RPGs in general going downhill?

[Mozgus]

Ya I hear ya. You know I've never actually played Tactics Ogre...I probably should

Don't. It blows. I really think that FFT perfected the genre, aside from a few storyline battles which had RIDICULOUS victory requirements. My level was 250% higher than my enemies on this rooftop battle, but after 10 tries in a row, I just could not save this NPC girl. She runs right at the enemy, and they kill her in two hits, everytime.

[SegaVega]

RPGs seemed to get lost somewhere...in some hole or box or equally obsured area during the last six years. MMOs and infrequent blockbuster titles maybe did it. FFXII was one of the few RPGs I actually put some time into in the past half-decade, but I still haven't got around to finishing it with all the other games that've been coming out. RPGs just don't seem as important as they once were.

Voices from other characters are alright, but when you have a voice, it detracts from the experiance as you don't sound like that. Anyone agree with me; disagree with me? I just want to make sure that even made sense

I'll take a little voice acting in the big-budget ones, but they have to take it easy. Vaan in FFXII -- the "lead", is voiced pretty well, but the actor sometimes overdoes the character's whimpy-ness -- to the point where you're embarassed to be playing as him. But overall, I don't really mind voices too much; in a 100+hr. game, some spoken dialogue can sometimes make things more interesting.

[risk]

just switch to a all female team like i do

[lordofduct]

First... is Final Fantasy the only RPG? (the bulk of this thread is about FF!)

Second... which kind of RPGs are you talking about. Dungeon crawlers, story based, action rpgs, tactical rpgs?

And if you go by the idea of a role playing game is a game in which you take the role of some character? Then wouldn't that make almost all video games RPGs? (with exception to puzzle games and other none character based games).

It's really hard to say if they are going down hill if you can't quite put your finger on what kind of RPG you want to play. I for one love RPGs with a very linear story and creative characters to interact with. Probably why Lunar is one my most favourite games out there!

-----

FF as a whole... yes going down hill in my opinion. They've become obsessed with FMV and pretty stuff. But then again that has always been the point of Final Fantasy since long ago. Pushing the visual features of a console to create an amazingly beautiful world filled with leveling up and outrageous monsters that can't be defeated with out tons of level jamming or battle patterns.

[Zalphier]

I mostly like jrpgs. I like very few America rpgs(I liked fable...uh...kotor1...morrowind...and oblivion) I don't mind voice acting in rpgs at all. And as for the FF series going downhill, I'm not sure, I haven't played a single FF after 9. Not that I don't want to, but because I don't have a ps2. So I can't vouch for that. In the case of ff8 vs 7, I believe it depends a lot on the gamer. I think that ff8 was a much more mature title.(not meaning rating, theres plenty o' stuff in ff7 that is potentially damaging to young eyes, for example: cross dressing, excessive cussing, genocide, and plenty of other things)

[durkada]

I'm probably not qualified to comment on this, since the RPG is a genre that I generally dislike. Something about running around a map, looking for things to do, doesn't seem like a game to me. Not that I'm immune to such things -- I began video gaming with an Atari 800 and loved the Ultima series (2 is still my favorite). There were others that came along, but none really held my attention like the early Ultimas -- probably, in part, due to the fact the graphics were so basic that they required the use of imagination to derive any pleasure from the game. And, of course, you also got some cool goodies inside the box -- leather maps, etc. They weren't quite on par with the Infocom's in that respect, but nonetheless, the tactile appeal of the toys had a magical quality to a kid.

But I will say, that I recently played Dragonquest Rocket Slime. I was hoping for it to be a more of a puzzle game than an RPG, and it probably is -- the only problem being that the puzzles are too simple. The game can be completed in a little over 9 hours, which is a shame. Overall, it was a beautiful package. The graphics were charming, the music and sound a fine complinent, and something about the quirky nature of the game itself, all appealed to me. Unfortunately, its just too simple -- even the strategic element of the game, which involves to gargantuan tanks battling it out, is a no-brainer due to a single strategy winning out every single time.

[Zork]

First... is Final Fantasy the only RPG? (the bulk of this thread is about FF!)

Second... which kind of RPGs are you talking about. Dungeon crawlers, story based, action rpgs, tactical rpgs?

And if you go by the idea of a role playing game is a game in which you take the role of some character? Then wouldn't that make almost all video games RPGs? (with exception to puzzle games and other none character based games).

It's really hard to say if they are going down hill if you can't quite put your finger on what kind of RPG you want to play. I for one love RPGs with a very linear story and creative characters to interact with. Probably why Lunar is one my most favourite games out there!

-----

FF as a whole... yes going down hill in my opinion. They've become obsessed with FMV and pretty stuff. But then again that has always been the point of Final Fantasy since long ago. Pushing the visual features of a console to create an amazingly beautiful world filled with leveling up and outrageous monsters that can't be defeated with out tons of level jamming or battle patterns.

Well FF is kind of at the top of the RPG food chain or the mainstream one so it's hard not to talk about it, and those were primary examples. I mentioned Kotor, Parasite Eve and a few people mentioned some others. I'm talking about the entire RPG genre period. I haven't been excited about one in a VERY long time. So yes the point of the post was to talk about every single type of RPG not including MMOs because they're a different beast and thats another discussion for another day. I'll let you know how I feel about the certain ones you mention though if it helps.

Dungeon Crawlers: I actually loathe rpgs like this. I can't stand RPGs based around this idea they seem way too repetitive for my tastes.

Story Based: I like a good story, it's actually my favorite part of an RPG, so story based ones are fine, as long as the story is good in my opinion and the mechanics aren't neglected.

Action RPGs: My personal favorite type. But I honestly don't know of too many like this. I guess you could consider Parasite Eve to be in this and it was one of my favorites.

Tactical RPGs: The only Tactical RPGs I've played was Fire Emblem for the GC, FFT and FFT Advance which I hated because of the stupid rules, if felt too limiting.

My outlook on RPGs is quite bleak and I guess what I'm looking for is an answer sorts. Like "Is there really anything left out there worth getting anymore?". I'm tired of anime bullshit, cookie cutter characters and stories and how turn based ones are most popular, I do enjoy turn based but it seems like thats what most of them are.

[Zalphier]

Well, as time goes on, you'll notice less and less Tbs rpgs being released. Most are heading to Abs, for example, even the Final Fantasy 12 is starting to head to action battle(right now it's in a transition phase)
Turn Based RPGs are my favorite, so I have especially noticed this happening. I've also found a growing number of tactic rpg games. Though, the selection for tactic rpgs are incredibly small, it is indeed growing.(though, most of the games aren't that great) In fact, the only tactic games I feel are A+ in grade, is the fire emblem games, and Final Fantasy Tactics advanced. PS FF tactics I felt was too slow.

[Zork]

Ya I played FF12 and didn't like it too much. I felt there was too much forced grinding and I really didn't like the License system, the logic behind it makes no sense, from an immersion perspective and gameplay wise. I'm still waiting for more good active games but again, I still do like turn based it's just that it gets kind of old. Now I will admit to something, I played FFX-2 and I liked that game's turn based system, the combo thing was pretty cool.

I'll also admit something else while I'm at it. I don't play RPGs all that much anyway. So any suggestions to good games would be pretty cool. I've played a few of the Star Ocean games and I didn't really like them, I don't really like Phantasy Star at all either. So shoot away.

[Space Paranoids]

I would definitely recommend Chrono Trigger if you haven't played through it. I really haven't played that many RPGs, but Chrono Trigger is just a sweet game.