My intended RPG games

[Synre]

I also forgot to mention that a number of them I've already beaten, namenly Chrono series, Breath of Fire series (except Dragon Quarter and yes, I plan to play the retranslated verion of 2 soon), Golden Sun series (minus Dark Dawn), Lufia 1, Fallout 3, Grandia 1, Super Mario RPG, Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, Pokémon Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Final Fantasy 1 and 2.

I was pumped to see Breath of Fire mentioned, since it never gets any love in RPG topics on this forum and is a series I have a soft spot for, but man, I hope the fifth title doesn't disillusion you quite as much as it did me...

The Elder Scrolls is another series that should probably go on this list.

what, no Dragon Age: Origins??

+1 on both of those, good strong series. Elder Scrolls was never really worth my thing but is worth playing; Dragon Age: Origins is easily my favorite current gen RPG. Lost Odyssey worth mentioning too.

sorry doomers, but you know we're still on the same wavelength when it comes to digimon world 1 (which, by the way, is my favourite game for ps1. ive decided i like it a bit more than monster rancher 2 if only because its more immersive)

god DAMN look at this fucking traitor jesus christ


still the main two games i still play on PSX these days... them and chrono cross, anyway. need to rebuy digimon world 2 for old time's sake...

 

[Yuri]

The Elder Scrolls is another series that should probably go on this list.

Right, I've heard good things from it. Thanks for the heads up.

The Infamous series is considered one of the best games on the PS3 right now. I would certainly give those two a shot.

Elaborate please.

what, no Dragon Age: Origins??

Elaborate please.

If you don't mind needing to shoot things the original Mass Effect is nice

(the sequel is too actiony for the list but the original still fits)

Hm how does it compare to Fallout's RPG-ness?

lufia

If I recall correctly, Lufia 1 had a roguelike dungeon as well, all with multiple floors and retardedly difficult enemies. It didn't put you at level 1 or offered else hinderance though. I kinda liked it, I can't help it with fruity love stories lol.

Lufia 2 I played some years ago. I got until the Tangela monster but stopped for whatever reason.

Hey brasilian noob. Lately I've been giving my old PSOne a lot of use 'cuz my ps2 broke down :( so with this mind, I recommend you (if you haven't played them already) Legend of Dragoon, a final fantasy style RPG by sony with 4 CDs and a pretty cool timing based battle system and also Digimon World which is a combination of a tamagotchi and a fighting-monster RPG.

It's been over 6 years and you still can't spell brazilian.

Which version are you playing? I've been playing the NES/Famicom version (and the 1999 translation, not the 2005 one) and I'm almost done, so I'll say that it's a very, very good RPG, almost on par with the SNES titles, even. Assuming you are playing the Famicom version (you did refer to Red WIZARDS), it might have helped to develop White and Black Wizards (throughout the game, even), so that they had higher magic attack multipliers (yes, they have them, too!) to make Salamander a bit more... fair.

Also, the final boss is so, so evil...

I've always maintained that, in Final Fantasy I, the enemies were overpowered, rather than the bosses being underpowered. If you didn't have to grind to get through some of the parts, the bosses might have had a bit more presence... In FF2, it kind of sucks that you get ridiculously broken instant death spells (Toad/Mini in NES, Teleport in later versions because they were retarded enough to give it 50% base accuracy) to lol at both enemies and bosses.

"Aww man, guys, I told you we should have killed the Emperor instead of just turning him into a Toad..."

Yes, it is the Famicom version, patched. So far so good, actually. I hear you on Final Fantasy 2. The game is ridiculously easy. Thegrowth system is so abuseable it's even funny. I use Teleport chiefly for scaping dungeons, I didn't bother using it on enemies because I ddin't want it to cost 200 MP later on and also because I figured bosses would be impervious to it and other instant death attacks. I shunned Death, Stun, Confuse, Mini and Toad for the same reason. They never worked either so meh. Doesn't help I played the GBA version (save anywhere).

But God be damned, Final Fantasy 1. Unless item and spell information are on the game manual, I do not see how on Earth one is supposed to play that. The lack of information and resources make this game harder than it actually should be, in my opinion. No revive items. When you die you stay dead until the next town. Yes the White Mage has two resurrection spells but FF1's White Mage is the suckiest character in the history of suck. Only one and lame HP regeneration item. Hey people, WarMech has just hit me for 600 damage, good thing I can heal a whooping THIRTY HP per Potion huh? Speak of 600 damage the random deaths from random criticals and Rub spells really pissed me off. Thats is what me me retry the last dungeon like 5 times.

lol I love how the OP's name is Yuri and I'm currently (almost 100% completed) playing Tales of Vesperia (Yuri is the main character btw).

Plot twist: that is my real name.

I was pumped to see Breath of Fire mentioned, since it never gets any love in RPG topics on this forum and is a series I have a soft spot for, but man, I hope the fifth title doesn't disillusion you quite as much as it did me...

Worry not, I do realize it is mostly a standalone title. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[capefeather]

tl;dr start with VII and once you're hooked go from there.

I think I'd actually recommend playing IV first, and not just because it's the first one I played ;P It has no gameplay gimmicks whatsoever, so just about every other FF can be compared directly to it in terms of the gameplay. Plus, it's one of the best FFs in the first place. (I also wouldn't recommend playing any of the NES FFs anyway... they kind of require a certain taste.)

i didn't enjoy secret of mana (i know, im a monster) but seiken densetsu 3 is arguably one of the best games of its era.

Well... I wasn't really blown away by Secret of Mana, either. Maybe the fact that I'd played Final Fantasy Adventure first caused a bit of a culture shock, but it feels too slow for an action RPG, and too fast for a turn-based RPG (considering its pseudo-ATB mechanics). But now you're making me want to play Mana 3...

I hear you on Final Fantasy 2. The game is ridiculously easy.
[...]
But God be damned, Final Fantasy 1. Unless item and spell information are on the game manual, I do not see how on Earth one is supposed to play that. The lack of information and resources make this game harder than it actually should be, in my opinion.

Well, I wouldn't say that FF2 is "easy" unless you spend a lot of time abusing the engine (specifically the target-cancel glitch). However, Toad and Mini are definitely well worth the effort even if you just idly cast them every round to develop them. It saves a lot of time when you're going through Pandemonium... Just about every non-undead enemy is susceptible to Toad and Mini, INCLUDING bosses; bosses I believe tend to have high evasion % and evasion levels, but if you level Toad and Mini enough to bypass those, then they'll work.

Yeah, both FF1 and FF2 suffer from lack of information -.- I looked up what stuff did just so I didn't have to experiment with everything. In FF1, you pretty much have to use enchanted items when you get them to conserve magic, which makes the lack of information even more terrible. Plus, FF1 has a LOT of glitches, some of which help (e.g. weapon index numbers determine crit rates, making the Fighter super-powerful) and some of which hurt (e.g. Intelligence isn't factored into magic damage at all, and running depends on really random stuff...) and even kill the viability of the Thief and the Black Mage entirely.

 

[Glen]

god DAMN look at this fucking traitor jesus christ

synre, don't be willful ^^;

 

[MackTheKnife]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon? IMO thats even more of an RPG than the main series of Pokemon games.

 

[monkfish]

actually having mentioned dragon age i notice you also havent included star wars: knights of the old republic (usually known as 'kotor'). they are from the same developer (bioware) and the gameplay in both is really good. i think the best measure of an rpg is how badly you want to hit that next level and become a little bit more awesome - both these games pace themselves well and have an excellent story to boot.

dragon age has a metacritic score of 91 and kotor 93. that's an average score. ridiculous.

 

[Firestorm]

I would highly recommend playing at least one Tales game. If it's just going to be one, try Tales of Vesperia (360 - available on Games on Demand so you don't need to hunt for it) or Tales of Graces F (PS3) when it comes out in North America and Europe next year.

 

[tape]

Why isn't Megaman Battle Network added? It's not only a "card-based game"; it's an Action RPG. In the battles, you move around in real time while still being limited to certain actions (your chips).

 

[Yuri]

My secret goal is to eventually beat ALL of them, as long as the series is any good. I know it'd literally take years and I am not kidding.

 

[Layell]

Are there ones on this list that you have beaten, I'd imagine some of the Pokemon ones to start? Perhaps you could bold those ones.

The World Ends With You is just about on every top ten DS games for a reason, great action RPG. If there is any criticism it's that the game relies entirely on the awesome battle system, there aren't dungeons or areas to really explore. There aren't random battles, so if you are badass you can just power through bosses and scripted events.

I tried to get into the Baten Kaitos games on the gamecube, I rented the first and couldn't get into it, but I have heard many great things. It's a card game type of system, which I adored in Kingdom Hearts CoM.

 

[Pikapu]

I would highly recommend playing at least one Tales game.

I second this. The games are especially fun if you can find a friend or two to play with.

My friend and I played Tales of Symphonia last summer and this summer we're playing through Tales of the Abyss. I've found both the battles and stories in both games to be enjoyable.

 

[Renosaur]

yeah, breath of fire got a mention!

If you like the style that Jrpg's go into then I recommend you having a try of the Suikoden series. By Konami, the gameplay is so much similar to BoF: the sounds, music, graphics, gameplay .. everything! (minus the emphasis on dragons)

 

[Sæglópur]

Ahhhh Shin Megami Tensei all the waaay.
I've only played through Persona 3, but I'm planning to play through like every game in this series, I LOVE it. Persona 3 (as well as their other games) are really dark, the combat isn't super easy, and the stories are captivating. Don't let the anime turn you off, it's a really good series and Persona 3 is a good one to start with if you want to try it. :)

 

[capefeather]

I've only played through Persona 3, but I'm planning to play through like every game in this series, I LOVE it.

If you're planning on playing the oldest games (Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei), I'm going to warn you now. The only well-known translation hack of SMT is pretty buggy; you'll have to, for example, switch to a Japanese original (rename your save file to do that, at least for the emus I've used) when you have to buy guns, and guns happen to be very, very good weapons. I don't know how unreasonable the Persona series is in withholding information, but SMT is pretty ridiculous in that department. Oh, and there is no Megami Tensei translation hack yet.

 

[NeoSeth]

I didn't read every single post here, so sorry if it's redundant, but The World Ends With You is one of my favorite games of all time. The story, characters setting and gameplay are all fantastic. It'll move you. The ONE flaw is that it has a very steep learning curve for it's unusual combat system. Luckily, there are no random battles and you can leave and return to an area to spawn the enemies again, so you can practice as much as you want. You can change the difficulty as you see fit (Although you have to reach certain points in the game first), so it'll suit your needs. On Normal, it's not too difficult. I played through most of the game without ever dying, getting over halfway through before being destroyed by Leo Cantus. But you can set it to Hard for more of a challenge.

Final Fantasy V Advance was also great. It has a very deep job system, and isn't lacking in the difficulty department. The optional bosses like Shinryu, and the entire extra dungeon, are incredibly difficult. Neo Shinryu is one of the hardest bosses I've yet faced in any game, if not the hardest.

That's all I have for now, but I'll check my collection and possibly be back later.

 

[GlassAbsol]

The Elder Scrolls definitely is a series which are essential for a list of RPGs I also agree with Digimon world. I remember I had it when I was like 8 and it was the best thing I ever played, even Better than Crash Bandicoot (that's saying something lol)
Although a little Hack and Slashy, Baldur's gate series and then Champions of Norrath and its sequel are mostly all good games, if a little easy but very satisfying, and Fun.



gran tarismo is a good seires for rgping too...

 

[Empoleon Guru]

You should probably put Dragon Quest Monsters in there too, the new DS ones were fairly good.
Also Blue Dragon and the Suikoden series are generally awesome.

 

[RCX]

PS: Before reading, please note that I'm brazilian...

Well, you'll need plenty of time and patience, so good luck.

Talking about these games, I've finished half of those, actually the ones of SNES, PSONE, GBA, and Mega Drive, and some of every other console... It will take time, but with an emmulator, with frameskip and savestate you can finish faster... Don't call it heresy, sometimes when walking in the world maps or simmilars, we only want it to end to se the history of the game...

There are a few games missing, especially the PC ones, like some guy posted before, Kotor, and of course, Baldur's Gate series and Neverwinter Nights series, and a lot more PC games (or Windows, whatever)...

The Romancing Saga 3 I've played in SNES, and the console is not listed in the game.

Many of the ones that are originally in JAP have fans translations in the web, with some effort you can find those.

There is also some forgettable RPG games in the N64...

If I find some games that would be a nice addition, I'll tell ya.

Unfortunately, I'm a big fan of tactical RPGs and strategy games, wich I have more to add.

Obs.: I don't remember if Rhapsody (PSONE) is tactical or RPG - even as a girls game, I've liked the dinamycs.

The Legend of Zelda is RPG or adventure? It still a classic to me.

 

[TaiCrunch]

I may have overlooked it, but nobody's mentioned PlaneScape: Torment yet. If you're into the D&D system you'll love it.

 

[Ouro]

How do you feel about action RPGs?

 

[Zacchaeus]

Anyone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I've never played Shining Force, however, I play and love Shining Soul for the GBA. I'm pretty sure that even though Shining Soul branched off of the Shining Force franchise, they are not very similar outside of their basic genre. Shining Soul 2 is one of my favorite RPGs to date and if you can find it I would definitely recommend it (while keeping in mind that I've never actually played Shining Force)

 

[Mr.E]

plz to be bring Xenoblade to the US >:| fuck you Reggie

 

[Fishy]

where is the fire emblem dude??

FE6 is definitely my favorite, then 7, and then probably 10. You should definitely play them in order though, at least where the sequels are concerned, like 6->7 even though 7 is actually the prequel! 9-10 is game cube to wii, and I definitely enjoy 10 more than 9, although both are great games and tie together very well, gameplay and all.

 

[Layell]

also excluded are tactical RPGs like Fire Emblem and Shining Force because I hate the genre.

Although yes FE is an amazing series.

I finally got around to beating FFV Advance. While not plot heavy certainly the most fun I've had of the FF RPG's I have attempted to play. I'm not sure if I want to go through the bonus dungeon at this point because I am peeved at the game for having certain bard songs I can't get because I didn't talk to Random Person A before Random Event B.

I did about every hidden event with a guide for Tales of Vesperia and after that, never again.

 

[theamericandream38]

Digimon World 1 definitely gets a recommendation from me, but just know that recruiting Monochromon is possibly the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced (successful exactly once in approximately 12893982 tries). Also: Tales series, Elder Scrolls (highly recommended), and Fallout 3/New Vegas if you like ES. I know a lot of sweet strategy games but you said you hate FE so I doubt you would like them =/