys IX save got lost when my ps4 crapped out, like two thirds of the way through
Persona 5 is actually a PS3 Game :). I have played it on the PS3 and this version is still in my shelf (never bought royal).
I'm disappointed radiata stories didn't even get a passing mention for ps2
For GameCube, my pick is Skies of Arcadia Legends even though it was on Dreamcast originally.
Perfect timing! Love you videos bro!
One of my fav videos you’ve done
Hate to say it but you definitely are looking overlooking Tactics Advance. It's an Rpg, it hits it's stride later.
Where is shadow hearts? ^^ thanks for the big work ^^
Xenogears!! Best story of all time. First played the demo. Got the game and I still don’t know how my 12 year old self managed it. Top 3 fav games of all time.
How have you played all these games?? Lol i mean wow. Would love to hear from you what role these had, hobby, job, or obsession 😂?
JRPG Time Thanks For All Your Work Seen All Of Gaming From 1980-Now What A Life Of JRPGS
☺ Yeah the best of classic games are very good that they show your lists of games in different consoles.
Only mention ones I care to say
NES: Lagrange Point, but DQ 3 & 4 work for me
SNES: FF6, DQ 5 or 6, or Tactics Orge, but there are more
PSX: Xenogears, FF9, Vandal Hearts, Suikoden 1 & 2, but there are more
PS2: DDS 1 & 2, .hack (meaning both sets), but there are more
360: Operation Darkness
Great choice for dragon warrior 4. When all pokemon games are done, im starting dq4 on ds right away
Chrono Trigger has a really good story as well.
After the brainrot from new fire emblem games stories triangle strategy reignited my love for srpgs
Earthbound is a game for kids until you play the last 10% where things get very dark very quickly.
I'm glad Infinite Undiscovery at least got a mention. It was a really good game on a console with almost no RPGs and barely anybody even knows what it is. I'd take IU over Lost Odyssey any day of the week honestly
For the original xbox, knights of the old Republic
Strange Journey for me has the best history on DS/3DS.
I know Pokémon isn't a mature game in terms of story, but Ruby and Sapphire had an interesting plot while Black and White had an interesting antagonist.
As for N64, there is an RPG called Hybrid Heaven. It's a bit of a hidden gem, but it's a sci-fi story about clones and uses mixed martial arts style combat in a one-on-one arena. Controls and "overworld" interactions can be frustrating for most players, imo
I'm very glad and pleased with the Xenoblade Chronicles and Triangle Strategy mentions!
No FFX? My favorite FF story.
This feels like arguing which mouse is larger, but I was shocked to not see FFL/SaGa 3 as an honorable mention on Game Boy, considering it superior to FFL/SaGa2. Instead of a treasure hunt it felt more like a co-operative war all across three periods of time against the freakish gods of another dimension who see humanity as nothing but cattle slowly transforming our world into theirs by flooding it with the mutagenic water of their realm (integration with gameplay too). Every human character tries to help you in some way. It would be great to have this plotline done on a more modern console game with the names changed and more characterization given to our heroes.
FFX is my favourite FF story as well. Except these days, ffxiv comes close with its whole overarching and indepth lore and plot line over many expansions.
triangle strategy was a troll pick
Original xbox: I mean it isn't a JRPG but I enjoyed Sudeki quite a bit.
Already finished the games like Dragon warrior franchised uh 1-9, fire emblem and valkyrie profile.
For Switch, it's Dragon Warrior XI even though it's on other systems like PS4.
Warning :This video its heavy on xeno series 🤣 . Jk, great vid 👍
Lost odyssey, breath of fire 3, and grandia 2 are my favorites
All great games but in terms of story I think Lost Odyssey stood out as being different from the norm more so than the others.
I have a special place in my heart for Grandia 2 though, I'm one of the few that preferred it over the first one.
Xenosweep.
also for SNES i’d pick Fire Emblem 4 but i know you only pick offical english release games. but yeah amazing story.
At least fe4 remake is on the way
@@therealjaystone2344 it may be..