The RPG Thread [Newcomers Welcome]

[Winckle]

The best RPG you mooks have never played.

Shout outs to silva for reminding me.

[Christopher]

Deus Ex and BioWare games are the Western RPGs I love.

[Cropolite]

I've been through this too many times in the millions of FF-related threads, so I'll just list the ones I've enjoyed.


FFVII
FFX
Dragon Quest VIII
FFXII
FFIX

Found FFX-2 & Oblivion to be gooseberry fool, and wont touch Fallout for the dull environment.

[Rubix]

My list of favourites

Chrono Trigger
Fable
Fable II
Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic 2
Mass Effect
Deus Ex
Elder Scrolls Oblivion
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 10
Final Fantasy 12
Fallout 3
Tales of Symphonia
Skies of Arcadia
Lost Odyssey
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Xenogears
Secret of Mana
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

[TheTurnipKing]

Personally I enjoy the action-RPG types such as Sacred/Sacred 2, Diablo and the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games - not to mention the amazing Mass Effect (yes, it strawberry floating is an RPG!) but the ones that intrigue me the most, when I can actually get to grips with them, are the likes of Dungeon Siege (the original, not the piss-poor sequel), Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, The Witcher and Planescape: Torment.
These games all have the ability to pause the action and give out orders before, as has been mentioned already in this thread, watching everything unfold in real-time. This way you get the tactics of a turn-based system and combine it with a more free-flowing and well-animated battle system, which just feels... more alive than just watching two lines of adversaries take turns to just pummel each other as the rest look on helplessly until their turn.

It also means as a side effect that you can choose your own speed of play, rather than having it forced on you by the developer... without compromising the actual ability to have in-game fast and slow units.

[Cal]

I love The Elder Scrolls games, too. Yet, strangely, I didn't get on with Fallout 3. I think it's maybe because I prefer to explore a lush green land than to explore a nuclear winter.

So right. What a let down Fallout 3 was. I was so underwhelmed by that game I traded it in straight away and even sent my Official Players Guide, barely looked at, to HoC for free. Biggest disappointment for a long time. Never mind. If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: visuals are 50% of what makes a great game for me. Fallout 3 = Fail.

You RPG fans really should try Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC/PS3/360).

[TheTurnipKing]

The best RPG you mooks have never played.

Shout outs to silva for reminding me.

Oddly enough, I didn't like it. Though I did like the very similar Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Go figure.

[Agent47]

You RPG fans really should try Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC/PS3/360).

I think I love you, Cal.

I've convinced 3 of my friends to buy it so far and all have said how much they're enjoying it, it's a bloody fantastic game!

[Rubix]

You RPG fans really should try Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC/PS3/360).

I will look into this Cal. Tales is out this week so will be focused on that but after I will look at this game "should be cheaper by then too"

Thanks for the heads up

[$ilva $hadow]

I love hating on a lot of JRPG games, but if the majority of forumites on this forum played the whole list I've played, they'd understand why I hate on almost all the games Suzz bangs on about.


Star Ocean?
Any Tales game that isn't Phantasia?
A Dragon Quest game that isn't on the Gameboy or Gameboy Colour?
Secret of Mana?





I know Secret of Mana shouldn't deserve any hate from me, but I played Secret of Mana 2 first and the art style was gorgeous, storyline was much better with about seven interweaving storylines for each character (or at least I think it was seven characters there, it was either seven or six, or maybe eight), the sound, the music; EVERYthing about the game was much improved over Secret of Mana 1 which was at the most I would say is enjoyable as a multiplayer game, but Secret of Mana 2 in co-op and single player absolutely destroyed Secret of Mana 1.

Star Ocean? Suzz hypes this turd of a game up too much. Almost every single cliche I hated came up within the opening of Star Ocean on the PSP, it was unreal. Quite hero who stutters a bit and is a bit shy but later on mans the strawberry float up? Check. Male sidekick who hates on protagonists female friend and gets beaten up excessively but is never injured? Check. Female sidekick who has a crush on the main character but will never admit to it? Check. Jesus christ. I know if I played further on, there would have been comments by the male sidekick to the protaganist commenting on females set of either tiny or huge boobs which would have led to the female beating him up and threatening the main character would have happened.


Dragon Quest that isn't on Gameboy or Gameboy colour? Just play the gameboy games and you'll realise they're fantastic, a slightly medieval theme and lots of monsters to catch and breed. The console iterations are dumbed down and same bland storylines with the same cliches that aren't executed very well at all.

A Tales game that isn't Phantasia? Play Phantasia on a snes emulator. For some reason it feels more adult and doesn't take the player for an idiot that has to have every single thing explained to him and doesn't contain any of the same shite cliches that are executed so horribly. Same stock characters you'll find in almost every generic JRPG as well.

[$ilva $hadow]

The best RPG you mooks have never played.

Shout outs to silva for reminding me.

Oddly enough, I didn't like it. Though I did like the very similar Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Go figure.

Deus Ex and Bloodlines are worlds apart. Literally. One is based on the supernatural and the other one is based on science fiction. Deus Ex is definitely the better game as well with the amount of work put into it.

Edit: That's not to take away from Bloodlines, fantastic game and I love it dearly.

[Oxx]

I think I'm almost ready to start Dragon Quest V.

[$ilva $hadow]

You RPG fans really should try Sacred 2: Fallen Angel (PC/PS3/360).

I think I love you, Cal.

I've convinced 3 of my friends to buy it so far and all have said how much they're enjoying it, it's a bloody fantastic game!

To be honest I don't trust a single opinion about Sacred 2. I'm going to try it out on the PC.....THARR SHE BLOWS MATEY!


I think the console gamers have gotten a taste of what generic top down mouse clicking rpg games on a console pad and they're in love with it. It was the same with Baldurs Gate on the consoles, it was a piss poor game but it appealed to the folks who liked grinding, gathering loot and levelling up.

[$ilva $hadow]

Recently I've been thinking about Diablo 2 and how much I think it actually was a shite game. I hope I'm wrong, but although I loved the visual style and the looting, the storyline was sparse and it just boiled down to clicking on enemies. It was just a basic hack and slash. Generally I have rose tinted glasses when looking back on games, but I'm wary about putting Diablo 2 on my top RPG games list. I don't doubt for a moment how much I enjoyed it, but as an RPG game or whatever it could be classed as if it had any subgenres, I think it lacked a lot of things in terms of objectives, a sense of narrative, an overarching storyline or great voice acting.

[Rubix]

[gametrailers]49498[/gametrailers]

[SEP]

I love The Elder Scrolls games, too. Yet, strangely, I didn't get on with Fallout 3. I think it's maybe because I prefer to explore a lush green land than to explore a nuclear winter. I remember being stunned by how beautiful Oblivion looked when it first came out, and again by Fable 2. I was late to the party with the earlier TES games and Fable 1. Although Fable 1 still looks mighty fine.

In that case, the green world Fallout 3 mod may interest you. You can put the trees back!



PC version only, natch.

Sadly, my laptop doesn't stand a chance of ever running that. When I eventually get a decent PC, I will look into it.

[Cal]

Star Ocean? Suzz hypes this turd of a game up too much. Almost every single cliche I hated came up within the opening of Star Ocean on the PSP, it was unreal. Quite hero who stutters a bit and is a bit shy but later on mans the strawberry float up? Check. Male sidekick who hates on protagonists female friend and gets beaten up excessively but is never injured? Check. Female sidekick who has a crush on the main character but will never admit to it? Check. Jesus Christ. I know if I played further on, there would have been comments by the male sidekick to the protagonist commenting on females set of either tiny or huge boobs which would have led to the female beating him up and threatening the main character would have happened.

The point you make is a fair one. JRPG's are curiously cliche-ridden affairs, often populated by worryingly sexualized children with adult voices or by moody emo-types with improbably bright hair and a propensity for mumbling at their shoes.

The stories these JRPG's tell is the same old story, over and over. It's all very hackneyed. Mind you, not that western fantasy (as in 'sword and sorcery') RPGs acquit themselves with any more originality. Same old, same old most of the time - but if I do enjoy dungeoneering (and I do), I'd rather do it in a traditional land of elves, orcs and trolls than in another confusing, inconsistent steam-punk world of psychotic, slightly homicidal, socially inept animé characters.

BTW, Fable 2 is a another good western RPG, too. Looks amazing. Highly recommended.

[Agent47]

I think the console gamers have gotten a taste of what generic top down mouse clicking rpg games on a console pad and they're in love with it. It was the same with Baldurs Gate on the consoles, it was a piss poor game but it appealed to the folks who liked grinding, gathering loot and levelling up.

I agree with the sentiment of your point in general, but Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was not piss-poor, it was brilliant.

[SEP]

BTW, Fable 2 is a another good western RPG, too. Looks amazing. Highly recommended.

This. Definitely one of my top games this gen. Utterly magical game.

[Cal]

I think the console gamers have gotten a taste of what generic top down mouse clicking rpg games on a console pad and they're in love with it. It was the same with Baldurs Gate on the consoles, it was a piss poor game but it appealed to the folks who liked grinding, gathering loot and levelling up.

I agree with the sentiment of your point in general, but Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was not piss-poor, it was brilliant.

Dunno if you remember D&D Heroes on Xbox, Agent? It was very Baldurs Gate DA - almost the exact same game, but actually had a fairly decent character upgrade system and, of course, the D&D universe. Still have my copy, will never let it go.