Short backstory - I, over the years, lost/sold/broke/etc many of my older titles. I'm slowly trying to recover my collection for memories sake more so then anything else. Now that I've got a career and am financially stable I've got some money to burn on games I'll keep for quite a long time. The first thing I've done was went ahead and repurchased every Final Fantasy title - so those are taken care of. I also of course have Chrono Trigger, and the majority of the Zelda series - aside from that my RPG shelf is quite barren! :(

I'm looking for titles from any generation, platform, or 'genre'(JRPG/WRPG/etc) - that would be 'worth owning'. I'm not looking to compile a collection of 'lemons' - nor just a collection of '10/10' games. There are tens, if not hundrerds, of RPG's out there that are 7/8/9 out of 10 rated games that are amazing - and as such looking for help in that regard. Not to mention many series' have multiple entries some of which are much worse then it's previous entries and I don't want to be purchasing sub-par games for completionists sakes. If any title requires the playthrough of a prequel please note it though!

TL;DR - RPG's from any platform NES->PS3/X360/PC that are 'must owns' in your eyes, regardless of their review ratings. (that isn't Final Fantasy!)

Persona 4 (PS2)
Persona 3 (PS2/PSP) (avoid the PS2 versions if you can)
Mass Effect (Xbox360/PC[better version, imo])
Dragon Age Origins (PS3/Xbox360/PC[better version])
Fallout 3 (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
Demon's Souls (PS3)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2)
Alpha Protocol (PS3/Xbox360/PC) (I wouldn't advise you to buy this one, but definitely play it one way or another)
Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic (Xbox/PC)
Xenogears (PS1) (I think it's also on the PSone classics section on PSN as well, but not too sure)
Borderlands (PS3/Xbox360/PC)
Diablo (PS1/PC)
Diablo II (PC)


That's about all I can remember right now. Definitely recommend Persona 4 more than any other game on that list. It's spectacular. Also, none of these games require you to have played previous entries in the series to know what's going on. The only sequel that directly follows the previous game is Diablo 2 but I think you'll understand what's going on even if you don't play the original.

Persona 4 (PS2)

Dragon Quest VIII (PS2)

Both essential.

any rpg collector that considers himself that will own a complete (box, manual, etc) copy of dragon warrior 1, the FIRST rpg EVER.
if you dont own it you dont deserve to have any other rpgs.

Parasite Eve
Suikoden I & II
Vagrant Story
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy Tactics, in case you only take the main series as part of the collection.

All of them PS1 titles that I consider them essential to any RPG collection I Highly reccomend Vagrant Story & Parasite Eve...

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne(PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Souless Army(PS2)
Diablo(PC)
Diablo II(PC)
Torchlight(PC)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II (PC)

That's all I can come up right now.

The DS has a lot of great RPGs.
Etrian Odyssey I,II,III
Dragon Quest IX (also the remakes of IV, V, and VI)
Children of Mana
Shin Megami Tensei: Stange Journey

Also, for SNES,
Super Mario RPG
Breath of Fire I & II
Secret of Mana
Secret of Evermore

When you say that you got the Final Fantasies, does that mean just main series FFs? Because the tactics side series would make a great addition.

dragon warrior 1, the FIRST rpg EVER.
This is about as true as something that isn't true.

Dragon Warrior was revolutionary, but it wasn't the first.

TES3: Morrowind

Could the Dragon Warriors be any more boring? I know they were fresh back in the nes days but my gosh this kid wants recommendations worth playing.

Suikoden series
Chrono Trigger
Treasure of the Rudras
Star Ocean 2
Wild Arms 1 + 2
to name a few.

what about OGRE BATTLE 64
the only "real rpg" for the n64...

YouTube - first 10 min of OGRE BATTLE 64 PERSON OF LORDLY CALIBER (n64) intro (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppzbx2KCsgw)

Grandia I and II are both worth getting. cant think of others at the moment.

on a side note, if you do get Fallout 3 or Vegas avoid getting them on the ps3 because for alot of people the console just cant handle it

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1)
Lunar: Eternal Blue (PS1)

Then never buy an RPG again.

I know this thread's about a month old but.....

Shadow Hearts (PS2)
Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2)

Pretty rare and expensive RPGs, but they're so good...

Thread actual or it need to be closed?

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PS1)
Lunar: Eternal Blue (PS1)

Then never buy an RPG again.

Greatest games ever

---------- Post added at 12:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 AM ----------

In an RPG standpoint, every numbered FF (I never owned XI or XIV though) And I know you said no Final Fantasy, but almost every RPG collection needs that)
FFT
The World Ends With You (DS)
Rune Factory Tides of Destiny (PS3 or Wii)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Star Ocean The Last Hope International (PS3)
Dark Souls (PS3 or Xbox 360)
3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (PSone)
Grandia III (PS2)
Super Marior RPG (SNES)

There are just so many out there!

Shadowrun - Not the crappy Xbox 360 'remake', but the original 16-bit ones for SNES or Genesis (both have independent storylines so they're essentially separate games).

Planescape: Torment (PC)
Fallout 1 & 2 (PC)
Fallout 3 and New Vegas (game of the year edition) (PC)
Mass Effect trilogy (will soon be sold as a trilogy and the PC version will have most of the DLC)
Baldur's Gate enhanced edition (is delayed, but should be available for PC or Ipad in november)
Baldur's Gate 2 + expansion (PC)
Diablo 2 (PC)
Dragon Age: origins ~ ultimate edition (PC)
Elder's Scroll III, IV & V (PC for mods)
Divine Divinity (PC)
Knight of the old republic 1 & 2 (available as a pack now for PC/steam)
The Witcher's 1 & 2 (PC)

Chrono Trigger and Cross
Dark Souls
Dragon quest I to IX if you feel motivated, but I recommend the SNES remake of I, II, III and DS remake of IV to VI.
Paper Mario : the thousand-year door (gamecube)
Persona 3 & 4 (PS2 or PSP)
Suikoden 1 & 2
Tactic Ogres
The world end with you
Xenogears and Xenoblade chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles
Vagrant story
Ys series (nice eastern hardcore action rpg)

Umm, RPG or Mixed-RPG genre?

No one said nothing bout Alundra?

Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, SMT: Nocturne, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together!

Some may have been mentioned, but the additional mentioning is only to add emphasis. :D

Tactic Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (GBA)

and also
Knights of The Old Republic
Knights of The Old Republic: The Sith Lords

Just a few:
Radiant Historia
Valkyrie Profile
Suikoden Series
Valkyria Chronicles
Azure Dreams
Persona 4 (ofc)
Grandia II
Skies of Arcadia
Bayonetta
Timestalkers
Brigandine
Tales of Symphonia
Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
Disgaea
Saiyuki Journey to the West
Digimon 1
Odin Sphere
GrimGrimoire
Oboro Muramasa