RPG Progress Report

[BoneSnapDeez]

I prefer to play a game series in order not for the storyline elements but to see how the series evolves mechanically and aesthetically over time.

[pierrot]

Bone gets it. Also, I don't feel that PS III is a bad game, I just can't seem to keep myself invested in it for more than 30 to 40 minutes.

[Sarge]

I like the idea of playing them all in progression, but in most cases, I've decided to use my gaming time most efficiently by playing the best of the best. And PSIV sure is that.

I'm used to playing stuff out of order, anyway, from having grown up with spotty access to games I want to play. For instance, I didn't get to play Dragon Warrior II until after III. We didn't even get a choice when it came to Final Fantasy. I played Mega Man 2 before Mega Man. And so on.

[Exhuminator]

I like the idea of playing them all in progression, but in most cases, I've decided to use my gaming time most efficiently by playing the best of the best.

I've slowly come around to this mindset.

I used to think like Bone does. I get what he is saying. And sure, in a perfect world, where I have unlimited time, playing through a series in perfect order would be preferable. But in reality, speaking personally, my gaming time is quite limited. I might as well play the best of the best first, and if there's time after, go back and play more primitive releases.

I'm actually wrestling with this concept right now, because I'm in the mood to play Dragon Quest. I'd really like to play DQIX, but DQII is on my Summer Games Challenge list. I might load both up on my DS and just flip flop between the two.

[Xeogred]

Release date order is what I live by in other mediums and how I try to approach it nowadays with gaming, but yeah. For something like Dragon Quest which I haven't really sunk into yet, I'm not going to be picky about it and might jump around. Mega Man, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, etc, are all huge ones I can't even remember which order I went through them with. There's always the chance that playing a newer release of some series will make you appreciate and enjoy the old ones more too, sometimes. Plus as a kid you couldn't be so calculated and just played whatever you could get your hands on, so it never really mattered then.

Now what does make me scratch my head is people like one of my friends, who loves Bayonetta but doesn't even want to give Devil May Cry a chance. People who get into successors and are even informed about the whole connection, but still don't care to check out the roots of something or follow some key designer's history of developed titles and so on. WHAT?

That's been one perk to the internet, knowledge is power!

[Betagam7]

I finally beat Tales of Phantasia today for the snes.

Not quite sure what happened with the last boss. I used a spyglass on him and it showed that he still had half of his energy left then my archer shot him and he exploded!

Unexpected.

Much like Secret of Mana I found it overrated as a game. The characters and storyline didn't resonate with me in the way that the truly great philosophical 16 bit games do.

After this and Lufia I'm feeling a bit burned out with turn based SNES JRPG's and wondering if I really enjoy them that much. Any recommendations for ones that might change my mind or one that I should consider as a final "if I don't get it with this one then I never will" title?

[Ack]

Have you played Final Fantasy 6 or Chronic Trigger yet? Or Star Ocean for that matter? If those don't do it for you, yeah, might just not be your thing.

[BoneSnapDeez]

You gotta alternate the genres. Go for a strategy RPG next, or roguelike, or action-RPG, or WRPG.....

[Exhuminator]

I've got almost three hours in Dragon Quest IX on DS. So far it's "OK". The pacing is pretty dang slow and the game hasn't blown me away yet. But, I've barely gotten started in the grand scheme of things, so not judging it yet of course. Production values are rather high and I can see a lot of potential here.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I've got almost three hours in Dragon Quest IX on DS. So far it's "OK". The pacing is pretty dang slow and the game hasn't blown me away yet. But, I've barely gotten started in the grand scheme of things, so not judging it yet of course. Production values are rather high and I can see a lot of potential here.

Just wait until you are 120 hours in, you have reset your characters' jobs multiple times so that their stats are through the roof, and you are still struggling to take down Dracolord from Dragon Warrior and Baramos from Dragon Quest III. It's awesome!