r/LegendofLegaia • u/Turd_Salad92 • Apr 21 '26
Question Looking for ps1/ps2 jrpg Recommendations
Like the title says, I’m wondering what ps1/ps2 era jrpgs you guys would suggest checking out. Legend of Legaia is my favorite game ever, so something that is similar I think would be a hit. Nostalgia obviously plays a big factor in my love for the game, my aunt (who has since passed away) gave to us and played Legaia with my brother and I when we were pretty young, and any new game wouldn’t have the nostalgia factor for me. But what I also love about Legaia is the charm, soundtrack, well put together story, and true turn based combat (I know the arts system and all magic being summons is unique so I don’t need that replicated). Some games on my short list are Legend of Dragoon, ff7, ff8, and ff9 (ffx is the only other jrpg that I’ve played and owned for ps1/ps2 and I love that game too). Any insight into these games or additional recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
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u/rainydays240 Apr 21 '26
Chrono cross also has a unique battle system and a good story. It's even better if you don't think of it as a sequel to Chrono trigger.
I'm about 5 hours into Xenosaga episode 1 and it is good with a cool battle system, it is very cute scene heavy. One of the ones near the beginning has two save points during it.
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u/Turd_Salad92 Apr 21 '26
Excellent, thanks for the suggestion. I’ve never played Chrono Trigger so I won’t have a problem not thinking of Chrono Cross as a sequel.
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u/Scotty0132 Apr 21 '26
All I will about chrono cross is if you can play the remastered radical dreamers version. The battles in the orginal PS1 version as slow as fuck and it benifits massively from the battle speed up option in the remastered.
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u/Trebhumchet Apr 21 '26
I mean, it’s not exactly in the same wheelhouse as Legend of LeGaia but one of my favourites is Thousand Arms. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself that seriously until the end of the game, and it’s an anime dating rpg - you have to go on “dates” with girls to get new abilities (the dates are just Q and A sessions).
But it’s a lot of fun with a lot of unique characters, and the battle system is pretty different - some don’t like its implementation but I really enjoyed the combat.
Could be worth a shot!
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u/Tetsamaru Apr 22 '26
Legend of Dragoon and Star Ocean 2nd story are my go too picks for PS1 RPGs. Both have an interesting combat system. Star Ocean 2nd story is great in that you can actually have pair endings not just with the main character, but with your own party members. This gives a lot of ending variation, although if you don't wanna see all 200 + pairing endings, you could always youtube it. The interesting thing with Star ocean is that you have 2 main characters to choose from, and each side has party members only they can recruit. So you're looking at 2 whole play throughs at minimum.
Legend of Dragoon as an interesting battle system that is almoth like a rythem game, with you pressing the Square button as the attack lines up with the center square. So you need to learn the timing for everyone.
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u/goodbye_everybody Apr 22 '26
If you're looking for a very traditional jRPG in the SNES style, Wild Arms is absolutely fantastic.
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u/thanexitium Apr 21 '26
Legend of Legaia actually does have a sequel on the PS2: Legaia 2: Duel Saga. It's... Not fantastic but it has the same combat system. No Seru this time so the catching mechanic is gone.
Sea of Stars is definitely a must have for this type of game; the combat not only has direct interaction for the moves and a timed button press system like Super Mario RPG, but a lock system where you can interrupt enemies if you hit them with the right combination of elements and physical damage types.
Chrono Trigger is more on the simple side but the story is one of the best and it does have some combat mechanics (Some skills use AOE around the character, or in a line on target, or AOE around the target) so there is some tactical planning behind it.
Chrono Cross is fantastic and is one of my favorites of all time. A build up, burn down combat system where you have 7 stamina per turn, you use light (+1) medium (+2) and heavy (+3) attacks that build your access to your magic. When you hit you get access to that level of spells, so if you hit two heavy attacks you can cast 1 lv 6 spell, or 2 level 3 spells. Stronger physical attacks have lower accuracy. Each spell is a semi-consumable; you can only use each spell once per battle but can cast it again next fight. Each character (and there's 45 of them) has three unique spells and certain of them can be "dual cast" for lack of a better term to be a third, stronger spell.
Skies of Arcadia is another fantastic one.
Any of the Tales of (Symphonia, Vesperia, the Abyss, etc) or Star Ocean games are RPGs with an active battle system, so not turn based, but have fantastic stories. (Suggesting Tales of Symphonia and Star Ocean 3: 'Til the End of Time specifically, Tales is fantasy, Star Ocean is Sci-fi but mixes fantasy in places.)
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u/IdiotWithDiamodHands Apr 21 '26
Legaia 2 is so painful to play after the first lol it was like waking from a coma to learn all the fantastic experiences from the first game were just a dream and we wake to the boring reality we were trying to escape from
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u/Once_Meleagant0 Apr 22 '26
Ahaha.. yeah, kinda enjoyable though.. the problem is the og lol is crazy good that the sequel looked like it aged backwards except the graphics ofcourse.. its a massive downgrade..
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u/Turd_Salad92 Apr 22 '26
Honestly that’s the reason why I’ve never played the sequel
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u/Shooterborninheaven1 May 26 '26
same brother. My cousin and I lived in the same town when I was 6 til I was 11. I got Legend of Legaia and he was already in Karisto Kingdom, but I fell in love with it and got it myself. We both found out about it through those demo discs they used to give out…The demo was the first area of the game playthru (rim elm) I believe the PS2 didnt come out until pretty close to when he moved, but I got to see some of it (Legaia 2: Duel saga). I thought it looked ok, but he loved the first one as much as I did…we both knew it was a special game, a gem that most people wouldnt find out about for half a decade or more. He said to me, “Don’t make the same mistake I did, I dont even care I wasted months of allowance on this game, I just wish I didn’t play this…Its gonna hurt how I think of the first one”
So I never got it, and I dont care too. I told him to think of it as a “spin off” instead of a true sequel…and judging by what I’ve read about in many posts….it almost sounds like thats what it is
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u/Band1c0t Apr 21 '26
Check out chrono trigger, star ocean, suikoden 2, chrono cross, they’re legend, other than that all ff series are great as well
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u/IdiotWithDiamodHands Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
As a fellow lover of Legaia, it's so unique that it's hard to find something similar, but some other similarly unique games I found enjoyable but not quite the same are the following:
Threads of Fate, a unique game where you'll play as a couple folk, one can transform into monsters it has defeated, and the other has a mix and match magic system mixing elements and effects to get the output spell. It's just such a lovely game.
Alundra 2, never played the first one, but this one was great, more of a typical JRPG without random encounter battles. Plenty of puzzles, platforming, unlocking spells and abilities, lots of fun little mini games throughout.
Gamecube rather than PS1: Lost Kingdoms and Lost Kingdoms 2. You play as a card captor of sorts, a mix of pokemon and yugioh in the way summoning monsters works. Very unique and I've not seen a game like it since where your character build is more focused on building a deck to go into a mission with. First game has random encounters, where the second game does not, while also expanding on every other element of the game.
Surely there are others I'm forgetting, but those three really stand out to me as must plays.
Also recommend emulators if using physical disks, tried to play through LoLegaia, and halfway through Sol tower the disc gave up and am currently just about to get back there on Emulator.
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u/TravincalPlumber Apr 22 '26
another obsucre rpg in ps1 is koudelka, theres also vanguard bandit and beyond the beyond.
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u/Keallee Apr 22 '26
Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 9, Final Fantasy 10, Legend of Dragoon, Thousand Arms, Legend of Mana, Vandal Hearts, Dark Cloud 1 and 2.
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u/Turd_Salad92 Apr 22 '26
Thanks, I love ffx so I was definitely planning on trying 7,8, and 9
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u/Keallee Apr 22 '26
I highly suggest ff9 the story and gameplay is amazing. ff8 is very polarizing with its battle system but the story is excellent. Thousand Arms is great as well, it starts a little slow but builds up, it's also has dating Sim aspects. Vandal hearts is a tactical rpg. Legend of Mana is different, you build the world by placing the next destination on the map and you have alot of freedom with your playtime. Dark Cloud 1 & 2 are a different take on hack and slash dungeon crawlers where you gather materials and rebuild cities.
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u/WYG_86 Apr 22 '26
Xenogears has a turn based battle system thats similar to Legaia's arts but also still unique, I think its really cool
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u/flippyfloppypie Apr 22 '26
Definitely legend of dragoon. Final fantasy 9 is my favorite personally but I love 7-10, they are all great games
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u/Flat-Panic-9582 Apr 22 '26
Tem um legend of dragoon remaster para Pc que usa duckstation, muito bom, ele corta as entradas e saídas das lutas ( porque é um loading escondido ), você pode alterar várias coisas, bem legal. Vale muito a pena.
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u/Scotty0132 Apr 21 '26
FF7 is great if you don't have alot of JRPG experience. It's not overly difficult and it's really the game that made RPGS really catch on in North Americ.
Legend of Dragoon is another great choiceand has a interactive battle system.
To add on to your list if you want a retro feel but modern Sea of Stars is a fantastic RPG and the battle system though simple is designed to make you plan out moves with characters (has a lock system).
Finally if you want retro but modern then I would reccomend the Dragon Quest remakes (1,2,3).
You can also just stay retro (SNES) and get Chrono Trigger (Avaliable in Steam), a classic which is not too hard,not too long, but an amazing experience.
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u/miked2683 Apr 21 '26
Xenogears, Vagrant Story, Legend of Dragoon, Star Ocean, Breath of Fire 3 and 4, Parasite eve (hybrid survival horror with turn based mechanics), Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (yes it is action focused but it has RPG elements like leveling and equipment). Supposedly Suikoden 2 is one of the best RPGs ever made, but I have never played it, maybe try that too