The Glorious RPG Appreciation Thread

[Original Saku 1593]

Dragon Age: Origins is great, but I guess I'm one of the rare kind that always liked the other two parts a lot as well. (As my sig probably shows.)

 

I will admit that the 2nd part was definetely the weakest, it felt very rushed, the writing wasn't nearly as good as in Origins and the story was all over the place, especially in the first half of the game. I still had a lot of fun playing it, and the gameplay felt a lot smoother than the clunky combat of Origins. I also really, really liked Inquisition (played it like 3 times already...) My only critcism would be that they tried a bit too hard to be skyrim-ish. They could have scrapped some of the open-world-regions in favor for more story content. Or heck, just more stuff with your companions, because that was probably the strongest part of the game.

 

Oh don't get me wrong I like Inquisition, and I thought it was definitely a good step in the right direction after DA2. But I honestly detest DA2 idk... I think it was just expectations and excitement for that game were just so high for me and then I played it and the disappointment literally crushed me and all hope of me ever liking the damn game xD But I can understand what's good about the game and how some people would still enjoy it regardless of its shortcomings.

 

Yeah I have to agree with you about Inquisition though, they definitely pushed the whole open world skyrim thing a bit too hard....

[peffy 3568]

Oh my god, my biggest problem with Dragon Age Inquisition was the crappy animation of my character. I played as a very slender female elf, yet she was walking around with her arms and legs out at 45 degree angles (mostly noticed this in cutscenes). Also, every scene where she was sitting on the throne, she'd sit like a man with giant balls. It was like they made animations for a big beefcake dude and didn't bother to make different ones for a female.

 

And holy crap, why didn't they let us change the outfit inside the castle. I'm practically the goddamn queen, why am I always wearing an ugly skintight brown shirt and ugly skintight brown pants?? (oh wait, just googled this and apparently they patched it to let you choose from some other colours/outfits now... which are all kind of ugly. It would be an improvement to just let us wear our armor.. not that the armor sets in this game were particularly good looking)

 

And holy crap, for the "Formal attire", why didn't they design a formal dress for female characters? It felt really weird to be wearing something resembling a king/prince's military attire.

 

Gah, the more I think about it, the less I like that game.

[Ito 2438]

I love RPGs, but honestly, I wish I had more time to really enjoy them. 60 hour plus games just sound so daunting to me now, knowing that if I am going to play one, I am going to need to commit for months just to get anywhere. There are so many classics I would love to pick up, but I know they would just sit on my shelf

[Champ213 1858]

Oh don't get me wrong I like Inquisition, and I thought it was definitely a good step in the right direction after DA2. But I honestly detest DA2 idk... I think it was just expectations and excitement for that game were just so high for me and then I played it and the disappointment literally crushed me and all hope of me ever liking the damn game xD But I can understand what's good about the game and how some people would still enjoy it regardless of its shortcomings.

 

 

Yeah, I guess the difference is that I was (as usual) very late to the game. I started Origins a few months before Inquisition came out, so I basically played all 3 games in a row, and I knew that DA2 was considered... controversial when I started it. So I didn't really have high expectations when I began and I found it to be not as bad as I feared from all the bashing going on. XD

 

 

And holy crap, for the "Formal attire", why didn't they design a formal dress for female characters? It felt really weird to be wearing something resembling a king/prince's military attire.

 

I must have been the only person in the world who appreciated that. My Inquisitor was a warrior, not a Disney princess, so I was happy they didn't force her into some frilly dress. (Well, eventually she ended up in a dress anyway for the wedding scene in Trespasser.)

[peffy 3568]

 

I must have been the only person in the world who appreciated that. My Inquisitor was a warrior, not a Disney princess, so I was happy they didn't force her into some frilly dress. (Well, eventually she ended up in a dress anyway for the wedding scene in Trespasser.)

 

Haha, I understand what you mean. I still feel like they could've changed the design a little to make it more... feminine?.. somehow. Or provided an option. As it is, it looks like they designed it with male characters in mind, then couldn't bother to change it for females. (Also it was weird that every party member wore the same outfit. I'm the Inquisitor, I should look more special!!) When combined with the masculine animation problem, they had me feeling like I was playing "wrong" for choosing a female character. It bothered me for the entire game.

 

Anyway, I kind of understand why they did it like that. Budget/time restrictions. Still sucks. 

Can't comment on DLC as I haven't played any.

[violetchain 912]

The Sailor Moon SNES RPG "Another Story" deserves a mention. Some of the boss battles are a pain, and it's a fairly straightforward RPG story and gameplay-wise, but it's Sailor Moon, so if you don't choose the jewellery you equip really carefully, you die. And the special attacks have glorious voice acting.

 

Plus at one point you go to Canada, and it's one of the most hilarious interpretations of my country I've ever seen.

[peffy 3568]

The Sailor Moon SNES RPG "Another Story" deserves a mention. Some of the boss battles are a pain, and it's a fairly straightforward RPG story and gameplay-wise, but it's Sailor Moon, so if you don't choose the jewellery you equip really carefully, you die. And the special attacks have glorious voice acting.

 

Plus at one point you go to Canada, and it's one of the most hilarious interpretations of my country I've ever seen.

 

 

Oh my god, I played this many many many years ago, totally loved it, don't remember much about it. How did I forget Jupiter goes to Canada??

[beni 2149]

So I've got a question for you guys after looking into RPG classics. I stumbled upon a question: What do you think is the best console for RPGs (JRPGs to be more precise)? The majority of RPGs I have is on Nintendo DS, while the least is the Wii. I know of The Last Story, Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower, but that's all I can think of. The xbox has so little, I've looked around various times for more RPGs games for it but it's always the same ten or so. I've heard there's more than plenty of the PS1 and PS2, and even the PS3 has a healthy dose of them, as well as the PS4 with the majority of hyped, upcoming RPG releases.

 

But then there's the forgotten consoles or, well, outdated ones. Those classic games like Secret of Mana and Terranigma originally for the SNES seems to usually be the picked option for this question. There's also GameCube and the various Game Boy consoles too with all that Mario love and various other stand outs, both franchise ones and one off games. There's so much to cover. I'm curious really because I want to try out those older, often called classic games, like Earthbound and Mother. I really hate how I'm unable to do PC/mobile games because I've heard good things about both and especially the latter. But as for classics, surely it's more for the older consoles like Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast right? I'm just really interested in getting round to those games I missed out on.

 

Also, I've been playing Ys Strategy and the regret is strong on purchasing. XD I always end up getting the weakest of franchise games lol. I'm really not in favor of the system they've implemented in it. Is it the same for their other games? I always end up getting games within a franchise not that based on the reception, but on what console (I'm too much of a DS fan .-.)

 

 

The Sailor Moon SNES RPG "Another Story" deserves a mention. Some of the boss battles are a pain, and it's a fairly straightforward RPG story and gameplay-wise, but it's Sailor Moon, so if you don't choose the jewellery you equip really carefully, you die. And the special attacks have glorious voice acting.

 

Plus at one point you go to Canada, and it's one of the most hilarious interpretations of my country I've ever seen.

 

I've got this on my computer now thanks to you. XD Even though I've never watched five minutes of the show, this sounds more than worthwhile.

 

Last thing I want to comment on is surely I can't be the only one still eyeing up Fire Emblem Fates? It looks like it's going to be super expensive, with three games and DLC too. Has anyone else seen the news on the touching/skinship mini game being removed from localized versions? Honestly I am sad that's been removed, I hate it when stuff is altered since you're not getting the whole package, but I still find it hilarious how bothered everyone is by it. XD

 

 

...ok it does look questionable (even more so) when you're watching someone else doing it....

[YuyoDrift 1540]

SNES. Hands down.

 

Here's some games (Recognized) that you can play, as they are considered Iconic:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_Famicom_and_Super_Nintendo_role-playing_games

 

Edit: A link instead because I'm Lazy lol.

 

The cool thing is that you can just use an Emulator and play all of these, and NES titles as well.

 

Edit #2: I would say that the Genesis/Saturn would be a #2 option

 

A lot more games, but good luck finding them.

[beni 2149]

SNES. Hands down.

 

Here's some games (Recognized) that you can play, as they are considered Iconic:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_Famicom_and_Super_Nintendo_role-playing_games

 

omgg. bless you. I've been hunting for lists and totally forgot about wiki in the heat of the moment.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

omgg. bless you. I've been hunting for lists and totally forgot about wiki in the heat of the moment.

 

You gonna run an Emulator on PC/MAC I assume to play them all? lol

 

Depending on the OS, I can recommend some reputable programs.

[Original Saku 1593]

Yeah the NES and SNES have tons of great RPGs so that would definitely be my choice for a classic console. If your looking for more modern titles though then definitely go with the PS2, so many great JRPGs from that era.

[beni 2149]

You gonna run an Emulator on PC/MAC I assume to play them all? lol

 

Depending on the OS, I can recommend some reputable programs.

 

I'll buy any that are at a reasonable price but I'm assuming the majority of these old titles, if not all of them, have a heavy bounty on them. Emulator it is~ I know I've got a Wii, PSP and PlayStation ones and will attempt at getting the older lot sorted too. I think I've dled an SNES and two more. I'm new to these older consoles so their names are escaping me atm. XD

 

Yeah the NES and SNES have tons of great RPGs so that would definitely be my choice for a classic console. If your looking for more modern titles though then definitely go with the PS2, so many great JRPGs from that era.

 

Ah, time to get spending again then! It's been a while since I've touched the PS2. Thanks a bunch!

[violetchain 912]

I've got this on my computer now thanks to you. XD Even though I've never watched five minutes of the show, this sounds more than worthwhile.

It's 100% worth it. Two of my friends downloaded it after I told them about it and they both played it all the way to the end they liked it so much.

 

Granted, one of them was a hardcore Sailor Moon fan.

[peffy 3568]

I would say SNES had the best JRPGs. I played a lot of them with emulators & fan translations when I was young.

PS1 and PS2 are also highly regarded in this area, but I never owned either of those consoles (kind of stopped playing games during those eras). PS3 is generally considered a dead zone for JRPGs, especially compared to its predecessors, but it still has some good ones.

.. I have no opinion on later Nintendo consoles, I briefly used a DS Lite, never owned a Wii or 3DS.

 

I am really interested in Sony bringing slightly-upgraded PS2 games to PS4. They have already released a few well-regarded JRPGs - Rogue Galaxy, Dark Cloud, Dark Chronicle & Arc the Lad.

 

I would kill for them to release Dragon Quest 8 on PS4. 

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

The Sailor Moon SNES RPG "Another Story" deserves a mention. Some of the boss battles are a pain, and it's a fairly straightforward RPG story and gameplay-wise, but it's Sailor Moon, so if you don't choose the jewellery you equip really carefully, you die. And the special attacks have glorious voice acting.

 

Plus at one point you go to Canada, and it's one of the most hilarious interpretations of my country I've ever seen.

haha, i remember this game! i played it years ago and i would love to play it again since it's been so long!

 

ps1 and ps2 have a lot of great games! i don't know too much about snes games, but i've played some. and unfortunately i never finished most of them. i mean, i remember bahamut lagoon being really hard...has anyone here played that?

 

ugh, i've been wanting to play saturn/dreamcast games for so long!! it's too bad that i can't figure out how to make the emulators work on my pc. :/

 

oh, and since someone mentioned the sailor moon rpg, tenchi muyo also had a tactics rpg game on snes, haha. i don't know if i finished it, but i remember playing it.

[peffy 3568]

I know I played Bahamut Lagoon with an emulator. So I was totally cheating with save states and .. maybe cheat codes. I don't remember a single thing about the story.

 

I did also play a Tenchi Muyo game.. I'm sure I finished it, but again, remember almost nothing about it. I played these games like 15 years ago.

[beni 2149]

Been playing more of the Xbox instead of the PS3 and really getting into Infinite Undiscovery and Magna Carta 2, especially the latter. While Infinite Undiscovery is taking its time to get itself going, the plot is rich with a variety of different ways to progress the story, from sneaking up on your enemies in the dark in order to retreat from the first chapter/stage and carrying your wounded team mate while the rest of your party protects you from enemies. That almost works as an escort mission but you're powerless, you have to put your faith in your much stronger team mates, aha. This is all in just the first couple of hours of the game and its already great fun. I'm looking forward to when you have about twelve characters you can play beside on your team. A lot of content to enjoy, and its feedback has been super positive with obvious setbacks such as voice work not being included in all cut-scenes and not being able to control all characters the whole way (you can control them on certain occasions when a certain move of theirs needs to be used).

 

Magna Carta 2, on the other hand, is proving to be even more worth while than Lost Odyssey. I thought I wasn't going to see anything special in it what with how annoying the mechanic of "Over Heat" being that makes your character be unable to make any other action the more you use them, but it made for a challenge and balance in using all the characters at all times. This also gave battles a quick and nice flow, and I ended up not seeing it as a pain very quickly. While I have no clue about the first game, what drew me into it overall was the really neat art, and coming from a Korean artist, it's really manga inspired on the page/as stand stills. It's a shame there's only 6 playable characters (I always wish the rooster is as big as Star Ocean's in certain games), but the gameplay itself is surprisingly addicting. You get two weapons for all six characters to use, and it can either be psychically (sword, two handed sword, axe, hammer as examples) or magically/nature (water, fire, rods - wind, healing as examples) based. I like the balance of three females and three males in the party, and the story, while typically about war, unbalance and opposition, it still has charm certainly thanks to both characters and voice casting. For an English dub, I agree with a review I had read on the game that it has some of the best voices in any recent RPG. While they're the dub lot you already know about (Johnny Yong Bosch, Michelle Ruff, Stephanie Sheh, Yuri Lowenthal) they do make their characters shine when it's usually more than grating and makes you pray there is a sub option. Characters themselves have so much life to them, from Crocell being a sarcastic, protagonist hater and Celestine, with the oh so cliche mentality of a ten year old even though her race have a shorter life span of humans and age quicker. All in all, it's a really worth while game I know I'm going to continue to enjoy for years to come.

[platy 3018]

Been playing more of the Xbox instead of the PS3 and really getting into Infinite Undiscovery

Finally someone else who has played Infinite Undiscovery! It's such a hidden gem. I played it back when it was released and it still has a place in my heart. It's not the greatest, but the combat, crafting system and the world were a lot of fun to explore. 

Another game I havent seen many people talk about is The Last Remnant that came out around 2008, also by Square Enix. It has one of the most intense turn based combat systems i've come across not to mention how fucking hard most of the battles are. I found it on steam the other day and the reviews mostly complained about the diffculty and how people hadn't got to beat the game yet. The xbox360 version has frame rate issues because they rushed to release it in christmas period, I bought the pc port now and I'm not sure if that is fixed. But nevertheless it's a brilliant game, especially for the time it came out, the environments are beautiful, it has an interesting cast of characters and the soundtrack is absolutely perfect. You can easily spend hundreds of hours on all the content in this game. 

Also I don't see people mentioning FF 7 in this thread. I haven't actually played it yet, but i cannot wait for the game to be released. The amount of butthurt from nostalgia fanboys is insane already, imagine when it comes out. Oh boy.

My favorite RPG's by the way, are FF X (guilty pleasure X-2) and the XIII trilogy. Yup. I was one of the hate badwagon crew, but once i gave it time it grew on me and the games only improved. XIII-2 is personally my favorite out of all of them.

Like many people I've also been waiting for FF XV since  it was announced alongside XIII. Now XIII has a trilogy and XV , well, it only has a few trailers. But I believe it will be totally worth it and I can't wait.  Meanwhile, I'm playing Final Fantasy IV on my psp. Not a bad game at all.

[Vitne Eveille 65]

YES!  I loved Infinite Undiscovery also.  I was really pleasantly surprised by that game, it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the story and battle system.

 

Probably my top top favorites are:

 

Chrono Trigger

Chrono Cross

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy VI

Star Ocean: Til The End of Time

Xenosaga Episode 1

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana

Phantasy Star IV

Lunar: The Silver Star

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue

 

I recently just beat Chrono Trigger again and now I'm on Chrono Cross (again).  They are timeless, just wonderful games (and some of the best soundtracks ever).

 

I've always wanted to play Bahamut Lagoon.  Isn't it only in Japanese though?  Or is there a ROM English fix?

 

I also really liked Romancing SaGa 3, even though I had no idea what was being said.  It would probably be in my top games if I could read Japanese (eventually, eventually).

[peffy 3568]

 

Also I don't see people mentioning FF 7 in this thread. I haven't actually played it yet, but i cannot wait for the game to be released. The amount of butthurt from nostalgia fanboys is insane already, imagine when it comes out. Oh boy.

 

 I spoiled FF7 for myself. At the time, I had no hope of getting a PlayStation, so a couple of years after it came out, I actually read the SCRIPT on Gamefaqs. Years later, probably around 2001, I got to play FF7 on PC. It was still enjoyable, but the dated graphics were a serious issue. I am looking forward to the remake, ESPECIALLY for the fanboy/girl meltdowns.

 

 

I've always wanted to play Bahamut Lagoon.  Isn't it only in Japanese though?  Or is there a ROM English fix?

 

 

I played it with an English patch ~15 years ago. You can probably find it by googling.

 

 

Also, here is the sum total of my knowledge of Infinite Undiscovery. Since it's a 360 exclusive, I guess I'll never play it. 

[Vitne Eveille 65]

So my emulator decided to stop playing Chrono Cross' music.  That's not acceptable!  I'll have to postpone that til I get my Playstation back from the US.  So I am now playing Bahamut Lagoon

[beni 2149]

Playing a TRPG on the PS3 is sort of weird to me. I've always played the genre on the DS, so it's neat seeing it on the big screen, but my preference for it is still being in my hands for some reason. I'm currently playing Disgaea 4 because I've had a long time interest in the series but never really bothered looking into it. I'm glad I did though, I really am warming up to its characters (Fenrich and Axel are too much) unlike other RPGs. It gets right into the nitty gritty, instantly giving a challenge experience while also being super enjoyable because of its characters, dialogue and story. 

[Original Saku 1593]

Playing a TRPG on the PS3 is sort of weird to me. I've always played the genre on the DS, so it's neat seeing it on the big screen, but my preference for it is still being in my hands for some reason. I'm currently playing Disgaea 4 because I've had a long time interest in the series but never really bothered looking into it. I'm glad I did though, I really am warming up to its characters (Fenrich and Axel are too much) unlike other RPGs. It gets right into the nitty gritty, instantly giving a challenge experience while also being super enjoyable because of its characters, dialogue and story. 

 

Disgaea is Love <3 just so you know there are Vita versions of D3 and D4 and PSP versions of D1 and D2 which can also be played on Vita

 

I'm glad you like D4 though, it's such a great game imo one of the best Disgaea games character wise besides the first one.

[Flame-X 441]

Since I recently finished playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC, I must talk about it in this thread.

 

 

 

I'll just copy & paste my review from steam to save myself from all the typing.

 

Quote

This is by far the best JRPG I've played in recent years. Trails in the Sky FC was pretty much the appetizer of the trilogy, but here is the real meat of the story. The game starts right after that heartbreaking cliffhanger from the first game, so obviously it's absolutely required you play FC before SC, otherwise nothing will make sense to you.

I think Trails in the Sky SC's biggest strength is definitely the writing. It's a surprisingly well thoughtout world, richly developed and lovable cast of characters, and memorable story that will reward you with a satisfying JRPG experience. I would even go as far as saying it's better than any of the Final Fantasy or Tales of franchise I played. Although the characters are pretty much your standard anime or Japanese game character archetypes, each one is fleshed out and executed well. The interactions between characters are gold, especially anything involving Estelle and Oliver since they add comedic value. While I can't say much about SC's storyline due to avoiding spoilers, if you thought FC's story was great, well you're in for one hell of a ride. FC took me around 20 hours to beat, SC took me 60 hours. Just let that sink in. Yes, the story has a few extra layers added but it's not overly complicated as long as you pay attention.

The gameplay is the same as FC but with some improvements to the turn based battle system. I really liked the addition of chained special attacks which let's you use multiple characters attack at once. More artes have been added and crafts upgraded for stronger effects. Other than that, just expect FC's gameplay.

I would describe the visual to be modernized retro style graphics you see in playstation rpg games, except a lot sharper. You can tell the production values just by looking at it and the presentation. Let's not forget the wonderful soundtrack. It adds a perfect level of immersiveness invoking a spectrum of emotions on certain scenes of events.

Lastly, I really have to give props to XSEED for their amazing efforts in localizing SC. They released the game not out of business/profit priority, but labor of love. And double props to them for announcing the final game of the trilogy that's currently in the works. While SC can be seen as the finale story, there are some loose ends that will be resolved in the 3rd chapter (I hope). So once the 3rd chapter is up for pre-order, I'll immediately snatch that up paying full price showing my support just like how I did with FC and SC. Thank you XSEED for letting me experience such a magnificent game. 

Normally, I don't replay JRPGs as much, but this is worth going through the 2nd time. Overall, Trails in the Sky SC gets my highest recommendation for any RPG players out there.

 

I also have to add that the romance is very solid here beating Lunar Silver Star, at least to me. I forgot to mention that main protagonist is female which is pretty rare across the genre, and thankfully, she's not annoying at all.