Top 5 RPGs

[cha cha]

Definitely is just my opinion, glad to see some share it!

I love a lot of old RPGs and grew up with them, but the ME trilogy surpasses that nostalgia love for me, and expands into new horizons that really encapsulate the type of "role-playing" experience I want in a videogame.

[SirGawain]

5. Final Fantasy X - not the best, but it holds a special place in my heart for being really the first time I was in awe at the intro video for a game. Graphically, It was amazing.

4. Knights of the Old Republic - Im a huge Star Wars fan so this was right up my alley. And you could make good choices and still use sith powers

3. Fallout 3 - It was an awesome experience until I found the father about 30 quests too soon. It killed it for me so I started over and loved it.

2. Skyrim - I sunk way too many hours into it than I care to admit.

1. Legend of Dragoon - Played through many times and always love it. I loved everything from the story to the battle system

[pierrot]

My top 12:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII
Final Fantasy XI
Might & Magic X
Dragon Quest 9
Ultima VIII
The 7th Saga
Ys VI
Suikoden V
Phantasy Star IV
Mother 3
Wild Arms 2
And a partridge in a pear tree

I don't really know how to feel about this list. I'm convinced that you meant FF IX in stead of XI—although I love both games, personally—but as it is, I can only really take the selections of PS IV, Mother 3, and Wild Arms 2 seriously. (Maybe DQIX, too.) I haven't actually played many of these games anyway, but the thing that nags me is Suikoden V. Please tell me it's the only game in the Suikoden series that you've played. (Or even just the second after Suikoden IV.) V shouldn't come anywhere near anyone's list of favorite RPGs. It shouldn't even be on a list of someone's favorite Suikoden games.

Note- This isn't meant to be a disparagement against you personally, AJ. Just your abject heresy.

Is this the thread where everyone hipsters-out and tries their hardest to omit Chrono Trigger and FF6(3) because that's what those people do? (I jest)

Personally, I wouldn't put either game on my top 50 RPGs. They just aren't that great. Chrono Trigger has a stand-out segment (12,000 BC) and little else that isn't just extremely standard. Also, I'm just going to say it: The characters suck. Real hard. (Gonzales, aka "Gato," for prez, do'.)
Music is relatively good, but it's outclassed in every way by:

1. Chrono Cross - PSX

You might be my new favorite person, Flake.

Satchbag has a video out about Chrono Cross that I think is pretty good. (LINK) I think he does the best job in talking about what really makes the battle system such a modern marvel. (At least should make it such.) I think the other categories could have used a similar level of analysis, though.


My list:

1. Monster World IV
2. Elemental Gimmick Gear
2. Crusader of Centy
4. Dewprism
5. Beyond Oasis

[cha cha]

Is this the thread where everyone hipsters-out and tries their hardest to omit Chrono Trigger and FF6(3) because that's what those people do? (I jest)

Personally, I wouldn't put either game on my top 50 RPGs. They just aren't that great. Chrono Trigger has a stand-out segment (12,000 BC) and little else that isn't just extremely standard. Also, I'm just going to say it: The characters suck. Real hard. (Gonzales, aka "Gato," for prez, do'.)
Music is relatively good, but it's outclassed in every way by:

First off, let me say I admire your post for it's candor.

Saying not even top 50 for CT (based on the era it came in) is pretty EXTREME I'd say, but this is a place where people has Evil Zone listed as their top Fighting Game, so I'll believe that opinion is an honest one and get what point you are trying to make!
I think I'd struggle to name 50 RPGs I even "kinda liked" without getting into 'just because' and 'because it's related to/like other rpg x' -game territory.

You didn't like Frog, Ayla and Magus? Wow man, I wanna hear more about this hallowed ground you hold other RPG characters on! Are you also suggesting that basic characters lacking complexity but are easy to understand and have fun with... is a bad thing?

Keep on preaching man, I love hearing opinions that diametrically oppose mine!

[Violent By Design]

Is this the thread where everyone hipsters-out and tries their hardest to omit Chrono Trigger and FF6(3) because that's what those people do? (I jest)

Personally, I wouldn't put either game on my top 50 RPGs. They just aren't that great. Chrono Trigger has a stand-out segment (12,000 BC) and little else that isn't just extremely standard. Also, I'm just going to say it: The characters suck. Real hard. (Gonzales, aka "Gato," for prez, do'.)
Music is relatively good, but it's outclassed in every way by:

First off, let me say I admire your post for it's candor.

Saying not even top 50 for CT (based on the era it came in) is pretty EXTREME I'd say, but this is a place where people has Evil Zone listed as their top Fighting Game, so I'll believe that opinion is an honest one and get what point you are trying to make!
I think I'd struggle to name 50 RPGs I even "kinda liked" without getting into 'just because' and 'because it's related to/like other rpg x' -game territory.

You didn't like Frog, Ayla and Magus? Wow man, I wanna hear more about this hallowed ground you hold other RPG characters on! Are you also suggesting that basic characters lacking complexity but are easy to understand and have fun with... is a bad thing?

Keep on preaching man, I love hearing opinions that diametrically oppose mine!

When you think about how many RPGs there are, I don't think it's crazy to say when any particular RPG doesn't makes a top 50 RPG list.

For instance, I doubt FFVI would make my top 50 RPGs if I actually played more than 50 RPGs, and it's usually heralded around the same tier as Chrono Trigger (I'd say CT has less critics).

[alienjesus]

My top 12:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XII
Final Fantasy XI
Might & Magic X
Dragon Quest 9
Ultima VIII
The 7th Saga
Ys VI
Suikoden V
Phantasy Star IV
Mother 3
Wild Arms 2
And a partridge in a pear tree

I don't really know how to feel about this list. I'm convinced that you meant FF IX in stead of XI—although I love both games, personally—but as it is, I can only really take the selections of PS IV, Mother 3, and Wild Arms 2 seriously. (Maybe DQIX, too.) I haven't actually played many of these games anyway, but the thing that nags me is Suikoden V. Please tell me it's the only game in the Suikoden series that you've played. (Or even just the second after Suikoden IV.) V shouldn't come anywhere near anyone's list of favorite RPGs. It shouldn't even be on a list of someone's favorite Suikoden games.

Note- This isn't meant to be a disparagement against you personally, AJ. Just your abject heresy.

Can't....tell...if...joking....

For what it's worth, my real list wouldn't include a single game on that list. I haven't made a genuine one because there's just too many RPGs I love to narrow them down, including:

Fire Emblem series
FFV, IX and XII
All the FF Tactics games
Earthbound
Golden Sun games
Pokemon series
Phantasy Star (1)
Chrono Trigger
Paper Mario series
Mario & Luigi series
Xenoblade Chronicles
The World End With You
probably Atelier Totori
... and a bunch more too.

[dunpeal2064]

I seriously can't tell where Pierrot's sarcasm begins and ends!

I'm assuming the love for Chrono Cross was the greatest joke of them all

[Ack]

Hmm, ok, I think I will attempt to make a legit list.

Dungeon Siege
Baldur's Gate
Final Fantasy Tactics
Eve Online
Final Fantasy VI

Now I will explain why these are the RPGs that I consider to be the top.

Dungeon Siege - I have only ever played this game in multiplayer. It has a problematic spell system which ends up horribly unbalanced against Nature magic, it allows me to use things like chicken launchers and gardening hoes as weapons, and now I can only think of spawn points as Resurrection Shrines. I have played through this game multiple times with my friends, and I have never had more fun playing an RPG in my life. Also, without fail, Fastbilly will run off and pull a horde of the nastiest, foulest, and deadliest critters he can come across.

Baldur's Gate - I have played through this game multiple times. I have tried different classes and different party arrangements from the dozens of recruitable characters hidden in the world. I have marveled at its size and its many hidden corners, like the ogre with the gender-bending belt, or the lost golden pantaloons. I once even generated my own sound files so I could create a pimp gnomish rogue who's fight declaration was "Bitches, get my brass knuckles." This game was how I really learned to play Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition and got me interested enough to start playing the real thing. Also, I have to give this game credit for having one of the hardest final bosses of any D&D game I have ever played, because even with max levels and the best equipment, I've seen him rip through a party which wasn't properly arranged.

Final Fantasy Tactics - This was my first dose of the strategy and tactical RPG, and I absolutely loved it. I have maxed out the clock in this game more than once, stolen every piece of equipment there is, and gotten every ability(including Zodiac and Ultima). I have gone into battles where I wanted something and ripped enemy units to shreads, breaking their stats and robbing them blind with thieving knights while bards and dancers bolsted my speed and drained theirs.

Oh, and if you ever wonder what the best character in the game is, it's a female monk.

Eve Online - I am ruined on MMORPGs after having seen the amount of player freedom available in this game. Yes, Eve Online is effectively just spreadsheet management, and yes, most of the game is spent sitting around, waiting for something to happen. But that 5% of the time, when you're running scout for your corporation's armada, hunting pirates in 0.0 sec, or playing rearguard and holding off much larger ships at a warpgate while your friends escape to safety, then it actually seems worth it. At any given time in Eve, a war is raging, someone is ripping someone off or stabbing them in the back, alliances are forming or breaking apart, and the all-important economy keeps chugging away as each group purchases and builds more and more war machines and starbases. This is realpolitik at the end of a laser beam.

Final Fantasy VI - Yes, this game has problems. Yes, some of its greatest praise is for the window dressing, and yes, there are a number of exploitable and problematic glitches with it. This is also the first video game where I realized the medium could actually express a deep story through such elements as the audio, game design, and graphics. Without this appearing on the scene, I may never have gotten into the genre, sure, but I also may never have really gotten into the medium and begun exploring it on a deeper level. For me, despite the bugs, the problems, and the complaints of shallow characters, this game gave me a greater appreciation of video games as a whole. And for that, it will always dominate my list.

And I probably could produce a list of 50 RPGs that I consider amazing, but you're going to be looking at things like Akalabeth.

[MrPopo]

It's hard to come up with a list that short, especially considering that RPGs are definitely my favorite genre. Here's an attempt, in no particular order:

FFVI
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Secret of Mana
Super Mario RPG

Yeah, it's all Super Nintendo games, but these are the ones that I come back to time and time again to do another playthrough, even though I know the games forwards and backwards. There's a lot of RPGs I own that I really enjoyed and will heartily recommend to friends, but these five are the ones that I make a point to replay on a regular basis because of how much I enjoy the experience they offer.

[pierrot]

Can't....tell...if...joking....

Good. I just wanted to verify that you weren't serious about Suikoden V.

I think I'd struggle to name 50 RPGs I even "kinda liked" without getting into 'just because' and 'because it's related to/like other rpg x' -game territory.

I'd rather play any of the Dragon Quest games, honestly. With the Torneko/mystery dungeon games, that's already 13 or 14 games. If I'm going to play a game with a trite story, and lame-duck characters, I may as well play the ones that essentially set the standard.

You didn't like Frog,Ayla and Magus? Wow man, I wanna hear more about this hallowed ground you hold other RPG characters on! Are you also suggesting that basic characters lacking complexity but are easy to understand and have fun with... is a bad thing?

I have no idea why anyone would actually like Frog, for one. Frankly I just find Chrono Trigger to be so banal, and lacking in dynamics, in all facets. The art direction is vintage Toriyama, but I don't find it to have the same level of character that DQ does: more DBZ than Dr Slump. I would probably attribute that more to Square's designers than Toriyama's character designs, however. The characters just lack substance. They offer very few humanistic qualities or development; and I find them to be generally unrelatable facades. (Mostly because they're one-dimensional placards for those singular traits so many modern Japanese writers think adds character by virtue of the trait alone.)

For a game touted as one of the greatest of all time, I just think it falls flat in so many places as to be somewhat average. Very much bubble-gum; popcorn; candy fluff. That's how I feel about a lot of really popular games, though. It's what people seem to like; So be it.

I'm assuming the love for Chrono Cross was the greatest joke of them all

That's legit. Chrono Cross is a stellar game that more games should take inspiration from. Granted, the character recruitment is pretty much a lesser form of the character recruitment in Suikoden, but it does a whole lot right that not many games have ever really done before or since. It has a shamefully poor reputation for all of its innovation, too.



Since we're taking this thread seriously now:

1) Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
1) Suikoden III
1) Dragon Quest VIII
4) Light Crusader
5) Disgaea— I don't know. Whatever, lists are dumb anyway. Stop judging me!