I’ve recently been on an old school RPG kick and picked up Chrono Trigger which is a phenomenal game. Any other suggestions on similar games?
One of the best RPGs ever made. I’d jump to either the Breath of Fire series, Wild Arms, or Suikoden. All are solid, though none quite as brilliant.
I wish Wild Arms had an official mobile port. Such a great series with no modern IP usage to take advantage of its cult status.
Best you can do for now is buy it on PlayStation store
Anbernic RG35XX or similar… Should run flawlessly
I played Wild Arms back in the day and I don’t remember too much about them although I did enjoy them all. Might be worth picking up again. Also, isn’t Suikoden getting a remake soon?
Yes it is! The first 2 games. It’s kind of an odd situation where the 2nd game is kind of a remake-ish retelling of the first game, sort of like Final Fantasy or Zelda, where it is different characters but same themes. I just thought of 2 more I could recommend! Grandia and Live a Live. Both fit nicely in Chrono Trigger’s orbit, though none are quite as good. Live a Live just got a low up and re-release recently too.
Director of Chrono Trigger, Takashi Tokita, directed Live a Live the year prior. Definitely a throughline there.
I almost bought Live A Live at the last Steam sale but opted to pick up the Trails in the Sky series. I was a little hesitant since you don’t play with all characters.
+1 for jumping to Suikoden II. If you love it you can check III and I
EDIT: I tried the BoF and Wild Arms sagas years ago too. The one that stood the most to me was BoF4
One of the few games I listen to the music from.
Lavos’ second form is my jam
I would really recommend Chrono Cross for the PS1. It’s set in the same world as Chrono Trigger but isn’t a direct sequel. It has some really great elements to it. I played it when I was a kid and I still revisit it every few years.
@Phyzaks For anyone not aware, there is a re-release of Chrono Cross last year! It’s available on Steam and consoles: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1133760/CHRONO_CROSS_THE_RADICAL_DREAMERS_EDITION/ (even Steam Deck verified) The graphics and art is upscaled, partly with AI, and the results got mixed receptions. And “Radical Dreamers” is included as well, according to the Steam page. Just wanted to point this out, in case emulation is complicated for some.
For more modern CT-likes I would recommend Chained Echoes and the soon-to-be-released Sea of Stars. Chained Echoes was fantastic.
Check out the “Tales Of” series. I feel those games don’t get the attention they deserve
I have actually played a few of the more recent ones, Zestiria, Berseria, and Arise although I haven’t finished the last one. I also picked up Trails in the Sky series from the last Steam sale and they are quite good.
Definitely try out Tales of Xillia if you get a chance.
I loved Xillia! I keep hoping against all odds they’ll remaster it for modern platforms like Symphonia or Vesperia.
Tales of Graces is my favorite followed closely by Symphonia. I would also recommend Lost Odyssey for 360.
I don’t know why I never played it for so long. I played it on DS man it was amazing.
Try Secret of Evermore. The combat is very different but the game allows for two players! One controls the main character and the other can control his pet dog. It’s one of the rare action RPGs of the time.
Would Secret of Mana also qualify - even has three players (lots of multi-tap powered memories).
Agreed. SoM was also a classic. I just enjoyed the aesthetic of Evermore and it had a cool dog companion.
Chrono Trigger is that awesome game that I never played back in the day… Until now, I started it like a month ago (the DS version) and I’m liking it so far.
@Xylinna I did a post a few years ago: https://thingsiplay.game.blog/2020/02/11/what-to-do-after-chrono-trigger/
Game soundtrack is bop!
You know the game left an impact when the grand-daddy of another great franchise, Fallout, desperately wants there to be another Chrono game.
I should really play this someday.
But for recommendations: have you played Golden Sun perhaps?
One of the best games ever made.
It remains, to this day, one of my very favorite games of all time. Top tier story, characters, gameplay mechanics, and musical score. Not to mention almost infinitely replayable. So much value packed into a single purchase. Enjoy!
People are mentioning all the ones I would have added already. Maybe also the Dragon Quest series, but I haven’t played any recent ones.
Also if you can stand a mobile gacha (also a Steam version) one of the writers of Chrono Trigger & Cross started the game Another Eden that is kind of a spiritual successor - gorgeous graphics, fantastic music, and yes some pretty nice storyline as well (mixed in with crap but you can’t win them all:-D). Like… one of the main characters is basically Frog! 🐸 (Another is essentially Lucca, and Robo, and Marle, etc.)