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The Best of the BestFollow

#1 May 21 2013 at 4:03 PM Rating: Good
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So, reading some of the posts over at the "final final fantasy" discussion got me thinking about the best RPGs of all time... any system. I'm always looking for some games that maybe I passed up for one reason or another... maybe even some I've never heard of. So with that said, what are your all time favorite RPGs? (For arguments sake how about we leave out all Final Fantasy, Chrono Triggers, basically all the major SE games. We all know them, and it's not like they're some big secret.) Now if you know some of the patched/translated SNES/PS1 RPGs which never made it over feel free to bring those up... I'm sure most people don't know of them.

I'm hoping that through this discussion we can turn up some games and spark some intrigue for those which we haven't played before. It would be nice if we included a small reason why they are on our favorites list!

So as far as my favorite of all time goes (FFs excluded):

Earthbound - Yes I'm part of the cult that is EB... I rented the game from blockbuster just because it came in a big box. Best stupid decision I ever made!

Lufia 2: RotS - Classic RPG with puzzle solving elements. It's actually a prequel, which is pretty cool if you've played both entries. The ending was the only one which has ever made me feel like crying in a video game. I'm not sure if it would elicit the same emotion now that I'm older, but none-the-less.

Suikoden II - While the concept of the story may not be overly interesting, the way it unfolds absolutely is... Rarely am I truly surprised by the plot of a video game, in this I was. There are tons of NPCs you can get to join you, depending on your actions and how you treat them... It's quite an interesting game. I also enjoy the battles.

Well there's a list for starters! I have many more which I'm sure I'll think of later! Can't wait to hear your favorites... I'm looking for a new one to play Smiley: smile
#2 May 21 2013 at 4:20 PM Rating: Good
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I kind of don't trust my taste in RPGs from when I was young, with some exceptions for SE titles (don't forget the Super Mario RPG), and Earthbound. I enjoyed Wild Arms 2 and Breath of Fire 3 (the others in the series are pretty good too, but if you were only going to play one, those are the ones I would recommend) on a lesser level.

I'm told that Terranigma is a superb game on par with those SE games, but you'll have to emulate it as it was never released here. I haven't actually played it myself yet.

FFT is one of my favorites, but unfortunately I don't even think the FFTA series does it justice. The only thing that scratches that itch for me is the Fire Emblem series, which has some great titles (but is a considerably different take on things). A lot of people equally love Tactics Ogre; I have it but haven't played it yet.

I also hear a lot of ruckus about Suikoden II, which is probably the single biggest hole in my gaming history. A lot of people consider it their favorite. I just couldn't really get into it after the first one, but I'll have to take another shot at it sometime.

I dunno, I've played a lot of them, but I'd say that with the exception of Earthbound, my top 5-10 are mostly SE RPGs.

As for more obscure titles:
Skies of Arcadia is a good one that a lot of people overlook. I also liked Okage, but more for the world and the art than the gameplay.


Edited, May 21st 2013 3:22pm by Kachi
#3 May 21 2013 at 4:29 PM Rating: Good
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@Kachi

I completely forgot about Super Mario RPG... that game was amazing! Especially given that it was on the SNES, we had never really seen graphics like that before. With regards to Earthbound... there is just something about that game that makes it easily the most memorable of all my RPG experiences. Even though I may claim to have others that I consider "better" there are very few I would qualify as that, and certainly NONE more enjoyable/memorable.

Definitely play Tactics Ogre if FFT is one of your favorites.

There are so many translated RPGs I've never got the chance to try...
#4 May 21 2013 at 4:41 PM Rating: Excellent
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3,737 posts
Hmm..

If I were to exclude Final Fantasy's, Chrono Trigger, and the Seiken Densetsu (Mana) series... I'd probably recommend:

In no particular order
Skies of Arcadia, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 2, Grandia 2, Lufia 2, Tales of Almost Anything (Phantasia is good, so is Eternia), Lunar Silver Star Story Complete.

Yeah... that's a good place to start...

Earthbound and Super Mario RPG have already been mentioned, also excellent games.

If you want to take a trip in the wayback machine, check out the Quest for Glory series (1-4.. 5 was crap).

There are also a few PC adventure titles I could recommend, but I'm already veering off topic so I'll stop.
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#5 May 21 2013 at 4:52 PM Rating: Good
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374 posts
Archmage Callinon wrote:
Hmm..

If I were to exclude Final Fantasy's, Chrono Trigger, and the Seiken Densetsu (Mana) series... I'd probably recommend:

In no particular order
Skies of Arcadia, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 2, Grandia 2, Lufia 2, Tales of Almost Anything (Phantasia is good, so is Eternia), Lunar Silver Star Story Complete.

Yeah... that's a good place to start...

Earthbound and Super Mario RPG have already been mentioned, also excellent games.

If you want to take a trip in the wayback machine, check out the Quest for Glory series (1-4.. 5 was crap).

There are also a few PC adventure titles I could recommend, but I'm already veering off topic so I'll stop.


I'd love to hear some of the PC titles! No restrictions!
#6 May 21 2013 at 5:16 PM Rating: Good
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9,997 posts
I really like the Tales multiplayer aspect. It's sad to me that more RPGs don't have multiplayer options when they're so easy to implement (even easier in most games than in the Tales series). I had a great time playing Tales of Symphonia with my brothers.
#7 May 21 2013 at 5:55 PM Rating: Decent
Best RPG ? Xenogears

Star ocean 2 is a master piece of a game, words cannot do it justice.

Suikoden II is probably my third favorite RPG, the story, the characters, everything about the game is epic, specially the Music! If you have not played it, seriously something is wrong with you.

Breath of Fire II & III Are classics, the first three games are a series, and are connected so you should all play them in order, they are really something, i liked 3 best, but thats just me :P

Lufia II i recently beat again, awesome game, great story, good mechanics for its time :P A gem of a game.

Legend of Legai is another game that should be played, different combat style, great graphics for its time, good game overall.

Wild Arms 1 - The best in the series, in my opinion, great story telling, good pacing, good combat, very memorable characters all around, other parts of the series have tried to recapitalize on the story on part 1, but they have not been able to do so, tho still is nice to get reminded of this little gem of a game.

Bahamut Lagoon - Yes is a Square title, but is still a great game. also was it just me or did Square use the same graphic system for VI in this game ?


#8 May 21 2013 at 6:06 PM Rating: Excellent
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Kachi wrote:
I kind of don't trust my taste in RPGs from when I was young, with some exceptions for SE titles (don't forget the Super Mario RPG), and Earthbound. I enjoyed Wild Arms 2 and Breath of Fire 3 (the others in the series are pretty good too, but if you were only going to play one, those are the ones I would recommend) on a lesser level.

I'm told that Terranigma is a superb game on par with those SE games, but you'll have to emulate it as it was never released here. I haven't actually played it myself yet.

FFT is one of my favorites, but unfortunately I don't even think the FFTA series does it justice. The only thing that scratches that itch for me is the Fire Emblem series, which has some great titles (but is a considerably different take on things). A lot of people equally love Tactics Ogre; I have it but haven't played it yet.

I also hear a lot of ruckus about Suikoden II, which is probably the single biggest hole in my gaming history. A lot of people consider it their favorite. I just couldn't really get into it after the first one, but I'll have to take another shot at it sometime.

I dunno, I've played a lot of them, but I'd say that with the exception of Earthbound, my top 5-10 are mostly SE RPGs.

As for more obscure titles:
Skies of Arcadia is a good one that a lot of people overlook. I also liked Okage, but more for the world and the art than the gameplay.


Edited, May 21st 2013 3:22pm by Kachi



That's funny, I love the first 2 Suikoden games, but never could get into Earthbound. I realize how good of a game Earthbound is, it's clever, witty and is solid otherwise, I just couldn't get into it.

I liked Wild Arms, but it was just filler waiting for FFVII.

I always wanted to play games like Arc the Lad (which was mentioned in another thread) and games like Y's and Lunar. I did play some of the Phantasy Star series and it was good, I just don't remember too much about it.

I've played a lot of JRPGs (thanks Blockbuster) but the ones that stand out to me are:

Suikoden I/II, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, FFT are my favorites that aren't Final Fantasy (main series) games.
#9 May 21 2013 at 6:06 PM Rating: Good
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3,737 posts
je355804 wrote:

I'd love to hear some of the PC titles! No restrictions!


Then aside from the Quest for Glory series, I'd also recommend Gabriel Knight (1 & 2 are great, 3 is so-so but it rounds the series out nicely), Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Lighthouse, King's Quest 1, 2, 3, and 6 (haven't played the others, but every King's Quest game I've played I've liked), and Starship Titanic.

Some of those are more lighthearted than others.. Starship Titanic was written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) for example.. while Lighthouse is a lot more serious but still an excellent game.

The Longest Journey is also quite good, though I haven't played the sequel yet. The Monkey Island series is decent, I think I may have come to it too late to really appreciate it, but it's fine. The Sam and Max chapters are pretty decent too, though they have their more obtuse moments.
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#10 May 21 2013 at 6:18 PM Rating: Good
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374 posts
Ostia wrote:
Best RPG ? Xenogears

Star ocean 2 is a master piece of a game, words cannot do it justice.

Suikoden II is probably my third favorite RPG, the story, the characters, everything about the game is epic, specially the Music! If you have not played it, seriously something is wrong with you.

Breath of Fire II & III Are classics, the first three games are a series, and are connected so you should all play them in order, they are really something, i liked 3 best, but thats just me :P

Lufia II i recently beat again, awesome game, great story, good mechanics for its time :P A gem of a game.

Legend of Legai is another game that should be played, different combat style, great graphics for its time, good game overall.

Wild Arms 1 - The best in the series, in my opinion, great story telling, good pacing, good combat, very memorable characters all around, other parts of the series have tried to recapitalize on the story on part 1, but they have not been able to do so, tho still is nice to get reminded of this little gem of a game.

Bahamut Lagoon - Yes is a Square title, but is still a great game. also was it just me or did Square use the same graphic system for VI in this game ?




Bahamut Lagoon to me has the graphics of VI and Secret of Mana mixed together. Backgrounds look very VI, and character sprites look Manaesque.
#11 May 21 2013 at 6:52 PM Rating: Good
Vandal Hearts ? Anybody ? I loved that Game! Vandal Hearts 2 was good too, but i dont know i found it long and tiring :( but i liked the story.

Also i forgot and thanks for mentioning, whoever you are, Arc the Lad! Is a must play. Specially Arc the lad II.
#12 May 21 2013 at 7:11 PM Rating: Excellent
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230 posts
Archmage Callinon wrote:
Hmm..

If I were to exclude Final Fantasy's, Chrono Trigger, and the Seiken Densetsu (Mana) series... I'd probably recommend:

In no particular order
Skies of Arcadia, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 2, Grandia 2, Lufia 2, Tales of Almost Anything (Phantasia is good, so is Eternia), Lunar Silver Star Story Complete.

Yeah... that's a good place to start...

Earthbound and Super Mario RPG have already been mentioned, also excellent games.

If you want to take a trip in the wayback machine, check out the Quest for Glory series (1-4.. 5 was crap).

There are also a few PC adventure titles I could recommend, but I'm already veering off topic so I'll stop.


OMG.. I loved skies of arcadia! Im just so mad that at the time it was one of my first rpgs so I sucked and couldnt get passed the boss that was red that shot a red beam that basically 2 hits of it and your dead! Really wish I could have gotten a chance to beat that game..

On topic: I also dont trust myself to rate rpgs without being bias to FF titles lol.. FF7 was the VERY first rpg I ever played. That game blew my mind because I never played a game with such an in depth story. Always played no story depth games like Street Fighter(Super Nintendo one) or The very first Twisted Metal haha.. If I had to suggest RPGs These were the best to me
(Keep in mind this is the order I played them in lol)

1.)ff7(loved)
2.)ff8(loved)
3.)ff9 (Grew on me over time, then loved lol)
4.) Chrono Cross (loved, am replaying threw atm)
5.) Chrono Trigger (Blew my mind that a game with lower quality graphics could be sooo good)
6.) Xenogears (immediately fell in love with this game when I tried it over a friends house, never actually got my hands on a copy till much later!)- really wish this had a second part or something.. End felt super rushed
7.)Legend of Dragoon (Different but pretty good, kinda long)
8.)Skies of Arcadia
9.) Legend of Legaia (the one for dreamcast?)
10.) Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (This game is long as hell, was barely able to finnish it lol.)
11.) FFX (I liked it, took me forever to beat for different reasons, school etc.)
12.) Rising sun for gba I believe.( Didnt get to finnish. Pretty good though.)
13.) FFtactics Advanced (Never got to play the original. But I actually like this game had a crazy strong pld)
14.)Disgaea.. (the entire series was good to me, I love the cinematic over the top attacks lol, especially the team combos)
15.)ff12 (Honestly.. COuldnt get into this one.. Played about 2 hours of it? Felt like a cheap ffxi so didnt finnish it. Sorry Ostia and Wint lol.. I tried!)
16.) ff6 (Just started this for the first time a couple months ago.. Just past the ghost train a ways where you have to feed someone Jerky to get them on your team? Forget his name been a while.) anything pre ff7 I havnt played so trying to go through them.
Feel like Im forgeting some but.. Thats my list

Edit: OH! Shadow Hearts. The first one. Not a bad game. I liked it. (Also Kingdom hearts for the console.. Im a sucker for anything with Cloud or Squall or any FF in it at all haa.. Ehrgeiz anyone? No? ..oh ok. LOL)

Edited, May 21st 2013 9:21pm by SaitoMishima
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#13 May 21 2013 at 7:38 PM Rating: Good
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374 posts
SaitoMishima wrote:
Archmage Callinon wrote:
Hmm..

If I were to exclude Final Fantasy's, Chrono Trigger, and the Seiken Densetsu (Mana) series... I'd probably recommend:

In no particular order
Skies of Arcadia, Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 2, Grandia 2, Lufia 2, Tales of Almost Anything (Phantasia is good, so is Eternia), Lunar Silver Star Story Complete.

Yeah... that's a good place to start...

Earthbound and Super Mario RPG have already been mentioned, also excellent games.

If you want to take a trip in the wayback machine, check out the Quest for Glory series (1-4.. 5 was crap).

There are also a few PC adventure titles I could recommend, but I'm already veering off topic so I'll stop.


OMG.. I loved skies of arcadia! Im just so mad that at the time it was one of my first rpgs so I sucked and couldnt get passed the boss that was red that shot a red beam that basically 2 hits of it and your dead! Really wish I could have gotten a chance to beat that game..

On topic: I also dont trust myself to rate rpgs without being bias to FF titles lol.. FF7 was the VERY first rpg I ever played. That game blew my mind because I never played a game with such an in depth story. Always played no story depth games like Street Fighter(Super Nintendo one) or The very first Twisted Metal haha.. If I had to suggest RPGs These were the best to me
(Keep in mind this is the order I played them in lol)

1.)ff7(loved)
2.)ff8(loved)
3.)ff9 (Grew on me over time, then loved lol)
4.) Chrono Cross (loved, am replaying threw atm)
5.) Chrono Trigger (Blew my mind that a game with lower quality graphics could be sooo good)
6.) Xenogears (immediately fell in love with this game when I tried it over a friends house, never actually got my hands on a copy till much later!)- really wish this had a second part or something.. End felt super rushed
7.)Legend of Dragoon (Different but pretty good, kinda long)
8.)Skies of Arcadia
9.) Legend of Legaia (the one for dreamcast?)
10.) Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (This game is long as hell, was barely able to finnish it lol.)
11.) FFX (I liked it, took me forever to beat for different reasons, school etc.)
12.) Rising sun for gba I believe.( Didnt get to finnish. Pretty good though.)
13.) FFtactics Advanced (Never got to play the original. But I actually like this game had a crazy strong pld)
14.)Disgaea.. (the entire series was good to me, I love the cinematic over the top attacks lol, especially the team combos)
15.)ff12 (Honestly.. COuldnt get into this one.. Played about 2 hours of it? Felt like a cheap ffxi so didnt finnish it. Sorry Ostia and Wint lol.. I tried!)
16.) ff6 (Just started this for the first time a couple months ago.. Just past the ghost train a ways where you have to feed someone Jerky to get them on your team? Forget his name been a while.) anything pre ff7 I havnt played so trying to go through them.
Feel like Im forgeting some but.. Thats my list

Edit: OH! Shadow Hearts. The first one. Not a bad game. I liked it. (Also Kingdom hearts for the console.. Im a sucker for anything with Cloud or Squall or any FF in it at all haa.. Ehrgeiz anyone? No? ..oh ok. LOL)

Edited, May 21st 2013 9:21pm by SaitoMishima


Give EarthBound a try!
#14 May 21 2013 at 7:58 PM Rating: Good
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I'm just gonna do a top 10 20 list of my favorites: Smiley: nod

20. Blue Dragon
19. Legend of Dragoon
18. Final Fantasy X
17. Shadow Hearts: Covenant
16. Breath of Fire
15. Star Ocean: The Last Hope
14. Dark Cloud 2
13. Lost Odyssey
12. Final Fantasy IX
11. Final Fantasy Tactics
10. Breath of Fire 2
9. Final Fantasy VII
8. Final Fantasy IV
7. Star Ocean 3
6. Shadow Hearts
5. Chrono Cross
4. Breath of Fire 3
3. Chrono Trigger
2. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
1. Final Fantasy VI

There are a lot on these lists I'm seeing that I have on my list of games to try, but that comes after I get through the bevvy of PS3 games I'm currently playing... and of course, by then FFXIV will probably be out so I might be SOL on those for a while.

Edited, May 21st 2013 10:01pm by BartelX
#15 May 21 2013 at 8:23 PM Rating: Decent
^^ No star ocean 2 ?
#16 May 21 2013 at 8:23 PM Rating: Decent
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9,997 posts
Not to hijack the thread, but inevitably when a discussion of the best RPGs comes up, 90% of them are from the early console generations. Very few from the PS2 era and later. I'd like some recommendations on RPGs for THIS generation's consoles. It's not that I don't know which games are available, but I don't know if any are really GOOD. It seems like most RPGs are released for handhelds anymore.
#17 May 21 2013 at 9:04 PM Rating: Decent
The last Story.
Xenoblade.
Valkyria chronicles.
Tales of Vesperia.

Those are for consoles, the best ones are in PSP and 3ds tho.
#18 May 21 2013 at 9:10 PM Rating: Good
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Archmage Callinon wrote:
je355804 wrote:

I'd love to hear some of the PC titles! No restrictions!


Then aside from the Quest for Glory series, I'd also recommend Gabriel Knight (1 & 2 are great, 3 is so-so but it rounds the series out nicely), Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Lighthouse, King's Quest 1, 2, 3, and 6 (haven't played the others, but every King's Quest game I've played I've liked), and Starship Titanic.

Some of those are more lighthearted than others.. Starship Titanic was written by Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) for example.. while Lighthouse is a lot more serious but still an excellent game.

The Longest Journey is also quite good, though I haven't played the sequel yet. The Monkey Island series is decent, I think I may have come to it too late to really appreciate it, but it's fine. The Sam and Max chapters are pretty decent too, though they have their more obtuse moments.



The Longest Journey/Dreamfall games were both of the greatest games I've ever played. The Monkey Island series is great as well.

I can't wait for Dreamfall:Chapters, kickstarter baby!!!
#19 May 21 2013 at 9:26 PM Rating: Excellent
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325 posts
Damn going through this thread is taking me way back. No use for me to post my RPG's because all of them are above me already. My first RPG was Dragon Warrior for NES. Awesome! I have not played any RPG's on the PS3 unfortunately..... Vagrant story was a good one, personally feel it was ahead of it's time.
#20 May 21 2013 at 9:34 PM Rating: Decent
^^^ Ah another gem :) How could i forget about that game XD!

Btw nobody has mentioned Legend of Dragoons.... Tsk Tsk!
#21 May 21 2013 at 9:47 PM Rating: Decent
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9,997 posts
Ostia wrote:
The last Story.
Xenoblade.
Valkyria chronicles.
Tales of Vesperia.

Those are for consoles, the best ones are in PSP and 3ds tho.


Thanks, those are the ones I tend to see the most frequently. What would you recommend for the PSP/3DS?
#22 May 21 2013 at 9:48 PM Rating: Good
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3,737 posts
Kachi wrote:
Not to hijack the thread, but inevitably when a discussion of the best RPGs comes up, 90% of them are from the early console generations. Very few from the PS2 era and later. I'd like some recommendations on RPGs for THIS generation's consoles. It's not that I don't know which games are available, but I don't know if any are really GOOD. It seems like most RPGs are released for handhelds anymore.


Hmm...

Ni no Kuni, Super Paper Mario, Valkyria Chronicles, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, FF7: Crisis Core.

If you want to go back to the PS2, I could suggest Suikoden 3, Grandia 3, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, and the Xenosaga series if you want to watch a good book.

Haven't had a chance to play the Wii rpgs that were released a few months back, though I keep hearing good things like Lost Odyssey I can't recommend it because I haven't played it.

I do agree that handhelds seem to be getting more love on the rpg front lately. I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing though.
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svlyons wrote:
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#23 May 21 2013 at 9:52 PM Rating: Good
Excluding FF and Chrono games:

Wild Arms
Star Ocean 2, amazing game
Legend of Legaia
Knights of the Old Republic
Phantasy Star 1 and 2
Shadowrun, SNES version

Of the FF titles my favorites are 6 and Tactics :)
#24 May 21 2013 at 10:16 PM Rating: Decent
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Quote:
Earthbound - Yes I'm part of the cult that is EB... I rented the game from blockbuster just because it came in a big box. Best stupid decision I ever made!


My girlfriend paints shoes and she painted me these for my birthday. Smiley: nod

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Quote:
Not to hijack the thread, but inevitably when a discussion of the best RPGs comes up, 90% of them are from the early console generations. Very few from the PS2 era and later. I'd like some recommendations on RPGs for THIS generation's consoles. It's not that I don't know which games are available, but I don't know if any are really GOOD. It seems like most RPGs are released for handhelds anymore.


Valkira Chronicles was one of the best Strategy RPGs this gen (PS3)
Demons' Souls
Dark Souls
Persona 4 (even though it's just a remake on Vita, it's glorious.)

I'm not sure if XCOM counts as an RPG, but it's most definitely amazing. On the same level with Valkiria Chronicles and FF: Tactics

I know a lot of people hold Ni No Kuni in high regard, but I haven't been able to slog through the 6 hour tutorial on "What a map is" and "How exp is gained" to get to the good stuff.

Edited, May 22nd 2013 12:24am by Louiscool
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#25 May 21 2013 at 10:54 PM Rating: Decent
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9,997 posts
Quote:
I know a lot of people hold Ni No Kuni in high regard, but I haven't been able to slog through the 6 hour tutorial on "What a map is" and "How exp is gained" to get to the good stuff.


I had the same problem with that one.

I'll have to look into XCOM. Haven't heard of that one.
#26 May 21 2013 at 11:52 PM Rating: Good
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Lost Odyssey had some decent moments.

The Last Story was OK, but I didn't really get into it. In part because the emulation wasn't that good.

I was watching some "let's play" of Xenoblade and it looked pretty decent.
It seemed like a real throwback. It would probably be the game (jrpg)I'd most likely want to play of this generation.

Edit: I lied, throw ni no kuni in there too...

Edited, May 22nd 2013 1:56am by Kierk
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