20 Essential Japanese RPGs - Gotta Catch 'Em All?
March 19, 2008 4:00 PM | Simon Carless
[The Japanese role-playing game is a surprisingly important genre for developers to study - and big sister site Gamasutra presents an 'Essential 20' - by HG101 star Kurt Kalata - explaining and chronicling the top JRPGs of all-time, from Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger to Xenogears and Shadow Hearts.]
Japanese RPGs that concentrate on narrative and battle systems, favoring storytelling perhaps more than any other genre, actually have more complex roots than many realize, as Kalata explains:
"Two of the most popular games back in the day were Ultima and Wizardry. Although all had followings amongst hardcore Japanese gamers, they were a little bit too uninviting for your average console owners, whose ages skewed a bit younger. Yuji Horii, a developer at Enix, decided to take on an interesting experiment.
By combing the overhead exploration aspects of Ultima (the third and fourth games, specifically) and the first person, menu-based battle system of Wizardry, a new game was born: Dragon Quest. Released for the Nintendo Famicom in 1986, the game became a phenomenon, and went on to inspire dozens of clones. Most of these are best left forgotten, but it did inspire two more notable franchises: Square's Final Fantasy and Sega's Phantasy Star."
With this in mind, Kalata presents a thorough run-down of the top 20 JRPGs of all time and detailed information on each title, including in-depth explanations for each as to why they're worthy of note.
Kalata covers more obvious candidates, like the Final Fantasy series and Chrono Trigger, to somewhat under-exposed fan favorites like Shadow Hearts: Covenant:
"Shadow Hearts is a game of contrasts. On one hand, you have an immensely violent and brooding hero, fighting in a world filled with hellish demons. On the other hand, you have flamboyantly gay shopkeepers, even stranger cast of supporting characters and a real world setting that grossly misinterprets historical figures and events to its whims. The games consist of moments of tragedy intermingled with moments of total ludicrousness.
The first Shadow Hearts -- which was released in American within a week of Final Fantasy X and got totally demolished at retail as a result -- errs a bit too much on the serious side. The third Shadow Hearts, subtitled From the New World, takes place a warped version of 1920s America and conversely errs a bit too much on the wacky side. Sitting beautifully in the middle is Shadow Hearts: Covenant, which balances its tone perfectly."
You can now read the full Gamasutra feature, which contains Kalata's complete top 20 as a journey through the best of JRPGs (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from other websites).
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6 Comments
The decision to only discuss one Dragon Quest title on the list proper is a little baffling, especially considering that the storytelling techniques in that series have been more form-driven than the Final Fantasy titles, which have increasingly abandoned interactivity in favor of cinematic sequences designed to emulate film and anime.
jc | March 19, 2008 5:28 PM
I spent the whole day reading that article instead of working, great read.
To all the critics, it's not meant to be a comprehensive encyclopedia of RPG's, but a primer (which it clearely states) that's meant to introduce newcomers to some shining examples of the genre. No one says that after you finish Valkyrie Profile, Shadow Hears Covenant, Crono Cross, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, and Xenogears, you shouldn't go looking at games like Tales of Destiny, or Dragon Quest VIII. Hardcore RPG nerds can argue about which one's better or which one is more epic, but a "casual" (read: non-obsessed) RPG fan really doesn't give a damn. The article is a great starting point, pick any game on that list and start from there.
lech | March 20, 2008 8:52 AM
While I'm saddened that there's nary a mention of one of my favorite Final Fantasy games (IX), glossed over in favor of the inferior VIII and X (did there really have to be that many Final Fantasy mentions?), it's still a terrific read and a great primer.
Chris M. | March 20, 2008 4:29 PM
man, which entries of FF are "inferior" and "superior" are almost totally subjective. that's what makes it fun and interesting to discuss. i actually had a really hard time editing this piece during any and all discussions of FF because my opinions are often different than kurt's ... and yours!
FF9 may as well not exist to me. i don't see what it offers at all besides half-baked nostalgia mining. well, i guess that's more or less what kurt said. so we do agree on one thing...
but that's what's really interesting about the FF series -- which kurt also mentioned -- the divisiveness of its fanbase. everybody seems to play the bulk of the titles, but there are various factions who agree on what's the best with opinions that range all over the place. that's pretty atypical in games.
ferricide | March 20, 2008 4:49 PM
There are few things wrong with that list. One- Final Fantasy XII should not be on there. No offence to the series- but that game was a HUGE let down. I would not group it in a list of the 20 most essential anything. Also, why did Final Fantasy VII get grouped with V and VI? I think it is just as good, if not better, than X. Sure the graphics aren’t so great by today’s standards, and you may have to do a lot of reading, but come on, that game is a legend. I bet if they remade it keeping everything except update the graphics and add voice overs, the game could arguably be the greatest RPG of all time. I would have also liked to have seen Skies of Arcadia somewhere on that list as well. I have spent many hours of play time in shear amazement as to how a game could be so great. I came to the conclusion that it was because it was about pirates (mind you that wasn’t enough to save Final Fantasy XII from not being so good). And where was Kingdom Hearts? I can see where that might be more arguable, but that game has it all; story, action, and Disney characters intermingling with Final Fantasy characters- what more does a game need?!
Ager | September 15, 2008 1:56 PM
I would have also liked to have seen Skies of Arcadia somewhere on that list as well. I have spent many hours of play time in shear amazement as to how a game could be so great.x0129
louis vuitton | January 28, 2010 9:42 PM