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I need an RPG that will grab me and never let me go
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Just as a warning, don't fall victim to the line of thinking of "Well if I can't find Xenogears then maybe I'll try Xenosaga." I did enjoy Xenosaga and I would defend the series, but I can also say it's full of a lot of bullshit. However, and this is a big however, if you don't mind some very anime stuff and a lot of "Ooooo look at the symbolism we put in!" moments that try and make you think the plot is really deep, the story is actually okay and it has some cool characters. A lot of shitty ones too, but Voyager, Wilhelm, and the whole Jr./Albedo connection I thought were really good. The first game is fucking shitty as hell though, don't waste your money on it if you do ever give it a try. It's boring, there's 4 music tracks in the whole game, and it only serves to introduce the characters. Read a plot summary. Some would recommend doing that for 2 as well, but I personally enjoyed 2 and it introduces Voyager and gives Wilhelm his better voice actor. 3 is just a good game all around surprisingly enough. It's so fucking censored though that a lot of story is ruined.
It seems like the easy answer. You've said you like Crono Trigger and FF7, right?
Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines and Knights of the Old Republic are both up on Steam and thus easy to come by as well. Vampire's more of an action RPG close [enough] to Mass Effect and KotOR's a less good BGII. :P
I'll second Persona 3 & 4. 3's the better story 4's the better game. And yeah, Baldur's Gate II.
You start with the classics in film class and English lit for a good reason
Classics have a reporting bias towards great works.
persona 4 seems to fix all the problems I had with 3 though, so i'm hella looking foward to playing that
I like it because if the anime/JRPG cliches/tropes get too much during a cutscene I can skip it and get a nice synopsis of what I just missed.
Also, 20 hours into it and I just got to the second disc (of three)
next thing you know, youre going to be on the 3rd disk. thats one thing i hated about the game...3 disks seems so pointless since the majority of the content are all on the 3rd disk.
As for other rpgs I've enjoyed, theres Skies of Arcadia, you can pick up the Gamecube version of it. I also loved the first Xenosaga game, the second and third one were far less enjoyable though.
literally every one is a precious jewel
seven stars, the paper marios, the mario & luigi games
all a delight, if to different degrees
Also if you haven't tried it, give Final fantasy IX a shot.
I think you might enjoy the Xenosaga trilogy, which is very heavy on character development (xenogears is great too of course).
And... thats about it, in the "drag you in and never let go" department for me.
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You obviously haven't played Baldur's Gate I or II, nor Planescape: Torment, so I'm going to ask you to kindly shut up, as you have no idea what you're talking about.
Back with some evidence as to the majesty of Suikoden II.
Play the new shit.
That said, Fallout 3's gobbled up a huge chunk of my time too. Pretty much replayed it for every content pack that came out and didn't mind in the least. Yeah, the story turns to crap about halfway in, but for sheer 'where'd the day go' factor, F3 scored pretty high for me. And unlike the Elder Scrolls games, it's one of the few I didn't feel compelled to mod the first time around. I definitely did on subsequent playthroughs, but it plays a lot better - in my opinion, of course - than Bethesda is known for. Even hooked a friend of mine who doesn't normally play shooters, for what that's worth.
Off the PC, I've sunk an absurd amount of time into Tales of Symphonia. I've basically blanked out the story - had something to do with double-crosses and angels and RACISM! I'm sure - but the characters and the actual fighting of things made it a fun ride nonetheless, and it's a pretty long game. And I give Star Ocean: Second Evolution credit for dropping a lot of the usual RPG baggage and throwing in a few quirks for replayability. Any game that gives you the option of foregoing a party, lets you screw around with who pairs with who, and gives you a wealth of ways to break the difficulty in half is all right in my book.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
Yeah, pretty much exactly what I was thinking. I even considered posting that initially. :P
Fair enough. If that's the case, then I just don't understand why you would say forget about them in favor of new things. The comparison was already brought up in literature, but you don't tell someone not to watch Casablanca just because there are movies that came out a week ago. I don't think there's been a single movie released in the past 2 or 3 years that I've enjoyed as much as Casablanca.
I'd recommending giving Vagrant Story a try. It's well written and expertly performed, but you'll either love or hate the gameplay. If fun, gameplay, and replayability were paramount over characterization, I'd also say PSO. Unfortunately, the large and lively world-wide online community is no longer around to provide interesting characters to meet.
If I'm really barking up the wrong tree, then I'd have to second Persona 3 and 4. If you like that and feel up for something harder, try Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga. Their stories are very interesting, but their difficulty is brutal.
Alternately, .hack//G.U. has been enjoyable -- I really like the fast-paced gameplay, and I wound up invested enough in the cast to not be able to put it down.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
jesus christ
not only does the menu navigation need to be wrestled with but i have walked into a room and straight into the insta-death flaming exhalations of a huge fuck-off dragon
My vote's for SMT Nocturne. From the moment the prologue ends(and you'll know it), the game doesn't let up.
I found the main hassle was actually switching weapons frequently; I wish it had a shortcut. First time through, it's simplest to focus on using the correct edge type per enemy. It has the largest effect on your damage during the first round, and each enemy is weak to one of piercing, edged, or blunt. Look at your weapons and make sure that the grip matches the blade! A lot of the weapons the game hands you are mismatched (blunt blades on grips with 0 blunt and 15 edged for example) -- exchange grips in a workshop and instantly power up most weapons exponentially.
Toward the end of the first round if you've consistently used a specific weapon to hit a particular race, it will have built up huge affinity, and thus slaughter that type of enemy. You can use this throughout your first run instead of edge type, but you'll get off to a slower start (and need to shuffle your active weapon a LOT); conversely you're likely to have an incredibly strong finish and a head start on Round 2+.
You're a Riskbreaker. Unlike most RPGs, maxed health makes the game harder for you. If you've lost some Hp, many rooms throw lesser challenges at you (not true above ground). You also have a useful way to reduce HP: Break Arts. They kill shit dead and cost HP. You should use Break Arts to slaughter things, finish the survivors with short chains, proceed with your reduced HP, and heal/buff/de-buff as necessary. To avoid death by traps, walk around the edges of rooms or just use Eureka a lot.
On the armor side, just take whatever the game gives you that has the highest stats in Blunt/Edged/Pierce protection. Pieces with defense vs all 3 are best. You only need 2-3 shields at a time: one for general battles (it will build up very high physical defense), and another 1-2 gemmed for whatever magic/elemental resistances you need.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
when they actually connect
but that goddamned risk meter - you know, that thing that punishes you for doing well - has made so many of my attacks whiff that i am just vexed
i'm getting a feel for edge types and affinities though and even if i can't physically hurt an enemy i can use my defense arts to make it kill itself with a little time
Most of the time you only want to hit something with 1-2 chains, and then let the combo end. Not only do you build more affinity this way (chains don't build affinity, new combos do), but you can easily keep your RISK under control. Vera items are very valuable and important for tough battles.
Cool Trivia: Enemies in VS play by the EXACT same rules you do. They also have RISK and are affected by it same as Ashley. Only RPG I know of like this.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
I wanted to recommend Lunar on the PSP, but I guess it's been pushed back. Definitely watch for it, Lunar's a total cult-classic and one of my favorite games. I wouldn't say it's as important as Suikoden II, but for a warm and optimistic JRPG, I haven't played better.
Is it within these forum rules to recommend Mother 3 Fan Translation? This review (which is of the Japanese version) really sells the game. It doesn't sound like it will ever have a proper release outside of Japan, so...Yeah. Easily my favorite RPG this generation.
Oh, and I own Star Ocean III (I think it's III, the one that starts in a cruise ship) and it's terrible.
Also, Suikoden (the original) is on the PSN for PSP, so you should buy it (It's six dollars) because it's pretty cool and maybe if you do, and other people do we'll get the second. (We're never getting the second, are we.)
Shadow Hearts for PS2 is fantastic. I haven't played Covenant yet, so I can't say anything for it, but I do own it.
And I don't know about Skies of Arcadia: Legends (I believe that's the name of the GC port) but if it's a faithful port, then yes, get it and get it now, because the original is fun as all hell.
Outside of that, I'll go ahead and echo the suggestions for Xenogears and Xenosaga. I mostly agree with Gilder's post, except exchange Xenosaga 2 for 1 for the "shitty one". I don't even remember if I beat 2, I just remember that it was a fucking gauntlet of torment, bullshit, and bad VAs outside of a few gems. I really should try going through 3 again, since the first time I tried it, I got a little bit in, and got too distracted to play, and forgot about it when I could have gotten back into it. But from what I played, it really was fun.
Edit: Well, you covered a few of mine, but still.
Overall I honestly don't think the series is going to stand up to Zombiemambo's criteria.
Also, yes, Star Ocean III was a damned train wreck. Its producer wanted to make some kind of porn game, and some form of compromise was reached in that it was originally targeted at the 25+ age group with a lot of so-called "fan service" and suggestive dialogue. Then the publisher came down and dictated that it was going to be targeted at ages 8-12; the whole game had to be reworked, quickly, and that's how we got the steaming tanker of pig swill we have today.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
SHLOOOOOP SHLOOOOOOP
The biggest problem with SH1 these days is the ring. The colors are so faint that I can't even play correctly anymore. In 2 and 3 the areas for hitting are really bright. It's obvious when you're in the range. In 1 though I have to really pay attention. However the first game has the best atmosphere. It's actually creepy. Lots of blood and dead bodies and such. I think the first game holds up well if it's the first one in the series you play. Going back..... not so much.
I do recommend the series though, but anyone who says you can play the sequel without playing the first is a liar. No, you cannot play the sequel without playing the first. You will be lost. The whole plot of the game starts because of what happened at the end of the first game, and the good ending to the game relies on knowledge of the first game. However, the 3rd game is standalone. Go ahead and play that, it's pretty good. It's no 2, but it's still fun.
I got it over here in Iraq
I also got the West Wing on DVD, all seven seasons
What's it called when you have the choice between two great things but you can only have one?
Anyways yeah get diablo 2, it's fuckawesome
First pick:
Threads of Fate
This game gave me a huge obsession on redheads when I was 15 years old. But this game was such a quirky, fun, lovable game. The game haves two story lines, Mint is the funny story and Ruth is the more serious one. I preferred Mint, mostly because she's the hottest bundle of pixels ever.
Second Pick:
Brave Fencer Musashi
Another fun, quirky, action RPG by Squaresoft. The video pretty much sums up the game, it doesn't take itself too serious, the gameplay is topnotch, the story is very simple, and the characters are fun.
Third Pick
Star Ocean Second Story
Way better then the PS2 installment, mostly because nobody have a voice in this game. I never completed this game, there's just so much to do in this game that it ended up in a permanent backlog as more titles were released. But the game is really, and the story is good.
Edit: Damn, the PS1 had not age well at all. No wonder flashy graphics never really impressed me when I was forced to use my imagination to make up for what the PSone lacked.
I can't believe only one person has mentioned this. It's by far the most immersive RPG I've ever played - and the whole game is totally voice acted (and brilliantly - John DiMaggio, Grey DeLisle and others star) and beautifully written. The game itself is buggy as all hell and falls apart toward the end, but it is a game that must be played. It is the only RPG where I've ever actually felt that I was "role-playing", rather than simply maximising my stats so I could crit for 3 million.
Tales of Vesperia is my other top recommendation. Excellent characters, fun combat. Good times.