10 Lesser-Known PS1 JRPGs From Famous Developers

The biggest developers out there came from smaller beginnings, and during the free styling and swashbuckling days of the PS1, tons of big companies today were trying their hand at very under-the-radar releases in the JRPG genre that not everyone got a chance to try.

Some of these were limited to specific areas of the world and others just didn't have the mainstream appeal to breakthrough otherwise. Some are experimental, some are just plain awful, but they are all interesting in their own way.

We're going to check out some unknown JRPGs from the golden era of the genre on the PS1 that came from teams that went on to do big things.

10 SaGa Frontier

A Niche Unlike the Others

SaGa Frontier kicked off a series of its own, but it's on a smaller scale than anything Square Enix had done before or prior. It wasn't as grand as the Final Fantasy games, but at the same time, far more overwhelming. It's an amazing experience in that way, because you don't have a direction in the game. You can approach quests at the pace you want to approach them. In many ways, it drew up the blueprint for the open-world games we know today.

The secret sauce in the SaGa games is the combat, and it all started here. The combat constantly rewards you with new abilities, making each battle an exciting what-if as your party gets more and more experience. The story is broken up into seven different characters' stories, each one with a wildly different tale to tell, and it's more of an anthology series than something straightforward like Final Fantasy. Still, it's a unique relic to check out and a very different type of JRPG.

9 Alundra

Dream Walking

Alundra is a really cool JRPG from Sony that basically asks what if you took the gameplay from Zelda and put it into a mature and weird story that fits with the JRPG world. The result is a bizarre and thoughtful game about a man who can walk into people's dreams. It starts out relatively simple and quickly delves into something much darker and much more serious than the look of the game might have you believe.

There are some heavy themes at play here, and a fascinating story involving religion and existentialism. It's a smaller-scale game, focusing on puzzle solving for much of the playtime, although there is a decent amount of combat too. You're not necessarily saving the world in this game, just a village, but the way it's done is incredibly cool, with you infiltrating the dreams of multiple people in order to figure out what is going on. Equal parts investigation game as it is an action RPG, it's a unique gem that not many know about.

8 Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

An Epic Saga

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete is one of those hidden gem JRPGs that only the real ones tend to recognize. It's from Game Arts, which would go on to bigger fame with Grandia and a little-known game called Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but before then, they were crafting one of the more compelling JRPGs out there.

But, it came out at a time when the genre was really going places. Final Fantasy 6 had already set the new standard, and Final Fantasy 7 was right around the corner. So comparatively, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete just simply felt old. But now, there is a beautiful nostalgia about playing it. It's your classic zero-to-hero story with a young boy wanting to grow up and be a hero and becoming the chosen one, and, of course, some nefarious evil looming nearby to threaten the existence of the universe.

It's solid, old-school style storytelling with some beautiful anime sequences injected throughout and a tried and true turn-based battle system that hits all of the highs you'd want from a JRPG and very few of the lows. It's one of the prettiest-looking 2D JRPGs out there and has a soundtrack that carries everything along quite brilliantly as well. It's one of the series that never got its true chance to shine, but now is as good a time as any to see why.

7 Vanguard Bandits

The Best Gundam Game

Vanguard Bandits is such a good game from Human Entertainment that it's shocking that it didn't become a big series. The developer would go on to bigger successes like the Clock Tower series, but to me, this is their best game. Vanguard Bandits is a unique strategy JRPG where you play as a group of people fighting against an evil empire, and while that sounds generic, it's what is inside that makes it special. The battles take place on large maps, and the best part is when you attack an enemy, a little 3D cut scene plays out for the attacks you select, and there is an impressive variety in the animations from the time.

But the story is the most interesting thing about it. It can shift in so many different ways, and you can pretty much turn the story into a joke if you make the wrong choices, adding some really impressive replayability to a game that, in my opinion, was way before its time. There are a ton of characters to play as, and some challenging fights and situations where you really need to figure out what moves you're going to make before you make them. I can't recommend tracking this one down enough.

6 Thousand Arms

JRPG Dating

How does one describe Thousand Arms? Well, imagine Final Fantasy, but in order to get your Limit Breaks, you have to go on dates and answer questions correctly. That's not the whole offering here, but it is certainly the thing most worth mentioning. Published by Atlus, this unique little gem released in 1999 as a JRPG and dating sim. See, the main character is a woman-obsessed man named Meis who needs the power of women in order to power his weapons. It's utterly ridiculous, but I can't say it's not fun.

The combat in particular is really cool, with amazing-looking anime sprites and some really cool animations that, you guessed it, get better and better the more dates you go on. The dating aspect of the game is actually fairly well done too, with some hilarious conversations that are generally played for laughs, but answering questions on dates correctly can make or break your next challenging encounter. It was far too niche to be a hit, but it's one of those games you don't see much of anymore and fits perfectly on the wonderfully weird PS1 catalog with a great soundtrack to boot.

5 Azure Dreams

Fight to the Top

From Konami, Azure Dreams is a very interesting JRPG that implements monster hunting and Roguelike elements to create something that felt incredibly ahead of its time to the point it might've been a bit too much. The whole idea of the game is to traverse this massive tower in search of the secret of its existence at the top, but each time you leave the tower, you return to the first level of the tower and everything inside is randomized. However, you'll acquire creatures to fight alongside you throughout the game, and you retain them when you leave, so it's a risk-reward system that adds some real intrigue to each run.

It's got some traditional turn-based combat that looks pretty solid for its time and implements a unique system where enemies move at the same time you do, so you need to strategize and determine when best to make your move in every encounter. There is also town building and romance options here, and there's a ton of ambition put into a series that you'd imagine wasn't Konami's main focus at the time. Nonetheless, it's a very cool game and one worth trying.

4 Brave Fencer Musashi

Real Time Samurai

Brave Fencer Musashi was definitely Square Enix flexing their muscles a bit in the 1990s. With the ultra success of Final Fantasy fueling the wagon, they could go out on and do some different kinds of things. One of those attempts was Brave Fencer Musashi, and it was a good one. It featured something that Final Fantasy didn't have at the time, which was voice acting, and, on top of that, a day-night cycle. This game was innovative, and a darn fine action RPG hybrid that felt like one of the first of its kind in the genre.

It's not too graphically dazzling, but it's very charming, and challenging too. It's got that bit of Square Enix magic that made their games so special in that era, and while it's not the longest game or one that will make a mark story-wise, it's a cool little Isekai-style adventure with some surprisingly slick gameplay for its time.

3 Vandal Hearts

Bloody Times

Vandal Hearts is one of the coolest-looking and slickest strategy-based JRPG games of the PS1, and it comes from a little-known company called Konami. Yup, in the midst of their Metal Gear dominance, they were also building Vandal Hearts in the background. And what a darn fine time this is for any fan of the genre. The gameplay is straightforward, with some grid-based combat you've seen before, but there is a great bit of verticality to it that adds some serious strategy to it. It feels an awful lot like Final Fantasy Tactics at times except the combat animations are far, far beyond anything that game had to offer.

It's exceptionally bloody too, lending some nice impact to your attacks and adding a maturity to the game that might not be apparent at first glance. The story is also interesting, about Ash Lambert and his group of soldiers who uncover a conspiracy around a general and, of course, from there, leads to some crazy magic and ancient evils being unearthed. The story is pretty cut and dry, but the characters bring it to life and the amazing art style that gives the series a unique aesthetic compared to its contemporaries.

2 Brigandine: Legend of Forsena

World at War

Brigandine: Legend of Forsena is one of my favorite titles from the PS1. It's a grand adventure, dealing with politics, war, and complete chaos engulfing the land. There are multiple campaigns led by different main characters, unlockable campaigns, and tons of variety to the combat. That's because of the vast number of units you get per army and how complex each of them can be. You've got multiple kinds of units, monsters that can evolve, and, best of all, slick-looking 3D battle scenes that play out whenever units attack each other. It was Fire Emblem before it made its way to the west, and it's easily one of the better strategy JRPGs on the system.

The stories are well told too, with some impressive for the time voice acting and some solid writing telling the story of this war from six different perspectives. It was wildly ambitious, and although it never became a big-time hit, it has a devout following that are anxiously awaiting the series' return, which should be coming soon if Atlus gives us what we want.

1 Saiyuki: Journey West

The Tale Comes to Life

Saiyuki: Journey West is an adaptation of sorts of the classic Journey to the West story, and in this instance, it's told through a fun and tightly crafted strategy JRPG. From Koei, of Dynasty Warriors fame, you get to play all the major beats in the classic tale, with most of the characters from the story making an appearance and impacting your journey in one way or another. For those unfamiliar, the story is about Sanzo on a journey to the west as sort of a religious mission of sorts and all the strange people and creatures he meets along the way.

It's got some great visuals for the PS1 as it came in the later days of the system, and the on-screen action is seriously as good as it possibly gets for this genre. There are awesome transformations, explosive spell effects, and everything in between. It's not nearly as popular as its contemporaries like Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics, but it's definitely one of those games that deserves a chance for anyone looking to dig into old PS1 games.