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[Tabris]

It's a shame it bored me to tears, I would have played it longer than an hour or 2. Felt and looked too much like FFTactics.

VC fits that description to a T though.

First Tactics Ogre was the one that was used as the foundation for FFTactics, not the other way around...and...

Story? Really? (Especially compared to TO and FFT) You may have a point on the other 2 which makes it an excellent game, but essential as an RPG fan?

 

[DR2K]

Story? Really? You may have a point on the other 2 which makes it an excellent game, but essential as an RPG fan?

It was an great plot with likeable characters with depth to them with a unique take on the WW2 era.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Nice to see Earthbound move up in the world.

Bloodlines, Nocturne and Diablo 2 dropped off quite a bit from last year. Bloodlines and Nocturne both dropped 9 places, and Diablo 2 a whopping 14. I guess people hated Diablo 3 so much that it made them forget liking 2? Of course, none of those are as bad as Skyrim.

Xenogears, New Vegas, Deus Ex and TWEWY are all pretty much rock solid from their positions in last year's list. Fallout 3 moved up 8 spots, which is a bit surprising. I had thought opinion was shifting in the opposite direction on it.

For when you put Earthbound music, here are some suggestions (there's so many, so it's tough to choose):

Smiles and Tears
Boy Meets Girl (Twoson)
Good Friends, Bad Friends
Kraken of the Sea

 

[Tabris]

It was an great plot with likeable characters with depth to them with a unique take on the WW2 era.

There you go, that was the key I was looking for. I can usually always separate jRPGs fans into two separate groups, the kind that need light-hearted fun stories with likeable characters, or the kind that needs realistic dilemmas in their characters. This is what I call the Skies of Arcadia vs Xenogears breakdown, or the FFVII vs FFIX breakdown.

So I'll assume you like SOA and FFIX. If not, there goes your essential RPGs to play

 

[Dark Schala]

What an interesting dichotomy.

Ranks 21-30

21) Vampire: The Masquerade - 53 points
22) Xenogears - 53
23) Fallout 3 - 52
24) Earthbound - 51
25) SMT: Nocturne - 51
26) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - 51
27) Diablo 2 - 49
28) Fallout: New Vegas - 48
29) The World Ends With You - 48
30) Deus Ex - 45

Bah, I would've voted for these if I had more honourable mentions at my disposal.

Actually, a game I kind of wanted to talk about because it's reeeeeeaaally insane is Maka Maka. I wouldn't put it on my list, but it's... interesting.
Also, Feda: Emblem of Justice because it's a lot like Shining Force. And could probably talk about Dark Half, now that I'm thinking about it.

 

[BlackJace]

IX is all around better than VII, wtf is this noise?

 

[DR2K]

There you go, that was the key I was looking for. I can usually always separate jRPGs fans into two separate groups, the kind that need light-hearted fun stories with likeable characters, or the kind that needs realistic dilemmas in their characters. This is what I call the Skies of Arcadia vs Xenogears breakdown, or the FFVII vs FFIX breakdown.

So I'll assume you like SOA and FFIX.

Haven't played SoA. Will get ot it whenever Sega decides to release it again. FFIX was alright, I prefer VII and VIII.

I wouldn't exactly call VC lighthearted since it dealth with rather serious issues such as racism, death, and war.

 

[decoyplatypus]

There you go, that was the key I was looking for. I can usually always separate jRPGs fans into two separate groups, the kind that need light-hearted fun stories with likeable characters, or the kind that needs realistic dilemmas in their characters. This is what I call the Skies of Arcadia vs Xenogears breakdown, or the FFVII vs FFIX breakdown.

So I'll assume you like SOA and FFIX. If not, there goes your essential RPGs to play

In just the first page of this thread there are individuals who voted for both Chrono Trigger and SMT: Nocturne or SoA/VC and FFXII. In fact, with all the votes for Chrono Trigger, I suspect you'd have a more difficult time picking out voters who did go exclusively light-hearted or exclusively "realistic."

I don't even understand the distinction you're making. Which category does Persona 4 go in? What about Mother 3?

 

[ULTROS!]

Well, I tend to treat lists without ranking, so the selection is pretty good.

That's great. Thanks!


OK, I think I have incorporated what has been suggested/sent to me so far. I am going to start working on banners for #21-30, and then go back and fill in some of the missing summaries (probably tomorrow).


Ranks 21-30

21) Vampire: The Masquerade - 53 points
22) Xenogears - 53
23) Fallout 3 - 52
24) Earthbound - 51
25) SMT: Nocturne - 51
26) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - 51
27) Diablo 2 - 49
28) Fallout: New Vegas - 48
29) The World Ends With You - 48
30) Deus Ex - 45

Ties were broken via 3-point votes and lowest number of honorable mentions.

Mind if I suggest some songs for Xenogears?

Shevat, The Wind is Calling - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nGe_HiDFUc
June Mermaid ~ Emeralda's Theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIF2crvBSDU
One Who Bares Fangs at God - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dKpeTEBYIA

For FFX, I would recommend these three superb tunes:

To Zanarkand

Ending Theme

Suteki De Ne

Spoiler

I also the vocal tunes in the Final Fantasy franchise!

Here's mine for FFX, you get the best out of the three composers

Someday the Dream will End - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRCjjiTR7I (Uematsu, Hamauzu)
Besaid Island - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNRaXqbAuFE (Hamauzu)
A Contest of Aeons - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjpc3A4a0yc (Nakano)

 

[Error]

My suggestions for SMT3

World Map - Last Area
Battle - Kotowari Boss Battle
The Labyrinth of Amala

 

[TWILT]

Wanted The World Ends With You to be a little higher, but oh well. The game has so many good songs too:
Twister
Long Dream
Three Minutes Clapping

 

[Codeblue]

It's the birth or more catalyst of the modern sRPG as we know it. It excels in story, artistic vision, music, and gameplay. It's what led to Final Fantasy Tactics which led to the huge explosion of sRPGs during the PS1 > PS2 era. As part of that, Ogre Battle should also be considered essential, but more down in the 50's.

What makes Tactics Ogre so different from predecessors like Fire Emblem, Super Robot Wars, or even Ogre Battle that warrants it being credited as some new and modern SRPG?

I've never played the game, so this is genuine curiosity. It's pretty high on my list so it'll probably at least appear in my honorable mentions next year.

Also, on a separate note, I expect Dark Souls to take a huge plunge when its sequel comes out and either steals the spotlight similar to what happened with Demon's Souls, or splits the fanbase.

 

[Tizoc]

@kswiston- I think it's best to make a new thread, it just feels more organized and tidy that way to me.
...but if you manage to get all the info into the first 5 or so posts, well then you've managed to impress me heh.

 

[Tabris]

Here is my favourites list:

1) Suikoden II
2) Final Fantasy VII
3) Xenogears
4) Lufia II
5) Final Fantasy Tactics
6) Final Fantasy VIII
7) Xenosaga: Episode III
8) SMT: Nocturne
9) Suikoden
10) Final Fantasy VI

Here is my essential RPGs list of what every jRPG fan needs to have played based on either the impact to the industry/genre or battle system in my opinion. A couple are grouped:

1) Final Fantasy VII (made RPGs mainstream)
2) Final Fantasy VI (most refined RPG of SNES era - better than CT)
3) Final Fantasy I / Dragon Warrior I (the beginning of jRPG)
4) Xenogears (it's best thing since the renaissance)
5) Tactics Ogre / Final Fantasy Tactics (the beginning of jSRPG)
6) Suikoden II (most refined RPG of PSX era)
7) Star Ocean II (most refined active RPG battle system, i.e. pinnacle of Tales/SO/etc games)
8) Vagrant Story (most refined ARPG)
9) Panzer Dragoon Saga (the beginning of and really only shooter/RPG)
10) Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter (most unique jRPG setup)

Honourable Mentions:
1) Chrono Trigger (second most refined RPG of SNES era)
2) Super Mario RPG (the beginning of cross-world RPGs - leads to KH)
3) Breath of Fire II (the beginning of build a town mini game - leads to Suikoden)
4) Dragon Quest VII (most "bang for your buck")

 

[Tabris]

What makes Tactics Ogre so different from predecessors like Fire Emblem, Super Robot Wars, or even Ogre Battle that warrants it being credited as some new and modern SRPG?

I've never played the game, so this is genuine curiosity. It's pretty high on my list so it'll probably at least appear in my honorable mentions next year.

Also, on a separate note, I expect Dark Souls to take a huge plunge when its sequel comes out and either steals the spotlight similar to what happened with Demon's Souls, or splits the fanbase.

I never would use Fire Emblem as essential because while it is completely essential, we got games like Ogre Battle first because of NOA not releasing Fire Emblem here until Gameboy Advance.

Tactics Ogre is what invented the modern sRPG (the turn-based tile system integrated with RPG mechanics) as we know it. Final Fantasy Tactics made it popular.

 

[Dark Schala]

Where're Ultima or Wizardry I on your list, Tabris, since that's where Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest (especially Wizardry's NEC PC-88 port for this one), and Phantasy Star drew their gameplay bases from and thus helped to propel the major initial three JRPG series forth?

...but then you'd have to include Akalabeth since Ultima drew a lot from that game.

What I'm saying is that there isn't really any need to separate them since both JRPGs and WRPGs have similar origins, so players of both "subgenres" should probably get the historical base for both of them if this is what your list is all about.

Revolutionary Gameplay Design:

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

It was an great plot with likeable characters with depth to them with a unique take on the WW2 era.

Take that, remove "likable" for "dangerous" and "WW2" with "The Thirty Years War" and you have TO.

 

[demidar]

Here is my favourites list:

1) Suikoden II
2) Final Fantasy VII
3) Xenogears
4) Lufia II
5) Final Fantasy Tactics
6) Final Fantasy VIII
7) Xenosaga: Episode III
8) SMT: Nocturne
9) Suikoden
10) Final Fantasy VI

Here is my essential RPGs list of what every jRPG fan needs to have played based on either the impact to the industry/genre or battle system in my opinion. A couple are grouped:

1) Final Fantasy VII (made RPGs mainstream)
2) Final Fantasy VI (most refined RPG of SNES era - better than CT)
3) Final Fantasy I / Dragon Warrior I (the beginning of jRPG)
4) Xenogears (it's best thing since the renaissance)
5) Tactics Ogre / Final Fantasy Tactics (the beginning of jSRPG)
6) Suikoden II (most refined RPG of PSX era)
7) Star Ocean II (most refined active RPG battle system, i.e. pinnacle of Tales/SO/etc games)
8) Vagrant Story (most refined ARPG)
9) Panzer Dragoon Saga (the beginning of and really only shooter/RPG)
10) Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter (most unique jRPG setup)

Honourable Mentions:
1) Chrono Trigger (second most refined RPG of SNES era)
2) Super Mario RPG (the beginning of cross-world RPGs - leads to KH)
3) Breath of Fire II (the beginning of build a town mini game - leads to Suikoden)
4) Dragon Quest VII (most "bang for your buck")

Your list is all Japanese, you don't like WRPGs?

 

[Diablos54]

I'd personally choose the best track in FF10 to represent Hamauzu!

I love this track, didn't know it was Hamauzu though.

 

[decoyplatypus]

Also, on a separate note, I expect Dark Souls to take a huge plunge when its sequel comes out and either steals the spotlight similar to what happened with Demon's Souls, or splits the fanbase.

It wil be very interesting to watch what happens. We've seen plenty of games plummet from year to year, but I don't know which of those is the closest parallel to the Souls situation. If Dark Souls 2 matches its predecessor in most areas while improving engine performance and online (through the dedicated servers), it could definitely pull some votes. Consistency could be a problem for a series in threads like these. Just look at Dragon Quest.

 

[kswiston]

I never would use Fire Emblem as essential because while it is completely essential, we got games like Ogre Battle first because of NOA not releasing Fire Emblem here until Gameboy Advance.

Tactics Ogre is what invented the modern sRPG (the turn-based tile system integrated with RPG mechanics) as we know it. Final Fantasy Tactics made it popular.

I think you are trying to argue two separate meanings of the word essential.

There's historically essential to the genre, which includes things like original Ultima and Dragon Quest. These games are important to the evolution of the genre, but a lot of the older titles are extremely dated to the point of not being fun for many newer gamers.

There's also essential in the "if you like RPGs, you should be playing these titles" sort of way. Being a recommendation thread as well as a voting thread, this list is also partially aimed in that direction.

Anyhow, as I have said in the past, when the full Top 100 is up, ignore the number rankings and you will have a pretty well rounded list. The only real flaw is the omission of many of the late 80s - mid 90s computer rpgs. I don't think anything older than Fallout made the list on the PC side of things other than Ultima VII.


Thanks for all the music suggestions. I'm calling it a night, but I will all of your suggestions to the OP in the morning.

 

[demidar]

As much as I want to play older WRPGs like Balder's Gate, Icewind Dale and other DnD games, their interfaces are terrible. The inventory screens especially. There is so much real estate since we've moved past 800x600 but that space is left empty or unused. I understand that it might take some programming and new UIs drawn up but compared to UIs these days it's simply too archaic for me to enjoy. I was fine with PS:T because I could talk my way through most of it and I didn't need change equipment so much.

 

[Aeana]

I never would use Fire Emblem as essential because while it is completely essential, we got games like Ogre Battle first because of NOA not releasing Fire Emblem here until Gameboy Advance.

Tactics Ogre is what invented the modern sRPG (the turn-based tile system integrated with RPG mechanics) as we know it. Final Fantasy Tactics made it popular.

What did Tactics Ogre invent? Tile-based, turn-based strategy games had been done, even in Japan, many times over before TO hit the scene. Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars, Shining Force, Arc the Lad, Langrisser, SRW all came before TO. If you mean isometric, then XCOM or Jagged Alliance were probably the big ones, and it's well-known that Matsuno was a fan of PC RPGs. Even within Japan, though, Front Mission and Majin Tensei 2 came before Tactics Ogre and they're also isometric.

Now, we can talk about influential, and TO and FM would probably be the most influential SRPGs in Japan, but I think we should be giving credit where it's due.

 

[decoyplatypus]

I never would use Fire Emblem as essential because while it is completely essential, we got games like Ogre Battle first because of NOA not releasing Fire Emblem here until Gameboy Advance.

Tactics Ogre is what invented the modern sRPG (the turn-based tile system integrated with RPG mechanics) as we know it. Final Fantasy Tactics made it popular.

Why does US release matter? This is an international forum. I could maybe see release dates mattering if "essential" were a purely a question of historical influence rather than design merits, but it seems to me that the FE/TO design has had more influence in Japan than in the west.

Here's another question. Let's say that the genre you claim that FFT popularized is dying. Should FFT sink down in the rankings? Should representatives of more popular sub-genres move up?

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I think you are trying to argue two separate meanings of the word essential.

There's historically essential to the genre, which includes things like original Ultima and Dragon Quest. These games are important to the evolution of the genre, but a lot of the older titles are extremely dated to the point of not being fun for many newer gamers.

There's also essential in the "if you like RPGs, you should be playing these titles" sort of way. Being a recommendation thread as well as a voting thread, this list is also partially aimed in that direction.

Anyhow, as I have said in the past, when the full Top 100 is up, ignore the number rankings and you will have a pretty well rounded list. The only real flaw is the omission of many of the late 80s - mid 90s computer rpgs. I don't think anything older than Fallout made the list on the PC side of things other than Ultima VII.


Thanks for all the music suggestions. I'm calling it a night, but I will all of your suggestions to the OP in the morning.

This is very true. We're seeing another, similar gulf form during this very generation.

Also, this is an aggregate of what a large number of people say is their essential. It's not exactly a surprise clumps of distribution form after enough from differing viewpoints show their hands. Even this holds patterns; console games from 1994-2009 are heavily represented due to NeoGAF's console-heavy makeup.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

I suppose here is as good as any a place to ask:

What RPGs would you recommend for people that put stories/characters/environments over all?

My favorite RPGs almost always center around a GRAND, SWEEPING, EPIC tale with fascinating characters and unique, varied, and grand worlds to explore.

KOTOR, Final Fantasy 9, The Witcher 2, and the Mass Effect series are some of my favorite RPGs. I tend to enjoy sci-fi over fantasy for the most part - so consider myself a little surprised that I enjoyed FF9 and TW2 as much as I did.

I've heard that Xenogears might be right up my alley. Anything else off the top of your mind?

 

[demidar]

I suppose here is as good as any a place to ask:

What RPGs would you recommend for people that put stories/characters/environments over all?

My favorite RPGs almost always center around a GRAND, SWEEPING, EPIC tale with fascinating characters and unique, varied, and grand worlds to explore.

KOTOR, Final Fantasy 9, The Witcher 2, and the Mass Effect series are some of my favorite RPGs. I tend to enjoy sci-fi over fantasy for the most part - so consider myself a little surprised that I enjoyed FF9 and TW2 as much as I did.

I've heard that Xenogears might be right up my alley. Anything else off the top of your mind?

Xenoblade sounds right up your alley. Massive, beautiful world to explore, characters that are actually charming. Well, it's fantasy but the game takes place on the body of a dead titan locked in battle with another titan. There are guns and machines so it's not completely fantasy.

There's even some sample gameplay on the front page.

 

[terrdactycalsrock]

Good job to all the people who made the OP! As a RPG fan who visits the previous thread for ideas on what to play next you guys did a great job at displaying info that is important to know. I appreciate that

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Xenoblade sounds right up your alley. Massive, beautiful world to explore, characters that are actually charming. Well, it's fantasy but the game takes place on the body of a dead titan locked in battle with another titan. There are guns and machines so it's not completely fantasy.

There's even some sample gameplay on the front page.

Fantastic recommendation - but I have you beat, as I picked up Xenoblade earlier this year. Got about half way through and I got myself stuck on a boss - don't even remember what/where at this point - but yeah, that's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Though, unfortunately, the story didn't do much for me, and I think that's why I struggled to press on. Thank you, though!

I will say, that is a game with the "sweeping world" that I try to put my finger on - that I feel is only matched by KOTOR and the Mass Effect series.

 

[Tabris]

What did Tactics Ogre invent? Tile-based, turn-based strategy games had been done, even in Japan, many times over before TO hit the scene. Fire Emblem, Famicom Wars, Shining Force, Arc the Lad, Langrisser, SRW all came before TO. If you mean isometric, then XCOM or Jagged Alliance were probably the big ones, and it's well-known that Matsuno was a fan of PC RPGs. Even within Japan, though, Front Mission and Majin Tensei 2 came before Tactics Ogre and they're also isometric.

Now, we can talk about influential, and TO and FM would probably be the most influential SRPGs in Japan, but I think we should be giving credit where it's due.

None of those games you listed that could be classified as jRPG were released in North America before Tactics Ogre except for Shining Force, so I didn't have a chance to play them. Shining Force was more in line with Fire Emblem. So I would put Shining Force as an essential RPG for sure.

The tweaks TO made to the formula to make it's own kind of SRPG is what has been copied a hundred times over, so you have to give credit to TO for that.

 

[Tabris]

Fantastic recommendation - but I have you beat, as I picked up Xenoblade earlier this year. Got about half way through and I got myself stuck on a boss - don't even remember what/where at this point - but yeah, that's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Though, unfortunately, the story didn't do much for me, and I think that's why I struggled to press on. Thank you, though!

I will say, that is a game with the "sweeping world" that I try to put my finger on - that I feel is only matched by KOTOR and the Mass Effect series.

Suikoden I > Suikoden II > Suikoden III, then Suikoden IV > Suikoden Tactics > Suikoden V is the essential "sweeping world" series in my opinion. I wouldn't really recommend the second half of that unless you find you're a huge fan after playing the first 3 as the quality dips quite a bit.

 

[demidar]

Fantastic recommendation - but I have you beat, as I picked up Xenoblade earlier this year. Got about half way through and I got myself stuck on a boss - don't even remember what/where at this point - but yeah, that's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Though, unfortunately, the story didn't do much for me, and I think that's why I struggled to press on. Thank you, though!

I will say, that is a game with the "sweeping world" that I try to put my finger on - that I feel is only matched by KOTOR and the Mass Effect series.

Well in that case, I don't have anything else. I guess you can give Xenogears a shot but I haven't played it personally so I can't recommend it. There aren't a lot of games that are sci-fi, have awesome worlds, great characters and is an RPG. Seems like RPGs fit fantasy better than sci-fi. I'd recommend Tales of Vesperia but 1) it's fantasy and 2) it's very anime in tropes and artstyle but is still quite well done. Also has one of the best protagonists ever.

Well you could try the Fallout series.

 

[Aeana]

None of those games you listed that could be classified as jRPG were released in North America before Tactics Ogre except for Shining Force, so I didn't have a chance to play them. Shining Force was more in line with Fire Emblem. So I would put Shining Force as an essential RPG for sure.

The tweaks TO made to the formula to make it's own kind of SRPG is what has been copied a hundred times over, so you have to give credit to TO for that.

Well, I can't debate with you if your position is that since you didn't know about the games then they didn't exist. Carry on, I suppose.

 

[Dark Schala]

I want to talk about this effed up game that some people would probably like to try if they saw footage but it ends up not being that great. I wouldn't put it near an Essential RPGs list but some people might look at the novelty of it and think it's good.

Look at this. You wanna play it, right? Never mind that some of it is the stuff of nightmares!

Maka Maka is a turn-based Japan-only RPG for the Super Famicom. No one really likes it, and it's generally considered to be a kusoge (AVGN translation: A Shitty Game). You'd think it'd be like Mother because the quirky humour in the game, but it isn't because it's not very good. You have to wonder whether or not the developers were drugged up because it takes place on Earth, but there's some weird stuff going on. There are all these ant-men walking around. Princesses being cannibals, and their ability being farting? Normal. Main character being an alien prince? Totally normal. Main character killed some evil dude yeeeeears ago? Normal. People turning into slimy... teardrop... things? It's video games, of course this shit is normal.

To be fair, this game did something interesting: there's a point where some guy jumps into a fountain that turns him into a girl and there's this entire quest where you have change your party members into girls to get some key in the women's bathroom. It sounds funny, but then you have to slog your way through the game. The game is essentially about the main character being a hero a millennium ago and you can unlock past lives to gain new attacks. The enemy that the MC slew in his past life has come back to life and you have to beat him up.

There're a few game-ending bugs, and sometimes on level ups, your stats roll over to 0 because reasons. There are a few bugs where you can turn party members into other party members and then you get graphical glitches for enemies. Invisible walls are missing where there should be invisible walls. The only character's magic that you can use outside of battle is the main character's because they didn't fix that. Also, hey guys i heard you like credits but it's too bad we decided to make the unreadable since the prototype code is silly.

The game has random encounters. I know half of you have been turned off to the game already. The encounter rate is high. That's more of you turned off. Well, for the most part, it's usually in dungeons, because you can use warp abilities on world maps. Battles aren't bad, they're standard turn-based. It's really the number of glitches and weird stuff that happens for no reason (Mother kind of does this sort of thing right) that holds the game back.

Why is it so bad? They didn't finish developing the game out of its prototype phase and released the prototype phase copy used for debugging anyway! It ended up being weird and glitchy as hell so no one cares for it. At all. Unless you've never played it and you really really really want a fantranslation for it.

Oh, and the final boss dies in one hit. It's not even as funny as FFMQ's final boss.

 

[Nert]

Some Paper Mario TTYD soundtrack samples:

Doopliss Battle
Grodus Battle
Rawk Hawk Battle

If these are too spoilery, I could go hunt down some other links.

 

[Lime]

I suppose here is as good as any a place to ask:

What RPGs would you recommend for people that put stories/characters/environments over all?

My favorite RPGs almost always center around a GRAND, SWEEPING, EPIC tale with fascinating characters and unique, varied, and grand worlds to explore.

KOTOR, Final Fantasy 9, The Witcher 2, and the Mass Effect series are some of my favorite RPGs. I tend to enjoy sci-fi over fantasy for the most part - so consider myself a little surprised that I enjoyed FF9 and TW2 as much as I did.

I've heard that Xenogears might be right up my alley. Anything else off the top of your mind?

Planescape: Torment has great, great writing, which you probably already know.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth has incredibly interesting character stories embedded within a larger plot of Norse mythology.

Both are fantasy, so I don't know about the requirement of sci-fi.

 

[Htown]

Wow, this list is really bad.

Final Fantasy IX higher than VII, XII higher than X? Dark Souls higher than Final Fantasy VII, Xenogears, Lufia, Suikoden, etc, as an essential RPG?

Valkyria Chronicles higher than Tactics Ogre, as an essential RPG?

Whoever was voting confused essential with personal favorites.

Uh, no. People were supposed to vote for personal favorites, then that was aggregated into what the "essentials".

Guess you should have voted.

 

[zoukka]

List looks solid, but Xenoblade is an eyesore personally :b

It was basically a drop of water amidst a drought so I guess that explains a lot.

 

[UberTag]

I suppose here is as good as any a place to ask:

What RPGs would you recommend for people that put stories/characters/environments over all?

My favorite RPGs almost always center around a GRAND, SWEEPING, EPIC tale with fascinating characters and unique, varied, and grand worlds to explore.
I've heard that Xenogears might be right up my alley. Anything else off the top of your mind?

I will say, that is a game with the "sweeping world" that I try to put my finger on - that I feel is only matched by KOTOR and the Mass Effect series.

I hate to tell you this but Xenogears was INVENTED for you. Why haven't you played it yet?

 

[witchedwiz]

I hate to tell you this but Xenogears was INVENTED for you. Why haven't you played it yet?

indeed...
xenogears is tailored around your need (those are mine too)..
xenogears has a GREAT disc1 in its entirety but has a disc2 that is a mixed bag (the start of disc2 is a trainwreck.. so much tken for granted with just the narrator voice doing a recap.. a recap of what HAS NOT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY.. so basically they tell "hey here's what's happened after the end of disc 1... you got all of that? now resume gaming!".. luckily disc2 has a crescendo towards the end)...
but i'm a xenogears fanboy so it figures

 

[Vlodril]

Vampire the Masquerade : Bloodlines at 21. There is something terribly wrong with the world..

 

[Almighty]

Vampire the Masquerade : Bloodlines at 21. There is something terribly wrong with the world..

It dropping 9 spots from last year makes it even worse.

The voting has reminded me just how console and JRPG centric NeoGAF is. I think next year I will have to drop all of the JRPGs from my list to try and give some great PC RPGs some more attention.

With that said I am still kicking myself for forgetting to add any honorable mentions to my list.

 

[massoluk]

edit: nevermind, don't want to start flaming and derailing. pussying out

 

[Levyne]

I have a feeling Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn cannibalized each other, nooooo

When will Fire Emblem appear?

 

[Nocturnowl]

I didn't participate on account of the fact my list would've ended up too similar to my one from last year and I was suffering some kind of brain lock that prevented me from figuring out explaining why I liked all the games on my list that weren't called Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga in which I went overboard, ah but that text will not see the light of day until next year.

But i've enjoyed reading peoples lists (and Schala's tome), liking the spiffy banners as well.

I have a feeling Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn cannibalized each other, nooooo

When will Fire Emblem appear?

We should all agree to vote for PoR, no i'm not just saying that because I prefer that one!
Okay, maybe I am.
Actually next year there's Awakening which could possibly interrupt things in its own way.

 

[Finalow]

Persona 2 is nowhere near as good as Persona 4.

that's like saying Torment is nowhere near as good as Mass Effect. you should play both one more time. (btw P2 is IS and EP, but even IS alone is already better than P4)

Persona 2 is overrated. The characters and plot are good, but holy hell the gameplay is utter shit. I almost quit Innocent Sin because I was bored out of my mind, and the dungeon designs were so abysmal that I hated my existence.

not really. why's that? Gameplay is fine, it's not utter shit only 'cause you can't have dates with retarded girls or you can't go to school. dungeon designs are fine too, really didn't see any problem there.
only thing maybe is that IS is too easy, thankfully EP fixed that.

 

[Finalow]

Mind if I suggest some songs for Xenogears?

Shevat, The Wind is Calling - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nGe_HiDFUc
June Mermaid ~ Emeralda's Theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIF2crvBSDU
One Who Bares Fangs at God - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dKpeTEBYIA

I like these too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU2hJD0vZC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kEzTJ5IKWc

but I still find CT and CC osts to be the better ones out there.

 

[Yuterald]

What an interesting dichotomy.


Bah, I would've voted for these if I had more honourable mentions at my disposal.

Actually, a game I kind of wanted to talk about because it's reeeeeeaaally insane is Maka Maka. I wouldn't put it on my list, but it's... interesting.
Also, Feda: Emblem of Justice because it's a lot like Shining Force. And could probably talk about Dark Half, now that I'm thinking about it.

Dark Half!!! Man, NO ONE talks about this game, lol! My brother and I are OBSESSED with this game. Funny thing is, neither of us have taken the time to play through the game. That game has one of the coolest concepts ever. Very few RPGs (at least to my knowledge) allow you to do what you can do in that game. Playing from Satan's perspective and going around towns devouring souls is one of the coolest ideas I've ever seen, and it's a fucking SNES game! The constant energy/health loss is cool element too and they tied it into the story/narrative. Game's so inspiring to us, hah! Darkness be with you!

 

[Lancehead]

Sounds a bit like Mask of the Betrayer.

 

[R_thanatos]

It dropping 9 spots from last year makes it even worse.

The voting has reminded me just how console and JRPG centric NeoGAF is. I think next year I will have to drop all of the JRPGs from my list to try and give some great PC RPGs some more attention.

With that said I am still kicking myself for forgetting to add any honorable mentions to my list.

You should try to push more fellow pc gamers to vote too ... despite the time to vote , i fell many pc players haven't taken part to this at all.