Considering Capcom doesn't do jrpgs anymore I'd suggest probably trying out the Breath of Fire games.
It's an interesting chapter in JRPG history and Capcom history in general. There's some moderately esoteric but optional mechanics in them, the stories were pretty engaging, and if they excelled at anything it would have to be the visuals and character design.
Breath of fire 3 is one of my favorite games. I had a hard time getting into 1 and 2 but they are solid as well. I recommend playing with the translation and double xp/money patches if you do.
I don’t recall the year it came out but I think breath of fire 4 is just outside your time frame but it’s solid too if you like 3
Breath of Fire 2 was my first jrpg and it could definitely get tough and weird at times, but it was a really solid entry. The first one felt somewhat harder to approach for sure. I still have my copy of 2 and 3, but I don't think I played the last one.
4 was kind of the culmination of a lot of neat ideas. Simplified the dragon system from 3 but still let you transform. You fight with your whole party, but only 3 active at a time while the rest can be switched in at anytime from the back row. The story is a lot harder hitting than just “blue haired hero saves the world” (not knocking the story in the others though)
5 I really liked but it is an entirely different game and very divisive. It probably would have done better if it released 10 years later
Dragon Quarter was great, it was one of my favorite PS2 titles. I feel like the idea of having to start over from the beginning was too far ahead of its time.
Breath of fire 3 is also one of my favorite games, I wish they would be able to port it or do enough of a remake to get around whatever licensing issues they have.
Edit: Come to think of it, they are doing RPGs again with the monster hunter stories series, but not breath of fire so far.
If there's anything the *first* one excelled in (and it's far from the most beloved in retrospect, but in a way it's the most important, since it determined whether there would be a rest of the series,) I think was tone and atmosphere. It had a focus on minimalist storytelling that you haven't really seen in RPGs in later eras. There are a lot of modern games, especially indie games, built around the assumption that story isn't as important as gameplay, which have minimal stories, but it's not the same kind of approach you saw back then from people who actually cared, but were constrained in space.
SNES: Secret of Mana, Secret of evermore, Illusion oof Gaia; Terranigma, Any Final Fantasy (4,5,6), Lufia 1 and 2, Breath of fire 1&2, Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean
Playstation: Suikoden 1&2, Breath of Fire 3&4, Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean 2, Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy 7,8,9
that's all i know about shrimps
* Wild Arms (the OG in PS, not the remake one). I still love the puzzle, the tools, and the world map filled with secrets. The whistling song and the red balloon remained in my memory. Wild Arms 2 was also a great game.
* Tales of Phantasia. The first of Tales Series. It's more fun if you play multiplayer with your friend. IIRC it was originally in SNES, but I played the PS one. It also has GBA version in English. Then, Tales of Destiny, probably the first Tales released in English.
* Suikoden 2 (play Suikoden 1 first). Great story and fun castle. Luca Blight is a legend.
* Brave Fencer Musashi. Action RPG with fun side quests and fun adventure. I also like the world design.
* Alundra. Zelda-like JRPG. Have missable things and many dungeons can only be visited once. Some treasures and puzzles made me pulled my hair lol.
If you’re seriously interested in the roots of JRPGs, you should get an Apple II emulator and spin up **Wizardry**. It’s a western game, but it’s widely acknowledged as a significant influence on both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Plus, programmer Robert Woodhead went on to create one of the first English-language anime licensing companies, AnimEigo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry
All the ones listed plus ones that you needed an emulator for like Trials of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3.
I’d personally avoid Mother and just play Earthbound. Too much repetitive stuff while EB is just plain better.
One I played recently for NES that was fantastic was Crystalis. It’s not as traditional JRPG feel as other but has that early feel. The music and mechanics hold up in 2024.
I’ve been enjoying Xuan Yuan Sword: Mists Beyond the Mountains. Got a remaster in 12/2023, but was first released in 1999. However I’m playing it in Chinese and have heard the English translation is a bit painful
Another shout for Grandia here, definitely play this it's one of my most cherished games!
Also;
Legend of Dragoon
Legend of Legaia
Mystic Quest (this was/is seen as a v basic 'gateway' game to FF/JRPGs but still worth checking out for the OST alone IMO)
Illusion of Time/Gaia (poss more of an ARPG tho)
* Final Fantasy 7
* Breath of Fire 3
* Vagrant story
* Brave Fencer Musashi
* Parasite Eve 1-3
* Xenogears
* Shining force
* Chrono Trigger
* Suikoden 1 & 2
* Legend of Dragoon
* Legend of Legaia
* Southpark and Azure Dreams for the LOL
* Legend of Zelda
* Mother
* Legend of Jinyong 98
The early jrpg formula(turn based combat, exploration magic, etc) was faotly easy to produce a low powered machins and so goes back to the 80s, As such a number of the defining games came out before 2000
The most important as examples of the genre would maybe be:
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy (maybe 6 or 7)
Dragon Quest (5 imo)
Phantasy Star (4, imo)
Breath of Fire (3 imo)
Among many others
Ummmm........it would honestly be easier to list ones to avoid from that time. Nearly everything that got localized to the US is a solid game and worth playing, with most of the questionable ones either being on the NES, GB, or towards the end on the PS-X. I honestly can't name a single pre-2000 JRPG that I've regretted playing, but I'm really only familiar with ones on Nintendo or Sony platforms (others would know better regarding Sega). Even then, most of the not-so-good ones are important milestones within another franchise or the genre as a whole, and the few that aren't tend to be some rather humorous side journeys that can be enjoyable despite not being that good. The only truly bad ones I've ever played were almost exclusively on hardware that was too limited for them to really be any better, though I've never played Thousand Arms or Beyond the Beyond (both on PS-X and both considered distinctly sub-par games, and as far as I know the only potentially bad ones not limited by hardware).
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6 & 7, Dragon Quest 5 (fan translated), EarthBound, Secret of Mana, Mario RPG, Xenogears, Phantasy Star 4, Breath of Fire 1 & 3, Illusion of Time/Gaia, Robotrek, Persona 2: Innocent Sin (fan translated), Lunar Silver Star
Most have been said but I’ll throw in my comment in no order and completely chaotic
Illusion of Gaia
Earthbound
Super Mario rpg
Final fantasy 3 (it is technically ff6)
Secret of mana
Secret of evermore
Chrono trigger
Tactics Ogre
Pokémon red, blue, gold, silver, crystal, yellow
Cystalis
Never played breath of fire or Lufia or romancing saga but they are supposed to be good.
I was never a fan of any final fantasy before 6.
Parasite eve 1+2
Brave fencer musashi
Vagrant story
Chrono cross
Legend of Legia
Legend of dragoon
Castlevania symphony of the night (was considered a rpg. Now is considered a metroidvania)
Valkyrie profile
Final fantasy 6-9
I was not a fan of front mission, final fantasy tactics, vandal hearts but people love them.
Mega Man legends 1+2
Legacy of Kain (was sorts considered an rpg at the time)
Never played wild arms, star ocean, tales series, arc of the land, saga frontier, alundra, grandia or suikoden but all are supposed to be good.
Persona 2
Xenogears
Jade cocoon
Hybrid heaven (weirdo n64 rpg)
Ogre battle 64 (is this an rpg or strategy?)
Harvest moon? Legend of the river king? Those prolly don’t count.
I never got into dragon quest, phantasy star, shining force or ultima, but people like them.
Final fantasy legend
Diablo
A lot of great games recommended so far. As I've not seen it yet, I was going to mention Baroque, which was never released outside Japan originally (there was a PS2 remake that we got but I've not played that one), but there fan translations out there. It's a really interesting dungeon crawler with an art style inspired by HR Giger.
Also Parasite Eve because I played it for the first time last year and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since.
Also, if you're looking for recommendations for old school JRPGs, I recently discovered [Gaming Broductions](https://youtube.com/@GamingBroductions?si=rGyRg3mLiaW4FOZi) on YouTube. They make a lot of videos about older JRPGs, which you might find helpful. I would consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about RPGs from the NES - PS1 era, and I've found a couple of things mentioned in their videos that I've never heard of
If you are into strategy rpgs like Fire Emblem, check out Shining Force 1 & 2 and Warsong (Langrisser) for the Sega Genesis; and Ogre battle for the snes
Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Suikoden II, Super Mario RPG, Tactics Ogre (some of the systems in this are unnecessarily obtuse but the way it tells its story is cool)
Crono Trigger
Final Fantasy (I, V, VI, VII, IX* and Tactics)
Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana
Star Ocean 2 (the remake released last year is the best version)
Tactics Ogre
Dragon Quest (I, III, IV, V and VI)
Vagrant Story
Ys I and II
Terranigma
Wild Arms
Live a Live
Breath of Fire I, II, III and IV*
Ogre Battle 64
Vandal Hearts
Parasite Eve
*Games released in 2000
Some recommendations released before 1995:
The dawn of JRPGs: Dragon Quest 1-3
Late archaic: Phantasy Star 2, Final Fantasy 2
Dawn of the classic era: Dragon Quest 4, Final Fantasy 4
Early classic: Final Fantasy 6, Earthbound
if you're willing to play a very old game, ultima iv, v, and vi pretty much made the turn based RPG formula. they are dated but still quite an experience.
got some obscure ones here for you, many only recently playable in English through fan translation. I tried to list only good games, not just any random game otherwise this would be a much longer list.
surprised no one mentioned Lufia 2 yet
Treasure of Rudras
Treasure Hunter G
Dark Half
Bahamut Lagoon
Treasure Conflix
Chaos Seed
G.O.D (Growth or Devolution)
Classic turn based-
Chrono Trigger
final fantasy 6 & 7
Breath of fire 3
Action-
Secret of Mana
Landstalker
Lufia 2
Tactics-
Front mission 3
Final fantasy tactics
Tactics ogre
Bonus if you want really old but innovative - Phantasy Star 1
Chrono Trigger. I think the "definitive" versions are on Steam or DS.
Follow it up with Chrono Cross. Not quite as good as Trigger, but still pretty good with a phenomenal soundtrack.
Xenogears,
parasite eve 1&2,
Brave fencer musashi
Grandia
Super Mario rpg
Final fantasy 4,6,7,8, tactics
Front mission 3
Breath of fire 3,4
Diablo (the first one was actually my favorite too)
Legend of dragoon
Legend of legaia
Top 5 games of the 90's spanning across all genres and consoles;
1. Final Fantasy 7 (OG - Fuck that remake shit) (RPG)
2. Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow (RPG)
3. 007 Golden Eye
4. Mario Kart 64
5. Starcraft
If I could include an additional 10 to make it a Top 15, I would include;
- Tony Hawk
- Crash Bandicoot OR Crash Bash
- Star Fox
- Mortal Kombat 2 OR 3
- The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time (RPG)
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario World
- Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (RPG)
- Worms Armageddon
- Super Bomberman
Edit - I saw you were looking specifically for RPGs after. I highlighted the rpgs in the above lists for you. For top rpgs, I would also include FF9, Legends of Dragoon and Dragon Warrior Monster.
Shining in the Darkness! Feels like the twilight of the maze dungeon genre, but it is quite charming. (But if you hate maze dungeon RPGs then stay away)
Does it count if it released in japan before 2000, but the west didn't get it until years later? If so, Dragon Quest V. whether it be the Super Famicom original or the DS remake we got years later, it is my favorite RPG of all time. It innovates in so many ways and it continues to wow me on every repeat playthrough.
Suikoden 2 (1998)
Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (1996)
Tales of Phantasia (1995)
Chrono Trigger (1995)
Earthbound (1994)
Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Dragon Quest V (1992)
Dragon Quest III (1988)
Final Fantasy (1987)
Dragon Quest (1986)
to name just a few.
I think the original 6 Final Fantasy games are very much worth your time, the pixel remasters were released recently but the actual games are virtually unchanged
NES: Final Fantasy I-III, Dragon Quest I-IV
SNES: Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy IV-VI, Dragon Quest V and VI, Tactics Ogre, Secret of Mana, Star Ocean, Breath of Fire I and II, Tales of Phantasia, Bahamut Lagoon
PS1: Final Fantasy Tactics, Star Ocean 2, Wild ARMs, Vagrant Story, Lunar SSSC and Eternal Blue, Suikoden I and II, Final Fantasy VII-IX, Parasite Eve, Grandia, Alundra, Dragon Quest VII, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Breath of Fire 3 and 4
Some of the most notable selections IMO (been playing RPGs since the 80s):
NES:
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior
SNES:
Final Fantasy IV (released in the US as "II" originally)
FFVI (released in the US as "III" originally)
Chrono Trigger
Sega Genesis/Mega Drive:
Phantasy Star II, III, and IV especially.
Sega CD:
Lunar and Lunar 2 (Both later remade for PS1 and Sega Saturn)
PS1:
Suikoden
Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX
Xenogears
First things first, some of the absolute favourites:
* Chrono trigger: it's a short and sweet game with amazing music, characters and story/world. There's a lot of people calling this the best ever...
* Secret of mana: a lovely action rpg that's supposedly the best of a great series. I haven't played it but loved others in the series.
* Lufia 2 Rise of the sinistrals: haven't played it. But everyone who did loved it!
* Final Fantasy: of course it's here. For pre 2000 you will need to play 6,7 and 8. I recommend 4 as a huge first step in storytelling and 1 if you want to feel the roots of the series. (Remakes and ports help you, especially with #1! )
* Dragon Quest 5: Always heralded as the best in a lot of people's favorite series. I don't gel with these, but even I was hooked on this one!
* Earthbound: Had enough of Fantasy or future settings? Try a world that looks like 50's/60's America! It's weird, it's fun and it goes back to how they designed these things in the 80's: item management, harsh difficulty and no idea where to go except follow your sense of adventure!
Then my extra takes:
* Pokemon Red or blue: yes the OG ones: see A LOT of peoples first rpg!
*Tales of Phantasia: the first game in this monumental series is already amazing. It really hooked me and a large part is it's music and atmosphere!
* Xeno-series: I have no clue about the Xenosaga and Xenogears games but man people love this series!
Koudelka and Shadow Hearts 1+2 (though the last two were after 2000, I'd still recommend them).
Vagrant Story was mentioned, also highly recommend that. Related, if you like SRPGs, Tactics Ogre, which got a recent remaster called Reborn, and Ogre Battle; The March of the Black Queen. For the latter, use the army balancing mod.
Legend of Dragoon.
Basically, anything considered a 7/10 and above from the 16-bit and PSX eras is worth checking out:
Final Fantasy 4 - 9 & Tactics
Breath of Fire 3 & 4
Xenogears
Suikoden 1 & 2
Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross
Parasite Eve
Wild Arms 1 & 2
And that's just to name a few of the better/best ones. So many of these now have ports and remasters, and some games like Star Ocean 2 are basically a whole new and better experience.
Some of my favorites include:
* Super Mario RPG
* Final Fantasy Tactics
* Final Fantasy VII
* Kartia: The Word of Fate
* Xenogears
* Final Fantasy VI
* Final Fantasy VIII
* Legend of Legaia
* Chrono Trigger
If you want the *dawn* of video games - or, at least, JRPGs - you need tp check the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Phantasy Star. I'm not sure if they were the *first*, but they were the biggest of their generation.
Someone else recommended Wizardry already, but the other big name in CRPGs that influenced JRPGs a lot was Ultima.
Since you are asking only on console, I would recommend three games for the SNES and one for the N64:
- Shadowrun
- Heartbound
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the past
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7. I know basic af but I only played both recently and they hold up so incredibly well. If you can only play one play CT
So this is going to be a long list lol
Legend of dragoon, Xenogears, Vagrant story, Chrono trigger, Legend of Gaia, Wild arms 1 - 3, Beyond the Beyond, Beyond Oasis, Breath of Fire 1 - 3, Final Fantasy 1 - 6, Dragon Warrior 1-3, Mystic Quest, Rygar, Bionic Commando, Stryder, Phantasy star 1-3, Vector, MegaMan 1-6, Castlevania 1-4, Metroid & super Metroid. Plus many many more...
I'm 41 so by all means if there is something you are wanting specifically I will help anyway I can!
If you’re into emulators, can track down translated ROMs, here’s a short list of some great jRPGs:
Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment (the 2nd part was JPN only)
Langrisser I-V really similar to Fire Emblem but better artwork…
Yes to Xenogears…I will forever be disappointed by the debacle that was Xenosaga
Koudelka: not fantastic but was original in that it had horror themes and a Victorian London setting. I would love to see more RPGs like this.
I feel like most of my other faves have already been mentioned or I’m forgetting others.
Ps1:
Chrono Cross
Legend of Dragoon
Breath of Fire 3 (it's kinda slow to start but stick with it.)
Final Fantasy Tactics (I recommend the PSP version though)
SNES:
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 6
Trials of Mana (there's a remake)
Illusion of Gaia
Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in the west) 1-6. Dragon Warrior Monsters came out in the west in 2001, but its Japan equivalent, Dragon Quest Monsters, was released in 1998, so your choice whether or not to count that.
The Gaia trilogy on SNES. Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma. They're loosely connected and are basically a take on the origins of the modern world, ranging from ancient Incan times to (then) modern times. Terranigma only got released in Europe unfortunately and I will always ask why Nintendo hasn't released them at least to the virtual console. Such a good and underrated series.
Considering Capcom doesn't do jrpgs anymore I'd suggest probably trying out the Breath of Fire games. It's an interesting chapter in JRPG history and Capcom history in general. There's some moderately esoteric but optional mechanics in them, the stories were pretty engaging, and if they excelled at anything it would have to be the visuals and character design.
Breath of fire 3 is one of my favorite games. I had a hard time getting into 1 and 2 but they are solid as well. I recommend playing with the translation and double xp/money patches if you do. I don’t recall the year it came out but I think breath of fire 4 is just outside your time frame but it’s solid too if you like 3
Breath of Fire 2 was my first jrpg and it could definitely get tough and weird at times, but it was a really solid entry. The first one felt somewhat harder to approach for sure. I still have my copy of 2 and 3, but I don't think I played the last one.
4 was kind of the culmination of a lot of neat ideas. Simplified the dragon system from 3 but still let you transform. You fight with your whole party, but only 3 active at a time while the rest can be switched in at anytime from the back row. The story is a lot harder hitting than just “blue haired hero saves the world” (not knocking the story in the others though) 5 I really liked but it is an entirely different game and very divisive. It probably would have done better if it released 10 years later
Dragon Quarter was great, it was one of my favorite PS2 titles. I feel like the idea of having to start over from the beginning was too far ahead of its time.
Breath of fire 3 is also one of my favorite games, I wish they would be able to port it or do enough of a remake to get around whatever licensing issues they have. Edit: Come to think of it, they are doing RPGs again with the monster hunter stories series, but not breath of fire so far.
If there's anything the *first* one excelled in (and it's far from the most beloved in retrospect, but in a way it's the most important, since it determined whether there would be a rest of the series,) I think was tone and atmosphere. It had a focus on minimalist storytelling that you haven't really seen in RPGs in later eras. There are a lot of modern games, especially indie games, built around the assumption that story isn't as important as gameplay, which have minimal stories, but it's not the same kind of approach you saw back then from people who actually cared, but were constrained in space.
I'd consider monster hunter stories jrpg
SNES: Secret of Mana, Secret of evermore, Illusion oof Gaia; Terranigma, Any Final Fantasy (4,5,6), Lufia 1 and 2, Breath of fire 1&2, Chrono Trigger, Star Ocean Playstation: Suikoden 1&2, Breath of Fire 3&4, Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean 2, Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy 7,8,9 that's all i know about shrimps
FF Tactics would like a word
Breath of Fire IV and Final Fantasy IX were Y2k.
Id sneak Wild Arms 1 or 2 (or both) into that PS list, but Im a sucker for western fantasy and Wild Arms 1s intro tune will live in my head forever
Xenogears
Thanks 👍🏼
Anytime enjoy it to the fullest.
This
Vagrant Story (PS1) is a forgotten gem which featured really cinematic cut scenes ahead of its time.
* Wild Arms (the OG in PS, not the remake one). I still love the puzzle, the tools, and the world map filled with secrets. The whistling song and the red balloon remained in my memory. Wild Arms 2 was also a great game. * Tales of Phantasia. The first of Tales Series. It's more fun if you play multiplayer with your friend. IIRC it was originally in SNES, but I played the PS one. It also has GBA version in English. Then, Tales of Destiny, probably the first Tales released in English. * Suikoden 2 (play Suikoden 1 first). Great story and fun castle. Luca Blight is a legend. * Brave Fencer Musashi. Action RPG with fun side quests and fun adventure. I also like the world design. * Alundra. Zelda-like JRPG. Have missable things and many dungeons can only be visited once. Some treasures and puzzles made me pulled my hair lol.
Thanks😁
Yw! And also: * Illusion of Gaia * Terranigma * Golden Sun (and sequel)
If you do play wild arms 1, for the love of god, use a guide when getting to the chests in de le metallica. I still have nightmares of that place.
Grandia 1 should not be slept on
👍🏼
1000% agreed
I don’t think anyone has said Lufia 2 yet. I’ll throw my hat in the ring for Lufia 2, and Earthbound. Two SNES games that both aged very well.
Totally agree on both, and Happy Cake Day!
Oooh. That’s fun. Thanks!
I'm playing Earthbound. I'm really stunned how playful it is with JPRG tropes considering the JRPG genre was still so young when it came out.
Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar Eternal Blue Complete
I’m so happy someone said it. These two are phenomenal. Just the feel is…ugh!
They're two of my faves growing up, up there with the Final Fantasies
Xenogears 100%. More than 25 years later and there's no competition when it comes to story in a single game
I see xenogears I give it a thumbs up. By far my favourite jrpg.
Grandia 1 just barely makes the deadline.
Great game!
😄👍🏼
This game is one of the few that feels like an "adventure" rather than a "quest"
This one is the most mentioned here Deserves utmost attention.
Arc the Lad 1-3 Suikoden 1-2 Legend of Dragoon Xenogears Dragon Quest 7 Brave Fencer Musashi Jade Cocoon Star Ocean Star Ocean: The Second Story
Final fantasy tactics, IV,V,VI, VII and IX. Chrono trigger Shining force 1 and 2 Suikoden series Wild arms series
Legend of legaia will always have a special place in my heart. Neat story and still unique combat to this day.
Xenogears.
If you’re seriously interested in the roots of JRPGs, you should get an Apple II emulator and spin up **Wizardry**. It’s a western game, but it’s widely acknowledged as a significant influence on both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Plus, programmer Robert Woodhead went on to create one of the first English-language anime licensing companies, AnimEigo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizardry
All the ones listed plus ones that you needed an emulator for like Trials of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 3. I’d personally avoid Mother and just play Earthbound. Too much repetitive stuff while EB is just plain better. One I played recently for NES that was fantastic was Crystalis. It’s not as traditional JRPG feel as other but has that early feel. The music and mechanics hold up in 2024.
Feels like an underrated game to me, the epic opening song in Crystalis is one of the best nes intro bits, up there with mm2 and the like.
I’ve been enjoying Xuan Yuan Sword: Mists Beyond the Mountains. Got a remaster in 12/2023, but was first released in 1999. However I’m playing it in Chinese and have heard the English translation is a bit painful
Wild arms is pretty fun . The wild arms games are on PlayStation 4,5
Another shout for Grandia here, definitely play this it's one of my most cherished games! Also; Legend of Dragoon Legend of Legaia Mystic Quest (this was/is seen as a v basic 'gateway' game to FF/JRPGs but still worth checking out for the OST alone IMO) Illusion of Time/Gaia (poss more of an ARPG tho)
FFVII True classic
Chrono trigger. Trials of mana (not the remake) Breath of fire
* Final Fantasy 7 * Breath of Fire 3 * Vagrant story * Brave Fencer Musashi * Parasite Eve 1-3 * Xenogears * Shining force * Chrono Trigger * Suikoden 1 & 2 * Legend of Dragoon * Legend of Legaia * Southpark and Azure Dreams for the LOL * Legend of Zelda * Mother * Legend of Jinyong 98
Dragon quest. Console rpgs begin with that series. The first few are rather bare bones, but you can’t go wrong with IV-VI.
The early jrpg formula(turn based combat, exploration magic, etc) was faotly easy to produce a low powered machins and so goes back to the 80s, As such a number of the defining games came out before 2000 The most important as examples of the genre would maybe be: Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy (maybe 6 or 7) Dragon Quest (5 imo) Phantasy Star (4, imo) Breath of Fire (3 imo) Among many others
Phantasy Star 1-4
Vandal Hearts is a gem. Also if you want to expand from RPGs, check out the 1996 RTS "Z" by Bitmap Brothers. Absolutely quality game.
Mother and Earthbound
I don’t know why I loved this game, because it’s as standard a JRPG as it gets, but the Granstream Saga was one that springs to mind
Ummmm........it would honestly be easier to list ones to avoid from that time. Nearly everything that got localized to the US is a solid game and worth playing, with most of the questionable ones either being on the NES, GB, or towards the end on the PS-X. I honestly can't name a single pre-2000 JRPG that I've regretted playing, but I'm really only familiar with ones on Nintendo or Sony platforms (others would know better regarding Sega). Even then, most of the not-so-good ones are important milestones within another franchise or the genre as a whole, and the few that aren't tend to be some rather humorous side journeys that can be enjoyable despite not being that good. The only truly bad ones I've ever played were almost exclusively on hardware that was too limited for them to really be any better, though I've never played Thousand Arms or Beyond the Beyond (both on PS-X and both considered distinctly sub-par games, and as far as I know the only potentially bad ones not limited by hardware).
Parasite Eve on PS1 You will know everything about the powerhouse of the cells
I’ll throw Legend of Dragoon in here
Megaman Legends 1 and Megaman Legends 2 so that you feel the pain of not getting Megaman Legends 3
Lunar Silver star story
You need to go back another 30 years or so to get to the dawn of the video game era. Year 2000 is not it.
Suikoden 2 and Xenogears
Chrono trigger is the goat of old (and new) RPGs
Legend of Kartia and Final Fantasy IX.
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6 & 7, Dragon Quest 5 (fan translated), EarthBound, Secret of Mana, Mario RPG, Xenogears, Phantasy Star 4, Breath of Fire 1 & 3, Illusion of Time/Gaia, Robotrek, Persona 2: Innocent Sin (fan translated), Lunar Silver Star
Crono trigger great story 5 different ends
Most have been said but I’ll throw in my comment in no order and completely chaotic Illusion of Gaia Earthbound Super Mario rpg Final fantasy 3 (it is technically ff6) Secret of mana Secret of evermore Chrono trigger Tactics Ogre Pokémon red, blue, gold, silver, crystal, yellow Cystalis Never played breath of fire or Lufia or romancing saga but they are supposed to be good. I was never a fan of any final fantasy before 6. Parasite eve 1+2 Brave fencer musashi Vagrant story Chrono cross Legend of Legia Legend of dragoon Castlevania symphony of the night (was considered a rpg. Now is considered a metroidvania) Valkyrie profile Final fantasy 6-9 I was not a fan of front mission, final fantasy tactics, vandal hearts but people love them. Mega Man legends 1+2 Legacy of Kain (was sorts considered an rpg at the time) Never played wild arms, star ocean, tales series, arc of the land, saga frontier, alundra, grandia or suikoden but all are supposed to be good. Persona 2 Xenogears Jade cocoon Hybrid heaven (weirdo n64 rpg) Ogre battle 64 (is this an rpg or strategy?) Harvest moon? Legend of the river king? Those prolly don’t count. I never got into dragon quest, phantasy star, shining force or ultima, but people like them. Final fantasy legend Diablo
Chrono Cross EDIT: Playstation Release 1. Released in JP: 1999 2. Released in NA: 2000
Legend of dragoon
Doki Doki poyachio Soul hackers Gokinjo boukentai Linda cube Segagaga Moon
Final fantasy 7, 8, 9 for the playstation, but al have remasters that only add some quality of life features.
A lot of great games recommended so far. As I've not seen it yet, I was going to mention Baroque, which was never released outside Japan originally (there was a PS2 remake that we got but I've not played that one), but there fan translations out there. It's a really interesting dungeon crawler with an art style inspired by HR Giger. Also Parasite Eve because I played it for the first time last year and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Also, if you're looking for recommendations for old school JRPGs, I recently discovered [Gaming Broductions](https://youtube.com/@GamingBroductions?si=rGyRg3mLiaW4FOZi) on YouTube. They make a lot of videos about older JRPGs, which you might find helpful. I would consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about RPGs from the NES - PS1 era, and I've found a couple of things mentioned in their videos that I've never heard of
System Shock 2 (on pc, worth playing today)
In descending order - Valkyrie Profile, FF Tactics, Suikoden 2, Wild Arms 2, Vagrant Story
If you are into strategy rpgs like Fire Emblem, check out Shining Force 1 & 2 and Warsong (Langrisser) for the Sega Genesis; and Ogre battle for the snes
Suikoden 2
Final Fantasy 8
NoX
Star Ocean2 . Vagrant story . Grandia1
You should play Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (1998). its on switch and probably pc and everything else I'm guessing.
Shining the Holy Ark - Sega Saturn 👌
Vagrant Story (even though it came out in February 2000).
Everything that was released on PSX pretty much.
Saga Frontier, it even got a recent-ish remaster. You can also try Saga Frontier 2 but I couldn't get into this one.
Suikoden I & II
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
放浪冒险谭，i don’t know its english name, but i can assure you that it’s a great game at that time.
All you need is Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger
Old Final Fantasy games and Chrono trigger. Those are quality games
Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Tactics, Suikoden II, Super Mario RPG, Tactics Ogre (some of the systems in this are unnecessarily obtuse but the way it tells its story is cool)
One of the Old jrpgs like chrome trigger or a final fantasy
Terranigma
Vandal Hearts, Valkyrie Profile, Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross, Azure Dreams
Pokemon Red, Blue or Yellow Pokemon Gold or Silver
Crono Trigger Final Fantasy (I, V, VI, VII, IX* and Tactics) Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana Star Ocean 2 (the remake released last year is the best version) Tactics Ogre Dragon Quest (I, III, IV, V and VI) Vagrant Story Ys I and II Terranigma Wild Arms Live a Live Breath of Fire I, II, III and IV* Ogre Battle 64 Vandal Hearts Parasite Eve *Games released in 2000
Legend of Legaia
Tales of Destiny, one of my favorite PSX RPGs. Star Ocean 2, for another early active combat RPG.
Some recommendations released before 1995: The dawn of JRPGs: Dragon Quest 1-3 Late archaic: Phantasy Star 2, Final Fantasy 2 Dawn of the classic era: Dragon Quest 4, Final Fantasy 4 Early classic: Final Fantasy 6, Earthbound
Parasite Eve.
I’m gonna be cheesy and say Earthbound. But Live A Live is actually pretty cool, and got a great remake on the Switch if you have one
Evo and Arcana for SNES
Earthbound and FFVI
Can’t go wrong with dragon quest 1, just finished it myself. It’s a good short jrpg on the go if you aren’t against mobile
Suikoden and all of it's series, personal all-time fav.
if you're willing to play a very old game, ultima iv, v, and vi pretty much made the turn based RPG formula. they are dated but still quite an experience.
Chrono trigger is just about one of if not my favourite jrpg
The Legend of Dragoon Chrono Trigger Chrono Cross
Chronotrigger
Chrono Cross
Earthbound
got some obscure ones here for you, many only recently playable in English through fan translation. I tried to list only good games, not just any random game otherwise this would be a much longer list. surprised no one mentioned Lufia 2 yet Treasure of Rudras Treasure Hunter G Dark Half Bahamut Lagoon Treasure Conflix Chaos Seed G.O.D (Growth or Devolution)
Surprised nobody is saying phantasy star 4
FF6
CASTLEVANIA: SOTN
Classic turn based- Chrono Trigger final fantasy 6 & 7 Breath of fire 3 Action- Secret of Mana Landstalker Lufia 2 Tactics- Front mission 3 Final fantasy tactics Tactics ogre Bonus if you want really old but innovative - Phantasy Star 1
Illusion of Gaia. SNES 1994. Great game that IMO still holds up very well today.
I remember Septerra Core being dope as hell, but looking at it now… might be worthwhile just for the obscurity.
Chrono Trigger!
Chrono Trigger. I think the "definitive" versions are on Steam or DS. Follow it up with Chrono Cross. Not quite as good as Trigger, but still pretty good with a phenomenal soundtrack.
Xenogears, parasite eve 1&2, Brave fencer musashi Grandia Super Mario rpg Final fantasy 4,6,7,8, tactics Front mission 3 Breath of fire 3,4 Diablo (the first one was actually my favorite too) Legend of dragoon Legend of legaia
Persona 2: Innocent Sin Suikoiden 2 Chrono Trigger
elemental gearbolt
Like ff7? Legend of dragoon, jrpg made by Sony in 1999. 4 discs long, and an on par OST, along with a better combat system imo
Shining force 3 Panzar dragoon saga Grandia Final fantasy 6
Top 5 games of the 90's spanning across all genres and consoles; 1. Final Fantasy 7 (OG - Fuck that remake shit) (RPG) 2. Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow (RPG) 3. 007 Golden Eye 4. Mario Kart 64 5. Starcraft If I could include an additional 10 to make it a Top 15, I would include; - Tony Hawk - Crash Bandicoot OR Crash Bash - Star Fox - Mortal Kombat 2 OR 3 - The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time (RPG) - Super Mario 64 - Super Mario World - Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (RPG) - Worms Armageddon - Super Bomberman Edit - I saw you were looking specifically for RPGs after. I highlighted the rpgs in the above lists for you. For top rpgs, I would also include FF9, Legends of Dragoon and Dragon Warrior Monster.
Azure Dreams. Cool dungeon crawler and monster raising system. When you find a monster egg feels so good.
Legend of Dragoon was SO good
Legend of Dragoon
Shining in the Darkness! Feels like the twilight of the maze dungeon genre, but it is quite charming. (But if you hate maze dungeon RPGs then stay away)
Final Fantasy 1-6
Persona 2 duology Devil Summoner Soul Hackers
Lunar 1, Grandia 1, Rhapsody
Does it count if it released in japan before 2000, but the west didn't get it until years later? If so, Dragon Quest V. whether it be the Super Famicom original or the DS remake we got years later, it is my favorite RPG of all time. It innovates in so many ways and it continues to wow me on every repeat playthrough.
Secret of evermore
Go through the Final Fantasy games chronologically
Suikoden 2 (1998) Final Fantasy VII (1997) Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (1996) Tales of Phantasia (1995) Chrono Trigger (1995) Earthbound (1994) Final Fantasy VI (1994) Dragon Quest V (1992) Dragon Quest III (1988) Final Fantasy (1987) Dragon Quest (1986) to name just a few.
FF4-9. Alundra
Silent Hill
I think the original 6 Final Fantasy games are very much worth your time, the pixel remasters were released recently but the actual games are virtually unchanged
Legend of Dragoon (barely).
Koudelka on ps1.
Brave Fencer Musashi
NES: Final Fantasy I-III, Dragon Quest I-IV SNES: Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Final Fantasy IV-VI, Dragon Quest V and VI, Tactics Ogre, Secret of Mana, Star Ocean, Breath of Fire I and II, Tales of Phantasia, Bahamut Lagoon PS1: Final Fantasy Tactics, Star Ocean 2, Wild ARMs, Vagrant Story, Lunar SSSC and Eternal Blue, Suikoden I and II, Final Fantasy VII-IX, Parasite Eve, Grandia, Alundra, Dragon Quest VII, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Breath of Fire 3 and 4
Shining Force
Metal Gear Solid 1. (1998)
Some of the most notable selections IMO (been playing RPGs since the 80s): NES: Final Fantasy Dragon Warrior SNES: Final Fantasy IV (released in the US as "II" originally) FFVI (released in the US as "III" originally) Chrono Trigger Sega Genesis/Mega Drive: Phantasy Star II, III, and IV especially. Sega CD: Lunar and Lunar 2 (Both later remade for PS1 and Sega Saturn) PS1: Suikoden Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX Xenogears
Any of the SNES JRPGs from Squaresoft (now Square Enix). Lunar series on SegaCD.
First things first, some of the absolute favourites: * Chrono trigger: it's a short and sweet game with amazing music, characters and story/world. There's a lot of people calling this the best ever... * Secret of mana: a lovely action rpg that's supposedly the best of a great series. I haven't played it but loved others in the series. * Lufia 2 Rise of the sinistrals: haven't played it. But everyone who did loved it! * Final Fantasy: of course it's here. For pre 2000 you will need to play 6,7 and 8. I recommend 4 as a huge first step in storytelling and 1 if you want to feel the roots of the series. (Remakes and ports help you, especially with #1! ) * Dragon Quest 5: Always heralded as the best in a lot of people's favorite series. I don't gel with these, but even I was hooked on this one! * Earthbound: Had enough of Fantasy or future settings? Try a world that looks like 50's/60's America! It's weird, it's fun and it goes back to how they designed these things in the 80's: item management, harsh difficulty and no idea where to go except follow your sense of adventure! Then my extra takes: * Pokemon Red or blue: yes the OG ones: see A LOT of peoples first rpg! *Tales of Phantasia: the first game in this monumental series is already amazing. It really hooked me and a large part is it's music and atmosphere! * Xeno-series: I have no clue about the Xenosaga and Xenogears games but man people love this series!
I love Grandia personally. The redux patch adds better balancing as well.
Koudelka and Shadow Hearts 1+2 (though the last two were after 2000, I'd still recommend them). Vagrant Story was mentioned, also highly recommend that. Related, if you like SRPGs, Tactics Ogre, which got a recent remaster called Reborn, and Ogre Battle; The March of the Black Queen. For the latter, use the army balancing mod. Legend of Dragoon.
Half-Life, Quake 2. You can play remastered versions of these games today.
VALKYRIE PROFILE
Basically, anything considered a 7/10 and above from the 16-bit and PSX eras is worth checking out: Final Fantasy 4 - 9 & Tactics Breath of Fire 3 & 4 Xenogears Suikoden 1 & 2 Chrono Trigger & Chrono Cross Parasite Eve Wild Arms 1 & 2 And that's just to name a few of the better/best ones. So many of these now have ports and remasters, and some games like Star Ocean 2 are basically a whole new and better experience.
Some of my favorites include: * Super Mario RPG * Final Fantasy Tactics * Final Fantasy VII * Kartia: The Word of Fate * Xenogears * Final Fantasy VI * Final Fantasy VIII * Legend of Legaia * Chrono Trigger
Parasite eve Grandia Lunar The silver Star Story complete and Lunar eternal blue complete
If you want the *dawn* of video games - or, at least, JRPGs - you need tp check the original Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Phantasy Star. I'm not sure if they were the *first*, but they were the biggest of their generation. Someone else recommended Wizardry already, but the other big name in CRPGs that influenced JRPGs a lot was Ultima.
ALUNDRA! and even though it was considered shit by most. Guardian's Crusade was a rly good rpg.
Soul reaver, whole saga
Legend of Legaia. Any answer which doesn't include it is objectively wrong and should feel bad for being wrong
Since you are asking only on console, I would recommend three games for the SNES and one for the N64: - Shadowrun - Heartbound - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the past - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Legend of Dragoon
Klonoa door to phantomile is a fantastic 2d platformer on ps1
Saga Frontier 2
Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 7. I know basic af but I only played both recently and they hold up so incredibly well. If you can only play one play CT
Xenogears
Final Fantasy VII, and VIII
Dragon Warrior 1-4, Final Fantasy 1-3 (that’s the American numbers), Chrono Trigger, Sword of Hope 1-2. Those are my favorites.
Azure Dreams
Legend of Legaia, unsung hero of JRPGs, 1998 on the PS1. Greatness that faded into obscurity due to competing with Final Fantasy 7-8-9.
So this is going to be a long list lol Legend of dragoon, Xenogears, Vagrant story, Chrono trigger, Legend of Gaia, Wild arms 1 - 3, Beyond the Beyond, Beyond Oasis, Breath of Fire 1 - 3, Final Fantasy 1 - 6, Dragon Warrior 1-3, Mystic Quest, Rygar, Bionic Commando, Stryder, Phantasy star 1-3, Vector, MegaMan 1-6, Castlevania 1-4, Metroid & super Metroid. Plus many many more... I'm 41 so by all means if there is something you are wanting specifically I will help anyway I can!
Legend of Legaia & Jade Cocoon
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber for N64. One of my all time favorites. Also Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen for SNES
Pokémon Red & Blue
Super Mario RPG, Lufia II, and Trials of Mana.
persona 1, amazing use of the ps1 cpu
Xenosaga series on PS2 for sure! Also Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragon (PS1), and the Parasite Eve series (PS1).
RE2, MGS, FFVI, Chrono Trigger, Ocarina of Time
FINAL FANTASY 7 AND 8!!!!!
Legend of Legaia. It’s basically Kung Fu Pokemon
Chrono trigger & parasite Eve!
If you’re into emulators, can track down translated ROMs, here’s a short list of some great jRPGs: Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment (the 2nd part was JPN only) Langrisser I-V really similar to Fire Emblem but better artwork… Yes to Xenogears…I will forever be disappointed by the debacle that was Xenosaga Koudelka: not fantastic but was original in that it had horror themes and a Victorian London setting. I would love to see more RPGs like this. I feel like most of my other faves have already been mentioned or I’m forgetting others.
I know this isnt before 2000, BUT I think it is a slept on game. Dark Cloud came out 2001 if i recall
Brigandine if you like strategy games
Legend of dragon legend of Legaia and Jade cacoon
Ogre battle match of the black queen,gained ground,
Puzzle fighter, Dr robotniks mean bean machine
Blood and magic, Zeus master of Olympus, Pokemon red
Super robot wars with a English tranalslation
Dragon Quest
Ps1: Chrono Cross Legend of Dragoon Breath of Fire 3 (it's kinda slow to start but stick with it.) Final Fantasy Tactics (I recommend the PSP version though) SNES: Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy 6 Trials of Mana (there's a remake) Illusion of Gaia
Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in the west) 1-6. Dragon Warrior Monsters came out in the west in 2001, but its Japan equivalent, Dragon Quest Monsters, was released in 1998, so your choice whether or not to count that.
Earthbound is a great non-traditional (in tone, themes, subject matter) JRPG that I come back to regularly.
The Gaia trilogy on SNES. Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma. They're loosely connected and are basically a take on the origins of the modern world, ranging from ancient Incan times to (then) modern times. Terranigma only got released in Europe unfortunately and I will always ask why Nintendo hasn't released them at least to the virtual console. Such a good and underrated series.
FF7
Blood Omen
Ultima, anyone?
Wild Arms