In the interest of promoting awareness of video game culture and appreciation, I am posting a small list containing some of my favorite sleeper classics in the console RPG genre. Most are old, some are new, but I rarely play new games as I rarely have the money for the brand new tech.

Additionally, it serves some delusion of grandeur I have that I could start an internet revolution and one of these games might see an HD remake. (Indeed, some of them already have HD remakes that were failures or long lists of sequels).

Anyways, if you're bored and you want to experience some of the greatest video game stories ever written (and themes, I might add) you ought to check these titles out. They're well worth the time and effort to set up via emulation.

1. Wild Arms - PS1 - 1997



Ever wanted to play "Firefly - The RPG"? Wild Arms is that game. Classic RPG themes like dragons, spells, magic and mythical folklore, classic Japanese 90s era console themes (love, youth, me-against-the-world), good challenge and probably the final entry in 2D top-down over world graphic masterpieces.

Mix all that together with Cowboy Bebop and a sound track that rivals Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger (Yes, I said that) and you'd get Wild Arms. Don't bother with the sequels- the team was disbanded after the first game and it lost all the magic, pretty much.

2. Wanderers From Ys: Oath in Felghana - PSP - 2010



The Ys series is full of mostly misses and the occasional, random hit. Ys III for the Super Nintendo occurred during the golden years of the SNES console RPG era, so it was made competitively and had a certain magic to it. The graphics are pretty dated and the hit detection/gameplay mechanics prevented it from ever becoming a true classic.

Thankfully, Falcom remade the game in ultra-rich, sprite-laden 3D (a la Legend of Mana), revamped the game mechanics and hired an incredible rock orchestra to pay tribute to the phenomenal sound track.

Does it seem like great music is the link between all these games? I think that graphics are paid so much more attention to when both sound and graphics have an equally immersive quality in video games. The rare titles that get both perfect are cult classics but rarely super hits and I don't know why that is.

3. Paladin's Quest - SNES - 1993



Paladin's Quest (and the untranslated sequel, Lennus 2) were just a bit too weird for everyone, I think. They have an ethereal, pastel palette set in a bizarre alien world, yet the themes are very familiar for Japanese console RPGs from the day. The music is incredible, the battle system is great, so why is this game a stand out classic?

Well, because of the bizarre theme. The thing that makes it unique. The theme is upheld by every aspect of gameplay- the music is light and airy, soothing and meditative; a very zen experience. The colors are the same way. "Easter palette" might be the only way to describe it. This is not a game to put you to the edge of your seat.

This is the game you want to play on a cold, rainy day when you're home sick and you'd just like to get some sleep. It's not boring, it's soothing and there's a big difference. What really sold me on this game is the twist ending. While sort of poorly translated, through a little interpretive reading you unravel a wonderfully complicated time travel story.

Ever read "The Time Machine" by H. G. Wells? Love it? Then you'll love this game. They share about a dozen identical themes.

The Secret of Evermore - 1995 - SNES



While not really a sleeper hit (it did semi-well commercially) Secret of Evermore is the black sheep of the Mana series. First of all, it's not set in the Mana multiverse. It has nothing to do with The Secret of Mana nor The Legend of Mana. The game play is identical, but the story is much different.

It gets mention because it is a good (but not the best) example of an emerging style of game play- the humorous RPG. Certainly Earthbound gets the gold medal for setting the stage, but Evermore was the Clerks II if Earthbound was Clerks of the console RPGs. It was a little too weird, a little too quirky and rough around the edges. But that's what makes it so loveable.

It's a B-movie story gone awry with NONE of the usual Japanese console RPG themes. Yeah, none. It's totally unique. There is no love story, there are no interactions between the protagonist and fellow protagonists.

It's Alice Through The Looking Glass, but with a boy instead. If you enjoy Alice in Wonderland (or textual trips rather than visual trips) then you'll love SoE.

I'll do more later. For some reason, I had to post about those games. They don't get enough attention and are often dwarfed when held against the giant hits of the day like Chrono Trigger and FF6.

 

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The Elf needs food badly.

 

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None of those are unknown. How dare you, sir? Some nice nostalgia though.

 

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I said mostly, right?

I just never see them mentioned in lists because too many lists are "The BEST EVAR" instead of "Really good ones that aren't the best but deserve a few plays through".

 

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played all of those except the psp one since i never had that.

I'll add a couple to the list.

7th Saga - SNES

One of those "hard" rpgs. You could get stomped real easy in this game if you weren't careful. You also had the option to partner with one of the other playable characters but depending on your character and other circumstances they might just try to kill you instead and they were always super buff if they decided to attack instead of play nice.


Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - SNES

Lots of puzzles in this one. Fun game but it could twist your brain in knots at times.


Legend of Legaia - PS1

Unique fighting system. Led to long fights but was fun to put together combination moves. Good story too.

 

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Lufia II, one of the best games of all time! Foomy punch

 

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Tag for review later when I'm on my computer with emulation abilities.

 

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Secret of Evermore was awesome.

 

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7th Saga and Paladin's Quest...man, that's a blast from the past.

 

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Since we're just mentioning games that we like and not particularity unknown games now, I'd like to mention the original Suikoden, Super Mario RPG, along with Lufia II and Final Fantasy 6 as well as the original FF Tactics as the best console RPG games ever made.

 

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