My 10 All-Time Favorite Videogame RPGs

It’s been a while since I last sought the time to write, and I don’t want to keep disappointing my few readers (whoever they are) with lame placeholder posts. So, after a month-long slump of productivity, I’m now going to churn out something not-so smart, but fun anyway.

This post is about my top 10 Videogame Role Playing Games (RPG). I’m not going to discuss what makes a videogame an RPG, so if you’re interested in that, read the wikipedia entry. If you want to know what videogames I am qualifying as RPG, go to rpgamer and you’ll find that all games I included in this list are archived there. Just so we don’t split hairs over the definition, okay?

Btw, this is in any order of preference, because I’m too fickle to decide which one I like over the other.

1. Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

It’s safe to say that more than half of RPG-playing demographics got their first shot of the genre through Final Fantasy VII. And then there are those who played the earlier game, Final Fantasy VI. FFVI and FFVII are often compared because they have obvious similarities, but of the two, I like FFVI more. Anyone who has played FFVII will remember equipping Materias to make their characters stronger, right? Well, Materias are carbon copies of FFVI’s Espers, except much simplified.

I also think of FFVI as the highest point of the series, especially because each locations has a very distinct style – who can forget the steampunk-y city Narsche or the comical formality of Opera House? Plus, you can recruit up to 14 characters, which is the most in any Final Fantasy so far (excluding the Tactics game). And the main antagonist is even more of an anarchist than Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Favorite character: Shadow. He seems to be inspired by Snake Eyes of G.I. Joe, which, in my book, instantly makes him cool.

What sucks: That the game still does not have a spinoff. C’mon, Square, this game’s finale is just as open-ended as FFVII’s and FFX’s! I want to know what everyone is up to, you know, after they’re done thwarting Kefka’s nefarious schemes!

2. Uncharted Waters (SNES)

This game was (and still is) way ahead of its time. Unlike most RPG where the setting is some generic fantasy worlds filled with dragons and flying battleships, Uncharted Waters takes place in real world, and the player travels around by sailing ships. You play as a young Portuguese captain trying to get a career with sailing. It’s a bit like being Ferdinand Magellan, and it’s good for your topography classes too!

Favorite character: Well, this is one weak area of the game, because there isn’t a lot of narratives here and, as a result, no particular character stands out.

Random trivia: This game, and the series as a whole, is quite popular in East Asia, and there even is an Uncharted Waters online game. Also worth checking out is Uncharted Waters Part 2, which expands everything by offering a more complex battle system and more playable characters (6 in total). I still haven’t played part 2 much, though, which is why it isn’t on the list.

3. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)

I have not played Persona 1 and 2, so I cannot compare this game to franchise’s earlier games. From what I’ve heard, the main draw of the Persona games is that they rely heavily on summoning Personas, which are like the monsters from Pokemon, except that here they’re based on mythological and religious figures. The battles are matters of exposing your enemies’ weaknesses, and finding the right Personas to do just that ensures that the game always requires thorough planning. In fact, the battles are never easy; you can die even from the smallest lapse.

The world in this game is really engaging. Unlike most videogames with either medieval or futuristic settings, this one takes place on a modern-day Japan. You play as someone who goes to school at daytime, and explores dungeons and battles monsters by nighttime. There’s a story that explains why you have to do all these, and for the most part the story is great.

Favorite character: Aegis. She’s an android that, for some reasons, is drawn to the games’ main character. She’s probably the most humane character of the cast, and it’s just really cool seeing her fighting by shooting bullets out of her fingertips.

I can’t stand: Fuuka Yamagishi’s voice acting. 90 percent of Persona 3’s English dub is excellent, but Fuuka’s sucks and it hurts that she squeaks pretty much in EVERY battles you have to go through. Oh no!

4. Chrono Trigger (SNES)

It’s this game that got me into RPG in the first place, so I will always have a soft spot for it. Even by today’s standards when more videogames have sophisticated storytellings, this game’s story has yet to be surpassed, especially since in no other videogames has the tales of time-traveling been told this well, thanks largely to the oddball characters that get involved as a result of this game’s spanning multiple time periods.

Favorite character: Man, this is tough, because I really warmed up to every characters of the game. If I had to pick just one, I’d go with Frog. He’s the prototypical fearless romantic-era swordsman, and he wields one mean-looking sword too.

Other notable qualities: The soundtrack. This game has the best compositions heard from any videogame, old or new. Also, the game has 14 endings which you can view by defeating the final boss at various points of the game.

5. Genso Suikoden II (PS)

Many RPG’s have the epic politico-plots, yet theirs are rarely as memorable as Suikoden II’s. Suikoden II tells a tale of friendship turned bitter war rivals: one (you) as the leader of the working class, and the other as the prince of the elites. Unlike most RPG’s, Suikoden II never feels hackneyed. There is no save-the-princess tripe, and no hammy-effeminate villains waving their capes around while delivering speeches about world domination. All of the major characters are written with such empathy, to the point that none of the villains are one-dimensional evildoers and none of the heroes are ultra-idealistic do-gooders.

The game is loosely inspired by the Chinese classic Water of the Marsh, especially from the having 108 characters. Yes, that’s exactly the amount of characters that you can recruit in this game, and each of them comes from diverse backgrounds that it’s always amusing to see how they tie in with the main plot.

Favorite characters: Since the game has 108 characters, I’m picking more than one. First, Viktor and Flik, the inseparable mercenary duo who ends up being vital part of your group. Next is Shu, the cool and calculating tactician you’ll need to recruit. Finally (one of the antagonists) Luca Blight, who is so sadistic he forces women and children to beg and squeal like pigs before he goes ahead and massacres them anyway. The final battle of the hero versus Luca is still the best boss battle I’ve seen from any videogames.

What sucks: is how the succeeding Suikoden aren’t as good as this one. Though Suiko V comes close, by that time the politico-plot have already grown stale, and the loading times only make the battles more tedious than anything.

6. Valkyrie Profile (PS)

I can name a few RPG’s with a better story than Valkyrie Profile, but I can not name any that has better artworks. By mixing classic Renaissance Arts style with anime, Valkyrie Profile is unforgettably stylish. The theme of Norse gods is also quite unusual in videogames, but it feels right at home here.

This game has often been criticized for having a steep learning curve, and I don’t deny that it’s hard to make sense of this game the first hour you’re playing it. I took some time to get used to the battles, but once I had, I found it quite intense and addicting.

Favorite character: Who else but Lenneth Valkyrie. I just cannot get her battle cries out of my head.

The true ending: There’s just no way you can see it without consulting a FAQ. This is one part about Valkyrie Profile that I did not like so much, because it might be the game that started the whole “really cryptic endings” trend.

7. Grandia (PS)

Too many RPG’s tell the tale of an adolescent brat wanting to explore the world. Where Grandia stands out is with how it handles the subject. Justin is fixated with discovery of a hidden civilization. Unlike most RPG heroes that eventually “evolve” into corny sermonizing preacher of peace and humanity, he maintains the same passion for adventure throughout the game, even if he becomes more mature in the process. He is the epitome of the Indiana Jones-wannabe teenager, and anyone who’s ever gone through that stage in life will feel a connection to him.

Favorite character: Justin. He hearkens back to the better times of RPG’s when their heroes don’t need spiky gravity-defying hair and moody sulky snapshots and they don’t throw wise-cracks around. I also really like seeing him and Feena together, because they never become obnoxious, and because not once does the game overstate Feena’s beauty by subjecting her to over-emphasized scenes of “pop idols flowing their silky smooth hair with the wind” that the Asian-MTV-loving crowd so love to see.

Favorite part of the game: The dinner segments, which often reveal the personality traits of the game’s characters. They’re always lively and funny.

8. Granstream Saga (PS)

My memory with this game is pretty hazy, because it’s been 10 years since I last played it, but I remember digging it so much that I played it all the way from start to finish without much interruptions. Saving a dystopian world where the only masses of lands left are floating continents that require magic to keep them from sinking, the game does a lot more than just having an interesting sci-fi concept. I cared for the characters, and were moved by the sad fates that befell them. But I got most hooked on the game’s battle, because it really did feel like playing a lighter version of Soul Calibur.

Favorite character: Laramee. Gotta love the pirate girls.

What sucks: The voiceover, because it’s reminiscent of English dubs of some early animes where the voice actors don’t even punctuate their sentences.

9. Final Fantasy X (PS2)

I prefer the designs of the pre-VII Final Fantasy. By the time I’ve finished Final Fantasy VIII, I’ve had more than enough of the Asian-melodrama direction the series was beginning to take. So when I first saw FFX, I wanted to vomit. Both the lame fashion and the uninspiring character designs made me want to hate this game, and I played it just so that I could earn the credentials to rag on it. Yet, I was really surprised to find that not only did I like the game, but that I thought of it as one of the best Final Fantasy games (and probably one with the best plot). True, the voice overs are yucky, and certain parts of the story need polish, but all the characters are developed quite well. Plus, the battle system is great because everyone can participate, and they all have distinct strengths and weaknesses.

I still hate the character designs, though. Thankfully, the same character designer, Tetsuya Nomura, did the Kingdom Hearts games, which is why I channeled all my hatred and disgust for him on them, because they actually sucked.

Favorite character: Auron. He’s just badass.

The part of the game that will have you contemplating suicide: The side quests. If you want to get the ultimate weapons for each of the characters, you have to do some really absurd stuff, like race a spastic Chocobo, and dodge lightnings 200 consecutive times without ever getting hit, and play hundreds of Blitzball matches (a sports game in which a match usually takes 10 minutes).

10. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)

I think I’ve sung enough praises for this game in my recent blog posts, so I’ll just make this short. Persona 4 is quite like Persona 3, so anything I said about the 3rd game (scroll up, if you still haven’t read it) applies for the 4th too. Though the story is different, they have some similarities. That said, the 4th game tweaked a lot of stuff from the 3rd game, and I like the 4th game’s plot progression more. Here’s the spoiler-free summary: the hero moved to a small town in Japan, and few days later a bunch of corpses started springing up on top of antennas. Through some twists, the hero discovered that within him were powers that can lead him to discover who or what was causing all the killings, as well as prevent more of those from happening.

Favorite characters: Darn, this one’s tough, because everyone is just so likable that I’ll actually want to hang out with them in real life. If I had to choose, though, I’d pick Yosuke and Yukiko.

Baffling trivia: There’s an “undub” version of the game circulating on the internet. It’s still in english texts, except the voices are all in Japanese. I can’t help but wonder why this game gets an undub version while Final Fantasy X or Star Ocean does not. Seriously, Persona 4’s English dub is top-notch, and some of the characters sound better in the English voiceover than in their Japanese counterparts (especially Teddie – I just can’t stand Teddie’s [or Kuma’s] Japanese voice). To ignore the hard work the English localization team put for this game, that is just pure snobbery.