Board 8 > Polygon's Top 25 JRPG franchises

(+) Yeah! (+)

We are quickly approaching the 18th anniversary of the last good Final Fantasy game.
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World of Final Fantasy came out in 2016 though
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I'll be honest, I didn't play that one. Was looking into it last month but lol Square Tax, still expensive.
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LapisLazuli posted...

I'll be honest, I didn't play that one. Was looking into it last month but lol Square Tax, still expensive.

What do you consider expensive because it's on Amazon for $22 right now.
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It's almost 2 years old, $20 is the max. It was $30 when I checked before, though.
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Final Fantasy X-2 was 2003.
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My favorite franchise never gets the respect it deserves.
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Not bad, decent list, includes most of what I'd want to be on there. Order is always wacky.

I'm happy to see Yakuza on there, in love with that series right now. Genre is always interesting to define, but this series does fit I'd say. I spent 140 hours playing Yakuza 0, a good amount of that is some fun grinding for money to get upgrades, unlock moves, up your stats etc, and you do quests for people. And equipment etc. And in other ones like Yakuza Kiwami you actually do have an experience bar and get experience points for beating up enemies in pretty much random battles. And spend it in FF style massive sphere grid things.

And there is so much care put into all the side quests, and you juggle all these different ones at once, plus the main plot is usually very good. Anyways, I'd say calling it an Action RPG makes as much sense as calling it Action Adventure, but I get why the various aesthetic/stylistic trappings and whatnot lead only certain games to being called RPGs.

That said, I myself have never really though of Castlevania SoTN as an RPG, even though it has elements. To me it has a lot less RPG elements than Yakuza, but I still don't mind seeing it on the list, plus great games.

And nice to see DQ so high. On how FF is doing, I loved FF XV myself.
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Also can the #1 series really be something that hasn't put out a (consensus) great game in 17 years?

Well it has ~5 consensus great games (give or take) which is more than any other series listed, so yeah? I don't see how recency is relevant for a "greatest ever" list.

Fire Emblem and Suikoden are too low, but still good to see them in the top ten. Wild Arms feels like the most notable omission.
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I loved XV as well :D
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What are they basing the list on? Quality of games, cultural significance, gaming significance?
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LapisLazuli posted...

We are quickly approaching the 18th anniversary of the last good Final Fantasy game.

a top 3 mainline game (ff14), the best spin-off game (theatrhythm: curtain call), and two of the best mobile games around (record keeper, brave exvius) came out in the last five years though
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Mac Arrowny posted...

phew, glad it's just JRPGs rather than RPGs period

I don't think there's very much that's interesting about this list though. Mother in the top 5 is a joke and no Gust is ridiculous.

Gust games are trash that only sell because people still fall for the yuri meme.
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iiicon posted...

LapisLazuli posted...

We are quickly approaching the 18th anniversary of the last good Final Fantasy game.

a top 3 mainline game (ff14), the best spin-off game (theatrhythm: curtain call), and two of the best mobile games around (record keeper, brave exvius) came out in the last five years though

I guess...if you're into those kinds of games.

To me that reads like a sarcastic post.
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It's not sarcastic, 14 and Theatrhythm are legitimately fantastic.

The mobile games are questionable.
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I know they're good for their genres, but those genres are extremely unappealing to me.

I played 10 hours of FF14 and got the fuck out.
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ZXAdvent_Lucian posted...

Mac Arrowny posted...

phew, glad it's just JRPGs rather than RPGs period

I don't think there's very much that's interesting about this list though. Mother in the top 5 is a joke and no Gust is ridiculous.

Gust games are trash that only sell because people still fall for the yuri meme.

some of them like Nights of Azure, yeah

I personally like Atelier gameplay though
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....isn't Trails a huge missing component from this list?

I was under the impression that that was the much more beloved Falcom series.
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LapisLazuli posted...

....isn't Trails a huge missing component from this list?

I was under the impression that that was the much more beloved Falcom series.

#8
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LapisLazuli posted...

I know they're good for their genres, but those genres are extremely unappealing to me.

I played 10 hours of FF14 and got the fuck out.

Notably, for a topic about JRPGS, none of those games are JRPGS.

Also, 14 is not a mainline game.
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LapisLazuli posted...

....isn't Trails a huge missing component from this list?

I was under the impression that that was the much more beloved Falcom series.

Trails = Legend of Heroes
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The Mana Sword posted...

The mobile games are questionable

only better gacha game is granblue

i will concede gacha itself is questionable
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Nelson_Mandela posted...

Also can the #1 series really be something that hasn't put out a (consensus) great game in 17 years?

I think the true point about Final Fantasy is that it rarely produces consensus games, but the magic about that is that there is going to be one or two or three that are tailor made for you, even if another three arent. Its that variety and experimentation that has kept it relevant today, and is both its blessing and its curse. I dont think its the best, but historically, significantly, and culturally, its hard to say theres a contender to Final Fantasy for #1.

(The last great, new, Final Fantasy game was only 12 years ago!)

heroicmario posted...

Its that variety and experimentation that has kept it relevant today, and is both its blessing and its curse.

That's not that true. It produced a lot of consensus great games up through X.

After that they did try changing the gameplay around a bit with more actiony kinda stuff with 12... but then they made 3 13s and 2 MMOs and re-released all their old games a few times. It was the same games over and over for over a decade. 12 and 13 even had the same typical kind of story structure.

XV was massively unique and innovative, which is why it received praise despite being totally broken and unfinished. But it's definitely too little too late. And it's clear they are spending the next 5 years just releasing more bits of that game. So if you don't like XV you're screwed until like 2025
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redrocket_pub posted...

LapisLazuli posted...

I know they're good for their genres, but those genres are extremely unappealing to me.

I played 10 hours of FF14 and got the fuck out.

Notably, for a topic about JRPGS, none of those games are JRPGS.

Also, 14 is not a mainline game.

14 is a mainline game and Y'shtola's appearance in the new Dissidia confirms it. She's not listed as being in the spinoffs like Ace and Ramza are.

Also, Brave Exvius and Record Keeper are still JRPGs.
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Theatrhythm is arguably a JRPG too! You still make parties and level them up by fighting enemies and learn new skills in the process.
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mnkboy907 posted...

Theatrhythm is arguably a JRPG too! You still make parties and level them up by fighting enemies and learn new skills in the process.

look i think we can just all come to an agreement that the best rpgs in the final fantasy franchise are final fantasy xiv, final fantasy theatrhythm, and final fantasy tactics

there, we solved it, no more inequalities ever
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iiicon posted...

mnkboy907 posted...

Theatrhythm is arguably a JRPG too! You still make parties and level them up by fighting enemies and learn new skills in the process.

look i think we can just all come to an agreement that the best rpgs in the final fantasy franchise are final fantasy xiv, final fantasy theatrhythm, and final fantasy tactics

there, we solved it, no more inequalities ever

I will totally agree to this as long as we can also agree that they are all spinoffs!
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What are the criteria for a spin-off? It seems completely arbitrary
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Does it? Seems pretty easy to me. If it's not 1-15 it's a spinoff.
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KingButz posted...

What is the criteria for a spin-off?

The name, that's it
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Apparently main numbering doesn't matter to some if the game is an MMO.
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Then why is 14 a spin-off
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foolm0r0n posted...

That's not that true. It produced a lot of consensus great games up through X.

After that they did try changing the gameplay around a bit with more actiony kinda stuff with 12... but then they made 3 13s and 2 MMOs and re-released all their old games a few times. It was the same games over and over for over a decade. 12 and 13 even had the same typical kind of story structure.

XV was massively unique and innovative, which is why it received praise despite being totally broken and unfinished. But it's definitely too little too late. And it's clear they are spending the next 5 years just releasing more bits of that game. So if you don't like XV you're screwed until like 2025

I'm not sure the discussion about "consensus" games is too fruitful. What metric are we using for that? Critic opinions? Our anecdotal thoughts on what we've seen via the Internet? It's an argument with almost no end, haha. What I would say is that I considered FF6, 7 and 10 to qualify as the truly great consensus games, with everything else being anywhere from unremarkable to good, and all the division that comes with having those labels. Final Fantasy arguments are so frequent for a reason!

You're preaching to the choir about the lost years of Square Enix. That's about the point when they lost me as a big fan. What I would say about Final Fantasy during that time is that it still managed to hold on to its relevance, importance and impact, even when every other series in the genre was having its lunch eaten by Western RPGs -- and Western games generally. Final Fantasy is adaptable. It spices things up, it tries new ideas in some way, and that's what I think keeps people coming back. It doesn't necessarily mean every game is a revelation and a leap forward, but that it isn't afraid to do something totally different from the previous game. I don't even know how to qualify what makes a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game, outside of its name, and that's partly a tribute to how it has evolved and changed over the years. That's what, I think, keeps people's interest piqued when a new is announced, even if they hated the one before. It's different than, say, Dragon Quest. When a new one of those is announced you know exactly what you're getting, and you either like that or don't!

heroicmario posted...

Our anecdotal thoughts on what we've seen via the Internet

Pretty much
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KingButz posted...

Then why is 14 a spin-off

it's not
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KingButz posted...

Then why is 14 a spin-off

It's a MMO.
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redrocket_pub posted...

It's a MMO.

But XV which is literally designed as a spinoff is not a spinoff
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I actually haven't bothered to form an opinion on XV yet.
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8 hours of XV gave me the opinion that it was a "totally worthless pile of crap with no redeeming features other than fishing".
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You missed out on the good parts
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I made a big topic asking if it got better and everyone agreed that opening was a solid representation of the rest of the game, for better or worse.

So I uninstalled.

I was shocked by how much I hated it.
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Why the hell would they say that

It's basically like 10 different game demos stitched together
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redrocket_pub posted...

KingButz posted...

Then why is 14 a spin-off

It's a MMO.

But so is 11
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I was surprised too because I assumed otherwise, but at least 8 users agreed.

Maybe it was my specific issues with the combat, which I hate more than any other jRPGS.
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KingButz posted...

redrocket_pub posted...

KingButz posted...

Then why is 14 a spin-off

It's a MMO.

But so is 11

Yes, you're catching on.

They are the two numbered spinoffs.
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The combat mostly doesn't change but it stops being about combat after like chapter 3
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heroicmario posted...

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Also can the #1 series really be something that hasn't put out a (consensus) great game in 17 years?

I think the true point about Final Fantasy is that it rarely produces consensus games, but the magic about that is that there is going to be one or two or three that are tailor made for you, even if another three arent. Its that variety and experimentation that has kept it relevant today, and is both its blessing and its curse. I dont think its the best, but historically, significantly, and culturally, its hard to say theres a contender to Final Fantasy for #1.

(The last great, new, Final Fantasy game was only 12 years ago!)

I, IV, VI, VII, IX, X and Tactics are all critically praised enough to qualify as "consensus greats." There's not really much argument beyond that.
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I mean if we're talking critical acclaim nearly every FF mainline game until XIII reviewed extremely well
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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean if we're talking critical acclaim nearly every FF mainline game until XIII reviewed extremely well

It's a little bit of editorializing on my part. Retrospectively, the ones I listed held up.
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