Actually decent RPGs

[RNGmaster]

We hate on RPGs (especially the J variety) a lot on this forum. However, despite the slow nature and focus on story, we can't immediately consign all these games to the rubbish bin.

I personally can't stand many RPGs these days, but I loved the hell out of Shadow Hearts. It had a very well-designed battle system that actually made some sense in the real world, unique battle music, a storyline about demonology in alternate-universe WW1, and some absolutely hilarious characters. It helped that there was also a sidequest that involved fighting half-naked Indian wrestlers wearing bowls of curry on their heads (Cho Aniki-level gayness imminent).

Any other notable JRPGs or CRPGs that haven't made you want to hurl?

[Limbrooke]

EarthBound. Nuff said.

[Cthulhu]

A few recent ones that come to mind:

- Tales of Vesperia 360 (PS3 also in JP, I don't think that came out elsewhere)
- Tactics Ogre PSP (Yeah, it's a remake, but it's a good game)
- Xenoblade Wii (JP only )

Things I haven't actually played but did hear good things about:
- Infinite Space DS
- Lost Odyssey 360

[drauch]

We hate on RPGs (especially the J variety) a lot on this forum.

We do?

[Cthulhu]

We hate on RPGs (especially the J variety) a lot on this forum.

We do?

There was a long grawr-JRPG-bad-GRAWR thread not too long ago. It was supposed to be about Japanese gaming in general but I believe it largely turned into a JRPG bash thread. I lost interest in it so I could be wrong.

[SockPuppetHyren]

We hate on RPGs (especially the J variety) a lot on this forum.

We do?

Never knew people here hated RPGs, but I'll suggest both Baten Kaitos games anyway. And Steambot Chronicles if that counts.

[njiska]

I had a lot of fun playing Operation Darkness. It's an SRPG, the balance is horrible and the story is cliched. Still, it's not without its charm.

[Obiwanshinobi]

We hate on RPGs (especially the J variety) a lot on this forum.

We do?

Not in this thread as far as I can tell. No idea where that hate assumption came from.

[maxlords]

I loved the first Shadow Hearts as well. I'm an RPGer, but as the genre has progressed, my love for it has waned as well. However, here are a few of the RPGs I've enjoyed. Everything here I've played at least a fair chunk of, most of em I've finished. Doesn't make em GOOD, just that I enjoyed em. I left out SRPGs and other bastardizations of the genre as much as possible:

Old School (these are kind of a given):
FF III (FFVI)(SNES) - Easily the best story of any FF IMO. Best gameplay too...not too much, not too little.
Breath of Fire (SNES) - Outstanding RPG, solid story, etc.
Phantasy Star II (Genesis) - Epic for it's time...total grind-fest, good fun
Phantasy Star IV (Genesis) - Everything that Phantasy Star II wasn't quite up to....amazing game
Dragon Quest (I-V) (NES/SNES) - Um...the standard for RPGs. Everything comes from here IMO
Shining in the Darkness (Genesis) - Like Wizardry, but IMO far better - the cleanest of the old school 1st person RPGs

Now that those are out of the way, I'll skip merrily to the next generation or so:

Shining the Holy Ark (Saturn) - Solid, squeaky, and fun
Grandia (PS1)- Awesome first entry in the series - classic RPG sensibilities with a modified Secret of Mana engine nad a great story
Persona (PS1)- The beginning of the JRPG in N. America - When micromanagement was still bearable!
Suikoden (PS1) - A bit of a departure from the norm - 108 playable characters, a great story, all kinds of fun
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) - Sega's magnum opus - So incredibly different that it's hard to explain!
Wild ARMs (PS1) - 2D and (painful) 3D together in an excellent quasi-western - too bad the sequel BLEW!
Suikoden II (PS1) - IMO the best RPG storyline EVER, and excellent streamlined gameplay to boot, along with a smattering of semi-tactical!
Xenogears (PS1) - The RPG that made epic longer than long stories start to become standard. It's good, it's got giant robots, what more can you ask?

And the point of all this is the setup for the last gen (PS2, DC, GC, Xbox):
Shadow Hearts (PS2) - aforementioned excellent RPG series (Koudelka, SH, SH: Covenant, SH: From the New World) made by breakaways from Square
Suikoden III (PS2) - Another solid entry and one that solidified the high standard that Suikoden II set (even if it wasn't QUITE as good)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2) - From the makers of Dark Cloud 2 and Professor Layton comes a traditional RPG....with space pirates and cel shading! Soooo awesome!
Xenosaga (PS2) - The heaviest, most elaborate RPG ever? Possibly. It's ALL story....and I mean tens of HOURS of solid dialogue...dense head-swirling stuff....but it's also....goood! The trilogy makes
Xenogears look short....but if you like the subject matter....there's really nothing else like it.
Wizardry - Tales of the Forsaken Land (PS2) - A modern first person RPG? With story? Yes please!
Grandia 2 (DC) - Just wow. Everything that you could have hoped for in a sequel without taking away from the original. As traditional an RPG as you can get for story...and still great!
Tales of Symphonia (GC) - A solid Namco entry...right in the middle of the Tales series...but probably THE most accessible one of all. Not that it matters.....you don't exactly have to play the Tales games
in order or anything.
Okage: Shadow King (PS2) - Yeah, it's a slow game....but it's like playing a Tim Burton movie (remember when those were good?)! I just couldn't get enough of it, even though the encounter rate is
craptacular.

Yes, there are a TON more good RPGs in this era especially, but I'm skipping them, simply cause I haven't put enough time into them. Stuff like Grandia III, Dark Cloud 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (I hated Nocturne!), Skies of Arcadia, Suikoden V, Wild Arms 5, Wild Arms Alter Code F, Tales of the Abyss, Final Fantasy XII.....the list just keeps going. So on with the next generation!

Here's the current gen....and the one I've played the least of. PS3, 360, Wii. In fact....I've yet to have managed to spend ANY significant time with most all of the entries in this generation.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/360) - Yes, it's LINEAR AS HELL...but the dialogue is great, the backstory is solid, and it's a good story. That's all I really wanted anyway
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3/360/PC) - It's Western, it's not turn based, and it has a crap main story...and I still clocked 150 hours on it. It's just GOOD. Never got into any other Elder Scrolls games...but
this one? Dayum.
Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC) - It's good. It's like Oblivion. It's post-apocalyptic. I HATED it...and still played through the whole main story and over half the side-quests. I guess that makes it good. Just hate
VAPS SOOOOOOO MUCH! And it's bland-looking....it'd be nice if not EVERYTHING was bombed out?
Demon's Souls (PS3) - Easily one of the hardest-core RPGs EVER released. Not a traditional RPG but nonetheless the embodiment of RPGs. Pure masochistic delight....ya can't even pause! Woot!
Mass Effect (360/PC) - Overmarketed, overhyped, and a sci-fi fanboy/RPGer's wet dream. Everything I ever wanted in a sci-fi RPG, even the massive dialogue sections and great story. Again....too bad
the sequel was the weakest of weak sauce.... *sniff*

Once more, I've yet to have played many of the entries in modern RPGs. Why? Partly cause I don't have time and haven't even caught up on the last generation. And partly cause they're getting SO specialized it's hard to find one that appeals to me. I've got Lost Odyssey, Eternal Sonata, Folklore, Tales of Vesperia, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Resonance of Fate, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World, and lots more on the backburner. No time at all.

Which brings me to my last genre, portable RPGs! Almost forgot these babies, and there are some GEMS amongst the GBA, DS, and PSP:
Legend of Heroes I-III (PSP) - Engrish traditional RPGs. I love the translations, the classic gameplay...everything about em! Plus, they're from Falcom
The World Ends With You (DS) - How to explain an RPG that takes place in modern Tokyo? It's almost as if Jet Grind Radio got turned into an edgy RPG? It's damned good and totally unique too.
Kingdom of Paradise (PSP) - Early-gen PSP RPG with a distinct Eastern martial flavor to it. Solid story, great gameplay, and LONG! I really enjoyed this one
Golden Sun (GBA) - A Nintendo franchise RPG all the way, solid, appeals to all ages, and just fun to play. Good sequel too....third one is coming for the DS SOON
Etrian Odyssey I-III (DS) - A great 1st person dungeon RPG where you can make your own maps. A well-integrated touch screen system and fun series
Sigma Star Saga (GBA) - Part PRG, with shmup battles instead of turn based ones! It's not amazing, but it's certainly unique!
Crimson Gem Saga (PSP) - A traditional RPG through and through, and a fun if not ENTIRELY inspired game. I did enjoy it though
Half-Minute Hero (PSP) - the 30 second RPG! Beat the game over and over, super fast! It's hard to explain just how fun this one is, but it's unique and innovative and 8 bit...sort of!
Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) - A remake of the SFC game, with modernized interfaces, graphics, voice acting, the whole bananna! Easily one of my current faves
Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA/PSP) - A rather unique RPG that's not exactly what you expect. It's more like if a graphic adventure and an RPG had babies...
Black Sigil (DS) - A VERY traditional 16-bit style RPG with a GREAT storyline IMO
Dragon Quest IX (DS) - The modern reimagining of the classic RPG. And I do mean CLASSIC. It's epic, amazing, and totally fun! Also heavily over-hyped

Anyway, those are a few of my recommentations. Some of em are obvious, some are rather obscure. I skipped a ton of stuff too. Right now, I'm playing Black Sigil, Persona PSP, FFXIII, and Dragon Quest IX off and on. It's hard to find the time for a console RPG anymore.....*sigh* For the modern gamer (or at least for me) it seems like the PSP is what gets most of my RPG play these days

[Strider77]

Unless it has to be a JRPG I HIGHLY recommend Mass Effect 2.... it a huge breath of fresh air looks great and is a ton of fun. The 1st one is great also but it was a diamond in the rough... the second one is polished and they actually listened to the complaints made on the 1st.

I got lost in both those games and did something I had never done with an RPG before.... I started a second play through as soon as the ending credits stopped rolling.

[maxlords]

I completely disagree with this statement on EVERY level. I loved the first one so much it hurt...and hated virtually EVERY change that was made to the second one. I thought it had a horrid story (and awful sidestories), the RPG aspects were significantly diminished, and the exploration was decimated. I played through it solely in the hopes that they had an idea of where to start and finish but not how to get there.

Unless it has to be a JRPG I HIGHLY recommend Mass Effect 2.... it a huge breath of fresh air looks great and is a ton of fun. The 1st one is great also but it was a diamond in the rough... the second one is polished and they actually listened to the complaints made on the 1st.

[Limbrooke]

I'm an RPGer...

Really?

FF III (FFVI)(SNES) - Easily the best story of any FF IMO. Best gameplay too...not too much, not too little.
Breath of Fire (SNES) - Outstanding RPG, solid story, etc.
Phantasy Star II (Genesis) - Epic for it's time...total grind-fest, good fun
Phantasy Star IV (Genesis) - Everything that Phantasy Star II wasn't quite up to....amazing game
Dragon Quest (I-V) (NES/SNES) - Um...the standard for RPGs. Everything comes from here IMO
Shining in the Darkness (Genesis) - Like Wizardry, but IMO far better - the cleanest of the old school 1st person RPGs

FF3 is a fine game, don't know (from here on DK) BoF, DK PS2 or PS4, as for the Dragon Warrior/Quest series... yeah EarthBound pretty much takes the battle formula and makes good on the rest of the ingredients (ie, becomes playable and as a consequence usurps the old DW/Q series), and DK SitD.

Shining the Holy Ark (Saturn) - Solid, squeaky, and fun
Grandia (PS1)- Awesome first entry in the series - classic RPG sensibilities with a modified Secret of Mana engine nad a great story
Persona (PS1)- The beginning of the JRPG in N. America - When micromanagement was still bearable!
Suikoden (PS1) - A bit of a departure from the norm - 108 playable characters, a great story, all kinds of fun
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) - Sega's magnum opus - So incredibly different that it's hard to explain!
Wild ARMs (PS1) - 2D and (painful) 3D together in an excellent quasi-western - too bad the sequel BLEW!
Suikoden II (PS1) - IMO the best RPG storyline EVER, and excellent streamlined gameplay to boot, along with a smattering of semi-tactical!
Xenogears (PS1) - The RPG that made epic longer than long stories start to become standard. It's good, it's got giant robots, what more can you ask?

You really skip the details here although with so many games mentioned it is easy to see why. DK StHA, Grandia is boring as hell and if you can tolerate this, yeah you [general you, not 'you' in particular] can pretty much take anything up the ass without much trouble, Suikoden... snore, PDS - a good choice to be sure just don't pay through the nose to try it, it's an interesting experience to be sure and pretty much exclusive in every sense, an interesting battle system with a very distinct story and story-telling method along with the entire unique (Moebius inspired) world, Wild ARMs might be ok but again it's a DK, DK Suikoden 2 but it surely improves over S1, Xenogears... yeah this was discussed ad naseum in the last topic, I wouldn't bother.

Xenosaga (PS2) - The heaviest, most elaborate RPG ever? Possibly. It's ALL story....and I mean tens of HOURS of solid dialogue...dense head-swirling stuff....but it's also....goood! The trilogy makes
Xenogears look short....but if you like the subject matter....there's really nothing else like it.

Quite possibly one of the worst PS2 games. A whole tonne of ideas designed to suck the life out of the player. Seriously, who is the asshole who thought it was a good idea for realism not having the gnosis drop money. This game eats balls and despite the differences from Xenogears it is clear who made this. I have heard good things about Shadow Hearts but nothing over the top, just mild, so it might be simply ok.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/360) - Yes, it's LINEAR AS HELL...but the dialogue is great, the backstory is solid, and it's a good story. That's all I really wanted anyway
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3/360/PC) - It's Western, it's not turn based, and it has a crap main story...and I still clocked 150 hours on it. It's just GOOD. Never got into any other Elder Scrolls games...but
this one? Dayum.
Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC) - It's good. It's like Oblivion. It's post-apocalyptic. I HATED it...and still played through the whole main story and over half the side-quests. I guess that makes it good. Just hate
VAPS SOOOOOOO MUCH! And it's bland-looking....it'd be nice if not EVERYTHING was bombed out?
Demon's Souls (PS3) - Easily one of the hardest-core RPGs EVER released. Not a traditional RPG but nonetheless the embodiment of RPGs. Pure masochistic delight....ya can't even pause! Woot!
Mass Effect (360/PC) - Overmarketed, overhyped, and a sci-fi fanboy/RPGer's wet dream. Everything I ever wanted in a sci-fi RPG, even the massive dialogue sections and great story. Again....too bad
the sequel was the weakest of weak sauce.... *sniff*

Why the hell is FFXIII here? This game is a piece of shit and I don't need to have played it to know this. 25 hours of walking down a hallway before the game starts? 25 HOURS? Are you fucking kidding me?! Nobody should have to or WANT to suffer through that kind of bs, nobody. Otherwise, the other picks are well received.

I'm not going to touch the portable category since it's a very modern-only affair. All the same, why recommend so many games? I know there are lots of good games (in general, not role playing specifically) out there and never enough time but couldn't you simply do a pick 3 type of deal. Sorry to come off taking a shit all over your post but it's far too much in excess and given the nature of this topic its unnecessary. As I understood you're "an RPGer" so who can blame you for having such vast exposure although I can say I most definitely am a person who is very far away from this stratum and as such I must approach a very limited (without excluding strategy RPGs which often are some of the best out there) yet quality approach, hence why I only suggested one game, an RPG that is appealing and playable on many levels. As such, less is more...

[Obiwanshinobi]

For the record, there's an "Easy" patch available for Mother, doubling experience and money gained from battles, which reportedly makes it quite playable all of a sudden. Just sayin'.
I say: Shining Force (MD/Genesis) and Chrono Trigger (SNES; avoid the PSX version for loadings suck great deal of fun out of it) are worth playing.

[LtC]

So how come Mass Effect gets mentioned but not Kotor (Knights of the old republic)?

Is Mass effect 2 even an RPG? As far as I could tell it seemed more like a 3rd person cover shooter rather than an RPG like the first game was.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC) - It's good. It's like Oblivion. It's post-apocalyptic. I HATED it...and still played through the whole main story and over half the side-quests. I guess that makes it good. Just hate
VAPS SOOOOOOO MUCH! And it's bland-looking....it'd be nice if not EVERYTHING was bombed out?

Im glad im not the only one who doesnt automatically spurt man juices while talking about it. Im a big lover of morrowind and slightly less oblivion plus Fallout 1& 2 but Fallout 3 was just a big time sink with little reward. While the towns were enjoyable places with many of the sub quests all based inside the towns. Exploring which is the biggest part of the game is was spoilled by the fact it was too easy to get weapons, parts and lots of cash earlly in the game. And apart from a few special items which were indentical to std equipment apart from slighgly boosted stats there was no reason to go exploring apart from the urge that you might be missing something. The game having a stupidly short main quest didnt help my enjoyment of it.

As for FF13 from listening to a podcast from some fans of the JPN version talk about it, it might be my cup of JRPG tea. As i dont mind linear games aslong as the story and gameplay are good. Which seems to be the case due to the battle system been complex and very fast.

As for recommendations, dont forget theres some good PC c-rpgs (from b4 all the developers deserted it for console) aswell http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1 ... puter_.php

I recommend Elder scrolls 3&4, Diablo 2 and the baulders gate, icewind dale type games http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm still kind of gobsmacked by the poorness of BioWare engines. Although I enjoyed my fair share of their cRPGs in the past, Dragon Age looks like it's the same old, same old nonsense, engine-wise. I can't even force myself to play through BG2 and KotORII, despite the reputation of the former and Chris Avellone's involvement with the latter. BioWare have always been acquired taste for me, and seems like that taste has all but perished now.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

KotoR2 plus the Icewind dale games contrary to what most ppl think arnt bioware made, some othe dev house did those. still its biowares engines that their using so it doesnt change things for you

[Jockel]

EarthBound. Nuff said.

This. I'm surprised the thread went on for this long, since the answer is already in the second post.

[drauch]

I'm a big fan of the first Lunar: Silver Star for the SegaCD, Diablo 1 & 2 for PC, Elder Scrolls series (Daggerfell is too hard for my pansy ass, tho), the Fallout series (be it 1 &2 and the newest iterations), and as much as it gets beat into the ground, I'll go out and say Final Fantasy VI is one of the best video games I've ever played. Still so much crap I need to play. Need to get off my ass and beat Baldur's Gate.

Oh, and Sweet Home

[szycag]

EarthBound. Nuff said.

+1. Mother 3 as well.

[dcharlie]

Demon's Souls (PS3) - Easily one of the hardest-core RPGs EVER released. Not a traditional RPG but nonetheless the embodiment of RPGs. Pure masochistic delight....ya can't even pause! Woot!

absolute classic game - still need to finish it but such a throwback (in a very good way) to not pandering to demographics and just being balls out hard and awesome.

I'd throw the Etrian Odyssey games in there too for having the same "oh f*ck YOU... go level or something... or cry... like i give a sh!t" attitude.

Anything Persona/Devil Summoner related is golden. Slightly miserable experiences at times, but in a good way.

I loved Fallout 3 though - i am a massive Wasteland fan so there's been a number of nods to it and , well, it feels like how i imagined Wasteland would be. Plus i thought the music was absolutely superb. Yes, the story sort of soils itself near the end but there's some great moments along the way (Tranquility Lane for instance) - but all in all i enjoyed it.

Mass Effect 2 - hey, i enjoyed that too - though i do agree it's much less of an RPG than ME1 and the removal of the RPG elements hurt the game a lot. Still a great story though, and a great universe/setting with brilliant characters. Mordin was fantastic.

I'm loathed to add more "boo" noises, but yeah... FF13 is absolutely horrific. Mechanical, lifeless, horrid. I've no idea why it's up for RPG of the year. A massive massive let down.

Right now, I'm playing Black Sigil, Persona PSP, FFXIII, and Dragon Quest IX off and on.

Just went through Persona 3 PSP and it was spectacular, nice to have full control over the party too! DQ9 - restarted in English after doing about 18 hours in Japanese. Not sure why i'm doing that but... still fun and has that weird MMORPG feel to it. Next up i guess i will get back into Persona 4 (about 12 hours in and it's well on track to being one of the best RPGs ever) and i have a lazy eye on Fallout:NV. VERY lazy eye....

[beyonder]

- Planescape Torment
- Baldurs Gate 2
- Fallout 2
- The Ur Quan Masters

[evil_ash_xero]

Tactics Ogre PSP (Yeah, it's a remake, but it's a good game)

If you've played the J version, did they fix the leveling up of new recruits? It was horrible in the original. Are the graphics any better, other than the portraits? I thought this was a great game, but the recruiting thing was a big minus. Level 1? Gah...


I wanted to like Vesperia, like really bad, but the cutscenes were too frequent. Not too long. Just too frequent.

Once again, I feel like i'm the only guy saying it, but Valkyria Chronicles is the best SRPG i've played since the original Final Fantasy Tactics.

[genecyst]

i like some srpg by intelligent system, like fire emblem serie, advance wars serie.
then disgaea on ps2 is another great srpg, with a lot of chains and combo action.
there is also another gem made by intelligent system for gba: mario & luigi superstar saga, an incredibly good action rpg, even it's part of mario franchise.

[Drum]

Gonna list games that haven't been mentioned.
I don't think anybody has brought up Lufia 2 yet so allow me. It's basically a roguelike (we-go movement)-meets-Zelda (similar item progression/puzzle dungeons) with traditional JRPG combat. Apparently you can get a bunch of monsters to fight for you later on so I guess you can throw in Pokemon/SMT-like as well. I didn't get that far, as I am super-ADHD but it sure seemed fun as far as I got.
I liked Ys I & II and am mostly liking Ys Oath in Felghana so far.
Paper Mario on N64 was pretty great - one of the elite few RPGs I have ever played all the way through (I think the only other ones are Star Control II, Quest for Glory I and Mario & Luigi for GBA, which are all great). Wasn't so crazy about the GC sequel.
Are we counting roguelikes? Because I love Nethack. Or did, I guess - I kicked my addiction a while back and haven't revisited it in a while. I have probably played more Nethack than every other game combined.
Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter was really great for the 8 or so hours I played. It's basically a roguelike-survival horror game with fun tactical battles.
I didn't get into the Ultima series very much but Ultima IV was pretty great from what I played.
Also: Wibarm! It is basically a Thexder ARPG. It is kind of a dog's breakfast of a game but I love it.
fwiw, I did not care for Planescape Torment at all. It seemed like a really over-written (and not all that well-written) point and click adventure with pointless stat-diddling. Maybe it gets better after the first 8 hours, but I'll never know.

[Slump]

I recommend Elder scrolls 3&4, Diablo 2 and the baulders gate, icewind dale type games http://www.gog.com/en/frontpage/

You sir are right on the money except add Planescape: Torment to the list. My personal favorite RPG's are: Final Fantasy III/Chrono Trigger (best of the 16 bit era in my opinion), Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (Yes, the combats stupid, yes its very brown, yes its tedious, but I've spent more time here than any other game ever), Baldur's Gate (Great Gameplay and plot), Planescape Torment (Best/most unique RPG plot ever in my opinion), Diablo II & Torchlight (Most addictive action hack and slash ever), and of course one I can never leave out: Linely's Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup (Sure it's a rogue like with virtually no story but I love it to death).

[Mortificator]

Great game, or GREATEST game?

[sjewkestheloon]

A few recommendations:

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind - First person crpg that looks grimmy as hell and is slightly idiosyncratic but ranks as one of my favourite games of all time. If you like exploration and have patience you can get lost in the world for hundreds of hours. There are also an absolute ton of quests, a large chunk of which can't be done in one playthrough due to guild conflicts and such which make replaying a joy. One of my favourite features of Morrowind is the true open nature. Sure some areas of the game will rip you a new one without asking questions but you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything that you like. I still play this regularly and can't remember the last time I even touched the story beyond picking up the first gold stash on my way through Balmora.

Disgaea PSP - I played the hell out of this game earlier in the year and ended up with 170 hours clocked with all bosses destroyed. Do you like the grindy aspect of srpgs? If so you should definately get on board.

Also get over to GOG.com and pick up both Baldur's Gate complete editions for some seriously detailed and compelling crpgs with a large dose of tactics. The games will punish you if you don't familiarise yourself with the mechanics, however.

From the same site you can also get the Might & Magic 1-6 pack for next to nothing which contain so little narrative that you end up with an absolute ton of dungeons and overworld gridmaps to walk about with a full custom built party and item looting frollicks. I dread to think how much I've played these games.

[burgerkingdiamond]

I played through Suikoden recently. It was like $10 on PSN. I had a lot of fun.

[Dragoforce]

EarthBound. Nuff said.

+1. Mother 3 as well.

And Planescape: Torment. Now the thread can die in peace.