Game-Series that revolutionized RPGs?

[lisalover1]

I would say that Phantasy Star had a bunch of elements that no other game had done before upon release, but I am hesitant to say that it "revolutionized" RPGs, because very few people actually owned the Master System necessary to play it.

The Master System was very popular outside of the US. If Wikipedia is accurate, then it sold 13 million units worldwide.

Damn, I always forget about that. Well, as I understand it, it had a prohibitively high price of $70-$80, which prevented it from reaching high sales numbers. You have to admit that it certainly didn't sell as well as something like Final Fantasy.

[o.pwuaioc]

I would say that Phantasy Star had a bunch of elements that no other game had done before upon release, but I am hesitant to say that it "revolutionized" RPGs, because very few people actually owned the Master System necessary to play it.

The Master System was very popular outside of the US. If Wikipedia is accurate, then it sold 13 million units worldwide.

Damn, I always forget about that. Well, as I understand it, it had a prohibitively high price of $70-$80, which prevented it from reaching high sales numbers. You have to admit that it certainly didn't sell as well as something like Final Fantasy.

I cannot say, because I simply don't know. But I do know that people I talk to over the pond generally say that the NES was a failure over there compared to the MS. There's a current thread on "consoles that do nothing for you" where a couple members have expressed that very idea, as well as other times I've seen it. Stateside? Final Fantasy without a doubt. I'm just not educated enough to say that's the way it is elsewhere, too.

[Opa Opa]

Finally, Ultima didn't revolutionize Role-Playing Video Games, because there was almost nothing [series, anyway] before it. You can't change something that doesn't exist. Unless I'm missing something really obscure, in which case I am sure I will be notified immediately, there was very, very, very little to the genre before Ultima.

So going from nothing to something isn't a revolution?

I would definitely agree that if nothing else, SMT and Persona redifined storytelling in RPGs.

It was a very radical idea to put an RPG in a modern setting. It broke the genre free from the archetypical high fantasy setting, and allowed for something different and unique. It was also quite a bit darker than most RPGs that preceded it. Persona took these elements and ran with them, eventually becoming a bizarre and effective combination of life simulator and RPG. SMT/Persona is basically everything that other RPGs WEREN'T doing.

I still don't get what you mean by "redefined storytelling". Putting aside the modern setting, Persona still follows the basic archetypal rpg story line of Good versus Evil. Is there something I'm not getting from the Persona games?

And as far as the life simulator/relationship aspects, that was covered earlier in Harvest Moon. Although, Persona does go a lot deeper in some aspects.

(I'm not trying to be an argumentative jerk, by the way. I'm just trying to get an understanding of your perspective.)

(Oh and in Ultima you go into space using a spaceship... Is that modern enough for you? )

[lisalover1]

Finally, Ultima didn't revolutionize Role-Playing Video Games, because there was almost nothing [series, anyway] before it. You can't change something that doesn't exist. Unless I'm missing something really obscure, in which case I am sure I will be notified immediately, there was very, very, very little to the genre before Ultima.

So going from nothing to something isn't a revolution?

"Hey, I just invented the can opener!"
"What the hell is a can?"
-Ultima's Predicament.

It was a very radical idea to put an RPG in a modern setting. It broke the genre free from the archetypical high fantasy setting, and allowed for something different and unique. It was also quite a bit darker than most RPGs that preceded it. Persona took these elements and ran with them, eventually becoming a bizarre and effective combination of life simulator and RPG. SMT/Persona is basically everything that other RPGs WEREN'T doing.

I still don't get what you mean by "redefined storytelling". Putting aside the modern setting, Persona still follows the basic archetypal rpg story line of Good versus Evil. Is there something I'm not getting from the Persona games?

Okay, maybe I exaggerated that one, but SMT certainly did do something quite different with its setting, subject matter, and characters.

And as far as the life simulator/relationship aspects, that was covered earlier in Harvest Moon. Although, Persona does go a lot deeper in some aspects.

...Except that Harvest Moon is not an RPG, and ONLY a Life Sim.

(Oh and in Ultima you go into space using a spaceship... Is that modern enough for you? )

Yeah, but the Ultima series is normally exclusively in a fantasy setting, so that's more of an outlier than anything.

[Hatta]

It DOES seem to not require much strategy other than simply knowing where to go...and memorizing random details such as those moving pixels represent a jester, and he steals your unarmed equipment with no indication whatsoever of what has happened.

I'm glad you tried it out. You're right, there's not a whole lot of strategy in it. But for someone back in 1980, when there was nothing else like it, it must have been worth it just to explore a world inside your computer. I think the plot, and even the game mechanics mostly exist to support that aspect of the game.

I still don't get what you mean by "redefined storytelling". Putting aside the modern setting, Persona still follows the basic archetypal rpg story line of Good versus Evil. Is there something I'm not getting from the Persona games?

I'd say it refined more than redefined. I think what stands out about Persona is that it's a character drama more than anything else. I don't think I've seen that before.

[Opa Opa]

"Hey, I just invented the can opener!"
"What the hell is a can?"
-Ultima's Predicament.

Your metaphoric "can" already exists in the form of tabletop rpgs.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated that one, but SMT certainly did do something quite different with its setting, subject matter, and characters.

It is a very unique series.

....Except that Harvest Moon is not an RPG, and ONLY a Life Sim.

Debatable. But that's a discussion for the "what constitutes an rpg" thread.

[the7k]

I can't decide which RPG to try out first... my experience with RPGs so far have been:

1. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
2. Pokemon

...so yeah. I really need to get going on that.

I'm looking to play from the "beginning" basically; with either Ultima, Dragon Warrior/Quest, or Wizardry. I would like to know what is the Racketboy community's suggestion on what I start out with? I'm tempted to go with any of the remakes of these, but I would think that defeats the purpose of starting with a RPG that revolutionized things from a historical perspective... but then again, gameplay flaws are fixed with better graphics etc. THEN though, I might as well play Final Fantasy VII. Decisions!

My initial plan was to play the original Dragon Quest in some form, then eventually go back to Ultima and Wizardry to see where it derives it's elements from. Any ideas?

Here are my recommendations, in order. My choosing of them is based on their quality as well as their user-friendliness.
1. Super Mario RPG
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Persona 3

[MrPopo]

I can't decide which RPG to try out first... my experience with RPGs so far have been:

1. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
2. Pokemon

...so yeah. I really need to get going on that.

I'm looking to play from the "beginning" basically; with either Ultima, Dragon Warrior/Quest, or Wizardry. I would like to know what is the Racketboy community's suggestion on what I start out with? I'm tempted to go with any of the remakes of these, but I would think that defeats the purpose of starting with a RPG that revolutionized things from a historical perspective... but then again, gameplay flaws are fixed with better graphics etc. THEN though, I might as well play Final Fantasy VII. Decisions!

My initial plan was to play the original Dragon Quest in some form, then eventually go back to Ultima and Wizardry to see where it derives it's elements from. Any ideas?

Here are my recommendations, in order. My choosing of them is based on their quality as well as their user-friendliness.
1. Super Mario RPG
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Persona 3

I'm not sure I'd consider Persona 3 to be user friendly. Especially once they start flinging Hama and Mudo at you. Not to mention that you can get yourself into an underleveled state with no recourse if you save at the wrong time.

[the7k]

I'm not sure I'd consider Persona 3 to be user friendly. Especially once they start flinging Hama and Mudo at you. Not to mention that you can get yourself into an underleveled state with no recourse if you save at the wrong time.

Perhaps. I dunno, I thought the game was pretty easy to get into, but maybe that's because the battle system was a lot more fun to me than the typical RPG, and the setting and characters were far more relatable than the typical RPG.

Well, if not Persona 3, then I'd say go with Breath of Fire III.

[Breetai]

I would say that Phantasy Star had a bunch of elements that no other game had done before upon release, but I am hesitant to say that it "revolutionized" RPGs, because very few people actually owned the Master System necessary to play it.

The Master System was very popular outside of the US. If Wikipedia is accurate, then it sold 13 million units worldwide.

It sold like crap in the US and Japan, but seemed to sell where most everywhere else.

It seems to be a little known fact in American, but the Master System actually did pretty well in Canada. A bit strange, when Canadian trends seem to mirror American trends very closely. In most retro game shops I've been in in Canada, there are a decent number of SMS games. Maybe about 1/3rd or 1/4 that of NES carts, but still a decent amount. Back in the day, most rental shops had both NES and SMS games. NES, SMS, Genesis, SNES, Sega CD and 3DO were all represented in the rental shop in my neighbourhood as late as 1993. They even rented Japanese imports! This is a small Canadian town in the middle of nowhere.

For the recent poster who said Fallout... I don't know if it really revolutionized anything, BUT it is definitely one of my favourite all-time RPGs. More specifically, Fallout 2. It's practically the same game anyway.