My personal top Japanese Role Playing games

The Role Playing Genre always appealed to me since I watched my cousin play Final Fantasy VII. Something about how the games seem totally different from other games really appealed to me. Whether it's the turn based system which lets me flex my tactical skills during combat, or the deep and rich storyline which keeps me wanting to move along or the characters who I could relate to, the Japanese Role Playing Genre continues to be my favorite genre of the gaming universe. Now this is strictly for JRPGs and I understand there are way better games out there like the games from the Shin Megami Tensei series and the earlier Final Fantasy games to play, but it wouldn't be fair for me to group them to my personal list because it would just be about their legacy rather than my experience. The current games I'm playing are Final Fantasy IV, and VII so they may make the list soon. But anyways, here we go!

List items

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  1. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

  The greatest JRPG of all time. Not joking. This is my favorite game of all time, not just in the RPG genre. The characters have backgrounds that are all relatable and the Social Links are also relatable because its not as farfetch'd as 3's. Having to solve the murder of Inaba revolving the Midnight Channel has to be one of the most unique storylines I've seen in video games. Kudos to the localization team because the humor in most situations are great along with the interaction of the investigation team. The battle system in 3 is more refined in 4 which is great because having control of the party makes the game more tolerable unlike in 3, but the challenge of 3 is gone because of the lack of bad AI. The challenge of this game is preserving SP from rare items only attainable in chest within dungeons. The music in the game is very different from the orchestrated greatness of Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X. The game's music is heavily extracted from Japanese Pop and Japanese Rock. Which is unique in its own right, but it creates a warm setting within the town of Inaba. Shoji Meguro is a musical genius where there are a lot of different elements of music. Also seen in Persona 3, Persona 4's music is definitely one of the great points of the game because it makes you feel like you are in this small countryside town in Japan With great music, gameplay, characters, and story, Persona 4 is the greatest JRPG in my opinion.

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  2. Final Fantasy X

  A lot of people think that this game lead to the downfall of the Final Fantasy series. Because of the lack of the world map, the linear storyline, and the annoyance of the lead character, it is often dubbed among JRPG fans as one of the bad FF in the series. But in my opinion there was a lot to like about the game. The game's theme of Spira's of the corruption of religion, the sacrificial rituals which is an endless circle of despair, and the manifestion of past sins, Sin, really shows how deep the storyline is. The game has something that other Final Fantasy games doesn't have which is a global culture. The culture revolves around religion and blitzball for leisure. People live their daily lives praying and hoping for someone to end the despair of Sin ruining everyone's life. Spheres play a huge role within the game from Spira, the endless circle of despair, the sphere grid system to level up your characters, and the certain videos seen from the spheres. The game's traditional combat system is very quick and it is easy to enter a battle and defeat enemies fast. Having to find certain spheres to move through the grid gives it an incentive to grind. Also the music is great being orchestrated by Masashi Hamauzu and Nobuo Uematsu giving a traditional feel to the music in villages like Besaid while making the environment feel grand in certain situations. The characters do have their flaws, but you can't downplay how everyone plays a role in everyone's life. Lulu, a woman who lost her love because of Sin, tries to leave her feelings behind her while trying to be a mother-figure to Yuna. Yuna, having to live in the shadow of her father who defeated Sin, needs to fulfill her legacy by defeating Sin. Although these characters aren't very likable, they are placed in the story for a reason. Everyone has a specific role to the story. I could go on and on about why I like Final Fantasy X, but words can't describe why this game is so high on my list.

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  3. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES

  After beating Persona 4, I checked out Persona 3 FES to see what P4 was based off of. Persona 3 takes a different approach to the storyline. Instead of the positive and feeling of joy trying to find out who the killer of the murders in Inaba in 4, the mood is very dark in 3. The game is more like an interactive anime than anything else. The characters all feel like they've been extracted from an anime revolving around science fiction and demonic mythology and high school dramas. But it is different from Final Fantasys because of how severe the situation is in the land of Japan rather than a different world. Making the situation hitting closer to home. Having to save the world from Shadows through summoning Personae which a gun-like tool called evokers left me feeling a little awkward because of how similar it looked to suicide. But this stress of having to pull the trigger makes sense in summoning the persona. Not only the mythos and storyline was great, but the tradition turnbased system is great as well. I thought it would be a bore like the earlier Final Fantasys, but what they did was make the buff magic and strengths and weaknesses a must to understand in order to master the game. The game's music has its up and downs but the game's theme of "Burn my Dread" has to be one of the most unique songs of all games.

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  4. Final Fantasy VIII

  Final Fantasy VIII is definitely above Final Fantasy VII because of how VIII led me into this genre. I didn't know the difference from other RPGs back then, but it didn't matter because of how good this game was. The characters were very unique for the time. From Squall the loner having to lead a group of unlikely friends to Zell, a character drawn directly out of a manga, Final Fantasy VIII had many likable characters. Although the story was all over the place, the progress led me want more. From being a military soldier for the Balamb Garden to having to save the world from Sorceresses, the more and more I progressed through the game, the more and more I wanted to beat it. The gameplay, which is often a controversial topic, was great because it was different. Now drawing magic and having to stock it may be a bit meticulous, but I enjoyed having to junction them to boost my party's stats. And having monsters level up while you level up made it a different experience because it meant you had to level up your GFs in order to gain new abilities. The junction system was very ahead of its time and having it be the new system after the Materia system would definitely be problematic to fans of VII. But to me, it was a great system that helped me enjoy the game more because it wasn't a constant struggle to level up my characters. There were different ways to buff up the stats rather than grinding.

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  5. Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver

  Now this game was a big surprise to me. I was going to put Pokemon Gold up here, but HeartGold was just amazing. This game is the greatest game in the Pokemon series and although it is a remake, it's just remarkable how old the game is and how easy it is to pick up. Being able to catch all the pokemon from all the generations is definitely a plus after you beat the game.With 16 badges to collect, it's definitely worth the time and money. Also, the minigames and contest really add value to the game because it isn't just a constant grindfest. The storyline makes sense because Team Rocket is trying to be revived through surviving members while you try to take them down. It the only game in the series that can get away with the repetitive quest of trying to prevent a certain organization from taking over the world. But the game does have a few flaws. The only negatives of the game is that near the end of the Johto region, there are many trainers which are underwhelming leaving the last gym battle really difficult unless you grind. Though that's just a minimal problem due to my experience playing the game. But this game is definitely one of the biggest surprises in my gaming life because how it brings a sense of nostalgia. It makes me feel like I'm a 12 year old again, trying to battle the top gym leaders to fight the Elite Four and battle with friends.