I would argue that it is in this case. He is looking for a western-style RPG. Demon's Souls fits that category.mireko said:
RPGs Not Made By Bethesda, Bioware or Obsidian?
- Thread starter YawningAngel
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Sorry, nothing recent comes to mind that isn't made by a Japanese developer or the three you mentioned.
If you have a pc or xbox, pick up Risen, or Fable. For some reason I can't think of any other RPGs .
Lol^ sneaky. The Witcher was the one I thought of as well.
..both good and playable rpgs .. *shrug* Going a bit off on the "strategy-game with good writing and story" path:
The Fire Emblem games?
Resonance of Fate (tri-Ace)
Tales of Graces (should turn up soon)
..Phantasy Star Portable 2?
Valkyria Chronicles.
Other than that it's on to the back catalogue (gog.com, etc)
-Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Fallout 1&2
-Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption
and
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.
Troika's last deed, so to speak. With the unofficial patches, it's become a very good and playable game. There's something about these games that don't exist in new games, even New Vegas or Alpha Protocol (this one's the best one so far). It's that you actually make choices, instead of just passing a skill-check. Very rare to see that now - rpg-games that put you in an extraordinary situation, and then force you to role-play a specific type of character. It's all about not provoking people now for some reason, and having one choice you have to grind to be able to pick, etc..
..both good and playable rpgs .. *shrug* Going a bit off on the "strategy-game with good writing and story" path:
The Fire Emblem games?
Resonance of Fate (tri-Ace)
Tales of Graces (should turn up soon)
..Phantasy Star Portable 2?
Valkyria Chronicles.
Other than that it's on to the back catalogue (gog.com, etc)
-Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Fallout 1&2
-Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption
and
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.
Troika's last deed, so to speak. With the unofficial patches, it's become a very good and playable game. There's something about these games that don't exist in new games, even New Vegas or Alpha Protocol (this one's the best one so far). It's that you actually make choices, instead of just passing a skill-check. Very rare to see that now - rpg-games that put you in an extraordinary situation, and then force you to role-play a specific type of character. It's all about not provoking people now for some reason, and having one choice you have to grind to be able to pick, etc..
There's a prodigious amount of indie rpgs out there but history tells me that if someone is only interested in the big game companies then they generally aren't keen on anything that looks like it wasn't made within the last few years.
Hey, Two Worlds isn't made by any of those, though I can't really recommend that game.
Fable is not much of an rpg. More of a hacky-slashy adventure with pointless interactions with 90% of the NPC's. Also, not many rpg elements, not even character customization to a decent extent.Vivace-Vivian said:
Sure, I can think of plenty. Not counting defunct studios like Troika or forgotten series like Ultima, here's what comes to mind:
Piranha Bytes are a relatively new studio founded from the group that's best known for the Gothic series. Gothic 2 in particular is an extremely solid rpg. Very reminiscent of Bethesda's style, large open world games only a bit more driven and, in general, more detail focused and gritty. Gothic 2's world for example isn't nearly as big as Morrowind or Oblivions, but it's so packed with detail that it feels in many respects bigger simply because there's so much to find and explore. Right now they're working on the Risen series.
Larian Studios are best known for their Divinity series. In my opinion their first game was also their best: Divine Divinity. It plays like some crazed mixture of Diablo, Fallout, and Baldur's Gate. Extremely solid experience, the only thing really holding that game back from being one of my ultimate favourites the horrid voice acting. Gothic above doesn't have great voice acting either, European rpg in general seem plagued with translation and voice issues. But in Divine Divinity it's just particularly noticeable. Still, amazing game.
Arkane Studios were pretty good for a while as well, although they've seen been bought up by Bethesda (Go figure). Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic are the two games they're known for. First person action rpg with a heavy emphasis on exploration and dungeon crawling. Of the two I prefer Arx, simply because it's a really unique experience and I love the magic system. But Dark Messiah is also a damned solid experience I'm surprised didn't do better in sales, though to be fair I hear the console version was utter shit. PC version was damned good however and I loved the combat!
Lessee, who else is there?
Not rpg in the traditional sense, but Katauri Interactive's recent King's Bounty series has been incredibly good. Probably one of my favourite 'new' (Technically a reboot of an old series actually) series to emerge in recent years. Very Heroes of Might & Magic-ish, with hex-based tactical combat and hero units that level up and all that. Bloody brilliant series.
And how could I forget the incredible releases by Paradox Interactive? Technically a publisher of sorts for many more obscure indie titles, they're the distributors for not only Mount & Blade (AMAZING game, play it if you haven't) but also King Arthur: The Role Playing Wargame (Think a Total War game only with magic, quests, and leveling hero units. Solid game, I like it!) and even the most recent Magicka, which if you haven't heard of by now I'd be surprised.
Pretty sure CD Projekt RED has also been mentioned. The Witcher 2 is easily my most anticipated game in years. Lionhead also dabbles in rpg with the Fable series.
Then there's also the plethora of smaller studios and up-and-comers. Spiderweb Software is a solid indie dev for classic PC style rpg for example, while studios like Reality Pump with their Two Worlds series are quickly gaining attention within the gaming scene.
And that's only off the top of my head. Bioware and Bethesda might be the biggest with Obsidian quickly becoming a major name as well thanks to their association with the two 'Big B's' of the rpg industry, but there's plenty more out there.
Piranha Bytes are a relatively new studio founded from the group that's best known for the Gothic series. Gothic 2 in particular is an extremely solid rpg. Very reminiscent of Bethesda's style, large open world games only a bit more driven and, in general, more detail focused and gritty. Gothic 2's world for example isn't nearly as big as Morrowind or Oblivions, but it's so packed with detail that it feels in many respects bigger simply because there's so much to find and explore. Right now they're working on the Risen series.
Larian Studios are best known for their Divinity series. In my opinion their first game was also their best: Divine Divinity. It plays like some crazed mixture of Diablo, Fallout, and Baldur's Gate. Extremely solid experience, the only thing really holding that game back from being one of my ultimate favourites the horrid voice acting. Gothic above doesn't have great voice acting either, European rpg in general seem plagued with translation and voice issues. But in Divine Divinity it's just particularly noticeable. Still, amazing game.
Arkane Studios were pretty good for a while as well, although they've seen been bought up by Bethesda (Go figure). Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic are the two games they're known for. First person action rpg with a heavy emphasis on exploration and dungeon crawling. Of the two I prefer Arx, simply because it's a really unique experience and I love the magic system. But Dark Messiah is also a damned solid experience I'm surprised didn't do better in sales, though to be fair I hear the console version was utter shit. PC version was damned good however and I loved the combat!
Lessee, who else is there?
Not rpg in the traditional sense, but Katauri Interactive's recent King's Bounty series has been incredibly good. Probably one of my favourite 'new' (Technically a reboot of an old series actually) series to emerge in recent years. Very Heroes of Might & Magic-ish, with hex-based tactical combat and hero units that level up and all that. Bloody brilliant series.
And how could I forget the incredible releases by Paradox Interactive? Technically a publisher of sorts for many more obscure indie titles, they're the distributors for not only Mount & Blade (AMAZING game, play it if you haven't) but also King Arthur: The Role Playing Wargame (Think a Total War game only with magic, quests, and leveling hero units. Solid game, I like it!) and even the most recent Magicka, which if you haven't heard of by now I'd be surprised.
Pretty sure CD Projekt RED has also been mentioned. The Witcher 2 is easily my most anticipated game in years. Lionhead also dabbles in rpg with the Fable series.
Then there's also the plethora of smaller studios and up-and-comers. Spiderweb Software is a solid indie dev for classic PC style rpg for example, while studios like Reality Pump with their Two Worlds series are quickly gaining attention within the gaming scene.
And that's only off the top of my head. Bioware and Bethesda might be the biggest with Obsidian quickly becoming a major name as well thanks to their association with the two 'Big B's' of the rpg industry, but there's plenty more out there.
Play Chrono Trigger, I know you said no JRPG's but I don't care PLAY CHRONO TRIGGER. Brownie points for also playing Chrono Cross.YawningAngel said:
You want a serious business, hardcore western rpg? Buy a DS with the game The Dark Spire. You'll thank me later.
Or, if you don't mind a very traditional and brutal rpg trapped in anime art try the Etrian Odyssey games. The art style irks me but the games are amazing.
Or, if you don't mind a very traditional and brutal rpg trapped in anime art try the Etrian Odyssey games. The art style irks me but the games are amazing.
Sir, I love you. I must now go buy Dungeon Siege 3 just to play the first one which holds so many cherished memories. I am forever in your debt.Traun said:
OT: The Witcher, and The Bard's Tale. The Bard's Tale is by far the funniest game I have ever played and also quite good.
