Hmm...that's actually a pretty good question. Let's see what I can come up with. I'll warn you, I'm sort of old-school in this (i.e. I haven't played a lot of more recent titles).
WRPGs
5. Soulbringer
I suspect I would be one of only a few people willing to call this a good game. I plan to review it eventually, but for now...graphics were decent, the motion capture was slightly clunky but worked very well where it mattered (the awesome melee combat), it was fun to explore, the spells tended to look cool (even if only half of them were useful), and the stat system was simple but effective.
4. Curse of the Azure Bonds
Hey, "old school," remember? Out of the gold box Forgotten Realms games, this is the one I remember the most vividly. It was a giant step ahead of its predecessor (Pool of Radiance) in graphics and being able to tell things apart, it was open-ended enough to be fun, and the story was actually pretty decent. Coincidentally, it also instilled in me my love of drow, and is thus responsible for a good chunk of my internet persona.
3. Planescape Torment
I'm no stranger to reading. A game with this depth, and a giant portion of that depth in dialogue, is really cool. And for some reason, the combat didn't annoy me like Baldur's Gate did.
2. Wizardry 8
Oh hells yes. Very deep character creation and customization, large open world, 36 different possible voices for your characters (meaning 36 different, often deeper-than-expected, personalities), and a good story to go with it.
1. ...
Okay, so I need to buff up more on some recent titles. I guess...the Dragonlance gold box RPGs? Might and Magic 2? Huh.
JRPGs
5. Disgaea
Not higher in the list because I've barely started. I'm loving it so far.
4. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Yes, this deserves its own spot. Mainly because I'm one of the few people (on these forums, at least) who liked the game. The combat system felt much easier to get used to, the romance was (eventually) well-done, the voice acting was good (especially the decision to add voice acting to the C-skits), and having a really dark antihero for an antagonist was a cool touch. If the Mystic Artes were as flashy as in Tales of the Abyss, I'd have been ecstatic.
3. Final Fantasy VI
I've yet to finish this one, too, but I'm almost there. The Active Time Battle system is decently tense, the customization and power of the espers was fun, each of the characters still manages to be unique in spite of that, and the story and characters are wonderful. Besides, the train scene and the opera scene had me in tears, and the last fight against Humbaba would have had me in tears if I wasn't already cheering with righteous anger.
2. Baten Kaitos Origins
Really, I'd sing the praises of both games, but I'll give the prequel the nod in this case. In contrast to the sraightforward turn-based system of the first, the prequel has probably the best Active Time combat system I've seen, and few things are as blood-pumpingly awesome as building large, flashy relay combos (not to mention the EX Combos were much more intuitive than the first game). And few things accentuate that <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKPxXRbYl6s>blood-pumping <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRNCUdThacI&fmt=18>awesomeness like Matoi Sakuraba's music (seriously, I could <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lB0b0fHbAY>list <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDoBcqdPx-Y>tracks <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFaxYJ97VSA>all <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz-jFRuvA2o&fmt=18>day). Also, I'm hard pressed to say which story I like better, especially since both use their gimmick (the player is a "guardian spirit" who talks to and advises the main character) for a few surprising twists.
1. Tales of Symphonia
You didn't expect me to say anything different, did you? Great realtime combat, characters I cared a lot about (two or three in particular), fun puzzles, Matoi Sakuraba's music, and a pretty damn good story to boot. What more could I say?
WRPGs
5. Soulbringer
I suspect I would be one of only a few people willing to call this a good game. I plan to review it eventually, but for now...graphics were decent, the motion capture was slightly clunky but worked very well where it mattered (the awesome melee combat), it was fun to explore, the spells tended to look cool (even if only half of them were useful), and the stat system was simple but effective.
4. Curse of the Azure Bonds
Hey, "old school," remember? Out of the gold box Forgotten Realms games, this is the one I remember the most vividly. It was a giant step ahead of its predecessor (Pool of Radiance) in graphics and being able to tell things apart, it was open-ended enough to be fun, and the story was actually pretty decent. Coincidentally, it also instilled in me my love of drow, and is thus responsible for a good chunk of my internet persona.
3. Planescape Torment
I'm no stranger to reading. A game with this depth, and a giant portion of that depth in dialogue, is really cool. And for some reason, the combat didn't annoy me like Baldur's Gate did.
2. Wizardry 8
Oh hells yes. Very deep character creation and customization, large open world, 36 different possible voices for your characters (meaning 36 different, often deeper-than-expected, personalities), and a good story to go with it.
1. ...
Okay, so I need to buff up more on some recent titles. I guess...the Dragonlance gold box RPGs? Might and Magic 2? Huh.
JRPGs
5. Disgaea
Not higher in the list because I've barely started. I'm loving it so far.
4. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Yes, this deserves its own spot. Mainly because I'm one of the few people (on these forums, at least) who liked the game. The combat system felt much easier to get used to, the romance was (eventually) well-done, the voice acting was good (especially the decision to add voice acting to the C-skits), and having a really dark antihero for an antagonist was a cool touch. If the Mystic Artes were as flashy as in Tales of the Abyss, I'd have been ecstatic.
3. Final Fantasy VI
I've yet to finish this one, too, but I'm almost there. The Active Time Battle system is decently tense, the customization and power of the espers was fun, each of the characters still manages to be unique in spite of that, and the story and characters are wonderful. Besides, the train scene and the opera scene had me in tears, and the last fight against Humbaba would have had me in tears if I wasn't already cheering with righteous anger.
2. Baten Kaitos Origins
Really, I'd sing the praises of both games, but I'll give the prequel the nod in this case. In contrast to the sraightforward turn-based system of the first, the prequel has probably the best Active Time combat system I've seen, and few things are as blood-pumpingly awesome as building large, flashy relay combos (not to mention the EX Combos were much more intuitive than the first game). And few things accentuate that <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKPxXRbYl6s>blood-pumping <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRNCUdThacI&fmt=18>awesomeness like Matoi Sakuraba's music (seriously, I could <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lB0b0fHbAY>list <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDoBcqdPx-Y>tracks <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFaxYJ97VSA>all <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz-jFRuvA2o&fmt=18>day). Also, I'm hard pressed to say which story I like better, especially since both use their gimmick (the player is a "guardian spirit" who talks to and advises the main character) for a few surprising twists.
1. Tales of Symphonia
You didn't expect me to say anything different, did you? Great realtime combat, characters I cared a lot about (two or three in particular), fun puzzles, Matoi Sakuraba's music, and a pretty damn good story to boot. What more could I say?
Pretty fun.
