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Best RPGs for an RPG noob?

Hey Jinx :)

I would definitely recommend any of the rpgs in the Grandia series except Grandia Xtreme (dungeon crawler pretty much). There's a version of the first one on the PS, and a port of the second one on the PS2. I have heard the PS2 port of Grandia 2 is pretty bad, but I only played the one on the Dreamcast.
Highly recommended for an rpg noob because Grandia was the first rpg I played and loved (i'm definitely not old-school).

The series is very newbie-friendly: not alot of micromanagement, pseudo-realtime battle system, no random battles, pretty easy, and fun. Awesome world and music as well.
 
Paper Mario Rpg: Thousand Year Door "light hearted,highly addictive and super fun,the title says it all it has all the charm of mario adventures but in rpg form"


Final Fantasy X " the best ff game to start from for a non-rpg gamer, excellent tutorial system, high quality production from music to graphics,linear yet highly enjoyable quest "


Knights of the Old Republic " excellent senario, easy to play streamlined d&d system,best western console rpg to date and the best starwars story since return of the jedi"
 
<nu>faust said:
Knights of the Old Republic " excellent senario, easy to play streamlined d&d system,best western console rpg to date and the best starwars story since return of the jedi"
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KOTOR is a really good game that I'd also like to recommend. I mean, I'm a casual star-wars fan, and this game really gave me a lot of backgrounds of the starwars universe in quite interesting way. It's got its share of buggyness (I couldn't see the ending because it crashed my Xbox) but while it lasted, it was a really good experience. Not exactly a traditional RPG in anysense - but a very good starwars game to begin with.
 
Bebpo said:
Goddamn, you guys need to stop recommending 8-bit/16-bit 2d rpgs. It's not 1995 anymore. Just because we were introduced to rpgs with them and grew up with them doesn't mean newcomers to the genre should as well. Whenever someone tells a person that they should start rpgs with FF1 it's like telling someone new to FPS that they should start with Wolf3d.

It's nice that they have these re-releases of classic games so that people who already enjoy rpgs can go back and re-experience some of the classic greats, but for someone new to the genre it'd be nice if they got something a little deeper than "go to the 6 elemental dungeons and then fight the final boss all while tapping A non-stop for 20 hours of battles".

I would recommend FFX but I hear the english version makes people very mad, so I dunno, Shadow Hearts 2 is probably a good start. It has a good battle system but it also explains everything along the way so it should be newbie friendly. It also has good graphics, music, story, and I hear the dub is alright. Plus its very fast-paced and keeps you hooked until the end. It's also pretty easy to moderate so it won't be daunting.
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He did say he wanted something not too complex and quite possibly, portable... the handheld systems have quite a few good ports of the older titles, so recommending old games seems a natural. I don't think jinx really cares much about graphics and flashy FMV and wants to ease back into the genre - lots of games employ fairly weighty systems that take a while to figure out.

Good call on Shadow Hearts 2, I recommended that too - even though jinx I think wanted more of a swords and sorcery setting.

To those who are saying TOS is too complicated: My best friend's wife just started playing RPGs... her first - TOS. I bought the game originally for my friend for his birthday, since he has a Cube and wanted a decent game and liked the old Dragon Warriors. My friend suggested his wife should try the game (they just got married and moved in together fairly recently), and she turned out to beat it before him - her only other experience being watching him level up for hours on end in FF7 at another friends house (and chewing him out for it) some several years ago. I could see how some of the Zelda-esque puzzles might be a bit tricky, or the battle system may take a bit of getting used to, but still... it's not so bad and it's not nearly as challenging as the other Tales games.
 
Just don't be suckered by HARDCORE RPG PLAYERS into thinking it's some sort of elite club and they're doing something difficult. If you're committed, and not completely stupid, you'll have no trouble jumping into 99% of RPGs; just go with well-reviewed ones.

Also realise there's a pretty big gulf between American and Japanese RPGs. I'm growing to hate the latter after finally getting into some good PC ones. KOTOR or Final Fantasy X are decent ones to start with, and will give you a good idea of what there is out tehre.
 
callous said:
I can't believe the number of people recommending tedious dungeon crawls, 80 hour games like ToS and games needing extensive levelling up, one person even saying, "if you like powerlevelling", after the OP CLEARLY states he doesn't want to spend time levelling or play games that are too long. Oh, and one guy recommends Harvest Moon for christ's sake. You want to start the man out playing RPGs by picking up a rather complicated farm-life/dating sim? Man!

That said, RPGs are invariably long. Not 80 hours, but 40-50 is very normal. You're not going to get around that if you want to play all the good ones.

My suggestions are FFVII and FFIX. FF is, as you likely know, ridiculously popular, and for good reason. I'd list FFVIII, but if you are sensitive to tedious affairs there are aspects of the system that could quickly wear you down. Older ones like FFIV and VI would also be good if you don't mind the 16bit graphics and the rather simplistic story of FFIV. Shadow Hearts would also be a great place to start if you want more current gen graphics.
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truest post of the thread.
You cant direct someone who missed out on RPG's to dungeon crawlers and hard as hell 2D old school rpg's. They need to find themself an easy and fun basis first. Final Fantasy 7 would be the perfect choice. I strongly believe this cause it was also my first rpg game ever. And now im a "toughened" rpg player, so to speak. FF7 basically has all what a rpg's needs and even more. Great gameplay, story, the graphics from the battles and world map are outdated, but the lest of the game looks still magnificent in my opinion. I have a certain love for rendered backgrounds. They never get outdated in my book.
 
callous said:
I can't believe the number of people recommending tedious dungeon crawls, 80 hour games like ToS and games needing extensive levelling up, one person even saying, "if you like powerlevelling", after the OP CLEARLY states he doesn't want to spend time levelling or play games that are too long. Oh, and one guy recommends Harvest Moon for christ's sake. You want to start the man out playing RPGs by picking up a rather complicated farm-life/dating sim? Man!
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Harvest Moon 64 > anything. Simple, fun and stupid addictive. The GCN and GBA versions don't hold a candle.
 
Based on the recommendations, I picked up Final Fantasy IV Advance. I'm about 1:30 into the game, and so far, it's a lot of fun! I'll keep you posted on how I feel about it after a more significant time investment, but I think GAF came through with good advice once again. Is the "Official FFIVa Thread" relatively spoiler-free, or should I avoid it for now?

(Ironically, my sister wrote me an email this week to tell me about a game she just bought for PS2...Dragon Quest VIII. She's digging it a lot, so if I like FFIVa, I might be tempted to try that one next. I'm a little surprised that she bought it -- I got her a PS2 for Christmas along with both Katamari games since she fell in love with them, but I wasn't sure what else she'd like to play. Who knew?)
 
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Suikoden was my first RPG, and I got through it alright. The only downside is it's old and very rare, but if you can find it, score!
 
Some revealing info leaked about our rpg kings, they sure like the flashy :)
Honestly I dont think it matters what rpg he tries nowadays. With gamefaqs and message boards it makes all them quite easy. As I learned when friend played his first rpg Nocturne and He went out of his way to say how easy it was, I knew something was up. Called the wife and asked her to do me a favor. Sure enough a nocturne file was saved to the desktop :(
 
Himuro said:
Why the fuck are people suggesting stuff like Fire Emblem to an rpg noob? Are you guys stupid?
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Because the FE games are "my first SRPG" and don't require a billion hours of powerleveling and Excel spreadsheet management like your average NIS game.
 
Old 3d ff games haven't aged too well especially ffvii. Outside of emuland they're bit rough(particularly characters.).

I recommend either 2d love(highquality 2d always ages good.), or modern era 3d games(FFX, Arc the lad,-bebedora rulez-, would be good.).

Chrono Trigger is a good one, but I'd recommend Tales of Destiny 1 for the psone, still the best tales game I've played, and the combat(2d fighter like action not turn based) is super fun.

Lunars, FFIV(a classic, best of the snes era ffs), are good too. Breath of Fire III while a bit long, is also superb, and would make for a good intro entry IMHO..

Oh and while not an rpg, still has plenty of rpg elements, you can't go wrong with Castlevania SoTN.

PS
Saga frontier 1 for psone([particular if you start with Red or Blue), can be a bit irritating for some, but may also be quite good if you happen to like the style.
 
Divus Masterei said:
Oh and while not an rpg, still has plenty of rpg elements, you can't go wrong with Castlevania SoTN.
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It pretty much is an action RPG in every objective respect.

Divus Masterei said:
PS
Saga frontier 1 for psone([particular if you start with Red or Blue), can be a bit irritating for some, but may also be quite good if you happen to like the style.
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Oh, come on. People are getting yelled at for suggesting Tales of Symphonia, and you go and recommend a Kawazu game?
 
For a noob?

Start with Lunar: The Silver Star Story on PSX
and then with Lunar 2.

Mix in Grandia (PSX) to sample a more dynamic battle system.

The paths are linear and by the time you finish these adventure stories you'll be dying for some more freedom.

I wish the original Phantasy Star was a little more available/accessible because that game featured the best escalation of complexity. It started super simplistic and then later blossomed into a free roaming three planet adventure saga that eventually incorporated all kinds of RPG mainstays. It got me hooked on RPGs.

Skies of Arcadia is also a good introduction to RPGs.
 
-jinx- said:
Based on the recommendations, I picked up Final Fantasy IV Advance. I'm about 1:30 into the game, and so far, it's a lot of fun! I'll keep you posted on how I feel about it after a more significant time investment, but I think GAF came through with good advice once again. Is the "Official FFIVa Thread" relatively spoiler-free, or should I avoid it for now?

(Ironically, my sister wrote me an email this week to tell me about a game she just bought for PS2...Dragon Quest VIII. She's digging it a lot, so if I like FFIVa, I might be tempted to try that one next. I'm a little surprised that she bought it -- I got her a PS2 for Christmas along with both Katamari games since she fell in love with them, but I wasn't sure what else she'd like to play. Who knew?)
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Final Fantasy IV was my first RPG (that I ever completed -- I played Dragon Warrior I prior, but had no clue what to do), and it will be yours too.

So it is written.

So shall it be.
 
Final Fantasy VI (3 in NA) is the best of the series, so if you enjoy yours try that one next!

Or Chrono Trigger if your still feeling Squaresoft.
But that was never rereleased :(
 
Himuro said:
Overrated in what someone would call fun. I don't find leveling up to level 9,9999 appealing at all which is what those NIS srpgs, from what I've played, are all about. Disgaea, while fun for awhile, just got tedious because all the gameplay options. I don't want to fucking bribe the council everytime I want to do something. I don't want to relevel my characters after I change their job;etc. etc. The game's just lack something that I've found appealing in other srpgs such as Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and recently Suikoden Tactics. I have yet to play Fire Emblem, but judging from what the other poster said about the game, it suits my tastes nicely.
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Oh, woops... my bad. I gotcha. For some reason I was thinking "Nintendo Intelligent Systems" when I saw NIS. :lol Just ignore my last post. I haven't played Disgaea and such yet, so I can't really comment.
 
Himuro said:
Why the fuck are people suggesting stuff like Fire Emblem to an rpg noob? Are you guys stupid?
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Well, it's simple, fun and it does answer all of his complains...
As for the difficulty, it can be tuff at times but since it's simple, he's gonna get skilled quickly.
 
dammit, I gotta rethink my suggestion and say DQ8 as well, jinx. It's long, but it's a traditional RPG for the times. It will take you a long time to beat, but you don't exactly have to play it in marathon-like sessions to really enjoy it. Spread it out over the course of six months if you want, you'll still enjoy it.
 
dq8 is a good starting point for sure. if you want something older I'd recommend FF dawn of souls, at least for FF1 (not sure about the new FF2, i'm actually going by the NES/famicom versions so i haven't played it). also, I agree with the fire emblem recommendations. And if you want something simple but puzzle-oriented, try the following:
buy/emulate Lufia 2 for SNES (recommended, the puzzles are the only tough thing about the game)
wild ARMS for PSone
golden sun 1 and 2 for GBA (if you like the first, or even find it simply tolerable, you will love the second since it's a lot better)
 
My first RPG was Ultima 6 (or was it 4?) and I couldn't speak english at the time. I believe you had to actually type in conversations in that game. Hardcore. Never made it out of that castle you start out in.
 
for a rabid RPG fan that I am, I am 9 hours into DQ8 and i am sorely dissapointented.

Don't listen! bad taste thread!

sure, the game is really really pretty, but man the story sucks and the game is dull. oh and 8 year olds would love the characters and enemies.

unfortunatly, im a bit older than that, hahaaa

oh and drunk.
 
Most RPG stories are some combination of ridiculous, nonsensical, or boring. Having a deliberately paced one like DQ8 is not the worst thing in the world, nor is a "kiddy" one like Paper Mario 2.


Dragon Quest 8 is a good recommendation because it's so easy to understand that you could have been ripped from your couch in 1994 and you would find the game accessible.
 
Speevy said:
Most RPG stories are some combination of ridiculous, nonsensical, or boring. Having a deliberately paced one like DQ8 is not the worst thing in the world, nor is a "kiddy" one like Paper Mario 2.


Dragon Quest 8 is a good recommendation because it's so easy to understand that you could have been ripped from your couch in 1994 and you would find the game accessible.
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Yea I know, but its a bit too simplistic.

I mean, if you wanna play like 1994, compare it to FF3 and Chrono Trigger and your you left asking yourself why your spending time with this game, and not those two.

Shit, I'd take BoF1 any day in '94 over DQ8.


But I'll grant you it is a good recommendation for someone whose never played an RPG before.. (though I can't say it wont turn you OFF to them afterwards)

But yea, damn, the game is gorgeous, and I'll play it just to walk around the massive overworld... but hey, maybe it takes more than 9 hours to get into it?
 
Out of all the playstation FFs, why is anyone (much less a bunch of people) suggesting FFIX? BY FAR the most difficult of them. (Actually the only one with any real retained difficulty). Definitely plays different than most RPGs these days (which is a good thing actually). I just can't see this as a "starter" RPG. FFVII? Sure. Easy as hell with a great story.
 
Red Scarlet said:
I wonder what you were expecting DQ8 to be, Mister Harker.
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That is a fair and honest question.

I've never played a DQ game before, to be honest with you.

I got it because of a draught in good RPGs, and the high praise it received here on GAF.
I mean, I'm not going to say I hate it. Hell, it's better than Star Ocean 3. Man, that was dribble.

I just didn't expect something so... simplist.
Yes, I'm sure that is the draw of the series. And I was actually hampering for an old-school style RPG. I guess I'm just maybe worn out of Toriyama or something. And the silent-hero deal only works these days on Zelda... I can't let it slip anymore on other RPGs. (besides BoF I guess - I still love that series).

I'll give it time, I promise.
But I just don't understand the undying love for it here on the borads - please enlighten me :)
 
John Harker said:
That is a fair and honest question.

I've never played a DQ game before, to be honest with you.

I got it because of a draught in good RPGs, and the high praise it received here on GAF.
I mean, I'm not going to say I hate it. Hell, it's better than Star Ocean 3. Man, that was dribble.

I just didn't expect something so... simplist.
Yes, I'm sure that is the draw of the series. And I was actually hampering for an old-school style RPG. I guess I'm just maybe worn out of Toriyama or something. And the silent-hero deal only works these days on Zelda... I can't let it slip anymore on other RPGs. (besides BoF I guess - I still love that series).

I'll give it time, I promise.
But I just don't understand the undying love for it here on the borads - please enlighten me :)
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You said yourself you're only 9 hours in. It's a 100 hour game. How much do you expect to really happen in the first 10%? More happens, the game gets better. The story is very solid and well written, and it becomes very emotionally involving due to the strength of the charcters. Just don't expect any Xenogears-level plot twists and you'll be okay.
 
ethelred said:
You said yourself you're only 9 hours in. It's a 100 hour game. How much do you expect to really happen in the first 10%? More happens, the game gets better. The story is very solid and well written, and it becomes very emotionally involving due to the strength of the charcters. Just don't expect any Xenogears-level plot twists and you'll be okay.
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I'll grant you more time with the story, but what about the battle system?

Hell, I just beat Radiata Stories last and I felt that was a much deeper, much more engaging system than this.
 
Dragon Quest has always been a good RPG series, it's just not as wow as any other RPG out there, it's basic, the premise is simple, and the character art and such is great (if you like Akira Toriyama). If Japan keeps gobbling it up every time, they must be doing something right.

And Nostalgia. Lots of Nostalgia.

And DQ8 looks sexy, nice and colorful.
 
demi said:
Dragon Quest has always been a good RPG series, it's just not as wow as any other RPG out there, it's basic, the premise is simple, and the character art and such is great (if you like Akira Toriyama). If Japan keeps gobbling it up every time, they must be doing something right.

And Nostalgia. Lots of Nostalgia.

And DQ8 looks sexy, nice and colorful.
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That was the most straightforward, honest, noninsulting thing I've ever read you say, haha.
 
I just didn't expect something so... simplist.
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That may be the biggie. You shoulda read when people said it was kinda simple compared to other stuffs! Oh well.

I have no idea how to enlighten you. I don't know why I like the game as much as I do. I'm still on my DQ "kick" after ignoring them for ~8 years. It was the first new DQ game I played since 4 on the NES (1992?) that I didn't struggle to finish (played 5 in 2002, prefer the remake infinitely over it, played 7 when it released only to have my disc 1 die 80 hours in and started over when I got a working one, played about 25% of 6 then got part 8..went through it all the way last year and it annoyed the hell out of me..never tried the bonus dungeon).

I just had a lot of fun going through and not having what annoyed me in 5-7 present in 8. It just struck a cord at the right time. But FF and DQ are what I mainly play, so having a new one that didn't annoy in 12 years may have something to do with it too.
 
John Harker said:
I'll grant you more time with the story, but what about the battle system?

Hell, I just beat Radiata Stories last and I felt that was a much deeper, much more engaging system than this.
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Okay, yeah. The battle system is Old School. Seriously. It's barely changed at all since the NES days, and it never will.

What is nice about the battle system, though, is that the game gets pretty challenging at certain points later on, and you really have to think about what you're doing. But it's extremely straightforward, extremely traditional -- that is the crux of the series.
 
The appeal for the fights is in their simplicity, probably. Nothing complicated, but stuff that the badguys throw at you can make you try different stuff. It's just the tried-and-true nearly 20-year old formula of how battles are in them, or something like that. If they got overly complex, it would probably turn a lot of buyers off.

But it has its share of difficulty; some badguys/bosses can be pretty brutal (500+ damage, 1-round annihilation).
 
I notice that no one suggested Jade Empire. I sense that people around here may not like it, but it's got great characters and story, combined with the fighting system of a fairly simple beat em up (attack, charge attack, block). It's the perfect thing to introduce an action gamer into RPG territory. One caveat, you must like the interactivity of talking to [fully voiced] people. I loved trying to get reactions out of characters with some of the text choices personally. I'd rate it as one of the best games on Xbox, too. Not 9.9/10 great, but damn good.
 
I highly suggest AVOIDING Jade Empire like the plague.

The story is not great. It is one of the more predictable stories in recent memory. The twist is completely laughable.

I mean, who DIDN'T realize that, you know, that "weakness that seems to be there but isn't quite" would be used by the guy who put it there to begin with, to betray you?

Combat is exceedingly redundant and challenge simply does not exist. There are only two enemies in the entire game that pose even a minimal threat, and that is only because they can stun you for a lengthy period of time.

The game is SHORT. So short, in fact, I don't even consider it an RPG (first run through took me 12 hours, only missed two quests that take about five minutes total to complete, used no guides). There are only three cities and, pretty much, two weapons per style in the entire game. Everything about it is dumbed down. This game will not give you a healthy impression of RPGs as a genre. It is far too short, (even by today's standars) far too easy, has hardly any substantive customization, and pretty much bastardizes everything that makes the occasional WRPG decent.

Oh, and Bioware HAS NO CLUE how to implement a compelling good/evil/neutral game mechanic. Back to PC guys, please (KOTOR is mediocre at best, but compared to JE its a masterpiece despite the bugs and Mission ).

Something like Grandia II would be a great introductory RPG. Not too long, the story isn't completely terrible, and the gameplay is fantastic... and the game is not difficult at all, though it feels "about right."
 
My Arms Your Hearse said:
I highly suggest AVOIDING Jade Empire like the plague.

The story is not great. It is one of the more predictable stories in recent memory. The twist is completely laughable.

I mean, who DIDN'T realize that, you know, that "weakness that seems to be there but isn't quite" would be used by the guy who put it there to begin with, to betray you?

Combat is exceedingly redundant and challenge simply does not exist. There are only two enemies in the entire game that pose even a minimal threat, and that is only because they can stun you for a lengthy period of time.

The game is SHORT. So short, in fact, I don't even consider it an RPG (first run through took me 12 hours, only missed two quests that take about five minutes total to complete, used no guides). There are only three cities and, pretty much, two weapons per style in the entire game. Everything about it is dumbed down. This game will not give you a healthy impression of RPGs as a genre. It is far too short, (even by today's standars) far too easy, has hardly any substantive customization, and pretty much bastardizes everything that makes the occasional WRPG decent.

Oh, and Bioware HAS NO CLUE how to implement a compelling good/evil/neutral game mechanic. Back to PC guys, please (KOTOR is mediocre at best, but compared to JE its a masterpiece despite the bugs and Mission ).
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Personally I like playing an RPG for its story and memorable characters. And no, I only saw the twist coming right before it happened.
I didn't expect it until then because everyone that tells you about the flaw suggests that it's a good thing, because fighters expect a flaw that isn't there. They don't say that the main character actually has one.
I don't try to figure out the climax of the game, I let it suprise me.

I also disagree on shortness, my first playthrough was around 26 hours, not including the many times I reloaded a save to see how an important conversation would change based on dialogue choices. Guess people move at different speeds.

Combat is mostly easy, but always quick and light fun. I view RPG combat as a means to an end, that being more interaction and story. With many JRPGs I get the feeling that the combat is only filler to extend a story that could be well documented in less than 100 pages, novel style. Skies of Arcadia, for one, is a good example of this. It's charming, and everything involving the airships is cool, but the story was pretty damn light. And while I'm at it, to breeze through every fight in SoA it can be argued that you only need 4 or 5 character specials, half of which are simply upgrades.

I never got the feeling that any part of JE was filler, because interaction was always there when the story wasn't, and the fighting system didn't make me watch unskippable animations or any such filler. But anyway, I've made my case for it, I think it just depends on what the player wants out of an RPG.
 
OpinionatedCyborg said:
According to the reviews I've read (not personal experience -- I played the DC version), the GC Skies has less random encounters, so perhaps that's the version to get. Can anyone confirm this?
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Apologies if this has already been answered but yes, it is true. They also added new Discoveries and new Wanted Battles for the GC version. Go get it!
 
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