WHAT IS THE BEST RPG GAME OF ALL TIME??

[CelesJessa]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

I should totally make that a rule.

Or like build it into the forum signup somewhere, where you have to answer a random question about Earthbound before your membership gets approved.

I've got it:
A Beatles song: XXXterday. Can you fill in the blanks?

Or maybe you could have an "insert password" where you just have to wait for three minutes and not click anything before it lets you sign up.

Also, I forgot a game I wanted to add. I totally need to add Final Fantasy XII to the list. I don't know how I forgot about it. Looking past the things I wish could have been better, I still hold it quite high, especially as far as gameplay goes. Also, despite what other people think, I really liked the leveling up system.

[Regulus Tera]

Originally Posted by CelesJessa

Also, I forgot a game I wanted to add. I totally need to add Final Fantasy XII to the list. I don't know how I forgot about it. Looking past the things I wish could have been better, I still hold it quite high, especially as far as gameplay goes. Also, despite what other people think, I really liked the leveling up system.

I love you.

[mauve]

I really liked FFXII too. In-game animation was fairly good (except for those weird highlights on Vaan that never moved. He looked weird.) Cutscene animation was gorgeous. The storyline, up until just before the end, kept me interested and second-guessing everything. (Then it just seemed to lose energy. But I still liked it.) The hunts were surprisingly not boring, as far as sidequests go. And I LOVED not having random encounters. Being able to instantly enter and leave a battle, and look around you to spot said battles, was a great improvement over FFVII, FFIX, and FFX (those are sadly the only ones I've played. I know; shaaaaaame).


I dunno if Okami counts as an RPG (What? He/she levels up through Praise points or whatnot!!) but I loved it. The whole Celestial Brush system was a blast, the storyline just kept on going; every time you thought the game had to be over, something new happened and sent you out on a new adventure. The characters were all likeable. The animation style was pretty cool. The 'voices' were amusing. The music was pretty good. All in all, a pretty darn spiffy game. It's one of the few that I willingly replayed without having to go thorugh the "Damn, I'm bored of all these games. Well, I guess I could start ___ again, if there's nothing better to do" speech.

[Solid Snake]

FFXII had a really awesome battle system, but I could never exactly get past the complete and utter lack of a storyline that actually involved me intimately with the lives of individual characters. I mean even Final Fantasy Tactics, to a certain extent, had me caring quite a bit about Ramza and Delita and a few others. In FFXII though, it was all of Tactic's high-stakes political drama without individual characters to really mature and grow in the game or care for or fall in love with or even remotely give a damn about.

Balthier was the one character in the game I really grew attached to, insofar as his role in FFXII mirrored the role of FFX's Auron, FFVI's Edgar and every other truly badass character in a Final Fantasy. I suppose I liked Basch, too. But the rest of the characters were just sort of there. And sure I enjoyed playing the game well enough, but I just left the experience yearning for something far more than what I got. I definitely left feeling as if FFX was a more polished game overall, from primarily a storytelling perspective (as a writer, I dwell moreso on the script than the graphics or anything else.) And given FFXII was released much later in the PS2's lifespan, I didn't really feel content with that.

The battle system in FFXII was addictive, though, and I really was a huge fan of the license system, though I'm not sure how I'd rank it against the sphere grid, both systems had their merits.

In other news, if any of you have not played Suikoden II and need someone like me to convince you to drop that pathetic semblence of a so-called life you think you're living, which is really quite devoid since you've never played Suikoden 2, and buy the damn game immediately, I'm the guy to pose your questions to.

[Mirai Gen]

Originally Posted by EVILNess

But honestly, I'd have to nominate Earthbound for best setting or Lufia for best plot twist.

Holy shit, I thought I would be the only one to nominate both. Damn.

Stealing my thunder.

Originally Posted by ArlanKels

Earthbound.

What's that..you've never played Earthbound?

GET THE HELL OUT

Totally agreed.

I have a hard cartridge copy of Earthbound. Sometimes I sleep with it curled close to my chest. When I move in with Kat, most unfortunately, I have to trade that for a real warm human being with a vagina. Oh the sacrifices I make.

Also: I don't get the big problem with Chrono Cross. It was great, if you ignored the desperate-at-best plot 'connections' to Chrono Trigger. The game just screamed "I Stand Alone!" harder than the lead singer of Godsmack, and it showed. Made it all the more satisfying years later when I found out about Radical Dreamers.

[Odjn]

Chrono Cross is awesome, but Earthbound is better.

See, I liked FFIV for it's plot more than VI. Dunno why. VI's a better game.

Final Fantasy suffers from being too epic. IX would've been incredibly awesome if it just focused less on the world and more on the characters.

[Moogle0119]

I very much enjoyed Chrono Trigger, FF6, and Earthbound. However the severe lack of attention that Xenogears is getting is disappointing. The best RPGs are known for their spectacular storylines and this one has it all that will keep you guessing about allegiances and betrayals. It also gives a great amount of attention to all the characters' development throughout the game.

[Althane]

The VERY best RPG's are known not only for their spectacular stories, but also for their excellent gameplay.

I didn't like Xenogears a ton, what little I played of it. I might try it again if you tell me that it gets better after the first hour or so. <<

Then again, I no longer have access to it and a PSX, so... it'd be emulation, and I've never had luck with PSXEmuin'. And, frankly, screw that. I'd rather play new games.


BTW, has anyone looked at the new RPGs coming out for the Wii? They look pretty good. I mean, Dragon Quest does, at least.

[I_Like_Swordchucks]

Originally Posted by Kenryoku_Maxis

You just called an action/Adventure/RPG an RPG. Why can't I?

Because everything I said had a plot and character development. Diablo II is vastly lacking in either except for "Go kill Diablo". Don't get me wrong, I like Diablo II, but it definitely plays more like an action/adventure than an RPG. Not once did I ever feel a connection to my character. If you judge it based only on the qualities of a good RPG, Diablo II is a horrible game.

Originally Posted by GILGAMESH

i do NOT consider zelda to be a rpg


when i said "pure rpg" i meant the works
lvl'ing up
side quests that makes you say "why? im trying to save the world here..."
real storyline

And how does Zelda not fit into your 'pure rpg' definition? The only thing is the 'leveling' system is a bit non-stereotypical, but your character is definitely stronger at the end than he is at the beginning. Its got goofy sidequests, you're trying to save the world, and its got a storyline.

[Deathosaurus Wrecks]

what, exactly, is a "pure RPG"? are we talking about games that emulate the tried-and-tired formula of Final Fantasy? or are we talking about the way too oversaturated DnD tabletop roots?

not that it matters, since the answer remains the same: Chrono Cross

haha, i lol'd on my self. seriously, though, the best RPG ever has been Fallout.