[ElFly]

DQ games don't really go "off the rails." Same with Fire Emblem games.

Wii one goes off the rails, though.

[Kard8p3]

FFVI does what the OP is talking about but in a good way I think. Once Kefka does his thing you're left in the world of ruin to explore possibly for hours to find your party members. However some things in this part of the game help to flesh out some of the characters. It's also optional as you can take on kefka with just three party members if you want.

[Luap]

The World Ends With You, Chrono Trigger, Pokemon

Final Fantasy XIII. The whole thing was on rails.

[GatorBait]

FFX is a good example of a game which stays true to the tone and narrative of the entire game all the way to the end.

Funny, I actually thought FFX was a good example of a game that goes "off the rails" in the third act (Yu Yevon, etc.).

[Chacranajxy]

I feel like a lot of people are equating "change in scope" with "going off the rails." Just because your character eventually has to fight some sort of deity instead of whatever small fry they were hunting down doesn't mean the plot has suddenly gone awry. Going off the rails would be Star Ocean 3 with it's insane plot twist.

[chickdigger802]

hmmm.... where would persona 4 fall. It does go off the rails in the end... but that 'ending' is optional right?

[Nexas]

hmmm.... where would persona 4 fall. It does go off the rails in the end... but that 'ending' is optional right?

You still have the giant disco ball.

[dokish]

Lost Odyssey. Jade Empire IRC

[chickdigger802]

You still have the giant disco ball.

True. But it's minor enough 'off the rails'. I can muster through 10 min of exposition and a boss fight ;)

[hteng]

hahahaha almost all Tales games are guilty of this

oh the top of my head

Tales of Destiny, oh ok yay you defeat a maniac, everyone's back to their normal lifes, here's a new maniac that's been controlling behind the scenes for you to beat up

Tales of Legendia, yay saved the little sister, everyone backed to normal life, wait.. suddenly the character that has the least role in the first 2/3 of the game becomes an important character, and you have to fight a god at the end.

[toddhunter]

Not a 'j' but I always fondly remember ice wind dale for this regard. The end game involved beating some regular dudes who were pretty much just minding their own business but were on the wrong side and in the way. Then it ends.

Not going epic can be epic sometimes.

Now star ocean 3... That may be a good example of the issue the op has (i loved it btw).

[encephalon]

That doesn't sound like very much fun.

[NeonZ]

DQ games don't really go "off the rails." Same with Fire Emblem games.

As far as Fire Emblem goes, there's still Radiant Dawn. There are basically 4 stories in the game, so it "ends" several times and in the last story you are facing a divine being rather than just corrupt nobles or an evil empire. It's the big exception though, I guess.

[Green Mamba]

Just about as straight forward as a story in an RPG can get.

It begins with Bowser stealing the Star Rod and making himself super duper strong, and it ends with you fighting Bowser using said Star Rod to make himself super duper strong.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door throws a curve ball or two at you though. Sorta.

And then Super Paper Mario isn't really an RPG, so I'll stop there.

[encephalon]

Judge Bergan, actually. Happen to be replaying FFXII at the moment.

It's repeated multiple times throughout the game. One of my biggest disappointments with the game was the sheer lack of twists or even building upon this concept.

[chickdigger802]

hmmmm

super mario rpg works here. you adventure around gathering up the 7 stars and then you beat up smithy. Fireworks. Fanfare!

[RyougaSaotome]

Trails in the Sky / Sora no Kiseki

This. The slow-ish pacing of most of the games in the series actually helps in that regard because everything generally has proper time to get built up.

[Frankenstrat]

Just about as straight forward as a story in an RPG can get. It begins with Bowser stealing the Star Rod and making himself super duper strong, and it ends with you fighting Bowser using said Star Rod to make himself super duper strong. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door throws a curve ball or two at you though. Sorta. And then Super Paper Mario isn't really an RPG, so I'll stop there.

Yup. Pleasantly surprised by the ending fight's straightforwardness.

[cosmicblizzard]

You can have a game where you fight a deity to without going off the rails.

Then this seems like a really loose term to refer to "a plot development I don't like."

[Ichor]

Does it count if the game ramps up from the very beginning at a steady pace? So yes you end up fighting god or whatever, but it didn't come out of left field?

[Boss Doggie]

Does it count if the game ramps up from the very beginning at a steady pace? So yes you end up fighting god or whatever, but it didn't come out of left field?

That's not really off the rails. It's just it's pretty common that the off the rails moment involve a god-like entity.

You know... one would argue that FFVIII actually doesn't go off the rails, especially if you read around the details and miscellaneous stuff. Ultimecia didn't really come out of the left field, you've been fighting her already in Disc 1.

[grandjedi6]

hahahaha almost all Tales games are guilty of this oh the top of my head Tales of Destiny, oh ok yay you defeat a maniac, everyone's back to their normal lifes, here's a new maniac that's been controlling behind the scenes for you to beat up Tales of Legendia, yay saved the little sister, everyone backed to normal life, wait.. suddenly the character that has the least role in the first 2/3 of the game becomes an important character, and you have to fight a god at the end.

Graces doesn't, but thats only because Asbel continuously fails to end the plot when he has the chance, thus enlongating the story that way.

Vesperia doesn't go off the rails either, though its 3rd part is still very much an extension of the plot. Act 3 of Vesperia is mostly everyone trying to solve the problem created by act 2's climax.

[Zips]

Breath of Fire 4!

Ok, so you end up fighting Fou-lu after he kills the leader of the big-bad empire...and he is a god...and has wings...but he's a DRAGON god! Totally different!

Though seriously, it is pretty clear you're going to fight him by the end and he's in the game right from the beginning. From what I remember of the plot it didn't seem too out there or anything.

[Patryn]

Graces doesn't, but thats only because Asbel continuously fails to end the plot when he has the chance, thus enlongating the story that way. Vesperia doesn't go off the rails either, though its 3rd part is still very much an extension of the plot. Act 3 of Vesperia is mostly everyone trying to solve the problem created by act 2's climax.

I think this is the very thing we're talking about. You resolve everything at the end of Act 2, only to suddenly have a new crisis develop. It's a fake-out ending.

It's an entire Act that can basically be neatly excised, while doing no lasting damage to what came before.

[Green Mamba]

Yeah, I would say that attacking a gigantic space octopus with a huge feather is pretty well within the confines of going off the rails. The fact that the game has to clumsily turn a recurring character into a villain just so you have a boss to fight in the end is a pretty good indication that the third act is unneeded nonsense.

At the end of the second act you defeat the villain that was behind all of the ills that befell the world so far in the game. And then in the third act it's "oh, that giant space octopus apparently isn't going to leave on its own" and "oh yeah, that guy who's done nothing but help you this whole time is going to murder absolutely everyone."

[chickdigger802]

Graces doesn't, but thats only because Asbel continuously fails to end the plot when he has the chance, thus enlongating the story that way.

That probably deserves it's own thread. Probably the worst thing that can happen to the jrpg is either you beat up the boss... but not really he just looks tired and whines and runs away, or you meet the boss, but it's apparently too early to fight, so he sinks his pet 3 headed flaming turkey dragon turtle on you, and walks off the scene.

[Grampasso]

Ehi look, a thread about Xenogears!

[Mondriaan]

What about the first Valkyrie Profile? Your character is probably technically deity class, so fighting a god shouldn't count as going off the rails.

Many really old school jrpgs involve crawling into a dungeon, mapping out the dungeon, and finally killing the boss at the bottom and don't go off the rails, so from that perspective, it's easy to see the appeal of a twist where you fight a god or someone else you didn't see coming.