What RPG are you playing right now?

[MrPopo]

I'm playing Persona 3 FES now - working on The Answer - and I was a total hoe. I had my social links with Yuko and Yukari maxed out, and had Fuuka, Aeigis, and Chihrio (sp?) all between 6 and 9 when I finished The Journey.

When I first played Persona 3 I was following the guide to max all S.Links on the first playthrough. It had about a day's worth of wiggle room. They've made things easier for every subsequent release of Persona 3 and 4.

[Xeogred]

I really wanna scoop up the PS2 Wild Arms', but some of the prices are a bit crazy now.

[ejamer]

I'm playing Persona 3 FES now - working on The Answer - and I was a total hoe. I had my social links with Yuko and Yukari maxed out, and had Fuuka, Aeigis, and Chihrio (sp?) all between 6 and 9 when I finished The Journey.

When I first played Persona 3 I was following the guide to max all S.Links on the first playthrough. It had about a day's worth of wiggle room. They've made things easier for every subsequent release of Persona 3 and 4.

I'm not judging, in case it sounds that way, but was it fun to play the game like that?

I mean, if you are just following a guide for all links on the first play through, your decisions don't really matter... you aren't really even making decisions during that half of the game.

Feels kind of meta JRPG with the discussions that brings up about free will.

I can understand why some people might take that approach - especially if they don't like the social side of the RPG. It just wouldn't be the way I choose to experience the game initially.

[MrPopo]

Well, I had started playing like a normal person, but the game made me feel like I was being inefficient with my time. I did enjoy it more on the restart and going for max S.Links. The thing is, I really enjoyed all those social interactions. It was interesting to see how the various storylines evolved, so following a guide was the best way for me to experience that. Sometimes it was very non-obvious which choice to make in an interaction and not following a guide would mean I miss out on content.

[ejamer]

... Sometimes it was very non-obvious which choice to make in an interaction and not following a guide would mean I miss out on content.

Yes - this I totally agree with. There were some people I could have had better social links with if I had known how/where to get started properly. There were also a few social links at the end of the game that were so close being done, but I missed out on because of one or two chioces that could have been handled differently...

I'm ok with my play through as is and enjoyed it, but don't fault you for taking a different approach. Some of the characters had engaging stories so it makes sense to want to see them all.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Well, I had started playing like a normal person, but the game made me feel like I was being inefficient with my time. I did enjoy it more on the restart and going for max S.Links. The thing is, I really enjoyed all those social interactions. It was interesting to see how the various storylines evolved, so following a guide was the best way for me to experience that. Sometimes it was very non-obvious which choice to make in an interaction and not following a guide would mean I miss out on content.

Despite how many of my favorite games require that, I can't stand when an RPG has a TON of character development and story stuff that's easy to miss if you're inefficient or don't think to backtrack. Planescape: Torment is my favorite CRPG ever, but that has SOOOO much of that. A guide is basically required to get the full effect of the story. Same kinda goes for the mid-gen Tales games (Symphonia through Vesperia) which also have a ton of that crap.

EDIT: Also, a note on Symphonia. That late-game of that REALLY loves puzzles that feel like the exact opposite of fun. Leading around those terrible AI little shadow things in the shadow temple is soooo frustrating. That is nothing compared to getting the one fruit with the help of the animals in the forest. That just about drove me crazy. At least the monsters weren't constantly respawning in that stupid forest. And they even knew they were wank, wastes of time, because the main character even complains after he finishes them "Man, that took forever!" The FFX-esque puzzle system in JRPG's is a trend I'm very glad went away eventaully, is what I'm getting at here.

[Ack]

Well, Soul Blazer has arrived, and I've cleaned and tested it. It seems like fun. I believe I'll be getting to this at some point in the relatively near future.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Good.

[Westane]

Well, Soul Blazer has arrived, and I've cleaned and tested it. It seems like fun. I believe I'll be getting to this at some point in the relatively near future.

Jealous. I've been been wanted to play Soul Blazer again for a long while. Enjoy!

I'm playing through Breath of Fire III for, we'll say, the first time. The "real" first time I played it I only made it to the coliseum... I'm not enjoying it NEARLY as much as I did Breath of Fire II (retranslation) and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the first TWELVE HOURS of the game is "I must find my friends that I've know for a whole four months!". It's like the story didn't even begin until Angel Tower... Even now, though, the game feels a bit... odd. Ten whole years have passed but, well, nothing's actually changed. Oh hey Ryu, we all just assumed you died but hey, nice to see you again.

I'm probably being way too nitpicky... I'm enjoying it well enough though. Now if only I could get Peco to kick a god damn rock into a god damn greenhouse!!!

[Xeogred]

Breath of Fire is weird. I didn't like 3, but 4 blew me away and nobody ever really talks about that one. Was it late in the PSX's lifetime or overshadowed by something else? I have no idea. From the bits I've played of the series, it's basically the only one with a great story.

You should just drop 3 and play 4.