What RPG are you playing right now?

[Gamerforlife]

So I'm playing FF XIII-2 and Xenoblades, both of which are pretty good. I think FF XIII-2 may actually be better than some have given it credit for, while Xenoblades has been incredibly overrated as some sort of genre savior or the best rpg of the generation, neither of which it actually is. Still, both games are really good, and someone was telling me that if I'm enjoying them I should be excited by The Last Story, which will supposedly blow both games out of the water.

What have you guys heard about this game? It's out in Japan already I think. Is it really that awesome?

[Xeogred]

How have you missed several of the conversations about it? lol... The Last Story sounds... like the complete opposite of that. Very short, very cliche', and very underwhelming from what several people have said here and around. Gameplay sounds hilariously weird with a cover system somehow thrown in. I'll get it, but I was always way more interested in Xenoblade anyways.

[Gamerforlife]

How have you missed several of the conversations about it? lol... The Last Story sounds... like the complete opposite of that. Very short, very cliche', and very underwhelming from what several people have said here and around. Gameplay sounds hilariously weird with a cover system somehow thrown in. I'll get it, but I was always way more interested in Xenoblade anyways.

That's a shame. Xenoblade and FF XIII-2 have got me in the mood for jrpgs again. Oh well, I'm sure those two games will keep me busy enough as it is.

You got any recommendations for any other good rpgs this year?

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Gungnir is coming out next week and Growlanser IV is getting its first localization in July. Should be awesome.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Gungnir is coming out next week and Growlanser IV is getting its first localization in July. Should be awesome.

Yes!!!! I pre-ordered both along with Last Story (and I never ever ever pre-order games). Growlanser has some of my favorite character designs ever.

[noiseredux]

Gungnir is coming out next week

wow that snuck up on me! I didn't realize it was so soon. Awesome.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I am still playing Final Fantasy II (GBA), and I am really, really enjoying it. Seriously, I think that it may be one of my very favorite games in the series.

It is definitely one of those "old-fashioned" JPRGs that only vaguely hinted at where you were supposed to go to advance the story, and it took me a little while to get used to that aspect of it. (Like Nintendo Power used to say, "Talk to everyone.") Once I got used to that, however, I realized that my characters could travel almost anywhere in the overworld at any time. (They might get wiped out by extremely difficult monsters, but they could at least try.) Now, I am just enjoying wandering the overworld, completing dungeons out of sequence, grabbing over-powered gear, and power-leveling my characters on monsters that are way more powerful than my characters should be able to handle at this point in the story.

Speaking of leveling, I really enjoy the leveling system in this game. It allows me to really customize my characters' growth, and I have found that I do not have to attack my own party (too much) to realize gains. (I do wish that it were easier to increase my characters' MP, however. Right now, two of my characters have 300+ HP and less than 100 MP...) If I want to make a spell more powerful, I have to use it, and I am using "status" magic in this game to a greater extent than in any other Final Fantasy game - especially since using that magic is critical to overcoming some enemies.

I also think the setting in this game is among the best that I have encountered in a Final Fantasy game. Airships randomly flying overhead and cities getting decimated - or liberated - really give the feeling that there is a war going on around thee characters. Moreover, unlike other Final Fantasy games where there is ostensibly a war going on in the background, things in this game actually change as a result of the war.

Finally, I am really enjoying the challenge. My entire party got wiped out last night after one Revenant hit two members with Petrify and another Revenant hit a third member with Death VI. (They just straight up beat the fourth member to death as he desperately tried to revive the others...) My party also had a tremendous struggle against a random encounter composed of a Sergeant, two Captains, three Sorcerers, and two Wizards. The fact that my party is more likely to get wiped out by a random encounter than a boss fight adds an element of danger to the game, and I have to keep my party prepared for very difficult battles evertime they enter a new dungeon.

All of this said, I can see how this game would be infuriating on the NES. I think that the GBA port - which probably makes the leveling system less cryptic and allows me to save anywhere - probably improved on the original significantly.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Hm, Gungnir is getting 6.0 reviews because everyone thinks it's too complicated. Can't wait to see what the racketboys and rpgfans think

[Gamerforlife]

Finding it odd that both Xenoblade and FF XIII-2 have story lines revolving around changing the future and preventing bad things from occurring. Quite a coincidence

[dunpeal2064]

Finding it odd that both Xenoblade and FF XIII-2 have story lines revolving around changing the future and preventing bad things from occurring. Quite a coincidence

Heh, never seen that concept before.