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[Neff]

FF7 is king of the main quest
Rebirth is king of the sidequests
FF8 is king of the creative grind

 

[Ceadeus]

Stalker 2!

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

KOTOR 1 + 2 for sure. Especially the main quests.

 

[Arsic]

Stalker 2!

I'll give it up. Stalker 2 has an incredible main narrative especially with decisions that impact the current state of the world and a variety of ways it unfolds into the ending.

The zone is an amazing place to experience.

TintoConCasera needs to dive in. Especially since he enjoyed KCD2.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I'll give it up. Stalker 2 has an incredible main narrative especially with decisions that impact the current state of the world and a variety of ways it unfolds into the ending.

The zone is an amazing place to experience.

TintoConCasera needs to dive in. Especially since he enjoyed KCD2.

I still need to play, at least, the first game before the sequel! But yeah I want to check that series out, always looked cool to me.

 

[uncreativename]

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep has a great main quest. It's also the best of the KH games, and it's got the best combat and progression systems, and the best story, and you don't really need to know about the larger franchise story to enjoy it, because it's a prequel. It's also one of the best games for replay value.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Expansions are objectively better then main campaign. Game's longevity definitely is the player created stuff. Pretty hard to recommend many cRPGs.

TintoConCasera Metaphor's weakness unironically to me is the Visual Novel design it feels it needs to tack on to. If it focused on the daytime activities and avoided the Majora's Mask system(which if you know what you are doing is negligible) I feel it would be a much better game. I like Metaphor but it's kinda similar to FE Three Houses where parts of the game drag it down a lot. It's clearly a mashup of all of Atlus's games primarily SMT/Persona/Etrian Odyssey

I think they just tried to capitalize on Persona 5's success and added the calendar system later in development, because it sure felt less developed than in those games. And yeah I agree that it was way too easy to max out.

their best game is still SMT4

based. I think I prefer the Digital Devil Saga duology but yeah, the setting and atmosphere of SMT IV is something else. Too bad the game shits the bed when it comes to balance and difficulty right after Naraku, which is why a remaster for this game is my most wanted one.

 

[uncreativename]

Digital Devil Saga is also amazing, yeah . Incredible atmosphere. This is one of my favourite tracks from any game ever

 

[Arsic]

I still need to play, at least, the first game before the sequel! But yeah I want to check that series out, always looked cool to me.

Bad news. There is 3 games to play before the secondone.

I started with stalker 2. You can watch a quick story synopsis and you'll be fine. I didn't even do that and it all came together wonderfully.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Bad news. There is 3 games to play before the secondone.

I started with stalker 2. You can watch a quick story synopsis and you'll be fine. I didn't even do that and it all came together wonderfully.

But man, I DO want to play them!

Or at least the first one. Might seem weird but unless I'm reaaally hyped for a sequel I like to play videogame series in release order. It allows me to better appreciate the improvements of the sequel, or to get mad at how they fucked things up, depending on the game lol.

I appreciate the recommendation tho. But no worries game is on the list, for sure!

 

[uncreativename]

At some point after you've played the first trilogy unmodded I'd also recommend the Anomaly mod. It turns it into single-player Tarkov, basically, and it mixes the areas from the three games together iirc.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I think they just tried to capitalize on Persona 5's success and added the calendar system later in development, because it sure felt less developed than in those games. And yeah I agree that it was way too easy to max out.

I think Atlus should focus on sticking to what they are(were?) good at which has been dungeon crawlers and not include any of the other nonsense. Or at least things that to me do not evolve the genre in any way.

Unfortunately I see remasters and the usual resell the same game with new stuff like they did with SMT5 and Vengeance down the road.

And their next game is gonna be a Persona 4 Remake which falls in line with that sentiment.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I think Atlus should focus on sticking to what they are(were?) good at which has been dungeon crawlers and not include any of the other nonsense. Or at least things that to me do not evolve the genre in any way.

Unfortunately I see remasters and the usual resell the same game with new stuff like they did with SMT5 and Vengeance down the road.

And their next game is gonna be a Persona 4 Remake which falls in line with that sentiment.

As much as I agree with you and would love for their next SMT game to be more of a dungeon crawler, finances are finances and if P5 sold a fuckton more than other, more traditional games, then I can see the future being full of calendar systems and even more Persona spinoffs.

Even mainline SMT has bent the knee in some way, having more "QOL features" to make the game easier like allowing you to save anywhere which imo is the most "anti dungeon-crawler" thing they could ever do, since it removes a lot of the tension of traversing the map.

But hey at least there still tons of dungeon crawlers being made, specially on the indie scene. I was thinking about making one with press turn battles, wonder if they have that copyrighted since I haven't seen anyone copying that system.

 

[MagiusNecros]

But hey at least there still tons of dungeon crawlers being made, specially on the indie scene. I was thinking about making one with press turn battles, wonder if they have that copyrighted since I haven't seen anyone copying that system.

I have high hopes for Hibernaculum.

I do not recall any game outside of Atlus using a Press Turn system outside of certain Gacha games having abilities or mechanics that relied on the player stunlocking or delaying enemy turns to win battles. Which very much was the case with Lufenia battles in the defunct DFFOO.

 

[cireza]

Phantasy Star IV, main quest is still one of the very best I have ever played, top 1 RPG as far as I am concerned. Good, meaningful side quests that avoid the dumb bloat of modern days.
Skies of Arcadia, main quest is fantastic, one of the most epic journeys in a vast world, and the few side quests are very nice and fun. Finding the entire crew for your ship is great.
Shining Force III, excellent political and religious conflict that spawned three scenarios, not many side quests, but this is a T-RPG and with how it is built, it doesn't really need any of it.
Dragon Force, still a unique experience to this day where you can conquer the entire land in whichever order you want. A few side quests to unlock secret characters as well.
Final Fantasy V, the best Final Fantasy game in my opinion. The main quest is incredible, takes places in a huge, credible world, with a lot of events, humor and also some sad moments. Tons of hidden things to discover. Final Fantasy VIII is a close second.
Chrono Trigger, excellent story that takes places throughout various periods of time with several ways to tackle the end, and great side quests dedicated to the characters.
Radiant Historia, great RPG with an excellent story happening in two parallel timelines, and one of the best main characters in a JRPG ever. Side content as well, to discover all the secret endings.
Lost Odyssey, the best modern JRPG I have played. The story is excellent and the gameplay is turn based and has some great mechanics.

These games are all timeless classics in my opinion.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Final Fantasy V, the best Final Fantasy game in my opinion. The main quest is incredible, takes places in a huge, credible world, with tons of events, humor and also some sad moments. Tons of hidden things to discover.

My man! I don't really like the FF games all that much, but V sure felt like a really, really good game to me, and miles ahead FF VI.

Lots of iconic moments, amazing music, great cast of characters and at least imo, a big focus on gameplay rather than story. The job system made it super fun to play through.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Final Fantasy V, the best Final Fantasy game

GILGAMESH is in it and was HIS first appearance. Did you expect anything else?

 

[cireza]

GILGAMESH is in it and was HIS first appearance. Did you expect anything else?

Of course not.



VI and VII are garbage-tier compared to the genius that is V.

 

[Raven117]

Man, the way Witcher 3 uses those side quests fully to flesh out more of the main story and how seamless the main and side quests interplay is master class.

 

[MagiusNecros]

VI and VII are garbage-tier compared to the genius that is V.

Job system is peak. Gets better in X-2. FFXI and arguably DQX great. Bravely series very nice. Xenoblade 3 also having job system also good.

The thing with FF5 is it have lighthearted moments and serious moments which truly makes it great. Same deal with Chrono Trigger or other classic RPGs like Tales of Symphonia.

Which speaking of Tales I'm rather disheartened that is another series on Remaster/Remake culture.

 

[Nocty]

I think for me the best at least in recent memory for both main questline and just about everything else is Rogue Trader.

I've sang it's praises in many threads before this one so I will refrain from doing it too indepth, but I feel the game is massively slept on because it's a hardcore cRPG which I know turns a lot of people off from playing it.

That aside, I urge you if you are on the fence to try it, because once it gets it's hooks into you it's one of the best RPG's ever made. Owlcat is criminally underated. The mechanics and the level of deatail to the adaption of Warhammer as a franchise in the game is second to none. It's absolutely amazing.

Beyond that, of course, the older games like BG2, New Vegas, Fallout 2.... but those are a bygone era and I don't think many younger folks will apretiate them now. Gaming has moved on.

Kingdome come deliverance 2 is also fantastic. Just an extremely immersive game that takes you do a differen time and place with both historical accuracy in worldbuilding as well as fantastic writing and humour.

 

[Sand Dan Glokta]

Greedfall's main quests and companion quests were pretty engaging for me. It's an AA eurojank game, but it did reminisce some old school bioware style.

Also, we exhausted the WRPGs, just throw a few modern JRPGs.

YS 8
Judgment
Xenoblade 1

Give my boy Greedfall more love.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I think for me the best at least in recent memory for both main questline and just about everything else is Rogue Trader.

Did some quick research. Is it true that the game on average is like 100+ hours long?

 

[Nocty]

Did some quick research. Is it true that the game on average is like 100+ hours long?

Yeah it's a big old bitch.

It took me personally 71 hours to finish first run. A completionist run on higher difficulty will take you well over 150+ hours. And there are a TON of build possibilities, classes, weapons and combinations to play with. It's a real beast.

Not to mention some amazing DLC content out now and coming soon.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Yeah it's a big old bitch.

It took me personally 71 hours to finish first run. A completionist run on higher difficulty will take you well over 150+ hours. And there are a TON of build possibilities, classes, weapons and combinations to play with. It's a real beast.

Not to mention some amazing DLC content out now and coming soon.

Sounds great. Probably pick it up soon then.

 

[Grenseal]

Suikoden 1 and 2.

 

[violence]

Mass Effect Trilogy. The first game, however, the side quests I think hold the game back. If you're like me, set to easy difficulty and just play the main questline. It's awesome as a 12 hour game.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The Witcher Trilogy

Thank you for saying trilogy, not just Witcher 3, I agree.

For a wrpg? The best is CP2077 if you include the phantom liberty expansion.

Best side quests though I would go with Baldurs Gate 3.

I played CP2077 when it first came out, finished the MQ. Tried to start it multiple times afterwards, but I don't know why the world feels just so sterile. It doesn't help that IMO NPCs look worse than in Witcher 3.

Bg3 and kdc 2 are the wrpg games ever.

I really need to play BG3 now that I can do Act III at more than sub-30 FPS. Although surprisingly that didn't stop me from playing Rogue Trader lol.

Mass Effect 2 is my number one for both. Not a single side quest felt like a waste of time and they were all treated like their own main stories. It didn't make you farm or grind unnecessarily either. It is the peak example of how to write and pace a story in an RPG.

Agree, every companion quest in ME2 was perfection.

Greedfall's main quests and companion quests were pretty engaging for me. It's an AA eurojank game, but it did reminisce some old school bioware style.

Got Greedfall on GOG, I always wanted to try it, never did.

In no order.

Main Quest
Fallout (The Fallout franchise at its best and most focused.)
Baldur's Gate II w/ Throne of Bhaal expansion (It might not be as cinematic and deeply plotted as JRPGs and some modern CRPGs, but by the end you're a demigod going around killing other demigods on a quest to become an actual god and you have your own private realm and butler. Also this was back when not every game had to be perfectly balanced, so magic is crazy overpowered by the end in a super fun way that makes it feel even more epic.)
Kingdom Come Deliverance (Over the course of the main quest, the sense of progression in this might be even more satisfying than in BG2. You start as the son of a blacksmith, who doesn't really know how to do much of anything, and you become basically an unlanded knight taking part in battles and sieges alongside lords. This is also maybe the only medieval European RPG that doesn't have any kind of fantasy elements? So you won't find anything quite like this anywhere else.)
Chrono Trigger (Of all the JRPGs I've played, this one might have the most epic main quest.)
Dragon Quest IV (The way that this game has you play a bunch of different characters introductions one after another is really effective, because they're all so different.)
Shin Megami Tensei 4 (Very creative game with a really interesting story and great atmosphere.)

Side Quests
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (The timeline system in this game makes it really fun to try to unlock hidden side-paths which can then in turn unlock other hidden paths that you didn't know about. Amazing, underrated game.)
The Witcher 3 (Some of the best side quests I've ever played.)
Darklands (This game is set in the late medieval Holy Roman Empire as superstitious people of the time might have believed it to be. It's basically 100% mostly repeatable side quests, and even though it feels like an unfinished game, the fact that it can keep your attention for so long despite the repetition speaks to how good these side quests are.)

Played Fallout, BGII. KCD I played maybe for 2-3hrs, I guess I should stick with it. How about SMT V, is that good?

Fallout and Elder Scroll games.

Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines is great too. The gargoyle and wereshark are top tier side quests.

Agreed.

Daggerfall.
Every other answer is wrong.

I might actually try it, the problem is I play exclusively on PC handhelds, and I'm wondering how many keys I need to bind for this game...

KOTOR 1 + 2 for sure. Especially the main quests.

Played them, I agree.

Man, the way Witcher 3 uses those side quests fully to flesh out more of the main story and how seamless the main and side quests interplay is master class.

Played it 3-4 times already (PC in 2015, then PS4 Pro, then PS5, then Steam Deck all 3 games). Waiting for that rumored DLC to jump back in.

 

[uncreativename]

Haven't tried SMT V yet, actually.