Help with Finding an RPG, Please?

[Exius Xavarus]

If you're interested in Star Ocean: The Last Hope, keep an eye out for Star Ocean: The Last Hope International(redundant due to it being a PS3 exclusive and a PS3 is exactly what you have, but I needed to mention it nonetheless).

Also, you can use [\b](use / in the bold tag, not \) to bold certain titles instead of using CAPSLOCK. It certainly looks a lot less silly.

Tales of Symphonia
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Graces f

All of these are brilliant JRPGs. The battles themselves take place in their own arena, but every Tales title has real-time combat. Not to mention, each and every Tales title(except for certain titles that modify and expand upon) uses their own unique combat system. Brilliantly written and loveable characters, eargasmic music, epic stories. They're overall very, very well done games. Feel free to check out other Tales titles, too.

White Knight Chronicles II

Also an amazing JRPG. Combat is entirely real-time. The combat style is best compared to Final Fantasy XI or XII, but not quite. It does have sort of an MMO feel to it, but it's a very well done game. Highly recommended(Get WKCII instead of WKC: International Edition. WKCII contains a remastered copy of the original WKC on the disc, so you get both games).

Kupo!

The PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia is Japanese only. The only way an American/European could play it is if they could read or understand Japanese. :s

 

[Rastrelly]

Just go classics!

Planescape: Torment
Fallout 1,2
Arcanum
Wizardry games
Might and Magic games
Baldur's Gate 1,2

...

Oh, wait, PS3?

 

[blackrave]

Neverwinter Nights
One of the best RPGs out there
Why?
Based on D&D3 (or 3.5 I don't remember)
Interesting story (but if you want to logically roleplay it, you should start with Shadows of Undrentide campaign, then do Original campaign and only then play Hordes of the Underdark campaign)
Supports modules (custom scenarios).


Also
In my opinion inventory system is one of the best I ever encountered (weight+space+different size items+containers)
Only thing that is lacking from it is ability to flip items 90*
But on the other hand you probably shouldn't listen player who spend half of the time organizing inventory (and loosing items in bags, boxes and pouches anyway)

 

[uchytjes]

RPG? Well, I would have to recommend the Epic Battle Fantasy series, especially 3&4. They are free flash turn-based RPGs that, in my opinion, are some of the best RPGs I've played.

 

[T3hSource]

How come no one has mentioned Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines and Redemption ?!
Bloodlines is a flawed gem, but man, does it shine, it's just so unlike what you've seen or played so far, the setting is actually unique to its own and immerses you pretty nicely in it. However you need the community patches. Also KoTOR and KoTOR 2, how come those haven't been mentioned?

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I've been playing Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory lately. It's... an interesting series, to say the least. The first game wasn't very good, and it absolutely reeked of "no budget", but the characters had a sort of cheesy charm to them. The second game, Mk-2, was better from what I've heard, but I skipped it and read up on the story. Victory is the third game in the series, and it's DEFINITELY better than the first game in almost every way. However, it's rife with fanservice, not unexpectedly so, of course, considering the nature of the game as a goofy, lighthearted, reference-filled, self-aware JRPG, but it's one of the biggest problems with the game at this point; they've ironed out most of the issues that the first game had, apart from fanservice so rampant that I can tell you the colours and designs on most of the main characters' underwear... -_- It's not exactly a recommendation, per se, but it's a JRPG for PS3 that I thought was rather interesting.

Other games of note include Valkyria Chronicles, Tales of Graces f, the Atelier games, and Persona 3. ESPECIALLY Persona 3. While Persona 4 is better, Persona 3 is still great, and you can pick it up on PSN for $10.

 

[Christopher Fisher]

Has The Legend of Grimrock been mentioned. It deserves a mention as it was one of the best RPGs of 2012. Oh, and Torchlight 2. If you haven't played Torchlight 2, you're a horrible person.

 

[wulfy42]

It doesn't look like you have played costume quest and the expansion yet....they are fun for a quick weekend or so...and I think they are on sale right now.

The grandia's are fun, but only the first is on the PSN right now sadly. That game is mostly about the combat system (especially grandia Xtreme)...but the second has a pretty good story as well, and the 3rd isn't too bad story wise (xtreme is just basically a combat system platform with almost no story...but still fun).

If your like me....you'll probably not really get into Dragon's Dogma. May just be that it came out around a bunch of other good games (think Dark souls was around then etc)...so I never really sank my teeth into it. Tried 3 times..and never got much past 10 hours into it each time. I've heard from others that if you keep playing it gets better.....I just didn't have the patience.

Star Ocean the last hope is decent...nothing memorable really...but it'll last you awhile. Good if you can get it on sale or fairly cheap (certainly worth $20).

There are some good RPGs in the Wii believe it or not..and that is a very cheap system to buy (used it might be as cheap as buying a game itself at this point!). I also really enjoyed a game called Too Human...but that was only on the Xbox 360....and I believe it's been pulled from everywhere at this point (might still be able to get used copies at gamestops etc though..and it was like $10). I only mention that because used 360's might be quite cheap as well.

A cheap PC (non-mac) could really open you up to a world of RPGs....so many it's pointless to even start listing them. That is really the place to go for RPGs to be honest. By cheap, I mean like $300 (or less if you can find someone selling a used one). I bought my current PC 7 years ago (in 2006)...for $400...and it still plays all the new games that come out just fine (not at highest settings...but my eyesight blows so I don't notice anyway). If you look on craigslist near you etc, you can probably find a comp that will play a TON of games for you...for under $200.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

If you're interested in Star Ocean: The Last Hope, keep an eye out for Star Ocean: The Last Hope International(redundant due to it being a PS3 exclusive and a PS3 is exactly what you have, but I needed to mention it nonetheless).

Also, you can use [\b](use / in the bold tag, not \) to bold certain titles instead of using CAPSLOCK. It certainly looks a lot less silly.

Tales of Symphonia
Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Graces f

All of these are brilliant JRPGs. The battles themselves take place in their own arena, but every Tales title has real-time combat. Not to mention, each and every Tales title(except for certain titles that modify and expand upon) uses their own unique combat system. Brilliantly written and loveable characters, eargasmic music, epic stories. They're overall very, very well done games. Feel free to check out other Tales titles, too.

White Knight Chronicles II

Also an amazing JRPG. Combat is entirely real-time. The combat style is best compared to Final Fantasy XI or XII, but not quite. It does have sort of an MMO feel to it, but it's a very well done game. Highly recommended(Get WKCII instead of WKC: International Edition. WKCII contains a remastered copy of the original WKC on the disc, so you get both games).

Kupo!

The PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia is Japanese only. The only way an American/European could play it is if they could read or understand Japanese. :s

Thanks for the tip about bolding. You're right, the caps-lock did look kind of silly. Thanks for you recommendations as well. I've actually thought about trying White Knight Chronicles II, but I've heard that the best features of the game rely on it's online component, and I'm generally not interested in directly cooperative online play in my single-player RPG's (Dark Souls being an exception, of course). If it were something closer to the Pawn system I've heard about in Dragon's Dogma, though, that would be fine.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

I'm currently playing Eternal Sonata on 360 and I will say this- hands down prettiest game on consoles. It's an explosion of colour. And the music is incredible (Tri-Crescendo developed it).

The combat system is pretty good. I've played Tales of Vesperia and Symphonia and it's kinda similar. The game tends to drag on around certain bits (looking at you, stupid graveyard bullshit) and the English VA is kinda crappy but you can play it with Japanese audio.

The PS3 version has quite a bit of extra content too. I think it's like 3 more party members, a few dungeons and they reworked the story.

It a 5 year old game so the price is cheap. I got mine for 17 pounds.

Do you have a BC Ps3? I don't know what the PS Store has regarding PS1/2 games.

Unfortunately, my PS3 isn't backwards compatible. There are a few PS2 RPG's on the PSN, but the selection is pretty meager.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Thanks, I'll give Persona 3 a shot. It's downloading right now. I really wish they'd add Persona 4 to the PS2 classics on PSN. I've heard such great things about it.

Oh yes, Persona 4 is great. My favorite game, in fact. But if you ever play P4, make sure you finish P3. I found it exteremly difficult to go back and finish P3 after I started 4 because it makes so many improvements to the gameplay and story. They're both great games in their own rights, though.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I'm kupo for Kupo Nuts!

Not a problem. And ehhh, there are online components for WKCII. There's the Georama(building your own village a la Dark Cloud style) and there are bunched of quests you can do co-operatively. Of course, the really, really high level quests and nigh impossible to do alone, but not all. I don't particularly believe online is required to fully enjoy WKCII, just to participate in super high level quests, which are entirely optional. Personally, I play the game alone. I won't play multiplayer games with strangers. Whether the online components are the "best features" of the game is highly subjective. I can find WKCII for roughly $20 nowadays, I still recommend giving it a try.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

I'm kupo for Kupo Nuts!

Not a problem. And ehhh, there are online components for WKCII. There's the Georama(building your own village a la Dark Cloud style) and there are bunched of quests you can do co-operatively. Of course, the really, really high level quests and nigh impossible to do alone, but not all. I don't particularly believe online is required to fully enjoy WKCII, just to participate in super high level quests, which are entirely optional. Personally, I play the game alone. I won't play multiplayer games with strangers. Whether the online components are the "best features" of the game is highly subjective. I can find WKCII for roughly $20 nowadays, I still recommend giving it a try.

Good to know about the online, thanks. I'm glad it's not a necessity. Since WKCII comes with both games in the series, I was wondering, how good is WKC compared to WKCII? Should I bother playing the first one, or just read the story and skip to the second?

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

From a list I keep of worthwhile games, these are the ones I would consider RPGs. You could also potentially include something like Fallout Tactics though it's much more combat focused than most other RPGs.

Arcanum
Neverwinter Nights 2 + Mask of the Betrayer
Nox
Planescape Torment
Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic 2
Fallout
Fallout 2
Ultima 4
Ultima 6
Ultima 7 + Serpents Isle
Ultima 8
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
The Witcher 2
Alpha Protocol

Breaking paragraphs at random to make this more palatable:

Arcanum is fantastic but isometric and the combat is fairly simplistic. NWN2 & MOTB are pretty well rounded D&D based top down. Nox was way better multiplayer, but the singleplay was quite fun as well, one of the most well constructed game I have ever played, very solid gameplay easily one of the best games ever produced. Planescape Torment has a archaic combat system but a really good story, isometric as well.

KOTOR has very rudimentary combat but a very solid story line and interresting companions. KOTOR 2 is the same thing with even more fantastic dialogue work by obisidian, but they ran out of money and had to rush the end. Fallout is isometric turnbased, very funny, very clever, very adult and dark before other games bothered to do so. Fallout 2 is basically the same but expanded. Ultima 4 is topdown, very rudimentary by todays standards, but it's when the series started to really hit it's stride and Ultima 6 expands on this(both can be hard for modern gamers to get into.)

Ultima 7 and Serpents Isle are some of the best RPGs ever created, the combat is nothing to write home about, but the world, the story and the characters are incredibly detailed. Ultima 8 some people couldn't get into, the story is good though and it creates a very visceral and interesting world with people telling time by the tides instead of the sun and a variety of interesting magic disciplines. Vampire Bloodlines is from the Half life 2 engine, has some of the best dialogue and voice acting in the industry.

Mass Effect 2 is very cinematic, with really good core gameplay and Mass Effect 3 follows that tradition but has a shitty end, writing is hit or miss. Witcher 2 has good voice acting, a really good story, high end graphics, and a very visceral world. Alpha Protocol has really good dialogue, voice acting, a very dynamic system allowing your actions to affect the world more deeply than almost any other RPG, but it has really shitty gameplay and cursor skipping problems.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I'm kupo for Kupo Nuts!

Not a problem. And ehhh, there are online components for WKCII. There's the Georama(building your own village a la Dark Cloud style) and there are bunched of quests you can do co-operatively. Of course, the really, really high level quests and nigh impossible to do alone, but not all. I don't particularly believe online is required to fully enjoy WKCII, just to participate in super high level quests, which are entirely optional. Personally, I play the game alone. I won't play multiplayer games with strangers. Whether the online components are the "best features" of the game is highly subjective. I can find WKCII for roughly $20 nowadays, I still recommend giving it a try.

Good to know about the online, thanks. I'm glad it's not a necessity. Since WKCII comes with both games in the series, I was wondering, how good is WKC compared to WKCII? Should I bother playing the first one, or just read the story and skip to the second?

That's actually the beauty of it. You definitely do not want to skip the original WKC. Going from WKC to WKCII feels more like going from Disc 1 to Disc 2, rather than from prequel to sequel. Personally, I prefer WKC over WKCII. That's just me, but they're both amazing games.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

I'm kupo for Kupo Nuts!

Not a problem. And ehhh, there are online components for WKCII. There's the Georama(building your own village a la Dark Cloud style) and there are bunched of quests you can do co-operatively. Of course, the really, really high level quests and nigh impossible to do alone, but not all. I don't particularly believe online is required to fully enjoy WKCII, just to participate in super high level quests, which are entirely optional. Personally, I play the game alone. I won't play multiplayer games with strangers. Whether the online components are the "best features" of the game is highly subjective. I can find WKCII for roughly $20 nowadays, I still recommend giving it a try.

Good to know about the online, thanks. I'm glad it's not a necessity. Since WKCII comes with both games in the series, I was wondering, how good is WKC compared to WKCII? Should I bother playing the first one, or just read the story and skip to the second?

That's actually the beauty of it. You definitely do not want to skip the original WKC. Going from WKC to WKCII feels more like going from Disc 1 to Disc 2, rather than from prequel to sequel. Personally, I prefer WKC over WKCII. That's just me, but they're both amazing games.

Thanks for the info. I've actually been curious about the game for a while, but the huge difference between the critical reception and the fan reception made me wary. I've seen it being sold for a very cheap price at Gamestop, so I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Galen Marek]

I loved Dragon's Dogma. Its fantastic. Fun story with lots of missions, bit of character creation for you and your pawn which actually affects how they fight in game and the combat is a blast. Multiple playable styles, each style has some different abilities for you to use, some the same, and all feel very solid.
Its gameplay is the main core to how it works. The ability to climb on the enemy to get in their face and smack them around, or sit back and hit them with spells, or use a bow to hit them in weak points (charging up a shot to full power and then sinking it into the eye of a cyclops, watching as he recoils back is so satisfying).

Only downside is the pawns say a lot, but, even that you can just block out.

I definitely recommend it.

Kingdom's of Amalur is also pretty fun. Skill tree is interesting and lets you create hybrid classes (I took hard hitting spells from the two hander tree and the dual weapon fast attack skills from the assasin tree to make my hybrid, very fun to play). There is some character customization, lots of quests and you can choose how to do them (kill that person or let them live). Very colorful game. Its very pretty and again, revolves around its gameplay for the most part.

Would also recommend especially considering how cheap it is now a days.
Edit: I didn't notice you had KoA:R already on your list, my bad -_-

Final Fantasy 10, 10.2 are pretty good; but yeah, stupid Ps3 won't play ps2 games and the 10 HD remake doesn't come out till later this year. When Final Fantasy 10 and Kingdom Hearts get their HD remake and are released I would recommend those.

If your PC isn't to bad, I would recommend Fable: The Lost Chapters. Its a brilliant game. One of the best RPGs to ever be released.

Also, Star Ocean: The Lost Hope lost my interest pretty quickly. Takes a while to get into it, very slow start.

 

[Hydrahunter]

I am very very very saddened that the best game ever, Vanguard Bandits (Epica Stella), has not been mentioned in this thread. It is a very unique and awesome TBS/RPG in the vein of FFT that everyone should play. It's even on the PSN for like $5 I believe though you might not consider these types of games as true RPG's as they are predominantly Turn Based Strategy games but hey, I view DA:O as a Real Time Strategy on the harder difficulties.

 

[I Can't Breakdance]

RPG's that I've found to be better then most were; Skies of Arcadia, Wild Arms 3, Chrono Cross, Rouge Galaxy, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Radiant Historia, Final Fantasy 6-10, and Valkyria Chronicles.