I've relatively recently discovered WRPGs, but I'm not going to list them. I still don't really know what to think of them, honestly. I've put so many hours into Skyrim, for example, and yet, looking back, I feel empty, as if the game had only taken from me. Whatever it gave (I liked it while I was playing) in return fizzled out the second I tried to grasp its essence.



1) Secret of Mana (+3 points) - The game is so incredibly flawed (an easily exploitable magic system, a world inhabited by lifeless NPCs) and so incredibly beautiful (the most beautiful music to ever grace a video game, every little thing you do is another pearl threaded into the quest line and strings you along for hours on end that feel like seconds) that it has to be on here, there's no stronger bond than the one formed when pity and love combine their powers, -- it's called motherly love! The soundtrack and how it relates to the visuals, gameplay and story of the game makes this the best game I've ever played.

2) Chrono Cross - The game has an incredible sense of melancholy. The world lives, is struck with all the banality and poetry of life. The people you meet don't feel as if their entire existence could be reduced to your, the hero's, accommodation (be it by being helpful or an opponent to test your newfound strength). At least in the beginning, what you do doesn't feel like saving the world, -- you're not really a hero, and you're not recognized as such: you just do your thing, and nobody cares, as long as it doesn't pertain to their world. Others have their own lives to tend to. That's why the world feels alive: there are so many worlds in this game, almost every NPC has their own. Also, the overworld music (Another World) came from the heavens.

3) Final Fantasy V - The story is awful, the characters flat, the music Uematsu's worst endeavor and the world are little more than a convenient story progression machine (or conveyor belt), and yet, it's my favorite Final Fantasy. The battles (from random encounters to boss battles) are a thrill, the job system allows for infinite replayability (just look at the Fiesta challenge), there's tons of side quests and it, again, works like a beautiful machine: you'll never feel overpowered nor severely underpowered, you're always just a tick away from being tocked or tocking the enemy yourself!
4) Vagrant Story - A convoluted father-and-son story(?) about betraying the betrayer to betray that you're actually betraying yourself(??), a beautiful risk/reward, semi-active and rhythm-based battle system (chaining attacks lowers hit percentage and defenses while increasing the chance of critical hits and HP recovery), meaningful weapon and enemy classes, customizing and forging your own weapons, fantastic boss fight and a challenging difficulty curve make this one of the PlayStation's best games.

5) Dragon Quest IX - It is of course true that all Dragon Quest games are the same. You're fighting the same battles with the same music against the same enemies in basically the same world, a world that is basically in the same kind of peril. That's not what Dragon Quest games are about, though. The little vignettes, the inconspicuous dots that, when connected, show a drawing of the bland overall plot, but for themselves are a whole and beautiful, -- that's what the games are about. I like the vignettes in IX (not V, I can't tell the games apart, naturally) the best, that's why I picked it.

6) Chrono Trigger - The feel-good RPG. I played it years after release, but I come back to it as if it were a memory of my youth I'd like to revisit and felt nostalgic about. Beautiful music, beautiful story, great cast of characters, locations, a happy-go-lucky battle system and probably the best side quests in any RPG of the SNES era. It's about the end of the world, but I've never played another RPG that is so purposefully non-threatening and goes down like hot chocolate. Tip: drink hot chocolate while playing.

7) Final Fantasy VII - This is the Dragon Quest of Final Fantasy games. Yes, the overarching story is dumb if you look at it too closely (just like in Dragon Quest) and , but every character has his own self-contained little vignette, in his home town, or even several of them, overlapping with those of others. Every town you visit feels electrified with one of your friends' stories and therefore feels meaningful. I also love the Materia system, the side quests, chocobo breeding and the unparalleled quirkiness (bathing with a troupe of mustachioed, brawny men in a bordello in the slums) of it all. Uematsu's best soundtrack, too, in my opinion. It leaves IV's, VIII's and VI's in the dust.

8) Etrian Odyssey - For a relatively new RPG it's pretty old-school in that it expects you to be adaptive. While the main story line is a cake walk, the battles that lurk beneath are incredibly challenging, fun and thrilling. The game simply does so many things right: the story doesn't get in the way, dungeons are explored (you're responsible for mapping it) not merely traveled through, character progression and which classes you take into the dungeon are up to you, great music and overall its battle and dungeon mechanics are superb. Some of the side missions suck, okay, but the bartender is alright.

9) Terranigma - Beating sense into creation has never been this fun. In a way, this game is about the duality of life, in another way it's about securing the development of human settlements until they finally sell burgers and giant birds. You're the stern but loving mother edging the world on towards the achievement of greater goals like the birth of a maniacal scientist. Really, though, this RPG is thematically equipped to best other RPGs at what they all want to achieve: a clear relation between vast changes in the world and your actions.

10) Front Mission 3 - You're trapped in the machinations of equally corrupt and ruthless political forces and have a blast surfing the web and reading e-mails, whenever you're not busy upgrading your mech or engaging in redundant jabbering. I love all tactical turn-based RPGs and this is my favorite of the genre (beating FF:T); mechs, -- that is all. The main character's motivations make little sense but are of vast consequences. Whether you accompany your friend on a walk, basically, on a whim, decides on which side of the war you're fighting. Front Mission 3 in a nutshell.

kswiston said:

Every year this thread reminds me that I should play Mask of the Betrayer, but I can never finish the vanilla NWN without losing interest. I should probably just skip it and start with MotB.

Click to expand...

The original campaign is atrocious. I think I've tried to beat it six or seven times. The furthest I got was to act four before giving up and jumped right into MotB. But by then I was burnt out on the terrible system that I didn't get very far.

The good news is, from the little I played of MotB, it seems that the original campaign is completely irrelevant.

Dark Schala said:

Also, I should probably take Alpha Protocol out of my backlog, huh?

Click to expand...

Do it! It's also pretty short for a rpg. I think it's only about 15-20 hours long?

Persona 4 (3 Points)
Dark Souls
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Chrono Trigger
Pokemon Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald
(Hard picking a pokemon game but I spent the most time with this one and really loved it)

BeesEight said:

The original campaign is atrocious. I think I've tried to beat it six or seven times. The furthest I got was to act four before giving up and jumped right into MotB. But by then I was burnt out on the terrible system that I didn't get very far.

The good news is, from the little I played of MotB, it seems that the original campaign is completely irrelevant.

Click to expand...

Two companions from the OC are in MotB and the plot is referenced in dialog with other characters but you don't need to know about it to get the main plot from MotB. Also for the record, I thought the OC was good but nothing special.

A tough list for me to assemble without listing 20 plus, so ive kept it roughly a game a franchise:

Persona 4 (Golden) (3 Points) : Probably giving it the nod as I finished it again with the Golden version on vita, but this game encapsulates everything I love about RPGs in general. An intriguing premise, an awesome ensemble cast of characters that you get attached to as the game progresses. A degree of influence over the narrative and your teammates, and a simple but satisfying battle system. Its atypical setting also separates it from the others.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines : The setting, atmosphere, and characters encountered are still not like those found in most other videogames. The large degree of variety and amazing writing make this one of the best pure roleplaying experiences. Its highly flawed combat hold this game back sadly.

Deus Ex: Torn between the original and Human Revolution, I decided to give the nod to Deus Ex as it left a deeper impact on me as far as giving as much control to the player as possible. The fact that I can kill a potential boss before the game seemingly wanting me to, and the game ACKNOWLEDGING that was mind-blowing to me.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: I was torn between this and the first one, as while i felt the highs of 1 were higher, 2 was a more consistently enjoyable experience from beginning to end (*note* this was with the restoration mod installed)

Mass Effect 1: Out of all the Mass Effect games, I had the most playtime on the first one and discussion I've read on previous threads explain it well. The looser gameplay structure, ability to drive around on planet surfaces, and general ambiance of the game felt more about discovery than the latter 2 sequels, which became more militaristic in its focus. I'm probably not explaining this well but Mass Effect 1 was the most sci-fi of the whole series, and was my favorite.

Final Fantasy 6: The first RPG i remember playing. A great cast, memorable villain and awesome world, which changed after a key point in the story (which blew my mind as a kid). My favorite RPG of the 16bit era

Chrono Trigger: My 2nd rpg and very close 2nd favorite of the 16bit era. I enjoyed this game's combat more than FF6's, and discovering the different endings lead to a lot of replays.

The Witcher 2: An amazing example of Western RPGs, Witcher 2 had great combat that immersed the player into the role they were portraying as Geralt. Its morally grey tone of the story suited the game's style and made the game stuck out for me compared to other games with swords and bows. It also helped that the game is one hell of a looker.

Tales of Vesperia: A surprising pick for me, but in retrospect I loved the hell out of this game. I never got into many of the Tales games, but I picked up Vesperia and stuck it out all the way to the end. Half of it was for a solid cast of characters, headlined by an awesome protagonist and his trusty dog companion. The other half is the really fun quazi-realtime action combat style.

Fallout: New Vegas: While I've always loved the premise of the Fallout Games, I've only stuck through the modern fallout games, with New Vegas rising up as my favorite due to the interesting dichotomy of 50s style in a post apocalyptic world shining stronger than in Fallout III. I also felt the writing and gameplay was more satisfying overall than Fallout 3's.

Honorable Mentions:

KOTOR 1 : Memorable for its twist, but still an amazing rpg that revitalized star wars to me

Alpha Protocol: Gameplay wise, it wasn't the best. But the writing was top notch and being a spy is a theme that is criminally underused in an rpg

.Hack//G.U. Trilogy: I don't expect this game to be mentioned by others, but I remember being so enthralled by the series when I played it. I was initially hooked as I loved the combat system of the game, became attached to Haseo as he unlocked more of his forms, which made the combat even more satisfying, and stuck through due to the story really engaging me despite its *anime*ness. I also loved the Skeith battles the game threw in at key points, which really helped this game leave a lasting impression for me.

Pokemon Gold/Silver: My favorite Pokemon game to date. A good amount of pokemon including the classics, along with the ability to revisit Kanto was such a great moment for me.

Yakuza 2: Unorthodox pick compared to the others, but i felt it fits the rpg genre just fine with a progression system via leveling up, roleplaying with the various activities the player can do, and an awesome setting and cast of characters that few games match up with.

1. Phantasy Star Online (3 points): When it snows, I want to play PSO. I listen to it's soundtrack when I'm blue. A few years ago, I booted up my GC and leveled my HUcast to 100, finally. No game has had as much of a lasting impact on me as a gamer as this one. All other games, especially in genres that even slightly resemble it, get graded based on their ability to recreate the PSO feeling. This is a game that all gamers should try.

2. Final Fantasy X: This was my first true JRPG and it really sold me on the genre. Blitzball is also amazing; finally, a turn-based (non-football) sport game for people who love RPGs and hate sports games!

3. Valkyria Chronicles: I love this series so much I ran out and bought the art books. Valkyria Chronicles restored my faith in SEGA.

4. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: This is the only WRPG that really had a lasting effect on me, and to this day I still think it's handling of moral choices is unmatched. That twist, too. So good.

5. Disgaea 3: People always give JRPGs a hard time when they do their "school life" sequel. Well, in spite of that I really enjoyed the game's cast and thought the story did a good job at pointing out RPG cliches without feeling cliche itself. Overall, I loved it and can't wait to dive back in to hunt for new endings.

6. Persona 4: What else is there to say that hasn't already been said? This game is massive, and brilliant. It never feels slow despite taking twice as long as a normal JRPG to beat. And it has Yukiko.

7. Chaos Rings: While not necessarily one of the ten greatest RPGs of all time, I think it's an important game because it shows what a good, original iOS RPG can be.

8. The World Ends With You: Show me another game that makes you just to see the ending that doesn't make you want to throw it out the window. TWEWY is probably the only one.

9. Pokemon Blue / Red Version: This was my first Pokemon. That probably has a significant influence on why I think it's so good compared with later games, but there's also something to say for a time when things were simpler. Back then, you just caught them all, and didn't worry about things like natures, sex and EVs.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: This is the first game that I played that was even close to an RPG. Until playing Zelda, I had always scoffed at adventure/RPG titles, saying "I don't like those kinda games." After playing Zelda, I never touched another sports game.

Yeah, I really need to play through more than 3-4 RPGs a year. At this rate I won't get through my current backlog until 2025. Anyway:

Top 10

1. Phantasy Star Online (3 points) - Ludicrously addicti-- er, compelling. The setting, aesthetics, collectables and the exceptional bosses have kept me engrossed for more hours than I'd care to admit. Strangely enough, this was my first and last venture into online RPGs.

2. Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2) - Bursting at the seams with entertaining stuff to do and find, even if the combat itself is comparatively basic. It really feels as if an absurd amount of care and attention went into this game. After all, where else can you play golf on a cleared dungeon stage?

3. Soul Nomad & the World Eaters - As with Phantom Brave, this game is testament to the fact that I enjoy NI's offerings the most when they stray away from the Disgaea formula. This has my favourite mechanics of any SRPG I've played, and has provided one of my most enjoyable and enthralling gaming experiences to date in the form of the Demon Path.

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - A fantastically desolate world with the sublime atmosphere so typical of the SMT series. The combat distinguishes itself by being challenging and actually requiring preparation and thought.

5. Eternal Sonata - Aesthetically outstanding and charming, backed up by an engaging battle system (more so on Encore). Alright, the plot is clearly flawed, but I perceive the entire thing as I would a dream.

6. Phantom Brave - While the cast/setting isn't NI's finest, in gameplay terms it's a worthy second to Soul Nomad. The depth and sheer variety of weapons, techniques and classes have made this one of my greatest timesinks.

7. Shining the Holy Ark - There aren't many RPGs I've played through to completion more than once, but this is one of them. Playing from a first-person perspective is refreshing and works wonderfully. The dungeons are, on the whole, brilliantly designed, and the combat is immensely satisfying.

8. Phantasy Star Online: Episode 3 - A definite guilty pleasure in that it combines a universe I'm partial to (PSO) with a mechanic I love (card collecting/battles) and succeeds almost by virtue of this alone. Still, for such a radical departure for the series the core gameplay is remarkably well-handled and entertaining.

9. Dragon Force - A hugely enjoyable quest for world domination, with one of the most unique combat systems I've come across and excellent replay value thanks to the 8 different campaigns. I can think of no other game that has such an inspirational array of taunts.

10. Shining Force III - An intriguing plot, diverse cast of characters and well-crafted setting complimented by a solid battle system. While its mechanics lack the depth of many other SRPGs, it remains one of my favourites of the genre. The attack cutscenes blew me away back in the day.

Honourable Mentions

1. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - The plot and characters are weak, but the game endures by the strength of its brilliant battle system. The diverse locales and superb soundtrack also deserve a mention. I could say much the same for Star Ocean 4, but this prequel had far more of an impact on me.

2. Ar Tonelico 2 - Far and away the most intricate and interesting universe in any RPG I've played. I cannot possibly praise the soundtrack enough, particularly the phenomenal hymns, and the combat system is a borderline work of art. If it wasn't for the sub-par localisation, this would be higher.

3. Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 - In an entirely different dimension to its predecessor in perhaps every way except for the humour. The characters collectively form one of my favourite RPG casts, with interactions and references that make it impossible to keep the grin from my face. While the battle system isn't anything revolutionary, it's certainly decent enough.

4. Valkyrie Profile 2 - I could play 2D field maps / towns in RPGs for the rest of my life if they were as aesthetically magnificent and as entertaining to navigate as these. The inclusion of Photons was such a simple thing but it really added an edge to the exploration. The combat system was unique and offered the potential for some highly tactical play.

5. Grandia II - An extremely competent traditional JRPG with one of the best turn-based battle systems I've come across. Its unremarkable plot was made to work by some fantastic characters.

Slightly Less Honourable Mentions

Breath of Fire V - A uniquely frantic and engaging atmosphere complete with an incredibly underrated battle system. There were so many elements here I'd love to see more regularly in RPGs.

Persona 4 - A masterpiece of localisation. Excellent marks across the board, with plot, characters, combat and general game mechanics all being of an impressive standard.

Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love - So long, random battles. Strengthening your party through their interactions with one another is a fantastic idea and is up there with AT's Dive system as my favourite means of powering up.

Suikoden V - A return to form for this series with a compelling tale of war and political intrigue. There are few feelings more satisfying in RPGs than roaming your fully staffed base of operations.

Ar Tonelico 1 - In some ways superior to AT2, particularly its localisation, but I rank it slightly lower due to its less enjoyable battle system. As with its sequel(s), the soundtrack is absolutely to die for.

kswiston said:

Every year this thread reminds me that I should play Mask of the Betrayer, but I can never finish the vanilla NWN without losing interest. I should probably just skip it and start with MotB.

Click to expand...

There'd be some references to the OC, and a companion returning, but nothing major. For the companion, when you talk to her/him you can choose dialogue options to shape what you did in the OC. This happens even if you import the character from the OC.

The best part about the OC for me was the Stronghold, and all the gameplay and roleplay surrounding it, conceptually, at least.

Edit: Also, the Journal at the start of the game will have a synopsis of what happened in the OC.

1. Diablo 2 (Three points)
2. Baldur's Gate 2
3. Might and Magic VI
4. Diablo
5. Pokemon R/B/Y
6. Mount and Blade
7. Phantasy Star Online
8. Harvest Moon
9. Might and Magic: World of Xeen

1. Dark Souls (3 points)
2. Demons' Souls
3. MegaMan Legends 2
4. Mega Man Battle Network 3
5. Tales of Symphonia
6. Final Fantasy XII
7. Chrono Trigger
8. Pokemon Diamond
9. Valkyria Chronicles
10. Disgaea

HM. The World Ends with You

Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door 3POINTS
A Mario RPG shouldn't work, it really shouldn't. The ever-repeating story of a birdbrained Princess being kidnapped by a lovestruck dinosaur only to be rescued by an overweight plumber should not be enough for an RPG-storyline.
However, this is my favourite RPG of all times. First of all, the story and the characters are great. A Nintendo RPG which constantly breaks the fourth wall and makes fun of video games and the culture that surrounds them is amazing!
And then, the gameplay. By simply adding an element of dexterity to the combat, it becomes so much more interesting. Pressing buttons at the right time becomes necessary and is incredibly engaging. The different chapters of the game all have a unique atmosphere to them, which always keep you going. There is nothing else like Paper Mario, every RPG fan needs to play this!

Baldur's Gate 2
Man, Baldur's Gate 2. The ultimate swan song to a dying breed of RPGs, afterwards replaced by Bioware's new definition of RPGs that even a Call of Duty player can understand.
Hundreds of hours of gameplay, dozens of interesting quests and characters and a combat system where you really have to think your way through the more difficult battles make BG2 the best WRPG ever made. They don't make 'em like this anymore...

Final Fantasy VII
A choice that is definitely influenced by nostalgia, FF VII being my first „real“ JRPG back in the day. However, having replayed the game this summer because of the re-release on PC, I can say that parts of it still hold up. Yes, the story is not as well as I remembered it, but it still goes into territory uncharted by previous RPGs, Cloud remains a complex character, whose journey is worth playing. I still like the materia system, which makes the characters highly customizable and gives you a lot of options and strategies to pursue. But the best part of the game is still the art direction. Midgar is still a fascinating place: the steampunk approach was rather new at the time and is still a pleasure to look at, especially when it is supported by such great moody music. Later on, the game does a great job by juxtaposing the technological cities and military bases with chilling natural landscapes (the end of the first disc!). While the actual cutscene of Aerith's death looks silly today, it was a bold decision back in 1997 to kill a character that was built up to be your main love interest and set the tone for many RPGs that came after it. A true classic!

Final Fantasy VI
For a SNES game, this is astounding. The amount of characters, the numerous locations, the shift in tone about two-thirds in: all of these things make FFVI the classic that it is today. A bold game with beautiful sprite-art. Today, it relies too heavily on grinding for my taste, but that does not change the fact that FFVI was way ahead of its time and still is, in some aspects at least.


Alpha Protocol
Fantasy or Sci-Fi. For some strange reason these two scenarios are the only ones RPG creators can come up with. You either slash orcs or you have sex with alien women, that's about it. Alpha Protocol took a different route letting you explore a political spy drama with oh so many choices that have an actual impact. Make the „wrong“ choice and characters that grew on you will die and you'e the one responsible for that. The actual gampeplay is deeply flawed and, to be honest, just not that good, but I still recommend this to everyone who wants to experience what a branching storyline in video games can actually be like.

Elder Scrolls. Morrowind
Morrowind is hard. It throws you into a world that seems weird full of lizard men, cat people and strange architecture. It gves you so much freedom that it is almost overwhelming, one definitely needs some time to get into the world and the various gameplay elements. But once you get hooked, you get hooked like in no other Elder Scrolls game. For me, this is because of the lack of familiarity. Oblivion felt like „Lord of the Rings“ with demons, Morrowind is unlike anything, the world feels unique, cruel and worth exploring. By today's standards, it is not without flaws, but it is well worth looking past them to enjoy a world Bethesda will probably never revisit...


Skies of Arcadia
Most JRPGs are bad because they try to be serious. Having anime characters talk about religion or the meaning of life is cringe-worthy ten out of ten times at least. Skies of Arcadia is aware of this and does not try to be anything more than a fun adventure game and succeeds at this. The world is cool and unique, the characters are likeable and it's simply a very charming game! Yes, the ship combat is tedious, but that is about the only flaw this game has.

Torchlight 2
I my opinion, TL 2 has perfected the Diablo formula. The carrot in front of you is always near enough to keep you going. There's always another level, another skill or just another achievement just around the corner. This, in addition to the diverse classes and the interesting art direction, make TL 2 a better game than all the Diablos and Titan Quests in this world.

Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana showed games that RPGs don't have to be single player experiences where you play on your own for 30h. The coop experience of this game simply blew my 10 year old mind. It is a shame that few other games outside of MMO's have tried to recreate the magical experience that was beating the Mana Dragon along with one or two friends on a hot day in your summer holidays where you neglect the tempest to go outside and go swimming like all the other kids.


Costume Quest
Costume Quest is the antithesis to Baldur's Gate 2. Short, simple, linear and fun. It is also incredibly easy and really not that interesting from a gameplay perspective. That's why it is so great. Double Fine has created a game you just have to like with funny characters and cool summons (Abe Lincoln!) that proves that not every RPG has to be 50h+, but that these games can also offer experiences similar two other genres such as FPS's. For that, the game has to be applauded and appreciated way more thatn it currently is!

1. Persona 4 Golden (3 points) - great characters and a compelling mystery make the 100+ hours you put into it seem fewer than half that... An easy, easy game to love...
2. Final Fantasy VII - if it seems cliche now, it's only because it set the standard then... so many years gone by and it is still one of my favorite games of all time.
3. Valkyria Chronicles - a beautiful game on many levels... well worth the time to play...
4. Final Fantasy VI - remember when sprites could make you want to weep? Who can forget the opera scene...
5. Front Mission 3 - two very cool, very divergent stories in one great mech SRPG...
6. Persona 3: Portable - nearly as fabulous as Persona 4 and just as essential to play... the PSP version makes the pointless running around less tiresome...
7. Final Fantasy IX - this game is Architypal FF if ever there can be such a thing....
8. Chrono Trigger - a game you can revisit a dozen times over the years and still feel like it's new again...
9. Zero Escape: 9 Persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors - the initial confusion and frustration fall away to curiosity and eventually awe when you finally realize what they managed to do with the story "arc" of this game...
10. Jean d'Arc - a brilliant and sadly overlooked PSP title that deserves much more attention than it's received...

Honourable mentions:

• Final Fantasy VIII
• Final Fantasy IV
• Final Fantasy X
• Lunar Silver Star Story
• Xenogears

astronautcowboy said:

8. The World Ends With You: Show me another game that makes you

Spoiler

play through it three times

just to see the ending that doesn't make you want to throw it out the window. TWEWY is probably the only one.

Click to expand...

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Man, for how often this game comes up, I really wish I owned a DS.

[Reserved - cooking up my top list]

kswiston said:

Every year this thread reminds me that I should play Mask of the Betrayer, but I can never finish the vanilla NWN without losing interest. I should probably just skip it and start with MotB.

Click to expand...

Same for me except for replace Mask of the Betrayer with Persona 4.

Chrono Trigger
Deus Ex
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy XII
Fallout: New Vegas
Persona 4 Golden (3 points)
Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
Vagrant Story
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines

(will edit later)

Sir Garbageman said:

Same for me except for replace Mask of the Betrayer with Persona 4.

Click to expand...

The only real downside to Persona 4 is the length. You are probably looking at 70-80 hours your first time through even if you don't actively try to complete the optional stuff. If you have limited gaming time, that's a big commitment. At 1-2 hours a night, you are probably looking at 6-8 weeks of gaming. I think it took me even longer than that when I played it a few years back.

If you find your self unemployed or on extended holiday in the future though, it's an awesome 70 hours.

I have a feeling this year's list is going to look a bit different than last year with many of the top spots being taken up by games that were recently released opposed to actual quality.

Spruchy said:

I have a feeling this year's list is going to look a bit different than last year with many of the top spots being taken up by games that were recently released opposed to actual quality.

Click to expand...

Who cares when the game was released, though? Quality is quality. A recent release doesn't diminish that any more or less than a release nearly two decades ago.

Spruchy said:

I have a feeling this year's list is going to look a bit different than last year with many of the top spots being taken up by games that were recently released opposed to actual quality.

Click to expand...

Are you saying that last year's list favored recent releases or that this year's list will?

Like I have said a few times already, I am not tallying things yet, but with ~110 lists submitted so far, it seems like Skyrim is going to be way down this year. Xenoblade is doing better, but I'm expecting a slip in ranking there as well.

Read through all the lists. Mna, so many games I want to add. I wish we could do a top 50.

kswiston said:

The only real downside to Persona 4 is the length. You are probably looking at 70-80 hours your first time through even if you don't actively try to complete the optional stuff. If you have limited gaming time, that's a big commitment. At 1-2 hours a night, you are probably looking at 6-8 weeks of gaming. I think it took me even longer than that when I played it a few years back.

If you find your self unemployed or on extended holiday in the future though, it's an awesome 70 hours.

Click to expand...

Shit and I've been meaning to try it out at some point. :/ 70 hours for a game *without* doing optional stuff is pretty damn high.

Are most of the 70 hours the typical grind-stuff you sometimes see in RPGs?

Lime said:

Shit and I've been meaning to try it out at some point. :/ 70 hours for a game *without* doing optional stuff is pretty damn high.

Are most of the 70 hours the typical grind-stuff you sometimes see in RPGs?

Click to expand...

Persona 4 isn't really your traditional RPG, though. Because you have to grind in two ways: The classic battle stuff which, yes, will take some time. But you also have to grind your social links and stuff. So you may go an hour or two without a single battle as you simply progress through your daily life.

Lime said:

Shit and I've been meaning to try it out at some point. :/ 70 hours for a game *without* doing optional stuff is pretty damn high.

Are most of the 70 hours the typical grind-stuff you sometimes see in RPGs?

Click to expand...

You don't have to do any battle grinding in Persona 4 if you are strategic. You probably will end up doing a little grinding to collect items for a few of the side quests, but it won't be at all excessive. The game is actually split up into two parts. There are dungeon crawling rpg portions take place in a series of dungeons/mazes, each with a different theme that ties into the story. You make your way up/down a series of floors until you reach a dungeon boss. Unlike most jrpgs, you can be killed by regular enemies if you are not careful and status effects/elemental strengths/weaknesses are extremely important. All of this keeps combat pretty fresh.

The other half of the game sort of plays like a visual novel/adventure game. You interact with people at school and in the local town, building your social link (relationship) with them in a way that is similar to what you would see in a dating sim. Each person's social link represents a tarot card sign/avatar. As you strengthen a person's social link you are able to make the more powerful personas (basically summoned demons that you use for your magic system in battle) represented by that particular tarot sign. A lot of the character back stories and motivations are explained in the adventure segments, so you are motivated to work through them. However, I did find that side of the game a little tedious after 40-50 hours, and if you were going to assign the grinding label to any portion of the game, it would probably be this portion. Especially since the game is split into a series of calendar days over the course of a year. You get a new dungeon each month, and can typically complete it in 1-2 (game) calendar days. The rest of the time you are probably going to be working up your social links.

With all of that said, it was still one of my favourite PS2 games, and I am pretty sure the game made my own Top 10 last year.

Mine have not changed since the 2010 voting thread:

1) Final Fantasy IV
2) Final Fantasy VI (3 points)
3) Final Fantasy X
4) Chrono Trigger
5) Suikoden 2
6) Grandia
7) Secret of Mana
8) Skies of Arcadia
9) Planescape: Torment
10) Morrowind

We seem to be having a poorer than usual turnout for computer RPG recommendations so far (especially 90s crpgs). I hope that PC GAF shows up to vote.

Spruchy said:

I have a feeling this year's list is going to look a bit different than last year with many of the top spots being taken up by games that were recently released opposed to actual quality.

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The inverse could be true as well. I recently replayed KOTOR and while it holds up pretty well without the nostalgia glasses on there were some serious flaws that I didn't remember so I knocked it down a bunch of spots.

kswiston said:

We seem to be having a poorer than usual turnout for computer RPG recommendations so far (especially 90s crpgs). I hope that PC GAF shows up to vote.

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I'm actually surprised PC RPGs did so well last year given the popularity of consoles.

BeesEight said:

I'm actually surprised PC RPGs did so well last year given the popularity of consoles.

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They have done pretty well in past years as well.

However, just doing a quick unofficial count of the usual suspects, it looks like none of them are in the Top 5 currently. Well depending on how you count Dark Souls (which might be #5 currently unless I am forgetting something).

Obsidian is getting a lot of love this year though. Even if it gets no more votes from here on out, KOTOR2 has already received more recommendations than the past 3 years combined. Alpha Protocol is up there for crpgs as well.

This is a great thread so far and the explanations with each game are great to read. I've already shifted up a couple of games on my backlog due to summaries here. Neat.

I've been playing PC RPGs since i can remember. I didn't get into consoles until much later so i missed a lot of classics from that side of gaming which will be pretty obvious in my list. I'm also not very good at expressing myself so i'll try and keep short and sweet.

Final Fantasy XII - 3 pts - Beautiful OST. I loved the enchanting atmosphere they managed to create that pervades the whole game. Enjoyable battle system. Wandering mobs instead of random battles was a great improvement for me. That OST though is phenomenal.
Knights of The Old Republic - This was IT for me. Everything i wanted from a Star Wars game. The settings, the weapons, the technology, the music, The Force. I was in heaven. Add in rich dialog, morality choices, lots of side quests, different classes and i can forgive the odd bug and glitch. I like KoTOR II but the first just edges it for me. It's worth playing both for HK47 alone.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Seven playable vampire clans each with their own abilities and powers. The dialog in some quests is exquisite. There are some standout moments in the game with Ocean House being the most famous and who could forget the sisters? It shows signs of being rushed towards the latter stages and the end-game lacks the finesse of previous missions which is a shame but the game is worth playing at least twice and one of those times must be Malkavian.
Fallout 3 - I spent over 200 hours in the wastelands and loved every minute. Give me an open world, a main quest to keep me focused and set me free to explore.
Anachronox - An overlooked great. Sure it looks a bit clunky now but it's the reason Ion Storm could have been great. Has a tech-noir feel to me and i loved that.
Planescape: Torment - Do you want to play a good book? Here it is. There is a lot of dialog but the world is so rich and it's so well written you won't care.
Nier - Beautiful and bizarre combat orientated RPG. Great cast of characters and an intriguing story topped off with another top flight OST.
Skyrim - I love Morrowind but Skyrim just tops it for me. Large countryside to explore for ruins, treasure bandits and Dragons! I spent far too long in the varying wilderness and rinsed the game but i still want to go back and i will. Dont' forget to pack SkyUI when you go!
Mass Effect - I enjoyed ME2 and am currently playing ME3 but so far the first is still the favoured one. Sci-Fi RPG? I'm there! Especially when it's done this well. The sequels polish the experience but also lean more towards action and feel like they're harrying you along.
Fable II - Charming. I bloody loved this game it ate up hours of my time and for all it's niggles and groans i left each session with a smile. There's so much to do away from the main quest and the achievements are still my favourites.

Honorable Mentions:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - A great cyber romp through a cyberpunk world. Flexible and responsive to multiple playstyles, the world created feels whole. I can forgive the misguided Boss fights as they are pretty easy to cheese through and the devs have expressed regret since. Heh.
A remake of Deus Ex in the Human Revolution engine would be a joy. I can't wait for CyberPunk 2077.
Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door - The first Mario game i really, really enjoyed. It just has a charm and an ease of play that makes it a delight aside from the annoying backtracking which i'm sure is in there as an ironic joke.
Dungeon Master - Where i first cut my RPG teeth. Played this on my Atari STe in my teens and it's till a great game now. Try Legend of Grimrock for a modern take.
Divine Divinity - Filled my Baldur's Gate fix when i needed it and i found myself enjoying it a bit more.
Baldur's Gate - The original time sink for me. Easy to play, fun to master. Click-click-click-click-cha-ching!

I wish i could be more eloquent but go read some of the other replies, they're fantastic. I could mention many more games but i limited myself to those i have completed not just ones i own, have tried and wandered away from. Stupid magpie mind.

Here's my nostalgia-laden list.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics - for having my favourite plot in a videogame coupled with great gameplay and replayability. I love the ending and the Ramza-Delita duality is outstanding.
2. Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen - my first Matsuno game. I remember playing it before I could even understand English. Hearing the classic songs on Tactics Ogre PSP brought tears to my eyes. Princesses and Liches ftw.
3. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together - well, I don't think there's anything I don't like in this game. I don't know how to praise it other than saying it's pretty much perfect.
4. Final Fantasy VI (bonus points) - for all the great memories and unforgettable moments. The characters, the plot, the graphics and the music had an impact on me as a youngster and I'll never forget my first playthrough.
5. Secret of Mana - my first Squaresoft game. It's just so much fun! I miss those sort of lighthearted games, with a whimsical atmosphere and fun, engaging gameplay. Angel's Fear is incredible.
6. Chrono Trigger - yet another flawless game in my view. I replayed it recently and it was as good as I could remember. To Far Away Times makes me teary eyed.
7. Final Fantasy XII - possibly the last great Final Fantasy. Despite all the controversy, I love the plot and the characters (well, most of them) and the world they created. I'm sad the following Final Fantasies didn't follow XII's lead.
8. Seiken Densetsu 3 - it's pretty much Secret of Mana squared. I love the replayability and the gameplay, plus the top-quality, SNES-era Squaresoft graphics and music.
9. Xenogears - unlike most games on this list, a deeply flawed game whose qualities are so good they end up making playing the game a very satisfying experience in the end.
10. World of Warcraft - for the countless hours I spent playing, the friends I made raiding and, well, for all the great memories it brings. I'm sad things had to change, but TBC WoW (that is when I started playing) was simply amazing. I miss it dearly.

Honourable mentions:
1. Pokemon Gold/Silver
2. Final Fantasy X
3. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
4. Valkyrie Profile 1
5. Phantasy Star 1

Curious to see where Deus Ex HR falls in ranking. Was thinking of rebuying it and giving it another chance.

Tales of the Abyss
+ Series introduction to Free Run which synergizes great with the Field of Fonons in where you want to be on the battlefield
+ Tales of series packed with side content, somewhat before Namco Bandai realized they could charge money for costumes
+ Fun trope prone and occasionally trope saavy cast where everyone is involved and not left behind
- Given how much dialogue happens, if you don't warm up to a Tales of cast, it's going to be a rough 50-70 hours

The Last Story (3 Points)
+ Swiftly paced, sending you to unexpected locales and each boss requiring a special approach
+ The voice acting and localization sells the warm cameradrie amongst the band of mercenaries
+ The armor and color customization for each piece, I could do this for hours (and I did)
+ Lazulis Island is full of life, especially thanks to the changing nature of the NPCs
+ Dynamic in and out of temporary cast members that have equivalent combat skills to their narrative role
- In comparison to Xenoblade, The Last Story's shake-ups to the genre are not so impressive

Suikoden III
+ Your tactictian here seems to have a balance of good tactics with enough mischief to withhold enough to make it a surprise reveal
+ A larger portion of your 108 stars seem to be involved in the plot and embedded in the Suikoden world given the 3-5 viewpoints
+ Genuinely surprising to see where some of them are now, from the 15 year time jump from Suikoden II, builds on the lore nicely
+ Introduction of skills helps differentiate characters further
- Introduces a lot of mysteries that will never get resolved

Chrono Trigger
+ Time travel is a miraculous, incredible thing that can change the world for the better! I know what we can do to fix these plot problems! Let's do it right now!
+ Excellent escalation of plot elements that recur until they are properly revealed
+ Lots of new gimmicks in enemies and bosses in each area to spice up combat from the usual hit them until they die
- Chrono Cross made me sad in ways I did not want to feel

The World Ends With You
+ Gives lots of options on how you want to play the game at your own pace, from the different methods to gain pin EXP, difficulty slider, enemy encounter system, and chapter selection (after beating the game)
+ With all the different methods of activating pins and hectic pace of battle, it works out surprisingly well
+ Soundtrack, character designs, setting, how the dialogue bubbles pop, the sense of style is disarmingly infectious
- Might burst out laughing at the opening lines, probably confirms all the bad rep you've heard about JRPG heroes

Odin Sphere
+ Beautiful aesthetic, excellently delievered Norse-flavored melodrama, elegant music
+ The contrast between your impressions of your five characters as they encounter each other in their paths is enlightening
+ Satisfying inventory management in clearing out your outdated items with a simple multiplication-based alchemy system. A 90 material combined with an ingredient releases a shower of pink sparkles.
- But plays like a clumsy beat-em up

Infinite Space
+ The discovery of star phenomenon, jumping through warp gates to meet unusual alien races and governments, the various agendas of the large recruitable cast, NPCs, and hostiles, and the threat of space pirates gives a strongly authentic space opera vibe.
+ Nevermind his wispy looks, main character Yuri is most similar to Skies of Arcadia's Vyse in that he's always moving the plot forward with his encouraging optimism and boundless determination, further giving the impression that Infinite Space's space something wide and wonderful to be explored.
+ Ship customization and crew management, you're a sci fi ship captain now!
- Battle system is middling and untransparent. You probably won't know why you lost those first few battles. ... On the plus side, very few tutorials!

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
+ Introduces to the series bonus exp, which gives a viable method of buffing new recruits and trying them out or just making your regular army stronger.
+ Introduction of Shove on foot soldiers and Canto on mounted units gives more viable options
+ Supports are now easier and faster to build and upgrading to tier 2 without needing rare and hidden promotion items were pleasant streamlining changes
+ Introduces a higher number of party members before the map they're recruited on. Through the base conversations, also allows your lordling Ike to interact with everyone you've recruited.
It goes a good ways in making your units seem more then palette alterations with different growth rates and made me more invested in avoiding permadeath.
- While it might do it marginally better then similar games and doesn't stumble at the delivery, fantasy racism as a plot point (particularly against furries) is a bit...

Final Fantasy VI
+ Memorable presentation of scenarios. It may be a simplistic chasing, switch flipping, multiple choice dialogue mini-game but it was presented as a grandeoise Opera sequence.
+ Earnest delivery of the large cast's backstories and lots of optional or hidden events to add to it
- This spot would probably be occupied by FFVII if I had played that first

Wild Arms 3
+ Gives a sense of adventure and discovery and that you have to do it yourself by mapping things with the Search system
+ Tying their magic summons with Native American mysticism, train chases, Mexican standoffs, the focus on drifters makes this entry a bit more authentically western then previous entries. Doesn't mean you're not going to see UFOs though.
+ A hell of a memorable opening sequence to introduce your four leads
+ Huge, lovely world map just beckoning to be explored but ...
- If I'm standing like four feet from town, I should be able to see it without Searching! This map is huge, some of these landmarks are really troublesome to find.

Honorable Mentions
Xenoblade - That sense of awe when you arrive at Bionis Leg for the first time.
And then you look down and you can see this tiny patch that is Colony 9, good grief!

Valkyrie Profile - The game establishes that you're a mere servant of the gods and re-emphasizes it through all the things you need to offer them so they know you're doing your job right.
But as you're still a godly being, you start the game able to fly and access every corner of the world map. That's pretty badass.

If only they taught you some of the platforming stuff you could do, you had to figure out that nonsense yourself. tri-Ace game!

Resonance of Fate - A unique and strongly atmospheric setting and an easygoing chemistry between the main cast and a dynamic loot happy battle system centered on creating resonance (that's special bonuses for having the characters work together).

Tales of Graces F - The battle system and subsystems supporting it were a blast. Excellent synergy.

Final Fantasy Tactics - I played Tactics Ogre (PSP) earlier this year and whoa, all that deja vu.
Still, the class balancing, the minor aesthetic upgrades (bigger sprites, weightier sound effects), and focusing the plot into essentially Tactics Ogre's Chaotic Path made FFTactics more accessible and enjoyable.

Hmm, my post from last year, not too much different this year apart from the addition of Xenoblade (with Xenogears getting bumped into a runner up slot).

1. Phantasy Star 2 - some of the best dungeons in RPG gaming, amazing plot twists, a great futuristic setting, creepy monster design, and some nail-bitingly tough gaming.

2. Star Ocean 2 - ridiculous amount of content, extremely fun battle system, tons of endings, and a hilarious English dub.

3. Valkyrie Profile - the combat system to end all combat systems, plus some dastardly challenging dungeons, very interesting and unorthodox gameplay structure (where you are on a "time limit" as you try to train and recruit soldiers to fight a war for Nilfgaard).

4. Phantasy Star 4 - a bit easy compared to the other PS games, but the Macro system and combo attacks were awesome, there were a ton of sidequests to do, the graphics and music were tops for Genesis, well-told story, such an amazing game.

5. Phantasy Star 1 - blew my mind as a kid... planetary travel, smooth-scrolling 3D dungeons, animated monsters! Even though SMS was an 8bit system as well, it looked like such a massive leap over DQ1 and FF1...

6. Skies of Arcadia - the closest we've ever gotten to a true Phantasy Star 5... massive world with lots to explore, a great upbeat cast, giant airships to pilot, it was one of the first truly 3D RPGs I've ever played and the sense of scale was awesome

7. Dragon Quest 5 - the best DQ game, with the most heartfelt story in the series

8. Final Fantasy 5 - job system FTMFW!!! Such an awesome gameplay setup that makes encounters and boss fights so much fun, also had an awesome soundtrack

9. Mother 3 - loved the storyline and the themes it conveys - commercialization of an idyllic, rural life.. the end of innocence... has a sense of humor that only the Mother series can manage, but at the same time it's a way more polished, balanced, and challenging game than Earthbound.

10. Xenoblade - the most recent addition to the list, as this was a game that I played for the first time this year. the one game that salvaged an otherwise mediocre generation for me. expansive and imaginative world, fantastic music, tons of content. sure it has its flaws but it feels so innovative and unique that those were easily overlooked. i probably put more time into this game (145h) than any other game excepting maybe DQ7.

My 5 Runners Up:

Chrono Trigger
Suikoden 2
Dragon Quest 8
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys
Xenogears

And other favorites:

Earthbound, Lufia 2, FF4, 6, 7, DQ3, 4, 7, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Baten Kaitos: Origins, Resonance of Fate, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy Adventure, SaGa Frontier, Wild Arms 1 and 3, Arc the Lad 2, Star Ocean 1, Tales of Phantasia, Live A Live, The World Ends With You, Defenders of Oasis, Ys I+II, VII, Felghana, Exile, Tengai Makyo: The Apocalypse IV, Nier, Breath of Fire 3 and 5, Grandia, Lunar 2, Alundra, Symphony of the Night, EVO, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, Actraiser, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Rudra's Secret Treasure, Trails in the Sky, Persona 3 and 4, Radiant Historia

Token western RPG:

Ultima IV

I'm hoping next year Ni No Kuni can make it on my list...

1) Fallout 3 - This game just stuck with me. I've yet to find one this gen that tops it.

2) Demon's Souls - fantastic game play.

3) Mass Effect 2 - I enjoyed it more than the original and a lot more than 3.

4) The Witcher 2 - great story, great visuals.

5) Dragon Age: Origins - the lore in this one sucked me in big time.

6) Guild Wars 2 - my first MMORPG. I love it.

7) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - needs no explanation. Just a really good game.

8) Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - very good combat and a nice world to explore.

9) Torchlight 2 - it took the first one and improved upon it in almost every way. I enjoyed the first one a lot as well.

10) Diablo 3 - I had a ton of fun with this one, which for some reason I feel like I should apologize for. I won't.

SpaceBridge said:

Curious to see where Deus Ex HR falls in ranking. Was thinking of rebuying it and giving it another chance.

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I haven't seen it mentioned that much. The original is faring much better. Honestly, I loved DE:HR's style but it's substance was a little lacking.

kswiston said:

Are you saying that last year's list favored recent releases or that this year's list will?

Like I have said a few times already, I am not tallying things yet, but with ~110 lists submitted so far, it seems like Skyrim is going to be way down this year. Xenoblade is doing better, but I'm expecting a slip in ranking there as well.

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I think that'll be a thing with every list, if I hazard a guess. Nostalgia can be a bitch for some, but so can infatuation!

SatelliteOfLove said:

I think that'll be a thing with every list, if I hazard a guess. Nostalgia can be a bitch for some, but so can infatuation!

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True. I don't really agree the assessment that most spots will be tied up by recent releases anyhow. Last year 16 of the top 50 games were released this generation, and that includes Persona 3 and 4. Considering that console games released before 1990 and PC games released before 1995 are mostly forgotten on these lists due to the demographics of the people voting, I don't think that 30% of the top 50 being current gen is all that excessive, especially when you consider how many more games (and systems) are being made now than in the past.

This thread has piqued my interest in KOTOR 2. I'll pick it up during the Winter Sale.

1) The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion (3 points) - I have yet to spend more time with any other game up until this point.

2) Dark Souls - Such a great game with very addictive, yet challenging gameplay.

3) Fallout 3 - Probably my second most played game of all time.

4) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - I enjoyed many things about this game, however I was a victim of purchasing it on the PS3 - so my playtime came to an end sooner than I would have liked. Plan to repurchase it on the 360 after Xmas.

5) Mass Effect 2 - One of the reasons I purchased a 360 was due to all the buzz this game was receiving upon release, and I can't say I regretted the purchase.

6) Dragon Age: Origins - it took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I was hooked.

7) Demon's Souls - I followed all the buzz this game was receiving upon its initial release in Japan and waited anxiously for the US release and fell in love immediately.

8) Fallout: New Vegas - I enjoyed this almost as much as Fallout 3, few minor quest bugs almost kept me from finishing it though.

9) Final Fantasy 7 - played this a few years ago on my PSP, graphics were dated but gameplay still held up.

10) Final Fantasy 10 - this is probably the first RPG that I ever remember playing, I put nearly 50 hours into this game at a very young age - which was rare as I usually moved from game to game regularly.

I made a couple of modifications to my list from last year:

1) Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - It was my introduction to the series and the genre, and I don't think I've ever clicked with a game like this before. I absolutely loved it. I jumped in on hard, played like an amateur but slowly picked up what I was doing, and by the end I was leading an army into battle with the mindset that everyone was coming back alive. These games are designed to make you to care about 20-30 soldiers that you don't want to lose, each with a name and story, and that's what makes the games so difficult.

2) Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - They are two parts of the same game so I can't not mention it. Radiant Dawn is the game that happens after the "Happily Ever After" in games where a war occurs. It tells the story of strife that occurs after war has subsided and the politicians regain power. Not only that, but it tells it from all angles, meaning you're often fighting against the crew you were just controlling. It's also unapologetically difficult right from the start, and I love it for that.

3) Earthbound - I don't think a game has ever endeared itself to me the way Earthbound has. I only played it a couple of years ago, but it still has the most charm and heart I've seen in the medium. The dialogue and music are still great after all these years, though the battle system isn't my cup of tea. It was heartfelt without being corny, and it delivered its themes with a light hand. The final battle is something that cemented it as one of my favorite games of all times.

4) Mother 3 - I can't really get into this too much without totally spoiling it, but I can say that no game has ever hit me harder. Heartrending is an understatement, and yet it was an experience totally worth having. The game is an emotional rollercoaster and will always be a really special experience to me.

5) The World Ends With You - Who knew Square still had it in them? It turned out to be a pretty innovative collaboration with Jupiter. The story may have been the same generic stuff about a kid whose heart grew three sizes that day but it's told in an incredibly unique way. I don't think there's anything I didn't like about the game. The battle system is unique, the music is great for the theme, everything is adjustable, there's a collection aspect, plenty of post game content. There's really nothing this game didn't do, and it did it all really well. I've never experienced anything quite like this before, and it came at a time I thought nothing could surprise me anymore.

6) Persona 4 - I went into this not knowing what a Persona game even was and I got an incredibly unique experience. I'm not even sure how to describe the game. I feel like I need to mention the soundtrack for not only being really great, but also for tying into the game thematically. Anyway, I was really absorbed in this game for the 100 or so hours of the experience. They do a lot to make you feel like you're part of that world and the payoff was pretty big for me.

7) The Last Story - Amazing game. I loved the unique battle system, especially the vaulting. Great aesthetic, mood, character, and music. Of which, I think this is up there with Uematsu's best. Phenomenal sound track.

8) Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 - Another SRPG. Like Radiant Dawn, I thought this was a strong follow up, but unlike Radiant Dawn I thought the prequel was lacking. It fixed pretty much any complaints I had with the first game, returned with great music, and a strong cast and story.

9) Xenoblade Chronicles - A beautiful fusion of different RPG styles. The story wasn't spectacular, but it was pretty good. The battle system was really fun and had a lot of depth once you got further in the game. It was a pretty great showing of what the Wii was really capable of in terms of scale by producing this giant world for you to explore. That's all great, whatever, but the music blew me away. Shimomura especially outdid herself.

10) Tales of Symphonia -This was my introduction to the Tales series, but more importantly, my introduction to the battle system, which is the reason it is up here. I thought the story was pretty inoffensive though they pull pretty much every cliche in the book. Not much else to say about this.




Honorable mentions:

11) Valkyria Chronicles - (Was on my list last year) It was sort of light on the RPG elements but I guess it still counts since other people are listing it. The art direction goes without saying, but it really is one of the things that impacted me most with this game. This is a weird one for me, because I thought the strategy aspect was pretty light and easy, but at the same time super fun and satisfying.

12) Baten Kaitos - (Was on my list last year) Horrible voice acting aside, I thought the environments were really cool, the combat actually required some thought, and the characters were likable. I never got around to the sequel, unfortunately.

13) Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones - Some of my favorite characters in the series, but I feel like PoR and RD were just stronger entries overall

14) Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - (Was on my list last year) While I loved the gameplay and the way encounters work, I think the writing really made this game. It was everything I would expect from a Paper Mario game, which is about the highest compliment I can pay to comedy in games.

15) Disgaea - Great story, cast, music, presentation, everything except it took little strategy to actually beat the game so gameplay is unrewarding. The presentation makes it more than worth playing though.

I've still got Radiant Historia and The Last Remnant to get through as far as recent stuff goes. The first two being thanks to the 2011 thread. Looking forward to seeing how things shake out and adding some RPGs to the backlog.

To the OP, is it OK if I can change any of the games in my main list?

Tizoc said:

To the OP, is it OK if I can change any of the games in my main list?

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Sure, you are free to edit your votes until December 28th, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.

archnemesis said:

Sure, you are free to edit your votes until December 28th, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.

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Great thanks! I just remembered an RPG that should've been in my main list ^_^;

1. Final Fantasy IX - Basically my classic JRPG. Even though I think Xenoblade is a better game, FFIX is one of my go to nostalgia games.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles - Just incredible. I can't really say much more than has already been said. Haha.
3. Mother 3 - Sweet, powerful, moving, so good.
4. Earthbound - This is my ultimate nostalgia game. I don't even know why because I first played it when I was 13 or 14, but I come back to this game probably every year or so and it just makes me happy.
5. Nier - Just played this year. Wow. Very well done. Great characters, great story, amazing soundtrack.
6. Xenosaga - Such good memories of this series but I don't think I'd be able to play it anymore. My tolerance for anime melodrama is pretty low now.
7. Final Fantasy XII - Great game, the battle system clicked with me the second time trying it. Story falls apart a bit by the second half but that's okay.
8. Pokemon Heart Gold - I'll just put the updated version of my favourite Pokemon game here. Haha.
9. Xenogears - Very good game.
10. Persona 4 - Still haven't finished it, because it made me mad. But it's an excellent game haha.

Tizoc said:

Great thanks! I just remembered an RPG that should've been in my main list ^_^;

Click to expand...

Ya, you can continue to change stuff until the deadline. I figure some people may play a game or two over the holiday that have a chance of being added. I would have run the voting stage longer for those out of school, but I have the week off between Xmas and New Years and that will be my best chance to work on the final list in the OP (which always takes a good 1.5-2 days).

Glad to see that we are getting near 120 participants in the first 4 days. I am hoping we have no problems getting at least 200 people to contribute. That seems to be the baseline needed to have a Top 100 where the bottom games are still getting 3+ recommendations. More than 200 would obviously be better.

1. Persona 4: The Golden - No other game has made me laugh out loud, nearly cry, yet still be fun to play and grind; originally Persona 4 was #1, but G just makes it that much better.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Zero Escape: 999 & Virtue's Last Reward
5. Dark Souls
6. Final Fantasy IX
7. The World Ends With You
8. The Witcher II
9. Tactics Ogre
10. Breath of Fire IV

I think this is it.

pelicansurf said:

4. Zero Escape: 999 & Virtue's Last Reward

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wat

robotnik said:

wat

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How will people who break the rules and list multiple titles in a single spot be handled? Point given to the first title listed, or will just nothing get the point for that slot?

Patryn said:

How will people who break the rules and list multiple titles in a single spot be handled? Point given to the first title listed, or will just nothing get the point for that slot?

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Don't know, but more important Zero Escape are adventure games.