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Post by The Curmudgeon on May 3, 2009 15:42:06 GMT 2
The Curmudgeon usually has zero patience when it comes to playing video games (and that's not a bragging statement, just the way it is unfortunately) and yet, oddly enough, I've always been a big fan of RPGs, which are often the most fiddly, awkward games to get into. They're not exactly "pick up and play" are they?
And yet, give me squashed, odd looking little graphics, a birds eye point of view, treasure chests lying around in peoples houses that they've happily stand and watch you plunder from, villages with armour shops and littered with people standing around saying the most banal things ("I wish I was a knight!") and I'll play it to death.
With that recent Megadrive collection thing I got for the PS3, you get pretty much the best RPGS for the console, with all the Phantasy Star games, all the Shining Force games (the first Shining Force is my fave right now), Story of Thor and even a hidden Golden Axe RPG that came out on the Game Gear. They're all, er, slightly similar. And that's actually a good thing.
So what's your take on the RPG? Like them, love them, hate them? Do you prefer straight battles or those turn-based games? What's the best ones out there? Discuss, discuss, discuss.
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Post by trashcanman on May 3, 2009 20:30:08 GMT 2
My favorite genre, but you knew that. Is the Golden Axe RPG any good? I like turn-based and real-time battles both. I do get bored of the sameness, though so I'm really picky having played as many RPG's as I have. If it doesn't look like there's anything new, I won't even bother. I actually bough that "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows" game almost a month ago and I haven't even opened it yet. Why? Because I'm currently entranced by the RPG I bought with it and can't be bothered with anything else. I'm really compulsive when it comes to strategy games. I explore and tweak endlessly. I keep meaning to give Spidey a spin, but It's always "one more battle" "one more quest" "just gotta beat this boss" "just let me upgrade my weapons real quick" "just let me try out this new skill/character" and suddenly it's 4 AM.
"Final Fantasy IV" is my favorite game of all time. It hooked me into the genre to begin with in the early SNES days when it was released as FFII. It was remade on the DS (I bought the system just to play it) and now they finally made a direct sequel to the story after 20-something years, but it's only out in Japan now and may only arrive here on the Wii. They'd fucking better make a DS version.
"Chrono Trigger" was another stone SNES classic that was just ported to the DS, but didn't get the amazing remake treatment so I passed this time around. But if you haven't played it, it has arguably the best RPG battle system EVER and some very innovative time travel stuff.
If you haven't played "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", you've missed out. Big time. That game explored ever character with so many little bits (mostly optional) I was amazed by the depth and humor. Check this out:
And don't get me started on HK-47. Okay, here you go:
KOTOT creators Bioware just puts out amazing RPG's. In the Asian cinema-influenced "Jade Empire" you can totally bang two girls at once (or just one IF YOU'RE A GIRL), but you have to play your cards right with the right characters. So cool. "Mass Effect" took it a step further and added an actual PG-13 sex scene. This genre is growing up fast!
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Post by The Curmudgeon on May 4, 2009 21:30:28 GMT 2
Yeah, I figured you'd be the first to answer this one, Trash..
I'm always worried about buying Star Wars games because in my experience they're either shit or just impossible (I got Battlefront II for the PS2 and wanted to love it, but couldn't get past the second level). Saying that, the Bounty Game was pretty decent.
But a Star Wars RPG? I didn't know such a creature existed. And it's GOOD?! Sign me up. What is that available on? And who do you play as? And, and, and.. do you speak to Boba Fett?
I've heard of Chrono Trigger but never played it. Fingers crossed it's available on the Wii Shop as a download.
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Post by trashcanman on May 5, 2009 2:55:32 GMT 2
SW: KOTOR was game of the year in most video game media outlets. It's not just good, it's one of the all-time great RPG's. It's a prequel to the prequels that takes place way before any other SW stories so no familiar characters, though there are obvious archetypes. You get a really in-depth customization feature for your main character so you can make him/her any way you like. You make a ton of decisions on how you play and if you do evil things then you get dark-side force powers force-choke and if you make benevolent decisions you get light-side force powers like healing. The story plays out differently depending on the choices you make, which is sweet. Having all original characters in a different time period made for an awesome story unhampered by expectations and continuity. The force powers are just awesome. The sequel was really good too, but it was made by a different company so it wasn't quite as brilliant. An MMORPG is in the works right now. They were originally Xbox exclusive (and one of the biggest reasons I bought the system over the PS2) but the first two are available for PC and the MMO is reportedly going to be on the PS3 too. I doubt I'll have the time to play it. I'd much prefer another single-player game.
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