We all know thatFinal Fantasy 7is an absolute juggernaut in the world of JRPGs. When people think about PS1 JRPGs, there is no question what game will come to mind first. And hey, Final Fantasy 7 is an absolute banger. More to the point, despite Square releasing a thousand games to connect to it, the original still towers above all of them.
But here is the thing about the PS1: there are tons of excellent JRPGs on that console. In fact, I’d argue there are multiple JRPGs that deserve the same level of attention as Final Fantasy 7, but were never given that kind of love. Well, I’m here to right past wrongs. Today is the day when we give those obscure classics the love they deserve.
Games like Suikoden 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, or Legend of the Dragoon (to just name a few) won’t make this list. While they are all excellent games, they just don’t belong on a list of “obscure” JRPGs.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment may seem like an odd choice for a list like this one, especially since I start with a note about only including obscure JRPGs, but during the PS1 era, Persona was not a well-known series. And now that the Persona franchise is massive, there isn’t a convenient way to play Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, so most Persona fans still haven’t touched it. Which is infuriating as it is, in my humble opinion, the best game in the franchise.
This is a more adult take on the Persona formula than fans of the modern Persona games would be used to, which is appropriate, as it is the only Persona game to feature young adults as the core cast of characters. Eternal Punishment incorporates a number of horror elements and has an extremely strong cast of characters. Add to that an impeccable art style, and an elevated script rooted in Jungian psychology, and you have an all-timer on your hands.
WHERE TO PLAY
I tried to avoid Square Soft JRPGs for this list. During the PlayStation era, Square wasthepremier RPG company. Most of their games received the credit they deserved. That being said, Front Mission 3 feels like an exception to that rule. It is one of the finest JRPGs on the console, and it rarely gets talked about these days.
Front Mission 3 features engaging tactics-style gameplay, an impressive amount of Wanzer customization (that’s what they call mechs in this universe), andtwodistinct narratives for you to play through. It’s undeniably an impressive package. While it was fairly well-received critically, Front Mission 3 neverreallygot its due. Which is a shame, as it is an incredible experience top-to-bottom.
Front Mission 3 has been remade, but I’d avoid that one and try to play the original if possible. All the Front Mission remakes have been inferior to the original games.
There are more JRPG-Horror hybrids than you may think. Moreover, the majority of them are excellent. However, if I had to choose one of them to put above all the others, it would be Koudelka. Not only does it have a highly enjoyable, grid-based variation of Turn-Based combat, but it is consistentlyamong thecreepiest games I’ve played.
Item scarcity is implemented to some extent, especially since weapons will eventually break after repeated use. So you do feel that sense of danger. However, the horror really emanates from the atmosphere,environments, and top-shelf sound design. Koudelka istechnicallythe first game in the Shadow Hearts series, but that doesn’t mean it has that same lighthearted tone as those titles. This is a grim, tense, ghost story wrapped in a JRPG shell. It is fantastic.
Once again, we’re talking about a game associated with a massive franchise, but back when Dragon Quest 7 was released, people in the West really didn’t care aboutthe Dragon Quest franchise. It just wasn’t a big deal at the time. This was also long before Enix and Square merged. On release, Dragon Quest 7 wasn’t received kindly. It was largely seen as being stuck in the past. Contemporary gamers felt that its sprite-based graphics were outdated. Especially in comparison to boundary-pushing polygonal RPGs like Final Fantasy 7.
However, Dragon Quest 7 is, without question, the largest RPG on the console. Nothing comes close to the scale of it. While the UI and animations are, admittedly, quite basic, the game itself is the very definition of special. Dragon Quest 7 features one of the most flexible job systems I’ve encountered in an RPG, leading to deeply satisfying gameplay. Add to that a novel narrative, which sees you playing through multiple interconnecting adventures, and you have an RPG that really stands out. Oh, and it’ll likely take you a hundred hours or so to beat the first time through. This is amassiveJRPG. Dragon Quest 7 may not make a greatfirstimpression, but when all is said and done, it will leave a positivelastingimpression.
Shadow Tower
If King’s Field, and its isolated, difficult trek through scarcely populated ruins, was the prototype for Demon’s Souls, then Shadow Tower, which is a more brutal version of King’s Field that incorporates explicit horror elements, is Bloodborne’s prototype. Over the years, fans have become more enamored with this uncompromising experience. However, during its release, it was critically flogged. Unfairly, in my opinion.
From its unsettling use of silence to its disorienting world design to the way it likes to mess with players through unnerving audio cues that seemingly come out of nowhere, there is almost nothing like Shadow Tower. This is one of the best dungeon-crawling RPGs around. It may be a little rough around the edges, but once you adjust to the somewhat rigid controls, you’ll encounter one of the least compromising, most engaging dungeon explorers on the console. In a better world, Shadow Tower would have been praised, not scorned!
2Brigandine: The Legend Of Forsena
A Unique Take On Tactics
Brigandine isa JRPG with a tactics-based battle engine. However, unlike most games in this genre, you can choose one of six nations to take control of. Each will see you take control of a different leader, and each comes with a completely unique story. It is a little like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games, but with a more traditional JRPG narrative. Especially if you start with Lance, the golden-haired, hero-coded leader.
Brigandine’s combat is grid-based, but instead of the grid being composed of squares, they are octagons. This means that troops can be attacked from more sides, necessitating tight positioning. Oh, and most of the troops are monsters. Your generals are traditional heroes, but they command mythical beasts. What beasts are up to you, though the bigger, more powerful monsters are more costly. This all culminates in a fantastically engaging game filled with endearing characters that is highly replayable. I can’t recommend this one enough.
Brigandine had an enhanced version release in Japan called Brigandine: Grand Edition. It added quite a bit of content as well as a multiplayer mode. There is an English patch floating around online, so, if you’re able to get your hands on it, I’d recommend playing that version.
The Journey Was The Friends We Lost Along The Way
Valkyrie Profile
Ragnarok, the apocalypse, is approaching. Your ultimate purpose will transcend life itself. From the creators of ‘STAR OCEAN: The Second Story’ comes Valkyrie Profile, a stunningly beautiful RPG adventure with a story like none before. Your mettle will be tested as you face tormenting decisions involving powerful issues of love, death, and revenge. Destiny hinges on your choices, and your ability to recruit and train the souls of fallen warriors for a war between the gods. Heed the call. And find out why death is only the beginning.
Valkyrie Profile is yet another example of the endless well of creativity that existed during the PS1 era. The core premise is that you are a Valkyrie collecting the souls of warriors so that they can become Einherjar and fight in Ragnarok. This means that you’ll need to decide who to part with during each chapter of the game. A large part of the narrative revolves around those fallen warriors, but Lenneth, the titular Valkyrie, has her own story that is laced with mystery. It is a great setup from a gameplay and narrative standpoint.
Speaking of gameplay, the battle engine here is one of the most original takes on the turn-based combat engine you’ll encounter. Each character is mapped to a button, and your goal is to find the right combination of attacks to string heavily damaging combos together. It works brilliantly, and makes experimenting with new Einherjar feel deeply rewarding. While Valkyrie Profile was well-respected, it was released a few months before the PlayStation 2 arrived in stores, so it was largely lost in the shuffle. Which is a shame, as it is a wildly original and deeply satisfying JRPG. It deserved to have its moment of glory.
