I need an RPG in a bad way...

O

olimario

Banned
Paper Mario 2 left me bored out of my skull. I'm looking for a beautiful, decently paced RPG for either the GC or the PS2. It's been too long since I've played a good one.

I was wondering about the Atlus titles... Shin Megami Tensai (sp?)... Is that right?
They look stunning but I'm wondering about pacing and fun. Would it be accessable to a guy who isn't very good at RPGs?

Oh, and I don't like dragging, non-skippable stories.

I know there are a lot of people here who are really on the ball with their RPGs. Could you please shoot some advice my way?
 
SHADOW HEARTS

SHADOW HEARTS COVENANT

I have the introduction movie for Shadow Hearts on my PC (even has battle system in it), hold on...

BAM IN THE EYE YURI IS THE MAN
 
demi said:
SHADOW HEARTS

SHADOW HEARTS COVENANT
Click to expand...

How does it look? I'm a puss to admit this, but a lot of what has driven me to finish my favorite RPGs has been interesting visuals. I get turned off very easily by generic locales.

My favorite RPG is Mario RPG on the SNES. It's beautiful, it's well paced, and it has a decent amount of non-RPG stuff like mine carting.
 
Do The Mario said:
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate 2
KOTOR
KOTOR 2


You crazy crazy stalker.
Click to expand...


More traditional, turn based please. KOTOR doesn't interest me in the least.
Baulder's Gate is an overhead hack n slash, right?
 
Do The Mario said:
Use your PC

Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate 2
KOTOR
KOTOR 2


You crazy crazy stalker.
Click to expand...



He clearly wants Japanese RPG's, but he can't seem to find one of the 12 million on the PS2.
 
The Baldur's Gate games are dated visually now and the stories really drag, so I don't think he'd do well playing those.

The Kotor series might work though.
 
Wow, I really can't believe people found Paper Mario 2 boring. I plowed through that, not wanting to stop playing.

Anyway, I heartily suggest Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant, but if you're as picky as you sound, you may want to skip the first.
 
Shadow Hearts sounds decent... I think I'll look into that.
How is Nocturne? I know it's beautiful.

10.jpg
 
By the way, KOTOR is very fun, and definitely doesn't drag.

1. Final Fantasy X PS2 Square Enix 72 8.7 91.7% 91.2%
2. Dark Cloud 2 PS2 SCEA 71 8.4 88.7% 88.7%
3. Suikoden III PS2 Konami 30 8.4 86.7% 87.6%
4. Shadow Hearts: Covenant PS2 Midway 33 8.1 86.8% 86.9%
5. Final Fantasy X-2 PS2 Square Enix 64 8.0 85.0% 86.8%
6. Final Fantasy XI PS2 SCEA 46 7.8 84.7% 86.7%
7. Champions of Norrath PS2 Sony Online Entertainment 60 8.3 85.3% 86.0%
8. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance PS2 VU Games 62 8.2 84.2% 85.1%
9. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht PS2 Namco 53 8.3 83.5% 85.0%
10. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne PS2 Atlus Co. 27 7.8 85.6% 85.0%
11. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time PS2 Square Enix 44 8.2 80.9% 82.5%
12. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II PS2 Interplay 51 8.1 80.2% 81.3%
13. X-Men Legends PS2 Activision 43 7.4 80.8% 80.0%
14. Growlanser Generations PS2 Working Designs 14 7.0 79.2% 79.9%
15. EverQuest Online Adventures PS2 Sony Online Entertainment 49 6.8 76.1% 78.8%
16. Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia PS2 Square Enix 11 7.4 79.0% 78.4%
17. The Bard's Tale PS2 InXile Entertainment 38 7.1 77.6% 78.3%
18. EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers PS2 Sony Online Entertainment 17 5.9 77.1% 78.1%
19. Champions: Return to Arms PS2 Sony Online Entertainment 21 7.9 78.5% 77.5%
20. .hack Part 1: Infection PS2 Bandai 47 7.6 77.1% 77.2%
21. Dynasty Tactics PS2 Koei 25 7.7 77.0% 77.1%
22. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter PS2 Capcom 41 7.6 78.3% 76.6%
23. Wild Arms 3 PS2 SCEA 55 7.5 76.9% 76.5%
24. Shadow Hearts PS2 Midway 41 7.9 77.1% 76.5%
25. Jade Cocoon 2 PS2 Ubisoft 32 7.0 75.9% 76.4%
26. Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color PS2 Agetec Inc. 33 7.2 75.8% 75.7%
27. Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland PS2 Natsume 19 7.3 73.5% 75.5%
28. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits PS2 SCEA 61 7.6 76.6% 75.3%
29. .hack Part 2: Mutation PS2 Bandai 30 7.4 74.0% 74.3%
30. The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age PS2 EA Games 35 7.5 75.2% 73.2%
31. Dual Hearts PS2 Atlus Co. 26 6.4 71.0% 72.1%
32. Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose PS2 Namco 15 8.0 72.8% 71.7%
33. Okage: Shadow King PS2 SCEI 34 6.3 69.2% 71.4%
34. Summoner PS2 THQ 37 6.3 69.9% 71.2%
35. Grandia Xtreme PS2 Square Enix 27 6.9 70.3% 71.0%
36. Legaia 2: Duel Saga PS2 Eidos Interactive 40 7.2 71.4% 70.7%


Go RPG crazy.
 
olimario said:
More traditional, turn based please. KOTOR doesn't interest me in the least.
Baulder's Gate is an overhead hack n slash, right?
Click to expand...


That’s it lets look at the holy gospel of Game Rankings.


top RPG’s of all time

Plat Company Reviews Avg.
Vote Overall
Score Main
Score
1. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
PC Interplay
33 8.9 93.9% 94.9%
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
XBOX LucasArts
86 9.0 93.9% 94.9%
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
PC LucasArts
43 8.8 93.2% 93.6%
4. Baldur's Gate



Anyone accusing Baldur’s gate of being “hack and slash” without playing it deserves to be stalked by a creepy neighbor.

Bioware >>> All
 
lockii said:
Planescape: Torment

But Oh shit!? Western RPG? Throw it away.
Click to expand...

Heh, that's probably my favorite RPG of all time, but he sounds like he doesn't want much of a story. Playing PS:T is like reading a tome sized novel.
 
Lets be fucking honest here, if he got bored of PM2, he's not gonna get very far in any of Bioware's shit. They're not really, well, interesting. At all.
 
Shin MegaTen is a lot of fun and doesn't have a lot of story scenes. Instead, the story's pretty interactive - you define it by doing what you want to do. But, it's probably more challenging than the average RPG so, given what you specified, that might not be a very good choice.

Other people have mentioned Shadow Hearts Covenant. It looks great, but has a LOT of story scenes. You CAN skip over them by hitting Start, but it's kind of silly to skip out on half the game ;). I'm assuming you'd be more interested in a game that didn't have a ton of cutscenes in the first place!

Maybe Skies of Arcadia Legends for GCN? Being a couple years old, it's not top-of-the-line graphically, but it's turn-based, not particularly difficult, and I don't recall it having a lot of story scenes, so it sounds like it's what you're looking for otherwise. To be honest, I didn't care for the game that much, but I recognize I'm in a very small minority that way. It's more likely that you would be in the majority who adore the game!

Also, have you played FF X-1? If so, FF X-2 is really fun, doesn't have too many story scenes, and isn't too difficult. But if you haven't played X-1, you wouldn't get nearly as much out of X-2 and I wouldn't recommend it in that case. (I wouldn't really recommend X-1 on its own; the pacing is extremely awkward and there is a LOT of talking.) I should mention that FF X-2 isn't strictly turn-based, though...
 
RevenantKioku said:
Lets be fucking honest here, if he got bored of PM2, he's not gonna get very far in any of Bioware's shit. They're not really, well, interesting. At all.
Click to expand...


I beg to differ. While I've only played KOTOR, I thought the game was compelling from start to finish. Now, he may hate the idea of playing a Star Wars RPG, which in itself is enough, but Bioware definitely makes some interesting games. Definitely moreso than your average dime a dozen turn-based RPG. (I'm not referring to Shadow Hearts or Shin Megami Tensei btw, I'm sure they're fantastic)
 
With those parameters, you really are looking at SMT: Nocturne/Digital Devil Saga, or Shadow Hearts 1/2. And the first Shadow Hearts is kinda ugly-looking.

It's been a weak generation for turn-based JRPGs, and the few others that are worth playing don't meet your criteria.
 
Speevy said:
I beg to differ. While I've only played KOTOR, I thought the game was compelling from start to finish. Now, he may hate the idea of playing a Star Wars RPG, which in itself is enough, but Bioware definitely makes some interesting games. Definitely moreso than your average dime a dozen turn-based RPG. (I'm not referring to Shadow Hearts or Shin Megami Tensei btw, I'm sure they're fantastic)
Click to expand...

KOTOR is just BG1 rewrapped in the Star Wars license. (Come on, the story? Jesus christ, it may be different but I sure wasn't entertained.) BG2 I've heard really good things about though, but just passed due to my disinterest in the first one. Torment had an interface that made me want to smash in my monitor, so I didn't get very far. And the battle systems in the Bioware games I played are really just slightly tweaked turn based battles anyway.
 
Skies was shit... Couldn't pay me to play that again. The visuals were so generic and the animation during battle scenes lacked so much polish. What I played felt so slopped together.

I watched the covenant trailer and I'm interested. It seems epic and the visuals seem nice enough.

I'm wondering... What is better? Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga?
 
Yeah, the story. Well written, convincingly acted. And if not, at least better than the clumsy dialogue usually heard in JRPG's.
 
Get Shadow Hearts 2.

Seriously I know what you mean about PM2, I found it pretty boring and slow (though to be fair I was playing the 'not funny' Japanese version). SMT is not what you're looking for as it's more of a hardcore dungeon crawl which doesn't really seem like your ideal game.

SH2 is a traditional turn-based rpg with a fast moving and interesting plot filled with great characters (yes, Demi is right. Yuri is one of the best leads ever :P). Great graphics/music, short but fun dungeons, and a nice lengthy quest.

Otherwise I'd say get FFX, but SH2 is a little more wierd and funky in a good way.
 
olimario said:
I watched the covenant trailer and I'm interested. It seems epic and the visuals seem nice enough.
Click to expand...

If you get one you must get the other. demi demands it.

Yuri is basically Ryudo, but he doesn't become a pussy near the end of the game.
 
olimario said:
I'm wondering... What is better? Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga?
Click to expand...

DDS is more FF-esque, Nocturne is...well more SMT like. (Nocture is actually a SMT game, whereas DDS is something different entirely.)
Going by your tastes Oli, I'd say ..this is tough, but I'd say DDS.
 
I recommend Final Fantasy X.

Good solid turn-based gameplay.

...and I think someone like you could appreciate the story and characters.

I wouldn't suggest playing Nocturne right off the bat. Get another RPG done before hand.
 
Speevy said:
Yeah, the story. Well written, convincingly acted. And if not, at least better than the clumsy dialogue usually heard in JRPG's.
Click to expand...

Hey, clumsy dialogue or no, we all get intrigued by different things. And KOTOR made me hate Star Wars even more.
 
Dragon Quest VIII will have superb graphics, but I doubt there'll be any non-RPG elements aside from casino games. Its probably not really decently paced either, as I've heard it compared to VII.
 
olimario said:
FFX and FFX-2 just seem so fruity... and I like fucking Kirby Air Ride.
Click to expand...

FFX-2 yes, but FFX is rather good, very linear (really) so you can't really get lost, and the difficulty is rather non-existant by the time you rush Bevelle. Or you can abuse Aeon Rushes.

And cmon, Otherworld is a sweet boss fight song!
 
olimario said:
FFX and FFX-2 just seem so fruity... and I like fucking Kirby Air Ride.
Click to expand...

...or maybe not. I mean I can see basically everyone saying that about X-2, but if you can't deal with the realistic character of Tidus (or at least realistic issues) and need some "manly" character to relate to, then yeah, forget it.
 
BG1 & BG 2 are so cheap how can you go wrong?


There is not a more engrossing game then Baldur’s gate 2 on the planet, buy this game and it owns you!

- Superb Voice acting
- Sensational orchestrated music
- Large customizable party, each NPC has there own quests/ Stories and will react differently to your actions.
- Insane amount of side quests make the game extremely no linear.
- Great Story
- lots of strategy required for many battles (a bit hack and slashish towards the start, once your mage/presits get to level 5 IT"S ON!)
 
I love Bioware, but I really hate how fans of KOTOR and the infinity engine games always have to come into threads like this and preach. They aren't for everyone, and obviously not what Oli is looking for.
 
Good... SH2 should hold be over until DDS releases next month.
Thanks for the help, GAF.

And I really don't have any interest in BG or KOTOR... and Tidus seems really fruity... everything I've seen of FFX reeks of it.
 
God, people, not all people are solid fucking snake.

I've argued that point too much. Nevermind, let's keep to our 2 dimensional "badasses" in RPGs and never have characters deal with any kind of actual human issues :p
 
Do The Mario said:
Use your PC

Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate 2
KOTOR
KOTOR 2
Click to expand...

But first, play Torment.

And the Icewind Dale's like he mentioned, too. Also, even as dated as the original BG may be, it's still better than most of your other options.

But first... yes, play Torment, dammit!
 
Tabris said:
God, people, not all people are solid fucking snake.

I've argued that point too much. Nevermind, let's keep to our 2 dimensional "badasses" in RPGs and never have characters deal with any kind of actual human issues :p
Click to expand...


You don't have to be a badass to be 'not fruity'.

Anyhow... Hopefully I'll find a couple RPGs to join Mario on my list of RPGs I enjoy.
smrpg_ss.gif
 
Bobbery dealt with some emotional issues, but he was a badass all the same. And he was 2-dimensional, literally!
 
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