It's been awhile since I last enjoyed a new RPG. I'm currently replaying Chrono Trigger on the DS, but I want to play something new. I like most kinds, I loved the Shin Megami Tensei games for forcing me to be aware and think strategically, but at my own pace (due to the turn based system), but I also loved FFXII for the way it gave me the choice to let my intelligence play the game for me with gambits and make it an interactive story. I tried to play Eternal Sonata, but the characters and story were way too fluffy for me to stomach and the battles were getting really repetitive (which is saying something for a console RPG).
The only RPGs on the 360 I tried other than Eternal Sonata are Mass Effect and Fallout 3. They're fun and really well done, but not quite what I'm looking for right now. I'm craving a more traditional battle system. Something I can play while kicking back and relaxing that depends much more on stats and strategy than player skill. But story is just as important to my enjoyment of it. After playing games like Anachranox and Planescape: Torment, it's hard to be satisfied with a normal RPG story. Actually, I think if FFXII's battle system wasn't so unique I wouldn't have bothered playing it for the story.
So, are there any good recent RPGs on the PS2 or 360 that I would like? I've been hearing good things about Lost Odyssey and Tales of Vesperia, but not enough details to know if they're the kind of laid back RPG I'm looking for.
Sorry for the Tolstoy, thanks if you took the time to read this.
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Yuri's the one JRPG character in recent memory that I not only like, but genuine enjoy playing as.
As for TLR, I don't like what I've heard about the battle system. Can't choose heal unless your below a certain percentage? That sounds pretty annoying. How good is the story though?
I actually have never played the Baldur's Gate games. I might have to look into that, since my PC could actually run those.
Vesperia is indeed great, and one of the better games in the series, but it's not traditional. It sounds like he wants something of the turn-based variety. For the Xbox 360, The Last Remnant is a good choice. Don't believe all the criticism that it suffers from severe technical problems. It's no more worse than Mass Effect pre-NXE. Most problems, such as loading times and pop-in, are pretty much resolved with an HDD install.
As far as story and gameplay, both are very satisfying in TLR. The mystery of the remnants is interesting and some of the settings are jaw dropping. I had to stop what I was doing in the game to just look at the beautiful backdrops. The gameplay is turn-based, but you don't control just a single party. Instead, you form unisons of multiple leaders and soldiers you recruit and organize yourself (right now I have three unisons, each one with five units). Instead of leveling up traditionally, your stats grow depending on your actions. There's definitely more strategy involved than most other JRPGs, as you assign formations and can do flank and rear attacks and so forth.
There's also a ridiculous, ridiculous amount of side-content in the game. You can go to the pubs to take on countless quests (there are 42 on the first disc alone), guilds to check on guild tasks, explore to find non-story related towns which offer even more quests, customize and create your own weapons and accessories, and a whole lot more.
For the Playstation 2, as someone else recommended, you can't go wrong with Persona 4.
I might try Persona 4 eventually, but I played P3 to death in spring this year and got kind of burnt out on it.
Oh yeah? To the 360? I'm very interested in this.
Any of the Persona, or for that matter Shin Megami Tensei series, cannot be stressed enough how awesome this entire line of games actually is. I'd take SMT games over Final Fantasy now adays hands down.
And whoever mentioned The Witcher, that game is increadibly good. Once you turn off autosave so the game doesnt crash on PC every 40 mins or so. Nothing like a main character who is a womanizing drug addicted monster slayer.
Also Lost Odessey is average IMO, a lot of the characters i found to be very generic, the main character is downright boring and has the personality of a cardboard box. Graphically it is nice and it is a decent game for sure, just the characters are....eh...you'll see.
Such a bizarre and inappropriate selection of music.
Well then, I think you have your answer. Go play those right now
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However, be sure to pick up Persona 4 some time. The gameplay is the same in a lot of ways, but the minor additions really make it even better. Also, the "feel" is really different.
Edit- If you're willing to be flexible about the turn-based thing, definitely pick up The World Ends With You. It is an action RPG (a very hectic one at that), but it is most definitely "different."
Baldur's Gate (1 or 2. 2 is better IMO though)
Oh God I Love It
It doesn't sound like what you're looking for right now, though. On the PC, the combat was vaguely actiony and they're making it more actiony for the console version.
Looks pretty interesting, but incredibly easy. Is it always that easy, or is he just over leveled? Also what system is it for?
Let me tell you about Demon's Souls....
I can't find any info on an English version of that game, I just keep running into the Japanese 2005 release. I assume you're running a fan patch? or something?
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
No, don't.
Blue Dragon is so awful.
Pancake. I'd attack you, but I don't hit women. So I'll use my words.
I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW.
But seriously if he's looking for a traditional RPG, why not get Blue Dragon? And what the hell is wrong with BD? Someone craving old school RPGs should look into it.
So give it a shot and see if you like it. You won't be disappointed.
That's the thing about demos. Nothing to lose.
Right now my hard drive is full, but I'm supposedly getting a 120 gig for Xmas, so I'll check out the demo then.
As for the guy who suggest Vampire the Masquerade, I've beaten it many, many times and love it. Good taste in games, but not quite what I'm looking for right now, thanks.
Bloodlines?
Yeah, that's a pretty good buy off steam for 10 bucks.
Just make sure you get that fan patch, bare bones game is kinda buggy/shitty.
and don't play a Malk as your first playthrough, save that delicious insanity for the second go.
It's pretty hit and miss whether you'll run into any problems. I only ran into tiny glitches in the couple times I played it without the patch. I don't know if I've ever heard about anything but small glitches, even.
To be perfectly honest, I prefer the game without the more recent fan patches. They were all well and good until they'd fixed nearly everything they wanted to. Then they started trying to make the game theirs. When fans do this, the results are usually pretty crappy, and, were you to ask me, Bloodlines is no exception.
Oh, and about Blue Dragon. I think it's awful because it's very much a run of the mill JRPG. And I hate those. I've yet to play a JRPG that wasn't Parasite Eve that was actually good.
Yep, here it is.
Hmm. Come to think of it, there was one part in the sewers that was really, REALLY hard for my malk for some reason, but my... Ah... I can't remember the other one I made. It was the melee guy that wasn't very intelligent.... Brute? I don't think that's it. Anyway, he made it through in just a few minutes, but I think it took close to an hour (quickloading/saving every few seconds) with the malk. That was probably a bug, but I just thought it was part of the game. :P
e: Oh, that's completely understandable then (about Blue Dragon). I forgot that you are pretty anti-JRPG. I shoulda remembered that from the Mass Effect thread.
e2: anti-JRPG sounds negative, let's go with "doesn't enjoy JRPGs". That sounds better.
Was Parasite Eve your first JRPG? I'm of the same mind, but for me the only tolerable traditional JRPG has been the Grandia series, because it was the first for me. So many are the same, so I guess after seeing one the rest lose their shine.
Really? Hrm, Last time I played bloodlines was like a year ago, Fanpatch was pretty good then. There was one guy back then who released two different versions of his patch [ one that just reenabled and fixed a buttload of stuff that was left out, and another one that did his own thing iirc ]
Ah, thanks. I'll try out Ys (looks cool...I'm into anything even vaguely resembling RO).
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
Whoops, looks like I linked you to an incomplete patch there, you'll also be wanting this in addition to that last one.
It has a the password "felghana" on it. There was some crazy ass bullshit going on with the fan translation of this so tracking down a full and working version of the english patch is a pain in the ass. I wish all fan translators were as professional as those Mother 3 guys.