Game Informer's "Top 10 Rare RPGs you need"
 

I was reading through my new issue of Game Informer and I found a little tribute list to lesser known rpgs(At least lesser known then Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior). The list is as follows

10. Shadow Hearts (Playstation 2)
9. Ys BOOK I&II (Turbo Grafix)
8. Tactics Ogre (Playstation)
7. Valkyrie Profile (Playstation)
6. Suikoden II (Playstation)
5. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (Playstation)
4. Dragon Force (Sega Saturn)
3. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (Playstation 2)
2. Earthbound (SNES)
1. Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn)

I have Valkyrie Profile, Dragon Force, and Disgaea myself. I can easily agree that those belong on there and I doubt anyone will argue that Valkyrie Profile doesn't belong on the list.

So... RPG Forum what are your thoughts on this list?

I have a friend that has Disgaea, and he loves it. To be honest, I have yet to play any of those games mentioned on that list. I'm one of those people that love 2D RPGs, kinda like the ones on the Nintendo handhelds.

Anyway, I want to try out Earthbound..I want to get my hands on it. I heard it was one of the best RPGs on the SNES.

Looks pretty solid overall. Considering I think VP and Suikoden 2 are two RPG's that no one should miss and I didn't hesitate to replay either for their good endings, I think I'd probably have them #1 and #2 respectively. I actually prefer La Pucelle to Disgaea, but Pucelle had a larger printing apparently and it goes for pretty cheap. Disgaea is still up in the $40 range.

Dragon Force is funny...I think it deserves to be played by more people than it did, but I couldn't take anymore of the repetitive battles about 35 hours into it. I kept getting pissed because my best soldiers kept deserting me for no reason.

And a good old W00T for Earthbound.

Titles I think could be subbed in are:
Tactics Ogre for SNES (which I've never seen a physical copy of)
Dragon Slayer Legend of Heroes for Turbo Duo (ditto)
Suikoden 1 (HTF nowadays...Required playing for RPG fans)
Shin Megami Tensei 3 (man, this one dried up fast...I haven't seen a used one in ages)
Magic Knight Rayearth (last Saturn game...Great overhead action-RPG)
Growlanser Generations (a bit HTF now, might jump in value in a few years).
Shining Wisdom (always wanted to try this one, could never find it)
Shining The Holy Ark (ditto)
Shining Force 3 Part 1 (ditto again...Saturn Shining titles are rarities)

I don't believe that Tactics Ogre for the SNES was released over here. I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power but that was one of their what I call a "Ha ha stupid american look at this cool game you can't play" moments like when they told use everything about Secret of Mana 2 even though it wasn't going to get released over here.

Shining Force 3 was good but it would have been great if we had gotten the whole game.

BTW I don't know if you still have Dragon Force, but if Generals kept leaving you it was because either you didn't give them awards they earned or they were greedy generals. You don't have to worry about keeping any of the Monarchs starting generals happy but the ones you actually have to capture to recruit, you do. Either by giving them items or awards that someone who already has max troops earned. I know way too much about Dragon Force because it's pretty much the only reason I still have a Sega Saturn. Well... that and Guardian Heroes.

I had to sell it during times of College financial hell (bought it for $35 after the Saturn tanked, got $130 for it :edgarrock: ), but from what I recall, I kept giving this one guy all kinds of stuff and during one phase, I got a notice that he deserted me. :aargh: And I think it was a guy I started with as well. Wish I could remember, as this was over six years ago. I think his name was Raven, but I'm not sure...

And we did get Tactics Ogre...Just not very well apparently, given its' HTF status...

http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/company/63000.html

Only if you use them in battle. I never had any generals leave by simply giving awards to any who win battles. I love Dragon force. I still play it.

Pretty good list, except for Earthbound. I really didn't like that much. Never saw what the big deal was.

9. Ys BOOK I&II (Turbo Grafix) <--- I've never liked the Y's series, but outside of this, I agree.

Also, Dragon Force should be #1.

I'm a huge fan of the music from Ys, but I didn't fall in love with the gameplay until Ys VI. Still, I imagine the anime cinemas and CD music blew some people's minds back in 1989. Especially considering I still listen to the redbook tracks on a regular basis.

One of these days, I'll sit down and finish the game(s). I got stuck in the Ice Cavern and haven't done much since.

Actually, this thread's title is off. The Top 10 list in the recent Game Informer is "Top 10 Rarest RPGs" or something to that extent. It was listing off the top 10 RPGs that have become the hardest to find.

Needing them's got nothing to do with that list.

It was the horrible translation that got me. Not one of them has had a good story, or a good localization, I can't be sure which because I don't speak Japanese. However, it stands that I love the gameplay, hate the story.

I wonder though...Disgaea's easy to find. It's just expensive for an older, current gen game (what do you expect from Atlus and their small print runs?). Same for Shadow Hearts. SMT3 is much tougher all around to find than either, in all the Gamestops I've been to.

And domestic Ys Book I and II is one of the most common CD games to find for the Duo. Domestic copies of Duo Ys 3 and Legend of Heroes are much tougher to find, not to mention Popful Mail for Sega CD.

Can't argue with Panzer in the #1 spot in that case.

Dunno..."You animal! You know well I cannot let you do that! Ys is now back where it belongs. Don't you forget about me...I am the bandit, Goban!" was some gold stuff. Feena's lines made my skin crawl though.

Edit: Gah, sorry for the double-post...I thought they would auto-merge.

No sweat. And yea, it had its moments. But have you played the Ark of Napashtim... Nepatism. The N game? Fucking awful.

Well yeah...Ys VI/Ys Ark of Napishtim was my favorite game from last year. Only really awful voice in that one was the pirate girlfriend, otherwise I didn't pay much attention to anything outside of the gameplay.

Good thing about that one is the ability to switch to Japanese voices and PC settings (gets rid of the horrid PS2 opening movie for the the original sequence). I almost flipped when they almost released it with the "Alma's Trials" music tracks as the main score, instead of the normal music.

I'm wondering if they are referring to the Collectors Edition of Lunar. A friend of mine had it and was gracious enough to let me borrow it for a while. It was awesome. The Collectors Edition had:

- 2 Game Cd's
- 1 Soundtrack CD
- 1 "Making of Lunar" CD
- A cotton cloth map
- A Hardbound Instruction Manual

A really rare find nowadays.

It is. The "Complete" Lunar games were the ones re-released on the PSone.

If rarity is the issue here, I'm compelled to add the Quest of Glory Anthology of adventure RPGs. It's almost like a collector's item now. Almost inclined to add the Persona RPGs for the Playstation. You can still find them on auction but they appear to be incredibly sought after, as if you couldn't get them anywhere else.

I don't think Shadow Hearts and Disgaea are as rare as other RPGs on the list. Especially since I think SH came bundled with SH2 at one one point. Xenogears is probably even rarer than Shadow Hearts.

Actually the title isn't off, I was looking right at the magazine when I posted this and I'm looking at it right now. This is the issue I just recieved yesterday. It's not rarest rpgs because right before the list they even said "Keep in mind that these are not the rarest of the rare, but rather a sample of hidden gems that are well worth hunting down."

If that's a list of the top 10 rarest RPGs then I should feel lucky to own 80% of them. The only two I don't own a copy of are Ys Books I&II and Tactics Ogre. Of course Panzer Dragoon Saga is number 1. It was probably the msot expensive game I've ever purchased. The only game I spent over 100 dollars for EVER. ;_;

Yeah. The rarity now is coming across the entire Collector's Edition. I see the Lunar games with just the case from time to time at EB Games.

I'm looking online and retail prices for it start at $50.

I've only played Valkyrie Profile (own it), Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (complete for 35 bucks bitches!), Shadow Hearts and Earthbound (own it, still have strategy guide too). I desperately want to play Panzer Dragoon Saga, which I have downloaded and burned, can't afford the asking price it's going for on eBay, but my Saturn doesn't want to play it. I'm not sure if it's because I burned it wrong or because the CD-Rs are defective somehow.

Anyone know of a good play where I can mod my Saturn to play burned and import games?

I've had most of those at one point or another, some of them more than once. Still kicking myself for ditching my copy of Disgaea.

I just bought Disgaea today after looking for it for two years, so I can testify to how hard it is to find, let alone at a decent price. Paid $45 for it today, which is pretty damn good. Now I'm glad I didn't cave in and buy it from some price-gouger on eBay.

Heh, I got Tactics Ogre for $10 a few years ago. Still haven't played more than few missions, but it's fun enough.

Played Earthbound many times, but never actually owned it. It's worth tracking down though, either as a ROM or as a real copy. Easily one of the most quirky RPGs on SNES.

I own Shadow Hearts, but I think Koudelka deserves its spot in the list. I haven't finished Shadow Hearts yet, but so far Koudelka is the superior game, and it's easily as hard to find. I got it for $10, but it's the only copy I've ever seen, ever.

Rationally I understand why Lunar is on this list. But I hated that game so much. So very, very much. Enough to eventually trade it in for...Final Fantasy 9, I think. Now I wish I'd kept it a while longer, only so I could have sold it for far more than I wasted on it paid for it. Personally, I'd drop it from the list and put the Quest For Glory Anthology there instead.

It's a good list, but I've never liked or "gotten" Earthbound. Nocturne well deserves to be on that list.

This list is made of WIN and AWESOME. I would however, replace Disgaea with Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete and Shadow Hearts 1 with Final Fantasy IX. Shadow Hearts 2 was a lot better than 1, and Disgaea really isn't too rare or satisfying in the end. La Pucelle destroys Disgaea as far as I'm concerned.

I've beaten Shadow Hearts, and although the judgement ring system is nice, I wouldn't include it on the list. I'd replace it with Ogre Battle 64, which was the only good RPG for Nintendo 64. (And man, was it a good one... I have fond memories of playing it...)