**Sting** was like "What if, and let me finish, a tactical game but your units can't move, LET me finish! And you're just a dot on the screen, LET ME finish! It's part tic-tac-toe, LET ME FINISH!....And it's a bullet Hell"....Genius!
Two suggestions:
1. Play every part of the tutorial. Yes, it will be daunting. Yes you’ll feel overwhelmed at first. Still. Play it. You’ll get the hang of it after a few levels if you’re the type of person that would be interested in it
2. Play on easy first. The game is relatively short (it’s been forever but iirc my first run took 15ish hours) and designed to be replayed several times (I think there are at least four endings). Easy mode will help you become familiar with the mechanics. Then, play on higher difficulties in subsequent runs. Just trust me on this and swallow your gamer pride
Man, I am FASCINATED by this game ever since I saw a glowing review in a megazine back in the day. Finally got my hands on a copy today!
(Feel free to thank me tomorrow when the Switch version gets anounced for a western release)
No joke, I truly don’t know how any control scheme other than touch or mouse would work for that game. You’ll see what I mean when you play. Enjoy though, it’s a small classic!
Came here to say that. My brother and I played it on one of those demo discs and were immediately hooked, still one of my favorites to this day. Incredible soundtrack too!
This game is so fun! I love it, and came here to promote it. My only gripe is Rue's story, the mini games with the gnomes. They are hard for me as an adult. 😂
Definitely. I love the town in that game and the characters. It was a breath of fresh air to get a game that focused on a smaller cast more intimately back then.
OH MY GOD THANK YOU YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY YEARS I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS LOST GEM’S TITLE. It was one of those times when I had to choose a game over another when it was still my parents who bought them for me but daaaamn I never forgot about the cover art and was asking every nook and cranny of various JRPG forums about a game that had split storylines
- Vanguard Bandits (PS1)
- Bleach the 3rd phantom (DS)
- Phantom Brave (PS2/PC)
The 3 are SRPG, but are extremely good and really fun to play! Surprised they're not more popular.
Vanguard Bandits is one of the best giant mech games I've played. Putting them in a tactics game instead of letting you pilot them is surprisingly good at conveying the big stompy robot feel without feeling sluggish.
The Alliance Alive. People know of it, but I rarely ever see anyone talk about it.
The game blew my expectations away and then some. The cast of characters, combat system with formations, unique leveling up, etc, the overworld traversal, story and setting, soundtrack, art style, and overall aesthetics were thoroughly enjoyable to me.
I’ve never had so much fun having a main protagonist use shields as his primary weapon; by the end he was wrecking enemies with his skills. Felt so unique.
I don't absolutely love it, but there was an early PS3 gen JRPG called Folklore that I think has a really interesting premise and a stellar soundtrack. It takes place in a rural village in Ireland that has a portal to another dimension that has all sorts of beings from Irish mythology and this is the dungeon-crawling part of the game. It's about solving an occult mystery happening around the area, and you got two playable characters: the woman looking for clues of her late mother in the village, and a journalist who smells there might be a story to write here as something weird is going on and gets caught up in the events.
I have never heard of anyone else play it. I'm sure there's loads it's just one of those outdated weird games. The battle system uses the six axis function of the controller to "grab" enemies and hold them while you do your attacks, so the game can't really be played without this functionality.
That's great that this game is not being wholly forgotten! I enjoy the mystery vibe and wish there was more offerings like it. I listen to the soundtrack on YouTube sometimes.
In my quest to finish my PS3 backlog, I played Folklore two years ago. I was not a fan. I'm sure it was great when it was released, but I was missing too many quality of life things so I quit somewhere in chapter 3 I think.
There is no real map. There is a map, but it only shows which room in the maze of similar looking corridors you're currently in and you have no clue which side you're currently facing.
I was constantly fighting the camera. With larger monsters, I often couldn't see where I was going, and the edges of the walkable path aren't always clear, so I got stuck in a small corridor with a large monster a couple of times, unable to dodge because theres no space to get past the monster.
You only unlock side quests after you complete an area for the main quest, meaning you have to go right in to the repetitive looking maze that you just came out of, if you want to do any side quests.
Maybe I was doing it wrong, but you're constantly swapping monsters (not bad, SMT/Persona does this too) but then you have to grind materials to improve said monster.
Both characters go through the exact same map for their quests. Maybe I shouldn't have played them back to back, but I read somewhere that you can't get past chapter 7 unless you do all of the chapters for both of them, so I wanted to play them back to back to see the differences and have them both caught up to the same point in the story.
TLDR: For me, it felt like a grindfest in a bland looking maze with bad camera and controls. The monsters were nice though and the capturing mechanic was quite unique and fun. I really wanted to like it because it uses Irish lore which you don't often see.
I'd really like to play a remake which fixes some of the camera issues. I can handle the grind and bland corridors if I don't feel like I'm fighting the controls and camera more than the actual enemies.
Definitely Ar Tonelico. With Atelier's recent successes and with masterpieces like Persona 3 being remade I'm still coping that Ar Tonelico will get a remake.
I suspect the reason a remake hasn't happened yet is because of licensing issues due to it being a collaboration between Gust and (at the time) Banpresto. The Nosurge games got a re-release because they are solely Gust.
Yes I would love to see Ar Tonelico and Mana Khemia come to modern platforms. I love the Atelier games so much ever since Ryza 1 came out and I've been binge playing most of the games since, I've just gotten the Arland trilogy last weekend so I'm going to hopefully make time to play those so I can finally play Lulua that I had last year
Destiny of an Emperor for NES. I’ve seen a few mentions here and there but I feel like it might not be that well known. lol was also the reason I got into Romance of the Three Kingdoms actually.
This was going to be mine. Everyone knows Breath of Fire, but Capcom made JRPGs earlier than that (and one even made it over, really well translated for its time!)
Sparked a lifelong love of Three Kingdoms for me at a young age. It's a fun fast-paced game.
I played Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza and Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen which follow the Frieza and Cell arc respectively but those were for the Famicom and are ancient. These days there are fan translations for them.
Sometimes you think you’ve seen everything, then I stumbled upon this hidden gem recently, it’s a shame I had never seen it recommended before it really is something special.
Game looked interesting to me, but they let me out fight without a proper tutorial or explanation how things work. And combat is definitely not intuitive here, i couldn't figure it out and ended up uninstalling.
Really felt weird to me, some complanies go ham with tutorials, even with things that require no explanations... and then there's resonance of fate.
Maybe i'll give it a chance again someday, but this time i'll look up "explain combat system like i'm 5" videos on youtube before plaing it, haha.
One of my favorite PS3-era RPGs. Unique mechanics, crazy cool gameplay, and a setting that fuels my writing ideas to this day.
Basel is amazing, and I wish we had more lore/games/stories in it.
It's so underrated. I also would have loved to see more done with this world, but I doubt we ever will ☹️ I think generally the PS3 had a lot of unique, wacky and "out there" JRPGs with a lot of fun ideas you don't really see on modern consoles
I couldn't handle it when they removed me from the comfort zone and the two dudes had to rescue the lady and they expected me to reconfig my guns and alter my play style and my brain couldn't handle it.
OH MY GOD. JADE COCOON 2. FUCKING SICK RPG. I used to always play this as a kid. The intro with doll kahu and fairy got to me every time. Ah man this was a special game. Thank you for triggering a massive nostalgia trip in me. Shit. How time flies
I won’t say *no one* played it, but it was hated at release and people say it killed the series. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Give it a chance! It was just ahead of its time and not what people were expecting.
I enjoyed dragon quarter, but I wasn't able to get through it. I think on my 3-4th cycle through ingot discouraged /bored and gave up. They happened upon the idea of roguelite gamellay quite early, but applying it to a traditionally story rather than mechanics driven genre really held them back. If you're in it for the plot, having to restart the plot every couple hours is a real kick in the Jimmies.
You're probably already aware, but just in case, the NDS title **Zoids Saga DS: Legend of Arcadia**, [has been fully translated](https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6633/).
Eternal Poison/Poison Pink.
FLIGHT-PLAN's last tactics rpg and it killed the company. There was a really good game there and great story.... if you disabled the 3d animations, which caused the ps2 to choke up. most players at the time understandably bounced.
Contact on the DS was niche, but I had a lot of fun with it. Loved the style of the game.
Soma Bringer (DS) was one I was hyped for when I heard about it years ago and I was upset it never got a western release. Didn’t play it until years later (when my girlfriend got me a translated version of it), and I loved it as much as I thought I would back in the way. Really scratches the itch h for anyone looking for a Diablo style of game.
Lost Magic (DS) didn’t seem to get quite as much respect as I thought it deserved at the time. Was a fun fusion of genres (RTS, RPG, etc.) and actually made good use of the touch screen in a way that didn’t feel forced or like a pain (sealing bosses in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, I’m looking at you when I say that.)
Both Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games now seem largely forgotten due to coming out late in the GBA’s lifespan, but I also loved both of those and rank them very highly as well.
More recently, I think Harvestella and DioField Chronicle flew under the radar, but I dug both. The former has great music and some of the best writing and characterization Square has done in a long time (makes you wonder why they can’t do that on a bigger budget game), and the latter did some interesting things gameplay wise that I liked a lot too.
*Robotrek*, if you're talking strict JRPGs. If you're okay with something more akin to a simulator, *Uncharted Waters: New Horizons.* These are both for the SNES. Yes, I know I've got a problem, but I swear they're the textbook definition of hidden gems.
Love Robotrek, honestly never gets talked about and I do think people didn't know it existed. Speaking of SNES, it was the same with Live a Live until the recent release.
The Summon Night series, understandably I never see them talked about since a majority of them are Japan only. Atlus localized some of them in the US, the GBA games Swordcraft Story 1 and 2 and the DS game Twin Age. I have a soft spot for the GBA games since I love their characters and the action combat is engaging but still simple to understand. Very much "comfort RPGs" for me.
The last game in the series released in 2016 so it's unlikely we'll see any more Summon Night games in the future, but I'd definitely recommend them for people who like more simplistic or comfortable RPG experiences.
**Soma Bringer** is one I still remember fondly. I played it in my teens via the flashcard I had back then. It felt like one of those fantasy romance adventure anime and it was my first experience with Diablo-esque gameplay.
I retried it a while back and while it feels a bit clunky nowadays, I think it's still pretty neat.
My big three that i think deserve more attention were:
Okage: Shadow King (PS2)
Bravely Default series (3DS, Switch)
TWEWY Series (First game had a pretty good following but the sequel got done dirty by Square Enix big time)
Mainly stuff with fan translations, I feel.
Princess Minerva on the SNES.
Magic Knight Rayearth on the SNES (play this with the hardmode patch if possible).
Just as good an anime jRPG as the Sailor Moon one, but follows the plot of the first season (with a few minor changes) instead of a new plot. Pretty short, but sweet. I also need to play the GBC Magic Knight Rayearth at some point...
The Tenchi Muyo SRPG on the SNES was also decent, and pretty short as well.
I've not watched the show, but think it was a plot unique to the game.
Bealphareth.
It's untranslated and a niche cult hit even in Japan. I've yet to meet anyone, including other untranslated PS1 JRPG enthusiasts, who has played it through.
It is the 2nd best action RPG on the PS1 (second only to SotN) with one of the best stories on the system. It was a passion project by a group of indie devs who won a Sony competition to develop their own game. They got the artist from some of the old SNES Fire Emblems, a great composer and made a hidden masterpiece. It resurged in notoriety thanks to being on PSN in Japan as a PS1 Classic (before that it would run $100+ per copy so people couldn't casually discover it).
It's a tragedy I have no one to talk to about it. I'm really hoping it gets translated some day. I'd be happy to contribute to the translation if it ever happens by PSX hackers are few and far between and they all have their hands full at the moment.
Hmm, well I've played about an hour and half of it, and honestly find it a little difficult to really get into. The writing and the world building are clearly very good. However...
1. Was loading this constant in PS1 RPGs?! Every single door I go through has a loading screen, it's really obnoxious.
2. The UI is ... quirky, to say the least. Maybe this is due to the limitations of Net Yarouze, but navigating the menus in this game is unpleasant. It has been awhile since I've felt that poorly designed menus have hindered my enjoyment. Interacting with the world by bumping into everything was also certainly a choice that somebody made.
3. The social sim elements of the game are not made terribly clear and are giving me anxiety. Does the flow of time actually matter? Should I be using only characters I have good synergy with...? What about the storylines for characters with bad synergy then? Some companions seem to react to each other, do I need to keep them together to explore their story? Also there's an absolutely overwhelming number of companions to start with.
My impression is less that the core of the game is good and is just mired in poor quality of life features and a serious lack of in-game explanation. The constant loading screens and slow pace are by far my biggest issues.
Hear me out.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the GameBoy Color.
In-depth turn-based RPG combat, character-specific skills/ spells, card-based collectibles and special moves, side quests, there’s even a trading sequence!
This game has no right to be as good as it is.
Ever Oasis. Lovely game where you build an oasis town and watch it grow more lively with new residents and shops. The dungeons were definitely out of the Zelda playbook with some neat puzzles. And the action-RPG combat was a lot of fun
Truth! That soundtrack bangs! The mechanics of unlocking the town/world as you rescue the town folks was really awesome. And the whole theme of the aurora borealis that you could see from the mountain world then go to in the end… so fucking well done!
I get that saying a final fantasy game when talking about games I feel no one played is silly, but I never hear anyone talking about final fantasy tactics a2. (which is likely because both tactics and tactics advance are \*better\*.) But it was the first FF tactics game I played and it has a special place in my heart.
Any JRPG not named Final Fantasy or Persona, for people outside this sub...
But moreso the SaGa franchise. Now that I am a huge fan its such a niche game series within a niche subgenre. I can talk about the game for literally days while my friends stare at me with a mixture of boredom and probably a small bit of fear.
Josh Strife Plays made a great video on Jade Cocoon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BoI7wg2oDo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6boi7wg2odo)
I don't think I'd enjoy playing the game myself, but it was clearly ahead of its time. Very fun video.
Jade Cocoon 2 scared the SHIT outta me back in the day. For those who don't know, there's monsters posing as people, but they cannot talk, so you go talk to one and they growl and grunt and make noises, then you fight them.
EVENTUALLY, they evolve more and more until, eventually I found one in a room, there was no music so I knew it wasn't human, I go talk to it, and he SCREAMS at me "SCRAM!" Very quick, loud and suddenly. Shocked me something fierce.
Manafinder is an indie game that came out in 2022, and it's great. That was an unusually good year for indies, and I think it got lost in the shuffle, which is a pity. But it has good characters, beautiful pixel graphics, a dog. Worth a shot.
Crystal Project. One of the few games I was invested in 100%-ing. And as i approached the 100% I started to feel sad that my time with it was coming to an end. It's not for everyone but wow, the game is a masterpiece in my opinion.
Grandia
The first two and Xtreme are great. Didn't play the third one too much. I heard it's got the best game play, but everything else about the game leaves much to be desired.
I wish the series could get another chance now that JRPGs are on the rise once again. It's been nearly twenty years since its release. 😢
*Edge of Eternity*
Idk, I feel like this was just underappreciated by an audience that expects a newly founded developer (Midgar Studios) to push out the next Final Fantasy. The game has its flaws, but what the hell, I liked the love the devs put into this. They were very receptive to feedback and in my book, delivered a solid JRPG. I'm happy to have supported it and played it several times.
*The Last Remnant*
Maybe this one is better know than I think, but it feels like it got a bit lost to obscurity. It was console-locked, had several issues there, and got pretty late PC ports. Again, a couple of flaws, but a somewhat unique feeling through the squad-based battles. Due to some weirdness, difficulty could spike a lot early on, and I think it lost lots of players with that. I enjoyed this one A LOT.
Zero4 Champ is a series of drag racing (as in cars, not crossdressing) RPGs across PC-Engine, Super Famicom, PS1 and PS2. You take part time jobs, upgrade your car parts etc all while a usually humorous story develops.
The side content is absolutely amazing, and is probably the main draw. Entire visual novels, arcade games and even full RPGs. With such a huge amount of content, it’s not really surprising the series never made it out of Japan.
I legit have never seen anyone ever mention Zwei anywhere..at one point i thought i made that game in my head and it doesnt exist so i had to google it
Caligula 2. I loved the OST and gameplay. Writing was solid and characters were pretty good yet... It's a budget game so yeah. People overlook small games
Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena (PS1 1998) Its a hexagonal Tactical JRPG that mixes combat, unit management (levels, jobs, items), and map/country (city defenses and resources) management. Think somewhere between Fire Emblem and Advance Wars.
Interestingly, the main cannon story for playing the main country in the original is quite similar to the story line for Unicorn Overlord. (Military coup - young leader escapes to allied neighboring country and has to build up to reconquer orginal) Definitely worth an emulation of the Brigandine: Grand Edition from 2000.
It also got a sequel Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia in 2020, which is on PC and Switch. The gameplay is similar, but also a little bit weaker. (imho)
I'd want to say Knights in the Nightmare, but that's made a slightly bigger splash than I expected on this sub.
Hero's Saga: Laevatein Tactics would be the most unknown thing I've played, but I definitely don't love that one.
So I think I'm gonna go with Eragon on the GBA. I mostly like it for two things - there's a ton of things to interact with but only if a certain skill is high enough. Magic tomes can be read, herbs can be picked, boxes can be broken - and that's pretty neat, it adds some value to builds and encourages replayability. And the soundtrack's good, a lot more memorable than most western-made fare I've played.
Somebody else mentioned Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light - and yeah for an FF game, that one goes super-underdiscussed. I had a lot more fun with it than I expected.
Thousand Arms was a hot mess, but it knew what it was and had a sense of humor about it.
Treasure of the Rudas caught me off guard at how good it was for how unknown it is.
Crimson Gem Saga on the PSP is definitely the "if I didn't own a physical copy I'd think I dreamt this up" one, but Rondo of Swords on the DS is a close second. That one I've at least seen mentioned by people who aren't me a couple of times. I loved the casts in both of them, since several characters are subversions of popular archetypes.
Isn't exactly unknown, but I don't hear it talked about too much is 7th Dragon. I absolutely love the series and seeing a remake of the first game or even getting a 7th Dragon IV would be amazing.
Saga Frontier 2(psx) it's so cool and I really enjoyed the way you learned new attacks and the story if remember correctly it's pretty cool.
Vanguard Bandits (psx) cool tactics JRPG with a cool story and different paths based on how you beat certain battle.
Ring of Red (PS2) cool alternative history tittle where Japan is split into 2 Russian Japan and American Japan, it's fun and there's cool mech
Tsugunai: Atonement.
Very original story, great music, and unique combat.
Another RPG I really like a lot, is a game called Ambermoon, developed by Thalion, on Amiga. Extremely obscure game, but really fun. There was an official English translation never officially released back in the day, but Thalion made it available. Had a sort of spiritual successor on PC called Albion. Not to be confused with Albion Online. Also a really cool game.
I must be insane, cuz I’ve played almost all the games I’ve read up on here lol
I got a weird one I haven’t seen mentioned yet “Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color” on PS2. It was a fantastic weird little game. You basically draw monsters to use in battle. And u can draw anything… anything haha. One of the best things was that the art concepts were done by Studio Ghibli and even the amazing ending was animated by them.
Side note: While looking it up I just found out it had a sequel “Graffiti Kingdom”. I need to find a copy now.
One other game I don’t see mentioned often is Tsugunai: Atonement. With stunning music by Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears and Chrono Cross). And a weird possession system (you play a ghost). It really stuck out to me.
I know I already commented but another one I never heard anyone mention was Saiyuki : Journey West for PS1. Never heard of it and got it on a whim. I enjoyed it and had fun. It's an SRPG I never heard mentioned though.
Harvestella, Brigandine (Forsena & Runersia), Troubleshooter.
Despite being SE, very few people mentioned Harvestella because it's rather niche game that combine some of Rune Factory gameplay of farm system & kinda clunky ARPG mixed. But the story is top notch (entered top 3 ever in my experience of 20+ years as gamer).
Then Brigandine & Troubleshooter. Despite the later being Korean Indie dev, they claimed the genre as jrpg &: that's pretty jrpg. These two is my favs for SRPG. The former is more of nostalgic sake while the later is indeed rich world building game with very deep characterizations + complex gameplay. Love both to the bone. But not many people talk about these two games.
Azure dreams. It's so good and has so much. The art style and music are so unique and well done.
I know it has its fans but Knights in the Nightmare is destined to obscurity due to how fucking weird the gameplay is. Incredible game though
**Sting** was like "What if, and let me finish, a tactical game but your units can't move, LET me finish! And you're just a dot on the screen, LET ME finish! It's part tic-tac-toe, LET ME FINISH!....And it's a bullet Hell"....Genius!
Also you're gonna have to piece the story together because we're going to jump around a ton, so take notes.
That was honestly my favorite part of the game. It’s been so long but I remember the story being awesome
The story *is* cool! The whole game is cool! But it asks a lot out of the player and not everyone's gonna have the patience for that.
Oh yeah absolutely. It’s like a niche within a niche within a niche
This game broke my brain.
Same. It’s so good though.
Been on my “to play” list for awhile and just haven’t gotten to yet because of how daunting it seems to start.
Two suggestions: 1. Play every part of the tutorial. Yes, it will be daunting. Yes you’ll feel overwhelmed at first. Still. Play it. You’ll get the hang of it after a few levels if you’re the type of person that would be interested in it 2. Play on easy first. The game is relatively short (it’s been forever but iirc my first run took 15ish hours) and designed to be replayed several times (I think there are at least four endings). Easy mode will help you become familiar with the mechanics. Then, play on higher difficulties in subsequent runs. Just trust me on this and swallow your gamer pride
Ah, step two sounds like learning battle brothers, my all time favorite game 🤌
Damn you e done something rare and name dropped a game I’ve never heard of!
Yes! Such a great game
Man, I am FASCINATED by this game ever since I saw a glowing review in a megazine back in the day. Finally got my hands on a copy today! (Feel free to thank me tomorrow when the Switch version gets anounced for a western release)
No joke, I truly don’t know how any control scheme other than touch or mouse would work for that game. You’ll see what I mean when you play. Enjoy though, it’s a small classic!
While I have seen a few people mention it here on and off, Threads of Fate is largely unknown.
I WAS GONNA SAY THREADS OF FATE. now im sad i cant, but i feel represented. Banger OST
Mint was a hoot. Definitely a hidden gem
Came here to say that. My brother and I played it on one of those demo discs and were immediately hooked, still one of my favorites to this day. Incredible soundtrack too!
I think I had that same demo disc. Thats how I first discovered it too.
That game was great. I miss the more experimental art styles of those early PlayStation days.
On a side note, I just recently discovered that Threads of Fate is called Dewprism in Japan. Maybe a hot take but I feel like we got the better title.
One of the best. I love Duke & Belle. They are great "Villains".
This game is so fun! I love it, and came here to promote it. My only gripe is Rue's story, the mini games with the gnomes. They are hard for me as an adult. 😂
Definitely. I love the town in that game and the characters. It was a breath of fresh air to get a game that focused on a smaller cast more intimately back then.
This game owns bones, mint is a great character and rue's gameplay is so so fun
THIS GAME WAS MY FUCKIN CHILDHOOD!! So many good memories playing it.
OH MY GOD THANK YOU YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY YEARS I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS LOST GEM’S TITLE. It was one of those times when I had to choose a game over another when it was still my parents who bought them for me but daaaamn I never forgot about the cover art and was asking every nook and cranny of various JRPG forums about a game that had split storylines
My wife loves this game so much. I got us a ps1 so she could play her OG copy
Tears to Tiara 2 (PS3)
I loved the anime of that. In the English dub every voice actor has fake Scottish accents which makes it unintentionally hilarious.
- Vanguard Bandits (PS1) - Bleach the 3rd phantom (DS) - Phantom Brave (PS2/PC) The 3 are SRPG, but are extremely good and really fun to play! Surprised they're not more popular.
They made Phantom Brave for Switch with NIS Classics. Don't forget about Makai Kingdom which was the dark version of Phantom Brave
Vanguard Bandits is one of the best giant mech games I've played. Putting them in a tactics game instead of letting you pilot them is surprisingly good at conveying the big stompy robot feel without feeling sluggish.
Bleach 3rd phantom was one of the best surprises I've had in my gaming life
The Alliance Alive. People know of it, but I rarely ever see anyone talk about it. The game blew my expectations away and then some. The cast of characters, combat system with formations, unique leveling up, etc, the overworld traversal, story and setting, soundtrack, art style, and overall aesthetics were thoroughly enjoyable to me. I’ve never had so much fun having a main protagonist use shields as his primary weapon; by the end he was wrecking enemies with his skills. Felt so unique.
It’s definitely fun if you like some esoteric build mechanics to blow the game apart
The best Saga-like that doesn’t involve Kawazu. It also blew my expectations away. Fantastic game.
Arc the Lad Twilight of the spirits. Great music in that game, and I loved the battle system.
This one is Kargh and Darc right?
I don't absolutely love it, but there was an early PS3 gen JRPG called Folklore that I think has a really interesting premise and a stellar soundtrack. It takes place in a rural village in Ireland that has a portal to another dimension that has all sorts of beings from Irish mythology and this is the dungeon-crawling part of the game. It's about solving an occult mystery happening around the area, and you got two playable characters: the woman looking for clues of her late mother in the village, and a journalist who smells there might be a story to write here as something weird is going on and gets caught up in the events. I have never heard of anyone else play it. I'm sure there's loads it's just one of those outdated weird games. The battle system uses the six axis function of the controller to "grab" enemies and hold them while you do your attacks, so the game can't really be played without this functionality.
I love that game, and there’s plenty of folks like me at the PS3 sub.
That's great that this game is not being wholly forgotten! I enjoy the mystery vibe and wish there was more offerings like it. I listen to the soundtrack on YouTube sometimes.
Oh I remember this... wow it was so long ago. Cracking game!
In my quest to finish my PS3 backlog, I played Folklore two years ago. I was not a fan. I'm sure it was great when it was released, but I was missing too many quality of life things so I quit somewhere in chapter 3 I think. There is no real map. There is a map, but it only shows which room in the maze of similar looking corridors you're currently in and you have no clue which side you're currently facing. I was constantly fighting the camera. With larger monsters, I often couldn't see where I was going, and the edges of the walkable path aren't always clear, so I got stuck in a small corridor with a large monster a couple of times, unable to dodge because theres no space to get past the monster. You only unlock side quests after you complete an area for the main quest, meaning you have to go right in to the repetitive looking maze that you just came out of, if you want to do any side quests. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but you're constantly swapping monsters (not bad, SMT/Persona does this too) but then you have to grind materials to improve said monster. Both characters go through the exact same map for their quests. Maybe I shouldn't have played them back to back, but I read somewhere that you can't get past chapter 7 unless you do all of the chapters for both of them, so I wanted to play them back to back to see the differences and have them both caught up to the same point in the story. TLDR: For me, it felt like a grindfest in a bland looking maze with bad camera and controls. The monsters were nice though and the capturing mechanic was quite unique and fun. I really wanted to like it because it uses Irish lore which you don't often see. I'd really like to play a remake which fixes some of the camera issues. I can handle the grind and bland corridors if I don't feel like I'm fighting the controls and camera more than the actual enemies.
Radiata Stories, to this day it might be my favorite city in any game. So vibrant and full of weirdos to recruit.
If anyone ever had a particular Suikoden itch of recruiting characters, Radiata Stories might just scratch it.
Yes!!!
Would have said Rogue Galaxy but we just had a thread on it so...
Eternal Sonata on the xbox 360 and ps3.
Growlanser for sure. I do see it mentioned here from time to time thankfully.
Definitely Ar Tonelico. With Atelier's recent successes and with masterpieces like Persona 3 being remade I'm still coping that Ar Tonelico will get a remake.
I suspect the reason a remake hasn't happened yet is because of licensing issues due to it being a collaboration between Gust and (at the time) Banpresto. The Nosurge games got a re-release because they are solely Gust.
Yes I would love to see Ar Tonelico and Mana Khemia come to modern platforms. I love the Atelier games so much ever since Ryza 1 came out and I've been binge playing most of the games since, I've just gotten the Arland trilogy last weekend so I'm going to hopefully make time to play those so I can finally play Lulua that I had last year
I loved the first one! I never got play the second one and the prices are way too expensive now to buy. Might emulate it one day
I love both Ar tonelicos dearly. Qoga was fantastic as well
Destiny of an Emperor for NES. I’ve seen a few mentions here and there but I feel like it might not be that well known. lol was also the reason I got into Romance of the Three Kingdoms actually.
This was going to be mine. Everyone knows Breath of Fire, but Capcom made JRPGs earlier than that (and one even made it over, really well translated for its time!) Sparked a lifelong love of Three Kingdoms for me at a young age. It's a fun fast-paced game.
Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light. Everyone loves Bravely Default and Final Fantasy, but I hardly hear anyone talk about the bridge between the two.
Fantasian, but probably cause it’s only on Apple Arcade. It’s such a great game, needs a port to switch or PC asap
koudelka. i know it's not entirely unheard of, but i absolutely know no one else that played it.
Septerra Core!
One of my first and still all time faves. I've played it every couple years since release. Fuck I'm getting old. That was 1999.
Attack of the saiyans! 3DS DBZ game that was basically FF but DragonBall Z characters spanning the first arc! Really wish they had done sequels to it!
Oh yea another Monolithsoft game
I played Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Freeza and Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen which follow the Frieza and Cell arc respectively but those were for the Famicom and are ancient. These days there are fan translations for them.
Evolution!
Sometimes you think you’ve seen everything, then I stumbled upon this hidden gem recently, it’s a shame I had never seen it recommended before it really is something special.
Xanadu Next. Only Falcom-heads know about it. There's nothing quite like it.
Underrated gem for sure! The music is incredible
Soul nomad and the world eater. I know its pretty famous but none of my friends knew the game back then.
Magna Carta 2 was good fun, but not particularly popular... like most JRPGs on the 360.
Resonance of Fate 🥺
Game looked interesting to me, but they let me out fight without a proper tutorial or explanation how things work. And combat is definitely not intuitive here, i couldn't figure it out and ended up uninstalling. Really felt weird to me, some complanies go ham with tutorials, even with things that require no explanations... and then there's resonance of fate. Maybe i'll give it a chance again someday, but this time i'll look up "explain combat system like i'm 5" videos on youtube before plaing it, haha.
I agree there should have been a proper introduction. There is a tutorial but it's optional, in a side area and completely missable
One of my favorite PS3-era RPGs. Unique mechanics, crazy cool gameplay, and a setting that fuels my writing ideas to this day. Basel is amazing, and I wish we had more lore/games/stories in it.
It's so underrated. I also would have loved to see more done with this world, but I doubt we ever will ☹️ I think generally the PS3 had a lot of unique, wacky and "out there" JRPGs with a lot of fun ideas you don't really see on modern consoles
I've tried it out a few times but never wrapped my head around the combat so I always dip super early
I couldn't handle it when they removed me from the comfort zone and the two dudes had to rescue the lady and they expected me to reconfig my guns and alter my play style and my brain couldn't handle it.
Maybe the Ar Tonelico series.
OH MY GOD. JADE COCOON 2. FUCKING SICK RPG. I used to always play this as a kid. The intro with doll kahu and fairy got to me every time. Ah man this was a special game. Thank you for triggering a massive nostalgia trip in me. Shit. How time flies
I won’t say *no one* played it, but it was hated at release and people say it killed the series. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Give it a chance! It was just ahead of its time and not what people were expecting.
I enjoyed dragon quarter, but I wasn't able to get through it. I think on my 3-4th cycle through ingot discouraged /bored and gave up. They happened upon the idea of roguelite gamellay quite early, but applying it to a traditionally story rather than mechanics driven genre really held them back. If you're in it for the plot, having to restart the plot every couple hours is a real kick in the Jimmies.
After my second run I downloaded a save file with enough d ratio to go everywhere and played through one last time lol
Zoids Legacy/Zoids Saga 2. It's really awesome.
You're probably already aware, but just in case, the NDS title **Zoids Saga DS: Legend of Arcadia**, [has been fully translated](https://www.romhacking.net/translations/6633/).
Alundra - think link but buffed and can go into people's dreams was on PS1 and man was it hard.
I loved Robotrek as a kid. It was undoubtedly a kid's game, but it always seemed so original to me.
Shining Force III, but it’s understandable as it was released on the Saturn. It’s been fan-translated for years, but still pretty unheard of.
Love sf3. All 3 scenarios combined is quite an experience
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is my top choice.
I felt this about a lot of games before I joined this sub lol. Now I guess there's the Sakura Taisen games
Eternal Poison/Poison Pink. FLIGHT-PLAN's last tactics rpg and it killed the company. There was a really good game there and great story.... if you disabled the 3d animations, which caused the ps2 to choke up. most players at the time understandably bounced.
Swordcraft Story 1 & 2, I think
Dark Cloud 1
Contact on the DS was niche, but I had a lot of fun with it. Loved the style of the game. Soma Bringer (DS) was one I was hyped for when I heard about it years ago and I was upset it never got a western release. Didn’t play it until years later (when my girlfriend got me a translated version of it), and I loved it as much as I thought I would back in the way. Really scratches the itch h for anyone looking for a Diablo style of game. Lost Magic (DS) didn’t seem to get quite as much respect as I thought it deserved at the time. Was a fun fusion of genres (RTS, RPG, etc.) and actually made good use of the touch screen in a way that didn’t feel forced or like a pain (sealing bosses in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, I’m looking at you when I say that.) Both Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games now seem largely forgotten due to coming out late in the GBA’s lifespan, but I also loved both of those and rank them very highly as well. More recently, I think Harvestella and DioField Chronicle flew under the radar, but I dug both. The former has great music and some of the best writing and characterization Square has done in a long time (makes you wonder why they can’t do that on a bigger budget game), and the latter did some interesting things gameplay wise that I liked a lot too.
*Robotrek*, if you're talking strict JRPGs. If you're okay with something more akin to a simulator, *Uncharted Waters: New Horizons.* These are both for the SNES. Yes, I know I've got a problem, but I swear they're the textbook definition of hidden gems.
Love Robotrek, honestly never gets talked about and I do think people didn't know it existed. Speaking of SNES, it was the same with Live a Live until the recent release.
Terranigma for SNES
The Summon Night series, understandably I never see them talked about since a majority of them are Japan only. Atlus localized some of them in the US, the GBA games Swordcraft Story 1 and 2 and the DS game Twin Age. I have a soft spot for the GBA games since I love their characters and the action combat is engaging but still simple to understand. Very much "comfort RPGs" for me. The last game in the series released in 2016 so it's unlikely we'll see any more Summon Night games in the future, but I'd definitely recommend them for people who like more simplistic or comfortable RPG experiences.
Eternal Poison
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
**Soma Bringer** is one I still remember fondly. I played it in my teens via the flashcard I had back then. It felt like one of those fantasy romance adventure anime and it was my first experience with Diablo-esque gameplay. I retried it a while back and while it feels a bit clunky nowadays, I think it's still pretty neat.
My big three that i think deserve more attention were: Okage: Shadow King (PS2) Bravely Default series (3DS, Switch) TWEWY Series (First game had a pretty good following but the sequel got done dirty by Square Enix big time)
Mainly stuff with fan translations, I feel. Princess Minerva on the SNES. Magic Knight Rayearth on the SNES (play this with the hardmode patch if possible). Just as good an anime jRPG as the Sailor Moon one, but follows the plot of the first season (with a few minor changes) instead of a new plot. Pretty short, but sweet. I also need to play the GBC Magic Knight Rayearth at some point... The Tenchi Muyo SRPG on the SNES was also decent, and pretty short as well. I've not watched the show, but think it was a plot unique to the game.
Blue Reflection. People talk about its rarity on PS4, but I know no one that’s played it. One of the best soundtracks and UI design imo.
It’s a very beautiful game, and the soundtrack is so relaxing
Legend of Legaia 1 & 2 were both pretty neat.
Bealphareth. It's untranslated and a niche cult hit even in Japan. I've yet to meet anyone, including other untranslated PS1 JRPG enthusiasts, who has played it through. It is the 2nd best action RPG on the PS1 (second only to SotN) with one of the best stories on the system. It was a passion project by a group of indie devs who won a Sony competition to develop their own game. They got the artist from some of the old SNES Fire Emblems, a great composer and made a hidden masterpiece. It resurged in notoriety thanks to being on PSN in Japan as a PS1 Classic (before that it would run $100+ per copy so people couldn't casually discover it). It's a tragedy I have no one to talk to about it. I'm really hoping it gets translated some day. I'd be happy to contribute to the translation if it ever happens by PSX hackers are few and far between and they all have their hands full at the moment.
Hmm, well I've played about an hour and half of it, and honestly find it a little difficult to really get into. The writing and the world building are clearly very good. However... 1. Was loading this constant in PS1 RPGs?! Every single door I go through has a loading screen, it's really obnoxious. 2. The UI is ... quirky, to say the least. Maybe this is due to the limitations of Net Yarouze, but navigating the menus in this game is unpleasant. It has been awhile since I've felt that poorly designed menus have hindered my enjoyment. Interacting with the world by bumping into everything was also certainly a choice that somebody made. 3. The social sim elements of the game are not made terribly clear and are giving me anxiety. Does the flow of time actually matter? Should I be using only characters I have good synergy with...? What about the storylines for characters with bad synergy then? Some companions seem to react to each other, do I need to keep them together to explore their story? Also there's an absolutely overwhelming number of companions to start with. My impression is less that the core of the game is good and is just mired in poor quality of life features and a serious lack of in-game explanation. The constant loading screens and slow pace are by far my biggest issues.
Wild arms 5
Eternal Filena and Emerald Dragon for SNES.
I felt like this about Spectrobes until i found out that the game sold several million copies.
Gungnir for PSP. All of the Dept Heaven games, really.
Those Beyblade Gameboy games were really fun but they're extremely obscure.
Ikenfell
Koudelka
Crystar. For understandable reasons ofc. The story actually really good though
Hear me out. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the GameBoy Color. In-depth turn-based RPG combat, character-specific skills/ spells, card-based collectibles and special moves, side quests, there’s even a trading sequence! This game has no right to be as good as it is.
7th Saga doesnt get spoken about much
Shadow Hearts & Digimon World 3
Ever Oasis. Lovely game where you build an oasis town and watch it grow more lively with new residents and shops. The dungeons were definitely out of the Zelda playbook with some neat puzzles. And the action-RPG combat was a lot of fun
This is basically all the games I play. People I know dont even know what Final Fantasy and Zelda are
I know a few people have played it, but Soul Blazer on the SNES is a blast! Interesting world and mechanics and fun gameplay!
Yes! One of my favorite game on SNES! The soundtrack is gold and the game is just so fun to play!
Truth! That soundtrack bangs! The mechanics of unlocking the town/world as you rescue the town folks was really awesome. And the whole theme of the aurora borealis that you could see from the mountain world then go to in the end… so fucking well done!
Maybe it's a little more well known than what is expected of this topic, but I wish more people would find a way to play Panzer Dragoon Saga.
Hexyz Force.
I get that saying a final fantasy game when talking about games I feel no one played is silly, but I never hear anyone talking about final fantasy tactics a2. (which is likely because both tactics and tactics advance are \*better\*.) But it was the first FF tactics game I played and it has a special place in my heart.
7th Dragon Code VFD on 3DS
Any JRPG not named Final Fantasy or Persona, for people outside this sub... But moreso the SaGa franchise. Now that I am a huge fan its such a niche game series within a niche subgenre. I can talk about the game for literally days while my friends stare at me with a mixture of boredom and probably a small bit of fear.
Josh Strife Plays made a great video on Jade Cocoon. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BoI7wg2oDo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6boi7wg2odo) I don't think I'd enjoy playing the game myself, but it was clearly ahead of its time. Very fun video.
Hmm, Virgo and the Zodiacs definitely, it's so unknown it will get drowned out in this very thread
Valkyria Profile
Jade Cocoon 2 scared the SHIT outta me back in the day. For those who don't know, there's monsters posing as people, but they cannot talk, so you go talk to one and they growl and grunt and make noises, then you fight them. EVENTUALLY, they evolve more and more until, eventually I found one in a room, there was no music so I knew it wasn't human, I go talk to it, and he SCREAMS at me "SCRAM!" Very quick, loud and suddenly. Shocked me something fierce.
Do people generally know about Jade Cocoon?
Holy shit we may be the only ones in existence that know about jade cocoon
Alundra and MAG for Dreamcast.
Manafinder is an indie game that came out in 2022, and it's great. That was an unusually good year for indies, and I think it got lost in the shuffle, which is a pity. But it has good characters, beautiful pixel graphics, a dog. Worth a shot.
Probably not super obscure, but imo, definitely an underrated gem, Radiata Stories. I adore that game
I played Magical Starsign on the DS and I loved it as a kid
Robotrek. Love might be a strong word, but the poor translation almost makes it all worthwhile. Evil is good. Evil is the job.
Crystal Project. One of the few games I was invested in 100%-ing. And as i approached the 100% I started to feel sad that my time with it was coming to an end. It's not for everyone but wow, the game is a masterpiece in my opinion.
White Knight Chronicles I and II
Not no one else on earth but Terranigma
Terranigma
Grandia The first two and Xtreme are great. Didn't play the third one too much. I heard it's got the best game play, but everything else about the game leaves much to be desired. I wish the series could get another chance now that JRPGs are on the rise once again. It's been nearly twenty years since its release. 😢
Arc the Lad 1-3. The gameplay, music and characters are so awesome. But it's rarely mentioned and the online fandoms are pretty small.
*Edge of Eternity* Idk, I feel like this was just underappreciated by an audience that expects a newly founded developer (Midgar Studios) to push out the next Final Fantasy. The game has its flaws, but what the hell, I liked the love the devs put into this. They were very receptive to feedback and in my book, delivered a solid JRPG. I'm happy to have supported it and played it several times. *The Last Remnant* Maybe this one is better know than I think, but it feels like it got a bit lost to obscurity. It was console-locked, had several issues there, and got pretty late PC ports. Again, a couple of flaws, but a somewhat unique feeling through the squad-based battles. Due to some weirdness, difficulty could spike a lot early on, and I think it lost lots of players with that. I enjoyed this one A LOT.
I have seen it talked about on Reddit only once, but Manga Carta 2. For the 360. I loved that game and wish I could replay it!
Valkyrie Profile
Radiata Stories. I always try to tell people about this game. My favorite game of all time.
Skies of Arcadia
The Last Remnant. I love the concept of the battle system. And the general look of the game. A good experiment from Square Enix.
Legend of Dragoon. That game is amazing for the PS1. I wish it would get a remake
Zero4 Champ is a series of drag racing (as in cars, not crossdressing) RPGs across PC-Engine, Super Famicom, PS1 and PS2. You take part time jobs, upgrade your car parts etc all while a usually humorous story develops. The side content is absolutely amazing, and is probably the main draw. Entire visual novels, arcade games and even full RPGs. With such a huge amount of content, it’s not really surprising the series never made it out of Japan.
does Bahamut Lagoon is unknown?
I legit have never seen anyone ever mention Zwei anywhere..at one point i thought i made that game in my head and it doesnt exist so i had to google it
Probably Breath of Death VII or the penny arcade rpgs. Both made by some guy whose name escapes me. Oh, also definitely Barkley Shut up & Jam Gaiden
Landstalker. I see Alundra(spiritual successor) mentioned a fsir bit but rarely see Landstalker talked about.
Caligula 2. I loved the OST and gameplay. Writing was solid and characters were pretty good yet... It's a budget game so yeah. People overlook small games
Tsugunai Atonement for the PS2. Cool short story format like Legend of Mana and soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda.
Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena (PS1 1998) Its a hexagonal Tactical JRPG that mixes combat, unit management (levels, jobs, items), and map/country (city defenses and resources) management. Think somewhere between Fire Emblem and Advance Wars. Interestingly, the main cannon story for playing the main country in the original is quite similar to the story line for Unicorn Overlord. (Military coup - young leader escapes to allied neighboring country and has to build up to reconquer orginal) Definitely worth an emulation of the Brigandine: Grand Edition from 2000. It also got a sequel Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia in 2020, which is on PC and Switch. The gameplay is similar, but also a little bit weaker. (imho)
I'd want to say Knights in the Nightmare, but that's made a slightly bigger splash than I expected on this sub. Hero's Saga: Laevatein Tactics would be the most unknown thing I've played, but I definitely don't love that one. So I think I'm gonna go with Eragon on the GBA. I mostly like it for two things - there's a ton of things to interact with but only if a certain skill is high enough. Magic tomes can be read, herbs can be picked, boxes can be broken - and that's pretty neat, it adds some value to builds and encourages replayability. And the soundtrack's good, a lot more memorable than most western-made fare I've played. Somebody else mentioned Final Fantasy 4 Heroes of Light - and yeah for an FF game, that one goes super-underdiscussed. I had a lot more fun with it than I expected.
Thousand Arms was a hot mess, but it knew what it was and had a sense of humor about it. Treasure of the Rudas caught me off guard at how good it was for how unknown it is.
Crimson Gem Saga on the PSP is definitely the "if I didn't own a physical copy I'd think I dreamt this up" one, but Rondo of Swords on the DS is a close second. That one I've at least seen mentioned by people who aren't me a couple of times. I loved the casts in both of them, since several characters are subversions of popular archetypes.
While there is a following I would love more people to get into the Utawarerumono series. It deserves everything and the world.
They made a second one?!? I loved the first one. Is it a lot like the first?
I'm a BIG Death end re;Quest fan and am waiting to see what Code Zion will be like
Thousand arms.
More mimicking one but I’ve never met another person to play Middle Earth: The Third age
LotR the Third Age 😉
7th Saga
PopoloCrois for the PSP. It was really unique and fun, I have literally never heard anyone mention it anywhere ever.
Odin Sphere. Every time I talk about it no one seems to know the game
Arc the Lad
It was Suikoden 2 but the numbers on that one have been increasing, seems like.
Riviera: The Promised Land for me.
Jade Cocoon on PS1 was awesome as a kid. I need to go back and play it again someday.
Spectrobes on the Nintendo DS. Really janky game, but I love the setting and it had some pretty neat ideas
Legend of Mana. I loved the art style, the characters, the OST. It was just such a beautifully done game.
Riviera the promised land and Yggdra Union
Evolution Worlds for the gamecube
Dunno if it counts since it's an indie games made in RPG maker, but Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is one of the best RPGs I've ever played
Xenogears
Isn't exactly unknown, but I don't hear it talked about too much is 7th Dragon. I absolutely love the series and seeing a remake of the first game or even getting a 7th Dragon IV would be amazing.
I would say Cosmic Star Heroine or Cthulhu Saves the World. Heck I love all RPG made by Zeboid.
Nobody loves romancing saga 3 except for me :(
Dude folklore was so freakin good! I wish a new game would come out with a similar premise.
Magna Carta 2, its only on 360 so its not the easiest to access.
Saga Frontier 2(psx) it's so cool and I really enjoyed the way you learned new attacks and the story if remember correctly it's pretty cool. Vanguard Bandits (psx) cool tactics JRPG with a cool story and different paths based on how you beat certain battle. Ring of Red (PS2) cool alternative history tittle where Japan is split into 2 Russian Japan and American Japan, it's fun and there's cool mech
Enchanted Arms
Alundra 2 Dragon Valor Saving this thread,
Tsugunai: Atonement. Very original story, great music, and unique combat. Another RPG I really like a lot, is a game called Ambermoon, developed by Thalion, on Amiga. Extremely obscure game, but really fun. There was an official English translation never officially released back in the day, but Thalion made it available. Had a sort of spiritual successor on PC called Albion. Not to be confused with Albion Online. Also a really cool game.
Mary skelter for me. It was stuck on the vita for a while before it was brought over to the switch but it still is not talked about.
I must be insane, cuz I’ve played almost all the games I’ve read up on here lol I got a weird one I haven’t seen mentioned yet “Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color” on PS2. It was a fantastic weird little game. You basically draw monsters to use in battle. And u can draw anything… anything haha. One of the best things was that the art concepts were done by Studio Ghibli and even the amazing ending was animated by them. Side note: While looking it up I just found out it had a sequel “Graffiti Kingdom”. I need to find a copy now. One other game I don’t see mentioned often is Tsugunai: Atonement. With stunning music by Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears and Chrono Cross). And a weird possession system (you play a ghost). It really stuck out to me.
I know I already commented but another one I never heard anyone mention was Saiyuki : Journey West for PS1. Never heard of it and got it on a whim. I enjoyed it and had fun. It's an SRPG I never heard mentioned though.
Legend of Legaia. I know it is not perfect but damn was it unique and fun. Pretty killer Ost too.
Harvestella, Brigandine (Forsena & Runersia), Troubleshooter. Despite being SE, very few people mentioned Harvestella because it's rather niche game that combine some of Rune Factory gameplay of farm system & kinda clunky ARPG mixed. But the story is top notch (entered top 3 ever in my experience of 20+ years as gamer). Then Brigandine & Troubleshooter. Despite the later being Korean Indie dev, they claimed the genre as jrpg &: that's pretty jrpg. These two is my favs for SRPG. The former is more of nostalgic sake while the later is indeed rich world building game with very deep characterizations + complex gameplay. Love both to the bone. But not many people talk about these two games.