Definitive List of PSX RPG's (Help)

[Daria]

I'm towards the end of reaching my goal of having all the RPGs released in english for the Playstation. I just lack a definate checklist of games to buy. I'd like to have Suikoden 2 be my last game so I want to figure this out once and for all.

I figure all RPGs can basically be broken up into three subgenres: tradtional, action, and tactical. Which kinda leaves me baffled about what to do with the monster raising anime/pokemon/cardbattler type games. So first question I ask to those who've played them: Are they RPGs?

Besides that I just ask that you look over the lists I've come up with and let me know if anything's missing. Wasn't all that long ago I discovered the King's Field clone "Shadow Tower" so it's not impossible that I've missed something.

Also I doubt it but if there were any games released in Europe but not the US, I'd like to know.

-------------------------------

Don't have:
Alundra 2
Chocobo's Dungeon 2
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
King's Field
Ogre Battle
Shadow Tower
Suikoden 2
Threads of Fate
Digimon World
Digimon World 2
Digimon World 3
Vanguard Bandits

Have:
Alundra
Arc the Lad Collection
Azure Dreams
Battle Hunter
Beyond the Beyond
Brave Fencer Musashi
Breath of Fire III
Breath of Fire IV
Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena
Chrono Cross
DarkStone
Dragon Valor
Dragon Warrior VII
Eternal Eyes
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy Chronicles
Final Fantasy Origins
Final Fantasy Tactics
Front Mission 3
Grandia
Granstream Saga, The
Guardian's Crusade
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth
Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu
Kartia: The Word of Fate
King's Field II
Koudelka
Legend of Dragoon, The
Legend of Legaia
Legend of Mana
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve 2
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Revelations: Persona
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
RPG Maker
SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier 2
Saiyuki Journey West
Shadow Madness
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Suikoden
Tactics Ogre
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Destiny 2
Thousand Arms
Torneko: The Last Hope
Vagrant Story
Valkyrie Profile
Vandal Hearts
Vandal Hearts II
Wild Arms
Wild Arms 2
Xenogears

Spinoffs:
Chocobo Racing
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Digimon Digital Card Battle
Digimon Rumble Arena
<strike>AD&D: Iron Blood (?)</strike>
<strike>Warhammer: Dark Omen (?)</strike>
<strike>Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (?)</strike>

Questionable:
<strike>Diablo</strike>
<strike>Monster Rancher</strike>
<strike>Monster Rancher 2</strike>
<strike>Beyblade</strike>
Yu-gi-oh

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I don't think AD&D: Iron Blood sould be part of your spinoff list seeing as there isn't any dungeon and dragon RPGs for the PlayStation.

That being said. How about adding Grandia? Or are you only lloking for PS exclusives?

[Daria]

Ooh... nice proof read. I actually own Grandia... just must have over looked it.

And yeah I'm torn over the Warhammer and AD&D games as Spinoffs. I mean they're based on real Pen and Paper RPGs, but I was wondering whether I should stick to Console Spinoffs such as Chocobo Racing. I guess in the end I'd like to have at least the two Warhammer titles even though they're RTSs just because I do actually play Warhammer on occasion.

[SoulBlazer]

I think it's questionable, but what about Mega Man Legends 1 and 2?

[Daria]

I think it's questionable, but what about Mega Man Legends 1 and 2?

What about them? Keep in mind I probably haven't played your suggesions so I need to know what makes them an RPG in your opinion.

Do the Legend games play like the RPG Battle Network titles, or are they more akin to the platformers with added RPG elements (ala the new Castlevanias)?

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I think it's questionable, but what about Mega Man Legends 1 and 2?

What about them? Keep in mind I probably haven't played your suggesions so I need to know what makes them an RPG in your opinion.

Do the Legend games play like the RPG Battle Network titles, or are they more akin to the platformers with added RPG elements (ala the new Castlevanias)?


I was thinking about mentioning them too, but I don't think it'd be that big deal if you over looked them. They do sort of play out like an action RPG with the use of menus and all. Though alot of 3D action games did during that timeline did.

However.. Now that Megaman has been brought up. Maybe you sould look into the Misadventures of Tron Bonne. I believe it's a strategy game.

[Aussie2B]

I think it would be a HUGE stretch to include Mega Man Legends. It's already a stretch to include games like Harvest Moon, I think. o_O You gotta make a cut off somewhere or you'll end up getting into "Well, you do PLAY a ROLE in Super Mario Bros." :P

Anyway, I don't have much of anything to contribute since I don't notice any omissions (but I am sleepy and lazy, so don't take my word on it :P ), but I just wanted to say congratulations for getting so close to your goal. I'm aiming for the same thing, but I'm not half as close. Luckily, I already have most of the rare, valuable, and/or highest quality RPGs. I just need some expendable funds so I can get back to collecting (not to mention some time to play all these damn games :P ).

[esquire]

You forgot one of my all-time favorites: Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. Another one you missed is Darkstone, a Diablo clone of sorts. http://psx.ign.com/articles/163/163672p1.html.

[slip81]

I'm pretty sure Broken Sword, and Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror are RPGs

EDIT: There's also Dark Stone, Crusaders of Might & Magic, since you are including strategy you might consider Civilization 2

[Cirrus]

I agree with Blood Omen, if you are putting Diablo on there. Way more RPG elements there.

And about all of your questionable ones: I think it's safe to say that they are not RPGs. Yes, they are Japanese and very tedious, but that doesn't make it an RPG. :P

These are ultra collecting games that do (at least in Yu-Gi-Ohs case) put you through some sort of miserable story, but are basically an adaptation of a card game, plain and simple. I wouldn't put a poker game on the list, especially not a children's version.

Sorry to YuGiOh fans, but the only role you are playing is "card collector." Don't feel bad if you don't have the space or money to waste on those.

But whatever, that's just one vote for "no." :)

[The_EniGma]

Aren't the warhammers RTS games?

I think legened of legaia would go well on that list along with ff7, ff7 is ok but not great.

[CasualCoreGamer]

Wow. That collection of yours is hella impressive. Makes my collection of 30 feel small. It's (almost ;) ) discouraging to know I have 30 + more to go. I've never seen a truly definitive list myself and it's because of the grey area titles. Some say Castlevania SOTN qualifies because of RPG elements, though I disagree. One of my idiosynchracies also dictates that the list be Japanese developer only - no PC/P&P RPG ports, but that's just me. It just gives me a clearer goal to shoot for. Good luck.

[Aussie2B]

One of my idiosynchracies also dictates that the list be Japanese developer only - no PC/P&P RPG ports, but that's just me. It just gives me a clearer goal to shoot for.

That's a pretty good way to draw the line. Once you start including stuff like Diablo, it opens the gates to just about any adventure game with slight RPG elements (like Blood Omen and Castlevania).

I'd personally slim it down even further, taking out Zelda-style adventure games like Alundra (but I'm still collecting those anyway 'cause they're fun :) ). My main goal is to get all the Japanese traditional RPGs, non-traditional RPGs (like real-time stuff such as Star Ocean and oddities like Valkyrie Profile), and strategy RPGs.

[Daria]

Aren't the warhammers RTS games?


Yes they are. But Warhammer it's self is the board game equivilent of any strategy RPG, especially when you start to get into the RPG campaign add-ons like "Warhammer Quest". But I dunno if I'm sold on getting the PSX versions or not. Most likely not. I didn't enjoy playing them so I guess that's the real descion maker. No use buying a game you're not sure you even want if you didn't even like it.

I also own Darkstone, but like Grandia I seem to have overlooked it.

I'd care not to shoot for Japanese RPGs only because well I like PC RPGs too. When you get into the newer consoles that means I can't count nearly all my XboX rpgs. And when looking at the PSX it axes Shadow Madness, a Japanese style American made game, and then you lose all it's fascinating ties to the Final Fantasy series... and.. and... heh. Just don't want to do that. Afterall Americans did invent the genre, even if the Japanese have embraced it.

I also own Broken Sword, but it's an adventure point and click title, not an RPG.

And I guess you guys have a point about Diablo, guess I really don't need that one.

[Trebuken]

I've got a similar PS1 RPG collection. The only one that I would add to your list, other than those already mentioned, is Monsterseed. Haven't actually played it but it has come up on some of the RPG lists I have seen. Also rpgclassics.com lists Silhouette Mirage as an RPG.
I stopped trying to guess at what genre many of these titles were as my collection got larger, and just started collected all the marginal titles as well...

Trebuken

[Daria]

Ooooh... never even heard of Monsterseed.

*rushes off to look it up*

[Crush Crawfish]

I've got a similar PS1 RPG collection. The only one that I would add to your list, other than those already mentioned, is Monsterseed. Haven't actually played it but it has come up on some of the RPG lists I have seen. Also rpgclassics.com lists Silhouette Mirage as an RPG.
I stopped trying to guess at what genre many of these titles were as my collection got larger, and just started collected all the marginal titles as well...

Trebuken

Silhouette mirage definitely isn't an RPG; It's a 2D side-scroller. Also, You forgot Dragonseeds, which might be related to that Monsterseed game that was just mentioned. Oh, and the Digimon games are definitely RPG's. They're also quite good, beleive it or not! :)

[Daria]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8190891262&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Welp monster seed's out of the way. 8-)

*looks up Dragonseeds next*

Ok looks like Dragonseed really shouldn't be included unless I also include the Monster Rancher games as well.

Do either games have any sort of town roaming/dungeon exploration elements? Or is it all fight/breed/fight/breed/rinse/repeat type gameplay?

Monster Seed at least appears to have that RPG type filler inbetween fighting and breeding. That and I'll buy just about any disc based game complete for $10.

[Daria]

DOUBLE POST

Okay I looked up Digimon and it's actually pretty cool. Digimon World is another breeding Monste Rancher type of game. Digimon World 2 starts leaning towards a monster raising RPG hybrid and Digimon World 3 is flat out RPG only.

So looks like I might as well buy all 3.

And then there's the spinoffs, Digimon Digital Card Battle, and Digimon Rumble Arena. Which if I'm going to have Ehrgeiz and Chocobo Racing I might as well get.

[gepeto]

Hi about 4+ years ago the official playstation magazine had a write up on all psx rpgs if I recall they wrote a little something on 78 games. That magazine would be the one to get. That is what started me on my psx rpg collection.

You can orded back issues of it I just cant remember the month and year. I do remember the on the cover was the main character of virtual fighter 4 the was looking upward.
I wore that magazine out. when I find out the issue # I am going to order another one just for my collection. I have it somewhere around here I will keep looking. Trust me worth every penny.

Good Luck

[Daria]

Thanks Gepeto. I have a friend whoes shipping me all his old Playstation Magazines, but he said they were a lot of the later PSX, early PS2 era ones, so probably won't have the issue you suggested. After I double check though I'll have to ask around. Sounds like something I'd like to read.

Also checked out the Monster Rancher games, definately not RPGs. Way too many static menus, it's not until Monster Rancher 4 for the PS2 that the series starts to incorperate any free roaming exploration what-so-ever. So sounds like Monster Seed is out as well.

[Cirrus]

From some website:

"The US version of OPM hasn't been around quite as long as the UK edition, but it is a solid source for information on anything produced for Sony's gaming platforms.

Like the UK version, it also includes a disc full of demos, previews, and videos each month. These discs are listed seperately, in the Playstation and Playstation 2 software sections.

Back issues can be ordered by writing to:

Back Issues
P.O. Box 3338
Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338
USA

It's kind of a slow process, but you can request a list of available issues first, and they will send you a price guide and let you know if what you are after is still in stock. I've had success with most issues up to 5 or 6 years of age.

Of course, eBay is also an option. The US version of OPM hasn't been around quite as long as the UK edition, but it is a solid source for information on anything produced for Sony's gaming platforms.

Like the UK version, it also includes a disc full of demos, previews, and videos each month. These discs are listed seperately, in the Playstation and Playstation 2 software sections.

Back issues can be ordered by writing to:

Back Issues
P.O. Box 3338
Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338
USA

It's kind of a slow process, but you can request a list of available issues first, and they will send you a price guide and let you know if what you are after is still in stock. I've had success with most issues up to 5 or 6 years of age.

Of course, eBay is also an option.
The US version of OPM hasn't been around quite as long as the UK edition, but it is a solid source for information on anything produced for Sony's gaming platforms.

Like the UK version, it also includes a disc full of demos, previews, and videos each month. These discs are listed seperately, in the Playstation and Playstation 2 software sections.

Back issues can be ordered by writing to:

Back Issues
P.O. Box 3338
Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338
USA

It's kind of a slow process, but you can request a list of available issues first, and they will send you a price guide and let you know if what you are after is still in stock. I've had success with most issues up to 5 or 6 years of age.

Of course, eBay is also an option."



Sounds like a good plan.

(five minutes later): http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48750&item=6943740286&rd=1

I found it! April 2002, Virtual Fighter 4 is on the cover. Enjoy!

edit: that auction has ended, but it had the info. so, you won't have to wait for a list in the mail. i can't seem to find any way to order back issues online. okay, i'll shut up.

[Mark III]

For strategy RPG's there was also Master of Monsters, and Nectaris. Master of Monsters is not as good as its Genesis predecessor, but Nectaris is a worthy sequal to Military Madness.

[Spartacus]

You might consider Shadow Tower. There's some info on it here....
http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/198605.asp?q=Shadow%20Tower

[gepeto]

Great job cirrus

I did some detective work. The guy on the cover is akira yuki from virtual fighter 4. He is on the cover of the game. The thing that caught my eye is on the cover it said 78 psone rpgs reviewed. ( Don't quote me) I believe the rpg issue # is 55. This months current issue is 92 I subtracted 37 issues (representing the months)and came up with 55 I found the opm disk 55 and it had a virtual fighter 4 video on startup of vault. I am definately going to order 1 or 2 back issues on monday.

Jesus marumba!!!! I just realized something that issue must have been the first changeover to dvd because I found disk 54 and it's a psone black disk with sheep raider and twisted metal small brawl demos

[FlufflePuff]

I have that issue right here with me, if you want I can list every RPG they have it including the categories. It's got to be my favorite free magazine ever. Got it for some registration card I sent it. Great article on the RPGs. I have most of them too. Missing the crappy monster raising ones and Kings Field. Ohh...and shadow Tower.

[Daria]

I have that issue right here with me, if you want I can list every RPG they have it including the categories.

If you could that would rock. Although a large quality scan would be better.

[gepeto]

Another great thing about the issue 55 opm demo disk is that it had the GTA3 commercial with the opera singer and also had a playable demo of the cult classic Gitaroo Man

[FlufflePuff]

I don't have a scanner currently or I would scan it, but I'll list them all here. Also included are the category listings they gave each RPG and the rating (out of 5).

15 Must-Play RPGs:

Chrono Chross *****
Dragon Warrior VII ****1/2
Final Fantasy VII *****
Fintal Fantasy VIII *****
Final Fantasy IX *****
Final Fantasy Tactics ****
Front Mission 3 ****1/2
Grandia ****1/2
Legend of Dragoon ****1/2
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete ****1/2
Star Ocean: Second Story ****1/2
Suikoden - Not Rated
Vagrant Story ***1/2
Valkyrie Profile ****
Xenogears ****

Breeding RPGs:

Digimon World 2 **
Dragonseeds **
Jade Cocoon ***1/2
Monster Seed - Not Rated
Monster Rancher - Not Rated
Monster Rancher 2 ****

Something Different:

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature ***1/2
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure ***
Tail of the Sun - Not Rated
Thousand Arms ****

On Its Own:

RPG Maker ****1/2

Retro Redux:

Final Fantasy Anthology ****1/2
Final Fantasy Chronicles ****
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete ****
Ogre Battle Limited Edition - Not Rated
Tactics Ogre ***1/2

Strategy RPGs:

Arc the Lad Collection ****
Brigandine ***1/2
Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth **1/2
Kartia ****
Master of Monsters - Not Rated
Saiyuki: Journey West ***1/2
Vandal Hearts - Not Rated
Vandal Hearts 2 ***1/2
Vanguard Bandits **1/2

Action RPGs:

Alundra ****1/2
Alundra 2 ***
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - Not Rated
Brave Fencer Musashi ****
Chocobo's Dungeon 2 **1/2
Darkstone ***1/2
Diablo ****
Dragon Valor ***
Parasite Eve 2 ****1/2
Monkey Hero **
Threads of Fate ***1/2
Torneko: The Last Hope **

Traditional RPGs:

Azure Dreams ***
Breath of Fire III ***1/2
Breath of fire IV ***1/2
Granstream Saga ***
Guardian's Crusade ***
King's Field - Not Rated
King's Field 2 - Not Rated
Koudelka ***
Legend of Legaia ****
Legend of Mana **1/2
Parasite Eve ****
Persona - Not Rated
Persona 2 ****
Saga Frontier ***1/2
Saga Frontier 2 ***1/2
Shadow Madness **1/2
Suikoden II ****
Tales of Destiny ****
Tales of Destiny 2 ***1/2
Wild Arms - Not Rated
Wild Arms 2 ***1/2

5 Worst RPGs:

Battler Hunter *1/2
Beyond the Beyond - Not Rated
Digimon World *1/2
Eternal Eyes *1/2
Shadow Tower 1/2

[Daria]

Well that helped, never heard of Monkey Hero.

[SoulBlazer]

Heh, I like that 'top 15 list' -- replace DW 7 and Vagrant Story with Suikoden 2 and Luanr 2 and you have my personal 'best 15 RPG's of the PlayStation' right there. :D

Good luck with completing the collection, Daria.

[Spartacus]

Well that helped, never heard of Monkey Hero.

LOL Looking at some screen shots I'd never guess Monkey Hero was an RPG. I remember picking this up for a couple of bucks at a flea market not too long ago. I was warned by the seller that the game would not play in a PS2. Just thought you might like to know that.

[Aussie2B]

The fact that they gave Shadow Tower the worst score out of all those games totally discredits them. o_O It's an excellent, very well-designed game, and it's perfect if you're craving more King's Field.

[Rugal]

Wow, thanks alot as i really needed this. I never heard of Monkey Hero either and i woulda never guess that Tail of the Sun was an RPG. O_O

[geelw]

The fact that they gave Shadow Tower the worst score out of all those games totally discredits them. o_O It's an excellent, very well-designed game, and it's perfect if you're craving more King's Field.

as the kids say, 'you da man!" - shadow tower is absolutely one of the standouts of the ps one lineup. i remember writing to opm about their crappy review and getting some weak-ass response back about the review being "one person's opinion". well, that one person stopped a hell of a lot of other persons from buying a great, atmospheric rpg AND agetec from even considering localizing shadow tower abyss for the ps2, a fun fps/rpg hybrid.

i have TOO many rpgs here in total- i'm guessing 1000-1200 for a bunch of platforms. i need to compile a list one day (with pics), but that's when i can find time.

btw: tail of the sun isn't a RPG- it's more of a simulation. the game is hard to categorize because most people play it for a few seconds and eject it from their ps, lol. i thought it was brilliant.

g.

[Zephyr]

HHmmm I thought I had every english RPG on PlayStation but there're a few in your list that I wouldn't have even thought would be RPGs - Digimon would be a stretch for me to accept, and The Legacy of Kain series -while I like it - is most deffinately an Action/Adventure. I would also call into question anything like 'Monster Ranching' and things like that.

I think for a deffinative list you would need to read this to define what IS an rpg: http://www.gamesfirst.com/articles/jluther/rpg_narrative/rpg_narrative.htm

I'm only new here but you can view my list of rpgs - and others - here: http://www.phantom.net.nz/gamelist/index.php3 under 'Zephyr' Bear in mind I also collect PS2 rpgs.

[geelw]

hold on a sec. if you're going to count rpgs and automatically exclude games based on your own descriptions, you're not only going into the genre biased, you're missing out on a hell of a lot of interesting games.

all console RPGs aren't defined as japanese-made games, and if you only collect and play that type, well that's fine. but fyi- the digimon world series is labeled a rpg by bandai, the mega man legends games count as RPG/adventures and yes, blood omen:legacy of kain is an action/RPG no matter what anyone says. the other kain and soul reaver games aren't, as they moved away from the hit points and leveling up found in the original title in favor of more action/platform/block puzzle games like the tomb raider series.

for any number of reasons, some RPG series change tone and spin off into other genres as time goes on and there are a number of choice examples:

monster rancher 1 & 2? RPG. monster rancher card battle and hop-about, not even close, LOL.

tecmo's deception? RPG. kagero and deception 3? action.

some other interesting things to consider: deathtrap dungeon can be seen as an action game with RPG overtones, as it's based on a series of choose your own adventure RPG books, and battle hunter is more tsuguroku (table/board game) than RPG, but it has enough elements to make it viable to collectors.

space griffon vf-5 is labeled an action/rpg right on the box, but most people will argue that it's not until they actually play the game and see what the developer intended.

the warhammer games are rts, as is warcraft II on the ps. although the series is derived from an RPG, the game certainly doesn't fit much of what console players expect.

[hydr0x]

imho Diablo should definetly classified as Action-RPG and thus be included

[geelw]

it's definitely on my list, ;)

there is one oddity that's a bit 'controversial" if you want to look at it that way: erghiez. it's quest mode isn't a true rpg, but can be considered one if you expand the definition to include the game within a game as such. if we had gotten tobal 2 ported to the u.s., i'm sure both games would be on someone's list at some point down the road, LOL

g.

[Daria]

Digimon would be a stretch for me to accept,

As I noted earlier in the thread, Digimon is not an RPG, but 3 is and includes no monster raising elements whatsoever. Digimon 2 is a bit of both really. So for listing purposes I'd say 2 and 3 are RPGs, but for collecting purposes I'd buy 1 aswell.

I'd rather err on the side of having too many games then missing out on something fun just because the genre classification is a bit iffy.


and The Legacy of Kain series -while I like it - is most deffinately an Action/Adventure.

Legacy of Kain as well as the Megaman Legends are just something I'm going to have to play myself and just decide whether or not they would fit in with my personal collection. And hell if I like them then I'd keep them anyway, RPGs or not. :P


I think for a deffinative list you would need to read this to define what IS an rpg: http://www.gamesfirst.com/articles/jluther/rpg_narrative/rpg_narrative.htm

I really don't see how that helped. I was already aware of what a real RPG was and also know that anything electronic just ain't it. So sorry I'll just have to use my own personal judgment on this one.

Again rather then write up a lengthy list of requirments for the genre, I'll stick to a mere basic guideline: Traditional, Action, and Tactical. The trick to spotting an RPG is really just deciding for yourself whether or not Legacy of Kain leans more towards "Action" or Action "RPG". I'm just not buying this "RPG elements" crap that 's being implemented into every other game being made today. Given enough time and technology every genre will eventually evolve into an immersive senario based role playing experience.


I'm only new here but you can view my list of rpgs - and others - here: http://www.phantom.net.nz/gamelist/index.php3 under 'Zephyr' Bear in mind I also collect PS2 rpgs.

I'll check it out thanks.

[Zephyr]

I'll check it out thanks.

You'll notice that I have 2, and sometimes 3, copies of the same game, it's not because I thought it was worth the extra copies, lol, it's because I have the PAL release and the NTSC-UC and sometimes the NTSC-J as well.

I agree that everyone's idea of an 'rpg' differs, and you'll see in my rpg collection that I've gone quite wide. I've not got the Digimons because they seemed to be more geared towards a (much) younger player and as a 40(mumble) woman they're not something I would play. Also I'm not really into Monster Farming, although having said that I do have 'Harvest Moon' on PS2 - although I've not played it.

[Daria]

I'll check it out thanks.
I've not got the Digimons because they seemed to be more geared towards a (much) younger player and as a 40(mumble) woman they're not something I would play.

And I can totaly respect that. I'd rather people bought the games they'd enjoy playing then just shelling out money for little trophies they had no intrest in touching.

I've never tried a monster raising game before, I'm actually kinda looking forward to playing one.

[geelw]

by all means DEFINITELY give monster rancher 1 & 2 a try, lol. any game that'll have you going through your CD collection to generate monsters is pretty unique, and if you play it before them more inferior dragon seeds or monster seed (both of which, and a few other monster-raising rpgs swipe the data idea cold from tecmo's game), you'll enjoy it a lot more.

off topic, but on target, i'd also recommend master of monsters: disciiples of gaia if you like a bit of deep strategic chicory in your rpg coffee... whatever the hell tbat means, lol.

[Daria]

And to update the topic a year later.

I ended up with a total of 82 games:

Alundra
Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins
Arc the Lad Collection
Azure Dreams
Battle Hunter
Beyond the Beyond
Blaze & Blade (PAL Exclusive)
Brave Fencer Musashi
Breath of Fire III
Breath of Fire IV
Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena
Chocobo's Dungeon 2
Chrono Cross
Darkstone
Diablo
Digimon World
Digimon World 2
Digimon World 3
Dragon Seeds
Dragon Valor
Dragon Warrior VII
Eternal Eyes
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy Chronicles
Final Fantasy Origins
Final Fantasy Tactics
Front Mission 3
Grandia
Granstream Saga, The
Guardian's Crusade
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth
Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu
Kartia: The Word of Fate
King's Field
King's Field II
Koudelka
Legend of Dragoon, The
Legend of Legaia
Legend of Mana
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Mega Man Legends
Mega Man Legends 2
Monkey Hero
Monster Seed
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen -- Limited Edition
Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve II
Persona: Revelations
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Rhapsody: a Musical Adventure
RPG Maker
SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier II
Saiyuki: Journey West
Shadow Madness
Shadow Tower
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Suikoden
Suikoden II *Misising from my collection*
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tales of Destiny
Tales of Destiny II
Thousand Arms
Threads of Fate
Torneko: The Last Hope
Vagrant Story
Valkyrie Profile
Vandal Hearts
Vandal Hearts II
Vanguard Bandits
Wild Arms
Wild Arms 2
Xenogears

Non RPG RPG-Spin Offs:
Chocobo Racing
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring
Misadventures of Tron Bonne
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Still on the fence about Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen and Tecmo's Deception, but it's been a slim year. Downloaded Blood Omean, I keep meaning to try it out.

I've gotten a lot of flack for not including Symphony of the Night. But whatever. Still interested in possible PAL exclusives, I found one "Blaze and Blade" although it's not very good.