Game Lemon’s top 15 console rpg’s of all time

I found this list on the internet. I don’t think it fits with the opinions of people in general too closely, but it is still a great list.
GameLemon Editorial: Top 15 Console RPGs of All Time (http://www.gamelemon.com/article_30010.jsp)

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Suikoden II
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
6. Paper Mario
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Earthbound
9. Kingdom Hearts
10. Pokemon Red/Blue
11. Vagrant Story
12. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
13. Suikoden III
14. Dragon Quest III
15. Valkyrie Profile
Honorable Mention: Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Xenogears, Fable, Final Fantasy VII

He listed my favorite game as #1 for him also! :)!!!

This list is his own personal preferences. I don’t think he was trying to make a list in which he tried to list the overall preferences of the world. If he did that then Final Fantasy VII or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would probably win.

By the way, only 6 rpg’s I’ve ever played get a perfect score from me, here is my personal list:
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Chrono Trigger
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy X
6. Final Fantasy Tactics
I played a decent amount of rpg’s but I there are a lot of top rpg’s that I haven’t played yet.

I would like to see more lists l ike this. Maybe he should go to metacritic.com/games or gamerankings.com and search for all rpg’s released on all consoles and look at the review aggregate scores on them and look for all rpg’s higher than 80%, then he can make a list starting with those games, or somebody can.

A good list of this type would be where a top rpg website or a top rpg magazine has a user voting. Famitsu, the top video game magazine in Japan, had a user vote for the top games ever in March 2006. #1 was Final Fantasy X and #2 was Final Fantasy VII. Those results seem more accurate. I’d like to see a website like rpgamer put out this type of a poll. 🙂

I found this list on the internet. I don’t think it fits with the opinions of people in general too closely, but it is still a great list.
GameLemon Editorial: Top 15 Console RPGs of All Time (http://www.gamelemon.com/article_30010.jsp)

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Suikoden II
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
6. Paper Mario
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Earthbound
9. Kingdom Hearts
10. Pokemon Red/Blue
11. Vagrant Story
12. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
13. Suikoden III
14. Dragon Quest III
15. Valkyrie Profile
Honorable Mention: Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Xenogears, Fable, Final Fantasy VII

He listed my favorite game as #1 for him also! :)!!!

This list is his own personal preferences. I don’t think he was trying to make a list in which he tried to list the overall preferences of the world. If he did that then Final Fantasy VII or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time would probably win.

By the way, only 6 rpg’s I’ve ever played get a perfect score from me, here is my personal list:
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Chrono Trigger
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy X
6. Final Fantasy Tactics
I played a decent amount of rpg’s but I there are a lot of top rpg’s that I haven’t played yet.

I would like to see more lists l ike this. Maybe he should go to metacritic.com/games or gamerankings.com and search for all rpg’s released on all consoles and look at the review aggregate scores on them and look for all rpg’s higher than 80%, then he can make a list starting with those games, or somebody can.

A good list of this type would be where a top rpg website or a top rpg magazine has a user voting. Famitsu, the top video game magazine in Japan, had a user vote for the top games ever in March 2006. #1 was Final Fantasy X and #2 was Final Fantasy VII. Those results seem more accurate. I’d like to see a website like rpgamer put out this type of a poll. 🙂

Here’s the list I was looking for…

All Time Top 100 by the readers
In March of 2006 Japanese Famitsū magazine readers voted on their 100 all-time favorite games. (Full list). The top ten games picked by fans were:
1. Final Fantasy X (2001)
2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
3. Dragon Quest III (1988)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (2004)
5. Machi (1998)
6. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
7. Tactics Ogre (1995)
8. Final Fantasy III (1990)
9. Dragon Quest VII (2000)
10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

I love a lot of the games on that list! I wasn’t really into Dragon Quest though(although I liked and beat the first one). I’ll have to research Machi. If Machi ranked so highly, I wonder how come it hasn’t come out in Usa yet?

Here’s the full Famitsu list
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2401&Itemid=2

Japan Votes on All Time Top 100
By Colin Campbell
Famitsu readers have voted on their all-time favorite 100 games, in a list which is sure to provoke debate and argument on forums around the gaming world. Next Generation has the full list…

For challenging opinion and the most up-to-date game industry news, join the thousands of industry professionals who read Next-Gen.Biz every weekday morning.

Not surprisingly, Final Fantasy dominates with FFX taking the prime position, and three more places in the top 20. Other franchises to win high places include Dragon Quest, with five places in the top 20.

Non-Japanese games did not fare all that well. We found just four games designed outside Asia, and only one in which the version that was sold in Japan, was actually created outside Japan. The Wizardry, Sim City and Tetris Japanese versions were all created locally while Grand Theft Auto can claim to be fully non-Japanese.

Famitsu is, overwhelmingly, the voice of the Japanese games community, dwarfing all other publications in sales and influence. Take a look through the list.

1. Final Fantasy X (2001)
2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
3. Dragon Quest III (1988)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (2004)
5. Machi (1998)
6. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
7. Tactics Ogre (1995)
8. Final Fantasy III (1990)
9. Dragon Quest VII (2000)
10. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

11. Dragon Quest V (1992)
12. Far East of Eden 2 (1992)
13. Sakura Taisen (1996)
14. Dragn Quest IV (1990)
15. Final Fantasy V (1992)
16. Xenogears (1998)
17. Dragon Quest II (1987)
18. Sakura Taisen III (2002)
19. Kingdom Hearts (2002)
20. Streetfighter II (1992)

21. Super Mario Bros (1985)
22. Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
23. Toki Meki Memorial (1995)
24. Final Fantasy IX (2000)
25. Final Fantasy VI(1994)
26. Metal Gear Solid 3 (2004)
27. Valkyrie Profile (1999)
28. Chrono Trigger (1995)
29. Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
30. Dragon Quest (1986)

31. Zelda 3 (1991)
32. Final Fantasy X-2 (2003)
33. Resident Evil (1996)
34. Dragon Quest VI (1995)
35. F-Zero (1990)
36. Sakura Taisen II (1998)
37. Mother 2 (1994)
38. Mother (1989)
39. Virtua Fighter (1994)
40. Dragon Quest 5 (PS2 remake) 2004

41. Zelda Windwaker (2002)
42. Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001)
43. Animal Crossing (DS) 2005
44. Tales of the Abyss (2005)
45. Ogre Battle (1993)
46. Legend of Zelda (1986)
47. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995)
48. Mysterious Dungeon 2 (1995)
49. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

50. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
51. Pokemon Red and Green (1996)
52. Y’s 1 and 2 (1989)
53. Romancing Saga (1992)
54. Toke Meke Memorial (PC Engine) 94
55. Super Robot Taisen Alpha (2000)
56. Resident Evil 2 (1998)
57. Tales of Eternia (2000)
58. Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei II (1990)
59. Shin Megami Tensei (1992)
60. Final Fantasy II (1988)

61. Super Mario World (1990)
62. To Heart II (2004)
63. Final Fantasy (1987)
64. Puyo Puyo (1992)
65. Family Stadium Pro Baseball (1986)
66. Wizardry (1987)
67. Hokkaido Murder Mystery (1987)
68. Fire Emblem (1994)
69. Super Mario Kart (1992)
70. Dynasty Warriors 4 (2003)

71. Monster Hunter (2004)
72. Best Play Pro Baseball (1988)
73. Grandia (1997)
74. Resident Evil 4 (GC) 2005
75. Gran Turismo 4 (2004)
76. GTA: Vice City (2004)
77. Super Monaco GP (1990)
78. Torneko Mysterious Dungeon (1993)
79. Tales of Destiny (1997)
80. Streetfighter 2 Turbo (1993)

81. Dynasty Warriors III (2001)
82. Final Fight (1990)
83. Monster Hunter Portable (2005)
84. Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)
85. Minster Hunter G (2005)
86. Mysterious Dungeon 2 (2000)
87. Kung Fu (1985)
88. Toke Meke Memorial (Saturn) (1996)
89. Tales of Destiny II (2002)
90. Kamaitachi No Yoru (1994)

91. Sakura Taisen IV (2002)
92. Tales of Rebirth (2004)
93. Sim City (1991)
94. Saga 2 (1990)
95. Pro Baseball Family Stadium 87
96. Tetris (Gameboy) (1989)
97. Secret of Mana (1993)
98. Gradius (1986)
99. Super Mario Bros III (1988)
100. Resident Evil IV (PS2) 2005

Final Fantasy X won the poll! 🙂

By the way, only 6 rpg’s I’ve ever played get a perfect score from me, here is my personal list:
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Chrono Trigger
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Final Fantasy VII
5. Final Fantasy X
6. Final Fantasy Tactics

Decent list.

I never really thought of Legend of Zelda games as RPG’s, mainly as adventure. But I guess if I were to make a list of my top picks for RPG’s I would put Zelda also.

I never really thought of Legend of Zlda games as RPG’s, mainly as adventure. But I guess if I were to make a list of my top picks for RPG’s I would put Zelda also.

If that were the case, i’d include Secret of Mana

I found this list on the internet. I don’t think it fits with the opinions of people in general too closely, but it is still a great list.
GameLemon Editorial: Top 15 Console RPGs of All Time (http://www.gamelemon.com/article_30010.jsp)

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy Tactics
3. Suikoden II
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II
6. Paper Mario
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Earthbound
9. Kingdom Hearts
10. Pokemon Red/Blue
11. Vagrant Story
12. Lunar Silver Star Story Complete
13. Suikoden III
14. Dragon Quest III
15. Valkyrie Profile
Honorable Mention: Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Xenogears, Fable, Final Fantasy VII

I’m shocked! An ‘official’ list that doesn’t have FF VII in the ranking! Nice to see Earthbound on the list though. It’s so underrated two-thirds of the time by the magazines and whatnot, it’s pathetic.
As usual Lufia 1 and 2 didn’t make the list. I came pretty close to crying when I saw the ending of Lufia 2 for the first time.

Here’s the list I was looking for…

All Time Top 100 by the readers
In March of 2006 Japanese Famitsū magazine readers voted on their 100 all-time favorite games. (Full list). The top ten games picked by fans were:
1. Final Fantasy X (2001)
2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
3. Dragon Quest III (1988)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (2004)
5. Machi (1998)
6. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
7. Tactics Ogre (1995)
8. Final Fantasy III (1990)
9. Dragon Quest VII (2000)
10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

I love a lot of the games on that list! I wasn’t really into Dragon Quest though(although I liked and beat the first one). I’ll have to research Machi. If Machi ranked so highly, I wonder how come it hasn’t come out in Usa yet?

Here’s the full Famitsu list
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2401&Itemid=2

Japan Votes on All Time Top 100
By Colin Campbell
Famitsu readers have voted on their all-time favorite 100 games, in a list which is sure to provoke debate and argument on forums around the gaming world. Next Generation has the full list…

For challenging opinion and the most up-to-date game industry news, join the thousands of industry professionals who read Next-Gen.Biz every weekday morning.

Not surprisingly, Final Fantasy dominates with FFX taking the prime position, and three more places in the top 20. Other franchises to win high places include Dragon Quest, with five places in the top 20.

Non-Japanese games did not fare all that well. We found just four games designed outside Asia, and only one in which the version that was sold in Japan, was actually created outside Japan. The Wizardry, Sim City and Tetris Japanese versions were all created locally while Grand Theft Auto can claim to be fully non-Japanese.

Famitsu is, overwhelmingly, the voice of the Japanese games community, dwarfing all other publications in sales and influence. Take a look through the list.

1. Final Fantasy X (2001)
2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
3. Dragon Quest III (1988)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (2004)
5. Machi (1998)
6. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
7. Tactics Ogre (1995)
8. Final Fantasy III (1990)
9. Dragon Quest VII (2000)
10. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

11. Dragon Quest V (1992)
12. Far East of Eden 2 (1992)
13. Sakura Taisen (1996)
14. Dragn Quest IV (1990)
15. Final Fantasy V (1992)
16. Xenogears (1998)
17. Dragon Quest II (1987)
18. Sakura Taisen III (2002)
19. Kingdom Hearts (2002)
20. Streetfighter II (1992)

21. Super Mario Bros (1985)
22. Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
23. Toki Meki Memorial (1995)
24. Final Fantasy IX (2000)
25. Final Fantasy VI(1994)
26. Metal Gear Solid 3 (2004)
27. Valkyrie Profile (1999)
28. Chrono Trigger (1995)
29. Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
30. Dragon Quest (1986)

31. Zelda 3 (1991)
32. Final Fantasy X-2 (2003)
33. Resident Evil (1996)
34. Dragon Quest VI (1995)
35. F-Zero (1990)
36. Sakura Taisen II (1998)
37. Mother 2 (1994)
38. Mother (1989)
39. Virtua Fighter (1994)
40. Dragon Quest 5 (PS2 remake) 2004

41. Zelda Windwaker (2002)
42. Metal Gear Solid 2 (2001)
43. Animal Crossing (DS) 2005
44. Tales of the Abyss (2005)
45. Ogre Battle (1993)
46. Legend of Zelda (1986)
47. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995)
48. Mysterious Dungeon 2 (1995)
49. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

50. Metal Gear Solid (1998)
51. Pokemon Red and Green (1996)
52. Y’s 1 and 2 (1989)
53. Romancing Saga (1992)
54. Toke Meke Memorial (PC Engine) 94
55. Super Robot Taisen Alpha (2000)
56. Resident Evil 2 (1998)
57. Tales of Eternia (2000)
58. Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei II (1990)
59. Shin Megami Tensei (1992)
60. Final Fantasy II (1988)

61. Super Mario World (1990)
62. To Heart II (2004)
63. Final Fantasy (1987)
64. Puyo Puyo (1992)
65. Family Stadium Pro Baseball (1986)
66. Wizardry (1987)
67. Hokkaido Murder Mystery (1987)
68. Fire Emblem (1994)
69. Super Mario Kart (1992)
70. Dynasty Warriors 4 (2003)

71. Monster Hunter (2004)
72. Best Play Pro Baseball (1988)
73. Grandia (1997)
74. Resident Evil 4 (GC) 2005
75. Gran Turismo 4 (2004)
76. GTA: Vice City (2004)
77. Super Monaco GP (1990)
78. Torneko Mysterious Dungeon (1993)
79. Tales of Destiny (1997)
80. Streetfighter 2 Turbo (1993)

81. Dynasty Warriors III (2001)
82. Final Fight (1990)
83. Monster Hunter Portable (2005)
84. Final Fantasy Tactics (1997)
85. Minster Hunter G (2005)
86. Mysterious Dungeon 2 (2000)
87. Kung Fu (1985)
88. Toke Meke Memorial (Saturn) (1996)
89. Tales of Destiny II (2002)
90. Kamaitachi No Yoru (1994)

91. Sakura Taisen IV (2002)
92. Tales of Rebirth (2004)
93. Sim City (1991)
94. Saga 2 (1990)
95. Pro Baseball Family Stadium 87
96. Tetris (Gameboy) (1989)
97. Secret of Mana (1993)
98. Gradius (1986)
99. Super Mario Bros III (1988)
100. Resident Evil IV (PS2) 2005

Final Fantasy X won the poll! 🙂

Decent list.

Please give me your list, for games with perfect scores.

Gargh! I need to play the PSP remake of Final Fantasy Tactics next spring. 😀

Cool, heres my personal list.

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy VIII
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Legend of Zelda – Link to the Past (action rpg whatever)
5. Dragon Quest 8
6. Chrono Trigger
7. Final Fantasy Tactics
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Secret of Mana (action rpg whateva)
10. Final Fantasy IX

Honorable Mention: Xenogears, Earthbound (Hellbound), Breath of Fire III & Kingdom Hearts

mgs 2 and 3 above 1…? that’s crazy. am i reading this wrong?

I’ve never really given the series enough of a chance to form an opinion but I’ve spoken to a lot of people who consider Metal Gear Solid 3 to be the best in the series.

I doubt there are many people outside of Japan who think MGS 2 is better then the first one though. Japan probably just likes it because they like overly long cutscenes for some reason.

Cool, heres my personal list.

1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy VIII
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Legend of Zelda – Link to the Past (action rpg whatever)
5. Dragon Quest 8
6. Chrono Trigger
7. Final Fantasy Tactics
8. Final Fantasy X
9. Secret of Mana (action rpg whateva)
10. Final Fantasy IX

Honorable Mention: Xenogears, Earthbound (Hellbound), Breath of Fire III & Kingdom Hearts

This is pretty great! Check out Front Mission! What is your thought?

This is pretty great! Check out Front Mission! What is your thought?

Here’s where i fail….

I never played Front Mission…. I was "mech’d out" after Xeno. I have it on ROM, i think i’ll play it along with Valkyrie Profile, im about to bail on Drakengaurd.

That was actually a pretty good list. The replies, however, are where the real gold is to be found. A few faves, starting with stereotypical fanboy ranting:

you suck. and i hope you explode. FFVII BEST GAME EVER.

These days people like to leave FFVII off of lists like that to be ‘edgy’ and ‘subversive’. It’s sort of indie-cool to think that FF VII isn’t that great of a game. The other games you mentioned there are all great, but FF VII deserves a spot among them for all it did for the genre.

*insert yet another FF7 ASCII thingie* NEVER FORGET FF7 WHEN MAKING A LIST OF THE BEST FUCKING RPGS. Also, you didn’t mention WoW. Nor Oblivion. FF:Tactics + KOTOR should not have made the list.

dude you’re so original, totally breaking the mold by not including ff7. get raped.

I know it seems like I’m taking a potshot at FFVII fans here, but nearly every ounce of vitriol came from FFVII fans. Imagine that… :rolleyes:

FFX is still my #1…
The Valkyrie Profile series comes in second place.

I’m glad gamelemon listed KH in their top ten list too.

Cyan Cyde, that is fucking hilarious.

The poster Jibajaba and Ben actually make a valid point. Although Jiba does it more eloquently.

But, I guess it depends on GameLemon’s criteria. Being overhyped doesn’t make something a bad game. Anyway, I figure they were fucked either way — don’t include it and get fanboys bitching or others claiming you did it to be "counter-culture"; or include it, and get ripped to shreds by elitist gamers.

glad to see valkyrie profile up there, though!

I was agreeing with Jibbajaba until s/he said:

The other games you mentioned there are all great, but FF VII deserves a spot among them for all it did for the genre.

Argh I hate it when people say FFVII deserves credit for ‘what it did for the genre’. Damn it, give us some proper reasons, or explain why what it did for genre was so great!

Not that I really agree with the list. I haven’t played enough RPGs to give my own, but in terms of FFs alone there are a few ones that are better than VI.

Final Fantasy VII is credited for bringing RPGs into the mainstream. I remember tons of people who hated RPGs bragging about getting to play "that new Playstation Final Fantasy." I recently told a die-hard VII fan to play VI. He later came up to me and told me, "Dude. Its the same freaking game!"

As for myself, I have many a favorite RPG. VI is up there along with Snatcher (which was classified as an RPG by Gamefan.) The original and the remake of Lunar (both SS and EB) were wonderful. I love NISA for almost all their PS and PS2 games. Tales of Phantasia, Dragon Quest (all of ’em!), and Persona 3 are also worth mentioning.

But, I guess it depends on GameLemon’s criteria. Being overhyped doesn’t make something a bad game. Anyway, I figure they were fucked either way — don’t include it and get fanboys bitching or others claiming you did it to be "counter-culture"; or include it, and get ripped to shreds by elitist gamers.

I’m not saying FFVII was bad. I don’t think it’s that good, either, but that’s an argument for the FFVII forum. Anyway, despite the fact that I really dislike the game, I thought the honorable mention was actually quite fair, as it was (is?) immensely popular and was (is?) almost singlehandely responsible for bringing lots of people "in" to RPGs (or at least Japanese pseudo-RPGs, but that’s another discussion). However, it really does pale compared to pretty much the entirety of the list when it’s looked at with a critical eye, and not just the "FFVII was my first RPG ever it got me hooked!" point of view.

You’re also completely right about GameLemon being "fucked either way." I’m sure GameLemon knew from the get-go that s/he/they were stepping into a rather nasty Catch-22, especially where FFVII was concerned.

As for the "counter-culture" thing, I personally think that whole speel is merely a less-obvious form of fanboy bitching, masquerading as elitism. Today is Halloween, after all.

Game Lemon’s list seems fair and pretty close to something I might come up with, though I will admit I haven’t played all the games on the list. The only WTF thing is KotoR 2 over KotoR.
Seriously
wtf

KotoR 2 was like playing FFVII after FFVI. Sure, it was good. But compared to the "holy fucking shit wow" of the first, the sequel just lacks so much oomph and in comparison is not as good.

By the way, the reason MGS1 in the US is favored over 2 & 3 is because of the translation. When you play 2 & 3, the translation and dialog make you cringe. MGS1 was translated by the guy who did Snatcher and Silent Hill 2, among other Konami games. When he translated Kojima’s script, he knew that it wouldn’t fly too well in the states. So he tried to keep the meaning when he replaced the dialog with stuff that was halfway decent. But Kojima’s representatives caught wind that he changed the script. So Kojima asked Konami of America to never let that guy do any of his games again. He then went and outsourced a professional translator to do MGS 2 literally. The woman who did MGS 2 went on record to saying that this was the worst crap she has ever translated in her life.

Anyway, the point is that in Japan, all the MGS’s all have that over the top dialog. So in America and Europe, MGS seemed like such a better game than 2 & 3. That is because it was localized properly.

wow, nice list. really glad he mentioned Lunar SSSC — it’s a wonderful game, but practically no one knows about it. ;_;

the only thing that disappoints me about the list is the total absence of the (original) Phantasy Star series. not even an honorable mention for PS1? boooo 🙁

wow, nice list. really glad he mentioned Lunar SSSC — it’s a wonderful game, but practically no one knows about it. ;_;

You officially rock. Well, in my book at any rate. 🙂