there are RPGs and then there are jrpgs
you betcha
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
Japanese role-playing games of all time
I dreamt about tuned for this list we
are only considering games that were
given unofficial English localization
release while the games in question do
not have to be turn-based they have to
feature the genre staples like
experience points and multiple
characters I understand so games like
Monster Hunter are unfortunately out
tactical strategy RPGs like Fire Emblem
are also excluded and our usual rule of
one game per franchise still stands no
no number 10 Secret of Mana the second
mana game to arrive in North America if
you count final fantasy adventure on the
Gameboy here we follow our unnamed hero
as he discovers the legendary weapon the
mana sword your ultimate goal is to use
the sword to destroy what is known as
the mana fortress a flying warship once
controlled by an ancient civilization
the title was revolutionary for its time
allowing up to three players to operate
each one of the main characters
simultaneously and for its wheel system
which made casting spells a breeze
number nine so we could into our next
entry is another classic in the JRPG
catalog so we could end to known for its
multi branching story the player
controls ryu our young hero who gets
swept up into a multi nation war you
know like we all do from time to time
the gameplay will keep you on your toes
as it switches quite often between
skirmishes with up to six characters to
full-on army assaults we recommend you
play this game with a guy as you may not
get the real ending if you haven’t
collected all a hundred and eight
characters and that’s a feat all by
itself
go ahead we dare you to try number eight
earthbound released in Japan with the
less appealing title mother two we
follow the story of ness and his four
friends as they attempt to stop the
alien gigas from destroying the world
how do you ask by using a collection of
melodies of course contrary to this one
of the main creators of the game writer
shigesato itoi’s considered earthbound a
satirical statement about Western
culture as well as of common RPG tropes
as evidenced by the seemingly mundane
characters that serve as enemies as you
may have guessed earthbound went on to
sell poorly in the United States but is
remembered as a cult classic number 7
Shin Megami Tensei persona for the
newest game to make our top 10 Shin
Megami Tensei persona 4 pleased new life
into a genre that was mainly ruled by
the Final Fantasy franchise everyone odd
guard persona 4 is essentially two games
in one as when you’re in the real world
of Inaba the game functions as a life
simulator allowing you to live out your
day as you wish
when you enter the TV world you use each
character’s persona essentially amassed
the character wares to deal with the
hardships in their lives to gain
experience and levels the game attempts
to blend RPG and simulation elements
together and largely succeeds such a
passionate approach number six Kingdom
Hearts this is what happens when Disney
and Final Fantasy are mashed together
taking control of the young boy Sora the
player visits various Disney worlds like
a Grove uh from Aladdin and the deep
jungle from Tarzan to defeat the
Heartless which serve as the main force
of darkness in the game when the
Heartless came everything changed
although only the most devoted fans can
follow its convoluted storyline beyond
its multiple spin-offs on different
consoles when you get back now
the original is still a shining example
of an action RPG done right number 5
Xenogears
while Xenoblade Chronicles was another
critically acclaimed entry in the series
Xenogears just barely edges it out in
terms of legendary status in Xenogears
you take control of protagonist beifong
long as he tries to uncover the truth
behind the mysterious machines that
exist in his world the game serves as an
analysis of humanity’s relationship with
machines mainly due to the existence of
gears gears are various machines that
any character the player controls can
operate much like one of our earlier
entries Xenogears uses two different
systems for battle a traditional
turn-based format and a giant robot
battle when you’re operating a gear
number four dragon quest 8 journey of
the cursed king yes yes here we are in
dragon quest aid the player controls a
silent protagonist and his allies in
their battle against doll Magus a court
jester who obtained a magic scepter
containing you’ll never guess the Lord
of Darkness which he’s trying to use to
take over the kingdom oh no no no the
eighth iteration of the Dragon Warrior
franchise Dragon Quest uses a mixture of
3d animation and cell shading technology
a style that was underrepresented in the
JRPG charm
I am fine as I am to top it off the
battle system was improved from the
previous titles to include first-person
and third-person viewpoints seamlessly
switching with ease
Western world meat Dragon Quest not
dragon work well they certainly took us
by surprise but nothing we couldn’t
handle it
number three pokemon gold silver crystal
you’ve got to catch them all and a lot
of people did the second major
installment in the Pokemon franchise
gold and silver added a hundred new
Pokemon to an already expansive list
this time around there are sixteen gems
to take on spread across two separate
regions you can collect Pokemon the
traditional way by catching them in the
wild
trading them with other players or by
using the newly introduced breeding
system
it also added a time system to the
series which is integral to the
appearance of a few rare Pokemon can you
be the one to capture the legendary
Pokemon probably number two Final
Fantasy 6 this shara is loaded with
Final Fantasy so the only question is
which one would we pick for more on this
difficult decision please check out our
top 10 Final Fantasy games list anyway a
Final Fantasy 6 is steampunk-inspired
main story you take control of up to 14
playable characters in a rebellion
against the Empire and their magitek
Knights most notably kefka
Kefka is the driving force behind the
end of the world and serves as one of
the greatest antagonists gaming has ever
seen
while battle wise the game doesn’t bring
anything new to the table its peerless
in terms of its story before we reveal
our top pick here are a few honorable
mentions
number one Chrono Trigger no other game
has done JRPGs and time travel more
justice than this 16-bit masterpiece
from its rather simplistic beginnings to
save a princess lost in time the game
quickly evolves into something much much
bigger in the future humanity is
clinging to life on a dying world thanks
to a being known as Lavos who has
devastated the planet Chrono Trigger
story is compelling without being overly
complex just like its combat system on
top of it all there are multiple endings
to give you more reasons to relive this
fantastic journey for no trigger just
isn’t the best jrpg it’s one of the best
games ever made
do you by any chance agree with our list
he wishes which JRPG do you love for
more intensive top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com zum steep yourself in
darkness too long
the Heartless consume the cares
you betcha
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
Japanese role-playing games of all time
I dreamt about tuned for this list we
are only considering games that were
given unofficial English localization
release while the games in question do
not have to be turn-based they have to
feature the genre staples like
experience points and multiple
characters I understand so games like
Monster Hunter are unfortunately out
tactical strategy RPGs like Fire Emblem
are also excluded and our usual rule of
one game per franchise still stands no
no number 10 Secret of Mana the second
mana game to arrive in North America if
you count final fantasy adventure on the
Gameboy here we follow our unnamed hero
as he discovers the legendary weapon the
mana sword your ultimate goal is to use
the sword to destroy what is known as
the mana fortress a flying warship once
controlled by an ancient civilization
the title was revolutionary for its time
allowing up to three players to operate
each one of the main characters
simultaneously and for its wheel system
which made casting spells a breeze
number nine so we could into our next
entry is another classic in the JRPG
catalog so we could end to known for its
multi branching story the player
controls ryu our young hero who gets
swept up into a multi nation war you
know like we all do from time to time
the gameplay will keep you on your toes
as it switches quite often between
skirmishes with up to six characters to
full-on army assaults we recommend you
play this game with a guy as you may not
get the real ending if you haven’t
collected all a hundred and eight
characters and that’s a feat all by
itself
go ahead we dare you to try number eight
earthbound released in Japan with the
less appealing title mother two we
follow the story of ness and his four
friends as they attempt to stop the
alien gigas from destroying the world
how do you ask by using a collection of
melodies of course contrary to this one
of the main creators of the game writer
shigesato itoi’s considered earthbound a
satirical statement about Western
culture as well as of common RPG tropes
as evidenced by the seemingly mundane
characters that serve as enemies as you
may have guessed earthbound went on to
sell poorly in the United States but is
remembered as a cult classic number 7
Shin Megami Tensei persona for the
newest game to make our top 10 Shin
Megami Tensei persona 4 pleased new life
into a genre that was mainly ruled by
the Final Fantasy franchise everyone odd
guard persona 4 is essentially two games
in one as when you’re in the real world
of Inaba the game functions as a life
simulator allowing you to live out your
day as you wish
when you enter the TV world you use each
character’s persona essentially amassed
the character wares to deal with the
hardships in their lives to gain
experience and levels the game attempts
to blend RPG and simulation elements
together and largely succeeds such a
passionate approach number six Kingdom
Hearts this is what happens when Disney
and Final Fantasy are mashed together
taking control of the young boy Sora the
player visits various Disney worlds like
a Grove uh from Aladdin and the deep
jungle from Tarzan to defeat the
Heartless which serve as the main force
of darkness in the game when the
Heartless came everything changed
although only the most devoted fans can
follow its convoluted storyline beyond
its multiple spin-offs on different
consoles when you get back now
the original is still a shining example
of an action RPG done right number 5
Xenogears
while Xenoblade Chronicles was another
critically acclaimed entry in the series
Xenogears just barely edges it out in
terms of legendary status in Xenogears
you take control of protagonist beifong
long as he tries to uncover the truth
behind the mysterious machines that
exist in his world the game serves as an
analysis of humanity’s relationship with
machines mainly due to the existence of
gears gears are various machines that
any character the player controls can
operate much like one of our earlier
entries Xenogears uses two different
systems for battle a traditional
turn-based format and a giant robot
battle when you’re operating a gear
number four dragon quest 8 journey of
the cursed king yes yes here we are in
dragon quest aid the player controls a
silent protagonist and his allies in
their battle against doll Magus a court
jester who obtained a magic scepter
containing you’ll never guess the Lord
of Darkness which he’s trying to use to
take over the kingdom oh no no no the
eighth iteration of the Dragon Warrior
franchise Dragon Quest uses a mixture of
3d animation and cell shading technology
a style that was underrepresented in the
JRPG charm
I am fine as I am to top it off the
battle system was improved from the
previous titles to include first-person
and third-person viewpoints seamlessly
switching with ease
Western world meat Dragon Quest not
dragon work well they certainly took us
by surprise but nothing we couldn’t
handle it
number three pokemon gold silver crystal
you’ve got to catch them all and a lot
of people did the second major
installment in the Pokemon franchise
gold and silver added a hundred new
Pokemon to an already expansive list
this time around there are sixteen gems
to take on spread across two separate
regions you can collect Pokemon the
traditional way by catching them in the
wild
trading them with other players or by
using the newly introduced breeding
system
it also added a time system to the
series which is integral to the
appearance of a few rare Pokemon can you
be the one to capture the legendary
Pokemon probably number two Final
Fantasy 6 this shara is loaded with
Final Fantasy so the only question is
which one would we pick for more on this
difficult decision please check out our
top 10 Final Fantasy games list anyway a
Final Fantasy 6 is steampunk-inspired
main story you take control of up to 14
playable characters in a rebellion
against the Empire and their magitek
Knights most notably kefka
Kefka is the driving force behind the
end of the world and serves as one of
the greatest antagonists gaming has ever
seen
while battle wise the game doesn’t bring
anything new to the table its peerless
in terms of its story before we reveal
our top pick here are a few honorable
mentions
number one Chrono Trigger no other game
has done JRPGs and time travel more
justice than this 16-bit masterpiece
from its rather simplistic beginnings to
save a princess lost in time the game
quickly evolves into something much much
bigger in the future humanity is
clinging to life on a dying world thanks
to a being known as Lavos who has
devastated the planet Chrono Trigger
story is compelling without being overly
complex just like its combat system on
top of it all there are multiple endings
to give you more reasons to relive this
fantastic journey for no trigger just
isn’t the best jrpg it’s one of the best
games ever made
do you by any chance agree with our list
he wishes which JRPG do you love for
more intensive top 10s published every
day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com zum steep yourself in
darkness too long
the Heartless consume the cares
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