Best RPG of the decade

[Eusis]

Yeah, his list is some strange thing altogether.

Something to keep in mind with the JRPG slant in the list: I find there's far fewer western RPGs worth playing, though those that are worth playing tend to be amazing so this is less of a bias and more of quality versus quantity in my book, most of the ones that really needed to be there were in the list and those you could argue as undeniably deserving a spot wouldn't take up more than half of the list at most. I can't argue against the slant for the ranking though.

[Aeolus]

Just took a look at the list. Not surprised in the least that the top 5 was entirely comprised of FFs and SMT.

My argument is that the two Kingdom Hearts games should be switched. KH felt like a cross between FF and Disney, whereas KH2 felt like neither but instead missed the point and pretty much did its own thing. Also TWEWY should be higher up, Chrono Cross should be a bit lower, Xenosaga III should be, at least, a bit lower if not a lot, and Lunar 2 WT...oh wait, this used to be Lunar.net, nevermind.

I would argue FFX but its too much the definitive PS2 RPG. Also Suikoden II. Wasn't that released in 2000? Also also, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Is that not RPG enough?

Also, its too bad that nobody played From the Abyss. That game could've easily landed in the hall of shame given how utterly lifeless and uninspired it was.

Anyways, that's my two cents on the matter.

[TurnBasedDude]

I believe Suikoden II is 1999, otherwise it would be easily be in my top 3.

[Robert Boyd]

The original version of Lunar 2 definitely belongs on a list of the greatest RPGs of all time. The music, story, characterization, and cutscenes were all drastically better than the competition when it was released.

The remake doesn't fare as well in comparison, but it's got nostalgia going for it.

[ValendianKnight]

Wow, I know it's all about preference, but the top 20 list(it was OBVIOUSLY JRPG slanted...) was really sad sight indeed... I mean, FF10 in number FIVE?! Wow, I'm not sure we played the same game there, but I'd be hard pressed to find a single thing about that game that was better than titles like Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Chrono Cross, Diablo II or most others up there. I mean, really, it's ahead of KOTOR? At least the MegaTen series got it's due, as pretty much the ONLY JRPG series to be truly above and beyond it's competition. Most FF games are just pretty pictures in comparison.

Sounds like you're slanted to WRPGs! :)

I didn't put FFX in my personal list. However I'd still prefer it above all those games you listed. I really enjoyed it.

Well that's silly to say when I made my top 10 list, 6 of those were JRPGs, so I'm not sure how I can be slanted to anything, especially since my favorite RPG series happens to be SMT. With that aside, you can't deny the top 20 had an obvious JRPG bias. But hey, it's all about opinions here, but to say FFX should be on the list, seems silly since just within the FF series alone, there are better games to be had. For my money, FFX was an generic as they come.

[Tooker]

Also, its too bad that nobody played From the Abyss. That game could've easily landed in the hall of shame given how utterly lifeless and uninspired it was.

Actually...
http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/fromtheabyss/index.html

[TurnBasedDude]

It was a decent timesink and something to mess with during train rides otherwise yeah, it is totally uninspired.

[macirex]

I agreed with most of the titles in the list... but I hoped for some of the wild arms titles on the list.

[Eusis]

Man, I generally like the series but they wouldn't be in my personal top list of any kind of games. Within a single year at best, but a whole decade gives ripe opportunity for several other games to knock them aside.

[macirex]

Well they are at least fun to play... strangely enough I did not see dragon age in the list... It won game of the year on this site...

[Eusis]

I can't speak for them, but it's easily possible that opinions soured in hindsight or that it simply wasn't as memorable as other titles were for them. Come to think of it, were any 2009 games on that list?

[Tooker]

Don't know if it'll make you feel better, but Dragon Age did get votes - it would have been #23, if the list had gone farther.

[Starmongoose]

Let's just make it the Top 200 RPG's of the Decade and make everyone happy. :)

[Rudo]

I can't speak for them, but it's easily possible that opinions soured in hindsight or that it simply wasn't as memorable as other titles were for them. Come to think of it, were any 2009 games on that list?

Yeah, I think Dragon Age and a few other more recent games fell victim to the "nostalgia" factor.  When people make lists of favorites, they often tend to put older games first because they remember those games fondly and there's the "nostalgia" factor that comes into effect.  With Dragon Age being so recent, it's tough to be nostalgic about it hence why it fell short on many people's lists.  A lot of people who enjoyed Dragon Age probably put games like Baldur's Gate II on their list instead, etc.

Never underestimate the power of nostalgia in lists like these.  I know I'm going to get lynched here but Final Fantasy IV has a cult-like status amongst RPG fans and many people consider it one of the best RPG EVER.  Personally, I think that's mostly nostalgia at work here since so many people played that game when they were younger or because it was one of their first RPG, etc.   Personally, I played that game for the first time a few years ago (on GBA) and I thought it was pretty average.  Just a typical cookie-cutter JRPG with nothing special about it.  But again, without the "nostalgia" going for it, all I had to rely upon was what the game offers and compared to other RPGs I've played on 16-bit consoles, I didn't think it was that good.  But I certainly understand that many people who played it back then would have a different opinion of it because they still remember how much fun they had with the game *at the time*.  We always have a special place in our hearts for the first few RPGs we've played in our life.

[Eusis]

I know I'm going to get lynched here but Final Fantasy IV has a cult-like status amongst RPG fans and many people consider it one of the best RPG EVER.  Personally, I think that's mostly nostalgia at work here since so many people played that game when they were younger or because it was one of their first RPG, etc.   Personally, I played that game for the first time a few years ago (on GBA) and I thought it was pretty average.  Just a typical cookie-cutter JRPG with nothing special about it.  But again, without the "nostalgia" going for it, all I had to rely upon was what the game offers and compared to other RPGs I've played on 16-bit consoles, I didn't think it was that good.  But I certainly understand that many people who played it back then would have a different opinion of it because they still remember how much fun they had with the game *at the time*.  We always have a special place in our hearts for the first few RPGs we've played in our life.

Haha, there's an opinion I agree with more now than I would've 10 years ago. It's still a fun, breezy game, but now that I'm older I see how ridiculous it really was and now something like the DQs that came out at the same time period (IV and V) are far more satisfying for me. It's a significant RPG, but it hasn't held up as a GREAT one even if it actually aged fairly well and is more playable than a lot of other RPGs from then.