Replaying an Old Rpg

[Quaidis]

I'm looking at my shelf and decided that I want to replay one of my older rpgs on the PS2. Now you can help me decide which one! (not all rpgs I own are listed, just ones I'm interested in replaying)

ChronoCross (never beaten, got close to end)
Dark Cloud 2
Final Fantasy 8 (never beaten)
Final Fantasy 12
Grandia 2
Legend of Mana
Tales of Destiny 2
Vagrant Story (never beaten)
Wild Arms 2, 3, 5, or ACF
XenoSaga (never played)





Blast, two more than an official poll would allow... Oh well.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Austin Howe]

Beat FFVIII. The last dungeon is great, and if you havent gotten to disc 3 you've missed the most important character and relationship development scenes in the game.
I'd also reccomend finishing Chrono Cross, which I've been meaning to do myself.

 

[Quaidis]

Beat FFVIII. The last dungeon is great, and if you haven't gotten to disc 3 you've missed the most important character and relationship development scenes in the game.
I'd also recommend finishing Chrono Cross, which I've been meaning to do myself.

Word. I got stuck at the train station on FF8 on Disk 1. On CC I was so close to the end, but couldn't get through some doors or something and all about gave up in frustration. But I'll consider it.

What? Only one reply? Talk about a friendly forum =P

 

[Wuffykins]

What? Only one reply? Talk about a friendly forum =P

Sorry, just finished my work week and was busy napping to get myself back into the sunlight hour schedule... *shrug*

First, I'd go with Vagrant Story if you haven't finished it. I really like its combat system, and for the most part it is one of the shorter games in Squaresoft's old library (though I wouldn't call it a downside myself) so you're looking more at a Resident Evil time session rather than a Final Fantasy in scope.

After that, I figure another play of Legend of Mana would be good, as since you've played it you should know the game enough to make your subsequent playthroughs different enough to keep it interesting. Plus I really just like the scenery through that game, the art was so well done it still ranks as one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, even by today's standards (2d ages better than 3d games to be frank).

Chrono Cross? Yeah, I liked that one too. The one warning I'd give you is about the last fight. It, umm, yeah... it's one of the few times where a game really needs you to take notes, as the 'solution' is a little obscure to say the least (Try not to use the internet for spoiler-ing, but you may need to after a bit). I don't want to say more than that, but I still liked it overall.

I'm also a decent fan of the Tales & Grandia series, so I say go for those. FF isn't my cup of tea unless we're talking VI, IX, and X-2 (yes, I'm serious), and I have a feeling Wild Arms just got added to my playlist. Never got the chance to play it before, and just forgot about it in the interim...

 

[Irridium]

Grandia 2. That game is freaking boss.

 

[ChildofGallifrey]

Chrono Cross? Yeah, I liked that one too. The one warning I'd give you is about the last fight. It, umm, yeah... it's one of the few times where a game really needs you to take notes, as the 'solution' is a little obscure to say the least (Try not to use the internet for spoiler-ing, but you may need to after a bit). I don't want to say more than that, but I still liked it overall.

Actually, you don't have to take notes, you just get a different ending if you do things properly.

On that note, definitely, definitely go through Chrono Cross. My favorite game of all time, no contest. An underappreciated little gem that gets a lot of hell thrown at it for not being a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger, but it's still a damn, damn good game in its own right.

Xenosaga is also well worth going through. It's got a really good story, and an interesting combat system.

 

[Wayneguard]

Beat FFVIII. The choice here is clear.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Legend of Mana

I say this as the resident LoM fanboy.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Grandia 2. That game is freaking boss.

Oh god. Ryudo at the library...So fucking hilarious.

 

[War Pony]

I'd say finish Chrono Cross or Final Fantasy VIII (as much as I despise a certain person in the latter), if only for the sake of completion.

Also, throw Final Fantasy XII away. Ugh.

And I've never played any of the other games you listed.

 

[Wuffykins]

Actually, you don't have to take notes, you just get a different ending if you do things properly.

Well that's the thing, doing the proper thing isn't really obvious at first, and you can't exactly backtrack at that point once it clicks. I just find a bit of note-taking near the end to be better than Internet spoiling for sense of accomplishment.

Even there, I don't qualify it as a bad thing either, it was just very unexpected at the time.

 

[WanderingBiscuits]

complete ff8. its got a great soundtrack and its not too hard to beat

 

[Quaidis]

What? Only one reply? Talk about a friendly forum =P

Sorry, just finished my work week and was busy napping to get myself back into the sunlight hour schedule... *shrug*

First, I'd go with Vagrant Story if you haven't finished it. I really like its combat system, and for the most part it is one of the shorter games in Squaresoft's old library (though I wouldn't call it a downside myself) so you're looking more at a Resident Evil time session rather than a Final Fantasy in scope.

After that, I figure another play of Legend of Mana would be good, as since you've played it you should know the game enough to make your subsequent playthroughs different enough to keep it interesting. Plus I really just like the scenery through that game, the art was so well done it still ranks as one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, even by today's standards (2d ages better than 3d games to be frank).

Chrono Cross? Yeah, I liked that one too. The one warning I'd give you is about the last fight. It, umm, yeah... it's one of the few times where a game really needs you to take notes, as the 'solution' is a little obscure to say the least (Try not to use the internet for spoiler-ing, but you may need to after a bit). I don't want to say more than that, but I still liked it overall.

I'm also a decent fan of the Tales & Grandia series, so I say go for those. FF isn't my cup of tea unless we're talking VI, IX, and X-2 (yes, I'm serious), and I have a feeling Wild Arms just got added to my playlist. Never got the chance to play it before, and just forgot about it in the interim...

You have one of the most compelling posts in this thread. And not just because you're the only one that quoted me.

Is it acceptable to play through CC the possible 'wrong' way, then go back to an earlier save file and do it the 'right' way? And is the 'right' way as crazy insane hard to reach as the good ending in Valkyrie Profile is? Ie, something you need a strat guide for.

I thought Vagrant Story was supposed to be wicked long. Last time I played it, I got stuck in some stupid forest of doom.

WildArms is a fantastic game series. Up there on my list with Lufia 1 and 2, and Breath of Fire (excluding DragonQuarter, which sucked). I recommend starting with either the first WildArms game (AlterCodeF, which is a cheaper re-do of the first) or the third (shortest). Then the second, which is hardcore and has some of the best characters. The fourth sucked, and the fifth seems tacked on but can turn out very fun.



I still need to see all the other posts before I make any decisions.... A ton of people are rooting for FF8 and CC... Huh...

 

[feeback06]

I'm going to say FF 8 and Chrono Cross since you haven't beaten them, and also Dark Cloud 2 since I've been meaning to replay it myself.

 

[Wuffykins]

*snip*

To be as non-spoilerific as possible for CC, just don't think too much about it. As much as I could describe it, you'll just see what we're talking about once you get to the end of the game. Up until then I'd either suggest using different saves every couple of hours so you can backtrack, or using the Newgame+ to redo the game over (I am hesitant on that to be honest, AFAIK there's no reason to do that like there was in Chrono Trigger.) There's no real difficulty difference in the right and wrong endings (will use those somewhat loosely), it's really just an "Ohhhh!" moment that separates the two, as well as a mildly obscure detail that you'll probably have not paid attention to the first time around.

Still, do enjoy the game as it is, because it is a very good game regardless.

On Vagrant Story, yeah it's shorter than you think, but that may also be because I've played through it more than a few times (I think my comparison to Resident Evil may be even more apt, as it is a game that does get much shorter once you know where you're going.) I do apologize for that, as I can't remember how long my first game did take in the end. It's still nowhere near FF or other 60 hour RPGs, and I will still recommend it simply because of the combat system.

 

[Defense]

If you have Dragon Quest VIII, beat it immediately.

If you don't have Dragon Quest VIII, get it immediately and then beat it immediately. You won't regret it.

Do the same thing for Persona 4.

 

[eclipsed_chemistry]

Beat FFVIII. The last dungeon is great, and if you haven't gotten to disc 3 you've missed the most important character and relationship development scenes in the game.
I'd also recommend finishing Chrono Cross, which I've been meaning to do myself.

Word. I got stuck at the train station on FF8 on Disk 1. On CC I was so close to the end, but couldn't get through some doors or something and all about gave up in frustration. But I'll consider it.

What? Only one reply? Talk about a friendly forum =P

I got stuck because my crappy PS1 disc wouldn't read disc 3 and so I only got halfway through but damnit I want to play that game again! I don't want to start a flame-war or anything but I loved 8 so much more than the rest of the series (besides 6).

 

[Layz92]

Get Baldur's Gate 2. No really do it. While you are looking for a place that has it however, play Legend of Mana.

 

[Naheal]

Fuck all those. Play Star Ocean 2.