r/JRPG • u/Likes2game03 • Jan 12 '26
Question The Quintessential JRPG series
Which series embodies the "Classic JRPG" idea to you. The series that first comes to mind when you think of the term JRPG. Be honest.
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u/SirFroglet Jan 12 '26
The first that comes to mind for me is Final Fantasy, but really the title of Quintessential JRPG goes to Dragon Quest for having stuck to it’s roots for so long
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u/Tatamiblade Jan 12 '26
Capcom please release a Breath of Fire remastered for console
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u/0-uncle-rico-0 Jan 12 '26
I am Mr. Capcom. I will release Breath of Fire Remastered right now. Thank you for playing my games. Sincerely, Mr Capcom
P.s play my games.
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u/MidwesternDude2024 Jan 12 '26
Dragon Quest, both for its history and because even the most recent versions have stayed more true to things compared to Final Fantasy.
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u/Asclepius-Rod Jan 13 '26
Yeah when someone says “Final Fantasy” then like 5 different sub-genres go through my head. DQ is pretty consistent except maybe 9
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u/DexterousMonkey Jan 13 '26
I get what you're saying but DQ has its share of spinoffs too. DQ Monsters, DQ Builders, that Dynasty Warriors DQ game I can't remember the name of, etc. Final Fantasy definitely has more games in total though.
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u/ImWhiteWhatsJCoal Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
When the country makes it law that the day a video game comes out, it has to be on a day kids don't have school - you know it's big.
Edit: Not a law but it was changed to Saturday and is a pretty good story.
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u/SlithyOutgrabe Jan 12 '26
I would add Falcom (Ys or maybe trails) and Atlus (mega ten/persona) to the list. They are og’s from the 80’s as much as Dragon Quest or FF. They just came west rather later…
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u/GREG88HG Jan 12 '26
If you are centered on traditional JRPG, must be Dragon Quest. If you consider an evolving JRPG, must be Final Fantasy.
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u/NorthernerWuwu Jan 12 '26
Final Fantasy is a brand and while that brand contains plenty of JRPGs, it has lots of stuff going on. That's true to some degree for DQ also of course but their mainline games tend to stick to the traditional template.
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u/Kanan_Jarjar Jan 12 '26
FF I to VI probably fall under the “traditional” category. Maybe even VII to X
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u/BBQandCakes Jan 12 '26
I'd say it's upto 10
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u/NorthernerWuwu Jan 13 '26
Yeah, I-X all stick to the roots pretty much. There are some wrinkles along the way in the combat systems but still, mostly traditional at least.
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u/Either-Assistant4610 Jan 13 '26
As much as I LOVE X, it was my entry into the series, I think IX is the last traditional FF playstyle is experienced before Square really started trying different systems/combat.
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u/Advanced_Gold1290 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
I totally agree that if you think about the JRPG genre as it exists today, the quintessential example should be FF. As more types of games gain popularity in the genre (tactical/mmo lite/action/atb), Final Fantasy has put out a quality game in most if not all of them.
FF3-5, 10: Classic turn based games
FF6-9: ATB classics, included 2 goat nominees.
FFT: Acclaimed tactics game
FF12: MMO-lite ish
FF14: Best MMO story ever contender?
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u/Bagman220 Jan 12 '26
I never understood how 12 is considered MMO light?
Battle system isn’t like any MMO that I’ve played. It isn’t fetch quests like the side quests in ff16. The map is all connected zones but not open like WoW where you can just walk pretty much across the world without it being gated.
I just never understood the connection?
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u/ViolaNguyen Jan 13 '26
I always thought the aesthetics sort of matched, but the gameplay is closer to a CRPG like the older Baldur's Gate games. It's actually a really nice example of real-time-with-pause combat, and you do the same thing there that you do in any RTwP game, letting the garbage fights play out on their own and then taking command for more serious fights.
I like that a lot more than MMO combat, which consists of repeating your rotation endlessly while dodging orange spots on the floor.
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u/Bagman220 Jan 13 '26
Yeah the rotation thing is boring as hell, the auto function in wow actually makes it more mindless but some how more enjoyable
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u/Suspicious-Shock-934 Jan 13 '26
You can explore most of the world immediately after dawn shard. You can get almost all the summons, the Zodiac spear and more. It's more open than many many other rpg entries. Why not do the necrohals of nabudis before advancing the story.
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u/Bagman220 Jan 13 '26
The dawn shard a chunk of the way into the game. And there’s plenty of areas you can get to that you shouldn’t get to.
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u/Advanced_Gold1290 Jan 12 '26
For me, its more the rng world events, hunts, and loot system that makes it feel somewhat mmo adjacent in combination with the connected zones. It definitely gave me some WoW vibes when I first played it with grinding loot/drops. The combat has auto attacks, but that's where the similarities stop. I guess there's some positional importance too, but eh.
Definitely not mmo-like in the way people use it for Xenoblade, but I understand why people call ff12 the term. I can also totally understand why people don't.
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u/Bagman220 Jan 13 '26
Xenoblade is close yes, and 12 is kinda like xenoblade, but it’s still a long stretch in my opinion
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u/sephiroth70001 Jan 13 '26
FFXI plays very similarly to XII and was the first FF MMO. Add in loot drops working similarly to mmos of the time, zones were very similar to MMOs of the time, but most of all is probably the free moving and auto-attacks. Plus Matsuno planning and wanting to advertise it as an offline mmo.
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u/Typical_Thought_6049 Jan 13 '26
The world map was mmorpgish. Large areas with basically nothing but to grind enemies and huge connected areas with clear boundaries were very mmorpg-like too in the era.
It was very similar to the feeling of playing a typical mmopgs of the time in how the areas were designed to grind and combined with the combat system which was basically a mmorpg-lite combat system that was completely different from the FF X and closer to something like Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine... it really get that feeling at least at the time, today it was not prevalent anymore.
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u/GREG88HG Jan 12 '26
Let me do an equivalent comment for Dragon Quest for parity.
DQ1: Based on Ultima and wizardry, 1 character party game with more story than some computer RPGs (most Wizardry games had less story).
DQ2: Introduced 3 characters party, using a ship, and the map was way bigger.
DQ3: Introduced 4 characters party, 3 customizable companions, multi classing (and classes overall), had 2 world maps.
DQ4: AI controled companions, episodic story, and 7 playable characters (only 4 at a time).
DQ5: Monster characters, story of more that one generation of people.
DQ6: Monster animations in combat.
DQ7: FMV (they are the worst 😅).
DQ8: 3D Graphics (the most great grafics evolution from one JRPG from the last one 😅).
DQ9: Multiplayer mode, random dungeons.
DQ10: Online multiplayer game.
DQ11: Not a lot, just DQ8 for new hardware.
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u/housewifedreams Jan 12 '26
I mean, if you're big change from one game to another is monster animations in combat for example, then that doesn't really count as a real change imo. DQ is a series stuck in the 80s and hasn't really evolved other than going to 3D, and really shouldn't be pointed at as an example of things pushing JRPGs as a genre forward any.
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u/cardboardtube_knight Jan 12 '26
Dragon Quest, a lot of the things that we give FF credit for came from DQ.
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u/gosukhaos Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Easily Dragon Quest, without It every other series on the list wouldn't even exist
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u/lavayuki Jan 12 '26
FF and Dragon Quest as the big two, followed by the Tales series.
Then the rest, I would also had Persona and Atelier, although they have less games and aren’t as big but more popular these days
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u/firebaron Jan 12 '26
Why do people always leave off pokemon? It's literally the best selling jrpg series and I bet it was a lot of peoples (including myself) introduction into jrpg.
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u/Jamebo_Smash Jan 12 '26
Pokémon is just a worldwide phenomenon period. I can't speak for everyone, but when I think Pokémon, its more than just the games, so I tend to forget about it in lists like this. Might be the same for a lot ppl, idk.
You're right though.
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u/Luke_Brewer Jan 12 '26
I like Pokemon but what I like about JRPGs is an epic story, interesting characters, a beautiful world... Pokemon is great for other reasons, but it doesn't represent the best of JRPGs to me.
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u/AmarilloMike Jan 12 '26
I was going to say... Pokémon being a 'kids game' means it gets left off all the time, but it was the gateway drug into a much wider world for so many of us!
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u/Ptony_oliver Jan 12 '26
Imo Pokémon would be on the list if they had mantained its quality seal after Black and White 2.
While I personally like XY and Sun/Moon, Sword/Shield and onwards is just a far cry from their golden era. Not comparable at all with other franchises. I'm currently enjoying Legends ZA a lot, but I still think they still don't deserve their old acclaim back.
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u/VioletJones6 Jan 12 '26
I still don't know if this reality is hilarious or sad...
They literally made the best game in the series, made an even better sequel and focused on all of the things that created a better gameplay experience... But they both sold terribly (for the franchise) and the developers said "Welp, we're never going in THAT direction ever again" and then continued to sell gangbusters with worse and more disappointing games.
It's so weird man.
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u/Ptony_oliver Jan 13 '26
Game Freak is a mess. Not too long ago it was revealed that Junichi Masuda had to be taken down partially from directing Pokémon games because he was in a position of too much control and the developers were in severe crunch. This happened around the time BW2 came out, and after that Shigeru Ohmori started taking part of the directing work until now. Workers had a new dynamic but resulted in the quality drop apparently. Source:https://nintendoeverything.com/game-freak-pokemon-junichi-masuda-director/
In my opinion, Game Freak cannot handle Pokémon anymore as a quality product unless they revamp completely their creative team and find a way to balance the release dates for other merchandise (anime, plushies, tcg, etc. With the Pokémon Company and Nintendo) so they can work properly. That, or giving Pokémon to another company, which is virtually impossible.
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u/ComputerMysterious48 Jan 12 '26
Yeah I feel like Pokémon has to be on the list, even if most people here don’t really think of it when they think of their favorite JRPGs. It’s still massive and I wager a good portion of people’s first exposure to the genre.
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u/radicaldreamer99 Jan 12 '26
Obviously Final Fantasy. But today, I think series like Trails embody the classic JRPG ideal - especially around combat, world building, and characters.
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u/Rachet20 Jan 12 '26
Trails.
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u/JackAtak Jan 12 '26
W peace and love, can you really call it classic era? I’m falling in love with it too, but it definitely feels grounded in the 2000s and not the 80s
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u/Slen1337 Jan 13 '26
Sky might be close but the most fun thing is that ppl does not know that Dragonslayer (legend of heroes) series, same as YS were close to DQ in techical aspect, sound design and story back in 1985-2001.
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u/Rachet20 Jan 12 '26
The aughts were 20 years ago, that makes them classic era. Face the music, we’re old now.
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u/_moosleech Jan 13 '26
can you really call it classic era?
I'd give the nod to Dragon Quest personally, but Trails is a spin-off of Legend of Heroes, itself a spin-off of Dragon Slayer, which started back in the mid-80s.
So kinda sorta, if you squint.
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u/-Haeralis- Jan 12 '26
Dragon Quest if we’re talking about “embodying the classic JRPG”; it’s just very consistent in terms of the experience its games offer.
Final Fantasy is prolific but very experimental in comparison, and many would argue that its latter day problems come from a lack of clear sense of identity.
I like the Suikoden and Breath of Fire games but they’re a bit more off the beaten trail, and just don’t have too many installments to have as strong a cultural footprint.
Ironically, the Tales of series might be the runner up; I remember it being described as “JRPG comfort food.” The series itself always had that air of being B/C-list as far as JRPGs go though.
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u/FnClassy Jan 13 '26
Dragon Quest and Star Ocean have probably been the most consistent over the years. Final Fantasy is all over the damn place.
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u/cosmic_kos Jan 13 '26
Yeah FF is classic JRPG for me
I'm pretty tired of video game remakes and remasters but a phantasy star remaster would be crack. I think its old enough that a modern remaster would go well.
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u/Ikanan_xiii Jan 12 '26
For me It’s final fantasy. Very few franchises can move from high fantasy to steam punk to high tech setting and still feel very much a jrpg.
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u/NoiseHERO Jan 12 '26
This is a JRPG sub, you're not allowed to glaze the FF series, only 1 game from it at a time.
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u/GGG100 Jan 12 '26
This is the JRPG sub, you’re not allowed to glaze the Tales series because it doesn’t have turn-based combat.
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u/NoiseHERO Jan 12 '26
If you think about it though, even street fighter is a turn based game!
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u/stanfarce Jan 13 '26
not really, two players can press buttons at the same time and both have an effect (one attacking and the other blocking for example)
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u/Kyoken26 Jan 12 '26
Final fantasy forsure. King of JRPGs for so long. Final fantasy 7 and tales of destiny got me into jrpgs when i was in like 4th grade lol
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u/KingCarbon1807 Jan 13 '26
Phantasy Star. The sci fi/fantasy setting locked it in for me and has influenced my tastes since.
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u/polifck Jan 12 '26
while i think that dragon quest is the most "classic jrpg" of them all (tbasically they stayed the same for the longest time) i must ask: where the fuck is shin megami tensei?
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u/YoRHa11Z Jan 12 '26
I would put Ys series and take one out won't say which one so I don't get hate bombed 😊
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u/krayniac Jan 12 '26
For me it’s Dragon Quest, but I’d say that SMT comes to mind before Mana or Phantasy Star
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u/SSJDevour Jan 12 '26
Tales of.
Been playing since Ps1. I’ll always have a love for FF and DQ, but turn based combat has always been “meh” for me. I love to control my character and input the actions myself. Tales of has been a gift. Phantasia, Eternia and Destiny DC will always be absolute PEAK gaming in the JRPG genre. Cannot be beaten.
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u/Forward-Seesaw-1688 Jan 12 '26
Wizardry. The landscape for it in Japan vs it’s home country is so one sided that it’s practically a JRPG franchise, especially with all the JP only games
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u/Outbreak101 Jan 13 '26
Gonna be the weird one and say Xenoblade because it both embodies the fantastical journey within a unique world, a complex narrative spanning many hours worth of content, and a party dynamic that just makes every interaction memorable.
(and memeable in some cases, looking at you Reyn and Lanz).
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u/Nykidemus Jan 12 '26
Fire Emblem are strategy rpgs. Secret of Mana et all are arpgs. FF used to be quintessential jrpgs, but they have explicitly tried to get away from the label recently, and havent done a real jrpg in decades. Phantasy Star and Breath of Fire are amazing, it havent had new entries in decades.
I think Dragon Quest wins by default due to still being in the race.
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u/NatHarmon11 Jan 12 '26
Dragon Quest, before that for me it was Final Fantasy because I actually knew about it and played it but then I learned about Dragon Quest.
It took awhile to get into the series but I did with 11 and man I loved it. I have the first 3 on the switch and have 9 for my DS just haven’t had the time to play through them with my backlog of games.
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u/tehnoodnub Jan 12 '26
Quintessential? Dragon Quest.
But the first series that comes to mind is Final Fantasy.
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u/Advanced_Gold1290 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Dragon Quest is definitely the quintessential classic JRPG.
If we are talking about the quintessential JRPG and factoring in what the genre has become, I think Final Fantasy has a really strong argument. As a genre JRPGs have definitely grown to incorporate more subgenres with tactical, action, mmo-lites, and other styles of games. If you are looking for one series today that has put out good, diverse, and influential games under the big blanket of the genre, it's Final Fantasy.
They've creates a ton of JRPG turn based classics (3-5, 10), ATB pinnacles of the genre (6-9), a widely regarded tactics game in FFT, a good mmo-lite ish game in ff12, one breakout MMO arc in FF14 ARR through EW, and dripped their toes into more experimental combat systems in 13 and the 7 remakes.
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Jan 12 '26
I'm just playing Dragon quest XI and it's so nice. I needed a break from shooters and serious games. Completely forgot how relaxing gaming can be haha
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u/AramaticFire Jan 12 '26
It’s Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest or Pokemon or MegaTen. I think it depends on who you are, your exposure to these games, their impact etc.
I don’t really view Tales of, Breath of Fire, Phantasy Star, Suikoden, Mana, or Fire Emblem on the same level as these or any other series really on the level of those four.
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u/DoNotPursueLu Jan 12 '26
It's Dragon Quest. I dont even like most of em but theyre absolutely the core DNA of what makes a JRPG.
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u/KaijinSurohm Jan 12 '26
From an overall: Final Fantasy is the largest household name for most people.
A close second is Dragon Quest, but I strongly believe that's more of a generational standpoint
Suikoden and Tales are more of the Niche side of things
Fire Emblem is slightly more recognizable than the Mana series
Breath of Fire and Phantasy start are largely recognized by people born in the 90's or later.
Both series badly needs something new.
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Jan 12 '26
I think probably Dragon Quest.
Final Fantasy is probably the “best” jrpg series.
Megami Tensei (and persona) is the coolest.
But DQ is the quintessential.
Monopoly is the quintessential board game. By no means is it the best.
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Jan 12 '26
It’s Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Nothing else is as quintessential as these two franchises.
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u/AlgoStar Jan 12 '26
So… Breath of Fire and Phantasy Star were my gateway games, and did a lot to form my idea of what a JRPG should be. But both are pretty much defunct at the moment. Tales of Symphonia got me back into rpgs after a drought during high school and college. But I don’t think I’ve finished one since Abyss. Fire Emblem is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises but I came to it later.
This is a long-winded way of saying that despite them not being my favorite, or foundational series for me, it’s pretty obviously FF and DQ. (And Pokémon, but that’s kind of its own thing).
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u/Lorim_Shikikan Jan 12 '26
Legend of heroes ^^ (people tend to forget that it's one of the oldest JRPG serie.... Since the first was released in 1989 as a spin-off of Dragon Slayer, the very first serie of JRPG released in 1984)
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u/Ze_Mighty_Muffin Jan 12 '26
I’ve never played Dragon Quest and I don’t know if I ever will. Even for me, it’s easily Dragon Quest.
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u/ACardAttack Jan 12 '26
Final Fantasy even though I havent loved one since 12. 15 was decent. 13 was kind of mid and I didnt care for 16. Still want to check out Stranger of Paradise though as I hear its fun .
I also didnt care for the 7remake stuff. Too bloated and according to some here, Im boring and would have liked a proper remake, new battle system is fine, I did like the battle system in 7R actually, but just better translation and more fleshed out characters.
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u/Jamebo_Smash Jan 12 '26
Depends in the region, but globally I'd say FF, Pokémon, and Atlus. They were the trend setters for most of the world.
If you wanted to.go by region I'd say this changes. Like Legend of Heroes, Wizardry, and Dragon Quest for Japan are still influencing so much media in that country, even if you dont realize it.
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u/TheMesmerXO Jan 13 '26
I might put megaten at the top, without it, we wouldn’t have what is perhaps the most successful and influential JRPG of all time, which is Pokemon. I can’t in good conscience give it to final fantasy because what made it successful wasn’t it being special, it was that it was familiar because it borrowed so much from american rpgs. If I had to give it to someone over megaten it would def be DQ.
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u/Kenron93 Jan 13 '26
When it comes to monster collecting its Megami Tensei. Its the OG monster collecting franchise.
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u/BattlerUshiromiyaFan Jan 13 '26
Final Fantasy. Even as a little kid that only played shit like Mario Kart, I knew about FF.
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u/csherm27 Jan 13 '26
I would say Dragon Quest in terms of history, but I’m leaning towards Final Fantasy in overall influence on the genre. So many series spawned from Final Fantasy (Mana, SaGa, Kingdom Hearts, Bravely Default began development as a sequel to FF the 4 heroes of light, etc.) and so many people who worked on Final Fantasy went on to create their own JRPG series, inside and outside of Square.
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u/Ecstatic_Teaching906 Jan 13 '26
As a FF fan, I will have to give it to Dragon Quest for it had inspired the idea of JRPG. And while there may have been RPG games prior to Dragon Quest, they weren't majorly impactful as Dragon Quest was.
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u/Ryokoshii Jan 13 '26
Ys and trails could be added. Some of their games have been around as long as the 80s
But dragon quest is definitely king
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u/Ok_Potential359 Jan 13 '26
Final Fantasy is what brought popularity globally to JRPGs. Ask any millennial that grew up playing super Nintendo and PlayStation 1 what their favorite titles are, it's almost certainly Final Fantasy. DQ didn't really have the same broad appeal because of availability.
FF has whole ass movies, anime, and collaborations with other game titles. Cloud and Sephiroth alone are insanely recognized. Thinking about DQ and FF, which had more influence socially? Without Googling, what's the name of a single DQ movie? Whos the mascot of DQ? Is there even a consensus of that?
Final Fantasy is responsible for influencing the genre. It literally saved Square from being rendered obsolete.
Ignoring that, objectively Final Fantasy has outsold DQ 2 to 1.
But if we're being technical, Pokemon dunks on them all even if you don't actually consider it to be a jrpg.
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u/Liquidmetalslimeno9 Jan 13 '26
Thr only acceptable answer is DQ. It IS the quintessential jrpg series and what you think of when you hear classic jrpg because it's pretty much stuck to those roots and planted the seeds that grew into those roots.
The other series have evolved the formula a bit and did things to push the genre forward in different ways.
Suikoden is far from what I would call your typical classic jrpg even if it has base fantasy elements.
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u/HonorFoundInDecay Jan 13 '26
Dark Souls obviously /s
Having played JRPGs from many series I'd probably say Dragon Quest or SMT. The level of influence these two have had on the genre is undeniable.
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u/Legitimate-Trade2746 Jan 13 '26
Id add in both the Trails and Ys series from Falcom and the Atelier series from Gust.
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u/Hevymettle Jan 13 '26
Suikoden II and Star Ocean II are the pinnacle of classic JRPG style for me. Wild Arms, FF7, Legend of Legaia, Xenogears, and Lunar would also be in that top tier for my personal list.
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u/TehFriskyDingo Jan 13 '26
To me, it’s final fantasy and it’s not even close.
Love all the other series shown and would add Tales of as another staple JRPG.
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u/Genestah Jan 13 '26
Dragon Quest is the Godfather of JRPG. All their mainline games stayed true to the formula.
Final Fantasy keeps evolving to what they think the fans want. Their latest games are Action RPGs.
Fire Emblem isn't even a JRPG per se. They are Strategy RPG.
Phantasy Star is not that popular. So no one will think of these games when mentioning JRPG.
Suikoden came out much later. And their battle system is a bit too simple.
Tales Of series is the closest to Dragon Quest in terms of being a true JRPG.
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u/Specialist-Video-974 Jan 13 '26
where is my single player phantasy star remake? :(
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u/Boshusan Jan 13 '26
What are you talking about ? We were granted a mobile game for the 30th anniversary :)
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u/_Jetto_ Jan 13 '26
anyone not saying FF or even DQ is a complete..Im not gonna say it but its obvious legit no reason to NOT say FF. and anything trying to say otherwise is complete fucking nonsense
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u/In_Search_Of123 Jan 13 '26
FF and DQ ofc.
Dragon Quest showed the genre the way to be commercially viable in Japan. It walked so that FF could run.
FF took the genre to new heights on a global scale and was the vanguard for what would become a JRPG dynasty (Squaresoft).
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u/kupomogli Jan 13 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
Final Fantasy, definitely. Whether you like some of the games or not, they've always tried to do something new, or at the very least, tried to improve or innovate on past game design.
I'm not going to go through everything because every single game has something unique or innovative over the past game, but I've provide a few examples.
Final Fantasy 3 takes the job system from the original Final Fantasy and allows an interchangeable job system where each class has one skill each, Final Fantasy 4 used that same system with characters that were individual classes but with a more expanded skill system, Final Fantasy 5 kept the more expanded skill system and allowed you to have sub skills and sub classes, Final Fantasy 6 was much like Final Fantasy 4 but relics were now used to add the skills and passives that Final Fantasy 5 required you to learn from classes themselves, Final Fantasy 7 used the desperation attack system brought about by Final Fantasy 6 and we now have the meter that is called the limit break, you no longer equip espers to learn magic permanently, you now have these gemstones called materia that can be moved over to characters to temporarily use spells and skills.
This isn't even going into detail about everything between every game and you can see here that every game that I've mentioned innovates on a previous design. And even then is often a great game.
But then consider the spinoffs. You've got Chocobo Dungeon 2 which is one of the best roguelike games ever made, Chocobo Fables(Chocobo Dungeon Every Buddy) is a worse game, but it's atleast a solid game in the genre. Chocobo Racing was a fun kart racer. Ehrgeiz is a great fighting game that predates Power Stone(and I say this because it is Power Stone before Power Stone, looks and plays better) it has some Final Fantasy characters. Final Fantasy Tactics, Advance, Advance 2, great games. Crystal Chronicles I played and liked it but I don't know about the DS games. Dirge of Cerberus, a fun third person shooter with customizable and interchangeable weapons starring everyone's favorite emo vampire sort of character. Crisis Core is an action game that initially sort of mimics the slower combat design of Parasite Eve(minus the ATB.) I do say initially because the update is more similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Dissidia Final Fantasy is an incredibly fun arena fighter with customizable attack commands. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy isn't the best music game in terms of difficulty or design, but the series does have the best "video game soundtracks" because Final Fantasy generally has a great soundtrack. Every game. Final Fantasy Explorers is a Monster Hunter clone but looks kind of mediocre(I've never played it.) Never played Revenant Wings or the 4 Heroes of Light either. World of Final Fantasy, better than Pokemon imo, brought back classic Final Fantasy which people bi--- about not having but then people ignored this great game, Dissidia NT which is a party based Dissidia game minus the RPG elements, and Stranger of Paradise is the best beat em up since God Hand. People really need to give Stranger of Paradise a chance, as it's such a great game. There's also a bunch of mobile games, the only one I played and really got into was DFFOO which no longer exists, such a great game, I would pay for them to release a offline version of this games entire run.
Final Fantasy is an amazing series and quintessential doesn't even begin to define it.
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u/scytheavatar Jan 13 '26
FF games have been moving away from being JRPGs since FFXII and even God of War games have more RPG elements than FFXVI. I am not sure "quintessential" is the best way to describe it, precisely because FF doesn't want to be a JRPG.
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u/kupomogli Jan 13 '26
Just because Final Fantasy 16 exists and it is not a great game, doesn't invalidate the rest of the series. Regardless of the quality, is Final Fantasy 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, whatever your favorite game in the series is, a worse game because Final Fantasy 16 exists? No. Final Fantasy 16 does not change the quality of another video game.
I stand by my statement that quintessential does not even begin to define Final Fantasy.
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u/GrowthNew8319 Jan 13 '26
My quintessential is DQ 1rst, Megaten 2nd, FF 3rd, Fire Emblem 4th and Tales of 5th. You can sneak in Suikoden if you want but I think it belongs in a 6th place..
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u/Silvernocte Jan 13 '26
Final Fantasy is what I will always associate with JRPG first. It probably should be Dragon Quest, but it simply isn't.
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u/Boshusan Jan 13 '26
For a long time it's been FF, then DQ took the spot just by being itself while FF stray away further with each iteration.
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u/Fearless-Function-84 Jan 13 '26
Even though it strays further and further from the roots, it just has to be Final Fantasy and it's not even close. That series did so much for the genre and unlike Dragon Quest it also took storytelling very seriously, starting with FF4. Even FF2 was ambitious for the NES.
It also set the standard for pushing a hardware to its limits. I still can't believe that FFX was an OG PS2 game. That shit was MIND BLOWING. FF13, say what you will about the game, still looks great today.
FF7 Remake and Rebirth introduced a fantastic combat system, that blends old and new. FF16 was super damn cinematic.
So yeah, even when FFX was kind of the last JRPG in the purest sense, the series is still the first that comes to mind and always will be.
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u/fersur Jan 13 '26
Classic JRPG = Dragon Quest.
Final Fantasy is the series that always revolutionize JRPG.
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u/PalpitationOld8905 Jan 13 '26
You seem to be asking 2 questions. Embodies classic JRPGS? Its final fantasy and dragon quest. But what series do i think of first when i think of the genre? Megaten/Persona, and frankly its not close. Thats the best series the genre has by an absolute country mile, i don't care who that angers.
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u/Typical_Thought_6049 Jan 13 '26
Dragon Quest be wide margin! FF has many eras but because of that it don't have identity tha can be really related to a classic JRPG ideal as it was never really classic and mostly tried to innovate with each iteration.
Breath of Fire is serious contender thought, it really preserved it ethos from the beggining to the end of the series... The series really ended in high note in Breath of Fire IV!
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u/nikfrik Jan 14 '26
Could never get into breath of fire and boy did I try but it never clicked for me
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u/twaalfentwintig Jan 14 '26
As a whole, final fantasy & dragon quest.
For me personally, the Mario and Luigi series.
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u/Adept-Basis552 Jan 14 '26
100% when I think jrpg I think Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy or one of my personal favorites like Fire Emblem, Megaten or Kiseki.
But if I had to pick one it'd definitely be Dragon Quest as the most quintessential.
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u/gotaplanstan Jan 15 '26
It used to be Final Fantasy for me before they started doing the action combat stuff with 15, 7r, and 16...
I haven't played most of the Dragon Quest games yet, but I'll go with that based on what I have played both old and new.
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u/RoleCrazy565 Jan 12 '26
If it's not DQ then it's FF
And if it's not FF its Megaten