My Top 5 Favorite Square RPGs
With yet another Final
Fantasy game around the corner (a sequel to a sequel, no less), I wanted to
take some time to reflect on the “golden age” of RPGs that Square produced back
in my heyday. When Super Nintendo was
king, Squaresoft was emperor of RPGs.
The genre was still struggling to grab a handhold in the mainstream
gamer’s market, but Squaresoft games were making headlines everywhere, from the
smash hit Chrono Trigger to the revolutionary Final Fantasy VII.
I’ve played many RPGs in my
29 years, and a respectable chunk of them were produced by Squaresoft. I feel that the latest titles have lost a
little bit of their magic as of late, perhaps having fallen victim to a world
with a quickly diminishing pool of fresh innovation. Although technology has advanced so far, the
writing and presentation of many video games have become prepackaged and a bit
uninspired, at least in my humble opinion.
Originality has been squashed by the “endless sequels”, and gameplay
often falls flat in favor of aesthetics.
Don’t get me wrong – there
are still lots of great games out there.
The Elder Scrolls series, Dragon Age: Origins, Kingdoms of Amalur:
Reckoning, Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean: Last Hope, just to name a few. But the fact remains that some of my favorite
RPGs come from Square-Enix’s back catalog.
Here’s my list of top 5 games below.
5. Final Secret of Mana. Innovative
for its time, Secret of Mana was one of the first (1) action RPGs, and (2)
multiplayer RPGs, setting the stage for dozens of today’s greatest hits. I loved the enormity of the game world, and I
spent a great deal of time leveling up my weapons and spells.
Fondest Memory: Once you get Luna, the Sprite gains an endless supply of mana to cast
spells with MP Absorb. It was awesome to
be able to spam magic like crazy!
4. Final Fantasy VI.
I know many of you will
scoff that I don’t even mention Final Fantasy VII on my list, but this comes
from the fact that Final Fantasy VI was my FIRST Final Fantasy game. I didn’t get a Playstation until much later,
so I grew very close to Terra and company as a result. The main characters and villains, while
nothing more than 2D sprites, had great personalities and variety. The musical score is still one of my
favorites and can be found on my iPod rotation to this day.
Fondest Memory.
While in hindsight its quite
silly, Kefka’s maniacal laugh was something I’ll never forget. Whenever you heard it, you knew trouble was
coming. That evil clown!
3. Super Mario RPG.
This one time alliance
between Nintendo and Squaresoft birthed one of the best games ever made. Although Nintendo made spiritual sequels in
Paper Mario (which isn’t a bad franchise, by the way), none came close to the
original. Innovation abounds here,
especially with the timed hits, paving the way for turn-based RPGs to evolve
into more action-oriented forms today.
Fondest Memory.
After finally taking Peach
back to the castle, I fully expected to move on without her. But oh was I so happy to see her floating
down from her room with that blue parasol.
Should’ve been a sign back then…
2. Final Fantasy Tactics. This
game has (and continues to, thanks to the War of Lions PSP reiteration) stolen
literally hundreds of hours of my gaming life.
The battle mechanics, while a little quirky, hooked me straight
away. Grinding in random encounters to
master every class became a literal obsession.
The sheer number of options for customization keeps me coming back for
more.
Fondest Memory. Recruiting “Thunder God Cid” turns the tide of the game
completely. With his obscenely powerful
Excalibur and repertoire of attacks, he’s a nigh unstoppable Juggernaut on the battlefield.
1. Chrono Trigger.
I can hear the theme song in
my head now… My dear, dear Chrono
Trigger. By far my favorite old school
RPG, Chrono Trigger vigorously stimulated our sense with a cool time travel
premise, an innovative combination-based battle system, memorable characters, a
breathtaking score, and picturesque graphics.
Aside from the main story, there are tons of side quests to do and
multiple endings to unlock. While its legacy
can be felt in many games today, the franchise was sadly short lived. Hint hint?
You there, Square-Enix?
Fondest Memory. While the fight against Magus wasn’t the most difficult in the game, he
was certainly challenging enough with a tricky strategy that kept you
scrambling. Figuring out his pattern and
taking him down was one of my proudest accomplishments. Plus, his battle music was really cool.
What are your favorite
Square RPGs? Let me know in the comments
below!
