I believe the JRPG's of this generation hav not retained the same level of quality as previous generations, most notably the SNES times. At first i just thought i was looking at those games through rose tinted glasses... but then i realized that i never got the chance to try most of those classic RPG's before this gen so i had no nostalgia of any classic games. In fact i do not remember ever playing a JRPG before the N64/PS1 era.

When i discovered emulation around the middle of the last generation i wasted no time downloading GoodSNES and the like to play all the classic games i so unfairly missed out on. I wondered around for advice on top quality RPG's that i could dig into and one game in particular kept on popping up. Chrono Trigger. Even now it remains the greatest JRPG (and one of the greatest video games in general) that i have ever played. I was blown away by this game, it was simply amazing. I tried a number of others too, two of my very favorites were Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. I just could not believe that these were SNES games.

I've played a fair amount of console JRPG's this generation but i honestly feel that none of them come even close to topping the classics. Last gen my most enjoyable console JRPG was Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and this gen it's Tales of Vesperia for the moment. I've yet to properly play Final Fantasy XIII but I'm not too crazy about the numbered Final Fantasy games and haven't stuck with one the whole way through before; I've seen and heard all about XIII's battle system so i definitely want to give it a fair chance before making judgments though, but i highly doubt it'll end up being one of my favorites.

I'm looking forward to a few upcoming console JRPG's though. Namely The Last Story, Xenoblade and Arc Rise Fantasia. Oh and if anyone is wondering, my favorite JRPG's this generation have been a remake and a mildly enhanced port of games from over 2 generations ago.

i agree with the OP. ff13 was trash IMO. i havent played it in over a week and have no desire to. i replayed ff7 n 9 over summer and played ff6 and chrono trigger on emulator in the past 3 months. these games just shit on the current jrpgs this gen. and FF has become a joke based on 12 and 13. terrible games. fuck SE.

Kenryoku_Maxis said: dunno001 said: RageBot said: Kenryoku_Maxis said: dunno001 said: I personally never gave up SNES RPGs. I'm still buying them, still playing them. For me personally, it was the pinnacle of RPGs. Sure, there are some good ones from PS1 and onward, but the overall quality wasn't as high. Oh, and dtewi, yes, I would take FF1 over the current gen RPGs. I'd also take FF1 over any of the PS1 or later FF games. Someone needs to play Suikoden I-III, Paper Mario/Thousand Year Door, Final Fantasy VIII, Legend of Mana, Chrono Cross and well, any Dragon Quest ever made. Yeah, Suikoden 1-3 are amazing as a trilogy, Cross is also incredible. I will personaly recommend Xenogears, Valkyrie Profile, Wild Arms 1 and 3 and Vagrant Story. Except that you both have the same flaw: spanning multiple systems, hell, even multiple eras. As for the ones you both mention: -Suikoden: finished 1, 2-5 + Tactics are backlogged. -Paper Mario series: Backlogged on VC and disks. -FF8: Complete and total crap. I played too much of it for my tastes. I'd rather be stuck playing FPS games than this. (And I'm not an FPS fan.) -Legend of Mana: Backlogged, though with little interest. -Chrono Cross: More crap, and it insults fans of Trigger. (And mind you, Trigger is one of the SNES greats.) -Dragon Quest: You're telling this to someone whose second RPG was DQ1 from Nintendo Power? (The first, for the record, was a Swordquest game.) And to someone who has played every DQ through 8, and who will be getting 9 and 10 upon US release? Not to mention... where do you think DQ5 and DQ6 started? -Xenogears: Eh, I started this game, but it didn't really hold my interest. I might go back, but there's just too many other games backlogged. -Valkyrie Profile: Backlogged. -Wild Arms: Almost finished 1 (going to college delayed me), 2-5 + Alter Code F backlogged. -Vagrant Story: Another game that really isn't interesting me, based on what I've seen of the mechanics. Now, reread my original post. I did say that there were some good games post the SNES days. But as an average, a typical RPG wasn't as good after the SNES. The PS2 got some kickass ones, mostly from Atlus, but also brought the crap known as the Final Fantasy series. It also introduced episodic RPGs at a price a tad too high. (FF4:TAY got it right, .Hack didn't.) But, finding a bad RPG on the SNES was actually a chore. I'd have to stop and think if I could find one... Well, you also need to look at your own post and understand that 'opinion' and 'fact' are two different things.  And as I've already said, the SNES had some of the best JRPGs out there.  But there was still plenty of great JRPGs following the SNES.  I can't account for the fact that you think half of them are crap, but that's your opinion. And just speaking out to your major points, I'm a huge fan of Chrono Trigger (one of my 5 favorite RPGs) and I still think Chrono Cross was fantastic and one of the three best RPGs on the PSX.  Just because a sequel isn't the same exact thing doesn't make it crap.  Likewise, I consider Final Fantasy VIII to be the best game in the series to this day, in large part because it tried to be different and focus on a lot of character customization and a character focused story.  The exact opposite of most Final Fantasy games.  Which I understand is a major negative to many FF fans, but a major plus for me.

I'm aware that what I think is opinion. However, when I see people saying that I need to pay certain games, some of which I have played, because they think they are better, I see that more as trying to pass it off as a right/wrong type. I don't mind games changing. Note the changes made from Persona 1/2 to Persona 3/4- and I love both of them. And I don't mind the changes made in the early Final Fantasies. But, when it comes to FF8, for me, it did try several new things, and for that I would give it credit. It's just a shame that none of them worked.