8 PS1 JRPGs Where the World Feels Like It’s Slowly Falling Around the Player

In most JRPGs, our mission starts out simple. We may start by killing a mouse, hunting pigs for food, or perhaps planting a flower for our mother, when suddenly we are on our way to face some mysterious being who evokes God and wants to destroy the world. It’s that simple. It doesn’t matter if you are a hero or a high school student.

However, I can’t stop loving JRPGs. Because the plot, the central conflict, is never the only focus here, but rather the journey, the character development, and the connection we build with the world. The world, in many cases, is slowly deteriorating or, in some cases, already on the brink of destruction, leaving us with the role of saving what is left.

In this list, I’ll highlight a few PS1 JRPGs where the world is slowly falling apart and our job is to stop it. Needless to say, there will be spoilers ahead for certain titles, so reader discretion is advised, especially if you haven’t played the other JRPGs featured here. In my humble opinion, they are all very good and deserve to be played completely blind.

8

Valkyrie profile

Fight for the Gods

In Valkyrie profilewe play as Lenneth, a valkyrie who needs to recruit fallen soldiers like Einherjar to fight in Odin’s army to prevent Ragnarok. For those unfamiliar with Norse mythology, Ragnarok is the end of the world. There are several different explanations, such as the destruction of the mythical figures that rule the universe and, therefore, of the earthly plane, Midgard, but to keep things simple, it is the end of it all.

And I mean, nothing screams a dying world more than its literal end. Despite this imminent destruction, the narrative essence of Valkyrie profile it’s more intimate, showing death and tragedy in the Einherjar’s future lives rather than the constant concern of Ragnarok. It’s just that, as this JRPG has very vague requirements for unlocking its endings, you probably won’t be able to stop Ragnarok either way on your first try.

7

Parasite Eve

Welcome to New York

Parasite Eve s less about the universe and more about the immediate world of the game, which, to sum up my argument, takes place in New York City. At first, everything seems to be a beautiful Christmas Eve when we accompany Aya Brea to the opera. There, suddenly, spontaneous combustion, gross stuff, ruined underwear (mine), and a minor heart attack all come together in a macabre symphony.

It doesn’t take long for the monstrous Eve to start taking over all of New York, leaving everything to Aya, who, for some reason (explained in the game), is completely immune to the power found in Eve’s mitochondria. With a Glock in one hand and Parasitic Energy in the other, the game plays out in an ATB combat system where you face strange mutations and uncover the mysteries of science while trying to prevent the Big Apple from being overrun by these monstrous monsters.

6

Breath of Fire IV

The Fall of Society

The backstory of Breath of Fire III it says that the world was on its way to becoming a great Desert of Death until Myria stopped it. In Breath of Fire IVthings are a little different because, technically, the world is right to begin with. The main difference is that what is decaying is not the physical world itself, but rather the world as a society.

The Fou kingdom is a mere shadow of what it was under Fou-lu’s rule. The Endless are almost powerless, and all that’s left of them is being exploited by the megalomaniacal Yuna for her own purposes – and to this day I hate that we never got to kick her ass. Throughout the journey, Breath of Fire IV he slowly tries to convince us why we should be on Fou-lu’s side and reestablish humanity. For all the others Breath of Fire going in, siding with the opponent is never an option, but I have to admit that Breath of Fire IV it made me faint.

The reason we choose to stand with people is our team. Otherwise, I would have brought the end of the world with my own hands. It’s truly an unifying narrative that showcases complete duality and conflicting perspectives, something unmatched to this day in any other JRPG.

5

Weapons of the Wild

Filgaia is already a desert

Filgaia, the land of Weapons of the Wildit does not collapse as it is already disintegrated. In the past, a great war turned Filgaia into a barren wasteland, which feels incredibly appropriate for this Western-themed JRPG. Wherever we go, we cannot find even one tree or any plant life. To make matters worse, the villains still want to destroy what little is left of the world.

All of this happened because the Guardians, the beings responsible for preserving life in Filgaia, were powerless against the Iron Demons, who were probably criminals of Weapons of the Wild. When our three characters come together to face the demons, they must find the power of the Guardians if they want to stand a fighting chance. It’s a roundabout way of preventing Filgaia from splitting up.

4

Star Ocean: The Second Story

A Planet in Danger

First, keep an open mind because though Star Ocean: The Second Story takes place in a larger universe, hence the name, our characters Claude and Rena spend most of their time on the planet Expel at first. The thing is, the world is not slowly falling apart; it is completely destroyed during the game. It’s one of the best twists of any JRPG on the PS1, completely removing the stakes and central conflict.

After Claude crashes the Expel, he is mistaken for a Warrior of Light, and helps Rena while she tries to find a way back to her ship, revealing a much bigger threat in the form of the Ten Sages, but it’s too late. Take a crash on the Energy Nede and boom, then. All of our tours go to Energy Nede, although we can still visit a simulated version of Expel just for the sake of completionists. It’s really sad to think that everyone we met just disappeared overnight.

There’s a happy ending, of course, because JRPGs can’t resist making their players lose their smile, but the first time it happens, it’s pretty scary.

3

The legend of Legaia

The Freaking Mist

The legend of Legaia is yet another JRPG where the world is already on the brink of destruction and our job is to save it. Across the continent of Legaia, a mysterious mist has arisen, which has begun to transform the once peaceful magical creatures known as Seru into fierce creatures.

One day, the Mist attacks the home town of Vahn, one of our protagonists. Fortunately, he is able to awaken the power of Ra-Seru, a creature immune to the Mist, who succeeds in using the Genesis Tree in the center of the city. This tree has the ability to repel fog.

Needless to say, Vahn’s mission, along with Noa and Gala, becomes to track down the other Genesis Trees around the world and, with the power of Ra-Seru literally in their hands, save the world from the Mist. This is a journey that focuses more on bringing the world back from the brink of destruction than anything else, but it remains a compelling journey nonetheless. That helps too The legend of Legaia features one of the most creative turn-based combat systems in the genre.

2

Final dream VII

Bleeding the Planet Dry

For a long time, few fans realized that Final dream VII it featured the story of a group of natural terrorists facing off against a megalomaniacal organization that wanted everything for itself. However, some self-proclaimed JRPG fans are still asking to keep politics out of their games. But before I digress, do you know why AVALANCHE wanted to fight Shinra? Because as the poet Wallace rightly said, “pretend you don’t hear the planet crying out in pain?”

That’s exactly what Shinra does. Through their reactors, it drains the lifeblood of the world to use as a power source and, in the process, literally kills it. Of course, Sephiroth only speeds up the process with all of Meteor’s charms, but then, we have to do something, right? The whole purpose of Final dream VII to save the world, whether that means stopping Shinra, Sephiroth, or just letting the weapons do what they were designed to do.

1

Xenogears

We needed that Sequel

That is not surprising Xenogears it was started and put as a concept of Final dream VIIconsidering that in both degrees, the world is headed for its destruction. However, this is not fully revealed until well into the game. At first, we’re just trying to piece together Fei’s lost memories while everything around him falls apart, including his mental breakdown. But later, we find the presence of God, the Presence of the Wave, and many complex themes that, by some miracle of writing, make sense.

The problem is that doing what Fei and his team think is right puts the planet on a path to destruction, to put it mildly. So much so that various fan theories argue about whether the planet was truly destroyed or just a desolate wasteland, which is already worse. We would like to know more about it in a possible sequel, if Tetsuya Takahashi were to complete his Complete Works. I guess we will never know, but there is always hope.