Good introductory RPG for an 8 year old?

[In Search of Username]

Fable! The humour in that game would amuse kids just as much as adults, I think. And hell, the game actually starts you out as a child.

 

[Sperate]

Rune Factory Frontier for the Wii. It is the Harvest Moon series taking on more dungeon crawling and general RPGness.

 

[Brendan Stepladder]

Pokemon. Sure, it isn't a true RPG, but it will giove your 8-year old an idea about navigating menus, basic resource management, type advantages, and leveling up. Failing that, the Paper Mario series is a good choice.

 

[M0rp43vs]

I think the main selling point is that you get a "Cheap Hoe" amongst your starter equipment. Gave me a good giggle.

I was going to make a crass joke about that tool needing to be in more games, but with current gender politics on the site, I'd rather not get flamed.

Also, I don't have a wii so I guess my harvest moon addiction stays dead with my childhood

 

[juyunseen]

Introductory RPGs? Pokemon of course. Chrono trigger can work as well.
For wRPGs, send him towards Skyrim. Simple, fun, and big.

 

[charge52]

Ultima 4.
Ultima 5.
Ultima 6.
One of them, or Arcanum, they will show whether he wants to play RPGs, or Skyrim.

 

[scorptatious]

My first was Final Fantasy IX. Light of tone (or light enough for an 8 y/o) simple to pick up the controls for, nicely paced, difficulty for a beginner player is at the right level, but can be enjoyed as a harder game, good story, interesting characters, and as I hear it available on the PS3 store online.

So yeah, I recommend FFIX.

That's my favorite RPG! I would love to have him play it. Problem is, he doesn't have a Sony console as far as I know.

 

[xplosive59]

Pokemon, Super Mario RPG, Earthbound, FFVI (The combat system has alot of variety and the story is dark but not so dark that a kid would not understands, with good humour and good characterisation) or Kingdom Hearts (although I dislike the series, the characters are recognizable so they should enjoy it)

 

[Kekkonen1]

I can say that Ni no Kuni coming out early next year will be perfect for him. If you dont know what it is it is a collaboration between Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away and other animated movies) and Level 5 (Rogue Galaxy, White Knight Chronicles). It is incredibly beautiful, colorful and loads of creativity and fantasy.

The thing is, I couldn't stand the game in the end. I Played about 10 hours of the Japanese version that is already out, but the game is clearly aimed towards a younger crowd, with an extremely bright and simple story of good and evil where all the good characters are incredibly good and all that is wrong with the world is the work of the villain. Even the Japanese characters (kanji) has so called furigana over it to show how they are read, something I rarely see in other Japanese games and that also show it is aimed at a younger audience.

So anyway, I think he might like it. I didn't, but then I am a bitter bitter man that like my games to reflect this bitterness and Ni no Kuni was just too much ghibli-happiness for me to handle.

Trailer: http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/06/01/ni-no-kuni-innocent-strength-trailer-e3-2012

 

[Afr0Blu3]

I would go with Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy IX, or Dragon Quest VIII

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

My first was Final Fantasy IX. Light of tone (or light enough for an 8 y/o) simple to pick up the controls for, nicely paced, difficulty for a beginner player is at the right level, but can be enjoyed as a harder game, good story, interesting characters, and as I hear it available on the PS3 store online.

So yeah, I recommend FFIX.

That's my favorite RPG! I would love to have him play it. Problem is, he doesn't have a Sony console as far as I know.

Ah, that would provide a little bit of a problem.

Maybe one of the Paper Mario's? Obviously Pokemon has a lot of RPG elements to it, so it can be a ncie gateway to grown up RPGs. Dragon Quest Swords looks very Final Fantasy-y and is available on the Wii.

Isn't there a Naruto RPG? Might be worth a look.

 

[Launcelot111]

Paper Mario 1 or 2, Earthbound, or Golden Sun. This is independent of console limitations, but if you can find a way, these are all good ones.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

Zelda series
Mario rpg
Banjo Kazooie
Crash Bandicoot
Harvest Moon
Pokemon
Little Big Planet
Secret of Mana
Sword of Mana
Star Wars game (any).
The Hobbit (I love this damn game. Original X-Box)
Pyshconauts <<<<<<<<<<< DING, DING, DING.
The Harry Potter games (they can be dinky, but kids seem to like them)
Harvest Moon
Donkey Kong
Kingdom Hearts
Lucidity
Earthbound

(I reached into my nostalgia childhood bag a bit here and I know these aren't all technically RPGs, but they're fun anyway okay? GEEZ!)

 

[scorptatious]

I can say that Ni no Kuni coming out early next year will be perfect for him. If you dont know what it is it is a collaboration between Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away and other animated movies) and Level 5 (Rogue Galaxy, White Knight Chronicles). It is incredibly beautiful, colorful and loads of creativity and fantasy.

The thing is, I couldn't stand the game in the end. I Played about 10 hours of the Japanese version that is already out, but the game is clearly aimed towards a younger crowd, with an extremely bright and simple story of good and evil where all the good characters are incredibly good and all that is wrong with the world is the work of the villain. Even the Japanese characters (kanji) has so called furigana over it to show how they are read, something I rarely see in other Japanese games and that also show it is aimed at a younger audience.

So anyway, I think he might like it. I didn't, but then I am a bitter bitter man that like my games to reflect this bitterness and Ni no Kuni was just too much ghibli-happiness for me to handle.

Trailer: http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/06/01/ni-no-kuni-innocent-strength-trailer-e3-2012

Studio Ghibli made a game?? 0-o

I'm going to have to look into this...

 

[Jfswift]

Super Mario rpg should be in the wii store by now.

 

[Jinjer]

I greatly enjoyed Neverwinter Nights as a kid (especially the expansion pack, Hordes of the Underdark). I'd go with that, or the KoTOR games.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I'm going to say Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360. It's a great game and it's perfect for an eight year old.

 

[MarlonBlazed]

Mystic Quest is on the Wii I believe. The other suggestions are good but I don't want to repeat them so I'll say that.

 

[The Funslinger]

I'd like to try to get my nephew into RPG's. I was thinking of either Xenoblade or The Last Story, but I wasn't sure.

He has a Wii and a 360. If he still had his DS I'd have him play Pokemon, but he doesn't have it anymore.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Wiis can run gamecube games, so you could use Pokemon Colosseum, or XD Gale of Darkness.