I love Chrono Trigger because of pacing. Alot of JRPGs just get too convoluted. One minute you’re fighting a monster blob but around disk 2 you find out it’s your dad
FFXIII-2 is such an underrated gem and I wasn’t actually expecting it to be so highly rated! I might replay that soon. I’m also living for these Poopbro thumbnails! They’re brilliant!
Final Fantasy XIII-2 did do it the best imo. Say what you want about the plot or the characters but the time travel mechanics and how they’re intergraded into the gameplay loop is genius.
Plot character and the theme music is no contest as well! FF XIII-2 is the only times in the series where villain reach his goal, and the story is so tragic but good
I am a bit surprised Tales of Phantasia was not included. I can understand why, however, as time travel wasn't part of the gameplay, but more of a plot device.
Yes the game is really good, but I hope they will patch it (random battle loading time screen, too much high frequency of random battle). But yes it's so beautiful. 😁
Based off the entries, the list is pretty sound for the titles chosen. I did enjoy the evo let's play as well as the final fantasy 3 let's play ds remake. Hope you're having a great weekend, David
There's a free indie RPG involving time travel called "Shattered Hourglass" that I played once that was pretty good. It also had the hardest boss that I ever beat in an RPG.
If only Final Fantasy XI could've been on the list. Specifically the Wings of the Goddess expansion onward. For the unaware, time in that game plays a huge role, and as you go through the game's zones you start to see Atomos heads floating in some of them. These Atomos heads, called Cavernous Maws, lead to two different destinations. One set leads to Abbysea, which is how the game would have looked if the player's character didn't fight and defeat Promathia in the Chains of Promathia DLC, and another set leads to the past, specifically the Crystal War era. Then, there's the Escha variant zones and Reisenjima, which is the game's world in a future where the allied forces of Altana lost the Crystal War and Promathia has destroyed everything. So you get to see Vana'Diel's past, two versions of it's present, and a grim future.
I have to say, every time I watch one of you videos I find a new game to play or a new perspective on one I've previously played. Another excellent video David.
Mother 3 story is really good. Having themes like technology vs. nature, how people mindset change as they become more consumer like as a place become more urbanized, growing up to be more mature, and family values. I wish mother 4 was made.
Wouldn't dragon quest 7 be a beter dq option with actual time travel? Dark cloud 2 would have been a good addition as well with actual time travel involved.
The "Explorers" set of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games seem like they should have been a strong contender for this list. I believe they still rank as the highest-selling Pokémon side game (not counting mobile/free-to-play apps).
Radiant Historia and Final Fantasy 13-2 are both hidden gems, and I'm glad you gave them some love. I know they're not as iconic as CT, but both of those games gave me those CT vibes.
You forgot to give tales of phantasia an honourable mention Dave! The story and plot was impressive thanks to the time traveling (you can't control it but that was ok for me)
Ah I keep trying to leave a comment and it doesn't go through. I think I finally figured out RUclips was blocking comments from one of my VPN locations, so this should go through. I wanted to mention, this was a fun list! I really love time travel sci-fi stories and it was a joy to try to wrap my brain around what Belthasar did in Chrono Trigger. I liked your expansive definition and inclusion of DQV with it. I didn't have a good impression of FFXIII-2, but as you rated it highly I think it deserves another look!
ChronoTrigger is not just my number 1 time travel game but one of my favorite games of all time bested only by Nier. Interested to hear your thoughts on Cris Tales, I’m playing it now and while flawed certainly uses tike mechanics in an interesting way. Love your channel keep up the great content
Hmm, let me rack my brain once again. I think I can come up with a similar list that has both active time travel options, as well as singular time lapse/shift/clock backs. They won't all be JRPGs, though I will try to at least lean into Japanese games for the most part. I'll put mine in order in the order in which they came to mind. 10. The 7th Saga - This has a major clock back after the acquisition of the 7th Rune. It's also a point of no return, which make it insanely impactful and memorable. It may not be an innovative, fun mechanic, but it's a landmark in time travel related shenanigans in video games for me. 9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - You are allowed to travel back and forth from 7 years in the game's future, which is incidentally triggered when you acquire the Master Sword. Things you do as kid Link in the present affect that future. Plant a magic bean? Adult Link gets a flying bean sprout. Learn a song as Adult Link? You can play it in the present as Kid Link to trigger new events. It's more or less the Chrono Trigger of action RPGs, or at least the most well known one. 8. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War - One of the earliest entries in the Fire Emblem series, and really only available to us via emulation. You start in the present with the extremely powerful Sigurd, and you get to setup relationships in your army. Depending on who you pair, later on, there is a time lapse. Afterwards, your army is composed mainly of the children from those relationships you setup, having traits from both parents as well as inherited equipment. It's basically the first Fire Emblem dating simulator :P I kid, I kid. The maps are huge though, and it's quite a cumbersome game, but it is very cool. 7. Breath of Fire II - I will admit that the time lapse forward is much more impressive in Breath of Fire III, but this one did it first, and it was still done well in my opinion. It kind of follows what became a trope. Everything from your childhood was significant to the climax of the game, and it setup one of the most memorable boss fights in history against Barubary. 6. Chrono Cross - Well, it's more about alternate realities, right? With a really convoluted time travel plot where entire civilizations time travel and world hop to fight one another? Yeah... that's true I guess. Not why it's on my list though. Recall the song, "Orphanage of Flame." This is the part in the game right after Harle has absconded with the Frozen Flame, and Kid is in a state of shock. In order to get her out of it, you must have defeated Dario and united the dream entities Doreen, Masa, and Mune into the Mastermune. They use Lucca's incomplete time egg to send you back in time to Kid's childhood where you race against the clock inside of Lucca's burning home, saving children, and then comforting Kid. It's open to interpretation, but it seems you save her this way by becoming part of her past which she is unable to put behind her. It allows her to wake from the coma, and is fairly memorable for the drawings of all but Frog and Magus of the original CT party going up in flames. 5. Wild Arms - Ok, this one is a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. First there's the magic stopwatch that allows you to turn back time to reset puzzles. That feature appeared in a few puzzle based games before this. Then, beyond that there is the sidequest with Elmina. Once you've defeated her, if you find the Guardian of Time you can utilize its powers to alter spacetime, returning life to Elmina's body at the cost of most of her memories. It probably shouldn't be on the list, but I'm including it anyway because it needs more love. 4. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - It's an action adventure game rebooting the 1989 PC classic. You use your dagger to go clock back after mistakes. It got a disney movie or something made after it, huh. 3. FFXI: Wings of the Goddess - The fourth expansion for Final Fantasy XI features the introduction of Atomos shaped, "Cavernous Maws" which spirit you away to the Walk of Echoes which is a nexus created by the Goddess Altana where timelines deemed unworthy are devoured by the actual Atomos. On your first trip there you actually fail to land on the viewing platforms of undevoured spacetime and so fall through into another timeline. For all intents and current understanding though, you fell twenty years into the past, arriving in the time period of the Crystal War which the game has painted up for you through NPC dialogue and quests in the present day. If you played since 2002/03, then you've played the game for 4 years by this point, so the Crystal War is something you've heard a lot about, but never got to see. Well, now you do, only you come to find out that it's an alternate timeline version, though you can still use knowledge from your present to give yourself advantage in the alternate world version of your past. The villain you face, Lady Lilith, is one of my favorite villains of all time. 2. FFXIV - Whenever you read about games with time travel, articles usually mention the timeskip teleportation enacted by Archon Louisoix on the plains of Carteneau during the 7th Umbral Calamity wreaked by Bahamut that distorted the shape of the world. However, there is more than a mere timeskip in FFXIV. First, there is the Alexander enacted timeloop. Alexander is a primal entity resembling a giant metal castle perusual, only he has the ability to travel forward and back through time. He tries to enact his will onto the world in order to create the perfect future, but in all outcomes that he foresees, the world is never perfected under his guidance, however close it might become it's always destroyed. The events of that raid arc create a stable timeloop that keep Alexander bound within it so that he cannot change his mind. FFXIV time travel part two, electric boogaloo... involves a bad future. The Garlean Empire uses an aetherochemical weapon called, "Black Rose" to win the war. Its effect stops the aether in your body, resembling respiratory failure, only your very soul stagnates, and no matter how powerful you are, if you are exposed to it, you die. The survivors of this war include Cid and some other notable scientifically and magically inclined characters. By researching Alexander and the Omega Weapon, they fuse the two technologies with those of the Crystal Tower, and their descendants find a way to send the whole tower back in time to stop the Black Rose calamity. It's a little more complicated than that, but I can't get into it without massive spoilers. 1. Chrono Trigger - I tried to make my list without adding it, but in the end, no other games came to mind. Not even action based ones, as even though I mention them all the time I haven't played very many of them. You know what this one is all about already, but in particular my favorite sequence of time travel in it involves using the time egg to save Crono. Altering time never gets old.
Awww I really thought "Live A Live" was going to be on this list, because each character is set in a different timeline/era :( I still gave a "Like" to the video David
Oooh, this is a fun list! I'm glad Tales of Graces and Radiant Historia got some love, but the number 1 spot really threw me off! Glad to see that game getting some appreciation :D
For me the best time travel JRPG was Ephemeral Fantasia on PS2. The game felt mysterious as you explored the island trying to break out of the 5 day time loop.
Timeskips hmmm... I love FE4's transition between the 1st and the 2nd gen. It has no "time travel mumbo-jumbo" like Awekening and it rewards your efforts in the 1st gen.
Hey there - first time seeing one of your videos! Gotta say, I admire a person bold enough to place Final Fantasy XIII-2 above CHRONO TRIGGER ;) I think as a game, I'll never be able to unseat my favorite in Chrono Trigger, HOWEVER, in the vein of which game had the most FUN use of Time Travel? Yeah, I gotta admit, I think XIII-2 did it better. It was just so much fun and EVERY TIME I heard the music that plays on the timeline screen, I got amped up. Being positive about the XIII Trilogy on the Internet is hard enough (Lightning Returns is one of the best games on the PS3, imo). Great video! Just subbed and looking forward to more!
I haven't played a lot of these games. I played EVO way back in the day and I have DQ5 which i intend to play soon. CT is great and I loved Radiant HIstoria's dual time lines. I haven't played FF13-2. Great video. I love these kinds of things.
I pre ordered ff13 2 because I loved the first one so much. The fact it was a time travel game made it even better for me. Should play it again. Played it so much and basically 100% it and moved on to other games.
Another great video dave, I love ff legand 3 and ff13 2 but what I would chose as no.1 on this list is teranigma but I don't understand why breath of fire 3 is on this list, yes it's a time jump, it's not time travel. Anyway, great video and sorry I haven't been on discord lately
I love this video I've been trying to get the fan translation of Mother 3 for the gba i also been trying to get final fantasy legend 3 (originally on the game boy but now that you said that it's on ds I'll get it on the ds) and chrono trigger (I'll get it on ds and possibly get it on the snes as well and the ps1 which came with final fantasy 4 which is great)
Not a JRPG, but 999 and Virtue's Last Reward are Visual Novels that did time skip/travel exceptionally well. And then I learned about Radiant Historia, and it's _perfect_. The story isn't as good as Chrono Trigger, but it's good enough to keep you guessing long enough to be engaged. Also want to give a shout out to Ys VIII, though this isn't really time travel but time skip.
Hi David! Great video as always. I have a question for you: when you talked about Terranigma, you mentioned that is part of the "Heaven and Earth Quadrilogy". I was surpirsed to hear there might be 4 games in the series! Illusion of Gaia is one of my absolute favorite SNES games and I am currently going through Soul Blazer (loving it) and will continue with Terranigma afterwards, but what is the fourth related game? Thanks a lot in advance and keep up the awesome work!
Im really shocked your didnt place DQV higher. You LOVE this game! But when it comes to "Time Travel"....... you placed it in a fair place. Kudos. Also, I havent heard of a good chunk of these titles so Im no where near the subject matter expert.
I love, Evo. I found it by accident and it was one of my favorite obscure games, xiii-2 sounds good actually, I may have to give that a try! Would you count live-a-live as a time traveling rpg? Or is it more scenario based so theoretically it wouldn't count?
While I'm not here to tell you what should or should not be on your list, I don't necessarily think a time skip is the same as time traveling. Time traveling is being able to go to different eras other than your own rather than merely growing up. Games like DQ7, TLoZ Ocarina, Oracle of Ages, & Link to the Past, or Kingdom Hearts would better fit the bill in my opinion, as characters are actually jumping into to different eras of the same (or different) place(s) rather than living their lives and merely skipping from the gamer's perspective. That being said, this is still a solid list, and I definitely did not expect FF13-2 to be on there. Although I personally had a good time with that game, it understandably doesn't land on many "Top 10 Best" lists lol
I’ve always been curious why Japanese media has so much time travel in their fantasy stories. I don’t know if it was popular before games or if it started because a gameplay mechanic.
Love from David for my all time favorite Final Fantasy trilogy at #1! ❤️ Imagine my surprise when the obvious Chrono Trigger isn't number one, and I'm sitting here thinking...just what could be better than Chrono Trigger at time travel? Never expected that. 😅 But I don't care what anyone says or thinks, I absolutely adored the XIII trilogy...and this is from a veteran who started with FF1 on the NES as a kid and played nearly every FF game there is since.
I tried so hard to like tales of graces f. I liked the combat being a step above symphonia, but for some reason I just crapped out on it. I do remember asbel fighting his best friend being the most memorable boss fight to me, but I assume I might've given up right as it gets good. That's my bad.
There's even more too. Arguably Bravely Default is another although the time travel is to its detriment. FF1 is also a time travel story. All the Xenosagas when you take into account the UMN and also when you actually travel back in time not just use God to recreate a "simulation" of the past. There are a ton of time traveling JRPGs. If you take into account the backstory of Xenogears, it kind of counts too and the romancing saga games are multi-generational(and terrible).
Was waiting for tales of phantasia. most of these games just used time skip, not really time travel. the time just passes for the viewer, the characters themselves dont experience any time travel.
I'm surprised you included Tales of Graces F as the Tales time travel game instead of Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Destiny 2. Graces is only a time skip in the story while Phantasia and Destiny 2 has time travel to the past and future.
What are your thoughts on the Tactics Ogre Remaster for the PSP? It incorporates, while not as in-depth as Radiant History, a time rewinder mechanic in the game that allows you to visit each path and recruit all the characters on the 3 paths (which you were locked into on the SNES/PSX versions), and a secret ending that requires you to complete all the paths to unlock. Also, pleasantly surprised FF13-2 was #1. I liked 13 better than most players but got why it was criticized, and thought 13-2 was a legit great game, but it seemed anchored by being a sequel to such a poorly received game that it never got a fair shake.
Most of these are not time travel games as much as they are games where characters age. I was hoping Final Fantasy Legend III would be on here and it ended up higher on the list than I expected it to be. You've piqued my interest for Radiant Historia. :) In retrospect and as someone who's beaten over 150 RPGs, it's apparently a rare premise to indulge. Mostly you see it in action games.
This list could be a lot longer if you look at Dragon Warrior VII, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, the original Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, or Dark Cloud.
Oy. My heart breaks, as I finally disagree with David. I struggled to even get through FFXIII, and its sequel only held my attention for minutes before I moved on. Chrono Trigger is such a magnificent time travel RPG that I can't see myself ever putting something above it. Was happy to see FFL III here, as the "Saga" series never gets the love it deserves. Love ya, David! Even when I disagree! Haha.
Come join me on Twitch too! www.twitch.tv/davidvincstreams and check out the discord channel! discord.gg/NWUFCtmpfr
Hey davidvinc what list of indie rpg games would you recommend me to play? I am in mood to play some indie games.
I'm here for Radiant Historia, it's just an amazing game with great music (Yoko Shimomura is a Goddess) and a very interesting battle system.
I love Chrono Trigger because of pacing. Alot of JRPGs just get too convoluted. One minute you’re fighting a monster blob but around disk 2 you find out it’s your dad
FFXIII-2 is such an underrated gem and I wasn’t actually expecting it to be so highly rated! I might replay that soon. I’m also living for these Poopbro thumbnails! They’re brilliant!
Final Fantasy XIII-2 did do it the best imo. Say what you want about the plot or the characters but the time travel mechanics and how they’re intergraded into the gameplay loop is genius.
Plot character and the theme music is no contest as well! FF XIII-2 is the only times in the series where villain reach his goal, and the story is so tragic but good
I am a bit surprised Tales of Phantasia was not included. I can understand why, however, as time travel wasn't part of the gameplay, but more of a plot device.
Radiant Historia is for sure my #1 of these. It uses time travel so freaking well!
A new time travel JRPG was just released called Cris Tales. It’s pretty good I’d definitely recommend it.
Yeah, I made a review of that back when the demo was first released.
Yes the game is really good, but I hope they will patch it (random battle loading time screen, too much high frequency of random battle). But yes it's so beautiful. 😁
Based off the entries, the list is pretty sound for the titles chosen. I did enjoy the evo let's play as well as the final fantasy 3 let's play ds remake. Hope you're having a great weekend, David
There's a free indie RPG involving time travel called "Shattered Hourglass" that I played once that was pretty good. It also had the hardest boss that I ever beat in an RPG.
Radiant Historia is an underated gem.
Yes it is.
FFXIII-2 is underrated.
If only Final Fantasy XI could've been on the list. Specifically the Wings of the Goddess expansion onward. For the unaware, time in that game plays a huge role, and as you go through the game's zones you start to see Atomos heads floating in some of them. These Atomos heads, called Cavernous Maws, lead to two different destinations. One set leads to Abbysea, which is how the game would have looked if the player's character didn't fight and defeat Promathia in the Chains of Promathia DLC, and another set leads to the past, specifically the Crystal War era. Then, there's the Escha variant zones and Reisenjima, which is the game's world in a future where the allied forces of Altana lost the Crystal War and Promathia has destroyed everything. So you get to see Vana'Diel's past, two versions of it's present, and a grim future.
I have to say, every time I watch one of you videos I find a new game to play or a new perspective on one I've previously played. Another excellent video David.
Thank you so much!
Fun list! I love EVO and remember playing it a lot, and I think your EVO let's play was the very first time I found your channel.
Mother 3 story is really good. Having themes like technology vs. nature, how people mindset change as they become more consumer like as a place become more urbanized, growing up to be more mature, and family values. I wish mother 4 was made.
Wouldn't dragon quest 7 be a beter dq option with actual time travel?
Dark cloud 2 would have been a good addition as well with actual time travel involved.
I freaking LOVE EVO The Search For Eden!! Such an underrated gem and has an absolutely outstanding soundtrack.
Don't forget that in the original Final Fantasy, you go back 2000 years in the past to fight Mr. KNOCK YOU ALL DOWN. I'd consider that time-traveling.
The "Explorers" set of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games seem like they should have been a strong contender for this list. I believe they still rank as the highest-selling Pokémon side game (not counting mobile/free-to-play apps).
Glad to see I'm not the only one who appreciates FFXIII_2. I love that series and nobody can tell me nothing. :)
Time jumps count as time traveling?
Honorable mention: Mario and Luigi - partners in time
Also these thumbnails are gold
Oh they're the best! My good friend Poopbro on the discord is making them for me!
Radiant Historia and Final Fantasy 13-2 are both hidden gems, and I'm glad you gave them some love. I know they're not as iconic as CT, but both of those games gave me those CT vibes.
You forgot to give tales of phantasia an honourable mention Dave! The story and plot was impressive thanks to the time traveling (you can't control it but that was ok for me)
Ah I keep trying to leave a comment and it doesn't go through. I think I finally figured out RUclips was blocking comments from one of my VPN locations, so this should go through. I wanted to mention, this was a fun list! I really love time travel sci-fi stories and it was a joy to try to wrap my brain around what Belthasar did in Chrono Trigger. I liked your expansive definition and inclusion of DQV with it. I didn't have a good impression of FFXIII-2, but as you rated it highly I think it deserves another look!
What a great list! I was hoping to see Dark Cloud 2 as well - I loved building the towns and seeing them take shape in the future
Time travel is my favorite concept that's explored in media and video games
ChronoTrigger is not just my number 1 time travel game but one of my favorite games of all time bested only by Nier.
Interested to hear your thoughts on Cris Tales, I’m playing it now and while flawed certainly uses tike mechanics in an interesting way.
Love your channel keep up the great content
That's exactly my same feeling! Nier Automata just dethroned Chrono Trigger as #1. T
Hmm, let me rack my brain once again. I think I can come up with a similar list that has both active time travel options, as well as singular time lapse/shift/clock backs. They won't all be JRPGs, though I will try to at least lean into Japanese games for the most part. I'll put mine in order in the order in which they came to mind.
10. The 7th Saga - This has a major clock back after the acquisition of the 7th Rune. It's also a point of no return, which make it insanely impactful and memorable. It may not be an innovative, fun mechanic, but it's a landmark in time travel related shenanigans in video games for me.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - You are allowed to travel back and forth from 7 years in the game's future, which is incidentally triggered when you acquire the Master Sword. Things you do as kid Link in the present affect that future. Plant a magic bean? Adult Link gets a flying bean sprout. Learn a song as Adult Link? You can play it in the present as Kid Link to trigger new events. It's more or less the Chrono Trigger of action RPGs, or at least the most well known one.
8. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War - One of the earliest entries in the Fire Emblem series, and really only available to us via emulation. You start in the present with the extremely powerful Sigurd, and you get to setup relationships in your army. Depending on who you pair, later on, there is a time lapse. Afterwards, your army is composed mainly of the children from those relationships you setup, having traits from both parents as well as inherited equipment. It's basically the first Fire Emblem dating simulator :P I kid, I kid. The maps are huge though, and it's quite a cumbersome game, but it is very cool.
7. Breath of Fire II - I will admit that the time lapse forward is much more impressive in Breath of Fire III, but this one did it first, and it was still done well in my opinion. It kind of follows what became a trope. Everything from your childhood was significant to the climax of the game, and it setup one of the most memorable boss fights in history against Barubary.
6. Chrono Cross - Well, it's more about alternate realities, right? With a really convoluted time travel plot where entire civilizations time travel and world hop to fight one another? Yeah... that's true I guess. Not why it's on my list though. Recall the song, "Orphanage of Flame." This is the part in the game right after Harle has absconded with the Frozen Flame, and Kid is in a state of shock. In order to get her out of it, you must have defeated Dario and united the dream entities Doreen, Masa, and Mune into the Mastermune. They use Lucca's incomplete time egg to send you back in time to Kid's childhood where you race against the clock inside of Lucca's burning home, saving children, and then comforting Kid. It's open to interpretation, but it seems you save her this way by becoming part of her past which she is unable to put behind her. It allows her to wake from the coma, and is fairly memorable for the drawings of all but Frog and Magus of the original CT party going up in flames.
5. Wild Arms - Ok, this one is a bit of a stretch, but hear me out. First there's the magic stopwatch that allows you to turn back time to reset puzzles. That feature appeared in a few puzzle based games before this. Then, beyond that there is the sidequest with Elmina. Once you've defeated her, if you find the Guardian of Time you can utilize its powers to alter spacetime, returning life to Elmina's body at the cost of most of her memories. It probably shouldn't be on the list, but I'm including it anyway because it needs more love.
4. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - It's an action adventure game rebooting the 1989 PC classic. You use your dagger to go clock back after mistakes. It got a disney movie or something made after it, huh.
3. FFXI: Wings of the Goddess - The fourth expansion for Final Fantasy XI features the introduction of Atomos shaped, "Cavernous Maws" which spirit you away to the Walk of Echoes which is a nexus created by the Goddess Altana where timelines deemed unworthy are devoured by the actual Atomos. On your first trip there you actually fail to land on the viewing platforms of undevoured spacetime and so fall through into another timeline. For all intents and current understanding though, you fell twenty years into the past, arriving in the time period of the Crystal War which the game has painted up for you through NPC dialogue and quests in the present day. If you played since 2002/03, then you've played the game for 4 years by this point, so the Crystal War is something you've heard a lot about, but never got to see. Well, now you do, only you come to find out that it's an alternate timeline version, though you can still use knowledge from your present to give yourself advantage in the alternate world version of your past. The villain you face, Lady Lilith, is one of my favorite villains of all time.
2. FFXIV - Whenever you read about games with time travel, articles usually mention the timeskip teleportation enacted by Archon Louisoix on the plains of Carteneau during the 7th Umbral Calamity wreaked by Bahamut that distorted the shape of the world. However, there is more than a mere timeskip in FFXIV. First, there is the Alexander enacted timeloop. Alexander is a primal entity resembling a giant metal castle perusual, only he has the ability to travel forward and back through time. He tries to enact his will onto the world in order to create the perfect future, but in all outcomes that he foresees, the world is never perfected under his guidance, however close it might become it's always destroyed. The events of that raid arc create a stable timeloop that keep Alexander bound within it so that he cannot change his mind.
FFXIV time travel part two, electric boogaloo... involves a bad future. The Garlean Empire uses an aetherochemical weapon called, "Black Rose" to win the war. Its effect stops the aether in your body, resembling respiratory failure, only your very soul stagnates, and no matter how powerful you are, if you are exposed to it, you die. The survivors of this war include Cid and some other notable scientifically and magically inclined characters. By researching Alexander and the Omega Weapon, they fuse the two technologies with those of the Crystal Tower, and their descendants find a way to send the whole tower back in time to stop the Black Rose calamity. It's a little more complicated than that, but I can't get into it without massive spoilers.
1. Chrono Trigger - I tried to make my list without adding it, but in the end, no other games came to mind. Not even action based ones, as even though I mention them all the time I haven't played very many of them. You know what this one is all about already, but in particular my favorite sequence of time travel in it involves using the time egg to save Crono. Altering time never gets old.
Awww I really thought "Live A Live" was going to be on this list, because each character is set in a different timeline/era :( I still gave a "Like" to the video David
Oooh, this is a fun list!
I'm glad Tales of Graces and Radiant Historia got some love, but the number 1 spot really threw me off! Glad to see that game getting some appreciation :D
For me the best time travel JRPG was Ephemeral Fantasia on PS2. The game felt mysterious as you explored the island trying to break out of the 5 day time loop.
Great list, David. Had some of my favorites on there. Now I need to finish Radiant Historia. That game is so awesome!
Paladins Quest is a good oldie, although time travel doesn't happen till mid game
Timeskips hmmm...
I love FE4's transition between the 1st and the 2nd gen. It has no "time travel mumbo-jumbo" like Awekening and it rewards your efforts in the 1st gen.
Not sure if a Time SKIP counts as Time Traveling. Other than that, nice List as always :)
Right I was thinking that too lol.
Star Ocean 1 and Tales of Phantasia are a couple of my favorites that would have made my list.
Omg that thumbnail 😍😍😍😍
I love that thumbnail.
Totally not me freaking out that FFXIII-2 made it to #1. Like wow! 😳 I loved that game and so glad it got some love here!
I love what you've done with your hair there David. Akira Toriyama would approve
Hey there - first time seeing one of your videos! Gotta say, I admire a person bold enough to place Final Fantasy XIII-2 above CHRONO TRIGGER ;)
I think as a game, I'll never be able to unseat my favorite in Chrono Trigger, HOWEVER, in the vein of which game had the most FUN use of Time Travel? Yeah, I gotta admit, I think XIII-2 did it better. It was just so much fun and EVERY TIME I heard the music that plays on the timeline screen, I got amped up.
Being positive about the XIII Trilogy on the Internet is hard enough (Lightning Returns is one of the best games on the PS3, imo). Great video! Just subbed and looking forward to more!
Great list! Fingers crossed Dragon Valor makes it in if you do a part 2.
Wow, EVO and SaGa 3? I'm both surprised and happy.
Could not agree with #1 more. I thought it wouldnt make your list and was thrilled to see it. Great list!!!
Great list theme David. Time travel is one of my favorite tropes in fiction
I haven't played a lot of these games. I played EVO way back in the day and I have DQ5 which i intend to play soon. CT is great and I loved Radiant HIstoria's dual time lines. I haven't played FF13-2. Great video. I love these kinds of things.
Thanks!
Great video, David! Keep up the awesome work!
I pre ordered ff13 2 because I loved the first one so much. The fact it was a time travel game made it even better for me. Should play it again. Played it so much and basically 100% it and moved on to other games.
Another great video dave, I love ff legand 3 and ff13 2 but what I would chose as no.1 on this list is teranigma but I don't understand why breath of fire 3 is on this list, yes it's a time jump, it's not time travel. Anyway, great video and sorry I haven't been on discord lately
#1 for me on this would of been Chrono Trigger. Good list though.
Honorable mention to Tales of Phantasia, even if time travel is just related to the plot development. Anyway, excellent list.
I love this video I've been trying to get the fan translation of Mother 3 for the gba i also been trying to get final fantasy legend 3 (originally on the game boy but now that you said that it's on ds I'll get it on the ds) and chrono trigger (I'll get it on ds and possibly get it on the snes as well and the ps1 which came with final fantasy 4 which is great)
DQ5, Graces and BoF are not time travel. Are time progression. Not the same.
Most of the games on this list use a Time Skip not time travel
There was another rpg named Ultima 2. It is one of the earlier games to use the concept of time travel.
Not a JRPG, but 999 and Virtue's Last Reward are Visual Novels that did time skip/travel exceptionally well. And then I learned about Radiant Historia, and it's _perfect_. The story isn't as good as Chrono Trigger, but it's good enough to keep you guessing long enough to be engaged.
Also want to give a shout out to Ys VIII, though this isn't really time travel but time skip.
Hi David! Great video as always. I have a question for you: when you talked about Terranigma, you mentioned that is part of the "Heaven and Earth Quadrilogy". I was surpirsed to hear there might be 4 games in the series! Illusion of Gaia is one of my absolute favorite SNES games and I am currently going through Soul Blazer (loving it) and will continue with Terranigma afterwards, but what is the fourth related game? Thanks a lot in advance and keep up the awesome work!
The granstream saga
Total Chad move putting XIII-2 in the top spot.
I loved Tales of Phantasia because you had to restore the power of magic in the past so you could fight in the future.
Im really shocked your didnt place DQV higher. You LOVE this game! But when it comes to "Time Travel"....... you placed it in a fair place. Kudos.
Also, I havent heard of a good chunk of these titles so Im no where near the subject matter expert.
Chrono Trigger will always be my number 1 time travel game.
I loved the time-travel story element in Dragon Quest XI. And let’s not forget that Final Fantasy I did it first ;-)
Aren't Time Travelings and a stylistic Time Skips different things?
I love, Evo. I found it by accident and it was one of my favorite obscure games, xiii-2 sounds good actually, I may have to give that a try! Would you count live-a-live as a time traveling rpg? Or is it more scenario based so theoretically it wouldn't count?
I'm surprised DQ11 wasn't mentioned since it had Time Traveling part at the end. Oh well. Good list regardless.
i was searching "Radiant Historia" game, i just remember concept but forget the name, thnkx for the video
While I'm not here to tell you what should or should not be on your list, I don't necessarily think a time skip is the same as time traveling. Time traveling is being able to go to different eras other than your own rather than merely growing up. Games like DQ7, TLoZ Ocarina, Oracle of Ages, & Link to the Past, or Kingdom Hearts would better fit the bill in my opinion, as characters are actually jumping into to different eras of the same (or different) place(s) rather than living their lives and merely skipping from the gamer's perspective. That being said, this is still a solid list, and I definitely did not expect FF13-2 to be on there. Although I personally had a good time with that game, it understandably doesn't land on many "Top 10 Best" lists lol
Hey David have you ever played the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VII : Adventures of Knuckle Sandwich? Would love to hear your opinions on it.
I know it's the Quintet Quadrilagy, but they need to release the SNES Trilogy on the Switch.
FF XIII-2 was that rare occasion where a Final Fantasy sequel is better than it's original, and also made FF XIII more enjoyable as well.
Chrono Trigger is... #2 NOW you have my full attention!
I’ve always been curious why Japanese media has so much time travel in their fantasy stories. I don’t know if it was popular before games or if it started because a gameplay mechanic.
Tales of Graces f is a WONDERFUL game.
Radiant Historia and crono trigger should be 1 and 2 been interchangeable. But thats my 2 cents. :)
Love from David for my all time favorite Final Fantasy trilogy at #1! ❤️
Imagine my surprise when the obvious Chrono Trigger isn't number one, and I'm sitting here thinking...just what could be better than Chrono Trigger at time travel? Never expected that. 😅
But I don't care what anyone says or thinks, I absolutely adored the XIII trilogy...and this is from a veteran who started with FF1 on the NES as a kid and played nearly every FF game there is since.
Tales of Destiny 2 is one of my favorite time traveling game.
*gets out his steam and switch wishlists*
Okay, I'm ready! 😂😁
Love 13-2, really underrated game.
I love the thumbnail
Im looking forward for workout vids
I tried so hard to like tales of graces f. I liked the combat being a step above symphonia, but for some reason I just crapped out on it. I do remember asbel fighting his best friend being the most memorable boss fight to me, but I assume I might've given up right as it gets good. That's my bad.
You forgot Destiny connect, its not only one of the best time traveling jrpg but one of the best time travaling games ever
Tales of Graces F was heartbreaking when I started it.
only 5 of the games on this list are actually time tiravel. the rest are time skips and i don't think that counts as time travel.
Dragon Quest 7, Dark Cloud 2, Final Fantasy 8
Heck I didn't even know there WERE ten time traveling Jrpgs.
There's even more too. Arguably Bravely Default is another although the time travel is to its detriment.
FF1 is also a time travel story. All the Xenosagas when you take into account the UMN and also when you actually travel back in time not just use God to recreate a "simulation" of the past. There are a ton of time traveling JRPGs.
If you take into account the backstory of Xenogears, it kind of counts too and the romancing saga games are multi-generational(and terrible).
Tbf several games in this list don't involve time travel, just a time skip.
Was waiting for tales of phantasia. most of these games just used time skip, not really time travel. the time just passes for the viewer, the characters themselves dont experience any time travel.
5:08 - And of course Mother 3 is also an allegory for the Book of Revelation.
My top 3 TT
1.Radiant HIstoria
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Mother 3
I'm surprised you included Tales of Graces F as the Tales time travel game instead of Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Destiny 2. Graces is only a time skip in the story while Phantasia and Destiny 2 has time travel to the past and future.
Granted phantasia isn’t specifically about time travel as a theme (rather it being a means to an end) and Destiny 2 has never been localized
What are your thoughts on the Tactics Ogre Remaster for the PSP? It incorporates, while not as in-depth as Radiant History, a time rewinder mechanic in the game that allows you to visit each path and recruit all the characters on the 3 paths (which you were locked into on the SNES/PSX versions), and a secret ending that requires you to complete all the paths to unlock.
Also, pleasantly surprised FF13-2 was #1. I liked 13 better than most players but got why it was criticized, and thought 13-2 was a legit great game, but it seemed anchored by being a sequel to such a poorly received game that it never got a fair shake.
DQ XI played with time a bit. I’m surprised it wasn’t an honorable mention.
I totally need to give radiant historia another chance!
Oh it's amazing! My favorite game on the DS
Radian Historia is probably the best one but personally its DQ 11 for me :)
I love the Tales of series as well! Wish I got a Vita to play Tales of Hearts R :(.
Heaven and Earth Quadrilogy? I've beaten Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma. What's the fourth one?
Granstream Saga
I'm shocked that you like ff 13-2. But I'm glad you too!
Most of these are not time travel games as much as they are games where characters age.
I was hoping Final Fantasy Legend III would be on here and it ended up higher on the list than I expected it to be. You've piqued my interest for Radiant Historia. :)
In retrospect and as someone who's beaten over 150 RPGs, it's apparently a rare premise to indulge. Mostly you see it in action games.
This list could be a lot longer if you look at Dragon Warrior VII, Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, the original Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, or Dark Cloud.
Oy. My heart breaks, as I finally disagree with David. I struggled to even get through FFXIII, and its sequel only held my attention for minutes before I moved on. Chrono Trigger is such a magnificent time travel RPG that I can't see myself ever putting something above it. Was happy to see FFL III here, as the "Saga" series never gets the love it deserves. Love ya, David! Even when I disagree! Haha.
hahahaha love your tumbnails xDDD