So, any RPG fans here?

smiths32 · Post by **smiths32** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 4:53 pm

I was just wondering if any of you guys dig RPGs. I myself dig the slightly older stuff over the new shit: Final Fantas X was, in my opinion a serious let down, I mean Tidus has to be the gayest character ever- Auron and Kimahri are the only decent ones. Anyway, I wuv the other Final Fantasies: 1 and 2(JAP) are kind of crap; 3(JAP) and 5 have the cool Job system; 4 and 6 are kewl in every way; 7 just plain rawks; 8 is slightly weaker but still good; and, 9 is excellent.

Aside from those, the Phantasy Star series (as you can probably guess from my avatar) is also one of my favourites, as well as Chrono Trigger, Mario RPG and (sadly enough) Pokemon, plus lots more I've probably missed.

So, what do you guys like?

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:49 pm

Wuv? Rawks? Kewl?

Oh my <i>god</i>. *dead*

j-man · Post by **j-man** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:52 pm

Give the guy a break, you damnable harpy. *fist shake*

Shining Force III, dude. Just...Shining Force III. Just buy it, please.

For other shits and giggles, try Legend Of Legaia, Wild ARMS and, if you can tolerate the terrible voice acting, Jade Cocoon.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:54 pm

I'm called a Horrid, Pmpous Wench for a reason, you know.

j-man · Post by **j-man** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:56 pm

Well I never.

smiths32 · Post by **smiths32** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:56 pm

I'm called a Horrid, Pmpous Wench for a reason, you know.

Is it cause your an awful speller?

Spazz · Post by **Spazz** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 5:59 pm

Or y'know, it's spelled like that on purpose. Either that or NT can't spell.

Brazillian Cara · Post by **Brazillian Cara** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:05 pm

IÃ‚Â´m not an hardcore RPG fan, but I have some games that are really good. For example, Paper Mario (the graphics are kiddier than Mario RPG, but the mechanics just kick ass), Megaman X: Command Mission (or at least I plan to have it. Think about it - a Megaman X game with Paper Mario's battle system and more, much more), and Pokemon (let's make this clear: THE GAME ISN'T KIDDY, THE ANIME IS!!!! But this is for another topic.).

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:33 pm

I think everyone that owns a Pokemon game has some sort of complex.

No one ever just says, "I like Pokemon." It's "I like Pokemon - but I swear I'm not gay."

Owen Axel · Post by **Owen Axel** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:53 pm

I love a good RPG. But I've also played a plethora of really shitty ones.

Been well into the Final Fantasy series for a while, and I can sum up FFX in three words: Too Fucking Linear. Story was alright, though. It's still the game of the series I'd least want to replay, and that's quite a strong statement considering the series also includes FFVIII.

Final Fantasy VI is my favourite.

Post by **Esrever** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:55 pm

I hear Popcorn loves RPGs, particularly Suidoken.

Dache · Post by **Dache** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:02 pm

You won't get a rise out of him until tomorrow night. He's fucked off to his grandparent's for a few days.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:39 pm

One curious thing I've noticed about the FF series is that everyone's favorite is the first one they play, whichever one that may be. For most people (myself included), it's VII, which, of course, is the best selling one to date. I have actually met a few people who like VIII, and for all of them, it was the first one they played.

The oldest one I played is V, which was decent enough until the final dungeon. I don't know how far into it I got, but then I opened this normal-looking treasure chest and out popped the game's super bonus boss, who you're only supposed to play when you're level 99 or something. No warning, no save points... just a treasure chest in the middle of the final dungeon with the ridiculous hard boss. Of course I was obliterated and didn't feel like playing through the final dungeon again, so I just quit.

While FFVI is definitely a solid game, I think alot of people remember it through a thick veil of nostalgia. I got to the last part of the game where you can either go to the final dungeon or do all kinds of extra stuff, and I didn't really feel like doing either, so I just kinda quit.

VII is my favorite, though it hasn't really aged well. Going cyber-punk was a bold move, and I respect them for doing it. The story stops making any sense whatsoever about the time you escape from Midgar, but the first 10 hours or so are outstanding, and it's the only FF game to date with a cast of characters I sometimes give a fuck about. I was in love with Aerith hard. I've since accepted her death and have moved my affections over to Tifa, but now they're fucking her up in that new movie and I feel completely betrayed.

IX was pretty good and I'm one of the few supporters of X. Most of the complaints lodged against it (stupid story, weak characters) hold true of the entire series. X has one of my favorite RPG combat engines to date.

As of now, my favorite RPG series is, without question, Suikoden. I can't help but be a little concerned about the fourth one, simply because I don't think they can possibly top Suikoden 3, at least not right now. (But then, that's what I thought after Suikoden 2.)

The first proper RPG I ever sat down to play was Lunar Silver Star on the Sega CD, and it still occupies a special place in my soul. Even after years and years of subsequent RPGing, I think I can say, nostalgia aside, that Lunar has a special kind of heart you rarely see in games. The original Sega CD ones are the best, though the 32-bit remakes are decent enough.

The original Grandia is also one of my all-time favorites, I think it's got a certain old-school Game Arts flair. It was the last really great game they made before being devoured by Enix. Skies of Arcadia has a really similar charm, and absolutely endearing characters. Panzer Dragoon Saga was fantastic, and the original Wild ARMs was pretty good (the sequels are both disappointing).

And Xenogears. Can't talk about RPG's without mentioning Xenogears.

Owen Axel · Post by **Owen Axel** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:50 pm

FFVI was the second Final Fantasy game I played, and I played it on an emulator over half a decade past it's release. FFVIII was the first game I played, and it bored the hell out of me.

So I would be the definite exception to that rule, GG.

Post by **Delphine** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:24 pm

smiths32 wrote:
I'm called a Horrid, Pmpous Wench for a reason, you know.
Is it cause your an awful speller?

*snerk*

Post by **Segaholic2** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:01 pm

I can spell "pompous" just fine, thank you.

Final Fantasy 6 is the only FF game I really enjoyed. The story was actually really engaging, and I loved the characters. I didn't like FF7 much. FF9 was pretty good. X sucked.

If you count it, Secret of Mana is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The gameplay is the perfect combination of RPG elements and Zelda-esque action. Sadly, I didn't enjoy either Seiken Densetsu 3 or Legend of Mana nearly as much.

EarthBound was awesome. The humor was just ridiculous. I loved every line of dialog in that game.

I'm a big fan of the Mario RPG series. The stories are a nice spin on the classic Mario formulas, you get to see sides to characters that were never shown before, and the games are just downright funny. Plus the gameplay is pretty sweet. I can't wait for Paper Mario 2.

Chrono Trigger blah blah great game blah blah blah.

I'm sure a lot of you punks haven't played them, but I had a lot of fun with the Shining Force games. That's strategy RPG done right. None of that FFT bull.

Phantasy Star. Just ignore number 3. Oh yes.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this so far, but Skies of Arcadia is beautiful in every way. It's a horrible shame that it didn't receive the recognition it so deserved.

Grandia 2 is pretty good. I never played the original, mainly because I didn't want to put up with the stupid PSX conversion. My main beef with the game was that it was too darn linear. They should've kept it on the boiler for another 6 months, spanned it over two GD-ROMs, added more consistent voice-acting through-out, and an actual overworld with side quests. Of course, it would probably be a completely different game after all that.

That's all I want to think about now. Now that I look at it, I don't play too many RPGs, and not many of the "non-mainstream" titles. Whatever. It's not like I have 40 hours to dedicate to any one game anymore.

Post by **Esrever** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:16 pm

I can never get into games with indirect control schemes, which means I miss out on most RPGs. I love stuff like Secret of Mana, though.

aso · Post by **aso** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:35 pm

I'm actually more of a PC RPG fan... I have great respect and love for the Baldur's Gate series, which is a great series of games despite some majorly frustrating fuck ups the designers actually decided to throw into the games. Cockjobs. Neverwinter Nights was neat, but I missed the deep story of the BG series and the AI interactions involving more than one fucking character.

I'm not sure if they wholly count, but Deus Ex and System Shock 2 are both FPS/RPG games and both rock immensely. Deus Ex taking more of the conspiracy tone, SS2 taking the horror tone. Never played the Deus Ex sequel, though... heard many bad things about it.

Then there's Fallout. From what I've played of the original, it's rather fun. Definitely older style, and the time limit is a bitch to deal with, but the setting is neat, the choices you can make give a great bit of depth to the experience, blah blah yack.

Oh, and far as FF goes: FF7 was neat, FF8 (demo) sucked balls, and FF3 (not 6) is oddly fun, despite all of the leveling you're forced to do. It must be the music.

Add: Earthbound is fun stuff, as well. Any news on that GBA port coming to the West?

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:41 pm

Owen Axel wrote:FFVI was the second Final Fantasy game I played, and I played it on an emulator over half a decade past it's release. FFVIII was the first game I played, and it bored the hell out of me.

So I would be the definite exception to that rule, GG.

Another exception here. :)

FFVI was third FF game I've played and it's still my favorite--followed with FFX and FFIV. FF: Mystic Quest was my first and while I've enjoyed it the first few times I played it since I was still new to RPGs, years later I can't go back to it because its generic-ness and lack of difficulty bores me.

FFVII will always be overrated to me. Basically, the only thing I liked about it was the story, the Turks, Shinra, and to some extent Sephiroth. I didn't really care much for the characters (Cloud is still my second least liked FF character of all time, first is Squall), didn't care much about the Materia system, didn't care much about the horrid dialouge and other mis-translations, didn't care much for most of the soundtrack, and the only time I had to replay the game was in the middle of the first disc when my(crappy third party) memory card data was corrupted. Bah. Did I meantion the ending sucked the big one? I beat that game in '98 and never touched it since.

But at least I beat FFVII unlike FFVIII which felt more like a chore to play.

Xenogears--now that was a great game, great cast, great story(even if it was inspired by EVA)--though the dub could have used a bit more work. Also, I really wished Square didn't rush the team(who are now Namco's Monolith Soft) finishing this game because disc 2 is definatly incomplete. I also felt sort of ripped-off after I fought so hard to the Hammer's Trader Card that nearly all of my fights after that would be fought in the Gears. It just seemed that winning character-based equipment seemed useless. =/ Oh well, it was one of the very few entertainment-based things that made me shed a tear--not even Aeris death made me do that.

Yeah, I like a lot of RPGs--many of them that were not even made by Square. My all-time favorite would have to be Earthbound. It's not so much as the playable or the story but how you get there and some of the most interesting places, NPCs, and enemies you meet. I also like the fact that you can automatically win after sneaking up on a weak enemy without an unneccesary battle sequence. I wish more RPGs did that.

I'll probably post more comments on one of my favorite genres later.

Parn · Post by **Parn** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 9:56 pm

Tales of Symphonia is by far, one of the most enjoyable games to have come out in years. By no means revolutionary, but it is an awesome play from start to finish, if you dig action-based combat and have a craving for overworlds and old-school style music, which are something missing in most RPGs these days.

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:11 pm

Concerning RPGs, I've played a few...here's a list and my short opinions of them, which that I mean, bigass writings, in no particular order:

FF7: Of course I've played thisone. Yes, it is the first FF I have played, but it is NOT my fave FF. I love the storyline and the impressive graphics and FMV (even for today, I'm still impressed). The villians in the game were just outrageously awesome (The Turks, Rufus Shinra and his team, Sephiroth, etc), and the music was superb.

FF8: I admit, I haven't fully played the entire game yet (one reason is because I don't own this one), but so far, I don't like it because I hate drawing magic an all that crap.

FF9: My FAVE RPG EVER. It's got the best characters in terms of personality I have ever seen. It's amazingly beautiful in terms of environmenta. If anyone ask me which FF world I'd live in, it's definitly FF9's. Oh, and in humble opinion, it has the best airship design and theme(Hildagarde 3), and the BEST FF character ever: Vivi. He made me waste money on his merchandise.

FF6: Recently played and finished this one. Beautiful game. Each character screams with life and there's so many touching scenes: like the Opera scene or when Celes nearly plunges herself to her death. The game had great music and a villian who's demented. Demented is good in my books, plus, clowns are just plan scary. Despite the fact that there were too many main characters, they manage to work them all out which is a stunning feat and not to mention a gripping story.

FFX: Yea, despite what people say, I LOVE this game. I LOVE the battle system and the supreme freedom behind it. I LOVE the colorful environments, the music, and the plot. The only thing I hate -you guessed it- Tidus, the whiney, beach blonde, mama's boy.

FFX-2: yea, yea, I like this game, too. I LOVE the fast battle system and the freedom to go anywhere. The plot is weak compare to other FFs, but I still like it cuz' it's touching and I'm a girly wuss like that. The costume switches are handy as well. I even liked some of the music.

Kingdom hearts: Words cannot express how much I LOVE this game. Even though the camera can be stupid a times and I did die a lot the firs time through, the game rocks. Music is good, Disney characters rule, and Sora is an awesome, awesome guy. I love that kid. I perfer him over the Riku fans. Voice acting is topnotch as well and I lurve them FF cameos. BRING ME VIVI ON OTHER KH GAMES, DAMN IT!

Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask: A lot of people perfer OOT over MM. To me, it's the opposite. I perfer MM over to OOT because 1.) I love the innovative idea of time used here 2.) Link's different transformation and 3.) Little Link used narly 99.9% of the time. I perfer his younger counterpart to his older half. Heh. OOT is still an excellent game with great plot and characters, but MM just steals the cake with a demented storyline, general innovative gameplay and a moon that scares the living shit outta me.

Guardian's Crusade: I doubt anyone has ever heard of this. Simple for an RPG, this game is for kids, but somehow, they still manage to stuff it with religion and other mature themes, just slightly kiddy-fied them. Still, it's a great game, full of charm. Predictable, yes, but it's done so in a well that still touches my heart. I'm not so sure if it's because I'm an emotional girl, but I was touched a lot in that story. It's like a Disney RPG. There's also a sorta of Tamagotchi style game in there in which the main hero cares for the pink baby Dragon he has. However he treats the dragon can make the dragon either like you or hate you.

Tail Concerto: I don't know if this should be considered an RPG, but it's great. With anime cutscenes, a cute, but wonderful plit, brilliant voice acting (although if you don't mind kiddy-fied voices), and great music makes this one a superb game, even if I hate the camera to death. Besides, anyone with the name "Waffle" is instead coolness.
~Neo

Post by **Squirrelknight** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:43 pm

I know I'm in the minority on this one, but FFX is my favorite of all the FF's, followed by FF7 and FF6. I thought X's story, setting, and characters were quite interesting and different from previous FF's... And that ending is the most goddamn depressing thing I've ever seen, even trouncing Kingdom Hearts.

Of course, FFX-2 would completely ruin the entire ending of FFX... Consequently, if you want to count it as a "real" entry into the main Final Fantasy series, FFX-2 is one of the weakest, only topped in terms of mediocrity by FF8 and 9.

As for my all-time favorite RPG's, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and (if you want to count it) PSO are probably at the top of my list. Chrono Trigger is just so... perfect. It's the Utada Hikaru of RPG's. Earthbound is just a notch below CT, with it's iconic graphics and hilarious sense of humor. Nintendo better release the Mother 1+2 GBA collection here, otherwise someone is likely to get drop kicked. And yeah, of course, PSO, because I'm a whore.

As for the shittiest RPG's I've played... Sony's early PS1 Beyond the Beyond is pure crap, and I really don't know what the fuck was up with Star Ocean: The Second Story. The story to that completely falls apart a few hours in.

The Wild Arms series has always been straddling the edge between being purely mediocre and being decently good, but I loved the third entry's style and its full embrace of the Wild West aesthetic (The first game's medieval-ish towns and castles always seemed out of place to me)

I just picked up Okage today for the low price of 8 dollars, and I have to say, it's pretty decent. It has the same sort of cracked-out humor Earthbound did, but the game has somewhat long load-times that can be a little annoying if you're in a hurry.

I have never played a Suikoden game. I am not l33t.

CE · Post by CE » Fri Aug 13, 2004 10:56 pm

Neo Yi wrote:
Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask: A lot of people perfer OOT over MM. To me, it's the opposite. I perfer MM over to OOT because 1.) I love the innovative idea of time used here 2.) Link's different transformation and 3.) Little Link used narly 99.9% of the time. I perfer his younger counterpart to his older half. Heh. OOT is still an excellent game with great plot and characters, but MM just steals the cake with a demented storyline, general innovative gameplay and a moon that scares the living shit outta me.

When you said "innovative gameplay", you really meant "stupid fetch quests", right?

Psxphile · Post by **Psxphile** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 11:34 pm

I was in love with Aerith hard. I've since accepted her death

OMG SPOILER

Hm. Definitely an Rpg fan, but lately I've been feeling Rpg-ed out. Nothing seems to hold my interest, at least nothing that's recent. Both La Pucelle and Disgaea failed to keep my attention, I keep hitting the classics at every opportunity. I'm currently replaying FFIV (hard-type, suckas) in between bouts of Kingdom Hearts, and I'm STILL playing Fire Emblem at work (94% support convo completion, and rising).

Favorites include most FFs (even VIII), Phantasy Star IV, the original Dragon Warrior and DW3, Chrono's Trigger and Cross, Xeno-whatevah, Earthbound and the Persona series (all three).

I guess you can throw in Media Vision and Compile's early stuff, like Wild ArMS and Legend of Legaia, which were much more preferable than the subsequent sequels.

I was no big fan of Star Ocean, but I greatly admired Tri-Ace's other hit, Valkyrie Profile. And what list is complete without sleeper E.V.O.?

Post by **Segaholic2** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 11:50 pm

AERITH DIES?!!#!!?!#!?!#!!3121

The GHZ Forum

So, any RPG fans here?

So, any RPG fans here?

SPOILERS!

Re: SPOILERS!