Gaming I'm looking to find the greatest RPG game out there. Any thoughts?

[Vigilance]

Right now I have been thinking this for a while now, does anyone have a suggestion for me on what RPG is [B][U]WORTH[/U][/B] playing today? Like for example, there is Disgaea: Hour of Darkness for PS2, Final Fantasy VII for PS1, Xenogear for PS1, Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360, The Legend of Dragoon for PS1, Final Fantasy XII for PS2, Xenosaga episode 1-3 for PS2, and Blue Dragon for Xbox 360. The game I listed are for just an example. So do anyone have any suggestion? Also any good RPG in any console, like PS2, Game Cube, Nintendo DS, PSP, Xbox 360, PS1, and Game boy Advance can be said too.

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]Any of the PS2 Shin Megami Tensei games you can find, Persona 3 being probably the best and Devil Summoner being at the bottom of the list. Generally, people who like Disgaea also like SMT (they both glorify demons like no other game dares to do) although they're completely different games.

Honestly, your only excuse for not playing these is because they get discontinued rather quickly, but at least Persona 3's still around, it just came out about a month ago.

If you want more information on the games, you can check out Semjaza's website: [url]http://www.digitaldevildb.com/[/url]

Also, why does everyone hold Xenogears so high in regard? Everything about it felt cheap and boring. I bought it for $35 and sold it for double the price. :)[/font][/size]

[Doublehex]

[quote name='Goodbye, Face'][font=arial][size=1]Also, why does everyone hold Xenogears so high in regard? Everything about it felt cheap and boring. I bought it for $35 and sold it for double the price. :)[/font][/size][/QUOTE]

I have to disagree immensely on that comment, but that will have to wait for another thread.

Now, to answer your question Blitz, newer dosen't always mean better. Two of my most favorite RPGs are Xenogears and Xenosaga EP.I. Now, Final Fantasys are always fun to play, but my guess is that you already know that, so I won't go into detail there.

I'll agree with Goodbye, Song: Shin Megami Tensei games are amazing. Most of these are very hard to find, since Atlus stops sending them out very quickly after release. But Persona 3 - which [I]is[/I] part of the Shin Megami Tensei license - got released a month ago, so you can probably find it at stores and online easily enough.

On the other hand, Bioshock has some RPG influences - upgrading abilities and looting off enemy corpses - and its an amazing game regardless. Even if it is mostly a FPS, you'll find it has a little bit of RPG segments in it. Not enough to make it an FPS/RPH hybrid, mind you, but enough you'll get reminded of RPGs.

Now, if you want a true FPS/RPG hyrbid, keep an eye out for Deus Ex. Their goal was to create a FPS/RPG, and from what I've heard and read, they nailed it. Its pretty old, so the graphics aren't that great, but you can download mods that will bring it up to 2005 graphics.

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Friggin' Rogue Galaxy is the best RPG ever made. I've said it once and I'll say it a million times over; It's the prime example of how an RPG in this day and age SHOULD be. (I'm looking at you Crap Fantasy 12)

The story, while cliche and predictable, still had some tricks up it's sleeve and was generally told very well. The graphics have that Level 5 cel-shadedness to them along with Level 5's famous create-a-crap mechanics that are in every game they make; like inventing in Dark Cloud 2.

All the characters are usable and like-able from the main character Jaster to the enigmatic Jupis. Not once did I feel any of my characters were boring, annoying, or useless in any way.

But the meat and potatoes of this game has to be the combat. It's all action and reflex based but still sits on RPG numbers. Every time you get into a battle it says; 'WARNING!' on the screen and your characters just whip out their respective weapons and let the butt-kicking commence. The skills all look really cool in use and everything just flows really well in combat.

Pick this game up and ignore all else. It takes the cake because Level 5 is the best RPG making company around. Dig it.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[PWNED]

I'd suggest Suikodens 2 & 3, not brilliant graphics wise or soundwise but the storylines of both games are absolute art. Fat chance with getting Suikoden 2 though as it is amongst the rarest PS One games.

Deus Ex is also great, possibly the best storyline based shooter ever. Most games have you just go run in with guns blazing and not only can you do that in this but you can also use alternate routes. An example of this is early in the game where some terrorists have captured a subway station. You can just run down the stairs and defuse any traps before shotting anyone (Not suggested as there are hostages), you can draw out the terrorists by using grenades or you can traverse the air vents and sneak in.

The RPG elements are more about improving your character and weapons but its all very well done.

[John]

Despite Deus Ex being very high among my favorite games, I wouldn't be recommending it to someone on a quest for the best RPG of all time. It's much easier to enjoy Deus Ex if you're a shooter fan than an RPG fan.

[Panache]

Ogre Battle 64 is my favorite RPG of all time. It is for the N64. It has a lot of character development and used the whole lawful and chaotic idea long before it was made hugely popular. The game play is pretty unique, it is turn based real time rpg/rts. The Strategy is real time the rpg is turned based...you would kinda need to play it to understand fully. It has hundreds of hours of game play. There are thousands of items and things like that to obtain.

[Sandy]

Other than Final Fantasies, I would highly suggest trying out [B]Suikoden V[/B] and [B]Shadow Hearts Covenant[/B]. They're both amazing RPGs with countless hours of content, tons of stuff to do and a battle system that doesn't grow old.

At this moment I have my eyes on [B]Persona 3[/B], [B]Lost Odyssey[/B] and [B]Eternal Sonata[/B], but it will be a long time (if ever) before they reach where I live. :/

[Doublehex]

[quote name='Avenged666fold']Ogre Battle 64 is my favorite RPG of all time. It is for the N64. It has a lot of character development and used the whole lawful and chaotic idea long before it was made hugely popular. The game play is pretty unique, it is turn based real time rpg/rts. The Strategy is real time the rpg is turned based...you would kinda need to play it to understand fully. It has hundreds of hours of game play. There are thousands of items and things like that to obtain.[/QUOTE]

I have the ROM for that. I really should give it a try one of these days...

[TheResplendent]

[FONT="Tahoma"]That negative comment about Xenogears couldn't have disgusted me more :animeangr. A lot of great games have already been mentioned, but Xenogears certainly tops the list easily for people who enjoy a thorough opportunity to immerse themselves in a more indepth than usual story. Remember that the majority of the best games out there do not have the best graphics, hence why graphics are more a luxury than a requirement for an outstanding experience. To each their own though.

In any case, the Final Fantasy series is pretty much a given, 6-8 especially. Since most of the ones that top my list have already been said i'll go ahead and toss a couple that havn't been yet in [b]Legend of Legaia[/b] and [b]Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/b]. Lunar is heavy on the adventure and smooth-flowing side, with your classic magic and steel themes that plays out to be a fantastic representation of its genre. Legaia offers one of the most innovative takes on the traditional RPG battle system ever and makes it fun from beggining to end, and offers a great series of events and a decent story.

Both are PS1 games. [/FONT]

[Treble]

I don?t know if I would call it one of the greatest, but Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast/Gamecube is one of the few rpgs that I was able to play through all the way. What really sucked me into the game was that huge sense of exploration and the freedom to travel to wherever I wanted to. Also, being able to recruit different ship crew members with their own special abilities was pretty fun.

A lot of people hated the slow random battles but it never really bothered me all that much. The ship battles, the atmosphere, and the whole pirate theme was truly a unique experience that made the game stood out for me.

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=arial][size=1]Oh man! I always forget about Legend of Legaia! Honestly, that was probably one of the best RPG's ever made. As far as I know, it was mostly ignored (didn't it come out around the same time as FFVIII?). That game was so cool, though. It combined RPG's with a little bit of a fighting game flair, the only other games that did anything like that were the extremely rare Tobal games.

Also, there's Vagrant Story, but I don't know how difficult it'll be to find that. I have the game so I'm not exactly looking on eBay for it. The game gets really hard, and it gives you so much freedom that it's possible to get lost in some dungeon you're not supposed to be in until you've beaten a handful of bosses you've accidentally skipped. >_>... But it's a great game with what I think is the best story on the Playstation. There's also a lot of depth in how you customize your weapons, there's so much to choose from early on that it can be overwhelming.

Also, someone recommended some Suikoden games and I think that the first one should be added to the list (if you can get it for cheap, it's probably not worth any more than $40). It's the only one I've played in the series, actually, so I'm probably missing out on some great stuff. You basically squat on a castle, recruit 108 of your homies to live in your castle, and go on a rampage around the world destroying a corrupt empire. The only thing that really bugged me is how linear the story elements are. I would be running in and out of my castle getting new people to join and suddenly the elf dude would be dying at my doorstep asking me to save his people and I would be plunged into a quest for 10 hours and then having to go back later and get all the people I missed. I'm really long-winded. Fun game, though.[/font][/size]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='BKstyles'][FONT="Tahoma"][b]Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/b]. Lunar is heavy on the adventure and smooth-flowing side, with your classic magic and steel themes that plays out to be a fantastic representation of its genre. [/FONT][/QUOTE]*smack* How could you mention[B] Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/B] and leave out the sequel[B] Lunar 2: Eternal Blue?[/B] :p Both games are fantastic even if it's a ps1 game. So to get it you'd have to find a seller instead of going directly to a shop. The game play is older of course, but the story line with[B] Lunar 2: Eternal Blue [/B]having more than an hour's worth of anime cut scenes woven into the storyline, is engaging and funny. It makes the game well worth playing. And both of them have secondary quests that you do after you've beaten the main boss. Both of them are easily my favorite RPG's of all time. In fact... I'm currently playing [B]Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/B] again at this very moment. :catgirl: [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Zidargh]

[quote name='Sandy']Other than Final Fantasies, I would highly suggest trying out [B]Suikoden V[/B]...[/quote]

Don't get me wrong, I've been a fan of Suikoden (though only the originals) for a long while. A while in that I refuse to sell Suikoden II for the big price it could get on eBay. However, am I the only one that really didn't have the patience for Suikoden V?

In my opinion it really lacked the charm of the first and second. I'm not a graphic-o-phile however the world just felt bland. Perhaps I wasn't far enough in, but the monster designs were so unoriginal and were carbon copies of every other knife-wielding rabbit or boar you'd fought five hours previously. I don't know, maybe I just needed a bit more patience.

Also, the war parts were rubbish. I enjoyed the little figurines charging into eachother on the second.

By all means, prove me wrong Sandy as I'd like to really enjoy the game.

Anyway. to get the focus of this post on topic, I say Suikoden II is much better than V.

[Illusion Knight]

Well, these are my top 3:

3. The .hack series for the PS2 (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, and Quarantine). The storyline will keep you guessing until the very end. The battle system is very active - unless you are casting spells, you must actually run up to your enemies and slash at them. Arguably the best part about the game is its variety. You eventually have well over 20 party members to choose from and hundreds of weapons to equip them with. And...I'm not exaggerating this one...over a thousand dungeons to explore! Don't worry, only a very small percentage (less than 1%) of the game's dungeons must be completed to advance in the story. The extra dungeons are mostly for training and scouring for items and equipment.

2. Baten Kaitos Origins for the Gamecube. This has got to be the most overlooked game ever made. This game has so many sidequests that you are actually given a sidequest log just to keep track of them all! The game's storyline is easy to follow (for the most part) but it has some of the most shocking spoilers I've ever seen in any game. The best part is that Guillo, one of your party members who joins very early into the game, is hilarious. Here's one example (I don't consider this a spoiler, but I'll tag it anyway): [spoiler](talking about one of your allies who just knocked out an enemy guard by hitting him over the head with a barrel) "Who throws barrels at people? What are you, some monkey who's run off with a pretty wench?"[/spoiler] The battle system does have a learning curve, but once you get used to it, it is excellent and it becomes very fun to use and abuse the game's EX Combo system along with the spirit draw.

1. Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube. I'm amazed no one has mentioned this yet. I can say without hesitation that this is the greatest RPG...no, the greatest game ever made. Every character in your party is unique and 6 out of the 9 people who join your party WILL make you laugh more than once. The battle system is the game's second strongest point only to the storyline, and that's saying something for the storyline because the battle system is the best thing you could imagine in an RPG. You have so many options and so many available attacks that sometimes I actually had to change my shortcuts for which button did what mid-battle! You can fight as any of the characters in your party, and each one handles radically different than everyone else. I personally have yet to get a feel for Kratos' style (which is ironic since for many people he is easy to master). You can even give your friends extra controllers and have them control a different character in your party, so that 2, 3, or even all 4 of your battling party are human-controlled and you can have loads of fun killing monsters with style. But that's not necessary for victory, since the AI controlling your allies is very smart, and you can give them specific commands at any time. Oh, and of course there's the storyline...I can hardly say anything past the first 20 minutes of gameplay without adding a spoiler tag. You will be shocked beyond belief by some of the plot twists, to the point that I was shocked by them on my second playthrough (and I have a good memory). That's just too bleeping good.

[Sandy]

[quote name='Zidargh']By all means, prove me wrong Sandy as I'd like to really enjoy the game.

Anyway. to get the focus of this post on topic, I say Suikoden II is much better than V.[/QUOTE]

I can't say which one is better, since Suikoden V is the only game in that series I've played. I can only compare it to other series, and I think it really stands out - not graphically, but otherwise. I'd imagine it's not that different from the prequels (based on what I've read about them), but I've also read that people who liked Suikoden I and II have really liked V as well, saying it brings the series back to it's roots.

Well, I'm a sucker for intriguing plots, and no Final Fantasy offers as many plot-twists, zany characters and epic events in a single package as Suikoden V. On the other hand, this is one of those quality over quantity issues as well, because I still prefer Final Fantasies. ;D

[TheResplendent]

[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]*smack* How could you mention[B] Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/B] and leave out the sequel[B] Lunar 2: Eternal Blue?[/B] :p Both games are fantastic even if it's a ps1 game. So to get it you'd have to find a seller instead of going directly to a shop. The game play is older of course, but the story line with[B] Lunar 2: Eternal Blue [/B]having more than an hour's worth of anime cut scenes woven into the storyline, is engaging and funny. It makes the game well worth playing. And both of them have secondary quests that you do after you've beaten the main boss. Both of them are easily my favorite RPG's of all time. In fact... I'm currently playing [B]Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete[/B] again at this very moment. :catgirl: [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Tahoma"]Lol, I can mention one without the other because as great a game Lunar 2 is, it isn't on the level SSSC is. One definitely stands out more than the other, but they are both great games. Plus um, Nall rules :animesmil

Also, I didn't think bout mentioning it because I find that most people who are looking for a great or epic RPG do not typically look toward this genre specifically (I don't either, but they are quite fun to play), but if you're into SRPGs I very highly suggest [b]Vanguard Bandits[/b] and [b]Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance[/b][/FONT]

[The Spectacular Professor]

TALES. OF. ANYTHING.

Seriously, this is basically the greatest RPG series ever. It's physically impossible to put down until you've played through, like, 8 times. Some of the newer ones are starting to lag in quality, but if it was released in the US, it's a safe bet to get yourself a copy.