Every fan may have a different answer when it comes to the best RPG on the PS1, but the majority will probably sayFinal Fantasy 7. It’s hard to deny the power that game had not on just RPG fans, but video game players all over. The slick visuals and TV ads attracted non-RPG fans to the scene in waves.
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Now, while that game and the rest of theFinal Fantasyseries are fantastic RPGs onPS1, there are a lot of great PS1 RPG games that get overlooked. Most of them are hard to play nowadays without hard copies or emulation involved.
Arc the Lad Collectionwas the only way that players in the West could play the first three games in the series. It began in 1995 via ARC Entertainment and every single game leading up to this collection was exclusive to Japan.
This series, overall now, is widely forgotten from these games to the sequels on PS2. They are turn-based RPGs, but characters can move on a grid, so it’s likea tactical RPG hybrid. The first game is fairly basic but the second and third games are worth checking out.
7Beyond The Beyond
Beyond the Beyondwas one of the PS1’s first big RPGs that was released although it did not fair well in reviews. Part of the issue reviewers had was that it felt too generic for a story and the graphics weren’t that much of an upgrade on PS1. Some of those criticisms still ring true today.
However, this is an underrated mid-tier RPG from Camelot for sure. If that name sounds familiar, they are thedevelopers ofGolden Sunas well as a bunch of sports games likeMario Golf. Nintendo fans could think of this game as a spiritual predecessor toGolden Sun.
6Kartia: The Word Of Fate
Kartia: The Word of Fatewasan Atlus gameand was made during a time when they used to experiment more instead of pumpingShin Megami TenseiandPersonagames. It’s a tactical RPG wherein players could control a group of stronger heroes. These hero units could also summon minions to fight for them.
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It’s almost like aPokemontactics game except there wasn’t any catching involved. It’s not the best tactical RPG on PS1, but it should scratch that itch for players. Also of note, Yoshitaka Amano, theFinal Fantasyartist, worked on this game’s art.
5Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventureis one of the wildest RPG concepts of all time. At its core, the gameplay is similar to theArc the Ladgames. Players will transition into turn-based battles but they can move around the battlefield via tiles.
The strange thing aboutRhapsody: A Musical Adventurewas that it was a full-blown musical in the vein of a Disney production. Some of the tunes are still pretty catchy too. This was anearly NIS gameand for those interested, it did get ported to Switch and PC recently as of 2022.
4Star Ocean: The Second Story
Many fans could argue thatStar Ocean: The Second Story, which is only the second game intheStar Oceanseries, was the peak. Things went downhill from here which could be blamed on Square Enix taking over publishing while tri-Ace stayed on as the developers. It’s a long road to go down, but as for this game goes, it rules.
Star Ocean: The Second Storyshould rank up there as not a forgotten RPG, but one of the best on PS1. The action gameplay, the simple but colorful visuals, and the concept of the story all hold up.
3Tales Of Destiny
Tales of Destinyis another underrated action RPG from this generation. It’s the second in the series as well and the visuals are even simpler compared toStar Ocean: The Second Story. It looks like a more polished SNES game which isn’t bad, but it wasn’t what a lot of people were looking for in the 90s which might be one reason it got passed up.
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The game did get a remake on PS2 which upgraded the visuals as well as the gameplay significantly. Unfortunately, it, like many games in this series,never left Japan.
2Tear Ring Saga
There are too many great Japan-only PS1 RPGs to go through which could be a whole other list. For now, let’s coverTear Ring Sagawhich is one of the more interesting lost gems on the platform. It was designed by Shouzou Kaga, thecreator ofFire Emblem. He left Intelligent Systems and Nintendo to form his own company to continue making tactical RPGs his way.
If players picked this up today and didn’t know the title, they would think it was a missingFire Emblemgame without question. Sony could have competed with Nintendo if they helped publish this game beforeFire Emblemever graced the West.
1Wild Arms 2
There are two games in this series on the PS1 and both are worth looking into. However,Wild Arms 2is the better game in every way as it helped evolve the original’s ideas. Players could choose to start as one of three characters but eventually, they would all meet up. Dungeons were puzzle-heavy, likeThe Legend of Zelda, and each character had a special trait to aid in exploration.
The world was inspired by Westerns which would be perfected inWild Arms 3. It is deeply tragic that this series started on PS1 and then died on PS2.
