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Wii, PS3, 360 -- best for RPGs?
ECAM
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
I haven't owned a console in years but I'm thinking of giving this generation a shot. I mainly play RPGs or similar games (the FF series up to VII, all the Zeldas, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and on PC, BG I and II, Planescape: Torment, Morrowind, Warcraft 3) but I also dig FPS and sports games. What's my best bet?
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http://xbox360.ign.com/index/release.html
http://ps3.ign.com/index/release.html
http://wii.ign.com/index/release.html
Also, for released titles:
http://www.metacritic.com
http://www.gamerankings.com
This is a tough one. Currently, dismissing backwards compatability, they all suck.
360 has Blue Dragon, Enchanted Arms, and is getting Trusty Bell and Mass Effect. Not bad, not great on selection.
PS3 has what right now? Anything? It will get FF XIII though, and probably a whole lot more.
Wii right now is pretty slim. Super Paper Mario might count on the loosest of estimation. It's future though is fairly bright being the big dog in town. Project O, ToS 2, FF:CC and who knows what else.
Any of the old 'big three' had a good selection of sports games. FPS, I'm pretty sure the XB was on top, though PS2 had a few good ones also(Wolfenstein, Killzone, etc.).
PS3 has Enchanted Arms too but reviews are saying it's not as good as the 360 one and of course FF13 and FF Versus 13 in the future
they both have Oblivion
so looks like the 360 is a better bet right now, but you might want to wait for the new falcon chipsets to come so you don't have to worry about your xbox being away for 2-3 weeks.
Despite Blue Dragon, the Xbox has never really deemed any interest in cornering the RPG market, and the Wii controls really have nothing to contribute to the traditional role playing game. And considering the fact that all of the decent RPG developers are multiplatform, you would be better of going with the console that has the best graphics.
However, it's line up is still pretty thin. I'd pick up a PS2 for cheap and start catching up on all the great ones you missed there. It has a few new Final Fantasy games, the Shin Megami Tensei series, and Okami, which is a beautiful, cel shaded Zelda rich in Japanese mythology. It's also backwards compatible with all the great PS1 RPG's.
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It's a good bet that the PS3 will, in the end, have a crap ton of RPGs available though. With the ability to play all the PS2 rpgs, this is probably your best bet.
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Anyways, go with a PS2. You'd be spending very little compared to the other options, and you have a positive lifetime of games to pick from. Get yourself either a DS or a GBA for portable goodness, too. The GBA had quite a stable, and the DS is backwards compatible.
If you want to go real cheap-o, get a Dreamcast and get Skies of Arcadia and Grandia 2. That's almost 100 hours of play time right there.
No. Depends. Sort of.
60GB PS3s are almost entire backwards compatible. They have the PS2/PS1 hardware built in for emulation. The 80GB, not so much. It relies on software emulation, and there's a compatibility list up somewhere, but I can't remember, otherwise I'd link it.
The 360 is software as well, and the list is pretty full, but has some glaring omissions. Again, there's a list, but I can't remember where it is.
Because to put a game on the Wii and not utilize it's controls is just wasteful. Without the motion controls, it's just an inferior machine compared to its two competitors. Using the remote as, per your example, an NES controller, doesn't add anything to the game, but the Wii's low ceiling in terms of graphical prowess certainly does cause it to lose something.
Both have issues with some games, and you can find lists online.
I'd go for a PS2 and a XBox 360 though. The PS2 has a ton of rpgs and a huge library in general and the 360 has a few rpgs with good graphics, fps and sports games.
Wonder: This is jsut personal opinion, but I find the Wii controller to be annoying for long gaming session. Holding it side ways, like in paper mario, seemed uncomfortable and awkward compared to the any of the other controllers.
I really don't see how you're reaching this conclusion. As I said, none of the big RPG names are currently exclusive to any platform, and I don't really see any evidence that suggests this is going to change.
What Bruin said. It's got an insane penetration right now. OMG GRAPHICS don't really add anything to the medium either. Despite recent trends, they've never been about pushing graphical limits, they've always been about stories and mechanics and strategy. The Wii can deliver that just fine. If a developer uses those controls without it being some tacky gimmick, bully for him, yay for the consumer, but it's certainly not wasteful if an RPG comes to that system considering the amount of money they can save because they don't have some graphical standard to live up to.
Same here, honestly. But I definitely see it happening, especially with DQ's move to a handheld. That was a major indicator, and there's only going to be more to come.
Same here, honestly. But I definitely see it happening, especially with DQ's move to a handheld. That was a major indicator, and there's only going to be more to come.
I'm reaching that conclusion because Wii is far and away the best selling next-gen console in Japan (more than double the other two combined weekly, 2 million ahead than the other two combined and the gap is growing). A what do you mean none of the big RPG names are exclusive to any platform? FF13 is PS3 only, DQ9 is DS only, Mistwalker games (Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey) are 360 only, etc.
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm
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I'm talking about developers. Square, Namco, Level-5, are all currently developing for at least two of the three major consoles.
"Despite recent trends..."
RPGs have been telling compelling stories since 8-bit days. Graphics have aided in that, yes, but are absolutely not vital to it. Look at Dragon Quest 8: it's pretty, but it's not technically impressive. It's more about art style, and efficacy with the hardware in front of you.
If an RPG wants to break into the mass market, it absolutely has to be on the Wii, graphics be damned. Yeah, they help, they're nice, but they're absolutely not vital.
Just get a 360 and keep yourself a happy man.
Wow. Are you seriously that dense?
That's just how third party developers work
I really wouldn't call it a normal RPG. It's an action game with upgrades.
So... Would you choose a game with terrible graphics but a great storyline... Or a game with great graphics but very weak storyline?
Why are you implying that the game with the better graphics must have an inferior storyline?
Because of late that's exactly what's happening.
But you answered my question. Graphics whore.
Is it? Because right off the top of my head, Mass Effect seems to utilize both of these aspects very, very nicely.
Regardless though, some citation of this claim would be nice.
EDIT: Or, at the very least, explain to me exactly how good graphics are inversely proportional to a quality story.
360 has the most JRPGs so far - weak as they may be, although if your style goes more towards western flavor, 360 probably has the most potential for the RPG system you want.
PS3 will have FF13 in the future, although it looks like it will be the only significant JRPG it has.
Wii doesn't have anything remotely close to a good JRPG so far unless you count Zelda into the equation although it's less of a JRPG than it is an adventure game.
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How in God's name do you know Mass Effect has a great storyline? Have you played it/beat it yet? Just because you're all aboard the hype train doesn't mean the game's storyline will be amazing.
Games that I can think of that have great stories (it's 3am, cut me some slack):
BoF2 (SNES)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Secret of Mana (SNES) (c'mon... this story was good!)
Final Fantasy 3/6 (I liked 5's story, but some people didn't)
Hell even Super Mario RPG had a decent story.
e: Anyway. I'm done with you.
PS
And I am basing the quality of Mass Effects story off of the prequel novel that was released a few months ago, which was written by the same people who are doing the writing for the actual game. Not only does the actual content of the novel suggest that the main storyline will be far above average, it is a direct example of the quality of the writing staff working on the game.