Breakfast with Girls

So I picked up a PSone about a week ago (for $49.95 I couldn't resist), and now that I've finished Skies of Arcadia for my Dreamcast (60+ hours!) I've decided to move to some great PlayStation RPGs (enough to last me the rest of my natural life, I'm sure).

I've already picked up but have yet to really play (both were $14.95 Greatest Hits label):

Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy VII

What RPGs should I pick up from this list?

Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy Chronicles
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Chronicles
Grandia
Vagrant Story
Chrono Cross
Dragon Warrior VII
Arc the Lad Collection
Legend of Mana

If you've played them, how long did it take you to complete them, and were they fun? Also, what are good places to get ahold of these games, besides eBay?

young

is castlevania an rpg?

i have all the ones you listed but i've finished 3 of them... they take too long!!! ah, well, i'll just have to keep at it

i would add xenogears (even though the 2nd half plays more like a movie than an rpg).

i loved FF7. i really liked Chrono Cross, Xenogears.

Breakfast with Girls

Chronicles isn't, but I would say Symphony is close enough. I just included Chronicles up there to get some opinions on that, as it's one of the few non-RPG games for the PS that I'm interested in (I've got my Dreamcast for non-RPG games).

Jadakiss

You must get Final Fantasy Chronicles, Chrono Cross and Xenogears. You'd be missing out if you didn't have those three.

SiberianLlama

Get Xenogears. One of the best rpg's I've ever played. The story is unbelievable!

Kellehair

Vagrant Story and Grandia stand head and shoulders above the rest. It took me 57 hours to beat Grandia and probably 20+ to beat Vagrant Story. I haven't played DW7 yet but I'd be willing to bet that's good too.

Here's a piece of advice: Don't get Xenogears, Chrono Cross, or FF8. These games are just plain bad. Don't let anyone tell you different.

Here's another piece if advice: DW7 and Lunar: SSSC can be found at www.EBgames.com for $30 and $20 respectively. You might want to check that site for some other good deals too.

dom56

I definetly recommend you get Final Fantasy IX. Graphics are topnotch, great story, outstanding characters (you well loved Vivi the little black mage ), it got one of the coolest villian in any rgp that I've played (Kuja is one badass), and last but not least the FMV are downright fantastic!! The ending well take your breath away.

Tigger

FF7
FF9
Xenogears
Lunar: Silver Star Story
Vagrant Story
Chrono Cross
Dragon Warrior VII

and

Tales of Destiny

Breakfast with Girls

I'm taking everything into consideration... I've heard real hot and cold with Xenogears. Chrono Cross seemed okay when I was watching it, but LONG. FF8 is some people's favorite Final Fantasy, but I've heard more people hating it.

I loved Grandia II (clocked in at around 40-45 hours), so if the original was anything like that, I'm willing to bet I'd love it.

I also don't need all my RPGs to top in at 80 hours, so a 20 hour RPG (Vagrant Story) is kind of refreshing.

I think FF Anthology and Chronicles are definite buys at this point. Lunar SSS is probably also one. I've already beat Castlevania: SOTN with a friend, hunting down (nearly) every item in the game without a FAQ, so I'm not sure it'd be worth playing that again.

Heard only good things about FFIX.

Tigger: What is Tales of Destiny about? I've never heard of it.

Outlaw

That is an impressive list, I'd say get them all because they're all that good! But thats probably not what you want to hear. I've played all of them except Grandia 1.

My absolute favorite RPG from the PSX is Chrono Cross, it does a magnificent job of weaving in the story from Chrono Trigger and takes it much further (also fills in a lot of holes from the first), plus the music is excellent by Yasanori Mitsuda, 40 characters to get each with their own unique dialect, took me about 50+ hours I think.

Xenogears is another awesome one, been awhile since I've played it. Awesome story and music, and mechs! About 60 hours I think.

FFIX is another solid one, cute characters and music, 4 people in battle simultaneously is nice. I liked it much much better than VIII. Its worth playing as its the last "old style" FF game...sorta.

Vagrant Story is really awesome, character designs and music by some of the same people who worked on Final Fantasy Tactics. Unique battle system, and wickidly awesome characters (trust me on this one)!

Now for your old school tastes:

DW7 is very good, its very old school especially graphic wise, but its around 100 plus hours, I've put my quest on hold for awhile, but its also pretty good if you've got "lots" of time to play it.

Shorter games that are also good are the FF Anthology (FFV and VI I think) and Chronicles (Chrono Trigger and FFIV). The conversion to PSX isn't perfect though, there are slight load times for menus and battles but still good games.

Both Lunar games are also good, not too long about 25 to 30 hours I think. Just be sure to turn off battle voices.

Hope these opinions help you, one things certain, you can kiss your social life goodbye.

Breakfast with Girls

Thanks for the detail you put into your post. I'm still wary about Xenogears, though (I'm not a huge mech fan).

Ye gods, 100 hours? I'll have to pass on that one...

Keep in mind that all of these will keep me occupied for years (hence my "enough to last me the rest of my natural life, I'm sure" comment in the original post). I am in general pretty slow with RPGs.

darkside

Chrono Cross was the best RPG the year it came out, even besting FFIX on most critics list. Your advice is not very good in that respect. As a matter of fact neither of the three games is just plain bad.

Xenogears is not for everyone, but if you like a Mech type RPG it is very good. FFVIII was one I did not like either, but there are some that found it fun to play.

For the money Final Fantasy Chronicles with Chrono Trigger and FF IV is a great value. I would also highly recommend FF IX, Chrono Cross, and if you can find a good price both of the Lunar Games.

Oh, if you end up liking Final Fantasy Tactics then try to find Orge Battle and Tactics Ogre for the Playstation. They are both excellent strategy RPGs but are very hard to find. Avoid the very mediocre Vanguard Bandits. That was one strategy RPG that Working Designs should have left in Japan.

Deftones

Grandia
Xenogears
FF7
FF Chronicles
FF Anthology

Kellehair

CC is a good game in a lot of ways. Overall, it's just not that great though. I know there's a lot of people that agree with. I'm also aware there's a lot of people who think I'm crazy. BTW, when did FF9 become the standard to which all other games are measured? I thought that game was OK at best. And another thing, you can't go just by reviews. FF8 got great reviews across the board but most people will tell you it sucked.

It's true that they're...quality...games. They're just not good where it counts, like in the fun department.

Deftones

Ooooh, I forgot Chrono Cross as well.

Absolute Zero

What about Front Mission 3? It is very similar to Final Fantasy Tactics with the exception that you use Wanzers (Mechs) and there isn't any magic. It has two story paths so there is some replay value.

Deftones

What about Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle? Those were good too, but good luck finding them.

darkside

Chrono Cross and FFIX both came out the same year and were both considered by most gaming sites (and a lot of gamers) the two best RPGs of the year. I was comparing Chrono Cross against FFIX because they came out the same year. I was not trying to imply FF IX was the best RPG of all time.

Mezzanine

I had never played a "mech game" but I still loved Xenogears. Having two types of battles (on foot and in the robots) gave the battles more variety. Xenogears does have a few dull parts, but the rest of the game more than makes up for them. It's my favorite PlayStation game overall.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night may not be an RPG, but it's also a great game. (It's my second favorite PS game). Final Fantasy Anthology is also excellent, especially if you don't already own FF3 on SNES.

Lethal Nemesis

Both Lunar games are great, though I do like the first one more. FF Anthology and FF Chronicles are must-plays also.

dgmayor

I never played the sequel, but I loved the first Wild Arms.

DARTH GAMER

How could none of you mention THE LEGEND OF DRAGOON!!!!! This game ranks right up there with the Final Fantasy series IMO. One of the only RPG's that took me 60+ hrs to complete and I was still sad when it ended and longed for more. The charactors were some of the deepest I've seen in a while and the story line to go with it. It is also one of the GREATEST HITS so I think it is only 19.99$ Get this game or Your life will not be complete!!!!

Just thought I'd say that

DARTH GAMER