Good RPGs

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Thu May 05, 2005 12:37 pm

Anyone know any really good RPGs that were made in the last 3 years, I really want to play some new ones that can compare with classics like shining force and pd saga, ff7, holy ark grandia, chronotrigger phantstar4 etc?

only 10 out of 10 stuff. Know the ps2 has the most but what offline rpgs does the xbox have other than fable?

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Thu May 05, 2005 12:58 pm

If you've got an Xbox, like RPGs, and don't own Knights of the Old Republic, something is seriously wrong. Apparently Bioware struck gold again with Jade Empire, but Obsidian's Knights of the Old Republic II isn't nearly as good as the first (from what I've been told, anyway. I've yet to buy it). Gladius also doesn't seem to get much love for whatever reason (you can find it brand new for $20 anymore) and I've heard really good things about XMen Legends if you're into that style of gameplay.

I've got a pile of stuff to play on PS2 still, like Phantom Brave (the summoning system or whatever has been keeping me away from it), La Pucelle Tactics (being related to Rhapsody really kills my desire to play it since Rhapsody was one of the most boring and uninteresting SRPGs I've ever played), and Digital Devil Saga (hell, I didn't even get to finish Shin Megami Tensei III). Even though I've bought those and have yet to play them, I'm looking at getting Stella Deus next month when I can budget it

Right now I'm on vacation and trying to play through Shining Force before I have to go back to Oklahoma... then at some point I'd like to play through Shining Force II... and THEN I'll hit ebay for that copy of Shining Force III. I figure I have a good few months before I have to worry about that (considering how rarely i'm able to find time to play genesis games these days)

russ · Post by **russ** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:18 pm

There's always Star Ocean: Till the End of Time for the PS2. It was never really big outside of Japan, and it isn't your "traditional" RPG, with a different kind of battle system and *insane* difficulty. And if you're into imports, there's always the Tales series games for the PS2 (Tales of Destiny 2 and the more recent Tales of Rebirth). Both are excellent games, but are unfortunately unlikely to see a release outside of Japan.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:31 pm

russ wrote:Both are excellent games, but are unfortunately unlikely to see a release outside of Japan.

I thought that Tales of Destiny 2 was coming to the US for sure? Hrml.. oh well. Tales of Symphonia was pretty ho-hum

In fact, I think this screenshot sums it up pretty well:

As much as I LOVED Star Ocean 3, I don't really recommend it to most people. Too many people are put off by the inital hour or two where nothing is really happening and just get a bad taste in their mouth from it...then there's the combat system which just gives you too much freedom too quickly (and the tutorial is a complete joke...it explains nothing)...and then there's the heavy use of CG cutscenes, which makes a lot of people compare it to Xenosaga (though unlike Xenosaga, Star Ocean 3 doesn't suck

). The partner AI is a bitch and many functions of the game are never really explained (especially the inventing portion, which turns out to be a pretty major part of the game)

Also, I would have liked to have seen SO3 tie in with the previous games a bit more

Thankfully, I'm a complete slut for Tri Ace and was able to overlook those faults andfind the massive amount of gold the game had to offer.

llabnip · Post by **llabnip** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:38 pm

Diabollokus wrote:Anyone know any really good RPGs that were made in the last 3 years, I really want to play some new ones that can compare with classics like shining force and pd saga, ff7, holy ark grandia, chronotrigger phantstar4 etc

Well, if you like ChronoTrigger and PS4 (which I agree are classics and pretty much whip anything that's come out in the last decade) I'd strongly recommend you go back to the Turbo and SNES to get your RPG fix. I'd say Ys Book I+II, Dragon Warrior VI, Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 (SoM2), Star Ocean (original), Tales of Phantasia (original), Breath of Fire (1 and 2 both good), Final Fantasy 4j, Final Fantasy 6j.

For the Playstation 1/2... I'd recommend Suikoden 2 (damn beautiful game), Lunar - The Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2 - Eternal Blue (amazing care went into these packages) and the Arc the Lad collection.

For Saturn, Albert Odessey is great (and has that classic 16-bit 2D look that I love) and Magic Knight Rayearth (Japanese version recommended if you know the anime since it's more action-RPG anyway).

sjewkestheloon · Post by **sjewkestheloon** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:40 pm

you've made my day. those pics were genius lol

i'll have to get hold of that definately.

i think it may be just outside of your 3 year bracket but have you tried dark chronicle (i think dark cloud 2 in usa)? i thought that that was a quality game and had me hooked for about 70-80 hours. but then again i'm an rpg junkie and a whore

judesalmon · Post by **judesalmon** » Thu May 05, 2005 3:12 pm

My personal favourite of the last year-or-so was Baten Kaitos on the Gamecube - highly recommended if you want to play a good Japanese-style RPG.

Diabollokus · Post by **Diabollokus** » Thu May 05, 2005 3:51 pm

cheers, but I'm tired of playing jp imports in japanese text! yes I've taken on the saturn version of grandia but theres a translation on lamefaqs for most of it but can anyone name some PAL european releases I know practically nothing about em

Albert oydessey??? if thats pal saturn I'm getting it heard of it a few times.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Thu May 05, 2005 4:07 pm

Diabollokus wrote:Albert oydessey??? if thats pal saturn I'm getting it heard of it a few times.

I know it's out in the US..not sure about Euro. I didn't much care for it (I know WD put a lot of effort into reducing the load times, but they're still quite bad)... your mileage may vary. It's a shame the translation project for the SNES Albert Odyssey is in limbo

http://www.magic-destiny.com/albert.shtml

OmegaFlareX · Post by **OmegaFlareX** » Thu May 05, 2005 4:30 pm

Atelier Iris is due out in about three weeks here in the US, if you're willing to import. Take a look at some of the screens, they're absolutely fucking goregeous. Will the story be engaging or the game fun to play? I'll let you know, I've got it pre-ordered.

One game I highly reccomend (again, if you're willing to import) is the US version of Tales of Eternia, released here as "Tales of Destiny II". The battle system is an absolute blast, and there were countless on-the-edge-of-my-seat moments throughout the game (like when I beat the mega-hard last guy in the Arena with 1 HP left, using Kiel's near-fatal finishing super. fucking awesome). Great graphics and sound, as well.

Do you have a GBA? There's tons of great adventure/RPG games for it. I'm playing FF I from the Dawn of Souls pack right now, and I had to drag myself away from it to do some chores this morning. There's also FFTA, Mario & Luigi, Sword of Mana, Zelda Minish Cap, Mega Man Battle Network, the three Castlevanias, Harvest Moon, Golden Sun, Fire Emblem... etc etc etc.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Thu May 05, 2005 5:17 pm

Please play Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. Its by far my favorite RPG on the current crop of consoles. Dark, difficult and totally original...if you want to get it new you should pick it up while you can. Worth every penny in my opinion.

I also enjoyed Tales of Symphonia. No its not quite as good as the prequel but I enjoyed it none the less. A geat combat system makes up for the ho-hum story line.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Thu May 05, 2005 5:24 pm

Jon wrote:I also enjoyed Tales of Symphonia. No its not quite as good as the prequel but I enjoyed it none the less. A geat combat system makes up for the ho-hum story line.

My problem with the combat system was that it unfolded way, way too slowly. Then again, Star Ocean 3 was the polar opposite because you're thrown into combat with too many options and you don't know what the fuck is going on.

Also, I think Tales of Symphonia IS the prequel to Tales of Phantasia...

Post by **system11** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:07 pm

As unfashionable as it is now to like the series, I'd have to say Sqaures Final Fantasy X-2 was the most fun I've had from an RPG in a long, long time.

Sure, it's based on X to some extent, and sure, X sucked - nothing but FMV and Blitzball. X-2 however, is fun! It has enthusiasm, a simpler skills system, you don't actually need to have played X to understand most of it, and most of all - it feels like the people who made it truly believed in making a good, playful game. Also interesting is how they've toyed around with the concept of 'what happens after it's all over?'.

This is not the interactive movie style of Squaresoft RPG we've seen the series become, it's the bastard child of that series and some j-pop

MovingTarget · Post by **MovingTarget** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:18 pm

You just described why I'll never play it

judesalmon · Post by **judesalmon** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:57 pm

bloodflowers wrote:As unfashionable as it is now to like the series, I'd have to say Sqaures Final Fantasy X-2 was the most fun I've had from an RPG in a long, long time.

I loved that game too!

I'm looking for a girl willing to wear this Yuna outfit I've got...

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:45 pm

Past 3 years? I guess Ys I&II: Eternal Story...not a big fan of recent RPGs.

adam76 · Post by **adam76** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:11 pm

roushimsx wrote:If you've got an Xbox, like RPGs, and don't own Knights of the Old Republic, something is seriously wrong.

Listen to this guy, he talks the truth!

KOTOR is an absolutely amazing game even if your'e not a mad Star Wars buff(i love the first 3 films but thats it-no re-mastered DVD sets in this household) Its got a cool plot, takes a while to finish and makes brilliant use of the Jedi force powers. I've always had a hankering, when bartering with a shopkeeper(or in front of my bedroom mirror *cough, cough* ), to utter that immortal line "you WILL give me the droid/trainers/big mac(delete as applicable).

Its that feeling of POWER!

I've also gotta mention Tales of Symphonia on the GC. I know a couple of people have intimated that its a touch 'slow-moving', but to me, thats kind of how an RPG should play. Like reading a good book you don't wanna be rushed and though 'Tales' takes some time to get to the end, when it does, you'll realise just why you just invested 50-odd hrs in it!

jp · Post by jp » Thu May 05, 2005 10:25 pm

adam76 wrote:
roushimsx wrote:If you've got an Xbox, like RPGs, and don't own Knights of the Old Republic, something is seriously wrong.
Listen to this guy, he talks the truth!

KOTOR is an absolutely amazing game even if your'e not a mad Star Wars buff(i love the first 3 films but thats it-no re-mastered DVD sets in this household) Its got a cool plot, takes a while to finish and makes brilliant use of the Jedi force powers. I've always had a hankering, when bartering with a shopkeeper(or in front of my bedroom mirror *cough, cough* ), to utter that immortal line "you WILL give me the droid/trainers/big mac(delete as applicable).

Its that feeling of POWER!

I've also gotta mention Tales of Symphonia on the GC. I know a couple of people have intimated that its a touch 'slow-moving', but to me, thats kind of how an RPG should play. Like reading a good book you don't wanna be rushed and though 'Tales' takes some time to get to the end, when it does, you'll realise just why you just invested 50-odd hrs in it!

All I have to say about Tales of Symphonia is that it had some f'ing awesome plot twists.

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:25 pm

If you like SRpgs get Stella Deus, this game is brilliant and the best SRpg......maybe ever. I just got mine last week and I've already clocked 25 hours into it (which is extremely rare for me to play a single Rpg that much period, much less in one week).

Nemo · Post by **Nemo** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:30 pm

roushimsx wrote:Also, I think Tales of Symphonia IS the prequel to Tales of Phantasia...

They're not even related. It takes place in an alternate universe like Tales of Eternia. Symphonia was a great game, but if you've already played Eternia (ToDII PS US), which is better than Symphonia if you turn off the VA, the story is basically almost the same sans a few minor things here and there.

Nei First · Post by **Nei First** » Thu May 05, 2005 10:44 pm

Ooooh, RPG's as good as the Chrono triggers, Final fantasy's and the Phantasy stars? Tough one.

I don't know about being as good but I really enjoyed Secret of Mana that game is HUGE and it had a nice story. I've heard the Lunar silverstar series is excellent, so you look into that one also.

Also I gotta say the battle system in TOD2 looks sick! I've always wanted to try that game, anyone know how good it plays?
one day I will try it along with Star Ocean.

If you can play Tales of symphonia, then I think you should also look for Skies of Arcadia, the story is cliche but the characters have depth and the ship battles are classic.

roushimsx · Post by **roushimsx** » Thu May 05, 2005 11:03 pm

Nemo wrote:
roushimsx wrote:Also, I think Tales of Symphonia IS the prequel to Tales of Phantasia...
They're not even related. It takes place in an alternate universe like Tales of Eternia.

Really? I was under the impression that Symphonia took place a long ass time before Phantasia, mainly because of how Symphonia ended and how Phantasia began. I knew the others weren't related, but Symphonia's ending really surprised me.

I think the big thing with Symphonia being ho hum is that for the most part it's just so generic. For the first 20 hours (20. hours.) I was refering to it as Tales of Generica...after that it started to slowly pick up, thank god. Normally I give up on an RPG after 10 hours if it's doing nothing for me (Hi, Xenogears!) but in rare cases I quit quite a bit earlier (Been playing Chrono Cross for like 5 years or something...I'm 3 hours in). The Tales name is about the only thing that kept me going for a while there

joshschw · Post by **joshschw** » Thu May 05, 2005 11:09 pm

Symphonia is a great game, at least I thought so. But thewy used this weird blurring graphic affect that made me get dizzy and stuff.

russ · Post by **russ** » Thu May 05, 2005 11:10 pm

The only real reasons that Symphonia saw light outside of Japan that it was in 3D and was adopted by Nintendo. It's still a great game, but as everyone has already mentioned, the story is quite generic and there isn't anything too special about the game.... and without a doubt, it's predecessors and followers are loads better. My personal favorite is Tales of Destiny 2 for the PS2 - easily the most fast-paced and most difficult RPG I've ever played.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Fri May 06, 2005 1:53 am

Word up on Iris Atelier... I'm pre-ordering as well. Was finally shamed into it, although I should've been on the train long ago.

Was Stella Deus released in the US? Played it a while back at the TGS... looked pretty fun.

If you've never played Grandia, then you have your answer. Best battle system ever.

easily the most fast-paced and most difficult RPG I've ever played.

I almost popped that in the other day, but opted for Sakura Taisen 3 instead, as I want to play all those by the time ST5 comes out. is ToD2 really that hard? Lots of levelling?

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Fri May 06, 2005 3:23 am

GaijinPunch wrote: Was Stella Deus released in the US? Played it a while back at the TGS... looked pretty fun.

Yup, just a few days ago. I was going to buy it and Digital Devil Saga, but I'm too busy with Nippon Ichi nowadays

shadowstar · Post by **shadowstar** » Fri May 06, 2005 3:56 am

You would consider FF7 a 10 out of 10 game? Huh.

Anyway, I liked Shadow Hearts: Covenant.

russ · Post by **russ** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:06 am

GaijinPunch wrote:I almost popped that in the other day, but opted for Sakura Taisen 3 instead, as I want to play all those by the time ST5 comes out. is ToD2 really that hard? Lots of levelling?

The hardest parts of the game include trying to keep your grade up and winning boss fights. If you don't manage your SP effectively and take too much damage, your grade points plummit. And maybe it was just me, but all of the boss fights in the game were really tough. I found myself pausing every 2 seconds to micromanage my casters and constantly use items. Half the time I'd end up with -10 grade (or whatever the minimum was) at the end, regardless. Though it was still tons of fun, and there was that good feeling of relief after the fights.

adam76 · Post by **adam76** » Fri May 06, 2005 7:06 am

jp wrote:All I have to say about Tales of Symphonia is that it had some f'ing awesome plot twists.

So true! At the end there that many plot twists and turns that it began to feel like a modern day film noir. Albeit with cel-shading. And angels.

The other thing that made it great for me was the combat system. It seems so fluid compared to other RPG's. Actually, i started playing Skies of Arcadia straight afterwards and as much as i enjoyed it, the battles felt about 3 days long compared to 'Tales'.

judesalmon · Post by **judesalmon** » Fri May 06, 2005 8:22 am

Tales Of Symphonia may have been generic, but I really enjoyed the battle system (a change from turn-based) and thought the story was enjoyable.

Someone mentioned the PSOne versions of Lunar: Silver Star Story and Lunar II: Eternal Blue and these are amongst my favourite RPGs of all time, well worth a look.

Skies Of Arcadia on the Dreamcast and Gamecube is excellent, as is Dreamcast Grandia II.

shmups.system11.org

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