Dearest Giant Bomb Community: oldskool JRPG suggestions

I have to admit that this recent Endurance Run has spurred a gut reaction inside of me to play a classic JRPG. I've already played Chrono Trigger a good while ago, and don't feel like being redundant as I keep up with the ER. What I'm looking for is QUALITY and DEPTH and CLASSIC. Nothing polygonal please. GO! (also, feel free to discuss why/why not)

-seesaw

Can't go wrong with Secret of Mana or Sword of Mana. Bit more of an action-rpg style gameplay, if you don't mind that.

@SeeSaw: Final Fantasy IV.

Secret of Mana

Final Fantasy 6. It hasn't been remade yet, and it's a blessing and a curse. It's the biggest and most technically advanced of the 16 sprite based FF games. It has an amazing, and my personal favorite FF score. Its ending is 30+ minutes long. For me, this is the pinnacle of the FF series.

I'd love to play it on a new system, with spruced up graphics. I don't want characters redesigned until they Locke looks like Meg Ryan wearing a doo rag made out of zippers.

Secret of Mana. Its the combat of Link to the Past with a large JRPG world. Oh, and coop play.

Final Fantasy III for the DS.

FF3 aka VI    greatest jrpg of all time.....  or ... my favorite of all time.

Grandia, Wild Arms, Breath of Fire 3, Xenogears, Suikoden 2, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

The PS1 was the Golden Age of the JRPG. Some of these sometimes use polygons. You should get over it.

Suikoden 2 is the right answer here. Best JRPG of the PS1 era. FFVI is probably the best of the SNES era. Take your pick.

would help to know what you are going to play these on but none the less

Final Fantasy, 3,4,6

radiant historia

the first star ocean and dragon quest

also what is wrong with polygons?

Oh, there's nothing wrong with polygons! The more the better, etc! I'm just more in the mood for the 16 bit art right now. I played most of my JRPGs on the ps1 and am really just looking for stuff I may have missed out on, though I never played Suikoden 2, so I may have to check that out.

I'm probably going to start with FFVI as it sounds like it will definitely be enjoyable and what I'm looking for.

also: @McGhee: Thanks, I will get over it. It's probably going to be a long battle, but as long as you keep up that stellar positivity and maturity, you may just be the inspiration I was looking for all along!

@SeeSaw said:

also: @McGhee: Thanks, I will get over it. It's probably going to be a long battle, but as long as you keep up that stellar positivity and maturity, you may just be the inspiration I was looking for all along!

-__- My point was that even though a game may have polygons, it still has an old-school 16 bit feel. Wild Arms is one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. It mostly looks like a SNES game, but the just the battles are all polygons.

haha you should play Shin Megami Tensei 1 or 2

There was a post on this subject yesterday lol. I will reply with the same response:

Phantasy Star IV, if you want to play it legit get a compilation for the new consoles, because the cart will cost a bunch.

@McGhee: I see. Thank you for the clarification. I will definitely look into the games you suggested. Wild Arms really does look great, I suppose I should be more clear from the outset.

@sanchopanza said:

Phantasy Star IV, if you want to play it legit get a compilation for the new consoles, because the cart will cost a bunch.

I second this.

I don't really like JRPGs but i love this game.

Super Mario RPG yet again painfully unrepresented.

Suikoden 1 & 2 are exceptional games, the latter probably being one of my favorite games of all time. 1 is great as well, and I recommend playing it since there are references and characters from the first game that make a reappearance. Can't hurt.

Might as well go fucking insane with this:

• Paper Mario
• Quest 64
• Phantasy Star everything
• Shining Force everything
• Pokemon everything
• Dragon Quest everything
• Final Fantasy everything
• For the Frog the Bell Tolls (it finally has a translation)
• Fire Emblem everything
• Earthbound (that is all)
• Chrono Trigger?
• Super Mario RPG
• Seiken Densetsu everything
• Star Ocean everything
• Bahamut Lagoon
• Tales of Phantasia
• Soul Blazer
• Illusion of Gaia
• Terranigma
• Treasure of the Rudras
• The first three Breath of Fire games
• Lufia 2
• Romancing SaGa 2
• Mystic Ark
• Crystalis
• Faria
• The first two Lunar games
• Maybe Vay
• The Legend of Dragoon
• Panzer Dragoon Saga