Favorite old (computer) jrpgs

[Spore]

Watching a Chrono Trigger LP and playing the game on Steam myself, I got myself into a mood of simple and short-ish plot driven jRPGs again. I heavily enjoyed FF 9 (FF 8 was meh though I still finished it) and I dislike the whole premise of FF 7 (something about RPGs NOT being fantasy is just eh). I played FF 1 too, and I was thinking about Octopath Traveller (though 60 euros is def. too expensive for me).

So do you know any good jRPGs of old that I can try out again, and for cheap? I like shorter games (10-20 hours) because I usually don't have the time for stuff like FF 8 where the story picks up 15 hours after starting off.

[Gnoman]

Dragon Quest III and IV are quite good (It is worth playing I first, since that game's ludicrously short, but II is terrible). V is also very good, but longer.

[Olinser]

Watching a Chrono Trigger LP and playing the game on Steam myself, I got myself into a mood of simple and short-ish plot driven jRPGs again. I heavily enjoyed FF 9 (FF 8 was meh though I still finished it) and I dislike the whole premise of FF 7 (something about RPGs NOT being fantasy is just eh). I played FF 1 too, and I was thinking about Octopath Traveller (though 60 euros is def. too expensive for me).

So do you know any good jRPGs of old that I can try out again, and for cheap? I like shorter games (10-20 hours) because I usually don't have the time for stuff like FF 8 where the story picks up 15 hours after starting off.

Final Fantasy 6 (3 in the US) is one of the best old-style FF JRPGs. I still think its top 3 Final Fantasy games ever made. It's QUITE long, though, I think my first playthrough where I was exploring everything took 70 hours.

Final Fantasy 4 is also quite good (The After Years was not). It's much more linear than FF6 up until the final Airship, but still has some freedom for exploration.

Dragon Quest 5 is probably the best 'old style' Dragon Quest, IMO, and one of the best JRPGs. Dragon Quest 12 just came out, and retains a lot of the JRPG feel, but is definitely more modern.

[Olinser]

Dragon Quest III and IV are quite good (It is worth playing I first, since that game's ludicrously short, but II is terrible). V is also very good, but longer.

I mean.... 1 is short if you know what you're doing or get a walkthrough. But it has a LOT of forced grinding and almost no explanation of what the heck you're supposed to be doing at any particular point so if you're playing it blind it can take a LONG time.

[Ventruenox]

Although it is a 60-80 hour game, Xenogears is available on the Playstation Network for @ $10. Interestingly enough, they blend fantasy and sci-fi in a narrative that feels original and organic. It has a great soundtrack, comprehensible controls, and actual character growth in the playable characters.

[KillianHawkeye]

If you like Chrono Trigger, I'll second checking out Final Fantasy 6 (AKA 3 in the US). One of the best mid-90s RPGs in existence. I also saw that there was a full 3D remake of Secret of Mana (with voice acting and everything!) available on Steam, but that series is more Action-RPG. You might even want to check out Final Fantasy Tactics if you're into tactical combat RPGs.

[Anteros]

Trails in the Sky maybe? Or the Final Fantasy X remaster. The new Dragon Quest didn't appeal to me. It was really slow and I got bored before leaving the first village, so I can't recommend it. It seems it's outside of the price range you want to pay anyway though.