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Examples of good RPG games? (for those who are dissatisfied)

Started by VincentCraven, April 09, 2010, 08:40:57 am

VincentCraven

April 09, 2010, 08:40:57 am Last Edit: April 09, 2010, 12:15:21 pm by VincentCraven
(Dissatisfied with recently released games, that is)

I decided to do a little RPG research.

It would be most helpful if you simply put down your favorite RPG game of all time AND the latest satisfying RPG you've played.  If you know what subset each is ('pure', action, strategy) that's cool too.

If you're feeling rather 'talkative,' details about what makes for great RPGs would also be welcome, as well as lists of other great games.

In case you are curious about my motives, I'm trying to build my computer skills in fun ways, though I wouldn't expect a great game to come of this any time soon.  University teaching is way too slow.
I changed jobs and that has made all the difference.

Kyousukeee

My favorite RPG would be Star Ocean 2
I believe not everyone is familiar with SO2 so I'll list a few reasons :
- Item customization
The key concept for me in this game . You can make your own weapons , armors , food (!) etc or make 'em better by combining two equips or adding jewels and ores . I'm pretty sure there are over 500 itens in this game which makes the scavenger hunt very enjoyable :D
You can open up skills to create itens as you buy skill books in the game , and when you have the right level you'll open 'advanced skills' which helps you in some weird way ( Eg. Summon a gigant bunny to walk around in the world map pretty much like a chocobo ) .
Early in the game you can also open the 'pickpocket' skill which you can use to steal itens from people in town and even your own team members in 'Private Actions' ( tho it'll most likely drop your friendship level with them ) and later you get the advanced skill which-I-forgot-the-name to create counterfeit checks you can sell for a high amount of money , contracts that grant you ownership of INNs so you don't have to pay for the night and even itens that level you up =p

- Real time battles
No turns , you can move around the battlefield to attack monsters , run around them , lure to let your other chars attack it from behind , run from mobs when you are low on health and give time to the healers to cure you and much more . Most of the strong spells will 'freeze' the battle due to animation purposes but you can choose which spells your mages can cast or even put them in a melee mode . After you get some skills books , you'll open the combo counter - it won't add damage or anything but you can see which fighting skills are being triggered .

- Characters relaionship
All haracters in the game are unique with their own personalities , they have their own list of skills that they are good at ( writing , drawing , cooking etc ) and you can train them to get the skills they aren't naturally proficient at . Favorite foods which will heal them for 100% HP and MP . . .
You can futher the interaction with them through the 'Private Actions' . Those are events that happens in pretty much every town in the game , some at specific times , others can be started at any point . You can raise ( or drop ) your friendship/love level with them - which will affect the ending and even the support they give to your character in battle ( Eg. if you have a really bad relationship with Rena she'll heal other more often than you ) .
There are all sorts of events , it will explain things related to the story , others events are romantic-oriented , some will be very funny ( Eg. when Leon tells Claude that he is in love with all female members of your team and ask you to get him to 'date' one of them ) and so on . On most of the events you can either help your friends and get a better relationship with them or mess the whole thing and make even the serious events hilarious .

- Replay
Due to the several combinations of possible endings , which is something around 80 combinations or so plus the different difficulty levels you can open up later I'd say replaying the game is always fun and the increased difficulty makes the game even better .

The graphics aren't good but the game is awesome . The 'freedom' you have in this game is something I've never seen in any other game thus making Star Ocean 2 unique to me , since it's not a 'static' game something aways change whenever you play it . It beats any FF game I've played so far .
My second favorite is Tactics Ogre for PSX - Strategy game
Well any fan of fantasy strategy games HAVE to play this game .
Good plot with different possibilities , excellent gameplay . . . way better than FFT .

after those 2 comes a list of games but not exactly in that order :
Vagrant Story / Final Fantasy IV , VI , VII , Tactics / Castlevania series mostly SOTN onwards / Tactics Ogre the Knight of Lodis / Kartia / Zelda a Link to the Past

My least favorites would be
SaGa Frontier 2 - Good graphics but I didn't enjoy it at all , kinda boring and I had only the japanese version =p
Iggdra Union - Horrible limited gameplay , very polluted graphics .
Knights in the Nightmare - Cool battles but very limited too .

I believe that what makes a game good to play is not being a static thing , I mean , most RPGs are like that . . . a story with a defined storyline , minor changes in course which will not affect the end and nothing else . That's why I like TO , even if the ending does not change much , you can make a different route in the game which will take you to a whole different plot . SO2 doesn't allow you this possibility but the item crafting , customization and character relationship makes up for the straight storyline .

Tigerspike

My favorite RPGs are Final Fantasy I, IV, VI, Tactics Ogre, Disgaea 3, and Chrono Trigger.  I'll also add that I enjoy the Fire Emblem series even though it is very light on RPG elements.

To me, what makes a great RPG is optional content (quests, equipment, characters, etc.), the ability to customize your party, alternate endings, and a great cast of characters.  I also love being able to explore the world, as it reinforces the concept that you are part of the world.

This also makes me think about what I haven'y enjoyed in the latest Final Fantasy games.  In FFX there was really no exploration, the characters were boring (to me), and much like VIII & IX, there was the annoying and tacked-on romance.  FFXII played itself, and I really didn't like the characters all that much (Vaan, why are you here on this quest?  Balthier, shut up about being the leading man, you sound like you've escaped from the mental ward :roll: ).


EDIT: I'll concede that I enjoyed the gambit system to an extent, however, I personally feel that it is unbalanced--making the game too easy when used, and making combat a chore when not used.  After a short time playing the game I had been able to set up a gambit system where I was able to wipe out any enemy on the map without having to be in the same room as my console--and that isn't an exaggeration.
Oh come now. That doesn't even make sense. How can flimsy paper possibly beat the raw density of stone?

Dokurider

Huh, I've been looking for good RPGs, too.

FFXII: See topic here.

Lunar: Silver Star Story. Excellent game. The first RPG I've played that let's you use your whole party at once, among other things.

I used to like Wild Arms as a kid. Really introduced me to the joys pseudo-philosphy.

I used to like FFVIII, cause I thought Squall was pretty cool guy and stuff.

Earthbound is great.

I heard Legend of Mana and Golden Sun are pretty good.

I've also heard nothing but good things about the Shin Megami Tensi series and the Persona series (not so much the translations though...)

Kaijyuu

QuoteI'm pretty sure there are over 500 itens in this game which makes the scavenger hunt very enjoyable :D
1024, actually. As far as I could tell when messing with items, all the slots were used too.

You can get up to 64 of each item with a gameshark/ect. Dunno why they limited it to 20 in-game; always found that annoying.


---


Awesome RPGs you might not of played:
Valkyrie Profile (PS1) - excellent battle system, though badly paced story
Bahamut Lagoon (SNES) - Decent tactical battle system
Soulblazer (SNES) - Good action RPG from back in the day
  • Modding version: PSX

VincentCraven

April 09, 2010, 09:11:11 pm #5 Last Edit: April 09, 2010, 09:14:09 pm by VincentCraven
Interesting...

Star Ocean 2 I've heard of, but I haven't played yet.

Thanks guys, this is a good start for me.

I actually hadn't played FFIV yet, but I've got it on my PC so I've been playing that today.
I changed jobs and that has made all the difference.

VampragonLord

15:05   slave: consensual slavery is the best thing ever~

VincentCraven

Quote from: "VampragonLord"super mario RPG

Ahh, those were good times.  Glad to hear from other fans of the game.
I changed jobs and that has made all the difference.

Gotwald

-- Attention Citizens, this is the Computer. 2 + 2 now equals 3.9999238849009985. Please recalibrate your equipment.

My youtube Channel
My 1.3 Playthough (Complete)
My Final fantasy I Blind playthrough

SolidSnakeDog

Quote from: "Gotwald"
Quote from: "VampragonLord"super mario RPG

I even played the hacked version of this game. (All enemies got double attack/magic/HP.)
Great game. (The only thing bad about it is this is a bit too simple and really easy...reison wy i played the *Hard* version to get a chalenge :wink: )

philsov

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. -- This game really is underappreciated.  It's a linear game with a set party, but one hell of a dungeon crawler with a decent storyline with a few hints of rogue-likeness (limited number of true saves, ever-growing D% number which causes game over if abused).  The battle system is absolutely marvelous with tactical placement of your 3 members and an ability point system (kinda like xenogears, only... good) that also works with your movement stat.  Upon replaying you gain access to previously locked doors and access to additional scenes which really help round out the story, all while letting your abilities and equipment carry over.  If you really plan ahead, you can get the best possible game score on your third playthrough -- limit your number of saves, complete the game quickly, open all chests, etc.  In fact, with the exception of "Ryu" the blue-haired guy with a sword who turns into a dragon and "nina" the winged mage type, this deviates so far from the rest of the series its probably better as a stand-alone game.  Brilliant gem, imo.

Dragon Age:Origins -- everyone is one of three classes (warrior, rogue, mage) but there's plenty of specialities to go around.  Decent-sized cast of characters with a 4-person and tactical type battle system, complete with a gambit-like system that comes with presets like "healer" or "archer" or "tank" if you don't want to mess with it.  A lot of open-endedness in terms of direction (though you ultimately complete all 5-ish scenarios eventually), pretty good dungeon crawls, plenty of side-stuff for cash, and the ability to make several key decisions which affect your party (OR LACK OF :D) and the final series of battles.

Persona 4 -- again, good dungeon crawls with a good crew of unique yet interchangeable characters.  Plenty of customization for the main character, and even set to the turn of a sim-type game where you have to juggle the RPG dungeon crawling with spending time with friends and going to clubs/work for cash/battle boosting/cutscenes.  Probably the only RPG that's come out recently that features the older, traditional JRPG combat where I'm on the bottom of the screen and I kill the enemies in front of me.
Just another rebel plotting rebellion.

VincentCraven

I'd play a hacked version of SMRPG, but I've beaten it so many times it's really not worth it even for the increased difficulty.
That being said, it's probably a pretty good start for trying to learn how to make games.

@Philsov: The latest Breath of Fire, eh?  I haven't played too many rouge-like games, but it sounds pretty cool.

There are lots of games that I liked at the time just because I hadn't experienced that type of story before, but I think I mostly liked certain facets of particular games rather than the whole package.

E.g. Quest64:  Probably one of my favorite battle systems, but the storyline could literally fit in about a page or two with all conversation included.

I played Golden Sun and I liked the puzzles embedded in it as well as the overall elemental dynamic, but looking back the story was pretty forgettable.
I changed jobs and that has made all the difference.


Xifanie

I second Star Ocean 2

Tales of Phantasia, play the PSX version or higher; the SNES version sucks. You can find translation patches on romhacking.net.
Give it a try if you haven't.
  • Modding version: PSX
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Kaijyuu

Star Ocean 1 for the SNES was pretty good. There's a remake for the ps2 (or maybe 1, I can't remember) with voice overs and whatnot but I haven't played it so can't say if it's any good.
  • Modding version: PSX

Zeron

If you want a game with an indepth (and excellent) story then Xenosaga's definitely one to consider.  If you're not all to interested in story then stay the fuck clear of it.

Like Philsov, I also really enjoyed B0F.  Haven't played it in years, so can't say much, but it was a fun one with a decent enough little story.  Some unique battle  system quirks that were good.

Disgaea is a fun enough strategy RPG, but the battle system isn't anything too exciting a lot of the time.  Still I definitely thought it was worth the money time.  Good characters, and a good game overall.  Although the second game was pretty annoying...

I've only heard good things about Shadow Hearts and Shin Megami Tensei, but haven't played either series.  Anyone have opinions on these games?  I guess Persona 4 that philsov mentioned is part of SMT...
For the SMT series is there an order you have to play them in, or are they all separate games?


VincentCraven

I changed jobs and that has made all the difference.

Mari

Time Stalkers!
Fairly unknown game, but I spent many many hours playing it and never a one of them was not fun!
  • Modding version: Other/Unknown
As the puppeteer pulls His strings,
The fragile doll spreads Her wings.
To dance a ballet as He directs
That is the Curse of the Marionette.

Controlled by a hand far, far above,
Forbidden to care, forbidden to love.
Forever shall She mime what She cannot know,
Until the day She loses her illusory glow.

Propped up on a stilt where wine once stood,
The Marionette is, once more, only wood.
Her glossy eyes have lost their shine,
Her silken hair, turned to twine.

What a fate awaits the poor little doll,
Who dances and runs but cannot stand at all.
And the puppeteer is applauded at the end of every show,
But the audience's joyous response the doll can never know.

I am but a doll on an endless stage,
Dancing for others whilst I slowly age.
My puppeteer sits far above,
Hiding His face behind a white glove.

And when I have aged to nothing but wood,
I will be tucked away in a closet where a doll once stood.
Then, as I gather dust and the world passes by,
I will be forgotten by the vast, blue sky.

Skip Sandwich

the MegaTen series is similar to the FF series, in that the games feature similar concepts and motifs, but the plot and characters from game to game are largely irrevelant. the first-person dungeon crawls in the earlier games are a pain in the ass, especially to me, so I'd actually suggest playing one of the many spin-off series instead, Devil Summoner, Digital Devil Saga, and Persona are all very good series based on Megami Tensei.
"Dave?  Are you there?"
"Yeah.  I can't get you through the cell now."
"You have to talk through the bratwurst from now on. I'm sorry. I didn't know it would do that."
http://www.johndiesattheend.com