RPGDX > Forums > General Discussion > All time greatest RPGs, ever

Terry · Last edited by Terry on Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:34 pm; edited 1 time in total

I recently saw a similar question on another, quieter forum, and got curious. What are your favorite RPGs, and why?

(Five is arbitrary. One and a good description would make a pefectly enjoyable read, or 50 is just as good. Also, I'm pretty loose in my definition of what is and isn't an RPG.)

One big reason why I'm curious is that there seems to be quite a difference in influences on this forum : for one thing, there appear to be fewer Americans posting here than is usual for a site like this. And anyway, it's been quite a while since there was a lively debate on the forum that wasn't a flame war.

(Actually, I can't believe that this topic hasn't ever been raised directly on this forum, but since I can't find it in any searches, I'm assuming that's the case...)

Just to get started, my favorite is Final Fantasy VII, followed very closely by Baldur's Gate II. I'll make a proper reply tomorrow when I'm not so busy (damn, here comes my boss *ducks*)
_________________
http://www.distractionware.com

Rainer Deyke · Demon Hunter Joined: 05 Jun 2002 Posts: 672

In no particular order:

Chrono Trigger - SquareSoft at their best.

Neophyte - An anime style action RPG for the PC, in crisp 640x480 resolution. One of the best looking RPGs I have ever played. Too bad the full game was never finished.

Sorcerian - One of the better attempts at combining rpgs and platform games. The main inspiration for my own game Feyna's Quest.

Planescape: Torment - Great character interaction, great player choices, great setting. Even the awful combat system was unable to ruin this game.

Quest for Glory - An rpg series with adventure game elements. This game series just rocks.

King of Dragon Pass - More of a strategy game than an rpg, but it contains some of the best storytelling in any computer game.

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

In no particular order (beyond what my mind pulls out)

1. Ultima IV - The first game that truly went beyond the whole "Gotta kill the bad guy 'cause I'm good" motif. The interesting thing is that it went so far beyond the standard it completely rewrote the book on creating cRPGs.

2. Final Fantasy VI - The only FF in my list. It had a well designed world with significant attention to detail, numerous moments for character interaction, and extremely fun gameplay mechanics. Oh, and the soundtrack was gorgeous in every way.

3. Xenogears - Comprehending the plot is almost as difficult as spending 55 hours getting through this monster RPG, but it is totally worth it. The soundtrack is also a strong point for this game.

4. Chrono Trigger - Graphically and musically this was a tour de force for the SNES, and the story and moments of character interaction made this an instant classic. Tack on a highly animated battle system with character combos and you've got a winner.

5. The Bard's Tale III - It's hard pin down why I loved this game so much -- the repetitive battles, stale, lifeless terrain, near-total lack of dialogue... and yet it was endless fun.

.

Terry · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:19 pm Post subject:

Argh! I was hoping for more wordy posts by this stage - now I look like a bit of a tool having ranted on for a long as I have... sorry in advance, this is probably a little overlong. I had tonnes of free time at work this evening and thought this might be a fun thing to do :)

BTW, Rainer, I checked out Kings of Dragon Pass. I absolutely love it! Thanks for the recommendation!

Final Fantasy VII
I don't know what I can even say about this game that hasn't already been said. The greatest computer game ever made, bar none.

Baldur's Gate II
Anyone else who's ever paired Jaheria and Aerie against each other will know exactly why this game is so good. It features probably the greatest characters ever to grace a computer game, and innovations that should have revolutionised the genre, but somehow didn't. The game's length probably put a lot of people off, for me though, it was over much too quickly.

Go for the eyes Boo. GO FOR THE EYES!

Deus Ex
I didn't even like first person shooters until I played Deus Ex. It didn't even occur to me that it's the perfect format for a story driven RPG. In fact, it makes a lot more sense that turn based menu combat does.

What I loved about it most was its impartiality. No matter what point of view you asked JC to present, he would make his point clearly, with conviction. If you wanted to play as an idealistic hero out to save the world, JC would argue his views every time you asked him to. Or if you wanted to play a mindless thug who got into UNATCO to kill as many terrorists as he could, JC would justify himself when needed so that this seemed like a perfectly reasonable course of action. Deus Ex feels realistic. And as a result, it's probably the most immersive game I've ever played.

Exile II: Crystal Souls
I've never liked any of the other games in the series. Exile I was tiny in comparison, and Exile III was downright lazy, with entire towns containing identical NPCs.

For whatever reason, Exile II is different. It's inventive. Every new town offers dozens of secrets, well designed subquests and carefully crafted characters. It's never predictable, and you're always looking forward to what's going to happen next. And it's huge. I spent weeks exploring the dungeons around Formello, but there are still places I haven't been. You could spend a lifetime there. I honestly have no idea how the game's creator managed to pack so much material into the game.

Exile II had such a good battle engine that I would have played it to death even if there hadn't been a good storyline to play along to. What makes this game so good is that on top of everything else, it's wonderfully well written. Each quest is separate and self-contained, every character is unique, and every map is packed with interesting situations that make you want to continuously reload to try everything, just to see what would have happened...

The Battle of Olympus
From what I've read of internet reviews, the people who actually played this game didn't like it because it was built on the Zelda II engine, and borrowed a lot from it's game design. I've never played Zelda II. That could be why I love this game.

For one thing, when I was younger I found Greek mythology fascinating, and since this game is basically just traveling between Greek towns and visiting their gods, I was hooked right from the start. The Battle of Olympus is based on the story from Greek legend of Orpheus and Helene, and Orpheus literally has to travel to hell to rescue her. Not Final Fantasy material or anything, but this was one of the first RPGs I ever played, and it certainly beat "but our princess is in another castle!" without much contest.

Though what really made this game special was the way that it pieced together. To get through to Laconia, you first had to get the staff of fennal from someone in Attica, and get Herme's shoes in Argolis. But Hermes ends up visiting Zeus in Arcadia, while the old man who owns the Staff of Fennal is actually imprisoned in Argolis, and so on. And you knew all this, because the NPCs told you exactly that. If a modern game did that, you'd probably uninstall it and trade it in, I know, but the simple logic of it really appealed to me as a kid first playing video games. Everything weaved together until you finally had everything you needed to take on Hades.

Wizards and Warriors III: Visions of Power
This is probably the first RPG I ever played, and definitely the first one I ever finished. Even by today's standards, it's enormously fun: great music, great gameplay, fantastic level design - and though it didn't have much in the way of story, it certainly had its stand out moments.

For example, to progress to the end of the game, you needed to unlock a door sealed by four crystals. The problem was, to get each crystal, you had to rescue the kidnapped princess who possessed it. And when you rescued the princesses? Each swore her love to you, and said that she could not go on living unless you swore to marry her once your quest was finished. The game didn't give you a choice, so you had to promise to marry her. All the princesses did this. Oh, and by the way, they're sisters.

I dunno, when I was seven years old, this seemed like the funniest thing in the world... and it still makes me giggle. You've gotta wonder who the hell thought of adding that... :)

What stands out now when I replay it, however, is the game's sheer length. You've got three lives, no continues, and the game takes about six hours to complete. So if you die five hours into the game, that's it. Start again. That I or any one else ever endeavored to complete it is proof of just how addictive a game it is.

Diver Down
Diver Down is the only indie RPG I've ever played compulsively. It's well written, original, and in places, quite experimental. If you haven't gotten around to checking it out yet, I suggest you do so as soon as you can.

What I like most about it is that it isn't that polished. It's badly balanced, certain sections of the game feel very rushed, and some cutscenes aren't even drawn in properly. It's like the game's creator just didn't care, like he was saying "yeah, just rush through this part - there's a really cool bit coming up!" - you can literally feel the creative energy that obviously went into every line of dialogue and cutscene in the game. It's downright inspirational.
_________________
http://www.distractionware.com

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Cool topic.
In no order, as it would be very hard to 'rank' them:

1. Phantasy Star IV (aka Phantasy Star: End of The Millenium):
I don't care too much for the rest of the series (though I own them and do play them occasionally), but this one was the first I played-- maybe that's why I love it so much. I've heard people go on about how overrated it is, but frankly I really don't care. Apart from the character sprites (same as the second game practically) the graphics are amazing for the Sega Genesis, and I'm pretty fond of the soundtrack too. (especially the battle theme. Fast-paced galloping midi-like guitars! :p) I also thought the plot, while technically pretty cliche, was moderately well done-- and keep in mind this is one of the rare early RPG series to incorperate futuristic technology and not have it be insanely cheesy and improbable, and do it well. Also, the very tiny and seemingly unimportant side quest/cutscene that links this game to the smoking wreck of an rpg, (which sadly had so much amazing potential) Phantasy Star III, kinda makes you think... Of course all the implications of the mythology like this is what really makes the series worthwhile.

2. Chrono Trigger:
Of course. You knew it had to be in here. The game somehow manages to make an otherwise clumsy time-travel plot seem like the brilliant storyline they managed to turn it into-- fairly unique characters for the most part, and of course the soundtrack is amazing. Some of the atmosphere (post-1999 era) is simply stunning, just the way everything's done really makes you feel the time period and all its flaws.

3. Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom:I really don't think this game is very fun. I think most of the dialogue is pretty damn awkward, the graphics are bland (though certainly not ugly), most of the music is highly annoying, the battle system is...ugly, and most of the game just doesn't work the way it could. So why is it in this list? Simple-- The amazing ambition behind the concept and the sheer potential it had. The game had seemingly no ties to the other games in the series, and had several generations of characters that you took control of as the game went on-- Depending on who you chose for your current character to wed at the end of each generation, the character of the next generation was different, showing traits of both the chosen father and mother. Just playing it, it feels extremely rushed and rough, but if you realize the game it could have been, it's almost sad how it turned out. The story and especially one of the endings (no spoilers here) really shows the ambition of its lead designer, (can't remember his name) who, after the game was rushed and booted out the door went on to make some unknown arcade game then seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth. :p

4. Paper Mario (as well as the sequel, The Thousand Year Door):
I'm grouping these two together because anything good I have to say can be said equally about both games. Sure, they're technically watered-down as far as RPGs go... No stats, no equipping system, very simple experience/levelling up, etc... But it's (they're) just so damn addictive and FUN. Of course they're not quite on the same level of Super Mario RPG in terms of the hilariously quirky humor in my opinion, but the jokes and characters are still pretty damn funny. And the fact that everything's paper for no discernable reason has some kind of unexplainable charm.

5. Super Mario RPG:
In my eyes, a classic. Predates Paper Mario, of course, and actually has a more complex RPG-like system, actually using stats etc... The humor and characters are just plain hilarious, (Booster, anyone? Okay, so maybe just weird but still really funny) and while some may not like the pre-rendered graphics I didn't have much of a problem with them. I also love most of the soundtrack, songs like the boss theme were just kickASS back when I first played it, and still are, mostly.

Okay, maybe this is dragging on a bit, going over five, but...

6. Final Fantasy VI/III:
Along with FF4/2, probably the only FF game I REALLY like, and FF4 is mostly out of nostalgia, being the first RPG I played, I believe. Mostly it's the mood and detail of the world and characters that draws me in to FF6, and of course the graphics and soundtrack both really help with that... And of course the story is incredible for the most part. I don't care what some people may say, I still think Kefka is one of the best RPG villains.

Okay... One more... I promise.

Terranigma:
Well, if I DID have this list in order this game would be at the top. I really won't go into much detail as this game just affects me at a level not easily describable. It's the third in a series (first two games being Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia), and has many alternate titles, including 'The Creation of Heaven And Earth' and 'Genesis'. Contrary to what those titles may imply it's not really all that, erm, 'religious', but the story is the most amazing I've ever witnessed thus far if you can realize the VERY subtle link to the other two games in the 'series'.
Also, while many other games try, this one really succeeds in bringing forth, at the risk of sounding sappy, emotions. I'm not talking about some contrived death scene, I'm talking about "Holy shit... I'm not quite sure what I just played but it was brilliant" sorta thing. Of course some people don't seem to think much of the game (wasn't released in america) but in my opinion it's great. Not perfect (what game is?) but my favorite story by far.

...Okay, maybe I did go into detail. Anyway, I'm done now, REALLY.

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

If I had a #6 entry, it would have to be Paper Mario. That was a fan-fucking-tastic game. I just finished replaying it a few months ago... :)

.

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Have you played The Thousand Year Door? Right up there with the original in my opinion.

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

Yeah, but I didn't care for it nearly as much. Granted, the dialogue was absolutely unparalleled, but the overall slant for the locales was far too dark and desaturated for me, coming off the sickly-sweet backdrops of the n64 title. Plus, the music was absolutely horrid... to the point where after wandering around an area for a few minutes I had to turn the sound off.

The final boss battle was damn fine. It was worth the price of admission (I bought it the day it came out), but if I had to choose between the two titles it would be an easy choice ^.^

.

Mandrake · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 1:00 pm Post subject:

I'm strapped for time, so I'm just going to list 'em now and explain 'em later:

_________________
"Well, last time I flicked on a lighter, I'm pretty sure I didn't create a black hole."-
Xmark

http://pauljessup.com

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

Damn... having thought about it, I should really replace Bard's Tale III with Ultima 7 part 1 -- I totally forgot about it while I was writing the post. Arguably the best Ultima ever in terms of world density, overall detail, and diversity of gameplay.

.

Terry · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 2:23 pm Post subject:

Heh, I never realised Chrono Trigger was as popular as all that. It wasn't ever released over here, so I didn't play it until well after I'd played FFVII, and then only on an emulator.

It's a great game, but is it really that good? I found it hard to get past the mute main character thing. Though some of the individual character plotlines were truly excellent... hmm...

Anyway, I mention this because I came across this a few weeks ago which may be of some interest to Chrono Trigger fans :

Chrno Crusade : Eps1 | Eps2 | Eps3 | Eps4 | Eps5 | Eps6 | Eps7 | Eps8 | Eps9 | Eps10 | Eps11 | Eps12 | Eps13 | Eps14 | Eps15 | Eps16 | Eps17 | Eps18 | Eps19 | Eps20 | Eps21 | Eps22 | Eps23 | Eps24

Chrno Crusade, The Making Of

It's all from this site.
_________________
http://www.distractionware.com

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

And yet it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the game! But as an anime series it's pretty decent.

.

Terry · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 3:13 pm Post subject:

Sirocco · Mage Joined: 01 Jun 2002 Posts: 345

Chrono Cross is a sequel (of sorts) to Chrono Trigger. Chrono Break is supposedly a sequel (of sorts) to Chrono Cross.

So it goes: Trigger -> Cross -> Break

Chrno Crusade is not related to any of them. And Chrono Break may never be made. We'll see. Oh, and before anyone else mentions it, there is a side story that fits somewhere between Trigger and Cross called "Radical Dreamers".

.

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815