Poll: Bg2. best rpg ever?

[Eclectic Dreck]

I'd say that it is not. Given the reasons people generally cite for it's possible place as "Best RPG Ever" (the narrative and characters), I'd say it wouldn't qualify as Planescape: Torment wins in this regard as far as I am concerned. That said, the Baldur's Gate saga is a bit more mechanically sound throughout where Planescape tends to be a hair too easy at times thanks to rapid leveling and absurd stats by end game. Hell, by the end of Torment, I could call down apocalyptic magic, restore shattered armies to action and single handedly wade into a vast hoard and slaughter all that stood before me.

Of course, one does become fairly absurdly powerful by the end of Baldur's Gate as well but not nearly by the same margin.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Icewind Dale was truly amazing but I believe bgs is still an amazing rpg. Look at the other rpgs of the time. Dated graphics and clunky UI were a little behind at the time but I think it definitely makes up for it.

Icewind Dale was the first western RPG I ever really played and it was by far my favorite. That said, in retrospect, the simple fact that I could just conjure up a party on a whim meant that fully half the storytelling was done solely inside my own head, and honestly my characters weren't terribly interesting. That said, because the game's focus was on the combat and dungeon crawl side of things, the game was a hair more consistent about things. The greater measure of control the designers kept over the players helped ensure they weren't walking into the dungeon of some millenia old Lich who's primary hobby to pass the time has been murdering and reanimating adventurers to add to his ever growing army of the undead until they could reasonably best the thing

 

[The Madman]

Yes, I agree with him.

The main problem with the other game quite a few people in this topic are bringing up; Planescape: Torment, is that while the story is amazing, the setting imaginative, characters extremely well implemented, and so on... the actual 'game' part of it is shoddy at best, similarly its use of the Infinity engine was limited in places and downright archaic in others.

So while Baldur's Gate 2 may not boast quite as impressive a story, it more than makes up for it in other departments. Plus saying that its story 'isn't as impressive' is a disservice, since Baldur's Gate boasts its own fantastic tale and interesting characters as well.

That's my take on it anyway. As an overall experience and rpg, I'd say yes, Baldur's Gate 2 is the champion. If you were to ask about individual elements, which rpg are better at certain things, then there would be more debate. But overall? BG2 wins in my mind.

It's also nice to see the game still prompting so much debate and getting so much attention ten years after it came out too! If that isn't the hallmark of a solid experience to have left such a lasting impression, I don't know what is!

 

[Pseudopod]

Planescape: Torment and Persona 3 FES have both come up, and I prefer both of them over BG II. BG II is still a fantastic game, but I just liked the settings and stories of Planescape and Persona 3 better. There's no way to objectively judge something so subjective anyway, so no one RPG can really be the "best ever."

Silly fellow Fatlus, Persona 4 is miles ahead of 3/FES.

And NOCTURNE is the best of them all.

I definitely wouldn't argue with anyone who likes P4 more since it made some big improvements, but I still like P3 FES more, myself. I'm very excited to start Nocturne soon.

 

[Telris]

No, it was great fun though and definitely one of the best RPG's.

 

[jpoon]

Personally I would give it to Planescape, now that is an incredible game (especially when it came out). BG2 is definitely up there at the very top though.

Honestly, I still think about Chrono trigger more than either of them.