-Lost odyssey - one of the very few good things in my opinion that microsoft did, they stuck with the turnbased style rpg an it was damn awesome, only downfall was the villain was pretty pathetic. But all in all if you're lookin for a remake of any of the older final fantasy's, still far from it, but this is as close as you will get to one in a long time. i highly consider that you purchase this game if you like any final fantasy that came before 11

-chrono cross - beautiful animation , awesome characters, excellent story. I personally actually take cross over trigger anyday

-of course ff4 through 10 - need i explain?

- infinite undiscovery - i loved the battle system and the need of teamwork in this game, battle system still isn't as good as the simple turn based but was my most favorite out of most other rpg's that did not have it.

- last but not least, The Last Remnant - i didn't beat it yet but so far its pretty bad ass for only costing me 14.99, downfall is some of the boss battles can drag on for hours not because its hard but the battle speed is so slow.

2. Chrono Cross
1. Final Fantasy VII

I would have to say the best rpg I've ever played was probably the first one I ever played. Simply because it opened me up to the world of rpg's (Might and Magic 8) out it may have been 7 I don't really remember lol but that being said I try and play any of the MM series now and it's horrible... But the best really depends on what part of the rpg your into. For some it may be the fight style or the story or the game play it's self. I prefer game play and how indepth the game is meaning skill usage along with item randomness. My choice in rpgs would have to be Ultima online. By far the best game I've ever played. Sorry for misspellings i'm using my tablet.

You ever played Dark Messiah of Might & Magic? That was one of the best rpgs imo. Love that game. Then again, that's the first ever Might & Magic game I've ever played. I never played any of them.

I recently gave this some more thought, added in games I'd played recently for consideration etc. I still thinking picking just one game is impossible, so I instead narrowed it down to a Top 10 (in no particular order).

Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness.
Final Fantasy 7.
Knights of the Old Republic 2.
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.
Fallout: New Vegas.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
Mass Effect (the first game only!)
Final Fantasy 8.
Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.

These are all games that I consider to be the very best RPGs that I have played, the ones that meant the most to me and spoke to me on a personal level. There are a great many which I enjoyed, but can't include for one reason or another - games such as KOTOR 1, FF8, FF12, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Space, Dragon Age Origins etc etc. Great games, but they don't quite have what it takes to make the main list.

I vote for the following:

Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy VI (aka Final Fantasy III in North America)
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time

I recently gave this some more thought, added in games I'd played recently for consideration etc. I still thinking picking just one game is impossible, so I instead narrowed it down to a Top 10 (in no particular order).

Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness.
Final Fantasy 7.
Knights of the Old Republic 2.
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.
Fallout: New Vegas.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
Mass Effect (the first game only!)
Final Fantasy 8.
Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.

These are all games that I consider to be the very best RPGs that I have played, the ones that meant the most to me and spoke to me on a personal level. There are a great many which I enjoyed, but can't include for one reason or another - games such as KOTOR 1, FF8, FF12, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Space, Dragon Age Origins etc etc. Great games, but they don't quite have what it takes to make the main list.

Incomplete and all.

FF12 > FF8

xD

I wanted to put it in my list, really I did. But the second half of FF12 is terrible - Vayne goes from being closely involved in the story, getting up to all kinds of machinations and villainy, to only having 1 before the ending. Ba'Gamnan doesn't even show up again in the main story, being relegated to a side quest, plus Vaan suddenly stops mattering, and practically stops existing for large sections of the game. In terms of locations, the visit to the enemy capital becomes a glorified scavenger hunt, fetching and carrying bits and bobs for random people - to get a chop, whatever the hell that's supposed to be! And the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis, which have been seen in dreams and visions as being important, are relegated to optional status, and play no part in the story!

Grinds my gears that this happened to what was up until then, a strong contender for the best Final Fantasy game of the whole series (practically a lock, really). As for FF8, well each to their own. For my part, I found (and still do find) Squall's escape from the Spidertron, the assassination attempt on Edea in Deling City and the Battle of the Gardens to be the most exciting, most adrenalin pounding moments in FF. The game crosses the line in the second half, when the story goes completely off the rails, but there's still enough great moments that I forgive it (Ragnarok clawing its way into the Lunatic Pandora is awesome, and though it makes very little sense, the scene where the moon 'bleeds' monsters onto the planet is cool as hell). Plus, it still has the best end sequence of any FF game IMO (although being offered the chance to resurrect Tidus and being allowed to say Hell No! in FFX-2 was a priceless moment I shall treasure forever!)

I wanted to put it in my list, really I did. But the second half of FF12 is terrible - Vayne goes from being closely involved in the story, getting up to all kinds of machinations and villainy, to only having 1 before the ending. Ba'Gamnan doesn't even show up again in the main story, being relegated to a side quest, plus Vaan suddenly stops mattering, and practically stops existing for large sections of the game. In terms of locations, the visit to the enemy capital becomes a glorified scavenger hunt, fetching and carrying bits and bobs for random people - to get a chop, whatever the hell that's supposed to be! And the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis, which have been seen in dreams and visions as being important, are relegated to optional status, and play no part in the story!

Those kind of complains, IMO are what made it a more realistic experience to me. Nabudis was a place full with monsters after the explosion, there wasn't any point in making it a plot device to resolve around it. But yeah, many things were a mess still. Like the Ba'Gamnan subplot and the Chop subquest, but seriously after the crystals at giza plains and the shouting at Bujherba, another stupid minigame wasn't any issue, albeit to be expected.



As for FF8, well each to their own. For my part, I found (and still do find) Squall's escape from the Spidertron, the assassination attempt on Edea in Deling City and the Battle of the Gardens to be the most exciting, most adrenalin pounding moments in FF. The game crosses the line in the second half, when the story goes completely off the rails, but there's still enough great moments that I forgive it (Ragnarok clawing its way into the Lunatic Pandora is awesome, and though it makes very little sense, the scene where the moon 'bleeds' monsters onto the planet is cool as hell). Plus, it still has the best end sequence of any FF game IMO (although being offered the chance to resurrect Tidus and being allowed to say Hell No! in FFX-2 was a priceless moment I shall treasure forever!)


Yeah, FF8 has strong FMV sequences, the best out of all the series possibly and the most unsettling ones (the time-compression sequence remains as my favourite of the game). And Disc 1 is really good. But it gets so, so, so ,so , so corny after that and the story doesn't care to justify a bit of anything (Finding Elone for absolutely nothing for example), that makes it impossible for me to appreciate it as 7, 4 or 12. And the Cast of Characters were not really good IMO.

Plus, FF8 has the most broken gameplay in all the series. And this is very very very true.

FF12 still manages to pull off in terms of story and characters even though things get messy after meeting Gran Kiltias. And the FMV Sequences are on par with FF8 too, plus the scenery is gorgeous. The first time you reach the Ridorana Cataract is sublime.

I prefer FF8 over FF7, and i don't hate tidus either, which is weird since so many people hate him.Tactics is fun too, but i have to complete.
What about suikoden 1,2 and 5?

and which is the best star ocean? vrykolas?

star ocean is the sky pirates right? Is it like a strategy rpg?

Sorry for the late reply on this (broken computer - arrrghh!)

Star Ocean is like Star Trek in many ways. Its got a Federation for example, and they have a non-interference with alien worlds policy etc etc. Your main characters tend to belong to this, but you also have aliens, several of whom do qualify for the term 'Sky Pirates'. Being a JRPG, it works in people using swords and supernatural monsters etc into the mix though, of course. They're basically standard JRPGs, with much better combat systems than you usually get in such games (its all real time, free moving, swap between party members whenever you like etc etc). Because the stories aren't confined to single worlds, they tend to be pretty epic in scope, and there's always *tons* to do, in terms of side quests, dungeons etc. The post game content for Star Ocean 3+4 is particularly worthy of praise, with several big dungeons at much harder difficulty levels, some of which have extra story content as well.

For my money, Star Ocean 3 (also known as Til the End of Time) is by far the best one. Big sweeping story, proper build up with good payoff, loads of locations and variety, quite a lot of leeway in choosing who you have in your permanent party. Its a great game.

As for Tidus - I wouldn't like him much anyway, but its his voice actor that really seals the deal on me disliking him. The guy bellows at the top of his voice, and its just grating. Between all the shouting and boasting and crying, Tidus is perhaps the greatest single reason why I never intend to play FF10 ever again.

Yeah, Final Fantasy IX. VII, VIII, X and XII are amazing too. Trust me, I have tried to broaden my horizons, but every time I just end up coming back to these games, there is no comparison.

Sorry if I should have posted this in a different thread. I see there are a few the same.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, bar none. Best RPG I've ever played.

Close runner up would probably be Xenogears or Mass Effect 2.
Resonance of Fate is also worth a look.

Xenogears - 3 battle systems (human, gear (mech), and Arena Mode (real time fighting)), Compelling story line with amazing progression and character development, Innovative use of 3d and Pixel sprites as well as CG and 2D animation sequences, Amazing music by none other than Yasunori Mitsuda. Questions?

Pokemon Ruby has a special place in my heart.

Wild Arms - best PS1 has to offer.
But other than that, I love above all:
Might and Magic: Xeens,
Might and Magic VI - The Mandate of Heaven and
Might and Magic VII - For Blood and Honor.
I like Might and Magic VIII - The Day of the Destroyer, but it's not as good as four previous games.
I also happen to love TES III: Morrowind.

Final Fantasy: VII... maybe Final Fantasy: V is better, I haven't finished it.

the best rpgs I have played is

Final Fantasy Tactics
Chrono Trigger
Breath of Fire 3
Rhapsody a musical adventure
Seiken Densetsu 3

I just love the music and the story in all these games♥

Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Cross.

Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Cross.
O_O

Isn't comparing something as mediocre as FF7 to such a great game like CC, I don't know...heresy or something?

Chrono Trigger is still in the first place for me - Good story, Character development, Battle system, many endings, secrets, etc..
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The first RPG I finished :D and I like how we get more items and tools to continue our adventure :P
Final Fantasy 4 - From a Dark Knight to a Paladin, a nice storyline
Final Fantasy 7 - Nice story and Gameplay System

O_O

Isn't comparing something as mediocre as FF7 to such a great game like CC, I don't know...heresy or something?

It doesn't seem like he's comparing them. To me, they seem a little too different to be compared.

Lost Odyssey, incredibly underrated. The battle music is outstanding.

The Mario & Luigi series. I'm torn between Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story for being my favorite. Hopefully Dream Team for the 3DS will also be as good as the previous 3 games.

might and magic 9 :D

might magic series were very good

Suikoden II
Vagrant Story

Vagrant Story
Legend of Mana
Chrono Trigger/Cross
Xenogears
Demon's/Dark Souls
King's Field series
Threads of Fate
Suikoden I-III
Wild ARMs 1-3
Final Fantasy V/Tactics/XII/XIV: ARR
Fable I
Lost Odyssey
Opoona
3D Dot Game Heroes
Valkyria Chronicles
Arc the Lad Collection

Out of the games I completed...

Suikoden 3
Fallout 2
Chrono Trigger

my favorite rpg is probably grand theft auto 4

The Best RPG I have played was The Legend of Dragoon for the PS1. The Battle System is tremendous, you get to attack more than once, if you continue to Press X correctly and sometimes it tells you press O for Counter. Power up as a Dragoon like a Power Rangers was a great part. The story was real great and same goes for the OST.

Grandia and Secret of Mana
Yep I'm a dinosaur gamer.

Chrono Cross
Chrono Trigger
Dragon Quest V
Dragon Quest VIII
Final Fantasy VI
Gothic
Lost Odyssey
Jade Empire
Phantasy Star
Planescape: Torment
Skies of Arcadia
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Suikoden
Suikoden II <- favorite
Suikoden III
Suikoden V
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Witcher
Threads of Fate
Vagrant Story
Valkyria Chronicles
Vampire: The Masquerade � Bloodlines
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenogears

I've only played 3 RPGs (not a fan of turn-based games) so I'm gonna call it a tie between Super Mario RPG and Costume Quest lol

Xenoblade Chronicles.
The Last Story.

Monolith have produced two masterpieces which are both rich in diversity and represent how every RPG should be set up.

Energy Breaker.

It is an SRPG by Neverland for the SNES and is sort of set in the world of Lufia.
It has amazing graphics and great music but is sort of rushed near the end. But still a truly great game.

I would say it's definitely a tie between FFIV/FFVI, Chrono Trigger and Suikoden II. oh and Valkyrie Profile
I'd add Xenogears on there but, there was quite a lot of problems with it, despite how much I ended up enjoying it by the end. I actually didn't mind the second disc but half the translation was awful :c

FFVI/IX/IV, Resonance of Fate, Valkyrie Profile, Lost Odyssey ... so many more that aren't coming to mind atm. But mainly RoF, I love it to bits.

I don't know if it's the "best" I've played, but I spent six years playing Morrowind. The sad thing is that that is not how long it was installed, that's time played. I fell HARD for that one.

It's hard to say what the best game is. It's all so subjective and I've played Table Top games that were awesome, not for the system but the group of people playing the session. Of course I've also had Table-Top Fail a-plenty that only become funny with time and therapy.

RPG games are my favorite. One of them consist of Final Fantasy 10 and the other is Tales of Graces. Both, to me, have a really good story.

Best one was Baldurs Gate II...followed by Dragon Age I

It's been a while, but after playing many recent ones I'm still constantly thinking that Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IX.

More recent ones would probably be Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door and Persona 4.

Well i have to say that it all started for me with Baldur's Gate(and found it extremely good).

This is what got me into rpgs and tabletop rpg.

Suikoden 2.

MLB 10 The Show.

Fire Emblem Awakening
Shin Megami Tensei 4
Pokemon X
and Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga

Pokemon Crystal (GBC)
Xenosaga Episode I (PS2)
Xenogears (PSX)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Golden Sun & Golden Sun The Lost Age (GBA)
Final Fantasy X (PS2)
Shining Force (Genesis)
Elder Scrolls III and V (PC/multi-plat)
Paper Mario (N64)
Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door (NGC)
Every Disgaea game (PS2/3)
Nier (PS3)
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) (This is the only RPG I've ever played through twice in the same month)
Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny (PS3)
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 and 2 (GBA)

Of all of these, I would have to pick Elder Scrolls Morrowind as my #1, simply because it was my escapism for so many more hours than any other game. Xenosaga, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Pokemon Crystal and Xenogears follow, in that order.

Sorry if this looks like a necro.

So far Bravely Default is the best RPG I've played.

Chrono Trigger
Sailor Moon Another Story

Super Mario RPG The Legend of the seven Stars (SNES)
The Legend of Zelda Master Quest (GameCube)

Dark Souls.

Recently? Skyrim. But EarthBound will always have the top slot in my heart

I have really good memories of the PSX rpgs (Xeno, VP, Star Ocean, Legend of Dragoon). :)

I'd play more RPG's if there wasn't so many "medieval fantasy" ones flooding the market. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic was more to my liking but what we really want is a Skyrim-level-of-detail RPG set in the Victorian (steam) era. That also covers a potentially badass gritty Spaghetti Western RPG in the style of Red Dead Redemption set during the American Civil War. Clint Eastwood could even do some voice acting for that while he's still alive? Other than that, a realistic Medieval RPG (i.e. jousting tournaments) but without the "fantasy" elements is well overdue!

DARK SOULS III is the best ACTION-RPG. But the best "traditional RPG" must be...

must be...

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2!! I know, there are more haters than lovers, but for me, FFXIII-2 is Special. I don't like XIII or LIGHTNING RETURNS, but -2 is brilliant!

Hard... well...
That would be Zelda OoT. Perfection in all senses

The only RPG that I ever finished: Rurouni Kenshin Juuyuushi Inbou Hen.
It's great! :D

Dragon Quest VIII. The Orchestral soundtrack on the PS2 release grants the whole adventure this absolutely grand feeling. It helps that I was young when I played it; but even the 3DS release is still very enjoyable, especially thanks to the humour.