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Incline Codex Top 55 JRPG List - Results

Gastrick

Cipher
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
#3 is Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

NZwkvQ3.jpg
 

Alex

Arcane
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
8,750
Location
São Paulo - Brasil
? is trully the best jrpg of all time.

Also, poll is invalid since Kingdom of Loathing wasn't considered a jrpg.
KoL was made by Zack "Jick" Johnson, by a company based in Cleveland.
It is such very unclear how it can be described by the j in jrpg.

It has the usual jrpg game play, with turn based combat based on simple attributes, special attacks and items, but without spatial positioning mattering (well, the last challenge run introduced flying pterodactyl that can't be hit without ranged attacks, but that is still a yes/no affair, rather than actual distance).

I mean, you can complain that that the game isn't japanese, but you might as well complain that most jrpgs aren't rpgs in first place.
 

Jaedar

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
9,838
Project: Eternity Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Also, poll is invalid since Kingdom of Loathing wasn't considered a jrpg.
KoL was made by Zack "Jick" Johnson, by a company based in Cleveland.
It is such very unclear how it can be described by the j in jrpg.
Must be some type of inside joke.
I've never known Alex to joke about weird random hills he's willing to die on. It is an admirable quality in may ways, if a bit frustrating.

It has the usual jrpg game play, with turn based combat based on simple attributes, special attacks and items, but without spatial positioning mattering (well, the last challenge run introduced flying pterodactyl that can't be hit without ranged attacks, but that is still a yes/no affair, rather than actual distance).
So the difference between a turn based crpg and jrpg is that positioning doesn't matter?

I am pretty sure KoL doesn't have advanced special attacks, positioning, etc is because it's an early browser game, and early browsers don't lend themselves to display or inputing complex gameplay.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,538
Location
Nottingham
Only 2 spots left for Chrono Trigger :eek: ....


Gotta say, I think it's a really good line up so far. Chrono Trigger finishing top 2 could spoil that though.
 

Alex

Arcane
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
8,750
Location
São Paulo - Brasil
Also, poll is invalid since Kingdom of Loathing wasn't considered a jrpg.
KoL was made by Zack "Jick" Johnson, by a company based in Cleveland.
It is such very unclear how it can be described by the j in jrpg.
Must be some type of inside joke.
I've never known Alex to joke about weird random hills he's willing to die on. It is an admirable quality in may ways, if a bit frustrating.

I am mostly joking. I mean, I think my point is valid, but I know well enough people won't agree with me either way. Whenever I come to the JRPG forums, I get in a bit of weird mood. One of the reasons why I want the ability to ignore forums back, I am always afraid I will end up annoying people more than entertaining them.

It has the usual jrpg game play, with turn based combat based on simple attributes, special attacks and items, but without spatial positioning mattering (well, the last challenge run introduced flying pterodactyl that can't be hit without ranged attacks, but that is still a yes/no affair, rather than actual distance).
So the difference between a turn based crpg and jrpg is that positioning doesn't matter?

Actually, I consider "CRPG" to be a "pseudo-genre". That is, I believe that games should have their classification based on the kind of gameplay they offer, since this is the most important thing about them. Following this thought, JRPGs would be a particular kind of strategy game, with few or even just one unit, without space mattering mostly and being based mostly in gearing up and building your units (with jobs, or materia, or just choosing the ones that get abilities that don't suck at level up and sticking to them). It is a rather artificial genre, but one with plenty of examples, so I think the label isn't useless.

CRPGs aren't classified based on any gameplay though, but rather a more abstract quality of trying (and managing) to emulate table-top games in some way. In this way, I consider Zork, which is an adventure game, a CRPG since the exploration in it is very similar (and I believe, inspired by) how you might go about exploring a dungeon in an old RPG like D&D. In particular, some JRPGs are CRPGs as well (or, if you want to be precise, have a certain merit as CRPGs).

I am pretty sure KoL doesn't have advanced special attacks, positioning, etc is because it's an early browser game, and early browsers don't lend themselves to display or inputing complex gameplay.

Sure, but that doesn't change what it is.
 

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
Only 2 spots left for Chrono Trigger :eek: ....


Gotta say, I think it's a really good line up so far. Chrono Trigger finishing top 2 could spoil that though.
You have a real hard-on for that game
 

Jaedar

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
9,838
Project: Eternity Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Actually, I consider "CRPG" to be a "pseudo-genre".
Genres are a form of categorization, and pretty much all categories are fuzzy, indistinct and poorly defined. I agree it is better to talk about specific subgenres, like diablo clone, blobber, etc. RPGs are admittedly fuzzier than say racing, or fps though.
 

Alex

Arcane
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
8,750
Location
São Paulo - Brasil
Actually, I consider "CRPG" to be a "pseudo-genre".
Genres are a form of categorization, and pretty much all categories are fuzzy, indistinct and poorly defined. I agree it is better to talk about specific subgenres, like diablo clone, blobber, etc. RPGs are admittedly fuzzier than say racing, or fps though.

It depends on what you mean by CRPG. You could define it by gameplay, the same way other genres such as racing, FPS and adventure are defined. While these may encompass many different games, each of these is clear enough that the categorisation should be objective (at least in as far as the kind of gameplay is present or not). FPS for instance, is a kind of action game, but it is not particularly artificial because the specific restrictions (first person view and shooting based gameplay) do define a specific type of challenge for the player. Another approach is the presence or absence of certain mechanics. Having some kind of "level-up" mechanic could be a way to determine CRPGs, although one that is not particularly useful in understanding either the gameplay or what makes games such as Fallout, Planescape: Torment or the Ultima series similar in themselves and interesting in a particular way. Defining CRPGs as a more abstract quality is "fuzzier", but helps with this question, I believe.
 

GhostCow

Balanced Gamer
Patron
Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Messages
3,994
Were any of the Neptunia games on the poll? I think they got left out and I just now realized it. If they were left out that's completely my fault because Gastrick showed me the list before he posted the poll and I didn't think to tell him to add them. Really ashamed of myself right now since I'm probably the biggest Neptunia fan on the codex and Nepgear is literally my waifu.
 

Gastrick

Cipher
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
Were any of the Neptunia games on the poll? I think they got left out and I just now realized it. If they were left out that's completely my fault because Gastrick showed me the list before he posted the poll and I didn't think to tell him to add them. Really ashamed of myself right now since I'm probably the biggest Neptunia fan on the codex and Nepgear is literally my waifu.
I added them after karoliner mentioned Idea Factory, but none of them were able to get enough data to count on the list.

(inaccurate) results:

rirYZSn.png
 

GhostCow

Balanced Gamer
Patron
Joined
Jan 2, 2020
Messages
3,994
Were any of the Neptunia games on the poll? I think they got left out and I just now realized it. If they were left out that's completely my fault because Gastrick showed me the list before he posted the poll and I didn't think to tell him to add them. Really ashamed of myself right now since I'm probably the biggest Neptunia fan on the codex and Nepgear is literally my waifu.
I added them after karoliner mentioned Idea Factory, but none of them were able to get enough data to count on the list.

(inaccurate) results:

rirYZSn.png
Those aren't even the good ones. The good ones are the Re;Birth remakes and VII/VIIR. Man I really fucked up. I thought to tell you to add the shitty Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth games from the SNES but I didn't think of one of my favorite series. I am definitely retarded.
 

Duraframe300

Arcane
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
6,395
Hoping for Final Fantasy IX having finished in the top 2.

(Haven't seen it in the pure list at least)
 

Bigg Boss

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2012
Messages
7,528
Oh yes multiple games in a series like Ys and Fire Emblem that do not deserve those slots while Earthbound (yeah it is simple but also near perfect) is left out. Fuck this poll. Trials of Mana? Persona 5? Bah!
 

mushaden

Scholar
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Messages
334
there’s some good info here, but it is true that missing out on one of earthbound, ff9, and chrono trigger is a travesty
 

Alex

Arcane
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
8,750
Location
São Paulo - Brasil
Why would people like ff9 so much out of all Final Fantasies? I mean, it is far from a bad Final Fantasy (the ones that come after make sure to drive that point home). But it never seemed particularly good either. The skill learning mechanism was a bit boring and much less interesting than something like materia from 7 or the job system from 5. Even 6 at least had a huge variety of interesting special abilities distributed among different characters, some of which were almost a game in themselves to complete.
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
944
I think people like FF9 because of the aesthetics (knights and steampunk, also very colorful). It was often called "a return to oldschool FF" but it was anything but, as it was a railroaded moviegame. FF9's combat is pretty bad and the devs know it, hence why they try to minimize the combat encounters during the first two discs so the game can give off good first impressions. Once you reach disc 3 and you start slogging through dungeon after dungeon and you're constantly exposed to the mediocre combat, the game turns into a chore. The less that is said about the second half of the story, the better.
 

Gastrick

Cipher
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
FF9 is at 3.775 so a tenth of a decimal too low to reach the top 50 list.
 

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