RPG Recommendations/Discussion

LeafPanda

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So far on my list on ones to get are:
Tales of the Abyss
Persona 3 FES-Most likely next to buy
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
Dragon Quest 8
Final Fantasy 12
SMT- DDS 1 and 2
SMT- Devil Summoner
Xenosaga 1,2,3-Skepitcal
.hack series
SMT-Nocturne
Chaos War
Shadow Hearts Series
Dawn of Mana-skeptical
Wilm Arms 5
Soul Nomad
GrimGrimoire
Ar Tonelico
Disgaea 1 and 2
Already Have:
KH 1/2
Final Fantasy X-2
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
Tales of Legendia
Odin Sphere
Final Fantasy X
Raditata Stories

Can you guys recommend others or help me weed out from this list the horrible games?
Thanks
 
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What are your preferences in RPGs? Make a list of the things you do/don't like and it'll be easier to give you some recommendations.

Some examples:
grinding
item synthesis
real-time vs. turn-based

Also, I might as well add these as they will come up later:
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
.hack//GU trilogy
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Stella Deus
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Y's: Ark of Napishtim
Ar Tonelico
 
[quote name='thelonepig']What are your preferences in RPGs? Make a list of the things you do/don't like and it'll be easier to give you some recommendations.

Some examples:
grinding
item synthesis
real-time vs. turn-based

Also, I might as well add these as they will come up later:
Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
.hack//GU trilogy
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Stella Deus
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Y's: Ark of Napishtim
Ar Tonelico[/quote]
I like RPGs in general. Just adds a nice twist to the game.
Oh yeah I forgot to put the Shadow Hears series.
Ima play the original .hack games first unless GU has nothing to do with it.
Skeptical about the other ones though.
 
[quote name='jimbodan']I hated the Xenosaga series, seriously some of the most boring games ever.[/QUOTE]

All of them? I never got very far at all in the first one because I got bored of it but I heard the 2nd and 3rd were improvements over the first... but never got around them.

I also recommend the Shadow Hearts series, best RPG series on the PS2.
 
[quote name='Vinny']All of them? I never got very far at all in the first one because I got bored of it but I heard the 2nd and 3rd were improvements over the first... but never got around them.

I also recommend the Shadow Hearts series, best RPG series on the PS2.[/QUOTE]

First 2, couldn't bring myself to try the 3rd.

Good call on Shadow Hearts, I definitely second those.
 
Thanks, I heard from other threads that I should start out with DDS.
Does anyone know a good place to buy SMT games? So far the cheapest I have found is Gamestop, but all of them are scattered around.
 
[quote name='Vinny']All of them? I never got very far at all in the first one because I got bored of it but I heard the 2nd and 3rd were improvements over the first... but never got around them.[/quote]

I love Xenosaga but the story is really intricate and I can see someone not getting it (in fact I'm always surprised when something this esoteric has fans)

If anything the second one is a step backwards from the first, but the third one is complete awesome.
 
[quote name='LeafPanda']Ima play the original .hack games first unless GU has nothing to do with it.[/quote]

GU can be played independently, though there is some fanservice for those that have played the first set of games.

To give you an idea of some of these games:

Turn-based
Shadow Hearts - gothic RPG with some excellent (dark) humor and an interesting battle system 25 hours
Shadow Hearts: Covenant - much funnier and longer than the first, opinions are divided as to which is better 80 hours
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - I enjoyed it and it warrants a play through, though many will disagree 25 hours
Ar Tonelico - very easy, cartoonish, turn-based RPG with some neat side stories, very character oriented 25 hours
Dragon Quest 8 - very old-school, seems like a homage to the original DQ games 70 hours
Final Fantasy 12 - a mix of turn-based and MMO-style battle system, interesting characters but weak storyline 100 hours
Persona 3 or FES - turn-based, mildly difficult, dark themes 90 hours
SMT- DDS 1 and 2 - a dark FFX that centers on cannibalism 20 hours first, 30 hours second
Xenosaga 1,2,3 - opinions are divided, be prepared to watch LONG cutscenes 20 first, 15 second, 25 third (not including cutscenes)
SMT-Nocturne - haven't played it

Action & Real-time
.hack//GU trilogy - battle system better than the first game, but I didn't find the plot to be quite as good 20 hours each
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - similar to the Abyss series, it has a real-time battle system, very sci-fi, one of my wife's favorite games 60 hours
Y's: Ark of Napishtim - similar to the old Zelda games, top-down action RPG 15 hours
Tales of the Abyss - another game lauded by many, real-time battle system 80 hours
Tales of Legendia - see ToA, though not as cared for, 2D real-time 30 hours
SMT- Devil Summoner - real-time battle system, though slower, neat jazz-era atmosphere 30 hours
.hack series - I really liked it as it is different from a lot of what you'll see elsewhere, real-time battle system ~20 hours each
Radiata Stories - real-time battle system, many characters, good sense of humor 40 hours
Dawn of Mana - Musashi meets Ferngully haven't finished
Rogue Galaxy - 60 hours

Strategy
Stella Deus - SRPG, straight-up fantasy 20 hours
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter - lots of grinding, great storyline but you need to restart the game multiple times to get it all (you get additional cutscenes when you start over) 20 hours
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis - haven't played this
Chaos War - haven't played it
Disgaea
Disgaea 2
La Pucelle
Phantom Brave

[quote name='camoor']I love Xenosaga but the story is really intricate and I can see someone not getting it (in fact I'm always surprised when something this esoteric has fans)

If anything the second one is a step backwards from the first, but the third one is complete awesome.[/quote]

Agreed. This series has some extremely interesting conspiracy-theory type logic (especially when you get to the third one). I couldn't get in to the second one, but the first and third are excellent. Expect a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions in the end.
 
I asked for recs myself not too long ago and got some good suggestions (and now I'm broke!): http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179145

Dragon Quest VIII is a must-have. Very traditional, and with your typical RPG plot, but the game oozes quality.

Final Fantasy XII is very long; starts out great, but gets insanely tedious after awhile. I also wasn't too fond of the main character. I'd recommend Final Fantasy X and X-2 in place of XII; both are very enjoyable games.

Xenosaga Episode 1 is all about the story. If you're like me and tend to love good gameplay above all else, I really can't recommend it.

Haven't played anything else on your list. As thelonepig said, it would help to know your preferences. However, if you liked the Kingdom Hearts games, I'd like to recommend Dark Cloud 2, another action RPG.
 
Remember that each of these are going to take a long time to play, so I'd recommend prioritizing.

Having just started Persona 3 FES it's probably the best I've played so far, although I haven't played the other SMT games yet (Nocturne is in the mail).

Beyond that I would say FFXII, DQVIII, and Disgaea are the three I would play first (I will note that I haven't gotten to Rogue Galaxy yet so that could be added to this list).

If you want to play the .Hack games start with GU, that's what I did and I didn't feel that I was missing anything, although I only played the first game. I enjoyed it, but not enough that I expect to get the sequels.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']GU can be played independently, though there is some fanservice for those that have played the first set of games.

To give you an idea of some of these games:

Shadow Hearts - gothic RPG with some excellent (dark) humor and an interesting battle system
Shadow Hearts: Covenant - much funnier and longer than the first, opinions are divided as to which is better
Shadow Hearts: From the New World - I enjoyed it and it warrants a play through, though many will disagree
.hack//GU trilogy - battle system better than the first game, but I didn't find the plot to be quite as good
Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - similar to the Abyss series, it has a real-time battle system, very sci-fi, one of my wife's favorite games
Stella Deus - turn-based, straight-up fantasy
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter - lots of grinding, great storyline but you need to restart the game multiple times to get it all (you get additional cutscenes when you start over)
Y's: Ark of Napishtim - similar to the old Zelda games, top-down action RPG
Ar Tonelico - very easy, cartoonish, turn-based RPG with some neat side stories, very character oriented
Tales of the Abyss - another game lauded by many, real-time battle system
Persona 3 or FES - turn-based, mildly difficult, dark themes
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis - haven't played this
Dragon Quest 8 - very old-school, seems like a homage to the original DQ games
Final Fantasy 12 - a mix of turn-based and MMO-style battle system, interesting characters but weak storyline
Tales of Legendia - see ToA, though not as cared for, 2D real-time
SMT- DDS 1 and 2 - a dark FFX that centers on cannibalism
SMT- Devil Summoner - real-time battle system, though slower, neat jazz-era atmosphere
Xenosaga 1,2,3 - opinions are divided, be prepared to watch LONG cutscenes
.hack series - I really liked it as it is different from a lot of what you'll see elsewhere, real-time battle system
SMT-Nocturne - haven't played it
Chaos War - haven't played it
Radiata Stories - real-time battle system, many characters, good sense of humor
Dawn of Mana - Musashi meets Ferngully



Agreed. This series has some extremely interesting conspiracy-theory type logic (especially when you get to the third one). I couldn't get in to the second one, but the first and third are excellent. Expect a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions in the end.[/quote]
Thanks
Can someone help me order them for which one I should try first?
 
You may want to rent Xenosaga first to see if you'll like it. If you love it, you've gotta play the whole trilogy, and maybe even Xenogears - for some people it's great, for others it's life-changing (heck, I'm still inspired by a lot of the music even a decade later).

Other than that, there are a lot of good suggestions here. Can't go wrong with Final Fantasy main installments, and let the review scores be a general guide for the rest.
 
[quote name='Run4Fun']You may want to rent Xenosaga first to see if you'll like it. If you love it, you've gotta play the whole trilogy, and maybe even Xenogears - for some people it's great, for others it's life-changing (heck, I'm still inspired by a lot of the music even a decade later).

Other than that, there are a lot of good suggestions here. Can't go wrong with Final Fantasy main installments, and let the review scores be a general guide for the rest.[/quote]
Alright I'll take your word.
Also, is Tales of the Abyss better than tales of legendia, for some reason when I look at the main character I think he looks really unlikable.
 
[quote name='LeafPanda']Alright I'll take your word.
Also, is Tales of the Abyss better than tales of legendia, for some reason when I look at the main character I think he looks really unlikable.[/quote]

The main character starts off as a bit of a jerk (he's spoiled royalty), but changes pretty quickly in the game.

[quote name='happy']Beyond that I would say FFXII, DQVIII, and Disgaea are the three I would play first (I will note that I haven't gotten to Rogue Galaxy yet so that could be added to this list).[/quote]

I found Rogue Galaxy to be a bit underwhelming. I really, really wanted to like it but I just couldn't.

OP, If you're set on playing all or most of these games, I would suggest alternating them so that you don't play two of the same type in a row. I will edit my previous post as well indicating how long it took me to beat each game and hopefully that will help.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']The main character starts off as a bit of a jerk (he's spoiled royalty), but changes pretty quickly in the game.



I found Rogue Galaxy to be a bit underwhelming. I really, really wanted to like it but I just couldn't.

OP, If you're set on playing all or most of these games, I would suggest alternating them so that you don't play two of the same type in a row. I will edit my previous post as well indicating how long it took me to beat each game and hopefully that will help.[/quote]
Thanks thelonepig you are being really helpful.
Also, what kind of game is disgaea
 
Disgaea is a tactical, or strategy, RPG (and one of the best at that). If you're familiar with Final Fantasy Tactics, it's the same type of gameplay: turn-based battles with several specialized characters on a large field divided up into a grid.
 
I thought Dragon Quest 8 was terrible. Whenever I finish Lost Odyssey on 360, I'm going to dive into the Persona 3 FES and SMT: Nocturne.
 
[quote name='LeafPanda']What was so bad about it?[/quote]

It's not terrible, it's just exceedingly stubborly old-school. Turn-based by-the-numbers RPGing.
 
[quote name='thelonepig']Agreed. This series has some extremely interesting conspiracy-theory type logic (especially when you get to the third one). I couldn't get in to the second one, but the first and third are excellent. Expect a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions in the end.[/quote]

Alot of it is based on religion and the occult, although I think that some of the terms used are a bit off because in certain cases they are substituting English words for Eastern/Shinto concepts. But there are def plenty of western occultists and mythological characters represented as well.
 
[quote name='camoor']It's not terrible, it's just exceedingly stubborly old-school. Turn-based by-the-numbers RPGing.[/quote]
I see, what would be a game similar to this.
 
When your in the PS2 section you really want to stay on the topic of PS2? =P
I got paper mario on VC. Star wars games are okay. X-men legends was good, then I got bored.
 
Also, wow, the Suikoden series got no love in this thread so far. I have all 6 Suikoden titles sitting on my shelf and I've only played the first one, twice. I've heard from multiple sources that 3 is supposed to be one of the best RPGs for PS2.

Others unmentioned so far are Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire (I recommend both), the Atelier Iris series, the Saga (Romancing, Unlimited, Frontier) series, a few of the NIS SRPG titles (Makai Kingdom, Soul Nomad), Sega's Shining series, and Valkyrie Profile 2. Currently playing this last one and a bit too much grinding. Interesting combat system, though, gotta hand it to those tri-Ace (Star Ocean, Radiata Stories) folks.
 
[quote name='dfg']Also, wow, the Suikoden series got no love in this thread so far. I have all 6 Suikoden titles sitting on my shelf and I've only played the first one, twice. I've heard from multiple sources that 3 is supposed to be one of the best RPGs for PS2.

Others unmentioned so far are Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire (I recommend both), the Atelier Iris series, the Saga (Romancing, Unlimited, Frontier) series, a few of the NIS SRPG titles (Makai Kingdom, Soul Nomad), Sega's Shining series, and Valkyrie Profile 2. Currently playing this last one and a bit too much grinding. Interesting combat system, though, gotta hand it to those tri-Ace (Star Ocean, Radiata Stories) folks.[/quote]

Wow. How did we miss all of those?

Suikoden II is one of my favorite games. I bought it at TRU many, many years ago and played it twice through. Then my little brother traded it in at a pawn shop while I was out of town. :cry:

I personally have not played III or IV, but V was just too slow. The Suikoden series is very political in nature, meaning less action and more drawn out than say, the Final Fantasy series (though XII really approached it).

Odin Sphere is a 2D brawler with RPG elements and a gorgeous presentation.

Grim Grimoire is a 2D RTS (real time strategy i.e. Warcraft, Starcraft, Myth). I didn't care for it as much.

Valkyrie Profile 2 I enjoyed, but can't really recommend it over anything else that's been mentioned.

While we're at it, you should pick up a copy of the Sega Genesis Collection. You can play through all of the Phantasy Star games!
 
I meant to ask, is the PS series on the Sega collection the original games, or there was some PS2 remakes which were released in Japan. I just wonder whether its the same old ones or the remakes, I would've loved to replay Phantasy Star 2 remade.
 
Odin Sphere is no more a console RPG than Onimusha, I see no reason to mention it here.

Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter is only grinding in the sense that you will have to replay the first few levels a few times (via the in-game restarter) to be strong enough to persevere. The designers must have felt that a brief 15-20 hour RPG was not enough on its own, so they created a replay system with added cutscenes.

Radiata Stories is a great short RPG with no level grinding and a simple story. The selling point in RS is ease of use and a colorful world which has unparalleled life. The cutscenes are interminable though, which is a huge pain in the ass.

Dawn of Mana is supposedly not much an RPG or decent game, but I've yet to play it so I cannot say. Musashi is a poor man's kingdom hearts so if DoM is anything like it, prepare for a snooze-fest (I happen to like Musashi even though it is boring).

Final Fantasy on PS2 is pretty weak, FF IX is much better than X, X-2, XI or XII.

Romancing Saga is brutally difficult and it is often hard to figure out what to do next. I like the game's non-linear exploration but loathe the strict nature of the quests (IE you cannot go to a cave and retrieve an item before talking to the man who wants it).

Dark Cloud 2 has a very nice story and look, its drawback is the lengthy and uneventful dungeons. The item invention system is excellent and the voice acting well done, but the controls are not very responsive.

Of the SMT series I would recommend the two you have selected over Digital Devil Saga and Devil Summoner. DDS has easy, frequent random battles and not much aside from the fact that it is a slightly better FF X clone. Devil Summoner is ok but its battles are nowhere near as good as Kingdom Hearts or TotA.

Disgaea is Final Fantasy Tactics with a comprehensible story and much less idiotic menu/game design. The aesthetic is corny (Japanese demon kids) and not as well-executed as FF Tactics, but the game is much tighter and versatile. Avoid La Pucelle Tactics, it takes about an hour just for one turn.

IHope that helps... I've played almost all of the Japanese or console-styled RPGs on PS2 so hopefully I can provide some insight.
 
dont forget the dark cloud series

ive never actually played dark cloud 1, only dark cloud 2, but i enjoyed it a lot

itd go with the action rpgs
 
We forgot the Growlansers as well. I've played Generations but not Heritage of War. Fairly straightforward, nothing groundbreaking. I'll leave it to others to elaborate.
 
[quote name='Nakilos']I meant to ask, is the PS series on the Sega collection the original games, or there was some PS2 remakes which were released in Japan. I just wonder whether its the same old ones or the remakes, I would've loved to replay Phantasy Star 2 remade.[/quote]

Same good ol' Genesis style. But I would love a remake of PS2 (Hell, all 4 of them) to be made/released stateside.
 
Wow, some of those I knew, but just passed by. That's for the recommendations. After I get all these games, I'll be so broke -_-
 
[quote name='LeafPanda']Wow, some of those I knew, but just passed by. That's for the recommendations. After I get all these games, I'll be so broke -_-[/quote]

oh, good luck tryin to find some of the games on your updated list

some of em are gettin harder to find these days :bomb:
 
just FYI Mana Khemia is a turned based rpg not strategy. Think similar battle system to FFX, also other good games are the games from the same line, Atelier Iris 1-3 (all of which are turn based as well)
 
Mana Khemia has a battle system like FFX??? Can you switch out party members during battle?? If so, I'd love to try that game out.
 
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