Persona 5 is the greatest role-playing game of all time. At least, that's what readers of Japanese publication Famitsu believe. The magazine recently asked its audience to vote for the 20 best RPGs ever made, and Atlus' latest release came out on top.
Okay, so we can just about live with Persona 5 being number one -- it's an incredible game. However, as we work our way down the list, we find ourselves seriously questioning the order. The selection of titles isn't all that bad overall, but Final Fantasy XV at number ten? Really? Above Final Fantasy VI, VIII, IX, and X? Persona 4 Golden at number 14? The original NieR at number eight? Yikes.
The only Western RPG on the list, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt actually managed to get into the top 20. Sure, it's at the bottom of the pile -- which is unforgivable, by the way -- but at least it's in there.
Here's the full list, complete with the number of votes each game received:
- Persona 5 – 256
- Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation – 218
- Chrono Trigger – 194
- NieR: Automata – 177
- Final Fantasy VII – 169
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – 165
- Suikoden II – 155
- NieR – 151
- Persona 3 -131
- Final Fantasy XV – 110
- Xenoblade Chronicles – 104
- Final Fantasy X – 100
- Xenogears – 91
- Persona 4: Golden – 90
- Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen – 82
- Final Fantasy VI – 81
- EarthBound – 78
- Final Fantasy IX – 75
- Final Fantasy VIII – 74
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 72
What are your thoughts on the list? Are you about to headbutt your screen in anger? Feel free to vent in the comments section below.
[source dualshockers.com]
Comments 61
Persona 5 was brilliant but, in my opinion, The Witcher 3 is a much better RPG. The first Mass Effect would be right up there for me too.
I'm cool with number one. Best game I've ever played
Looks like a solid list all around, but I agree that some of those seem out of place. It might just cultural differences though.
That's actually a very good list. It only has a couple of questionable choices like having FF15 so high.
That list isn't for me. That said I'm not a big Japanese game kinda guy. I would take Witcher and Horizon over any of those games every day.
I'm not surprise since its a Japanese magazine.
Fallout 3 isn't on the list?
Not a single Fire Emblem game either?
Maybe those aren't considered RPGs?
Terrible list.
Barely any diversity. Do Japanese players not play any WRPG's?
The Original Nier shouldn't be there imo, its story may be good but it has dreadful combat.
W3 at 20.....enough said.
What about Fromsoft as well? Do ARPG's not count?
Most of my favs are on that list, the one notable exception for me is Skies of Arcadia - Famitsu gave it 33/40 at release way back in 2000.
Meh. I bet that Push Square readers would come up with a much better list, especially people who played both JRPGs and Western RPGs. Persona 5 belongs there, but in my opinion it's not the number one and definitely not by that wide of a margin (recency bias I guess).
The list is good but the order isn't too good for me, ffx at least deserve in the top 10.
Tbh Persona 5 on the top is incomprehensible for me - it's a good game - currently at the end of the second run to get the platinum - but very formulaic and dated. FFXV should be commended for a lot of stuff but I am not sure I'd place it so high on a list, the first Nier was downright painful for me and FFVIII doesn't belong in any best of anything list. So, Famitsu readers... I strongly disagree!
1 Witcher 3 (PS4)
2 Chrono Trigger (SNES)
3 Mother 3 (GBA)
4 Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
5 Paper Mario 2 (NGC)
Fite me!
Skies of Arcadia is one that definitely should have been on there and dragon quest cursed king
@Kidfried solid list but it seems a bit apple and oranges having a contemporary western game with retro glories of the golden age of JRPGS... I'd Just have two lists for West and East.
Man, people are really butthurt about TW3's placement. The fact that it even made an appearance in this list says something about it, I think, considering how much Japanese people seem to prefer media produced in their own country. Seriously, this is a country where an anime movie recently raked in more money than Star Wars Episode VII!
Anyway, this isn't reflective of what my list would be at this point in time (TW3, Nier: A, and most of those FF games wouldn't even be in it, for one), but it's easier to swallow than that GI list where they ranked Skyrim as the best RPG of all time. Persona 5 wouldn't be my pick for #1, but it's good enough that I can accept it.
The Witcher 3 only placed 20th overall. No Mass Effect 2. Nope sorry not a good list this. I know it's all based on personal preference but I just can't get down with that list. My Top 3 no particular order...
Witcher 3
Final Fantasy XII
Mass Effect 2
What actually shocks me is that there's no Pokemon games on the list whatsoever.
@Ralizah yeah it is amazing W3 even made it on the list...truly spectacular impact.
Peeps, of course Japanese people love Japanese games - maybe the burly male protagonists - also stereotypes - turn them off like JRPGS peeps seem to turn off many western players
Where's my lovely Horizon: Zero Dawn and of course, my most fav Bloodborne?! Still a solid list, I guess.
I'd say for me the list would look like:
1. Earthbound
2. Odin Sphere
3. Nier Automata
4. Persona 5
5. Mass Effect Trilogy
But I have strange tastes lol. I'm sure the Witcher is great and all, but they never ported the first 2 to PS4 and I'm not gonna jump right into 3. Odin Sphere is such an underrated game.
Wouldn't Legend of Zelda (series) and Breath of the Wild qualify as RPG?
@techdude mmm it definitely has some light rpg elements but I'd say sandbox game if I really had to put it in a box. Zelda is almost a genre in itself.
Aw shoot, no SAO? /s
But seriously though, where's Lost Odyssey? Pokemon? Valkyria Chronicles? Shadow Hearts? Horizon? Elder Scrolls? Disgaea? Tales? Suikoden? Valkyria Profile? Wild Arms? Bloodborne? Dark Souls? It just looks as if most of the JRPGs mentioned here are from Atlus and Square enix.
Lol Persona 5 isn't even the best Persona RPG.
@techdude Nah not really. It's more an Action Adventure game with light RPG elements
@techdude No, Zelda games are action-adventure. BotW has some very light RPG elements, but it's still not an RPG.
My list'd have FF9, FF7, Nier A, Skies of Arcadia and Divinity OS on it
eternal sonata.ni no kuni.fallout 3.Dragon dogma.
Japanese magazine, japanese fans...no surprise there! Actually there is a surprise, I would've thougth that they would choose like FF7 for number 1 or something (since everyone can't effin shut up about that game). Anyway, the presence of a western game in the list is already a surprise and a compliment to the game to be honest...
Completely unbiased lol no Fallout, no Skyrim, no Souls games?
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi fallout 3 the best
I love south park stick of truth
@NinjaWaddleDee agreed I love Odin sphere .
The lack of Pokemon and also Kingdom Hearts hints at very specific criteria for these games to make the list. @Bread-Not-Toast is right, at least one should be in there.
@Ralizah
I have some discussions with friends, as one of them considers Zelda an RPG, while another one does not consider main series Pokemon as RPG. The eShop description of Zelda BOTW actually puts all "Action, Adventure, RPG" as categories for Zelda to fit in.
@sinalefa There's no development of your character aside from gaining health and stamina. Stats are all tied to your equipment in BotW (aside from temporary gains granted by elixers). It's not an RPG, even by the loosest standards possible.
Call of Duty is actually more of an RPG than Zelda, if you consider the character progression systems in those games.
Hmmm, it's as if it's a Japanese list in a Japanese magazine. As @Ralizah said, Japan tends to lean towards their own stuff, so it's more surprising Witcher made it at all. With a shoe on the other foot, I doubt many Westerners played Dragon Quest III.
Don't take this list personally, guys.
Even if you were only doing JRPGs this would be a bad list. Famitsu has always gotten it wrong with their one track mind. Anyone find it weird that they have action RPGs but no Strategy RPGs? Not seeing any Fire Emblem, Devil Survivor, Trails, Tales of is very weird
No Star Wars: KOTOR? Mass Effect 2? Tales of Xillia (IMO best in the series)? Bloodborne?
Psycho Mantis?
legend of heroes trial of cold steel
@playstation1995 The story was utterly fantastic, and I thought the characters were as well.
I'm sorry but there is no way that there have been 19 better RPG's than The Witcher 3 and I love JRPG's more than anything. Persona 5 is great but is it the much better than 4? FFXV the second best in the series? I know I'm in the minority but I love VIII and if VI had have been 3D I suspect that may have topped this list or being very close
Hurrah for Suikoden II at seven! Vagrant Story got a perfect score back in the day, surprised the readers didn't sneak that one in.
It's too recent. It reminds me of Q magazine listing the top 100 albums of all time and OK Computer was number one and it had only been out a few weeks. If the poll was taken a couple of years later when the album wasn't as fresh in people's memory, the list would have been different.
It's an RPG list done in Japan. The fact a WRPG made it onto the list should be celebrated instead of getting butthurt over the list not being packed head to toe with WRPG's that wouldn't even make it onto a top 20 WRPG list.
@MadchesterManc Don't think people are getting "butthurt" (think about what that means), fact is the list doesn't make a whole bunch of sense even if it was a JRPG only list. Which it isn't. FF15 the second best FF ever? C'mon.
Then you've got games from a Japanese developer like Bloodborne and Dark Souls missing, too.
@kyleforrester87 I'm surprised a trigger warning wasn't issued alongside this article after reading through the comment section. The list makes perfect sense. Its from a Japanese magazine and the participants were Japanese gamers. What someone in Japan values in their RPG's is going to be different than someone here in the west. As someone that plays primarily JRPG's, can't say I agree with most of the list oddly enough, doesn't mean I'm going to rag on Famitsu for daring to run it. No doubt a reversal would illicit a similar response there if a list was packed with WRPG. Diversity of thought & opinion still exists in 2017 after all. Can't really comment on the FFXV thing myself though, haven't played it & don't really feel the need to. Quite content with FFX/X-2 on PC at the moment.
@MadchesterManc Well speaking from a western perspective there are some anomalies on the list that just don't make sense even when I try to put myself in the mindset of a Japanese gamer. Of course, it doesn't really matter, and I can see why it's happened - people have voted, and more recent releases have gotten the edge because they are fresher in people's minds. That's fine, nobodies hurt. Just makes for a more meaningless result, unfortunately!
Also, based on the list it looks like the Japanese don't care much for western RPGs. I think they should be criticised for that - they are missing out on some excellent games.
Man there's gold missing from that list that HAS to be there.
KOTOR
Mass Effect 2
Shining Force 2
Lost Odyssey
Deus Ex
Baldurs Gate 2
Also Final Fantasy 8 is the wrong way around with 9 as that gives @kyleforrester87 bragging right damn it.
@themcnoisy "Galbadia D-District Prison"
*shudders *
@kyleforrester87 Your right about Japanese gamers not caring much for Western RPG's much, though western games in general are rising in popularity there - just REALLY slowly. Can't say I'm against their attitude though, I'd prefer to play the latest Hyperdimension Neptunia than the latest Mass Effect myself, but then being in the west means both western AAA & Japanese oddities are readily available to play at any time.
The Witcher 3 making it onto the list should be commended though, it would've had to beat some other stellar JRPG's to get there. Maybe it shows they aren't missing out on good western games as much as expected
@MadchesterManc To be fair I generally prefer Japanese games to Western games as well. I wouldn't say they are snubbing games coming from this part of the world, I'm sure there is a lot more to it than that. Still, the impression I get is they are missing out on a few gems!
@playstation1995 The best broken mess there was thats for sure.
Legend of Dragoon, Final Fantasy 7/8/9, Koudelka, Saga Frontier, Parasite Eve, Legend of Legaia, breath of fire 3/4, Dragon Quest and many more just type PS1 RPG's. The Witcher 3 may be great but its nowhere near my top games. A list is bull anyway for me games are way to personal. People should take it easy anyway the Japanese have a differrent taste thank God Otherwise gaming would be so boring.
I like that list. Can't disagree with P5 at #1.
I have my problems with FFXV, but I think it deserves its place. I've grown tired of the hate. I get it it's cool to hate on FFXV.
As for The Witcher 3, I can see why people love the game so much, but honestly it probably wouldn't crack my top 20. That's coming from a guy that put over 350 hours into it.
Glad to see some P3 love
My list would be slightly different but I can acknowledge that people like different things. Persona 5 is amazing and may be one of my favorite JRPGs of all time. But that's my opinion and that's okay.
Inb4, the concept of Japanese RPG is vastly different with Western RPG. Shouldn't put them in the same category...
What? No love for Nino Kuuuuni?
Yurusanai!!!!
No monster hunter?
@grumplesnuffagu That's an action game series with RPG elements, unless you're talking about the Japanese only Frontier MMO or the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories.
Oh man, The Disappointer 3...
I managed to finish the game, but I felt I was playing The Sims more than an RPG. Someone had to put it at the bottom of a list...
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