In search of new (to me) RPGs

[go-10]

I'm going to recommend the one's I've recently played and enjoyed for PS2
- Dragon Quest VIII (good story, good characters, and a gorgeous living and breathing world, the start of the game is hard as mighty hell, once you get Jessica though things start to get more manageable, plus exploration is just awesome in this game, if you can see it you can go there)

- Xenosaga Episode 3 (Ep 1 and 2 are okay, but 3 makes a good explanation of everything, no need to play them)

- Wild Arms 5 (you could try 3 and 4 as well, but 5 is my favorite due to the many similarities to Gurren Lagann)

- Final Fantasy X-2 (FF X is also good but X-2 has the best ATB system EVER, it's down right perfect)

- Valkyrie Profile 2 (I'm currently still playing this one for the first time and I'm really liking it)

- Odin Sphere (beautiful art and challenging battles)

- Grim Grimoire (think Harry Potter using summons to fight and Harry's a girl who also happens to be a lesbian, it's a great game and like Odin Sphere the art is amazing!)

- Suikoden V (I'm also playing through this game for the first time and it's story is really intriguing)

as an honorable mention for the PSX I'll recommend Brave Fencer Musashi THE ONE FOR PSX AVOID THE SEQUEL LIKE THE PLAGUE

 

[Sir Christopher McFarlane]

Radiant Historia... that looks intriguing. Though I can see that time travel mechanic getting confusing really quick. Chrono Trigger pulled off a minor miracle by somehow keeping things understandable, I think. Have Okami. Fun adventure game, but not exactly the same category of RPG either.

It's not complicated. The game has a screen where they keep track of the story events and sidequests for you.

 

[Mister K]

You didn't mention older PC RPG's, so try the following:
1. Star Wars: Knights of the old republic (1 and 2). You don't need to know much about SW to enjoy them. You like Sci-fi and lighsabers? Welcome aboard!
2. Fallout 1 and 2. Eternal classic. Turn-based western RPG in post-apocalyptic setting.

Also, for PS2:

1. Final Fantasy X. Don't judge the game by the looks of the MC (his clothing reminds me of every fashion deigners nightmare). It is a really good JRPG. One of my favorites. Although it is a bit grind-heavy, in my opinion.
2. Persona 4 (must have!). Mystery. Lovable companions. Aid from mythologica creatures. What's not to like?

 

[JarinArenos]

Which one? There are three games: Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and Golden Sun Dark Dawn.

The first two are actually two parts of one long game. Golden Sun ends on a cliffhanger and you get a code to input when you start The Lost Age so that the characters will have the same items, stats, etc you finished Golden Sun with.

Lost Age fits the description. Started the game with what appeared to be an escape from a load-bearing-boss tower or something. No introduction aside from a short text recap.

Don't know if anyone already said it, but you seem to like the same type of RPG-s as i do, PLAY ARCANUM ITS GREAT ITS HUGE THE OPTIONS ARE HUGE, just turn on turn based combat in the options

The arcanum setting is amazing, but the interface has aged... poorly. Similar issues with Fallout 1 and 2. Loved them when I was young; can't play 10 minutes now.

Seems most of your games are jrpg's but if you're open to western rpg's i would recommend:
Gothic 1
Gothic 2
Risen (1!)
Dragon Age: Origins
The Witcher 1
The Witcher 2

All on Pc. They play better on the pc.

Western RPGs can be fun (indeed, my wife sunk a couple hundred hours combined into Oblivion and Skyrim). But again, the story is... thin. From my observations, the western RPG 'style' tends to be far more open and sandboxy, with the story being more a suggestion than anything else (Admittedly DA:O's story was pretty dang solid). Great for when you're in the mood, but not really what I'm looking for here. Really wish there was more specific terminology than "RPG" for these games. I mean, just try looking at the "RPG" category on Steam sometime. The term has lost all meaning.

I'm going to recommend the one's I've recently played and enjoyed for PS2
- Dragon Quest VIII (good story, good characters, and a gorgeous living and breathing world, the start of the game is hard as mighty hell, once you get Jessica though things start to get more manageable, plus exploration is just awesome in this game, if you can see it you can go there)

- Xenosaga Episode 3 (Ep 1 and 2 are okay, but 3 makes a good explanation of everything, no need to play them)

- Wild Arms 5 (you could try 3 and 4 as well, but 5 is my favorite due to the many similarities to Gurren Lagann)

- Final Fantasy X-2 (FF X is also good but X-2 has the best ATB system EVER, it's down right perfect)

- Valkyrie Profile 2 (I'm currently still playing this one for the first time and I'm really liking it)

- Odin Sphere (beautiful art and challenging battles)

- Grim Grimoire (think Harry Potter using summons to fight and Harry's a girl who also happens to be a lesbian, it's a great game and like Odin Sphere the art is amazing!)

- Suikoden V (I'm also playing through this game for the first time and it's story is really intriguing)

as an honorable mention for the PSX I'll recommend Brave Fencer Musashi THE ONE FOR PSX AVOID THE SEQUEL LIKE THE PLAGUE

Never got into the DQ series. They don't get much publicity over here, I've noticed. Xeno series... found very hit-and miss. Though I forgot to mention Xenoblade, which is probably the best JRPG I've seen in quite some time.
FFX... I'll just say these games have been tried. Not a huge fan of X,X2 (though I thought the job system was very clever and well-implemented), and XIII (... not so much here, though).

You didn't mention older PC RPG's, so try the following:
1. Star Wars: Knights of the old republic (1 and 2). You don't need to know much about SW to enjoy them. You like Sci-fi and lighsabers? Welcome aboard!
2. Fallout 1 and 2. Eternal classic. Turn-based western RPG in post-apocalyptic setting.

Also, for PS2:

1. Final Fantasy X. Don't judge the game by the looks of the MC (his clothing reminds me of every fashion deigners nightmare). It is a really good JRPG. One of my favorites. Although it is a bit grind-heavy, in my opinion.
2. Persona 4 (must have!). Mystery. Lovable companions. Aid from mythologica creatures. What's not to like?

FFX: Tidus was a twit, but I could live with that. But a character-based story needs someone you can connect to. I know it worked well for some people. Just not everyone.
KOTOR was fun, but a bit undirected. Don't think either of us actually finished it. KOTOR2... was a bit broken. Heard there's fan fixes, but was never sure about that.
Persona keeps being recommended. Have to look into it at some point, I guess. I was always put off a bit by the 'out-there'ness of the bits I'd seen (combat by suicide? what?). Where should a completely un-initiated person look at starting?

 

[Doom972]

Which one? There are three games: Golden Sun, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and Golden Sun Dark Dawn.

The first two are actually two parts of one long game. Golden Sun ends on a cliffhanger and you get a code to input when you start The Lost Age so that the characters will have the same items, stats, etc you finished Golden Sun with.

Lost Age fits the description. Started the game with what appeared to be an escape from a load-bearing-boss tower or something. No introduction aside from a short text recap.

That's definitely it. Keep it and get the first one as well. Enjoy.

 

[Mister K]

Persona keeps being recommended. Have to look into it at some point, I guess. I was always put off a bit by the 'out-there'ness of the bits I'd seen (combat by suicide? what?). Where should a completely un-initiated person look at starting?

Well, just like with FF, you can start with any game in Persona franchise. Sure, later parts have some refferences to previous ones, but they are really not important to a story, characters under your command, etc.

As for "combat by suicide". Allow me to explain: In Persona 3, playable characters had to use a medium of sorts, called Evoker, to summon personas. It looked like a gun and it was really awkward for them to use it, because they had to, well, shoot in the head and send a signal (or something like that) into the brain.
That is a gimmick present ONLY in 3rd part. In other parts, characters summon personas by simply willing them into existence.

Recommendations? Well, I found Persona 4 to be better then its predecessors in practically anything. So I recommend this one. If you'll find the concept interesting, play previous ones (they are a bit "grimmier" though).

Oh, almost forgot. Mind that I am comparing PS2 versions:
In P3, your party members are controlled by AI, which can be stupid a lot of times. In P4 you can control all of the party members manually (which is prefferable).

 

[JarinArenos]

Well, just like with FF, you can start with any game in Persona franchise. Sure, later parts have some refferences to previous ones, but they are really not important to a story, characters under your command, etc.

Interesting. So there's not really a continuing plot between games?

 

[infinity_turtles]

Breath of Fire 4

That fact that you recommend BoF4 and not 3 as well leaves me very confused.

Aside from that, I think most things that come to mind were suggested by someone already. Septerra Core was named for God's sake!

 

[Amaror]

Western RPGs can be fun (indeed, my wife sunk a couple hundred hours combined into Oblivion and Skyrim). But again, the story is... thin. From my observations, the western RPG 'style' tends to be far more open and sandboxy, with the story being more a suggestion than anything else (Admittedly DA:O's story was pretty dang solid). Great for when you're in the mood, but not really what I'm looking for here. Really wish there was more specific terminology than "RPG" for these games. I mean, just try looking at the "RPG" category on Steam sometime. The term has lost all meaning.

Well, obviously you never played the gothic games or the witcher games.
Both are excellent rpgs with a good story. The witcher games more than the gothic games.
But the gothic games still have a really strong story. The graphics are pretty bad (The games ARE old), but they are worth overlooking that. Just pick up the first one at gog and give it a try, they are worth it, and don't really cost much, so what's the harm in trying.

 

[JarinArenos]

Well, obviously you never played the gothic games or the witcher games.
Both are excellent rpgs with a good story. The witcher games more than the gothic games.
But the gothic games still have a really strong story. The graphics are pretty bad (The games ARE old), but they are worth overlooking that. Just pick up the first one at gog and give it a try, they are worth it, and don't really cost much, so what's the harm in trying.

I almost think that European game development deserves to be grouped separately from "western" styles, and just go ahead and say "American" like we really mean.
On-topic though... I really wanted to like the Witcher games. Truly. But my wife got put off by the fanservice/sexy and I got put off by the beating-my-skull-in-oh-god-why difficulty spikes (screw you, kingslayer, screw you). I'll probably go back again at some point though.

Aside from having maybe heard the title, though, I'm completely unfamiliar with the Gothic series. For a cheap entry on GoG, I'll have to give it a shot. Momentary research tells me that Arcania: Gothic 4 is a new and semi-unrelated series spin-off. Any yay/nay suggestions there?

 

[Amaror]

Well, obviously you never played the gothic games or the witcher games.
Both are excellent rpgs with a good story. The witcher games more than the gothic games.
But the gothic games still have a really strong story. The graphics are pretty bad (The games ARE old), but they are worth overlooking that. Just pick up the first one at gog and give it a try, they are worth it, and don't really cost much, so what's the harm in trying.

I almost think that European game development deserves to be grouped separately from "western" styles, and just go ahead and say "American" like we really mean.
On-topic though... I really wanted to like the Witcher games. Truly. But my wife got put off by the fanservice/sexy and I got put off by the beating-my-skull-in-oh-god-why difficulty spikes (screw you, kingslayer, screw you). I'll probably go back again at some point though.

Aside from having maybe heard the title, though, I'm completely unfamiliar with the Gothic series. For a cheap entry on GoG, I'll have to give it a shot. Momentary research tells me that Arcania: Gothic 4 is a new and semi-unrelated series spin-off. Any yay/nay suggestions there?

Suggestions for Gothic 4? Yeah, don't go near that one.
It was made by another developer that tried to capture the original feel of the series and failed horribly. I think because they tried to make it appeal more to american gamers. Anyway the first and second one are the ones you want to play. The third one isn't as good, because they wanted to make the game too big, so the story was really lacking. The game came out riddled with bugs, too, but most of those got fixed by the community up until now. Risen is an unofficial sequel to the gothic games from the original developer. It's a good game, but the story isn't as good as the first two, so i think you might wanna try them first. While the gothic games are open - world, they are much more focused then some of the other western rpgs. There aren't too many sidequests and the open - world just opens up more and more as you progress, because unlike skyrim for example, most area are just populated by too strong creatures that you can't defeat in the beginning.

 

[Vern5]

Breath of Fire 4

That fact that you recommend BoF4 and not 3 as well leaves me very confused.

Aside from that, I think most things that come to mind were suggested by someone already. Septerra Core was named for God's sake!

Wut? I liked Breath of Fire 4. I enjoyed the story and the artwork was beautiful for a PS1 game. The localization left much to be desired but there were enough good things going on to ignore the flanderization.

 

[Weaver]

If you can deal with some of the ugliest graphics known to man, I recommend Betrayal at Krondor. It's very old, but I really like it.

 

[infinity_turtles]

Breath of Fire 4

That fact that you recommend BoF4 and not 3 as well leaves me very confused.

Aside from that, I think most things that come to mind were suggested by someone already. Septerra Core was named for God's sake!

Wut? I liked Breath of Fire 4. I enjoyed the story and the artwork was beautiful for a PS1 game. The localization left much to be desired but there were enough good things going on to ignore the flanderization.

I'm not saying BoF4 is bad or anything, it's great, but when you list multiples of other series but leave out BoF3 while including 4 it's very confusing. For me anyway. But then BoF3 is sort of the game that got me into games, so that may factor into it's disclusion making me go Wut.