I said it before but this is a site of lists at this point, haha.
It has been my plan for years to release a top 100 list but
I just keep playing games and some of them are good
enough to mess up the list!
BUT here it is, the very top shouldn’t be surprising, in fact the
most surprising part is probably the games not on the list, haha.
10 of the games are NOT RPGs, and I must say it was hard to
leave out about 50 amazing games that felt like top 100 material…
it is worth noting that the list is purely my favorites, no attempts
at making a balanced list or include diversity or balance
between series or genres etc. The things I value the most is how
much the games have affected me, how often I think about them
and maybe most of all the soundtrack!
Anyway, if you don’t like the list feel free to send me your own,
these are my favorites of the 1400+ I have beaten:

#1 Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
I will not write my big love letter today but it has been
19 years and no other game have even tried to compare
to this yet. So much and so little have happened in the world,
in my life and the game industry since this released but it is still
there as a constant mockery to every other game.
It has been over 7000 days since I beat Xenosaga II
and it has been 0 days since then where I haven’t thought about
Epidsode III. Yes it is an obsession and placing it as number one
is an understatement, I would throw out every other game on
the list and only keep this if I had to.

#2 Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
By many a hated game, by even more people a skipped game
based on rumors, for me the second best game ever made!
Of course there are some problems, the change in character
style is mostly to the worse, some cutscenes have less animation
and detail (some scenes have fingers other blobs), some of the
English voices got downgraded and with worse direction.
BUT, all of that is made up by the second best battle
system ever, the second best soundtrack ever, the story
and the one thing the rest of the series is missing (sidequests).
Varied quality for sure but still glad they exists, in fact more than
half of the game is optional content!

#3 Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
I knew in the very intro that this would be something
completely different and spectacular, back then people still
thought it would connect to Xenogears but I am glad it
was and is its own thing. To this date still the best English dub
and voice direction!

#4 Xenogears
When I first played this I kept Chrono Trigger as number 1 but
it is a game that requires a second playthrough and after
replaying it and “fully” understand it Chrono Trigger just had
to make way. I won’t write about the greatness of the game,
play it or watch the long analysis by the
Resonant Arc podcast, many words are needed and they
got them, haha.

#5 Xenosaga I.II
This is a more accurate version of what Xenosaga I was
supposed to be before they realized it needed to be split
into two. Some very interesting changes and details
only found here and the gameplay is at least decent
in this demake.

#6 Xenosaga Pied Piper
While far from a great GAME, it happens to have vital
parts of the best story. Be sure to play the fan version
fully available in English and improves the game part drastically.

#7 Chrono Trigger
The former number 1!
This was the game that once and for all cemented my love
for games and RPGs specifically and forever changed me
and my focus. I have beaten it 120+ times and enjoyed
every single one.

#8 Valkyrie Profile
A great game if you go for the normal ending, a top 10 game
if you look up and experience the route to the true one!
This remains one of the craziest design decisions ever,
hiding one of the very best games this well.
Motoi’s best work, godly pixels, amazing varied dungeons that
only unlocks on hard mode, one of the very best
combat systems… the list goes on.

#9 Nier Automata
The best game in the last 19 years! I still wouldn’t say it
tries to compare to Xenosaga, it keeps to the Nier formula
and Yoko Taros principles of not taking itself serious even
when fans do. When Route C started I stood up and raised
my hands in victory, I was disappointed by the first
ending and never thought they could turn it around
but somehow they did, they sure did!

#10 Suikoden II
The Castle in this really feels like my second home,
I love it so much! True or not but I heard this was the game
they wanted to make from the start but Konami said it was
too ambitious. Comparing 1 and 2 it really seems true and
probably good they had one prototype before perfecting
the concept!

#11 Tales of Phantasia
Tied with Star Ocean for most impressive SNES game
technically, with simulated shadows, water reflections,
surround sound and voiced intro song!
Aside from the encounter rate there is
nothing I don’t like in this.

#12 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
This game have so much to teach modern games!
Top class tutorials, shortcuts and options in all menus
and battles. One of the most touching stories, soundtrack,
dungeons, puzzles, humor it has it all!
Including the best roguelike ever: Ancient cave!!

#13 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
This is the trickiest part, there is just no way to judge these
games by themselves, they are all one story and they all
require the context of the last to shine.
With that I have arranged them with Cold Steel IV as favorite,
Sky 3rd least favorite. I never thought I would care this much
about a series again after Xenosaga and Suikoden died but
here we are 1000 hours into this, the biggest and most
impressive video game series there is scope and content wise.

#14 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the Second Chapter
The conclusion to the build up from 1 and
just great all around!

#15 The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Azure
There is just something about Crossbell and its
citizens! I spoke to all 300+ of them so many times.

#16 The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero
A lot less Geo front than I expected but
getting to know the NPCs was great.

#17 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
I had nooo idea what I was in for but it was love
from the start, I wish the world could
stay as simple as back then…

#18 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
I was skeptical to new class seven but by the end of
the game they were just as important as the old!
Second worst cliffhanger in any game!

#19 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
I love the more open exploration and getting
the school back together!

#20 The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Just a bit too slow and linear but quoting Xenogears
makes it up to me!

#21 The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie
The most fun to PLAY but this is where the
story really starts to derail.

#22 The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak
I might be the only one who dislikes the new
combat… other than that the story also keeps
getting worse along with the villains and the translation.
Longest game I have ever played!

#23 The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II
This really feels like a filler, even worse story and villains…
Still, the NPCs and some of my favorite characters are there!

# 24 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd
I was so disappointed by the whole concept and
lack of exploration. There is amazing story in there
as long as you come prepared though.

#25 Nier Replicant 1.23
Characters and the way they USE the music is better
than in Automata for sure but the improvements to
combat and systems are missed when you
replay this today.

#26 Terranigma
This is a game to play and experience,
not sit around reading about! Go play.
If you already played it you should know the greatness,
such an amazing journey through the evolution of the
world and its creatures, to this day there is nothing like it.

#27 Illusion of Time /Gaia
Content wise much weaker than Terranigma but this was one
of the first RPGs I ever played and beat before knowing
any English and it will always have a special place.
In fact I only love it more as time goes by!
I will forever be haunted by the flute music
and find comfort in the town music.

# 28 Suikoden III
The reason I bought a PS2! No game will ever be as epic
as the intro of this game implies but it sure tries!
The split scenarios adds so much, especially the secret one.

#29 Secret of Mana
An RPG with 3 player co-op!!
This game have meant a lot to me and my siblings and my
memories with it are many and fond.
The most buggy SNES game I have played but once
you learn to use them they are part of the fun, haha.

#30 Final Fantasy VI
Best in the series, mostly thanks to the music and second half.
This game shows how sidequests and an
open world should be done!

#31 Star Ocean 2 /The Second Story R
I can’t choose one, both are fantastic, the original with
charming voice clips, pre-rendered backgrounds etc.
The remake with so many upgrades and options that
it even pushed me to get all 99 endings!

#32 Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
While it can’t compare to the first game it still impresses with
one of the most advanced (and fun) battle systems ever,
the second best cutscenes on PS2, amazing environments
and massive rewards story wise for those that played the first.

#33 Chrono Cross
Ah, what an amazing game but terrible sequel.
The reason why I bought a PS1 and ever moved on
from SNES, I regret nothing!

#34 .Hack GU Recode
I try to get away with this as one game, hehe.
All of the .Hack games needs the context of each other
and the animes to deserve this high spot on the list
but even so, they each are fun and all three GU games
have amazing soundtracks and cutscenes, the one with
Tri-edge in the cathedral is forever etched in my mind.

#35 .Hack 1: Infection
Sadly I have to include all four of these even if they
clearly make up one single game.
This is the closest I will ever come to a MMO RPG and
it sure has that feeling and old charm.

#36 .Hack 2: Mutation
See above.

#37 .Hack 3: Outbreak
See above.

#38 .Hack 4: Quarantine
See above.

#39 Final Fantasy IX
Back to the roots with a working battle system,
fantasy setting, Hironobou etc.
They really mastered the prerendered backgrounds by 9
and the one thing I really love in it is how the story is told
with constant switching between parties and viewpoints
including the ATE system.

#40 Final Fantasy Tactics
The first I ever played in the genre and still the best one!
It really has it all from story to music, battles,
class systems etc. And of course the writing style!

#41 Tales of Symphonia
It is more or less a re imagining of Phantasia but with
it’s own world, cast and twists. The amount of side content
in this is crazy, most people don’t even know there are
multiple ways to get through the story with big and small
consequences and variations!

#42 Hollow Knight
The best of all indie games, and also the highest none RPG!
I was skeptical about the gray environments and the
bug theme BUT if you just get past the first two slow hours
it keeps getting better and better until it finally surpasses
even the classics of the genre.
I have beaten every boss, in all extra hard variants hitless,
path of pain is a cake walk and I am very ready for Silksong!

#43 Dark Souls 3
While it is the least interesting and mostly recycle ideas
from the the older games it also does it all the best and
by far the most polished. Unlike Elden Ring there
is even some kind of balance and still holds some challenge.

#44 Tales of Eternia
One of the first game I played with voice acting and
that added a lot. The painted backgrounds are also on
another level from the pixels and prerendered backgrounds
of the era. It just stands out in a lot of ways!

#45 Tales of Destiny
The encounter rate is a pain, the last third of the game is a
pain but I still love it for the pixels, characters, music and
general charm.

#46 Super Mario RPG
The first turn based game I ever beat and I still remember
asking what “RPG” meant back in 1996 when I saw that
magical combination of letters for the first time!

#47 Final Fantasy 7
It has never been my favorite but always remains a
strong game that opened the way for so many
other RPGs, especially outside of Japan.

#48 Rise of the Third Power
The best indie RPG, and second best indie game!
From the creators of Ara Fell, the humor remains but
few if any have managed to blend it so well with a
serious story! The world, the sidequests, the music!
The only negative is the use of standard RPG maker graphic,
while it looks great it also feels lazy and is already used by
thousands of other games finished or not.

#49 Xenoblade Chronicles DE
Aside from the last 15 minutes of the game that turns
into some kind of Xenogears parody it is just amazing!
The setting and exploration combined with the soundtrack
truly was next level when it released back on Wii.

#50 Shadow Hearts 2: Covenant
Maybe the first game deserves to be on the list too but
it melts together with 2 so much for me.
Just play it, the game is great and speaks for itself!

#51 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Just a bit better than the first with more sidequests etc.

#52 Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
This is the definition of RPG for me and the type of game
I want from the genre. Turn based combat, lots of NPCs,
towns to explore, some humor (maybe too much in this case)
pixel graphic etc.

#53 Rudra no Hihou
I really want to replay this but you could more or less call it
FFVI-2, more polished graphics in the same style, also sharing
the darker tones. The unique magic system, amazing
soundtrack and split scenarios all help too!

#54 Xenoblade 3
Combat/classes etc. are the best in the series for me,
so are sidequests which often have more substance than
the main story. The world is not as great to explore as the
first game and the story is also weaker but with some
big highlights here and there.

#55 Animal Crossing
I’m not going to specify a version, they are mostly the same
but if I had to choose I would go with gamecube where
it all begun for me. Concentrated coziness that have been
part of my and my sister’s lives ever since.

#56 Terraria
Playing this with my sister was so much fun,
without the co-op it wouldn’t make the list.

#57 Shining Force Neo
This should be a surprise for most people on a top list
but for me the pure joy of fighting a hundred enemies at the
same time and see the PS2 struggle in 2fps and slowly go
back to full speed once the enemies die is just the best, haha.

#58 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
I have beaten the game in all kinds of ways, no weapons,
no equipments, a boss only run… no matter what you do the
challenge is sadly zero.
Aside from that amazing and always fun!

#59 Wild Arms
Aside from the ugly 3D battles this is such a gem!
RPG dungeons done right!

#60 Legend of Mana Remaster
Eh, soundtrack and environments are fantastic,
battles and the co-op leaves a lot to wish for.
There is traces of a cool story in there, it’s just
hard to piece together…

#61 Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
The story is holding it back from Suikoden levels
but building the castle town and gathering allies
goes a long way!

#62 Grandia HD
The battles, the humor, the unrivaled feeling of
going on an adventure, they really managed
to capture that!

#63 Environmental Station Alpha
Don’t let the simple 8×8 tile graphic fool you,
this is second only to Sotn and Hollow Knight!
The mysteries and challenges run deep with this
metroidvania.

#64 Signalis
This have my STRONGEST recommendation,
no matter what genre you usually play this combines
classic art and all kinds of media into one very unique
game highlighting the best medium there is: GAMES

#65 Inmost
I don’t want to spoil anything, it is short,
play it now if you like games and stories.

#66 Saga Frontier 2
I love the game, but hate the combat and
the usual terrible SaGa systems. Looking forward to
play the remaster SOON that might help it a bit…

#67 Lost Odyssey
The true FF… XI?
Some of Nobou’s best work and the side stories is
enough to place it this high but the premise of the
main character and his 1000 year journey is something
I am very weak to.

#68 Dragon Quest XI
Getting to the credits makes for a great RPG
BUT after the credits comes some of my favorite scenes
ever and it is a shame so many seem to miss the best
part of the game…

#69 Demons Souls / remake
It took me three tries to see the greatness of this
game and the “Souls” formula but today I can’t imagine
games without it!

#70 Octopath Traveler II
Some improvements from the first game but mostly
the same, better level design and more interaction
between characters, weaker soundtrack.

#71 Octopath Traveler
I might be the only person who isn’t a fan of the
HD 2D nonsense but everything else in the game makes
up for it, soundtrack, battles, some of the stories and the
disguised open world with a lot of ways to break and explore!

#72 Suikoden
The start of this epic story and while it is pretty
simple and dated I love the high tempo where you can get
a full RPG story and recruit 108 characters in about 20 hours!

#73 Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana
I stopped playing the series after the move to PS3 and
from what I have seen this is still the best one with the
perfect mix of alchemy, story and exploration!

#74 Star Ocean
I could not believe it when I saw this game the first time,
the most impressive SNES game graphic wise and also
on some other fronts, just having a mini map on screen
felt so modern! I can just walk around and enjoy the
wind blowing in the grass, ah.

#75 Trails of Mana
If I could take parts of the modern remake and parts
of the SNES original and the fan version with 3 players
we would be close to a dream game…

#76 Soulblazer
Ahhh, my very first beaten RPG!
While it pales to Terranigma and Time/Gaia it
still has the amazing soundtrack and the pure
simple fun of resurrecting everything from a
tulip to a whole castle town!

#77 Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia
Another one where the soundtrack alone is enough to
make the list. The combat is fun enough and the
world feels cool and unique too. There are some parts
I could do without but as a whole it needs to be here.

#78 Arc the Lad II
What a great game and probably the biggest surprise
when I went through the whole library.
Godly pixels, great combat, story and world.

#79 Arc the Lad III
More or less the same level as II, some improvements
but the story is a bit weaker and lighter in tone.

#80 Final Fantasy X HD
There is a lot I like in this game, especially combat but
I wish Sin was the only villain…

#81 Ara Fell
The second best RPG maker game and made by
the same studio as Rise of the Third Power!
So much charm, so much humor, such
great quests and decent story too.
The only negative is the use of standard
RPG maker tiles even if they are used well.

#82 Xenoblade X DE
The story is pretty weak, the characters mostly joke
about eating each other and the music is mixed…
BUT the world and exploration remains unrivaled
when it comes to the feeling of freedom!

#83 Secret of Evermore
Being the one and only US developed Square game
makes it unique enough and the ambient soundtrack
and odd designs like a skeleton rowing a boat
through the desert left deep impressions on me.

#84 Super Castlevania 4
Hm, this is one of the games I have beaten the most
times for sure and I love it so much! The music and
atmosphere in this is on another level and somehow
still evokes those same feelings as it did over
30 years ago. If only I got exp from smashing those
Skeletons!

#85 Super Metroid
For a long time this used to be on or close to
the top 10 but after speedrunning and analyzing
it a lot and after Hollow Knight it is hard to
get much more out of it.
It just lacks the challenge and content today.

#86 Evoland 2
I wish I was the creator of this game, I have always
loved the idea of combining every game into
one great RPG, and this is it!
If you can name a game it probably have a
reference or whole section dedicated to it in this game!

#87 Elden Ring + Shadow of the Erdtree
I’m extremely mixed on this one, I hated the base game
and the terrible balance of bosses, repetitive catacombs etc.
BUT after accepting the terrible balance and just using
the mimic tear for everything I can enjoy the fantastic
environments. The DLC was such an upgrade in quality and
focus. I beat it ON the release day with very few deaths.

#88 Black Sigil
Apparantly a generally hated game?
For me it was the first indie game I played and also the
first to release on a Nintendo console depending on
definitions. The encounter rate is high, sure and
the soundtrack is pretty weak but the amazing
pixel art and the sidequests in the FF6/Chrono Trigger
style makes it up to me!

#89 Threads of Fate
I have played this so many times and I just can’t
resist the charm of it and the characters.
Big plus that the two characters have completely
different stories that still connect and overlap.

#90 Eternal Sonata
4 hour soundtrack in a 15 hour game, one of
Motoi’s best! The first game I ever saw in HD as if
the game isn’t magical enough that sure added
a layer!

#91 Tales of Legendia
Black sheep of the series, but the soundtrack from
Go Shiina is enough to redeem it, not to mention the
crazy part where they hid half of the game after
the end credits!

#92 Energy Breaker
It has been a while since I played it but the great
soundtrack, graphics, battles all ooze of SNES quality.
The faint connections to Lufia helps too!

#93 Breath of Fire 2
I’m still not sure why or how but this game fills me
with dread in a good way, the final boss song
is constantly in my head.

#94 Lufia and the Fortress of Doom
It felt old and outdated on release BUT the music,
characters and connection with the second game
still gets it into the list.

#95 Dark Chronicles
I would love to replay this but a bit too long sadly.
The main selling point is the amazing town building
that feels unique to this day. Not to mention that
you can use every dungeon as a golf course, haha!

#96 Radiata Stories
Tri-Ace! With the biggest playable party in any RPG,
the fantastic town where everyone is on a daily
schedule, a big twist/split in the story and the
bonus dungeon this fits right in on the list.

#97 Castle in the Darkness
The soundtrack is enough to make the list!
The game also have all the challenge and
joy of discovery I want in metroidvanias,
high tempo and a silly amount of references
that in this particular case was a positive for me.

#98 Drakengard
Well, as a game it is far from a pleasure to play,
the dragon parts holds up enough but any foot
combat gets old within 10 minutes.
It still gets a spot on the list as the precursor to Nier
and a window into Yoko Taros twisted mind. The most
disturbing party I have ever seen fights the most
disturbing enemies in the quest to get more disturbed.

#99 Gregory Horror Show
A pretty unknown game and yet the best horror game
from Capcom, haha. It might look silly and have a
cartoon style but don’t let it fool you, it is still
highly disturbing and scary when you get
chased around the hotel where it takes place.

#100 Skies of Arcadia Legends
I really added this in the last second. I want to
replay it myself but after watching it streamed
it really feels like it belongs here, haha.

Happy new year!!
I hope you all have enjoyed this amazing gaming year
and my ONE actual post…
I’m working on uploading all my Lego builds to the Imgur site
and will replace my lego section on this site, there is just too
many pictures to host here.
Anyway, time for the yearly list, another 76 new games beaten
including those last PS2 games! I managed to get a few
modern games in during the end of the year now that I finally have
a PS5 but there is still a lot of cleanup to do next year before I
continue to the rest of the SNES titles.

Pets at Work
Very simple Co-op fun, with pets!

Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
It feels so long ago now… It’s mostly the same as the first game,
they didn’t learn anything, still the same stupid weapons that breaks
constantly, still the shrines of very mixed quality and still the
stamina bar, menus etc. Even more terrible physics puzzles but a
bit cooler dungeons and story makes it about even.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World
I took me a while to realize it was a remake I was playing, haha.
Fun game but I prefer the original.

Yakuza 3
I didn’t expect to play any more Yakuza but thanks to a friend
gifting me half the series the journey continued and I am happy
it did! 3 might be the weakest in the end, some improvements to
combat but otherwise weakest villains and story.

Edge of Eternity
A terrible technical mess, when I played it there was no actual way
to beat it on PS4 and I don’t expect any more patches…

Yakuza 4
A big upgrade from 3, having the multiple stories and characters
were a great idea to give the series new life and move forward.

Dragons Dogma
This made me question what every other open world RPG have
been doing!! The irony that Capcom of all developers is behind
one of the best “western RPG”. I really liked the length and scope
that never got out of hand, the “grounded” battles, reasonable
sidequests, AI characters that actually helped and picked up
items etc. Environments all great! Looking forward to play
the second game soon.

Yakuza 5
Mostly an even more expanded and better 4, maybe a bit too
long but otherwise great!

Cyberpunk 2077
I had no expectations on this and didn’t even know it was a
first person game going in, haha. No technical problems worth
mentioning even on base PS4 when I played it and I must say it was
a pretty fun journey, I even did a few sidequests, made some good
relationships and got a pretty nice ending!

Yakuza 6
A great end to the main character’ story six games later and love
the focus on a smaller town this time.

Hammerwatch Anniversary Edition
One of my favorite Co-op games, now in physical version!
Sadly it does not include local co-op anymore so I would still go
with the original despite some nice re-balancing and new content
in this version.

Hammerwatch II
Since I know one of the developers and have been looking forward
to this for a long time I was so sad to see the absolute technical mess
this is on Switch, the physical PS4 version got cancelled so I had to
get this instead. I had about 100 crashes before I beat the game,
the save file got erased when I was more than halfway in,
the frame rate is often below 0 (not and exaggeration, it really is)
a lot of collisions don’t work, music comes and goes etc. A MESS.
So sad because there is a good and beautiful game between all
the problems. Will play a different version in the future.

Yakuza Like a Dragon
This really takes the series to a new level with the much better
turn based combat and fully embracing the RPG parts of the series.
I did all the sidequests and loved it!

Rusty Sword
Short, fun, as indie as it gets.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
Good/decent/fun but not amazing Action RPG

Majin Tensei II Spiral Nemesis
I think I preferred the first one but the SMT and strategy
combo still works.

Digimon World Data Squad
In the end, the most playable of the old Digimom RPGs?
I would still stay away, haha.

Yume Meikyuu
Eh, pretty beginner friendly dungeon crawler I guess.

Gladius
Hm, I think I like this more now that it is beaten, haha. Strategy RPG where
you travel around the world to earn enough reputation to fight in the
big arena, some battles are really fun, some are a real pain.

Wizardry V
Only one more to go until I feel done with this series!

Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifers call
Also known as Nocturne or SMT III. The switch to 3D worked well for the
series since it was already emulating it on the SNES and the dungeons
benefited a lot! Some hard bosses for sure but I was prepared for even
worse seeing how it often tops “hardest RPG” lists.

Super Robot Taisen EX
These will all blend together so much, all the strategic
Gundam games, all decent so far including this one!

Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragonbone Staff
I’m not sure what to say about it,
you have a random generated map and want to find the treasure by getting
more and more clues from defeating and recruiting enemies in turn based
battles. It was surprisingly fun and worth taking a look at
for old Heroes fans.

Dokapon Gaiden: Honoo no Audition
Very simple boardgame RPG, more fun in Co-op of course.

Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga
Actual dungeons with level design and Xenosaga voice actors helps a lot,
hehe.

La Pucelle Tactics
More “Disgaea style” strategy, you know what you get, this time with religion
as the story focus.

Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 2
This might be my favorite SMT game overall, a lot more story focus instead of
pokemon collecting. Continues the story right where 1 left of and improves
some of the mechanics etc.

King’s Field: The Ancient City
Best in the series and it has been so fun to finally play everything leading up
to modern “Souls” games.

Cocoon
Very nice puzzle game, short and pretty clever in
abstract environments!

Somerville
You can really feel that this is from some former
Limbo/Inside developers, great game if you like that style!

Another Crab’s Treasure
This was a big surprise! It started pretty slow but in
the end a fantastic mix of 3D platforming and the
“souls” formula sprinkled with some humor too.

Planet of Lana
I would just like the whole game as a picture book,
every environment is so nice to look at! The game is decent too,
cinematic/puzzle platform game.

Persona 3
Tied with Persona 4 the longest game in the PS2 library and the length is what
holds it back the most. It is a great game, about 40 hours, the other 82 is
just boring and slow. Having ONE dungeon in such a long game is just awful
and the combat is quite bad as well. The town etc. looks great and it is fun
getting to know the villagers more but the process is just too slow.

Front Mission 4
Not as strong as 3 but the split scenarios and seeing the same war from
different parties and fighting for the same side (kinda) but never really
interacting much was really interesting.

Prince of Persia Lost Crown
Started slow but soon became a great metroidvania!
Didn’t expect that to happen to the series in 2024.

Persona 4
Tied with Persona 3 the longest game in the PS2 library and the length is what
holds it back the most. It is a great game, about 40 hours, the other 82 is
just boring and slow. Especially dungeons and battles are a big upgrade from 3.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Selling this as DLC and not a separate game was a big mistake
and scared away many players…
A new and even better world to explore, new bosses, enemies,
music, story,”classes”, weapons, leveling system etc.
A new game, starting at level 1 again and filling up some of the
empty areas and this would make for a great Elden Ring 2.

Jubilee
A shorter but still great Celeste!

Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak
Oh boy, the longest game I have ever played, 149 hours before
seeing credits. I do love my NPCs and talking to them all but it is
getting ridiculous and I might, MIGHT not speak to them all in
Daybreak 2… we’ll see. By far the worst combat in the series,
the action part of it is so simple and got boring in the first 5 hours,
I thought it would get more fun and add more mechanics but NO,
the same boring button mashing all 149 hours. And the turn based
part have become harder to read and control for me in their
attempts to make it easier… Storywise more of a classic RPG party,
I like them aside from the constant recurring jokes that gets very
irritating after hearing them 20 times, and exhausting when it
closes in on 100… weak villains and the general direction the
story goes bring it down to second worst in the series for me,
still making it a great game, haha.

Kaze and the Wild Masks
Fun simple platforming that keeps being compared to
Donkey Kong country for good reason.

Franzen
Very indie, a strange and truly unique RPG with the risk of
getting permanently stuck, haha.

Itorah
Great but also forgettable in the sea of metroidvanias.

This Way Madness Lies
A humor filled RPG with a lot of Shakespeare references,
and magical girls… play it now!

Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land
Best in this series for sure, at least from what I have played.
The dungeons have some real design and there are so many NPCs running
around on their own adventures. Their art is also great and the side quests
adds something more to do than just reach the final floor. Less randomness
too even if it is still there in combat.

Dokapon Kingdom
With a friend or two this boardgame RPG could be fun for sure
and I didn’t mind it alone either.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha vs the Soulless Army
The combat is a bit too basic in this but the second improved it a lot.

Visions of Mana
Another technical mess, especially on PS4 with crashes but
on all platforms to some degree. Still, I really liked it and the
Xenoblade feeling environments are all great as well as
the highlight. Decent story, characters music and combat
but the environments are the highlight for sure.
And most of all, a brand new Mana game!

Next of Kin
Short and sweet, mostly visual novel with some minor exploring.

Sakura Wars
A great visual novel with amazing strategy battles.
The people behind 13 Sentinels played this for sure!
Amazing uncompressed anime cut scenes makes it the
biggest PS2 game size wise.

Soul Nomad
This was yet another nice take on the “Disgaea style” of strategy RPGs
Jumping between serious and silly scenes constantly.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Wow, these two were one of the biggest positive surprises in the whole library,
combining SMT with action worked surprisingly well and most of all it has
good dungeons, amazing prerendered backgrounds and a decent story.

Wild Arms 5
A shame that a series of only good to great games still died…

Unlimited SaGa
The most hated RPG on PS2 and for good reason.
I played this 20 years ago, got to the final boss and gave up saying this would
be the last thing I would want to play, and it was the last thing I played,
on this challenge and list at least. The main problem is the vague systems
upon systems upon systems, even for fans of SaGa this comes off as confusing.
And of course the other big factor “it looks like a board game” you explore on
very simple maps with even simpler graphics. A shame since there is so much
good art for some locations, monsters and characters. I got to the final boss
pretty fast this time but beating it is at least 70% of the game, it is a massive
spike that forces you to at least understand some things about the game.
The deed is done, revenge is mine.

Demons Souls remake
Finally I got to play it!
The remake is almost a straight upgrade in every way,
I prefer the old less detailed prison of hope and some of the old music
but overall a fantastic way to play this great game,
it has risen on my top list for sure.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Hmm, just like the first game this swings greatly and quickly
between an amazing remake and terrible fan fiction that I need to
mute and a mini game bonanza, haha. Knowing what I went into I
had surprisingly fun with the mini games and the game in general
and one of the story scenes was actually a big upgrade to the original
and single-handedly raises the score one point for me!

Bramble Mountain King
A Swedish horror game based on old folklore, probably more
effective for people growing up with these stories and a few very
Swedish references in there but be sure to give it a try!

Gestalt Steam and Cinder
Another amazing metroidvania to the pile!

Ys X Nordics
This is really starting to blend together with Legend of Heroes
with more story and NPCs than ever! I love it but also feel sad that
the more focused Ys style is dying… at least the party size is smaller
again with only 2 members!

Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
Suikoden remains number one of course but Eiyuden does a good
job of carrying the legacy. Some great dungeons, great battles even
if you might want to play them on hard, the 3D and sprite combo looks
really nice, lots of good songs. Upgrading the castle works just as I always
wanted it to work, recruiting odd characters is just as fun as in Suikoden
and overall I am very happy that we got a game like this so many
years later! The big complaint would be the somewhat boring antagonists.

Super Mario 3D World
Finally played this! It was Mario, it was fun.
I loaned it to my niece who also beat it and it is clearly more fun in co-op!

Oxenfree II
A more direct sequel than I expected, but just like the first game
I enjoyed it and the choices you make along the way.

Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster
I had forgotten a few steps in the progression and three monks
wasn’t a good idea. But otherwise good old FF1!

Final Fantasy 2 Pixel Remaster
I enjoyed this more with random encounters turned of
this time, the blood sword makes up for it anyway, haha.

Final Fantasy 3 Pixel Remaster
I only played the DS version before and this version completely changed
my opinion on it to the better! Such a massive and ambitious NES game!

Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster
Played it for the music, was not disappointed!

Granblue Fantasy Relink
8 years later and finally playing the game is somehow even more
impressive than seeing the trailers back then! They have found such
a great art style for both environments and characters that will still
look good years from now. The game also sounds and play good,
coming from YS X this has a bit slower tempo but not a bad thing.
The bosses deserve a special mention, a lot of really good ones as
long as you turn of the game after the credits…
I have two big complaints, much less exploration than I had hoped
for in this amazing world and the whole post game that mostly
consists of fighting the same bosses over and over with more
and more HP. Seriously, just beat and enjoy the main game.

Final Fantasy 5 Pixel Remaster
This might be just the second time I beat it, really enjoyed it
and was happy to revisit some great locations like the library,
big bridge, final dungeon etc.

Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster
This was also played mostly for the music but always a joy!
ALWAYS!

Fantasian NEO Dimension
It was much longer than expected, I had heard the second half
would ramp up the challenge and I do like it in my turn based
RPGs but this might have gone overboard and especially with the
terrible exp scaling resulting in that even “superbosses” only give
20% of a level. Still, my final verdict is very positive, the music,
the unique and nice looking environments with houses you can
enter etc. towns full of NPCs, everything I want!
This truly is a mix of all Sakaguchis previous works.

Voidwrought
A lot of nice games being made in the country, including
this metroidvania! Inspired by Hollow Knight for sure but
unique enough once you play a while, did almost 100%
which is a good sign.

Tanuki Justice
Very short and straight forward arcade and old style.

Wunderling DX
I meet the developers years ago and played a demo of this,
it feels good to finally beat the whole thing!
A nice puzzle platform game.

Tails Noir
Visual novel with some light exploring/talking to NPCs.
It reminded me of Disco Elysium but in a shorter format.
Great art style!

Jack Move
Splendid indie RPG, it does everything right, pixel art,
great music, decent story, nice turn based combat!

Wallachia Reign of Dracula
Truly old school Castlevania with stages and extra lives etc.
I have said it before but I feel so done with limited lives in
games… Otherwise fun with focus on bow combat.

Minecraft Dungeons
Last beaten of the year! The only Minecraft game I have
actually played, haha. Fun Co-op action RPG!

New Beaten: 76
RPGs: 55

I missed a lot of the cool new releases this year and it is really
even between them but from what I played and feeling today:

1: Legend of Heroes Trails Through Daybreak
2: Eiyuden Chronicle Hundred Heroes
3: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
4: Ys X Nordics
5: Fantasian NEO Dimension

And as always, another year of waiting for more Silksong and
Legend of Heroes, at least one of them keep delivering, haha.

Happy New Year everyone!

A bit sad that these yearly beaten games lists are the only
consistent updates you get on this site these days…
But as always I blame the content of the list on why I don’t
get around to doing much else, haha.
Another amazing game year and I haven’t even played everything
new and interesting yet!
I already made a post about it but completing the PS1 RPG library
was a big goal and achievement for this year and I will keep
going with SNES and PS2 next. At the moment I am down to
20 SNES and 20 PS2 games but when you consider 8 of them are
Shin Megami games, half are strategy games, and once you see
the amount of games I already have and will get in 2024…

On to the list! (top 5 at the bottom)

Sakuna of Rice and Ruin
A nice and cozy opening to the year but a bit too long/
repetitive.

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
Weaker than the first game but still pretty fun for the
Sci-fi starved RPG fans.

Last bible 3
This might be my favorite in the whole Shin Megami series
since it is more of a traditional RPG and not the usual first person dungeons.

Darkstone
The only PS1 RPG to properly use the right analog stick for camera!

Yakuza 2
A bit better balanced and paced than the first game, looking forward
to the rest of the series and story.

Brandish 2
More and better of the same from the first game!
Still using the confusing world turning control scheme.

Monsterseed
Ugh, this was a pain to play with some nice looking graphic at least.

Octopath Traveler II
More or less the same as the first game, better exploration and
party interactions, worse but still great music!

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II
More of the same great hack and slash!

Kidou Senshi Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079
One of the many Gundam strategy games, decent enough.

Deception 3 Dark Delusion
less and less RPG and simpler with each title. Still fun though!

Pode
A cute little puzzle co-op game!

The Legend of Heroes Trails to Azure
The conclusion to the amazing Crossbell saga, I love it so much!
I spoke with all 300+ NPCs probably 30 times each, all the text!

Metroid Prime Remaster
I didn’t really need a remaster of this buuut a friend gave it to
me and it was an amazing remaster and excuse to play the game again!

Live A Live
Even better than the original, especially the soundtrack!

Turtles Hyperstone Heist
I thought I had beaten this before but apparently not.
Co-op fun of course.

Boxxle
This was… unexpected but after seeing two streamers play it and being
so slow I had to do it myself… and was just as slow, haha.
It just is a long and tricky Sokoban game.

Bravely Default II
I had this for a while and finally played it. Much better than expected with
lovelyvisuals, battles, music and even a decent story!

Front Mission 3
This has been a long time coming, as expected a great game.
What I didn’t know was that it has a simulated internet that you can spend
many hours exploring!

Xenoblade 3 Future Redeemed
This DLC might as well be its own game with new characters, locations, story etc.
Great DLC with a maybe not so great end to the whole Xenoblade Saga.

Azure Dreams
Dungeon crawler+ town building and dating simulator. The added aspects
makes it stand out and more fun than most in the genre.

Kings Field II
Number III in Japan. This was actually a good game after the rough
predecessor. The lack of bosses is my biggest complaint.

Ogre Battle
The only English RTS RPG on PS1… I figured out a way to break the game
early and could rush through luckily since I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Digimon World 3
This could have been a good game… if not for the worst backtracking I have
ever seen!!

Persona 2
A big step up from the first game in all departments,
especially being able to save anytime.

Brave
A short beginner friendly RPG on DS, played in Swedish too!

Arc the Lad II
Man this was a massive game, best in the series with amazing pixels,
a darker tone for the story and worth the 80+ hours.

Arc the Lad III
Just as massive as the second game but more 3D and lighter tone.
A bit more fun and improved combat at least.

Rhapsody
My final PS1 RPG! Short, fun and nice to look at, could end in
a worse way.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie
Without spoiling anything this reminded me a bit too much of Sky 3
making me like it less but still, it is Legend of Heroes!

Shifters
I kept thinking this is a PS1 and not PS2 game, haha…

Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon
Ah, good old shopkeeper Torneko. This was the SNES version
and probably no reason to play over the PS1 version, more
similar than I expected.

Jade Cocoon 2
Much better than the first game with some interesting
battles where you swap in different monster teams.
Pokemon could learn a thing or two.

The Legend of Heroes A Tear of Vermillion
More or less the definition of a classic and cozy RPG, the Lunar
vibes are strong but sadly one of the worst localization I have see.

Super Robot Taisen Aiden Lord of Elementals
More Gundam, more strategy, they will all blend together in the end.

Deus Ex
I hated this for the first hours but enjoyed the final ones when
you have more to work with.

Super Chinese World 3
One of the most unique games in the sense that you can choose between
turn based combat or the usual fighting game style combat from 1 and 2!

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Fun co-op game where you help each other to steer a space ship and
shoot at things!

Swashbucklers
One of the most unplayed RPGs on the PS2 system I would say, it feels both
high and low budget at the same time and could be called a more modern
version of Uncharted Waters. (mostly trading between harbors).

Lost in Play
My first “touchpad game”. A beginner friendly point and click/adventure
game I guess, quite charming!

Wizardry Gaiden IV: Throb of the Demon’s Heart
A completely different game than the main IV of the series but from
what I have heard I should be thankful for that, hehe.

TMNT: Shredders Revenge
They had one job, to capture the feeling of the old games and they nailed it!

Sea of Stars
Most anticipated of the year! And it delivers on all fronts!
What a feat to completely switch genre instead of going with a safe sequel
to The Messenger. What is next for the studio?!

A short Hike
It is short, fun and great, just play it if you like games.

Moon scars
This is a very stable and good metroidvania but it doesn’t do much
to stand out and I fear it will be forgotten in time and with the
competition it has…

Venba
A short game about making Indian food and a sweet tale of a family
trying to live life.

Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark
I have wanted to play this forever and finally got to do it!
The strategic battles and classes offers so many options and
overall even better than expected but the plot was maybe a bit
lacking in the end.

Nayuta: Boundless Trails
YS+Legend of heroes, instant fun! I was not happy when it turned out to
be “stage based” but the game is just so fun to play that I can look past
that and see the great game it is.

Alwas Legacy
Another game I should have played ages ago!
I think I prefer the first game even if this has a lot of improvements.
Also a studio I’m looking forward to see their next game!

Dredge
Fishing has never been this fun, and scary at the same time.
It is a great game but a lot of unfulfilled potential too.

Chaos Wars
Known as the game with the worst RPG voice dub ever. While it is true,
you can switch to Japanese voices too in the US release. And more than
bad or annoying the actors all just sound extremely bored reading the
script, haha. Decent gameplay in Disgaea style but such an odd game
seeing characters from different series like Shadow Hearts mixed in…

Ultima VI
I finally beat an Ultima game! I could have enjoyed this if it
was the only game I had to play, but now with open worlds I just feel
stressed to make progress and not search and entire world for a tiny clue.

Digimon World 4
This time the series tried… a Diablo like! They never get it right, they
should just have cloned pokemon from the start, haha.

Majin Tensei
This was a game that sounded like a nightmare beforehand but turned
out to be quite nice, all the usual Shin Megami monsters and mechanics
but with strategy maps.

Trapt
The final part of the series, at least for me. The shortest and least RPG
of them all but still fun.

Kidou Senshi Gundam F91: Formula Senki
Another one I wouldn’t call RPG after playing it, pretty unique
radar-based-action or something, haha.

Star Ocean The Second Story R
As always sad to call a remake best of the year but it really is!
Thanks to new game+ and new features of the remake I could finally
finish my dream of getting every ending! Getting the Platinum trophy,
max level etc. on the way was just a minor distraction, haha.

Eternal Poison
It started out great and I was excited to hear some of my old favorite
voices from the Xenosaga cast but pretty soon the battles dragged on
and I decided to just get the bad ending and be done…

Super Mario RPG Remake
Yet another fantastic remake! The SNES version was my first beaten
turn based RPG and the first time I ever heard about RPG at all so
it will always have a special place. I have heard a lot of complaints about
the difficulty but complaining about a Mario game being easy is just silly
to me, I am happy that a new generation of players may find their way to
RPGs the same way I did.

Uncharted Waters
Another game I feared for a long time but with a bit of guidance I
ended up enjoying the trading and journey to a big fleet of ships!
Curious to see how different the second game is.

Robot Warlords
A poor man budget Front Mission with far too much randomness…

Might and Magic Book II
And my first Might and Magic game, also a lot different than the
Book II on other systems and with no complete walkthroughs or
playthroughs in English a struggle to get through yourself!

Romancing SaGa
My old nemesis SaGa, so many fantastic ideas and environments
but so many of them falling just short or get hindered by terrible design
choices… Beat it with one character, that is enough.

Zwei: the Arges Adventure
A PC game ported to PS2 then PSP and back to PC and getting a translation
in the process, haha. really cozy town and NPCs but the dungeons and
battles leave a lot to be desired.

Lies of P
The second coming of Bloodborne!? Kinda, I will more likely replay that
than this but a great game that borrows a lot from bloodborne even if
the exploration reminds me more of Darksiders, Prince of Persia,
God of war etc.

New Beaten: 65
RPGs: 53

Top 5 of 2023:

1: Star Ocean The Second Story R
2: The Legend of Heroes Trails to Azure
3: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie
4: Super Mario RPG Remake
5: Sea of Stars

That was that, what a year! More or less the same stats as always,
and as every year most anticipated 2024 is
Silksong and more Legend of Heroes, haha.

More or less 20 years later, I finally did it, beat every single PS1 RPG released
in English! I was a bit late getting on the PS1 train but having Chrono Trigger
as my favorite game back then, Chrono Cross finally pushed me into getting
the console. My brother already had one and the Final Fantasy games so I
beat them first, followed by the eluding Chrono Cross and after that a friend
burned me copies of most Square games and another friend introduced me
to Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, Tales of etc. The great games seemed endless
and they almost were, until now!

I will list and rank the entire library from best to worst, number 1 should
be very obvious and some of them might move a step up or down
depending on what day you ask but this should be a pretty final list:

#1 Xenogears
Xenogears shouldn’t need any further explanation,
the game that would shape the rest of my life and
finally dethrone Chrono Trigger as number one (until Saga).

#2 Final Fantasy Chronicles
A bit boring to have a poorly emulated collection as #2
but with both Chrono Trigger and FF4 in there it can’t be helped!

#3 Valkyrie Profile
Hidden behind complex systems and vague requirements the
true ending and its route makes it one of the very best games ever.

#4 Suikoden 2
The pinnacle of the series and can’t wait to see the upcoming
remaster! A tale of family, friendship, politics, war, creation and
of course an epic food cooking duel of life and death!

#5 Final Fantasy Anthology
Another boring entry but again, hard to deny both
Final Fantasy 5 and 6 in one package!

#6 Chrono Cross
Not the sequel I expected when buying the console
but it still blew me away and was the beginning of this
long journey.

#7 Tales of destiny 2
Eternia! It was love at first sight and sound with this,
filled to the brim with everything I love in RPGs!

#8 Star Ocean 2
Another magical game that truly defines the PS1

#9 Tales of destiny
The last third of the game is a bit too slow but until then
pixel perfection

#10 Final Fantasy IX
It is very close between VII and IX for me but the
way they tell the story by jumping between parties is
my favorite part about this one

#11 Final Fantasy VII
The classic of the classic! The first time I saw it around 1997
I didn’t even understand what I was looking at, it looked terrible
and I spent another 5 years only playing on my beloved SNES
instead, haha

#12 Wild Arms
The pixels, the puzzles, the music!

#13 Suikoden
A bit rough compared to 2 but still a great start to the
amazing world of Suikoden

#14 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
If not inventing, at least making the genre combination
much more popular. The soundtrack alone is enough to place it this high

#15 Final Fantasy Tactics
The best of it’s genre!

#16 Saga Frontier 2
I hate playing this but love the story, music and art style,
fake Gustave is one of my favorite characters and concepts!

#17 Legend of Mana
The remaster is a better way to enjoy this but such an
unique and cozy game, not even mentioning the Swedish
ending song and li’l cactus!

#18 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
If you look up the definition of “JRPG” this is probably it,
just thinking about Lunar makes me happy!

#19 Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
If you look up the definition of “JRPG” this is probably it,
just thinking about Lunar makes me happy!

#20 Grandia
Few games have captured the feeling of adventure as
well as this, and the battles, wow!

#21 Arc the lad collection
I would rank them 3-2-1 internally but they all make up
a single great world and story!

#22 Threads of Fate
I have beaten this so many times! Not sure why
it speaks so much to me but it does.

#23 Breath of Fire IV
I really would love to replay this and see
how it holds up but in my mind it is #23, haha

#24 Breath of fire 3
Crossing that desert is one of my most
treasured experiences, odd but true

#25 Tactics Ogre
I actually played the PSP version so the list might be a lie!!

#26 The Legend of Dragoon
Not the Final Fantasy killer they hoped for but still great!

#27 Koudelka
Short but sweet!
Horror+RPG is still underused but there are a few great ones.

#28 Persona 2
To think I actually enjoyed this in the end after avoiding it
for so very long!

#29 Wild Arms 2
It is good but drags on far too long and the translation
gets worse by the hour too, haha

#30 Parasite Eve
Quite haunting and unique, the story is a lot more
silly playing as an adult but I still like it!

#31 Alundra
Amazing world but they should have cut some of the dungeons

#32 Front Mission 3
Just great all around!

#33 Vagrant Story
Another one I really want to revisit!
I would call it my first “Dark Souls” experience, hehe

#34 Vandal Hearts 2
Just a bit greater than the first

#35 Vandal hearts
Great strategy game!

#36 Final Fantasy Origins
Probably the best way to enjoy I and II to this day?
The music!

#37 King’s Field II
Another surprise that managed to climb quite high on the list

#38 Brave Fencer Musashi
The fully voiced NPCs still impress me!
Glory to the Sodapop empire!

#39 Final Fantasy VIII
Story, music and graphic is mostly great but the world
and the battles brings it down quite a bit for me.

#40 Dragon Warrior VII
This was beaten on 3DS so another lie on the list!

#41 Saiyuki: Journey West
A really nice overlooked game about a journey west!

#42 Saga frontier
Some of it great, some of it terrible, beat all 7 characters!

#43 Harvest moon
Not an RPG but I beat it and it is often mentioned among RPGs.
Great game if you have 100+ hours to spare

#44 Thousand Arms
Filled with humor that was probably best served before 2000, haha

#45 Blaze and blade
An odd co-op Action RPG that never got a US release but is available
in PAL territory

#46 Shadow Madness
This gets a lot of hate it seems but I found the dialog and characters fun
and some of the environments are quite nice! The combat balance is sadly
completely broken and probably part of the hate.

#47 Eternal Eyes
The first of many strategy RPGs on the console, it is nice!

#48 Beyond the Beyond
Another lowly rated game in general but once you get past the intro it’s
not that bad, very generic standard RPG but not bad.

#49 Shadow Tower
A little bit more linear version of Kings Field

#50 King’s Field
It is number II in Japan, first in English… the start of this is
a true challenge but once you get into it you can see all the
DNA that lives on in Dark Souls today

#51 Alundra 2
The shift to 3D took away a lot of the charm from the first game
but still a good puzzle RPG

#52 Legend of Legaia
I much prefer the second game but extra points for the Xenogears-like
battle system of course!

#53 Persona
Aside from boring dungeons the one big flaw is the RNG/lack of
savepoints, it can be hours between them, gah

#54 Technomage Return of Eternity
This is completely PAL exclusive, not available in the US or Japan!
Not a bad game either, quite ambitious too!

#55 Azure dreams
The town and dating parts makes it stand out from other dungeon
crawlers, quite fun!

#56 Legend of Kartia
I remember quite little of this to be honest

#57 Rhapsody
This ended up as the very last of the library, a short but charming end
and predecessor to Disgaea complete with voiced musical numbers and
strategy battles!

#58 Megaman Legends 2
This fixed a few problems from the first game at least!

#59 Megaman Legends
I like the style and charm but the dungeons were pretty boring
and not the easiest to control in the 3D environments

#60 Diablo
Having played II first I was surprised how good and playable this still is!

#61 Jade Cocoon
I beat it with my starter “pokemons” and a good friend can’t
believe how, haha.

#62 Digimon World 3
Best of the bunch and could almost be a good game if not for all the insane
amount of backtracking. You can’t believe the amount until you play it!!

#63 Warriors of Might and Magic
Short simple Action RPG

#64 Legacy of Kain Blood Omen
It was decent but not amazing as some people make it out to be.
Vae victis!

#65 Chocobos Dungeon 2
The FMVs in this are so charming! And the game is decent too,
especially when you manage to transform the final boss into a random easy
monster, hahaha.

#66 Torneko the Last Hope
Torneko! One of my favorite parts about Dragon Quest IV was managing his
shop so I love that he got his own game

#67 Vanguard Bandits
Another where my memory fails a bit, it was good but not
memorable apparently

#68 Granstream Saga
I wish this was better since some of the team is the remnants of
Quintet (Terranigma, Soulblazer etc.) But sadly it is just a mediocre
Action RPG with some puzzles

#69 Deception 3 Dark Delusion
The third polishes the systems from 2 even more.
I’m looking forward to playing Trapt on PS2 later!

#70 Deception 2 Kagero
The second simplifies the concept of killing people with traps a lot

#71 Tecmo’s Deception
The first was the most complex and maybe most RPG of them all

#72 Parasite Eve 2
More resident Evil than RPG maybe

#73 Gauntlet Legends
A lot more complex than you expect from a Gauntlet game,
it is a full 3D Action RPG and not just a simple hack and slash

#74 Guardian’s Crusade
Very standard RPG of the early PS1 days.

#75 Dragon Valor
Almost an “Arcade” feeling to this, pretty simple but fun!

#76 Shaolin
RPG+beat em up! Pretty cool

#77 Ehrgeiz
What an odd game, a dungeon crawler and a beat em up with
Cloud and Sephrioth thrown in to sell some copies, haha

#78 Hoshigami
So slooow

#79 Darkstone
The only RPG that actually uses the right analog stick
for camera movement!

#80 Crusaders of Might and Magic
Another simple Action RPG, probably more impressive if you
played it 25 years ago.

#81 Ogre Battle
Big disappointment! I thought it would be more like Tactics Ogre
but this is a RTS RPG, the only on the console too!

#82 Monkey Hero
Not more RPG than Zelda but oh well, some count that too!

#83 RPG Maker
The prebuilt game is more or less a 5 hour Dragon Quest clone,
made by Dragon Quest staff, haha

#84 Monsterseed
Nice graphic, not terrible but I have a hard time with
games where your characters die and you have to get
new ones.

#85 Brigandine
More boardgame than RPG and my god the first half of the
game was a struggle.

#86 Dragon Seeds
A rock-paper-scissor combat style and arena battles, barely RPG

#87 The Hunter
Now we are at the very bottom where I can safely say this is a
terrible game. You can play it with friends like a boardgame
but alone with NPCs you only get to play 25% of the time and
sit around waiting the rest. Very RNG heavy too.

#88 Digimon World
Sorry Digimon fans, I had to put these at the bottom.
A tamagotchi style game where you need to go to the toilet
and where your digimons turn to literal poop if you don’t beat the
game fast enough…

#89 Digimon World 2
Much better than the first game but the length still makes it my
least favorite on the console thanks to 97 hours of slowmotion
animations in random dungeons.

Well, that is it! A bit sad to move one after all these years but I will
of course return to the favorites and the fan translations are starting
to drop in too!

Finally let us thank this great machine that made it all possible,
my very first PS1 that I bought used and chipped from a random kid at $80.
I have played about 80% of the games on this specific console and it is
still going strong:

Once again, the yearly list! It never gets old.
A shame this is only the third post this year but I guess the list explains why…
I have had a great year over all and one of the best gaming years ever,
everything points at 2023 being at least as good with more
Legend of Heroes, Sea of Stars, Suikoden and hopefully Silksong to just
name a few. 61 new ones this time, top list at the bottom!

Listed in chronological order I beat them this time, ask if platform is important:

Eastward
Such a long wait for this and in the end it delivered!
A lovely world filled with lovely NPC:s and pixels.

Bloodstained Curse of the Moon 2
Not as great as the first and a bit messy because of too
many characters. (still great though)

Cris Tales
The split time mechanic and unique thing about the game
didn’t add much and was very under-used sadly, a good game
but far from it’s full potential.

Impostor Factory
This series always leave me surprised and touched
and this is probably the best of them!

Scarlet Nexus
Surprisingly good Dark Souls+God Eater mix!

Flynn Son of Crimson
Just pure fun platforming, not a single complaint from me!

Disco Elysium
The slowest and most event-less game I have ever played,
I probably aged two years just by playing it.
With that said it is very well done and ambitious, just not
made for me.

Shenmue III
The most enjoyable in the series but more or less just repetition
of the first games and no real progress.

Banner Saga 2
Mentally exhausting to follow the fate of this world and
its characters but so very good! Each part is just different
enough from each other to feel like one story but not get stale.

Banner Saga 3
Mentally exhausting to follow the fate of this world and
its characters but so very good! Each part is just different
enough from each other to feel like one story but not get stale.

Thousand Arms
The humor might have been more fun 20 years ago but still a
fun game!

Rise of the Third Power
From the creators of Ara Fell, another masterpiece!
This game has everything I ever want from RPGs, I’m so
grateful that people out there share my love for the genre
enough to make this!

Summoner 2
Not as a over-ambitious as the first game, a bit more focused,
it’s decent enough.

Milli and Greg
Budget Celeste+Meat boy, haha. It’s great!

Elden Ring
Well, this will probably be remembered as the year of Elden Ring,
I didn’t put it as my favorite this year but I did play it… TWELVE times
over the year. Defeated every boss, got all achievements,
made a speedrun route and some other extra challenges.
Not to mention I spent two months and my budget building
that Lego tower and watching others play it for hundreds of hours.
There is still so much potential in this game and so many parts where
it falls short,a true shame but From Software will never truly learn.

Triangle Strategy
They did talk too much at the start of the game but it gets a bit more
balanced later on. Overall a great game but even if it has high replay value
I can’t see myself playing it again.

Tunic
Another long-awaited game! Zelda-Dark Souls-Fez all in one!
Sadly that combo didn’t work for me, the world and puzzles are mostly
great but I found the battles really boring and just… bad.
The option to turn damage off should be a sign.

Infernax
This is a “retro” game done right, all the actually good parts from the
NES era and none of the bad!

Death’s Door
A lot of similarities with Tunic, Much better combat,
less puzzles.

Hades
It was fun and well made but I have no interest
to play more of it after beating it once.

Kena Bridge of Spirits
If you want to play a Pixar movie, now you can!
It looks amazing but the battles felt a bit unbalanced
and the story just fizzled somehow.

Blaze and Blade
Never released in the US, this not very polished but still
kinda fun co-op action-RPG on PS1.

Crimson Tears
Short, simple, not much to say.

Princess Minerva
How ahead of its time, an RPG filled with anime girls in bikinis!

Horizon II Forbidden West
I much preferred this to the first game, more variation
and just such a spectacular marvel of optimization, how anything can look
this good on a base PS4 is a mystery and makes you wonder what every
other developer is doing wrong.

Torneko The Last Hope
Simple but kinda fun dungeon crawling.

Radical Dreamers (remaster)
This was the last thing I ever thought we would see officially
translated, I’m still in a state of surprise by it! It was nice returning to
this but in my head this was more or less identical to the fan translation.

Chrono Cross (remaster)
Every excuse to play Chrono Cross is a good one, a pretty lazy
version but at least even nintendo players can enjoy it now!

Ender Lilies
Quite good, not the best not the worst in the sea of
metroidvanias.

Warriors of Might and Magic (PS2)
This is the PS1 game with the same title but very expanded!

Shiki Eiyuuden
Hm, pretty forgettable among the other great SNES RPGs, not bad
but not unique enough in any way.

Shadow Tower
A more linear King’s Field, really hard intro but might be
a better start for newcomers.

Justice League Heroes
All of these super hero games on PS2 are the same,
short fun action RPGs, triple the fun in co-op!

Super Chinese World 2
Much better than the first but still not
a favorite for me…

Dragon Seeds
Terrible Rock-paper-sisscor simulator

Drakan
The unknown cousin of Drakengard, Action RPG
where you get to fly a dragon!

Albert Odyssey
My first Albert game and I must say it was a
nice experience! I always wanted a game like this,
strategy battles but no separate maps, you move around on
an ordinary world map and battles are seamless!

Wild Arms XF
Very worthy of the Wild Arms name, great graphic, music,
characters, story, battles and even puzzles!

The Hunter
Probably the worst “RPG” on PS1. Mostly a dice rolling
simulator where you get to play 1/4 of the time. Just awful.

Xenoblade 3
156 hours and every quest done. I really enjoyed this
in more or less every way! Xeno still lives on I guess!

River King
This felt a bit rushed or just badly translated and either
way not my kind of game. I have seen other RPGs with better fishing
than this dedicated fishing RPG.

Horai Gakuen no Bouken! The Adventure of Hourai High School
Odd, unique and good! Another SNES gem!

The Legend of Heroes: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch
The series have come such a long way from this but it was nice
to finally play one of the more ancient parts and see the similarities
and differences in the evolution into greatness.

Persona
I finally did it, I beat a Persona game!
It started out quite nice but soon devolved into the RNG hell the
series is, with 4 hours between saves, ugh.

Valkyrie Elysium
If it was only called something else it would be a decent
Action RPG, now it’s just a parody of one of my favorite games…

The Legend of Heroes Trails From Zero
What a surprise, a Legend of Heroes game being the game
of the year again! No need to introduce it, finally officially in
english, what a dream! Will Trails from Azure be the best next year?
(probably)

Star Ocean 6
I’m both surprised and happy that we got another title in this series!
I’m also glad that it’s good enough to compete with part 3 and 4.
The story gets a bit repetitive by the end but not an uncommon RPG problem.

Ghost Song
Another very long awaited game finally released! Story, combat and
atmosphere is great but it might leave some things to wish in the
exploration department.

Eiyuden Chronicles Rising
I planned on skipping this but gamepass convinced me to play.
It does feel a bit like a mobile game thanks to the quest-based
progression but it was a surprisingly fun game with some great characters
that I look forward to seeing again in the main game next year!

Knights and Bikes
The definition of an indie game?
Anything is great if you play it with your sister!

Champions: Return to Arms
More hack, more slash, more inventory juggling!

Signalis
I will respect anyone calling this the game of the year, words
don’t do it justice, such a well made horror game!
Made from the love of all the old classics in the genre and filled
with more references than I can list but still very tastefully implemented
into something very unique! I have seen 15+ streamers play this and it is
such a joy every time. Unless you really hate puzzles or horror be sure
to play it!

Vampire Survivors
Fun for a few hours but mostly a repetitive pain to beat.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder (SNES)
My main complaint is the messy controls, why no mouse support?

Saiyuki: Journey West
This was a nice surprise, I knew almost nothing about the game
but it was a great strategy game, not too serious unlike most strategy RPGs.

Baroque (PS2)
Story and some ideas are really interesting but it is
still a pretty standard dungeon crawler that could be an absolute pain
to beat without a guide.

Power of the Hired
Very simple but good strategy game!

Digimon World 2
97 hours of my life wasted, what a horribly slow and long game.
Not as bad as “The Hunter” but might be the worst RPG on the console
just because of the length and terrible slow loading times/animations.

Chained Echoes
And yet another long awaited game, made by a single person, strongly
inspired by Xenogears and the SNES era, I’m melting!
Why are you even reading, you could be playing this and Rise of the
Third Power right now! What a time to be an old RPG fan.

Disgaea 5
It’s Disgaea, it took a while but I was finally ready to return to the series.
Considering all the bad RPGs over the years it has become hard to tell if this
story is just bad or the usual Disgaea parody, haha…

Oninaki
Last game of the year! I liked the story but other than that, as budget
as you might expect, sadly I assume this will be the last from Tokyo RPG Factory.

Best of 2022

1: The Legend of Heroes Trails From Zero
2: Rise of the Third Power
3: Elden Ring
4: Xenoblade 3
5: Signalis

It has never been this hard for me to make a top 5 and they are almost interchangeable,
Chained Echoes could also be among them!

That’s it for this year, I hope all of you will have a great and RPG filled 2023!

Here it is!
The one post I never miss to post.

As usual I only include the newly beaten
games from 2021. Not as impressive as last
years list but I did replay some longer
RPGs and with the whole expedition into Lego
I’m surprised I got anything played, hehe.

Quite happy with my gaming year even if I
have a large pile of new games I need to
tend to, in fact I still have a few games
left sealed from 2020! Oh well, slowly
but surely.

NES

Uforia
A bit of a metroidvania and quite good
but far too much backtracking, it felt like
I did everything in the worst possible order, haha.

SNES

Wizardry Knight of Diamond
The second game, listed as the third
in the SNES remake if I understand correctly.
Either way the Llylgamyn trilogy is beaten
and the fourth game is up next!

Dai-3-Ji Super Robot Taisen
I fear that I will see a lot more of this
in the future, robot tactics RPGs.
A lot of battle units to handle but pretty
simple at least.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: Volume 1
I have tried to beat this before but finally
made it all the way this year, there is good reason
why it’s not mentioned among the classic SNES
RPGs, including the dark giant maze dungeons…

Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei (SNES version first game)
The SNES remake of the very first “Shin Megami” game!
Quite playable in this version and it goes seemlesly
into the second game on the same cart!

Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei (SNES version second game)

FEDA The Emblem of Justice
A pretty good and standard tactic RPG.

Ultima: Runes of Virtue II
My first true encounter with Ultima, not the
best place to start and solving some of the
puzzles without a guide or savestates would
be a pain!

Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun
Beat em up RPG, like normal beat em ups
this is also a bit too repetitive.

Galaxy Robo
The name says it all, more robots
more tactics!

Cyber Knight II
This is more or less identical to
the first game in every way and the story and
characters is just a continuation, not a bad
thing!

Shin Megami Tensei If…
Last SNES game of the year, I’m trying to
pick up the pace of the series and since this
have been called the origin of Persona I guess
I’m ready to tackle those games next year.

PS1

Shaolin
An odd little fighting/RPG combo.

Crusaders of Might and Magic
I knew nothing of this coming in
but it was a pretty plesant and
very classical RPG!

Shadow Madness
This was another surprise, aside
from the completely broken battles
this was a very fun game to play thanks
to some cool environments and mostly
due to the dialogue written by Ted Woolsey.

Vandal Hearts II
A step up from the first game
in every way!

Eternal Ring
I believe this was the first
Tactic game we got in English on PS1
Quite fun and the first of many!

Warriors of Might and Magic
Surprisingly playable, haha.
3D and PS1 is always a dangerous combo.

Kagero Deception II
This was a bit more player friendly
than the first game but not as fun.

Kartia Word of Fate
Yet another good tactics game
with all the usual politics and wars!

Gauntlet Legends
I expected the usual simple
gauntlet style but this actually had
some real level design and was overall
a good game!

Monkey Hero
It was expected, but more or less a
straight Zelda clone, with monkeys.
Too little RPG, move along.

Technomage
A PS1 RPG created in Europe! Not a bad
one either, very ambitious with large
environments and fully voiced dialogues for
every NPC and line in the game.

PSP

Breath of Fire III
Identical to the PS1 game but my first
time playing on the PSP. Still a great
game with some annoyances, just like
I remembered, hehe.

DS

Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light
Truly a Bravely Default prototype, or
maybe a FF1 remake. A good game and
I’m happy to finally have played it!

PS2

X-men Legends II
More of the same fun co-op fun
from the first game.

Tsugunai
A very early but still impressive
PS2 title, especially character models
and the music from Yasunori Mitsuda.
A rather unique battle system too that
you really need to master by the end.

Stella Deus
I knew this was a great game but gave
up on it back in the PS2 era for some
reason. Revenge is mine and it feels
good!

Summoner
Running this on a poor PS2 was really pushing it,
MMO sized environments…

Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
Action RPG, short, simple, not much to say.

Colosseum Road to Freedom
I managed to “cheese” the game and get an early
ending and I thank the stars because it was so
repetitive…

Chaos Legion
A pretty good Action RPG

The Bard’s Tale
I’m probably 15+ years late to the party
and most of the humor and meta jokes have
been done better by others since then.

The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon
A surprisingly fun dungeon crawler!
I always dread them a bit but this was as
great as it gets in the genre.

RPG Maker 3 (My Dear Brave Heart)
The worst of any RPG maker games I have played…

Legaia 2 Duel Saga
People keep calling the first game a
hidden gem but this was a far better
game if you ask me! The same battle system
but better story, world, music, characters,
everything, haha.

Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Another weird place to start a series.
The start was terrible but the game
got pretty good after a while.

Yakuza
Finally my turn to try this!
It was clear pretty fast why the series
have become so popular but I was tired
of the battles only a few hours in…

Magic pengel The Quest for Color
What a terrible game, you can explore
the entire game and see everything in
10 minutes, the rest is just Pokemon
battles, but worse. Graffiti Kingdom
was a big step up from this!

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
I have only played the GBA version
before back when it was released and
this was a good reminder on some plot
points. I played on easy and skipped
as many battles as I could which led
some of the bosses to be a real pain.

Dark Angel Vampire Apocalypse
Here it is! THE most repetitive game
I have ever played, defeat about
100000 enemies in the same location
until you are strong enough for the final
boss, sorry that I spoiled all 50 hours
for you, haha!

Future Tactics
An odd little game, the best thing to
compare it to would be Valkyria Chronicles.
A turn-based strategy, action RPG with destructible
environments.

PS4

Dragon Quest Builders 2
This was probably the most FUN
game all year, it is just so good
and the building works so well.
Love the game and watching the NPCs
work and live in the villages you build!

YS IX Monstrum Nox
Everyone agrees, a great game but not
as great as VIII. Exploring the main town
was probably the highlight for me.

Streets of Rage ?
I don’t remember which one… I played two
of them in co-op with a friend.

Streets of Rage ?
I don’t remember which one… I played two
of them in co-op with a friend.

Nier Replicant 1.23…
I already made a longer post
about it, nothing more to add, sadly
a remake/remaster is the best game yet another year.

Tales of Arise
I mostly love it, all the renewal the series
needed both technically and otherwise. My sister
was not as pleased with it and pointed out a lot of
valid complaints but as a whole, I am very pleased
and hopefully the next entry won’t be such a long wait!

Legend of Mana Remaster
A great remaster that more or less
replaces the original! I was surprised and
happy to see the option to turn of combat and
just stroll around the amazing environments!

WiiU

Wind Waker HD
Another remaster that makes the original
obsolete, my third favorite in the series!

Switch

Metroid Dread
A new Metroid game! I beat it twice, normal and hard.
Very fun to play but far too linear and guiding.
The “dread” part was just terrible and I do my best
to forget the story.

PC

Cyber Shadow
As expected some classic
fun platform action!

Ori and the Will of the Wisps
It is clear that they played
Hollow Knight and maybe some other
rival games before making this, it
is so much better than the first game!

What Remains of Edith Finch
I don’t want to spoil anything about it
but probably my favorite in the “genre”.
A great story and environment.

Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice
Some cool environments is all I take from
this, it felt too much like playing a triple
A game in a bad way, haha.

Katana Zero
Probably a better version of
Hotline Miami?

Dead Cells
It was very fast and fun to play
but I am also glad it didn’t drag
on more than 10 hours.

Tetris Effect
Tetris, with effects! Wow…

Spiritfarer
A great game, mostly thanks to the
NPCs but you need to be in the mood
for a slower game to enjoy it.

Touhou Luna Nights
Why did I wait so long to play this,
more or less the same style as
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.

Astalon
I still prefer Castle in the Darkness
but this was good enough for me to do 100%, hehe.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
A fun little Zelda-like I guess?

Metroid Origins
It is more or less a fanmade short version
of Metroid 2, quite impressive, I would love to
see more from the developer!

Deltarune 2
I can’t believe how long ago the first part
was already. Either way, this continues the
story and it will probably and hopefully grow
into a full story someday!

Best of 2021:

1: Nier Replicant 1.23…
2: Tales of Arise
3: Legend of Mana Remaster

Worst played 2021:

1: Magic pengel The Quest for Color
2: Colosseum Road to Freedom
3: Dark Angel Vampire Apocalypse

Number of new beaten games: 65
Number of RPGs: 46

A happy new year everyone!