Which RPG Series Is Your Favorite?

[blkmage]

Final Fantasy VI will always have a place in my heart.

[Tommy]

iMO FF6 was a great game but the ones for PS1 were all better.

[Scepth]

Yeah, FF10 and FF7 got me into RPGs.

Scepth: Resident Evil.....I hope you are joking.

Oh yeah, a quick BTW. I meant Traditional RPGs, not Stragetic such as Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, ArcTheLad, and Vandal Hearts, and not Action RPGs lik Dark Cloud, Zelda, Knights of the Old Republic, ect.

I meant traditional Rpgs. Star Ocean seemed like a smack dab mix of Action RPGs and Traditional, but since battles and dungeons were different envireonments, I decided that Star Ocean was a normal RpG. What i mean is:

Strictly Turnbased.

oooooh ic..

just turnbased eh?

then in that case, I pick Final Fintasy.

I played Chrono Cross and Breath of Fire on PS1, I liked them too.

[Tommy]

No, not JUST turnbased. Star ocean is an exception. You can go with Radiata Stories as well. PM me if you aren`t 100% sure if something is a "Traditional RPG" or not.

[CookinLikeSanji]

Tom, of course we COMPARE.

This is about the RPG Series' not individual games. And the Star Ocean SERIES was tainted by TTEOT. Even if I didn't COMPARE it to TSS, I still find it a bit lackluster.

[MasterDias]

See, here is the thing. If you go into every sequential new game expecting it to be better or as good as *insert favorite game in series here* in the series, you will probably be disappointed or severely let down when the game isn't what you're expecting. This is why Final Fantasy VIII gets bashed so much.

Star Ocean: TtEoT has flaws, yes, but it is by no means a bad game. My main complaints about SO3 are an inferior private action system, bizarre difficulty spikes at points, stupid AI, lack of good character interaction/development for most of the cast, and a plot that doesn't really go anywhere until the second disk...but that last one was a fault of SO2 as well.

I didn't really have much of a problem with the new invention system, aside from most of the inventors being far more expensive then they were worth.

So, yeah, I liked SO2 better, but SO3 was a decent game, although not my favorite RPG.

As for my favorite RPG series, I'll go with Final Fantasy as they are what basically got my into the genre.

[Tommy]

CLS: I agree with you if I am comparing 2 and 3 but in general 3 is overall a great game IMO.

EDIT: Me and Masterdias posted at the same time so i didn`t see his post. mY thoughts exactly. That is the same reason Wild ARMs 2 was bashed. It wasn`t as good as Wild ARMs 1, but nevertheless a great game.

[Debitt]

*gives MasterDias a big hug* =3 You make me very happy inside. (don't ask questions, just take the hug, man)

I never did have good luck with inventing in SO2 no matter how good my talent levels were, so I guess I'm the only one who can say they actually liked the SO3 system better...my first try I got a Celestial Homnoculus. 8D Now how's about that, quite the pleasant surprise for a girl cursed with Ashton-level bad luck in inventing.

[Myoti]

Oh yeah, why no "Tales" games in the mix? Those were excellent (well, the ones I've played, i.e. Phantasia and Symphonia).

Actually myoti i changed my mind about Mario and Luigi. I looked at it in a different perspective.

Ah, that's good to hear then. ^_^

Can't wait Mario and Luigi 2!! XD

I`m into more serious RPGs and I listed the ones above because most people prefer all of those over the Mario games.

How you know most people prefer them?

[Dante]

Even though few have probably never heard of it, and I have not yet beaten it, The Spirit Engine is my favorite current RPG. Best of all its free! <http://tse.natomic.com/>

Pascal

[Yojimbo]

As much as I've enjoyed Final Fantasy's, Star Ocean's, Chrono's, Grandia's, and so on I've always loved stuff from Bioware, the now defunct Interplay, Bethesda, and Obsidian with series like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Planescape, Arcanum, Elder Scrolls and KOTOR.

Those were always very familiar especially in the vane of AD&D games like Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights but were always fresh and HUGE in scope and size. With great voice acting, stories that were never dull or played out, capable of being modded heavily, looked great, and had fun combat.

Japanese RPG's helped lift the genre out of it's funk in the late 80's and early 90's. But they have deffinetly fallen pretty far. For every good one that comes out now there's ten more bad ones, most we don't even see here in the US thankfully.

[Nate]

See, here is the thing. If you go into every sequential new game expecting it to be better or as good as *insert favorite game in series here* in the series, you will probably be disappointed or severely let down when the game isn't what you're expecting. This is why Final Fantasy VIII gets bashed so much.

Actually, I dislike FF8 for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with the preceding game (as I find 7 vastly overrated). FF8 was by no means a bad game, it was actually a very good RPG...but it was a crappy Final Fantasy.

How many times have you gone to see a sequel and said, "Well, it was good, but the first film was better." How many times have you heard someone compare you to your father or mother? Or even your brothers/sisters (assuming you have them)?

Comparison is a part of human nature. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, is really a moot point...the fact is that if the things are related, they will be compared. We do it with movie sequels, with TV spinoffs, it only stands to reason that we will do it with games...and compared to the previous two incarnations in the series, the third Star Ocean game was a SEVERE disappointment.

Japanese RPG's helped lift the genre out of it's funk in the late 80's and early 90's. But they have deffinetly fallen pretty far. For every good one that comes out now there's ten more bad ones, most we don't even see here in the US thankfully.

And after a heaping dose of my opinion... XD;;

That's your opinion too, and you are entitled to it. Personally, I think Japanese RPGs are just fine and dandy. I find the only problem to be that they're being too "experimentive" with the genre, and coming up with bizarre combat systems and whatnot just to make a game unique, regardless of whether the system is any good or not. *COUGHMagnaCartaCOUGH*

Take Dragon Quest 8. This is by far one of the best RPGs I've ever played. Is it because the combat system is new and innovative? No. It's because it's a formula that WORKS, and works well. I find it ironic that Dragon Quest is the most popular RPG series in Japan, and in America the complaint I hear is, "Turn based combat? That's lame!"

I actually prefer a good turn-based system to real time any day of the week.

And I think we actually get a fairly decent amount of RPGs on our shores. I don't think it's a 10 to one ration as you said...I mean, if an obscure game from a low-selling series is localized (talking about Wild ARMs Alter Code F here, a series that has NEVER been a high seller on this continent), I'm sure we're getting the majority of the RPGs Japan is offering.

[Michael]

Dangit! There's too many good RPGs on that list! I absolutely love the Suikoden, Grandia, Star Ocean, Chrono, Wild ARMs, and Xeno/Saga/Gears series, but I'm going to have to go with Final Fantasy. Whenever I play FF, I know I'm in for a good experience. You may call them overated, but that doesn't stop them from being legendary.

[MasterDias]

Actually, I dislike FF8 for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with the preceding game (as I find 7 vastly overrated). FF8 was by no means a bad game, it was actually a very good RPG...but it was a crappy Final Fantasy.

How many times have you gone to see a sequel and said, "Well, it was good, but the first film was better." How many times have you heard someone compare you to your father or mother? Or even your brothers/sisters (assuming you have them)?

Comparison is a part of human nature. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, is really a moot point...the fact is that if the things are related, they will be compared. We do it with movie sequels, with TV spinoffs, it only stands to reason that we will do it with games...and compared to the previous two incarnations in the series, the third Star Ocean game was a SEVERE disappointment.

Well, yeah, I didn't say that Final Fantasy VIII didn't have flaws. I enjoyed the game quite a bit but even I'll admit that. The junction system wasn't for everyone, the very cool-looking but long summons could try one's patience, and the storyline had some rather "contrived" moments...
However, had Final Fantasy VII never existed, I have doubts that Final Fantasy VIII would have been so "disliked" as much as it was. There are always going to be people who dislike a game on it's own merits however, just as there are people who absolutely despise Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy X or any number of games. No game is truly universally loved, no matter how many rave reviews it gets. I mostly agree with the rest of your point though. It is in human nature to compare related things to each other.
I, personally, try to at least appreciate a video game on its own merits too however, even if it is inferior or worse than another in the series.

Japanese RPG's helped lift the genre out of it's funk in the late 80's and early 90's. But they have deffinetly fallen pretty far. For every good one that comes out now there's ten more bad ones, most we don't even see here in the US thankfully.

Where are you getting your statistics from? 1 good game out of 10 bad games? There are a number of bad games in Japan just like there are a number of bad games in the US so don't just pull facts out of nowhere. I'm agreeing with kaemmerite on this one.
I will make it a point however that the Japanese market, outside of some series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, is not doing quite as good as it was doing during the SNES and PSX years.

That's your opinion too, and you are entitled to it. Personally, I think Japanese RPGs are just fine and dandy. I find the only problem to be that they're being too "experimentive" with the genre, and coming up with bizarre combat systems and whatnot just to make a game unique, regardless of whether the system is any good or not. *COUGHMagnaCartaCOUGH*

Heh, some systems work fine...others are lousy... RPG Fan gave Magna Carta a pretty good review actually, but it does appear to be one of those "love it or hate it" games.

And I think we actually get a fairly decent amount of RPGs on our shores. I don't think it's a 10 to one ration as you said...I mean, if an obscure game from a low-selling series is localized (talking about Wild ARMs Alter Code F here, a series that has NEVER been a high seller on this continent), I'm sure we're getting the majority of the RPGs Japan is offering.

We get more than we were getting during the 90s. There are still quite a few that never make it over due to either being "too Japanese"(the Sakura Taisen and Tengai Makyou/Far East of Eden series), being too much of a hassle to license(Super Robot Taisen,etc.) or certain companies think localizing them will take too much effort for minimal sales(various "Tales of..." games, Namco X Capcom,etc.).
With companies like NIS America, Atlus, and this new XSeed Games localizing lesser known titles however, there is a greater chance that we will get games that we wouldn't ordinarily get...

Whew... That was a long post...

[Shao Feng-Li]

I have to decide between Knights of the Old Republic and Final Fantasy VII?...

Knights of the Old Republic it is then. HK-47 rawks.

Just goes to show how many RPGs I've ver played.

[Tommy]

Take Dragon Quest 8. This is by far one of the best RPGs I've ever played. Is it because the combat system is new and innovative? No. It's because it's a formula that WORKS, and works well. I find it ironic that Dragon Quest is the most popular RPG series in Japan, and in America the complaint I hear is, "Turn based combat? That's lame!"

I actually prefer a good turn-based system to real time any day of the week.

And I think we actually get a fairly decent amount of RPGs on our shores. I don't think it's a 10 to one ration as you said...I mean, if an obscure game from a low-selling series is localized (talking about Wild ARMs Alter Code F here, a series that has NEVER been a high seller on this continent), I'm sure we're getting the majority of the RPGs Japan is offering.

I have a problum with the Final Fantasy series now.

Final fantasy has always been known for

1) Beautiful Graphics
2) Amazing Story
3) Fantastic Storyline
4) great Music
5) Basic battle System

The Battle system in FF games have always been the same. They aren`t unique, but they are fun none the less. Games like Grandia 2 and Star Ocean ave a very unique and amazing battle system as well as great grpahics and characters.

Final fantasy aparently wanted to be perfect in every category and customized and tweaked the battle system in FF12 to make it "The Perfect RPG". I`m sure we all now what came from that due to the DQ8 demo.

[Nate]

Final fantasy aparently wanted to be perfect in every category and customized and tweaked the battle system in FF12 to make it "The Perfect RPG". I`m sure we all now what came from that due to the DQ8 demo.

I think Tycho from Penny Arcade says it best (edited for language):

Final Fantasy XII is an insult to a once proud franchise and to the people who have made it so. I think that gets it across.

With the extended delays of the title, I had imagined that the rough trade they received at the hands of almost every person who saw it had sunk in and they had begun to realize the intense shame they'd bring upon themselves by continuing in this direction. That's not what happened. They're Final Fantasy, they don't have to worry about larger industry trends toward approachability and away from turn or phase based combat. They create trends, like a massive stellar body distorts local space.

This isn't just slavish devotion to tradition - the fact of the matter is that the system they had works better. It's more explicit regarding game events, and the player has greater control. You don't have to take my word for it - Dragon Quest VIII is awesome, and includes the same demo I played. There are two combat modes, the "Wait" mode being slightly less bad but not what you might call "good." Give it a whirl, the whole thing is trash. If for some reason you do enjoy it - and I've certainly done my best here to lower expectations - then rejoice. You must be the person they're trying to appeal to. It'll feel good for a while, until they determine that mass market annual "footy" titles are where it's at. Then you and I can sit together in a cafe and talk about those good times.

[Yojimbo]

You guys were making too big a deal out of that small comment... It's like saying I have a thousand socks in my drawer. Ten to one was a random number pick at the details all you want/

Japanese RPG's tend to be more linear and straightforward. People tout how long Japanese RPG's are all the time, in every review you will always see how this game is 30-50 hours or something. But it's pretty much the same story everytime with a few exceptions. You're not playing your own character you're playing the developer's character. And it doesn't help that half of them follow the usual archetype of young boy who's village/family was killed by evil guy and he has to set out on a quest to save the kingdom. Yes I know the usual character archetypes aren't exclusive to JRPGS's but they sure do like to relish in the most stereotypical of them...

Sure in the usual Japanese RPG they'll be plenty of plot twists and there's usually a well conceived story, most of the time anyway...but it gets old really old. With American RPG's in the vain of Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gates, Fallouts, and KOTORs, you always had many choices of how to play your character. Because you were the character in every sense from their gender, name, and class, and of course you always shaped their destiny so there's actually incentive to play a different way instead of watching a rerun.

And don't get me started with random battles... Those were a good idea back in the NES days to actually make a playable game, since it wasn't possible to have all seamless battles. Skies of Arcadia and Dragon Quest have a serious problem with this. None of you can honestly tell me it is fun to battle the same enemies over and over again for hours in the same area to be able to pass the upcoming challenges... I will give kudos that alot of JRPG's are forgoing this now which is a step in the right direction. Another reason I like battles in American RPG's they're never random the enemies that are there, are there, and if they die, they die for good. It really ante's up the immersion majorly.

I like Japanese RPG's, I have a good collection of them every Final Fantasy through from VII to FFX-2, Legend of Dragoon, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Sukiedon, Phantasy Star, so on. But it hasn't been since Final Fantasy X that I was blown away by one. On the other hand I'm always suprised with every Bioware, Bethesda, Obsidian, Interplay game I've played. Overall I think the stories, presentation, and the immersion of American RPG's put most Japanese RPG's to absolute shame. There are exceptions before you start typing but as a whole it's not a contest in my mind. Play a Baldur's Gate game, a Fallout, or a KOTOR and get back with me because there's no question there.

This is of course my opinion and just what I've come to realize after playing both for many years. Some of you may very well like all the usual elements of Japanese RPG's and not the open endedness, freedom, and generally more mature tones of American RPG's.

[Tommy]

I can`t think of an American RPG that`s turnbased at least.

Oh BTW, Kaemmerite it`s like that famous line is Wayne`s World 2.

"I like the way I said it better."

[Nate]

Play a Baldur's Gate game, a Fallout, or a KOTOR and get back with me because there's no question there.

I have played Baldur's Gate, I thought it sucked. I also did not like Elder Scrolls. I actually am very interested in playing KOTOR, but since I will never buy an Xbox (since it would be retarded to buy a 150-200 dollar system for one game), I'll never play it.

Chrono Trigger is, was, and forever shall be the best RPG of all time.

[Tommy]

^ So you`re favorite series is Wild Arms but you`re favorite game is Chrono trigger...hm...

You mean In your opinion.

Chrono Trigger is a great RPG and was the best for SNES no doubt, but iMO as I`ve said in another thread:

It lacked character development and a plot.

Crono had the most character developement and he was a mute, that says something. And yes, I have beaten Chrono Trigger, every sidequest.

[Nate]

^ So you`re favorite series is Wild Arms but you`re favorite game is Chrono trigger...hm...

Yup!

That's because I didn't like Cross that much...so I can't say the Chrono games are my favorite series, because I really only like the first one. Wild ARMs is the only series where I've consistently liked every single offering.

However, Trigger is the best RPG, so that's why Trigger is my favorite stand alone game, but the WA games are my favorite series.

[Spiritsword]

I like the games by NIS: LaPucelle, Disgaea, Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom. Great strategy RPG's.

[Tommy]

^ Good games but for some reason, some of them don`t realize they are on PS2 with those graphics.

[MasterDias]

Japanese RPG's tend to be more linear and straightforward. People tout how long Japanese RPG's are all the time, in every review you will always see how this game is 30-50 hours or something. But it's pretty much the same story everytime with a few exceptions. You're not playing your own character you're playing the developer's character. And it doesn't help that half of them follow the usual archetype of young boy who's village/family was killed by evil guy and he has to set out on a quest to save the kingdom. Yes I know the usual character archetypes aren't exclusive to JRPGS's but they sure do like to relish in the most stereotypical of them...

Sure in the usual Japanese RPG they'll be plenty of plot twists and there's usually a well conceived story, most of the time anyway...but it gets old really old. With American RPG's in the vain of Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gates, Fallouts, and KOTORs, you always had many choices of how to play your character. Because you were the character in every sense from their gender, name, and class, and of course you always shaped their destiny so there's actually incentive to play a different way instead of watching a rerun.

I like Japanese RPG's, I have a good collection of them every Final Fantasy through from VII to FFX-2, Legend of Dragoon, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2, Sukiedon, Phantasy Star, so on. But it hasn't been since Final Fantasy X that I was blown away by one. On the other hand I'm always suprised with every Bioware, Bethesda, Obsidian, Interplay game I've played. Overall I think the stories, presentation, and the immersion of American RPG's put most Japanese RPG's to absolute shame. There are exceptions before you start typing but as a whole it's not a contest in my mind. Play a Baldur's Gate game, a Fallout, or a KOTOR and get back with me because there's no question there.

This is of course my opinion and just what I've come to realize after playing both for many years. Some of you may very well like all the usual elements of Japanese RPG's and not the open endedness, freedom, and generally more mature tones of American RPG's.

Some of us do like the linear and straightforward stories of JRPG's. Heck, that's one thing that got me into the genre. As far as American RPG's are concerned, I have practically no experience playing them to make any valid comments about their style. I have wanted to to play Bioware's games, but that will have to wait until I gain access to an Xbox.

And don't get me started with random battles... Those were a good idea back in the NES days to actually make a playable game, since it wasn't possible to have all seamless battles. Skies of Arcadia and Dragon Quest have a serious problem with this. None of you can honestly tell me it is fun to battle the same enemies over and over again for hours in the same area to be able to pass the upcoming challenges... I will give kudos that alot of JRPG's are forgoing this now which is a step in the right direction. Another reason I like battles in American RPG's they're never random the enemies that are there, are there, and if they die, they die for good. It really ante's up the immersion majorly.

I don't really have a problem with random battles...as long as the encounter rate isn't extremely high. That was lowered in the Gamecube version of Skies of Arcadia by the way...
And I'm certainly fine with random battles if the battle system is really fun....like in the "Tales of..." series for example. In the end, it's all a matter of personal opinion.

[Lynx]

hmmm i like the shin megami games. it's unfortunate such a popular series in japan doesnt have more games coming to the US. oh well.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I have played Baldur's Gate, I thought it sucked. I also did not like Elder Scrolls. I actually am very interested in playing KOTOR, but since I will never buy an Xbox (since it would be retarded to buy a 150-200 dollar system for one game), I'll never play it.

Chrono Trigger is, was, and forever shall be the best RPG of all time.

There a PC version of KOTOR which is just as good.

[Tommy]

I played the PC version of KOTOR which always froze and went slow.

[Azier the Swordsman]

While I consider Chrono Trigger to be the best RPG ever created, my favorite RPG series would be Final Fantasy (I - X), with my favorite RPG being FFIX. (At this point, I really don't consider anything beyond FFX being a real Final Fantasy.)

[Tommy]

Amen to that.

I love FF, but they are: (Try to make sense of the following):

Square wanted to fix something that wasn`t broken such as the basic boring battles of FF and make it more creative. FF was fine IMO, but hey, if they are fixing something, they are undoubtably making it better, right? WRONG! They tried so hard to fix something that was unbroken that guess what.....THEY BROKE IT!

They still have yet to fix it when now they should. Spicing up the Charlie`s Angels theme? NO! Making an online version but counting it as a straightforward FF? NO!(Should`ve been called Final Fantasy Online), making a crappy battle system that stinks beyond reason in the newest release (FFXII), NO! and of course, Making a dumb movie that had nothing to do with the FF series, NEVER AGAIN!

They are stretching the FF7 franchise, which is a good thing. Let`s just hope they don`t stretch it out so far that it will snap.