The Best RPGs For The Playstation 3

[4RM3D]

I've finally bought a PS3. I needed a 3D blu-ray player and because I love RPGs, buying a PS3 was inevitable.

Anyhow, there are quite a lot of PS3 RPG games out there. Not sure which one to start with. Any suggestions?
I was thinking of starting with Tales of Graces or Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.

Few things to bear in mind:

- If the RPG has also been released for the PC or Xbox 360, I've already played it. But feel free to mention it nonetheless, if you think it's (one of) the best.

- My RPG peference is: JRPG (e.g. Tales series) > Tactical RPG (e.g. Disgaea) > WRPG (e.g. Skyrim)

- A good story, fleshed out characters and an interesting world setting are important to me.

PS. Not sure if this belongs in the Advice Forum. I feel it's more like a gaming discussion.

 

[BrotherRool]

Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic tactical RPG, there's not a huge focus on the world setting and the stories basic but there's a good focus on character and the game looks absolutely gorgeous and plays brilliantly.



Has anyone here played Folklore? That was always on my list but somehow I never ended up getting it.

Also have you ever had a PS2? Because if not, depending on where you live, Persona 3 is in the PSN store and is a requirement.

And are you interested in PS1 games, because there's a wealth of those as well in the PSN store

 

[4RM3D]

Also have you ever had a PS2? Because if not, depending on where you live, Persona 3 is in the PSN store and is a requirement.

I´ve got a PS2, but it´s an European one, so I missed out on a lot of good US releases. However, I did play Persona 3.

And are you interested in PS1 games, because there's a wealth of those as well in the PSN store

I am using the European PSN store. But I´ve heard you can also switch to the US PSN store. Not sure if that also works when you have to pay for stuff.

Captcha: "points dont matter"
I disagree with that!

 

[sanquin]

Star ocean: The last hope is often overlooked. Save points are few, which sucks a bit. But otherwise it's a great action jrpg. (similar gameplay to tales of vesperia)

Ni no Kuni does nothing new, but combines a bunch of concepts from other games and does so very well. A bit of a mix between pokemon and the tales series imo.

Other than that a new tales game is coming out too later this year. Tales of Xillia. It will even be a PS3 exclusive.

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

Depends on which genre you're speaking of. Though if one wants to play a wRPG, your best bet is to pick up a PC version.

Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic tactical RPG

Agreed. Here are some other picks.

- Resonance of Fate
- Tales of Graces f
- Ni no Kuni

Tales of Xillia shows promise which will be out soon. Also, if you're okay with cutesy stuff, Atelier Totori is an interesting game which completely subverts the grind in most Japanese RPGs. It's a bit like Recettear. In that gameplay revolves around time management. From a gameplay perspective the Atlier franchise is innovative on the genre, replacing grind with time management. Definitely something for those who can't stand grinding.

There's not too many roleplaying games on the PlayStation 3, really.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Valkyria Chronicles

It's a Strategy RPG, which isn't your first preference, but it is unlike any other Strategy RPG out there. It's got a unique and fun turn-based system where you start out with on a tactical overhead map showing the position of your troops and any enemies within your line of sight. The big difference is that when you select one of your troops, you take direct control of it in a third person view, allowing you to move it in real time until their AP runs out, as well as manually aim their shots at weak points. I suggest you look up a gameplay video to see how it works, since I don't know of any SRPGs like it.

What else? It has great aesthetics with a style of warm pastel watercolors. The story is decent, but not a real stand-out, however the alternate WOII setting is a welcome change from the standard fantasy fare. Also, unlike many SRPGs, each and every soldier you can recruit into your squad is a fully realized character with their own backstory and personality.

I'm of course incredibly biased, since I really love this game, but out of all the current gen console jrpgs I've played, I consider Valkyria Chronicles the only absolute must-have for any jrpg-enthousiast with a PS3.

Seriously, get it.

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

Star ocean: The last hope is often overlooked. Save points are few, which sucks a bit. But otherwise it's a great action jrpg. (similar gameplay to tales of vesperia)

It's hard to definitely recommend Star Ocean: The Last Hope to everyone.

It's not a game for everyone and has a very mixed reception.

There are a lot of people who don't find the cast of characters all that enjoyable. In particular, Edge Maverick.
People who dislike the attitude with a lot of Final Fantasy protagonist are problem are going to find Edge Maverick even worse. Particularly in the one infamous part of the story.

I personally liked the game. But I know that not everyone feels the same way as me. Edge wasn't amazing, and that part of the story was pretty cringeworthy. Also, none of the characters have particularly amazing characterization. But it has its ups and downs.

It's better than "Till the End of Time" in various ways. For instance, the story and pacing in The Last Hope are pretty great. Also, the Japanese voice acting isn't nearly as bad as the English voice acting, so if one picks up International they'll have a significantly better experience.

It's also pretty easy to recommend for those who are adamant on avoiding turn based combat. For those who cannot stand turn based combat and are adamant that jRPGs need to do away with it, Star Ocean ant Tales are both franchises that I would recommend. Star Ocean has terrific combat and so does Tales. No turn based here.

Though I personally would rate the story and the characters of Tales of Graces and Tales of Xillia better than Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Whether you like Ni No Kuni will depend on how much you like JRPGs, since pretty much everything the genre is known for is in that game. It doesn't do anything new, but it does all the old stuff really well. Since you've already said you like JRPGs, you'll probably like Ni No Kuni, so I'm going to recommend that.

Also on the top games list for PS3, Ni No Kuni has been number one for the past five or so weeks and just recently fell to number 2. A JRPG that's number one beating out all the other genres bar Skyrim.

I didn't personally like Star Ocean: The Last Hope... actually I really didn't like Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The cast was horrible, the voices were cringe worthy and it's a shadow of Till the End of Time.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Well since you've mentioned Ni No Kuni, I'm playing it currently, and I would definitely recommend. A very enjoyable game =D

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

I didn't personally like Star Ocean: The Last Hope... actually I really didn't like Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The cast was horrible, the voices were cringe worthy and it's a shadow of Till the End of Time.

That's not uncommon. I kind of liked the game though I feel I'm in the minority.

I do feel that there are some better things about The Last Hope than Till The End of Time.

For instance, it actually succeeds at being a space epic rather than a medieval romp. Star Ocean is supposed to be inspired by Star Trek, but there's little of that to see in Till the End of Time. The plot twist in Star Ocean 3 didn't come until the end of the game, and it was a terrible move for the franchise. To the point I wish they could retcon the ending of Star Ocean 3.

Philosophically, it is an interesting idea worthy of being explored in a video game. In practice, in Star Ocean 3, it was a nightmarish plot device. At least in Star Ocean 4 I appreciated the plot and story. And I actually felt like a space explorer.

And also, while the characters can be kind of flat, outside of the alternative earth incident, which was jarring and terrible, they're not so bad. A lot of people find Meracle annoying, but she's not worse than Peppita Rossetti. Aside from being dressed ridiculously. And Sophia Esteed isn't a particularly interesting character, either. For all the people who dislike Reimi Saionji, Sophia seems just as bad. I actually rather liked Meracle better than Peppita because she's more extroverted and positive, than Peppita, or the rest of the Star Ocean 4 cast, really. Also because she's a lot more fun to fight with than Peppita. Peppita is okay, I guess, but she's kind of boring, and not very fun to fight as. While Meracle is a pretty good brawler. I found fights pretty entertaining when controlling Meracle.

The real reason I think that people like Star Ocean 3 so much better than 4, is because Star Ocean 3, despite its shortcomings, has Nel, Cliff, and Cliff. Which are characters that people who played the game related to better than the Star Ocean 4 cast. Also Nel is a pretty well developed character.

If you forget the fact that Star Ocean 3 is supposed to be a space epic, or that the ending is terrible, I can see thinking it is just a better game. Because while spending the entire game on Elicoor isn't what the franchise is about, it is an least a pretty good quality medieval romp. In particular the political struggles are enjoyable. It still bothers me though that the game has a terrible ending and succeeds at being a decent enough fantasy RPG, but completely fails at being a sci-fi RPG.

 

[4RM3D]

Depends on which genre you're speaking of. Though if one wants to play a wRPG, your best bet is to pick up a PC version.

Yup, if there is a PC release of a game, I'll pick the PC version.

Depends on which genre you're speaking of. Though if one wants to play a wRPG, your best bet is to pick up a PC version.

Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic tactical RPG

Agreed. Here are some other picks.

- Resonance of Fate
- Tales of Graces f
- Ni no Kuni

Tales of Xillia shows promise which will be out soon. Also, if you're okay with cutesy stuff, Atelier Totori is an interesting game which completely subverts the grind in most Japanese RPGs. It's a bit like Recettear. In that gameplay revolves around time management. From a gameplay perspective the Atlier franchise is innovative on the genre, replacing grind with time management. Definitely something for those who can't stand grinding.

There's not too many roleplaying games on the PlayStation 3, really.

I've played Resonance of Fate on the Xbox 360. Great game, awesome gameplay.

I'm also planning on getting the Atelier games. Though not sure if I will like them. You said they are like Recettear, so I'll probably like them, because I loved Recettear.

Valkyria Chronicles

*snip*

A lot of recommendations for Valkyria Chronicles, it seems. I suppose I should put the game higher on my list to play. I've already picked up an used copy for 10 bucks.

Star ocean: The last hope is often overlooked. Save points are few, which sucks a bit. But otherwise it's a great action jrpg. (similar gameplay to tales of vesperia)

It's hard to definitely recommend Star Ocean: The Last Hope to everyone.

It's not a game for everyone and has a very mixed reception.

I've played the game on the Xbox 360 and I thought the game was very mediocre. Everything about it is meh. I liked Till The End of Time better.

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

I've played the game on the Xbox 360 and I thought the game was very mediocre. Everything about it is meh. I liked Till The End of Time better.

Yeah, that's pretty normal.

I don't think there's been a really great Star Ocean game since Star Ocean 2, personally. The first two Star Ocean games were pretty solid.

 

[Freddy]

I really digged Valkyria Chronicles and Final Fantasy VIII, though lots of people absolutely hated the latter. Ni no Kuni is also great, but I am only like seven hours into it at the moment, so I can't fully judge it yet.

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I do feel that there are some better things about The Last Hope than Till The End of Time.

For instance, it actually succeeds at being a space epic rather than a medieval romp. Star Ocean is supposed to be inspired by Star Trek, but there's little of that to see in Till the End of Time. The plot twist in Star Ocean 3 didn't come until the end of the game, and it was a terrible move for the franchise. To the point I wish they could retcon the ending of Star Ocean 3.

Philosophically, it is an interesting idea worthy of being explored in a video game. In practice, in Star Ocean 3, it was a nightmarish plot device. At least in Star Ocean 4 I appreciated the plot and story. And I actually felt like a space explorer.

Well yes... that twist was horrible. I really did prefer the game before they pulled that, however, I didn't mind the medieval setting on some of the planets, it makes sense that not all the planets would have the same level of technological advancement. Also the series as a whole doesn't style itself as space exploration. Pretty much all of Star Ocean: The Second Story took place on a single planet. Out of the 4 games that exist in the series, 2 of them take place mostly on a single planet (2 and 3), I can't speak for number 1 because I didn't play it.

And also, while the characters can be kind of flat, outside of the alternative earth incident, which was jarring and terrible, they're not so bad. A lot of people find Meracle annoying, but she's not worse than Peppita Rossetti. Aside from being dressed ridiculously. And Sophia Esteed isn't a particularly interesting character, either. For all the people who dislike Reimi Saionji, Sophia seems just as bad.

I didn't mind Meracle, from what I understand, the biggest criticism is that she's a cat girl stereotype, not so much that she's an annoying character. Reimi is better than Sophia, who was pretty bland.

The real reason I think that people like Star Ocean 3 so much better than 4, is because Star Ocean 3, despite its shortcomings, has Nel, Cliff, and Cliff. Which are characters that people who played the game related to better than the Star Ocean 4 cast. Also Nel is a pretty well developed character.

If you forget the fact that Star Ocean 3 is supposed to be a space epic, or that the ending is terrible, I can see thinking it is just a better game. Because while spending the entire game on Elicoor isn't what the franchise is about, it is an least a pretty good quality medieval romp. In particular the political struggles are enjoyable. It still bothers me though that the game has a terrible ending and succeeds at being a decent enough fantasy RPG, but completely fails at being a sci-fi RPG.

Mostly I really didn't like the cast of The Last Hope. I didn't like Lymle, Bacchus, or Sarah, and I though Edge, Faize, Myuria, Meracle and Arumat were only tolerable. This is of course all personal opinion. I just found most of them to be annoying shameless archetypes and this coming from a person who regularly plays jrpgs and is used to it by now.

 

[Googenstien]

Loved Tales of Graces F, Star Ocean, the Atelier games, Ni No Kuni, Dragons Dogma, Dark Souls, Demons Souls, Nier, Disgaea.. plus there are a ton of PS1, PS2 games to download on the PSN.

 

[Username Redacted]

Has anyone here played Folklore? That was always on my list but somehow I never ended up getting it.

I have, like the gentleman above, played Folklore. However I can't say that my experience with it was particularly positive. The game is absolutely gorgeous. As in if you're looking for inspiration for world building then there are certainly worse ideas than picking this game up on the cheap. It's world and creature designs are some of the best that I've ever seen. The whole dual-world thing actually works. Unfortunately that's about where the good things I have to say about the game end. The combat is both incredibly repetitive and wholly pervasive. Boss fights especially tend to just drag on because they've apparently been drip feeding these monsters steroids since birth. The story is...lacking. The female lead is whiny and poorly voiced while the male lead is an obnoxious twat and incredibly poorly voiced. I didn't get far enough into the game to verify that this was accurate but I saw in an FAQ that you cannot simply play through the game with one of the characters you have to play through every single bloody chapter with both which given how tedious the combat is and how there's basically nothing to differentiate one character from the other simply serves to test the players patience and tolerance for grinding.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Wouldn't this title be best changed to 'Best JRPGs For the PS3' since you seem to prefer them?
I don't know many, but if you decided to give WRPGs a go buy the Mass Effect series, Skyrim, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

I'm also planning on getting the Atelier games. Though not sure if I will like them. You said they are like Recettear, so I'll probably like them, because I loved Recettear.

You'll at least like the gameplay I'm sure. The gameplay of Atelier games is very much like Recettear.

While in Recettear, the gameplay revolves around getting a certain amount of money by the end of the month.

In Atelier, the goal is to alchemize a particularly nice item that was requested in a certain time frame.


It sounds different, but it leads to a lot of the same thing. Keeping a steady flow of money, ingredients, the correct ingredients, and of course, the item and the ingredients for the item requested. It's very much about money, inventory, and time management. And maximizing your time to get the best stuff as quickly as you can and having as much as you can leftover for next month.

 

[BrotherRool]

Has anyone here played Folklore? That was always on my list but somehow I never ended up getting it.

I have, like the gentleman above, played Folklore. However I can't say that my experience with it was particularly positive. The game is absolutely gorgeous. As in if you're looking for inspiration for world building then there are certainly worse ideas than picking this game up on the cheap. It's world and creature designs are some of the best that I've ever seen. The whole dual-world thing actually works. Unfortunately that's about where the good things I have to say about the game end. The combat is both incredibly repetitive and wholly pervasive. Boss fights especially tend to just drag on because they've apparently been drip feeding these monsters steroids since birth. The story is...lacking. The female lead is whiny and poorly voiced while the male lead is an obnoxious twat and incredibly poorly voiced. I didn't get far enough into the game to verify that this was accurate but I saw in an FAQ that you cannot simply play through the game with one of the characters you have to play through every single bloody chapter with both which given how tedious the combat is and how there's basically nothing to differentiate one character from the other simply serves to test the players patience and tolerance for grinding.

This is the impression the demo gave me. I do love how it looks though, I might have to check it out just for that.


I don't want to try the Atelier games, but anyone know how White Knight Chronicles turned out? I guess that's the other big PS3 JRPG exclusive