So, something that I keep coming back to over and over is just how compelling 8-bit and 16-bit RPGs were/are. In various discussions with my friends about all the new games we're playing, I invariably end up comparing this or that RPG to the classics.
My experience with RPGs really kicked off with Earthbound in 1995. I was 10 years old, playing it in my bedroom for hours on end. I had never known that a game could provide a story of such scale, or characters that I could truly care about. Most of my gaming up to that point had been NBA JAM and Street Fighter. Earthbound shifted my whole perspective on what gaming could be. I genuinely cared about my party - I named them after my friends and family. It made me laugh with its great localization. It also was the first time I experienced fear in a game - Giygas scared the crap out of me. I still get anxious thinking about that boss fight.
After Earthbound I was hungry for more: Legend of Gaia, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger. I played and beat them all. It was Square's Golden Age, and there were plenty of worlds to save, and heroes to level up. When the next gen of gaming rolled around, the PlayStation brought us Chrono Cross and FFVII. I even played and beat Quest64 (though I don't remember at all what it was about). And the PS2 might have been the best system EVER for JRPGs. Shadow Hearts, FFIX, FFX, Star Ocean: TTEOT.
There's a lot of nostalgia I think that drives my attachment to these titles. I still play through Earthbound about once a year. I'm working my way through getting all of the endings on Chrono Trigger DS. But the JRPG formula has certainly become stale for Western audiences. Mass Effect and the Elder Scrolls are way more compelling to me these days than anything that Square-Enix releases in the genre.
But, let's have a toast to days gone by. What's your favorite past-gen RPG, and why? Mine is still Earthbound for all the reasons stated above. Besides, you never forget your first.
My experience with RPGs really kicked off with Earthbound in 1995. I was 10 years old, playing it in my bedroom for hours on end. I had never known that a game could provide a story of such scale, or characters that I could truly care about. Most of my gaming up to that point had been NBA JAM and Street Fighter. Earthbound shifted my whole perspective on what gaming could be. I genuinely cared about my party - I named them after my friends and family. It made me laugh with its great localization. It also was the first time I experienced fear in a game - Giygas scared the crap out of me. I still get anxious thinking about that boss fight.
After Earthbound I was hungry for more: Legend of Gaia, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger. I played and beat them all. It was Square's Golden Age, and there were plenty of worlds to save, and heroes to level up. When the next gen of gaming rolled around, the PlayStation brought us Chrono Cross and FFVII. I even played and beat Quest64 (though I don't remember at all what it was about). And the PS2 might have been the best system EVER for JRPGs. Shadow Hearts, FFIX, FFX, Star Ocean: TTEOT.
There's a lot of nostalgia I think that drives my attachment to these titles. I still play through Earthbound about once a year. I'm working my way through getting all of the endings on Chrono Trigger DS. But the JRPG formula has certainly become stale for Western audiences. Mass Effect and the Elder Scrolls are way more compelling to me these days than anything that Square-Enix releases in the genre.
But, let's have a toast to days gone by. What's your favorite past-gen RPG, and why? Mine is still Earthbound for all the reasons stated above. Besides, you never forget your first.
