Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I feel like for most kids born from the 90s, my first rpg experience is Pokemon blue.
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NeoGAF's Essential RPGs: 2017-2018 edition - Vote open until Oct 13th - Win Free RPGs
- Thread starter kswiston
- Start date
Us college FF players should stick together! I think playing them all closer together definitely gave me a different viewpoint on the entire series and perhaps allowed me to appreciate the less liked games better because for me they weren't a huge change for the series after waiting for years. I am a huge fan of every game in the series including VIII and the XIII trilogy.
I think the same viewpoint has been extending to all the RPGs I play. I don't have the expectations for these things.
No to both of your questions. Ryu and Nina (and dragons) are pretty much the only common thread all 5 games in the franchise share, besides some inconsequential lore stuff I guess.
Final Fantasy XV brought leather pants and leather jackets back to mainstream gaming. Tabata era baby!
Dragon Quarter and Panzer Dragoon Saga were both on my Top 5 JRPGs...I feel your pain Mr. Aznable.
I think FFV has the strongest gameplay of the classic FFs. If I'm being honest, I don't generally play the FFs for the moment-to-moment gameplay though. Otherwise I would have it ranked higher.
The FF with my favorite gameplay is actually Lightning Returns. Love that battle system and some of the other interesting mechanics in that game. Probably the most challenging game in the series too, which is great because a lot of them are a bit of a cakewalk.
Yes I am an FFVIII and Lightning Returns fan. I am the monster hiding under the FF fandom's bed
I have yet to give Panzer Dragoon Saga a shot but I've frequently heard praises for it. As an outsider I find it intriguing because I could never quite figure out what it's all about. I've looked at gameplay videos and it looks more like a Star Fox thing than an RPG, but apparently people also say that's a turn-based battle system? Is there city and dungeon exploration? It's kind of intriguing but also intimidating.
I also usually don't play FF for the moment to moment gameplay, but V is an exception to that. The Job System is enough by itself to keep me entertained with all the possible combinations and replay value it adds, on top of being surprisingly well balanced for a Final Fantasy game all around boasting solid encounters, bosses and dungeons. I also find its cast to be endearing, the script for the GBA localization is zanny and fun, and there are some legitimately compelling scenes throughout, so I wouldn't even consider it one of the weakest narratives in the franchise like many would.
I haven't tried Lightning Returns yet, or XIII-2 for that matter. The first one was enough to put me off from the whole trilogy, but I'm trying to muster the willpower to give them a shot. I think Koozek shares your opinion that LR has the best battle system in the franchise, so at least that has me a little curious.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Trying to get into CRPGs?
Scared of the up-front complexity?
Still want an "only possible on PC" experience though?
Then take a gander at my Underrated vote: Legend of Grimrock II!
The terrifying scope agoraphobia hits LATE in the game rather than up front!
I said similarly with Valkyria Chronicles and Suikoden II in the last thread despite new ports in the interrum. Things can get wierd that way.
Scared of the up-front complexity?
Still want an "only possible on PC" experience though?
Then take a gander at my Underrated vote: Legend of Grimrock II!
The terrifying scope agoraphobia hits LATE in the game rather than up front!
I said similarly with Valkyria Chronicles and Suikoden II in the last thread despite new ports in the interrum. Things can get wierd that way.
Iva Demilcol
Member
You all are lucky. My first RPG ever was Pokémon Blue.
Edit: oh, it seems I'm not the only one. and at least one more person got introduced to the genre with the superior version of Pokémon.
Edit: oh, it seems I'm not the only one. and at least one more person got introduced to the genre with the superior version of Pokémon.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
The battle system is ATB, with its own twist:
- You only control one character (your dragon + rider), no party member;
- You have 3 ATB bars; when one bar fills up, you can do an action, or wait for a 2nd or even a 3rd bar and then perform several actions in a row;
- Some actions, like special "berserk" attacks, require more than 1 bar to perform but are very powerful;
- You also have positioning around the enemy. When a bar fills up, you can move (it won't spend the bar, but you need it to be filled to move, IIRC -- someone correct me on this, been a while) around clockwise or counter-clockwise in a circle/quadrant, unless the quarter of that circle is greyed out (like if there's an obstacle preventing you to position yourself there);
- Positioning is important; when a quarter in that circle is green, it means you are safe, the enemy can't attack you and you can attack; when it's clear, it means you can be attacked, and when it's red, it means it's very dangerous, and you should get out of there ASAP or you'll get hit by a powerful attack soon.
There is indeed city and dungeon exploration, though there aren't many settlements, but they have NPCs, shops, etc. City exploration is on foot, and dungeon exploration is through flying on your dragon.
The story, atmosphere, world-building and soundtrack are also really really good. You can also customize your dragon to make it more focused on strong attacks, make it tankier, make it faster, or make its special attacks stronger, or anything between these spectrums and you can watch your dragon morph its appearance in real time, it was pretty mindblowing at the time for a Saturn game.
It's an amazingly good game. The only downside is that the game is short, and not particularly difficult. And the graphics will be quite dated for today's standards, but I don't really mind that. Oh and the abominable price tag
Hey that's the game I grabbed from the raffle haha. Is there any controller support?
Late 80s, Pokemon Yellow was my first, followed by BoF IV in PS1.
But I won't recommend either in an essential thread because both are rather dated.
hemtae
Member
I don't think there's official controller support. You might be able to finagle something with the controller options in steam though.
On the topic of games first played mine funny enough was VII. I was so intrigued watching my brother play it and grew quite attached to the characters and story. I remember loading up my brothers save and being so proud that I beat Sephiroth even though it obviously wasn't an amazing accomplishment that I beat a game with someones save file but I was really young so obviously it felt amazing lol
After that I saw him playing VIII and was immediately hooked on everything about it. The opening FMV was stuck in my head for years and I couldn't stop telling people about it but I didn't end up completely finishing VIII until I was about 12-13. I then learned about Final Fantasy Tactics and it became my second favourite Final Fantasy game.
Around that time is also when I picked up Pokemon Yellow with the Pokemon themed Gameboy colour which solidified my love for the Pokemon series.
After that I saw him playing VIII and was immediately hooked on everything about it. The opening FMV was stuck in my head for years and I couldn't stop telling people about it but I didn't end up completely finishing VIII until I was about 12-13. I then learned about Final Fantasy Tactics and it became my second favourite Final Fantasy game.
Around that time is also when I picked up Pokemon Yellow with the Pokemon themed Gameboy colour which solidified my love for the Pokemon series.
Haha, I think I had Red first and Blue later.
The first rpgs I played. Couldn't read english back then. Still managed to beat it and put some solid hours in. My sister then wanted to play it, but she didn't know english as well. Instead of continuing she erased my file and I had to start all over again... I was pretty pissed and never forgot about it. Still kept playing and then managed to capture all 150 pokemons.
So now I sometimes get the urge to delete my savefile and start over again in Pokemon games lol.
There is not. You would have to used a third party program like xpadder, or maybe even the steam controller. Though even then, I imagine the game would be clunky with a controller.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
Yeah, even interacting with levers, blocks, or buttons would be like Dragon's Crown's loot hunting thing, and casting spells and switching between characters while moving would be a nightmare of physical dexterity.
The predecessor was on phones, (the touchscreen functionality works like a charm really).
Temple of Elemental Evil is one of my favorite games of all time. I just find it hard to recommend because it's basically the ultimate DnD combat system game -- and I think it caters to a very specific taste of person.
If you like games like D:OS and D:OS 2 because of the combat you owe it to yourself to check this game out. It's like those games, except with DND classes. On the plus side, just like all of the hand drawn top town games it's still gorgeous.
texhnolyze
Banned
I think the remaster is actually doing more harm than good.
After replaying the game, people probably realized that it's not as good as they remember it.
I'd like to think it's more of a positive thing with people playing new games that capture their hearts rather than losing their love for a game they played 11 years ago.
I think this is definitely true. When you play many of the FFs in fairly rapid succession, it helps to see the general consistency in quality between the games. As opposed to waiting one or more years and really falling in love with one entry, only to be disappointed when the next inevitably strays from it in significant ways.
I'm partial to XIII but it's a very difficult game to replay. The first half is very constricted, but the linear level design isn't actually the big problem (X after all is equally linear). The constriction is in the battle mechanics, which don't fully open up until 15-20 hours in.
One of the reasons I like Lightning Returns is how quickly it opens up. Within a few hours you basically have full command of the battle mechanics, and can start constructing your desired builds.
I really recommend LR to anyone who enjoys the gameplay-focused FF entries. And if you could stomach FFX-2, LR is a must.
I'll probably do a LTTP thread about it at some point, because I think a lot of people just haven't played it. They bailed because of the negative reception to the trilogy, or because of the timer (which is a completely misunderstood mechanic, you have a ridiculous amount of time to do basically whatever you want).
Depending on how old you were, beating Sephiroth is a major accomplishment. He gave me trouble and at that point I'd beaten FFs I, II, IV, and VI. I actually had to take the L and go back to get ribbons for the damn status effects.
I'm very "Point A to Point B" when it comes to RPGs though. I like to play JRPGs as efficiently as possible, at least on first playthroughs. I always get shit from my buds because I say Chrono Trigger had one of the hardest final bosses I've ever fought. But if you don't grind at all and go straight to him while doing absolutely none of the optional endgame content, with 14 hours on the game clock, he is damn difficult.
If I like the game enough, I'll usually play it a second time and go for a "reasonable" 100% (so not shit like "own every item/weapon, everyone LVL99, etc.).
Especially with the Zodiac Age remaster. being categorically superior to the original Western release. I don't think it's possible to think less of XII after playing the remaster.
I think I'm bizarrely immune to the nostalgia glasses effect. The only game on my entire list that I played as a child is KOTOR2, and even then it's really the playthrough I made as an adult with the Restored Content Mod that cemented the deal.
I could never imagine putting the games I played when I was younger on a pedestal, just because I was a child when I played them. For instance Wind Waker will probably always be my "favorite" Zelda for nostalgia purposes, but realistically it's probably my 5th favorite behind BotW, MM, SS, and TP.
Brave Fencer Musashi was fun though. I don't know if I'd put it on my list, but it's definitely "underrated" in a general sense.
I gave up on Final Fantasy XII pretty early on back when it came out. I was actually thinking about giving the remake a go because of good word of mouth here.
That and IV DS are my current "plans" to work on FF atm. Sort of want to replay V too.
(Well, XIII and XIII-2 are in my back-catalog too. Did the easter thing and got XIII-2 and then bought XIII on steam christmas sale last year. IDK if I'll ever play them though)
That and IV DS are my current "plans" to work on FF atm. Sort of want to replay V too.
(Well, XIII and XIII-2 are in my back-catalog too. Did the easter thing and got XIII-2 and then bought XIII on steam christmas sale last year. IDK if I'll ever play them though)
texhnolyze
Banned
What I'm saying is that most people probably wearing nostalgia glasses when listing their favorite games.
Hope you'll enjoy IV DS, it probably has the best gameplay of the ATB games due to the rebalanced difficulty. (Or at least it's neck and neck with V, though V focuses more on different party builds with the job system).
If you have a decent PC, it might be better to play IV on there instead though. The battle framerate on the DS is...really something.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
If I was to put a pokemon game on there though, it would be crystal.
I've come to like FFIV less and less as I get older, but the DS remake is the best version by far, so that's a great choice.
Edit: As in the remake itself is. Best actual version is the PC port of it, probably.
I've never had much of a heart for the game, but I enjoyed the PSP version as it was mercifully short. After FF2 and 3, I was rather tired of everyone and their mother trying to sacrifice themselves in a dramatic fashion. I have 4 on PC so I may give that a whirl at some point. Is it about the same length?
PC version is longer because battles take longer, cutscenes take longer, and its more difficult. I'd say it's maybe, I don't know 25% or 33% longer.
As you say, though, IV is a very short game, arguably the only shorter game in the series is XV if you do none of the optional content. But part of the reason I like IV is that brevity. I think there are many JRPGs that could shave 10 or so hours off their playtime, and little of value would be lost.
Re: Pokemon, I honestly have no clue what the most essential entry would be. I haven't played anything from Gen IV, V, or early VI (i.e. X and Y), so I'm not properly equipped to say anyway.
Besides, even if those later games were objectively better, I'm not sure I'd be able to admit it in a list. The nostalgia is too strong with Gen I and II, I probably just wouldn't include anything at that point. Just have SMT cover for all monster-catching JRPGs and call it a day.
I also enjoyed the Gen III remakes, but apparently those weren't well-received (?).
It wasn't well-received because Game Freak decided to be complete cheap ass and didn't give us Battle Frontier. After X/Y, that's two Pokemon games lacking content back to back. They left a really bad taste in my mouth.
I have that one somewhere. 14 hours would be a blessing for that game. It took me 25 on PS1. It was a slog at some points. I also made the mistake of having a thief/ninja.
With Pokemon being such an iterative series I imagine there's simply no true essential game but the last one released, to be honest.
I mean if you asked me which had the strongest impact in me I'd say Gen 2, but I wouldn't really recommend a newcomer to start with it (or the remakes, for that matter).
As for FFIV. I tried the PSP remake but I found it kinda ugly and so easy that I thought was even more boring than the original. DS was great because the new balance meant you actually need to be good at the game to progress, which was fun. Though I imagine that PSP is ideal if you just want to be done with it ASAP.
I mean if you asked me which had the strongest impact in me I'd say Gen 2, but I wouldn't really recommend a newcomer to start with it (or the remakes, for that matter).
As for FFIV. I tried the PSP remake but I found it kinda ugly and so easy that I thought was even more boring than the original. DS was great because the new balance meant you actually need to be good at the game to progress, which was fun. Though I imagine that PSP is ideal if you just want to be done with it ASAP.
I think my first playthrough of FFIV was 15 hours.
I think I logged all this shit on HowLongToBeat, let me see if I can find it...
Yea here it is:
FFI: 16 hours
FFII: 16 hours
FFIII: 21 hours
FFIV: 15 hours
FFV: 25 hours
FFVI: 36 hours
FFVII: 38 hours (lots of AFK listening to the overworld theme, probably should be low-30s)
FFVIII: 50 hours (this is the only file that I nearly got 100% and beat all the bonus bosses, I love this game)
FFIX: 40 hours
FFX: 51 hours
FFXII: 36 hours
FFXIII: 50 hours
LR: 34 hours
FFXV: 22 hours (This includes Pitioss)
That's probably true. Then again Sun and Moon apparently changed up the formula quite a bit.
I really should play those to see if that's true or just hyperbole. Maybe I'll dive back in with the Ultra ones coming out soon.
I think that Sun and Moon largely changed up the presentation. The actual battles felt about the same as X/Y. I'm not the biggest Pokemon fan though. I like them enough to buy/play them, but I skip the follow up editions, and they all start to blend in my mind after a few years.
Iva Demilcol
Member
Hey guys... my amazon prime trial is about to end and want to buy some games but there are too many so what would you buy:
Knights in the Nightmare (48.99)?
Infinite Space (49.99)?
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (19.99)?
(Additionally: Ghost Trick (32.99)?)
I'd love to buy all of them, to be honest.
Knights in the Nightmare (48.99)?
Infinite Space (49.99)?
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (19.99)?
(Additionally: Ghost Trick (32.99)?)
I'd love to buy all of them, to be honest.
Pokemon Emerald, Gold/Silver Remake, Black/White, Black 2/White 2 are in my opinion the better ones and worth going back to if you are new to the franchise.
I like The 4 Heroes of Light a lot, but really, Ghost Trick is the one you should get. That price though, is it possible you can get it on smartphone?
Damn have DS prices gone up. Maybe I should've held onto those...
If price is no object, I'd recommend Infinite Space.
That Ghost Trick price is pretty high. I just bought that used at GameStop a couple weeks ago for like $14.
If I end up doing the banners for the Top 10 underrated vote games, it is #1 (since Xenoblade Chronicles was already featured in the Top 50).
Iva Demilcol
Member
I can get it for 29.99 on Play Asia but I'd have to buy something else because shipping fees. I'm not a big fan of playing on smartphones, I mean I have Phantasy Star II installed but I haven't even tried the game.
I know, right? I should've bought those when I had the chance, but to be honest I didn't even have a credit card at that time so I ended up leaving them for later. I also prefer to buy new stuff which is why I was not searching on ebay.
Those 4 games are like the last games I need to complete my DS collection so ideally I should get all of them, but well... we can't always get all we want
Edit: Missed the "new" part.
Quick question for anyone who has played DQ1, Is it single character only? I love the party systems in DQ and I have a feeling this isn't one of them. I've enjoyed what I've played but it's a bit of a grind.
It's one of my fondest memories of VII and makes me appreciate the kind of feeling it was able to give me.
I've never touched LR and need to consider playing it. I know story is bad in it too but if the gameplay is well done I might as well try it out. Now that I've had a few years to cool down about the game(I was very upset Lightning was the only playable character) I want to try and form my own opinion. I won't budge on the writing or story but everything else might be funm
I think I was around 7 or 8 years old when I did it. The save was pretty stacked with high level characters all with their final weapons and limits plus KOTR but I see what you mean because Sephiroth could be tough with his first half using multiple party members. I guess now because I didn't struggle much it seemed like a weak accomplistment but as a kid with only a basic understanding of the game it would be a lot more difficult.
It's one of my fondest memories of VII and makes me appreciate the kind of feeling it was able to give me.
I actually would recommend playing XIII-2. The story is not good but I really had a blast with the gameplay and the soundtrack is quite good. XIII should be played purely because it's a mainline and you should give it a shot but it's very likely you won't enjoy it. I personally don't mind XIII though I'm not a fan of how dull a main character Lightning is and how the game is really linear at the first half but there's some fun aspects to it and the battle system is not bad at all.
I've never touched LR and need to consider playing it. I know story is bad in it too but if the gameplay is well done I might as well try it out. Now that I've had a few years to cool down about the game(I was very upset Lightning was the only playable character) I want to try and form my own opinion. I won't budge on the writing or story but everything else might be funm
Iva Demilcol
Member
A big factor to consider in my case is that I don't live in the US... prices go up here, not down.
Dandy Crocodile
Member
It's single character. I played the entire game in like 6 hours though with an emulator that could bump it to 2x speed which I'd highly recommend.
It's worth playing just like Final Fantasy 1 but it's definitely a bit archaic.
Android/iOS version of it is also good. I think a lot of purists take issue with it, but it's probably the most convenient way to play.
DQI-VI are the stealth killer apps of mobile gaming. Especially DQIV, the mobile version is the definitive one because it includes the party chat. It is impossible to go back to the DS version.
The tragedy of growing old is seeing shit that was in bargain bins becoming highly collectible on ebay lol.
So quick question, did Final Fantasy IV rank yet? I've just realized I haven't seen it posted yet but from going through the point total it wouldn't rank past VIII so I'm curious if I missed it.
As much as IV has it's issues with writing it's still a classic and I would expect a good spot.
Thanks! I'm playing it on my phone so that would probably do wonders. Is it single player even up to DQ III?
As much as IV has it's issues with writing it's still a classic and I would expect a good spot.
Thanks! I'm playing it on my phone so that would probably do wonders. Is it single player even up to DQ III?
I'd stick with the GBC versions for all three (DQI-DQIII). If you want to dip into fan translations, DQIII on the SNES is also a good version.
For simplicity's sake I'd just roll with GBC across the board though. The carts aren't all that expensive either, assuming you buy loose ones.
They do not unfortunately. The touch input takes a bit of getting used to, but isn't really all that bad. It's much, MUCH better than the touch implementation on the FF ports, especially VI. Ugh.
Yikes.
Though at the lower levels like that, point differences between vast stretches of entries are pretty much negligible anyway.
FFIV is a classic but a tough sell when there is so much competition in its own series. I love the game though, I actually waffle on whether or not it's my second favorite in the series over VI.
DQI has just the hero.
DQII has more characters, predefined.
In DQIII, you create your hero character and then create a cast like in Final Fantasy I but you can create extra characters and move people in and out of your party.
Opa-pa, you're right about I-III not being on DS/3DS. They can play IV-IX in the west, IV-XI in Japan.
I've only played DQI-III on phones. I was actually excited to get a smart phone, despite finding them dubious, when I realized it would be a convenient way to finally play those games. I think they take cues from both the SNES and GBC remakes but have modern naming conventions for spells and things.
And...idk about the Blue-tooth controller thing.
DQII has more characters, predefined.
In DQIII, you create your hero character and then create a cast like in Final Fantasy I but you can create extra characters and move people in and out of your party.
Opa-pa, you're right about I-III not being on DS/3DS. They can play IV-IX in the west, IV-XI in Japan.
I've only played DQI-III on phones. I was actually excited to get a smart phone, despite finding them dubious, when I realized it would be a convenient way to finally play those games. I think they take cues from both the SNES and GBC remakes but have modern naming conventions for spells and things.
And...idk about the Blue-tooth controller thing
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