I can't add too much about Blood Omen. I have two copies, one disc and one on PSN to play on my PSP. I've never made it more than an hour or two into it. I want to play it because I've played all the other Legacy of Kain games, but I just can't get into it.
I can't add too much about Blood Omen. I have two copies, one disc and one on PSN to play on my PSP. I've never made it more than an hour or two into it. I want to play it because I've played all the other Legacy of Kain games, but I just can't get into it.
Soul Reaver was my first LoK game, I made myself play Blood Omen. The gameplay is meh but the story, you gotta love the story.
i missed the entire ps1 rpg boom. its a shame, because most of them dont hold up at all these days, in my experience. i loved the NES/SNES classics when they were current, and then pretty much lost interest in the genre until i had a ps2 years later and picked things back up with FFX.
This game is so goddamn good and like no one has played it.
It's simply amazing. So much pioneered content. Context-sensitive combat, for instance.
EDIT: This is one of the first games I Goozex'd when I was building my RPG Library among Final Fantasies, etc.
I bought it when it came out on a whim. I figured it was going to be some lame Final Fantasy rip-off. I was so pleasantly surprised. The combat was flippin sweet, and I remember loving the cut-scenes. Now I'm flooded with good feelings.
DOOOOUBLE SLASH!!
That game was so amazing at the time. The context combat really kicked ass and made it feel so different from the other rpg's.
I tried playing it 6 months ago, but ouch, it didn't age that well.
I've not gone through this thread nor have I read a single post but I know for a fact that the following will have been mentioned because they're the best thing ever (on PS1);
1. Bushido Blade
2. Tenchu 1&2 - 2 is better thanks to the map editor and awesome water stealth kills.
3. Soul Reaver
4. Blood Omen
5. Driver
6. Destruction Derby (it was alright)
Any of the PS1 Spyros, if you like collectathons. 3 is probably the best, but 2 is pretty good as well. The first game is less polished and has some design mechanics that are fairly obnoxious, but it has its own sort of charm.
You could say this same sentence but replace Spyro with Crash Bandicoot.
I played through this a long time ago and remember enjoying it when I was hankering for more FFT style games. I still have it on my shelf and have been meaning to give it a try again, but am too backed up w/ current gen stuff.
Its a tactical RPG, based on an Eastern (Chinese?) legend.
Nobody else backed you up, but I will. Great game, game take on the story, fun characters, it had everything. I still long to have my own copy, only got to borrow it for a short time.
I'm glad everyone is highlighting Legend of Dragoon, I always feel like I'm the only person that liked that game. I still remember stopping in the middle and calling a friend when Kongol the giant randomly reappeared and joined the party. PURSUIT!
Also, I'm the only person I've ever seen successfully pull off Gust of Wind Dance. Friend booted it up after I hadn't played it for a year or so, and I still got it right on my first try.
So many RPGs, how I miss you in the current generation.
The OP was asking for games that are still playable though, so you can scratch 95% of them off the list.
And yet those 5% seem to be the majority of recommendations :P
Really that comment was just a complaint that I want more RPG options on the current gen systems.
Anyone that recommends a PS1 rpg should be forced to play it to completion in the last 6 months before being able to recommend it again. Then we can just determine that the person has terrible ideas on what is fun and isn't clouded by nostalgia.
There are several PSOne RPGs that I can still play today. Some I don't try anymore though, you're right.
Games like Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX all made fantastic use of the PSOne's limited tech, and I think they still look good today. Gameplay is still good too, although a little slow (especially in FFIX's case). Parasite Eve hasn't aged well as far as graphics go, but I'd still recommend it because of the unique story and concept. Breath of Fire III I still recommend, even if being reminded of a certain desert deadens my enthusiasm to replay it.
Certainly there are those which I don't think have aged well (Grandia) but quite a few are still perfectly playable by my standards and many (in my opinion) outshine the majority of PS2 JRPG titles.
There was this one RPG I played a long time ago but the name escapes me so maybe someone else can name it. All I really remember was that you start off as some young knight and a fairy companion that doesn't really do anything come across a baby dragon, dragon is a party member/ pet which you can command it to search for items in town. Something about solomons ring... dolls can take the place of the party. It was a weird ass game but it was really fun and the story wasn't that bad!
Look at all these old games I use to play really makes me wish I didn't take RPGs for granted when I was still growing up now a days its hard to find anything on the new gens.
Ok found it Guardian's Crusade!
Luthon on
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Seconding Elemental Gearbolt. It's like nothing else.
Alfa System developed it; the guys who also did the Castle Shikigami series.
This is something that anyone with taste would say.
I love me some PSX RPGs but folks, please play the non terrible ones.
I hate agreeing with XoB on anything, but Legend of Dragoon was pretty terrible. It was developed and marketed by Sony wholly as a cash-in on FFVII making RPGs the hot item on the PSX, and is as thoroughly below-average as it gets. I think it had decent music, though. It's hard to remember because I'm still kind of annoyed that the $6 I spent to rent it could've gone to Tactics Ogre instead, which was subsequently stolen from the Mooovies store it was at and thus robbing me of my chance to play it without shelling out on Ebay.
There are way too many JRPGs on the PSX to try before you scrape the lower half of the barrel for crap like LoD.
Dragoon has a great battle system that, sadly, hasn't shown up again to this day. Gladius had something similar, but it wound up being pretty horrible.
The characters (besides Rose) were all pretty awesome, and there was even an early character death I don't think anybody saw coming. I played through it twice, once originally and then a year or two ago, and I honestly don't remember much bad about it. Except maybe finding Stardust (still plausible without a guide, unlike most FFs) and not having any real healing magic.
Reynolds on
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
The thing that kind of bums me out about BoF III is that the music is so hit-or-miss throughout the whole game. It has its moments, but ugh. A lot of it is just kind of embarassing to listen to a decade+ later.
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
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SirUltimosDon't talk, Rusty. Just paint.Registered Userregular
edited July 2010
I have very fond memories of playing LoD with my cousin growing up. I really liked the game, but was unable to finish it thanks to my young brother scratching the last disc. I do have two copies of it now though, and have been meaning to replay it one of these days.
Final Fantasy 8. Probably some of the best music in the series, I liked the story for the most part, and I dug the art direction/style. Plus, getting inside the head of the main character was a nice change of pace.
Did you ever try Legend of Mana? Because it gets a lot of undeserved hatred by people that loved Secret of Mana for some reason I'll never understand. It still looks pretty good and the soundtrack is phenomenal.
Legend of Mana may well be the best game in the history of ever. Three epic main story arcs and a lot smaller ones, in the best combination of sandbox and RPG principles. A huge cast of characters, lots of development for many of them, an original and beautiful watercolor world... why haven't they actually done anything like it again? The recent releases in the series have been awful, but this one was so, so good.
So many RPGs, how I miss you in the current generation.
The OP was asking for games that are still playable though, so you can scratch 95% of them off the list.
And yet those 5% seem to be the majority of recommendations :P
Really that comment was just a complaint that I want more RPG options on the current gen systems.
Anyone that recommends a PS1 rpg should be forced to play it to completion in the last 6 months before being able to recommend it again. Then we can just determine that the person has terrible ideas on what is fun and isn't clouded by nostalgia.
There are several PSOne RPGs that I can still play today. Some I don't try anymore though, you're right.
Games like Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX all made fantastic use of the PSOne's limited tech, and I think they still look good today. Gameplay is still good too, although a little slow (especially in FFIX's case). Parasite Eve hasn't aged well as far as graphics go, but I'd still recommend it because of the unique story and concept. Breath of Fire III I still recommend, even if being reminded of a certain desert deadens my enthusiasm to replay it.
Certainly there are those which I don't think have aged well (Grandia) but quite a few are still perfectly playable by my standards and many (in my opinion) outshine the majority of PS2 JRPG titles.
I'm willing to give a couple games passes because they aged well like Vagrant Story and Suikoden. Almost all the "Tactics" are still good. Final Fantasy is still... final fantasy.
But when I see stuff like Xenogears, Jade Cocoon, Legend of Dragoon, Tales and I think I remember even seeing Wild Arms (not sure if that was a recommendation or comparison), that's pure hatred towards the OP. We should direct him to the cream of the crop , not the most mediocre 40+ hour random encounter boring trite of that generation. There's good JRPGs. Let's point the man to the best (lolopinions).
I have a copy of Threads of Fate sitting on my shelf, but I can't remember anything about it besides that the art design on the cover stands out an awful, horrible Sign Of Things To Come.
edit: The reason Suikoden (and Suikoden II, but good luck finding it!) stand up well is because Free Will and Let Go combine to form the best thing ever in the history of turn-based combat
So many RPGs, how I miss you in the current generation.
The OP was asking for games that are still playable though, so you can scratch 95% of them off the list.
And yet those 5% seem to be the majority of recommendations :P
Really that comment was just a complaint that I want more RPG options on the current gen systems.
Anyone that recommends a PS1 rpg should be forced to play it to completion in the last 6 months before being able to recommend it again. Then we can just determine that the person has terrible ideas on what is fun and isn't clouded by nostalgia.
There are several PSOne RPGs that I can still play today. Some I don't try anymore though, you're right.
Games like Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX all made fantastic use of the PSOne's limited tech, and I think they still look good today. Gameplay is still good too, although a little slow (especially in FFIX's case). Parasite Eve hasn't aged well as far as graphics go, but I'd still recommend it because of the unique story and concept. Breath of Fire III I still recommend, even if being reminded of a certain desert deadens my enthusiasm to replay it.
Certainly there are those which I don't think have aged well (Grandia) but quite a few are still perfectly playable by my standards and many (in my opinion) outshine the majority of PS2 JRPG titles.
I'm willing to give a couple games passes because they aged well like Vagrant Story and Suikoden. Almost all the "Tactics" are still good. Final Fantasy is still... final fantasy.
But when I see stuff like Xenogears, Jade Cocoon, Legend of Dragoon, Tales and I think I remember even seeing Wild Arms (not sure if that was a recommendation or comparison), that's pure hatred towards the OP. We should direct him to the cream of the crop , not the most mediocre 40+ hour random encounter boring trite of that generation. There's good JRPGs. Let's point the man to the best (lolopinions).
edit: or atleast unknown unique games
Xenogears... eh. I have my own little problems with Xenogears. I can't really say whether its still playable or not since I have no desire to go back and play it. The game has one pretty good disc and then... disc two. I never finished the game because the second disc sapped my will to do so.
Jade Cacoon hasn't aged well. No argument.
Legend of Dragoon (like Jade Cacoon) was never all that great to begin with, and then didn't age well. I will echo the statement about the more interactive battle system though. Too bad I think Super Mario RPG did it better.
Tales of Destiny was basically a SNES game even when it was released. Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia) has aged fairly well.
I never liked Wild Arms. Wild Arms 2 was alright, but its another one that hasn't aged well. Graphically it looks terrible now too.
The Deception series is sort of unique. You set traps for people invading your... castle? House? Whatever. It gets pretty sadistic. I only ever played the 2nd one, which was allegedly toned down from the first. Have 3 laying around somewhere I think, but no console to play it on any more.
The Deception series is sort of unique. You set traps for people invading your... castle? House? Whatever. It gets pretty sadistic. I only ever played the 2nd one, which was allegedly toned down from the first. Have 3 laying around somewhere I think, but no console to play it on any more.
The first "Tecmo's Deception" I played a surprising amount of, considering the premise, and how a younger me was more interested in getting monsters in Monster Rancher or getting the gems/coins/remotes in Gex/Spyro/etc.
The first one was pretty creepy for me, because it's a first person view of you, a dead man come to life to avenge your death, wandering around a castle you recently aquired from the masked psycho owner basically keeping people out or killing them once they got in. Unsettling in many ways, especially the deathtraps that you could set up in any room. I kinda remember luring a tresspasser into a closed off wing of the castle, and making a spike wall shoot out into him.
It's kinda tense because for the most part you are your own bait, and the only thing keeping the bandits from you are traps that (you hope) you placed in the right spots.
mrmr on
Practice Round, my blog where I talk (mostly) about comics.
How could I have forgotten about Deception? Those games were awesome.
amnesiasoft on
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NocrenLt Futz, Back in ActionNorth CarolinaRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Has Front Mission 3 been mentioned? Because that's another I think holds up well. Also given that there was a massive fake internet on the disc that you could browse whenever and it had two branching storylines (stemming from a seemingly simple choice made at the beginning of the game).
Dragoon has a great battle system that, sadly, hasn't shown up again to this day. Gladius had something similar, but it wound up being pretty horrible.
The characters (besides Rose) were all pretty awesome, and there was even an early character death I don't think anybody saw coming. I played through it twice, once originally and then a year or two ago, and I honestly don't remember much bad about it. Except maybe finding Stardust (still plausible without a guide, unlike most FFs) and not having any real healing magic.
Lost Odyssey and Shadow Hearts were the closest we got to Dragoon. Frankly if I want a battle system like that I usually just play Super Mario RPG and skip all the awful that I'd be doing if I was playing Dragoon.
As for OP:
Kinda surprised no one bothered to mention Metal Gear Solid, though if you haven't played it at this point you might as well turn in your badge.
Also, Street Fighter Alpha 3. One of the most expansive home versions of any Street Fighter game. The campaign mode allowed you to beef up characters and use slots to give them extra abilities. To hell with being balanced, SFA3 was nothing but pure unadulterated fun.
Seconding Vandal Hearts series if you like tactics games at all. They were pretty good for the time, though probably more time consuming than you're looking for.
Though you mentioned it already, Valkyrie Profile cannot be stressed enough. It's a bunch of different concepts rolled together into one big package. Resource management, time management, RPG character progression, sidescrolling puzzle, platforming, the list goes on. But it manages to do all of these things well enough that you don't feel overwhelmed. If you are at all worried about the type of ending you'll get, like me, then you'll want to pick up a guide with it, though. It can also take quite some time to beat depending on difficulty level and your end game goal.
Seconding Parasite Eve, as well. Really interesting combat system, and satisfying characters/story. I hear Parasite Eve II is decent, but I never played more than a couple of hours of it when it first came out.
Edit: Deception series owns, too. I'd suggest starting with the second or third game, though, as the first one is a bit more clunky than the other two.
Yeah, I used to own Deception 1, and I wanted to like it, but it was really not polished enough to be truly fun. I never got the chance to play later entries in the series to see if they cleaned up the gameplay.
I've never owned a 360 or SNES, so I don't care about either of those games. My friends rave about the Mario RPGs, but I didn't enjoy any of the DS ones I tried. The GameCube one was great, though.
It doesn't count if nobody's yelling out ridiculous attack names, though. Same reason I'd recommend Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean 2, but those are more than covered.
Posts
Soul Reaver was my first LoK game, I made myself play Blood Omen. The gameplay is meh but the story, you gotta love the story.
Its not that you played a lot of RPGs its that that was the AGE of the RPG. The more discs it had the more amazing we all thought it was.
But seriously, PS1 was about the RPGs.
DOOOOUBLE SLASH!!
That game was so amazing at the time. The context combat really kicked ass and made it feel so different from the other rpg's.
I tried playing it 6 months ago, but ouch, it didn't age that well.
This is something you would say.
I love me some PSX RPGs but folks, please play the non terrible ones.
1. Bushido Blade
2. Tenchu 1&2 - 2 is better thanks to the map editor and awesome water stealth kills.
3. Soul Reaver
4. Blood Omen
5. Driver
6. Destruction Derby (it was alright)
You could say this same sentence but replace Spyro with Crash Bandicoot.
Lunar 2. Maybe I like it more than 1 because I played it first, but for a long time, this was one of my top 5 favorite games.
Megaman Legends. Better than other, non-Legends Megaman games.
Nobody else backed you up, but I will. Great game, game take on the story, fun characters, it had everything. I still long to have my own copy, only got to borrow it for a short time.
I'm glad everyone is highlighting Legend of Dragoon, I always feel like I'm the only person that liked that game. I still remember stopping in the middle and calling a friend when Kongol the giant randomly reappeared and joined the party. PURSUIT!
Also, I'm the only person I've ever seen successfully pull off Gust of Wind Dance. Friend booted it up after I hadn't played it for a year or so, and I still got it right on my first try.
There are several PSOne RPGs that I can still play today. Some I don't try anymore though, you're right.
Games like Vagrant Story, Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX all made fantastic use of the PSOne's limited tech, and I think they still look good today. Gameplay is still good too, although a little slow (especially in FFIX's case). Parasite Eve hasn't aged well as far as graphics go, but I'd still recommend it because of the unique story and concept. Breath of Fire III I still recommend, even if being reminded of a certain desert deadens my enthusiasm to replay it.
Certainly there are those which I don't think have aged well (Grandia) but quite a few are still perfectly playable by my standards and many (in my opinion) outshine the majority of PS2 JRPG titles.
Look at all these old games I use to play really makes me wish I didn't take RPGs for granted when I was still growing up now a days its hard to find anything on the new gens.
Ok found it Guardian's Crusade!
Alfa System developed it; the guys who also did the Castle Shikigami series.
I hate agreeing with XoB on anything, but Legend of Dragoon was pretty terrible. It was developed and marketed by Sony wholly as a cash-in on FFVII making RPGs the hot item on the PSX, and is as thoroughly below-average as it gets. I think it had decent music, though. It's hard to remember because I'm still kind of annoyed that the $6 I spent to rent it could've gone to Tactics Ogre instead, which was subsequently stolen from the Mooovies store it was at and thus robbing me of my chance to play it without shelling out on Ebay.
There are way too many JRPGs on the PSX to try before you scrape the lower half of the barrel for crap like LoD.
You have no idea how many hours I wasted in that fucking desert until I realized that the person in the camp gives you the wrong directions.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
The characters (besides Rose) were all pretty awesome, and there was even an early character death I don't think anybody saw coming. I played through it twice, once originally and then a year or two ago, and I honestly don't remember much bad about it. Except maybe finding Stardust (still plausible without a guide, unlike most FFs) and not having any real healing magic.
The ED
Or Momo.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
It is too better than Mario Kart!
Finally, someone mentions these. The fact that these weren't on page 1 sickens and appalls me.
So, yeah, I second those games. And Brave Fencer Musashi, but I had no witty* replies for any posts mentioning the game.
* Previous replies may not be witty.
Legend of Mana may well be the best game in the history of ever. Three epic main story arcs and a lot smaller ones, in the best combination of sandbox and RPG principles. A huge cast of characters, lots of development for many of them, an original and beautiful watercolor world... why haven't they actually done anything like it again? The recent releases in the series have been awful, but this one was so, so good.
So good.
I'm willing to give a couple games passes because they aged well like Vagrant Story and Suikoden. Almost all the "Tactics" are still good. Final Fantasy is still... final fantasy.
But when I see stuff like Xenogears, Jade Cocoon, Legend of Dragoon, Tales and I think I remember even seeing Wild Arms (not sure if that was a recommendation or comparison), that's pure hatred towards the OP. We should direct him to the cream of the crop , not the most mediocre 40+ hour random encounter boring trite of that generation. There's good JRPGs. Let's point the man to the best (lolopinions).
edit: or atleast unknown unique games
Legend of Dragoon was pretty awful. I still pretty much agree with this review:
http://www.psy-q.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/www.thegia.com/psx/lod/lod.html
For extra fun, a page of flames that the site got for putting up that review:
http://www.psy-q.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/www.thegia.com/features/f010625b.html
I have a copy of Threads of Fate sitting on my shelf, but I can't remember anything about it besides that the art design on the cover stands out an awful, horrible Sign Of Things To Come.
edit: The reason Suikoden (and Suikoden II, but good luck finding it!) stand up well is because Free Will and Let Go combine to form the best thing ever in the history of turn-based combat
I hope all current-gen RPGs eventually do away with random battles.
Xenogears... eh. I have my own little problems with Xenogears. I can't really say whether its still playable or not since I have no desire to go back and play it. The game has one pretty good disc and then... disc two. I never finished the game because the second disc sapped my will to do so.
Jade Cacoon hasn't aged well. No argument.
Legend of Dragoon (like Jade Cacoon) was never all that great to begin with, and then didn't age well. I will echo the statement about the more interactive battle system though. Too bad I think Super Mario RPG did it better.
Tales of Destiny was basically a SNES game even when it was released. Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia) has aged fairly well.
I never liked Wild Arms. Wild Arms 2 was alright, but its another one that hasn't aged well. Graphically it looks terrible now too.
The first "Tecmo's Deception" I played a surprising amount of, considering the premise, and how a younger me was more interested in getting monsters in Monster Rancher or getting the gems/coins/remotes in Gex/Spyro/etc.
The first one was pretty creepy for me, because it's a first person view of you, a dead man come to life to avenge your death, wandering around a castle you recently aquired from the masked psycho owner basically keeping people out or killing them once they got in. Unsettling in many ways, especially the deathtraps that you could set up in any room. I kinda remember luring a tresspasser into a closed off wing of the castle, and making a spike wall shoot out into him.
It's kinda tense because for the most part you are your own bait, and the only thing keeping the bandits from you are traps that (you hope) you placed in the right spots.
Lost Odyssey and Shadow Hearts were the closest we got to Dragoon. Frankly if I want a battle system like that I usually just play Super Mario RPG and skip all the awful that I'd be doing if I was playing Dragoon.
As for OP:
Kinda surprised no one bothered to mention Metal Gear Solid, though if you haven't played it at this point you might as well turn in your badge.
Also, Street Fighter Alpha 3. One of the most expansive home versions of any Street Fighter game. The campaign mode allowed you to beef up characters and use slots to give them extra abilities. To hell with being balanced, SFA3 was nothing but pure unadulterated fun.
Seconding Vandal Hearts series if you like tactics games at all. They were pretty good for the time, though probably more time consuming than you're looking for.
Though you mentioned it already, Valkyrie Profile cannot be stressed enough. It's a bunch of different concepts rolled together into one big package. Resource management, time management, RPG character progression, sidescrolling puzzle, platforming, the list goes on. But it manages to do all of these things well enough that you don't feel overwhelmed. If you are at all worried about the type of ending you'll get, like me, then you'll want to pick up a guide with it, though. It can also take quite some time to beat depending on difficulty level and your end game goal.
Seconding Parasite Eve, as well. Really interesting combat system, and satisfying characters/story. I hear Parasite Eve II is decent, but I never played more than a couple of hours of it when it first came out.
Edit: Deception series owns, too. I'd suggest starting with the second or third game, though, as the first one is a bit more clunky than the other two.
Ka-Chung!
Ka-Chung!
It doesn't count if nobody's yelling out ridiculous attack names, though. Same reason I'd recommend Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean 2, but those are more than covered.
You should play this.
By you I mean everyone, because noone the fuck else did.
Of course you do!
I will never forgive Eidos for canceling Inferno
I hope, hope and pray, that now that Square-Enix are their overlords, they one day revive the brand