Top Ten JRPGs (NOT From Square Enix)

think of some of the best JRPGs of all time what comes to mind any of the Final Fantasy games Dragon Quest Secret of Mana Super Mario RPG Chrono Trigger all of those are incredible RPGs but they all have one thing in common they're from Square Enix and yet there are so many other amazing RPGs from other companies that frequently get overlooked too many people like to stay in their comfort zone by only getting RPGs from Square and that's why I compiled a list of the best RPGs that aren't from Square now before we get started I like to clarify of what counts as a JRPG for this list upon the game's original release it cannot have the square or Enix name attached to it anywhere in the world either developing or publishing and as for the JRPG genre I'm going as traditional as possible here that means turn-based battles and menu systems I will not be including strategy RPGs or action RPGs as those are distinction of genres on their own and combining them all together would create a mess it'd be better for those two to have their own top tens and for the sake of simplicity I will not be including handheld games because frankly some of those are so good that they too deserve a list of their own that may seem like a lot of stipulations but thanks to that we have a very refined definitive list all that being said these are the top 10 JRPGs not from Square Enix Wild Arms is a fascinating game as it typically rooted in Wild West themes with some steampunk thrown into everything the music the world the characters but still with a fantasy twist the plot is pretty insane and honestly it's easier for you to play it than for me to explain it but know that it involves guns robots and some aliens why not the combat gameplay is pretty straightforward much like other RPGs the forest system is a more unique feature functioning similar to the Limit Break system in Final Fantasy 7 only in Wild Arms you can stock up multiple force attacks for more devastating blows puzzles are incorporated throughout allowing you to use special items through hit switches or open doors while they're inconsistent they do give a little bit more to do than just battle it's the execution of Wild Arms that makes it good perfect difficulty balance and random encounter rates go a long way in JRPGs the graphic style is either hit or miss depending on your preferences but you could always try the remake for the PlayStation to alter code F personally I prefer the original and while the Wild Arms series continued the first one remains the best Phantasy Star for remains one of the best games available on the Sega Genesis while the US was getting Dragon Quest 2 the Final Fantasy Sega answered with fantasy star for the Master System while most people probably know it more for the Phantasy Star Online games the original series were great RPGs much like the other games phantasy star 4 has a unique blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements creating an already unique world which was very different at the time the presentation is absolutely top-notch large character sprites in the overworld and in battle in the use of comic-book style panels for cutscenes are intriguing and enjoyable to watch these show more of the characters emotions and personalities than just the dialogue and the dialogue is already superb characters are not just OneNote tropes they have depth and fascinating storylines of their own and of course the gameplay is really good animations play out quickly and clearly and some of the monster designs are really cool you can also discover special attacks by having some characters use specific abilities after one another resulting in really devastating attacks but probably the most useful thing it adds is the macro system random battles are pretty frequent and a party of five can be cumbersome to manage but you can use custom macros to use set commands automatically this cuts down on monotony and speeds things along the genesis isn't exactly known for RPGs but it got one of the best with fantasy star for it was the last console generation where it seemed like traditional JRPGs faded into near obscurity so having lost odyssey arrived was a much-needed breath of fresh air under the sea of first-person shooters it's intriguing from the very moment you start playing time is immortal and lost odyssey makes it very clear what kind of hardships that come with that the game is emotionally gripping throughout even more so if you read the thousand years of dreams which are short stories hidden throughout the game about times past and it's a lot of reading and it's almost never about something happy the amount of character development this game has is staggering Jansen annoyed the hell out of me for the longest time but by the end he became extremely relatable and one of my favorite characters the gameplay itself is honestly not very innovative but again lost out as he came at a time when traditional JRPGs were becoming non-existent it felt like a familiar return to form while still being very enjoyable to play it uses a shadowheart style ring system to time attacks for extra damage and what is otherwise standard menu based battles while it may not bring anything we haven't seen in RPGs before Lost Odyssey does everything so well that it stands on its own it's a standout title and a console generation mostly under populated by great RPGs earthbound is a strange anomaly upon his release it got only lukewarm reception and was highly primitive compared to the other games we were seeing like Final Fantasy 6 or a Chrono Trigger but as the years passed and standards changed earthbound has aged very well I was in the camp of not liking it much when it came out but playing it again I find myself enjoying it much much more I still don't think it's as great as it's now cult following makes it out to be but it's still one of the best the setting may be its strongest point this one of the few contemporary RPG set in a not so fictional world you're not wielding swords or laser guns you're attacking with bats yo-yos and bottle rockets instead of monsters and Dragons you battle crazy people corrupt policemen and piles of vomit there's a sense of familiarity when purchasing items you recognize in the real world like you almost instantly know what they do in the game very very few RPGs can make a setting like this work but earthbound and really the whole mother series nails it the most unique feature it has in combat is the use of the hit point odometer when damage it begins rolling down and you can react to it before it finishes if a character takes a heavy hit that would kill them getting them a heal before it can reach zero can save their life this can result in a lot of heart pounding clutch moments the story is goofy silly and way too cheesy at times but its underlying tones great world and solid gameplay is what makes earthbound one of the most talked-about games to this day the Shin Megami Tensei universe is an excellent one it has so many sub-series inside of it it has the main series the persona games are well-loved and the double summoner games because of this it's hard to pick a single game from the entire Shin Megami universe to fit into this list but the honor goes through digital devil Saga and let me explain why everything about it feels like an antithesis to Square Enix games everything is far from typical the entire atmosphere is dark set in a post-apocalyptic world where nothing looks clean or shiny the characters become a hellish demons in battle instead of being constantly anime pretty even the music uses more heavy guitar in grunge songs to invoke the mood of the situation and it works in its own right the entire storyline is extremely mature and by that I mean it deals with mature and disturbing themes handled well the characters struggle with the fact that they must eat their fallen enemies to survive the story ends on a complete cliffhanger so if you enjoyed it you can quickly get the sequel and continue the gameplay uses the familiar press turn system as found in other Shin Megami games allowing you to get extra actions by exploiting weaknesses this game gets as close to being a Final Fantasy title as possible and if Square Enix games are all you played digital devil Saga will shock your system completely in a wonderful way The Legend of Dragoon may be one of the most criminally overlooked games on the PlayStation 1 it was released just a few months before the arrival of the PlayStation 2 and it was quickly forgotten especially by its own creator Sony it's the gameplay that makes the Legend of Dragoon stand out it uses precise button presses to combo attacks it's never a simple swing numerous button presses are always employed even when transformed into the dirt room form extremely precise presses are required for maximum effect it awarded the highly skilled while not overly punishing those who couldn't tell when the press the button and the combo attacks called additions were enjoyable to use every character got multiple additions and each one can level up individually allowing you to focus on a favorite and unlock new additions plus I'll never get tired of hearing the care to say the addition name at the end the story is average at best and it really falls apart by the fourth disc but it really is the gameplay that makes dark albert rolls and the others still remember to this day so much so that dart was going to be a DLC character for PlayStation all-stars battle royale even with that there's only been one entry in what could be a potentially huge series thankfully you can easily enjoy this classic right now by downloading it off the PlayStation Network Grandia - is a fantastic Dreamcast game and a fantastic RPG when it comes to story it's predictable from pretty much right at the beginning really it'll be nothing you haven't seen dozens of other RPGs do with the save the world plot but damn it doesn't have one of the greatest battle systems it's one of the few games that has enemies placed onto the map allowing you to avoid battles if you wish to when in battle you have a meter at the bottom right letting you know when a party member or an enemy is getting ready to act if you can hit an enemy while they're in the act portion it'll cancel their action and send them back on the timeline or give a counter attack for more damage this adds a layer of depth not seen in most RPGs on top of that characters have to move into position to attack so even if you get an action off first you must accommodate for moving up to the target to attack this also makes defending one of the most useful options you can use again even more depth culminating in an outstanding battle system that makes the game enjoyable in its entire run the camera is always swinging around and your characters are always moving making every battle seem very alive and dynamic Enix later ported this game to the PlayStation 2 and they messed it up awful low times and somehow worse graphics but play the Dreamcast original and you're in for a treat Breath of Fire is owned and developed by Capcom and the first game for the Super Nintendo got publishing assistance from Square then they were pretty good for the time but it wasn't until the PlayStation era that the Breath of Fire series really hit its stride with three and four both have fantastic characters gameplay and great story both have their own take on the dragon system and both are really really fun and overall great games you can easily go either way on which game is better but for this list I'm going to get the slightest of advantage to Breath of Fire for the story is what does it for me showing you perspectives of two protagonists there's even a pivotal moment near the end of the game that can give you one of two endings and both are interesting to see play out and when it comes to the gameplay I prefer the pre-party rotation and combo system of Breath of Fire 4 again Breath of Fire 3 and 4 are equally good but I'm giving the slightest edge to 4 both are fantastic RPGs with great battle systems I love the use of sprites in both and the customizable dragon system in each is cool if you think three should be on here instead of four all you're right but four also deserves to be on here and truly you can't go wrong playing either one sadly the fifth breath fire game sucked in the franchise went dormant for over ten years even more sad Capcom plans on returning the series with of all things a mobile game damn it Skies of Arcadia was the other great RPG that the Dreamcast had it got even better with its enhanced port on the GameCube with Skies of Arcadia legends legends fixes the few problems at the Dreamcast version had such as lowering the encounter rate improving a few bits of graphics and faster loading it also adds in a bunch of new gameplay features such as new side quests the new bounty system and several new discoveries to find in the world new features aside the base game is superb you can expect usual RPG gameplay here such as random turn-based battles buying items getting experienced and leveling up this isn't a whole unique on its own but it is extremely solid that makes it super enjoyable to play what is unique is the airship battles customizing your airship and Dueling other ones is very cool and is frequent throughout the game just enough to add variety without distracting you from its core flying around the world to find discoveries or new islands and dungeons is fantastic all of the characters are instantly likable and the sky rolled is intriguing from the get-go the story is very engaging even if a bit cartoonish and simplicity and characters but it also doesn't really have potholes or dull points it uses its setting to the fullest and it makes the adventures of bys eicha and the rest of the sky pirates a memorable one Suikoden - is one of the finest RPGs I have ever played everything about it is the pinnacle of excellence the music has such a distinct flair to it and the excellent well animated sprites make all the battles cutscenes and exploration a pleasure to look at it as your standard turn-based battles with your party of six but the use of an auto battle and making multiple characters move at once makes battles extremely fast paced and the camera movements keeps it interesting and aside from these battles you'll also partake in one-on-one duels and strategy base army battles these happen rarely but spice up the gameplay in just the right ways 108 characters can join your cause but not all of them are for battle some improve your castle open up Armour shops magic shops or teleports for quick travel but dozens of characters are for combat and every single character is more than just their weapon each has a layered personality with relationships to other party members interesting backstories and their own side quests to explore some of these side stories feel like full complete stories of their own as an aside to the main story and the story is one of the strongest traits of Suikoden - unlike other RPGs it isn't about a love story or saving the world it's a very personal story that's told on a grand scale it isn't about good or evil right or wrong it's the story of two best friends torn apart by different ideals being forced into a war on opposing sides they want their friendship back yet cannot let that from stopping them from doing what they believe is right for all the franchise's konami keeps making sequels for sad to see Suikoden get left in the dust it got a remake from the PSP in Japan and sold extremely poorly a terrible terrible fate for speaker than to the numerous side quests several characters to recruit the secrets the minigames perfect difficulty in fast paced enjoyable gameplay make it one of the best games than any fan of RPGs must play chances are you don't agree with this list and frankly I don't care because it doesn't matter what's on the list or what number it appears in isn't as important as getting more people aware of great JRPGs but they may not have heard of if there's something you think should have been on the list tell me in the comments tell other people in the comments let's face it Square Enix isn't exactly the same company as they once were and since there are no longer turning out great G RPGs like that used to we can spend this time playing a bunch of great ones that we may have missed or keep playing your Final Fantasy thirteen whatever your back hair

Channel: ProJared

Views: 1,978,986

Keywords: projared, top ten jrpgs, top ten rpgs, square enix, top ten rpgs not from square enix, top ten jrpgs not from square enix, final fantasy, kingdom hearts

Id: 6w1v4p-Z4vE

Length: 18min 17sec (1097 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 06 2014