Name your favorite RPG!

[Stofsk]

Actually that's not true - the developers intended the player to go down a particular route (Circle tower, Redcliffe, then Brecilian Forest, then Denerim/Village of Haven/Urn of Sacred Ashes, then Orzammar, then back to late-game Denerim. Denerim and Orzammar both have gateway encounters designed to be hard enough to discourage players from venturing any further). But on the whole from a storytelling point of view you're right, they're all basically separate from each other.

Also the other problem is that each of those areas have more interesting stories than the main plot. The main plot is garbage, but stuff like Redcliffe or the Urn of Sacred Ashes or the Brecilian Forest are kinda cool individually.

[Bedlam]

Actually that's not true - the developers intended the player to go down a particular route (Circle tower, Redcliffe, then Brecilian Forest, then Denerim/Village of Haven/Urn of Sacred Ashes, then Orzammar, then back to late-game Denerim. Denerim and Orzammar both have gateway encounters designed to be hard enough to discourage players from venturing any further). But on the whole from a storytelling point of view you're right, they're all basically separate from each other.

Also the other problem is that each of those areas have more interesting stories than the main plot. The main plot is garbage, but stuff like Redcliffe or the Urn of Sacred Ashes or the Brecilian Forest are kinda cool individually.

Interestingly that is exactly the path I took when I played the game for the first time.

I was a human mage, the Circle seems to make the most sense the first time and the rest just sort of fell into place, anyone else follow this path?

[Mr Bean]

The intended route was for sure Circle-Redcliff-Dalish after that it gets a little tricky because some people say going after the Urn right away makes sense but to me with that dragon there Orzammar just made more sense. And counting the stripped content (Warden's Keep and the Stone Prisoner) I always started with Warden's keep because reclaiming a local stronghold just made good sense, the fact it was DLC always pissed me off because it made great sense with the Denerim stronghold in enemy hands to establish a stronghold elsewhere. So much more could have been done if it was tied into the plot rather than just a short story with some phat loot attached.

OAN to my point Stofsky I had guessed you "picked wrong" in picking your Origin. Lots of the Meta-plot is lost playing Dalish. My first play through was human noble (Which a friend advised me about 3 hours in to switch genders if I wanted to rule the world , which I did and it was interesting putting Alister on the Throne) but my second playthrough (Again on recommendation) was as a Dwarf noble. Orzammar was like night and day, coming back to find my traitorous brother competing with the friend who had murdered my father for the throne. Coming back (via traded savegame) as a Dwarf commoner was again a totally different experience as all these dwarf nobles try and fail to hide their utter disgust at speaking to a castless, Grey Warden or no. And again the choice is the same but different as you deal with the son of the former kind who treats you fairly but is very suspicious of you and not exactly polite, to the right hand man of the former king who treats you like a servant.

In fact pretty much every encounter plays out differently in Orzammar for dwarfs than it does for mages or nobles or elves. Your doing the exact same things but the trappings, the story of why your going here to kill ten giant rats darkspawn is utterly different.

[DudeGuyMan]

Baldur's Gate Trilogy, which is just BG1, BG2, and the expansions to both, all modded together into one continuous game. (They count the BG2 expansion as the third part of the trilogy since it's long and concludes the story.) Every RPG claims to have a hundred hours of gameplay, but this really does. Level one newbie to level thirty badass to literal godhood all in one sprawling game.

[Thanas]

Baldur's Gate Trilogy, which is just BG1, BG2, and the expansions to both, all modded together into one continuous game. (They count the BG2 expansion as the third part of the trilogy since it's long and concludes the story.) Every RPG claims to have a hundred hours of gameplay, but this really does. Level one newbie to level thirty badass to literal godhood all in one sprawling game.

This.

Though admittedly, Alpha Protocol and the Witcher 1 are on the same level as far as quality is concerned and this comes down to "how many times have you played this game".

[Bakustra]

JRPG: The Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole. Again, I enjoy the urban fantasy milieu and the postapocalyptic approach most of these games have.

So you've played the more obscure SMT stuff and not just Persona? Could you recommend one to start with for someone who has only played P3FES and P4? Game age is irrelevant to me.

Okay. Well, if you can find it, SMT: Nocturne is probably the pinnacle of the mainline series, but it is out of print in English and really goddamn expensive secondhand. It's for PS2. If you did okay with P3FES you'll find it a bit more difficult, but not hugely so, and if you managed to beat The Answer without biting through your Dual Shock, you'll have no trouble with the mainline of the game. The Digital Devil Saga games are also for PS2 and are a bit more like the Persona games in that you have a fixed party, though with heavier customization. They have infamously disappointing endings, but may be worth it if you can find 'em cheap. The PSP has Persona 2 Portable, which is somewhat different from P3 and P4, (the party consists of a layabout, Steven Seagal's daughter, a visual kei artist, a reporter, and her razor-blade throwing assistant) but still pretty good. It has a sequel, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, which is probably available secondhand. It's for the PS1. Persona 1 was also for the PS1, but that version was pretty crappy, though it got a supposedly better rerelease on the PSP. There are also the two Devil Summoner games for the PS2, which are a bit hard to find. They're action-RPGs where you're a detective in an alternate 1930s Japan.

The DS has Devil Survivor 1 and 2, which I know only a little about beyond them being SRPGs, and SMT: Strange Journey, which is heavily based on Etrian Odyssey. It's harder than P3 and P4 in some ways, because you have fewer options in battle and no real way to lock down enemies, and there are some real dick moves that will be thrown at you in the course of the game. It's directly inspired by the Thing.

Beyond this, we have the original game and its sequel, both for the SNES. Never officially translated, you would have to emulate to be able to play these, though there are at least English patches available. These are a bit harder because of how relatively primitive they are. There was also SMT: If... which does not have an English patch available as far as I know, so you would have to be fluent in Japanese to even emulate it. According to a translate-as-we-go LP I read, it has some terrible dick moves too. There were two Saturn games you'd have to do the same thing for, and a couple other games, and a Japan-only Xbox game, and a MMO, none of which I know anything about. Considering how rare a lot of the older officially-released games are (up to Nocturne), emulating may in the end be the most practical way to play them, though it is of very dubious legality and slightly less dubious morality.

I hope this helps!

[Ford Prefect]

The Digital Devil Saga games are also for PS2 and are a bit more like the Persona games in that you have a fixed party, though with heavier customization. They have infamously disappointing endings, but may be worth it if you can find 'em cheap.

They're great games, but you definitely need to have both available to play through, because otherwise Digital Devil Saga's cliffhanger ending is just too killer.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

Okay. Well, if you can find it, SMT: Nocturne is probably the pinnacle of the mainline series, but it is out of print in English and really goddamn expensive secondhand.

Actually, there's good news there. I've found Nocture in every store that sells used PS2 games I've gone into in the several months* and it's always been pretty reasonably priced as used games go. I just checked Amazon and it's pretty cheap there, too.

*My partner always notices it because she swears it only started appearing in stores after she lent out her copy, to taunt her.

[HeadCreeps]

Nocturne, then. Alright. I think you forgot to mention P2: Tsumi though; it's a PS1 title that got fan-translated a while back.

Persona 3's difficulty was easily circumvented by avoiding monsters to clear the top floor, then grinding up at the highest port-in until everyone was tired. The hidden boss took me a few tries on hard; it's so easy to fail. My only problem with The Answer was the inability to do much with your summons. There isn't even a good guide on where every item/persona drops because so few people care enough. :v

[Bakustra]

Nocturne, then. Alright. I think you forgot to mention P2: Tsumi though; it's a PS1 title that got fan-translated a while back.

Persona 3's difficulty was easily circumvented by avoiding monsters to clear the top floor, then grinding up at the highest port-in until everyone was tired. The hidden boss took me a few tries on hard; it's so easy to fail. My only problem with The Answer was the inability to do much with your summons. There isn't even a good guide on where every item/persona drops because so few people care enough. :v

There's no reason to play Innocent Sin on the PS1 when the PSP version is available unless you really like emulating, and the English patch I played had some somewhat according-to-keikaku decisions in its translations (e.g. with Eikichi's nickname) or at least that's what it felt like.

[TC Pilot]

Actually that's not true - the developers intended the player to go down a particular route (Circle tower, Redcliffe, then Brecilian Forest, then Denerim/Village of Haven/Urn of Sacred Ashes, then Orzammar, then back to late-game Denerim. Denerim and Orzammar both have gateway encounters designed to be hard enough to discourage players from venturing any further). But on the whole from a storytelling point of view you're right, they're all basically separate from each other.

That would explain why I got stomped so badly in the Urn quest... I'd say Dragon Age was the weakest of Bioware's RPG (that I played). It just seems way too generic. That's why I rate something like Jade Empire so much higher.


I'd say my favorite RPG is KOTOR2, though that's including the restoration mod that was put together to actually give the game an ending. A shame that they shoved it out the door unfinished, because the plot was just that good.

Final Fantasy 7 would come in a close second. I played it over a decade after it was made and I felt it actually lived up to the hype around it. But it's not an RPG I would play through multiple times like KOTOR or Fallout.

[HeadCreeps]

Nocturne, then. Alright. I think you forgot to mention P2: Tsumi though; it's a PS1 title that got fan-translated a while back.

Persona 3's difficulty was easily circumvented by avoiding monsters to clear the top floor, then grinding up at the highest port-in until everyone was tired. The hidden boss took me a few tries on hard; it's so easy to fail. My only problem with The Answer was the inability to do much with your summons. There isn't even a good guide on where every item/persona drops because so few people care enough. :v

There's no reason to play Innocent Sin on the PS1 when the PSP version is available unless you really like emulating, and the English patch I played had some somewhat according-to-keikaku decisions in its translations (e.g. with Eikichi's nickname) or at least that's what it felt like.

I'm not picky about translations or else I'd have to be intolerant of a huge swath of JRPGs that got released over here. I also am not not a fan of playing JRPGs on handhelds.

But nah, I really just forgot the PSP game existed.

[DudeGuyMan]

I'm also going to throw an odd name into the mix and mention Gearhead. It's a little semi-roguelike indie RPG set in the future and focused at least as much around mecha combat as it is direct character combat. It barely has graphics, but it has the most detailed system I've ever seen for tearing apart and rebuilding a giant robot, right down to detaching individual limbs and electronic components.

[Mr. Coffee]

OAN to my point Stofsky I had guessed you "picked wrong" in picking your Origin. Lots of the Meta-plot is lost playing Dalish.

Wait, how is it that character creation choices resulting in losing out on story elements is the player's fault and not an example of Bioware being shitty designers for tacking on a race poorly fitted to the game's story?

[Julhelm]

Alpha Protocol ftw.

[Mr. Coffee]

Hells yeah...

[Kingmaker]

I am disappoint.

I see no mention of Ogre Battle 64, literally one of the best rpgs and games ever (I'm a bit of a fan). Everything about it damn near perfect, from the combat system to the story to the music. I know a lot of people didn't like the autonomous combat system, but I thought it worked really well and made you think how you wanted the unit to fight before the fighting actually started. Granted, it was not wildly difficult, but it was tough enough to challenge you, especially since replacement characters were hard to come by.

[fgalkin]

Other: Planescape: Torment.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[HeadCreeps]

I am disappoint.

I see no mention of Ogre Battle 64, literally one of the best rpgs and games ever (I'm a bit of a fan). Everything about it damn near perfect, from the combat system to the story to the music. I know a lot of people didn't like the autonomous combat system, but I thought it worked really well and made you think how you wanted the unit to fight before the fighting actually started. Granted, it was not wildly difficult, but it was tough enough to challenge you, especially since replacement characters were hard to come by.

It belongs along the list of highly acclaimed games no one played. The production was limited, so even if you wanted it, you weren't going to be able to buy it in most areas. I do recall looking for it since I enjoyed Tactics Ogre, but absolutely no stores in my region had it for sale.

[Erik von Nein]

It's out for the PSP now with a slightly better run, so you could pick it up there.

Anyhow, most of the other RPGs mentioned are generally good. I would toss in a nod to the Suikoden games, with Suikoden 3 being the best of the lot. Sure, the triple perspective story telling and the repetitive trips to the games locations was annoying, but the main characters (well, two of them for sure) were pretty interesting and I had fun with the game's battle system. Two's got a lot going for it, as well.

[Panzersharkcat]

I already said which was mine (Fallout) but a close second would be Spiderweb Software's Exile series, which I prefer over the remake, Avernum. For one, I get more party members. Also, I hate isometric view, one reason why I care very little for the original Fallout games.

[Masami von Weizegger]

I don't really play RPGs these days, so my nostalgia-tinted pick would be the Suikoden series. I also loved Shining Force II, though.

[HeadCreeps]

It's out for the PSP now with a slightly better run, so you could pick it up there.

So that got rereleased on the PSP as well? Nice. Or are you referring to Tactics Ogre? Ogre Battle 64 is different. A surprising lot of people played TO on the PS1 due to the success of Final Fantasy Tactics. Google is telling me OB64 is on the Virtual Console, though.

Anyhow, most of the other RPGs mentioned are generally good. I would toss in a nod to the Suikoden games, with Suikoden 3 being the best of the lot. Sure, the triple perspective story telling and the repetitive trips to the games locations was annoying, but the main characters (well, two of them for sure) were pretty interesting and I had fun with the game's battle system. Two's got a lot going for it, as well.

2 was my preference.

[Erik von Nein]

Er, sorry, yeah. Tactics Ogre got a release on the PSP.