The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu included the results of a survey that asked the popular Japanese magazine’s readers to vote for their favorite RPG of all time.
The survey gathered 2,295 votes, 56% from males, 43% from females (1% didn’t specify their gender). 9% of votes were in their teen years, 36% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 16% in their forties, and 1% in their fifties, with an additional 1% that did not identify their age. Voting was done between June 22nd and June 28th.
Below you can read the full ranking, with the number of votes for each game:
- Persona 5 – 256
- Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation – 218
- Chrono Trigger – 194
- NieR: Automata – 177
- Final Fantasy VII – 169
- Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – 165
- Suikoden II – 155
- NieR – 151
- Persona 3 -131
- Final Fantasy XV – 110
- Xenoblade Chronicles – 104
- Final Fantasy X – 100
- Xenogears – 91
- Persona 4: Golden – 90
- Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen – 82
- Final Fantasy VI – 81
- EarthBound – 78
- Final Fantasy IX – 75
- Final Fantasy VIII – 74
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 72
While the results may have been influenced a bit by the fact that some of the games are more recent than others, and as such more vivid in the memories of many voters, this is probably balanced out pretty well by nostalgia, especially considering that the voter pool wasn’t all that young in average.
Persona 5 won by a large margin, and considering the undeniable charm and quality of the game, this isn’t surprising. The rest of the modern persona trio also places well, with Persona 3 beating Persona 4 by quite a margin, in 9th and 14th place respectively.
The beloved Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation for NES ranks second, but while the most popular Final Fantasy game (Final Fantasy VII) ranks “only” 5th, the Final Fantasy series gathered more votes in total than the Dragon Quest series, with 609 against 465.
Six Final Fantasy games made the top-twenty, against only three Dragon Quest games. It’s also interesting to notice that the Final Fantasy entries that made the cut are generally much newer than the Dragon Quest games, including the latest, Final Fantasy XV, that ranked 10th, and second among Final Fantasy titles.
Of course, Dragon Quest XI is coming, and this survey repeated after July 29th might yield a very different result if the game is as good as it seems.
Chrono Trigger also places very well, not unexpectedly, getting a third position and followed closely by NieR: Automata, that certainly found a special place in the hearts of the fans. The dark horse is the original NieR, that surprisingly comes in eight place. It’s hard to say if it did so fully on its own merit, or partially thanks to the goodwill originated from its successor.
Speaking of NieR: Automata, the issue included a special unreleased version of Akihiko Yoshida’s key artwork, without the bandages/visors. You can check that out at the bottom of the post as a bonus.
Interestingly, Xenoblade Chronicles ranks above the original Xenogears, while Xenoblade Chronicles X didn’t make the cut.
Only one western RPG made the top-twenty, and its identity should not surprise anyone. It’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The last place in the ranking should not appear like lack of appreciation, since it’s a western game in a Japanese poll. As a matter of fact, it should be interpreted as quite the honor.
