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MoonFrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
You've got a ton of great games on that plate. Interesting that you're going through a bunch of DS RPGs at the moment, was that a conscious decision or did it just randomly end up like that?
Oh conscious decision. I bought a bunch when they stopped printing them. I'm correcting a wrong I committed in the PS360 generation of just not keeping up with where the games I liked had gone. I had a DS but I used it like I used my GameBoy: to play Nintendo games. That was a mistake that cost me fun that generation :P. But...I tend to play games late. I like going back and filling in catalogs so it isn't a mistake I mind having made now :P.

(Glad I didn't treat DQ that way though :))

I've done my duty and told the others to try out the Monster games. They're so much fun.

Yep. Message received. I do plan on playing them at some time. I've always just paid attention to the main series.

I hope I get to them sooner rather than later :). But I've got a bunch of plans lol.
 

MoonFrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
Thanks for clearing that up. I'll keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks as that gets sorted.
 

Seda

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,070
Hi I am bad at forums but I will try to follow this thread and stuff and I play RPGs pretty much exclusively these days. I recognize most of you I think.
 

Wazzy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,070
Yep. Message received. I do plan on playing them at some time. I've always just paid attention to the main series.

I hope I get to them sooner rather than later :). But I've got a bunch of plans lol.
I didn't find them to be very long games so when you find the time they shouldn't be a long grind or anything meaning you can play and finish both games at a reasonable rate.
Hi I am bad at forums but I will try to follow this thread and stuff and I play RPGs pretty much exclusively these days. I recognize most of you I think.
Nice to see you and aeana here! I remembered you from FF community and obviously for other reasons.
 

Young Magus

Member
Oct 25, 2017
168
How does everyone who is a fan of the Ys series feel about 6?

It was my first Ys title and I quite enjoyed it plus it gave me a favourite character from the series other than it's two main stays. I kind of want to recommend it to people who haven't played it yet.

As the first within the trilogy VI is a good first step. And the OST remains a sweet spot for me.

Not as polished as Outh or Origins but does deserve a lotta credit for bringin Ys (and Falcom) into a new era
 

Arulan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,571
Color me shocked! Did you really? ;-)

Also did any of you guys know what will happen to that Island in Pillars II?

Backers should have gotten an email from Shao Kahn. The main points:

Q. Are we getting the Island?
A. Yes. We are. Everything has been finalized months ago as previously discussed at GAF.
Q. Are we getting the goodies?
A. If you paid for game keys, you have either received them or will receive them once the game ships. If you paid for physical items, they will be shipped as it's shipped out to me.
Q. I would like a refund.
A. Unfortunately, I cannot refund anyone as the money is in Obsidian's hands. I did not plan for Evilore to harass someone for this to go down, so unfortunately I cannot pay anyone back as this is not mine to helm.
Q. I don't like GAF anymore. I don't want the Island.
A. Fortunately, the island is still happening so nothing will change. Will the end game change? I'm not sure, it depends on how Obsidian feels about this fiasco (I'm sure they know by now). I myself don't know what secrets they have in store for us, so I cannot comment on anything.

FiveSide I had originally thought to take the yearly RPG threads and combine them with a community OT like you've done here. Do you think it would be useful to keep the yearly RPG portion as well?
 

TheGreatLugia

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,078
Hey,

Might chat here on occasion since I play a fair number of RPGs. Can't remember if I tried any WRPGs before Horizon, though.
 

Thuddert

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,298
Netherlands
This is basically my dilemma as well. And there's a third game that came out fairly recently too, right? So combined it's probably like 120-150 hours of dialogue-heavy JRPG...that's the kind of thing I need to schedule like a year in advance lol.

I put in about 200 hours across the three games myself. That's a bit more than the average: FC ~ 40, SC ~ 80, 3rd ~ 30

The rule of thumb to me was about ten hours per chapter. Cold Steel games are also long. CS ~ 60, CS II ~50

Then there are the untranslated titles. When you get at that point everything else kinda has to move lol.

I'll make a list of my backlog of RPG's.
 

Ronik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
109
Hey, if there's a revote, it can only move DOS2 up in the placement, so good news in that regard!
 

Lynx_7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,332
I am glad to see everyone landed here.
[...]
Code:
1    Chrono Trigger
2    Dark Souls
3    Persona 4
4    The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
5    Final Fantasy VI
6    Planescape: Torment
7    Persona 5
8    Fallout: New Vegas
9    Xenoblade Chronicles
10    Final Fantasy VII
11    NieR: Automata
12    Bloodborne
13    Mass Effect 2
14    Final Fantasy IX
15    Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
16    Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
17    EarthBound
18    Undertale
19    Final Fantasy Tactics
20    Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
21    Persona 3
22    Final Fantasy X
23    Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
24    Valkyria Chronicles
25    Xenogears

I don't want to derail this thread too much, so PM me here (or on discord if we are in contact) if you were curious about anything else from the past vote not publically posted here or prior to this.

  • Wow, I'm surprised to see P5 and Nier debuting that high. Hopefully they'll follow Witcher 3's trajectory and keep going up rather than seeing a FE: Awakening fall from grace in future lists.
  • Nocturne on the top 20 gives me life. We made it, guys! Above P3 and FFX even, holy shit! Hopefully it repeats that feat when we redo the voting here.
  • I predicted that if any game would take P4's place from #2 it'd be Dark Souls, and it looks like I was right. It's amazing how no matter how many new games the Souls franchise gets, DS1 remains the undisputed favorite and it never falters in these lists.
  • Totally predicted that Witcher 3 would outrank Bloodborne. It seems to be more popular on RPG circles. I'm kind of curious if it'd also snatch the GOTY from BB if we ever ran the 2015 GOTY thread again.
  • That's a big resurgence for Pokemon, isn't it? It didn't do too hot on 2015, and it still didn't make the top 20 on Kuwabara's edition. I wonder what prompted the increase.
  • I knew the FF hierarchy wouldn't change, but I'm surprised to see VII dropping. You'd imagine a remake would spark more interest for the game in general, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
  • Undertale and EarthBound right next to each other is kind of heartwarming.
Even though it's for totally understandable reasons, it's still kind of a shame that these aren't the "official" results because that's probably my favorite list out of the last few ones we've had.
 

Lothar

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,529
Nier Automata would be higher for sure if I hadn't been banned for it. Nier Automata is #3 on my list while FF7, Xenoblade, and Persona 5 would not be on it.

A travesty that FF7 is higher.
 

Graham

Member
Oct 25, 2017
69
Still in the middle of Ys VIII, with final fantasy XII in my backlog.

Then it's Tokyo Xanadu in December and, if it turns out to be good, I may have to get a switch for Xenoblade 2. I really liked the first game.
 

Thuddert

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,298
Netherlands
I'm not so sure about Xenoblade 2 (also don't have a switch). The exploration will probably be amazing as usual, Monolith has its trackrecord to prove that. Storywise what they showed doesn't instill much faith in me. I need more info on that. If I had a switch, it would be a no brainer, however not a title that would make me buy one.

Anyway a few of the RPG's in the backlog of the top of my hat:

  • Bloodborne (stranded at Vicar Amelia)
  • Code Name STEAM
  • Cosmic Star Heroine
  • Dark Souls (halfway done)
  • Final Fantasy VI
  • Fire Emblem 1-6
  • Fire Emblem New Mystery of the Emblem
  • Fire Emblem Fates (played a bit of Birthright)
  • Illusion of Time
  • Lufia II
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (played didn't finish)
  • Secret of Mana
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 1&2
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Raidou 1&2
  • Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
  • Suikoden I&II
  • Super Mario RPG (played a bit before)
  • Vagrant Story
  • Valkyria Chronicles (about halfway through)
  • Wild Arms
  • Ys V
I almost bought the Witcher 3, but then I remembered all these games lol.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 419

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,009
FiveSide I had originally thought to take the yearly RPG threads and combine them with a community OT like you've done here. Do you think it would be useful to keep the yearly RPG portion as well?

I think we should absolutely keep in the yearly RPG portion, that was a great resource and great discussion topic. I don't think I'd posted in there yet with this account name, but I'd been in and out of those threads with my previous one.

I'll be adding a few more resources and other things to the OT. We can either put the yearly RPG stuff directly in here, or it can be a separate thread that I highlight in the OT. Let me know if you have any preference for how to structure it.

One thing I'd like to add is a revolving spotlight for lesser-known RPGs, ones that we can give some visibility to and that aren't necessarily part of a larger series or brand. I was thinking of making the first one Xanadu Next - would Fou-Lu or anyone else like to do a brief little write-up for it? Something to give people an idea of what the game is and why they might like it?

Hey, if there's a revote, it can only move DOS2 up in the placement, so good news in that regard!

I'll be swapping DOS2 in for DOS1, no question. I might be making a few other voting changes, but that's the big one.

I might even keep the write-up identical. DOS2 has all the same strengths the first one had. It's just better pretty much across the board, the perfect sequel in a lot of ways.

I put in about 200 hours across the three games myself.

So much time...my LTTP for TitS will be incoming in 2020 at that rate :(


Like half of these are full-blown classics, you've got some great gaming ahead of you!

Since you're partway through Dark Souls, I'd wrap that up and then maybe hit Final Fantasy VI next. Have you played any of the other FFs?

Vagrant Story is also exceptional and pretty short, I think my first playthrough was less than 20 hours.
 
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Thuddert

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,298
Netherlands
One thing I'd like to add is a revolving spotlight for lesser-known RPGs, ones that we can give some visibility to and that aren't necessarily part of a larger series or brand. I was thinking of making the first one Xanadu Next - would Fou-Lu or anyone else like to do a brief little write-up for it? Something to give people an idea of what the game is and why they might like it?

This was my write up for the Essential RPG's vote:

Xanadu Next - PC

I knew the moment this game was translated, it would get ignored. This is probably the best game I can think of that deserves the underrated vote.

Xanadu Next is an action RPG made by Nihon Falcom. If we make a Falcom scale on fast-slow with Ys being the fastest and Brandish the slowest, Xanadu Next would sit right in the middle. It mixes up the field action with dungeon crawling in an interconnected world. Just like Ys and Brandish its focus is on gameplay. Very addicting gameplay if I might add. Several times I tried to put down the game, only for it to result in "one more".

You play as a knight that gets talked into investigating Harlech Island by a scholar. On the island he encounters a warrior named Dvorak whom gives him a fatal wound. To save his life, a guardian is attached to him. Now the knight is bounded by Harlech and its guardian. He'll die if he ever leaves, unless he can find the Dragon Slayer.

What makes Xanadu Next interesting is the gameplay loop. Typically you hit monsters, they drop gold and loot. You use that to buy better equipment so you stand a better chance while crawling the dungeons. There are two ways to attack, either with physical weapons or with spells. Weapons such as swords grant the user skills. You can use these skills so long as you have that weapon. Now if you master a weapon (100%), that skill is unlocked and you can use it freely without that weapon. You can still use that weapon until you reach max your profiency (200%). Your weapon of choice will do a lot more damage now. Xanadu Next gives you the choice: do you switch weapons or do you keep it. Of course you can also use spells. Both spells and skills use mp, but regular weapons also have standard attacks. So Xanadu Next gives you a lot of choice in how you build your character. Keep in mind you're limited to only four skill/magic slots.

I played this game last year when it finally released in English and it became my game of the year. Kinda sad if a game originally from 2005 beats the rest of the competition, but it was that good. That gameplay loop feels so satisfying. Exploring dungeons and beating giant bosses is amazing. Xanadu Next may not be a looker with its ugly as sin models, however I forgot about that one hour in. At least I can appreciate the way Falcom tries to frame scenes in their games. Xanadu Next still used some FMV instead of animated cutscenes, which has a certain style to it I like. While you do play this game for that satisfying gameplay loop, I got punched in the gut when the story catches up. I absolutely love this game and will continue to shill it to ya'll.

It might be a bit lame to compare Xanadu Next to a prototype Demon's Souls, but that's the vibe it had.



So much time...my LTTP for TitS will be incoming in 2020 at that rate :(

The beauty of Trails (imo) is deciding your own pace. One thing to keep in mind is that while the sky games are composed of three games, none of them feel incomplete. The ending of FC does stimulate everyone in jumping into SC directly. After the prologue you can take things slow again before it ramps up at the end. The 3rd is a treat when you're already in that deep, but the focus of the game is more on every character but Estelle (although she still has her moments).

Like half of these are full-blown classics, you've got some great gaming ahead of you!

Since you're partway through Dark Souls, I'd wrap that up and then maybe hit Final Fantasy VI next. Have you played any of the other FFs?

Vagrant Story is also exceptional and pretty short, I think my first playthrough was less than 20 hours.

There are probably more that I forgot about. Dark Souls has been a while, so I have been putting that off for quite a while.

Final Fantasy VI didn't give me a good first impression on the SNES mini. It probably needs all my intention, but something like Secret of Mana left a better impression. However I have been avoiding FF and DQ games for quite some time. Haven't touched anything seriously.

Vagrant Story is a good one. Anyway thanks for the suggestions, it might help eventually :P
 

Luxorek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,162
Poland
kswiston Thanks for posting the results. You put so much work into that thread and I'm glad it wasn't all for naught. I will be sure to vote in the new Essential thread, whenever you make it. It's good to see to see some stellar western RPGs in the top 10 - TW3, Planescape Torment and Fallout NV are hard to beat and good way to experience the broad spectrum of the genre. TW3 moved up since the last voting and I'm really curious how it will do in the new thread. Userbase hasn't changed most likely, but more people will feel inclined to vote I think.

And if we are speaking of western RPGs, this is what I feel like being in this thread hahahaha

a32deca2474314e6ad9a97bb88dc8124.jpeg


I'm afraid my jRPG knowledge is rather limited and ends on Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and Golden Sun games. Then again, with so many of the old classics being released on Steam and Android I will catch up eventually. Hopefully.
 

Fou-Lu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,339
So glad to see so many familiar RPG loving faces. Most of you have been instrumental in me trying out some RPG, whether you know it or not.

One thing I'd like to add is a revolving spotlight for lesser-known RPGs, ones that we can give some visibility to and that aren't necessarily part of a larger series or brand. I was thinking of making the first one Xanadu Next - would Fou-Lu or anyone else like to do a brief little write-up for it? Something to give people an idea of what the game is and why they might like it?

I love this idea! Thuddert's write up is a good one, though I disagree on the character models. They remind me far too much of Vagrant Story to hate them :P
 

gogosox82

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,385
Thanks for posting the results kwiston. I know you put a lot of work into it and I'm glad your work won't be completely wasted.
 

Thuddert

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,298
Netherlands
So glad to see so many familiar RPG loving faces. Most of you have been instrumental in me trying out some RPG, whether you know it or not.
I love this idea! Thuddert's write up is a good one, though I disagree on the character models. They remind me far too much of Vagrant Story to hate them :P

The character portraits are lovely tho. I mean look at this (courtesty from RPGsite)
 

Golnei

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,823
I really need to start Trails in the Sky as well - I'm still not sure if I'll like its approach; but I'm not going to find out by letting it rot forever. Once I have time, I guess.

Since Soul Hackers was included in the current 3DS sale, I finally decided to try it - I've only played a little bit so far, but the incredibly 90s aesthetic (obviously, since it was first released in 1997, but its subject matter kind of made sure it embodied a very specific kind of 90s look) is very endearing; from the kitschy CG to the musical direction and use of the Whisper voice synth. I was almost surprised the voice acting was added for the 3DS port; it feels very period-appropriate.
 

MoonFrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
If we're talking the OP, you could also link to some of the specific community threads going on around here. If people need deeper recommendations or a wider plethora of recomenders or just want to talk to more people about a certain game, those could be places to go.

Think I've seen MegaTen, Persona, and Final Fantasy so far, for example. Oh FE too.

Edit: Just saw a trails one too.
 
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Luminaire

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,610
I saw mention of the Discord earlier.

The server we have open was originally made to grab members of the Essential RPG thread and help keep people together while we find out where we land. As the weekend carried on, we reached out to more people to join us. We never expected it to get as big as it did (35? People) but it's been nice to see growth and discussion. Naturally, as people settle down here it will get quieter in the Discord. However, there is active discussion going on all day it seems as well as sharing ideas and collaboration.

That said, if you're interested in joining the RPG ERA Community Discord, please feel free to PM me or Fou-Lu.
 
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MoonFrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
I'm not so sure about Xenoblade 2 (also don't have a switch). The exploration will probably be amazing as usual, Monolith has its trackrecord to prove that. Storywise what they showed doesn't instill much faith in me. I need more info on that. If I had a switch, it would be a no brainer, however not a title that would make me buy one.
Not sure how I'll feel about Xenoblade either. I have a Switch and I'm getting it but those games are always mixed bags for me.

I enjoy aspects of the battle system, mostly how individuated the play styles of the different characters are and how there are rotations to some degree, but at the same time they leave me wanting much better party play than I think the system can ever deliver because, unlike the MMO it mimics, the other characters aren't people.

I always really like their monster and world design but not so much their character design. XB2 is looking much the same in this regard.

I wonder how this one will handle side content. Tbh I didn't finish the original because I got swamped with side-quests I didn't want to do but didn't want to leave undone.

I think the music should be phenomenal on this one.

...

As to your back-catalog, good luck! Really like some of the games on there and want to play others.
 

clay_ghost

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,368
Guess there is no Dragon Quest Community OT err? This one will do fine too, need a place to discuss niche RPG like Baten Kaitos!

Nintendo please do something with Bn and bring back the series :(
 

Fou-Lu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,339
The secret to Xenoblade is letting go of the need to finish all side-quests. It makes it a much more enjoyable experience.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 419

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,009
kswiston Thanks for posting the results. You put so much work into that thread and I'm glad it wasn't all for naught. I will be sure to vote in the new Essential thread, whenever you make it. It's good to see to see some stellar western RPGs in the top 10 - TW3, Planescape Torment and Fallout NV are hard to beat and good way to experience the broad spectrum of the genre. TW3 moved up since the last voting and I'm really curious how it will do in the new thread. Userbase hasn't changed most likely, but more people will feel inclined to vote I think.

And if we are speaking of western RPGs, this is what I feel like being in this thread hahahaha

a32deca2474314e6ad9a97bb88dc8124.jpeg


I'm afraid my jRPG knowledge is rather limited and ends on Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross and Golden Sun games. Then again, with so many of the old classics being released on Steam and Android I will catch up eventually. Hopefully.

No worries my friend, I'm playing through Divinity 2 right now, Dragonfall will be on my plate sometime soon, and excited for the upcoming The New World, sci-fi RPG from the Age of Decadence devs.

I know basically nothing about Strategy-RPGs though. I've played FF Tactics, a couple Fire Emblems, and Ogre Battle 64. SRPGs are my Achilles heel... (EDIT: Also Shining Force and Warsong, forgot about those!)

The secret to Xenoblade is letting go of the need to finish all side-quests. It makes it a much more enjoyable experience.

This is the secret to enjoying a LOT of RPGs, to be frank.
 

Seda

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,070
Xanadu Next was my GOTY in 2016 as well. I really loved most everything about it! I had no idea to expect such a strong Vagrant Story vibe going in.
 

Thuddert

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,298
Netherlands
The secret to Xenoblade is letting go of the need to finish all side-quests. It makes it a much more enjoyable experience.

Just do them as you go yep.

The original had great story beats, which is what I kinda missed in X. In X the sidestories are more exciting. That game is all about Mira to me. Oh well, still a great game that made the previous top 50.
 

Mattakuevan

Self requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
765
Just do them as you go yep.

The original had great story beats, which is what I kinda missed in X. In X the sidestories are more exciting. That game is all about Mira to me. Oh well, still a great game that made the previous top 50.

I loved both games, but yeah XB is best if you try not to go out of your way for sidequests. XBX is the opposite though since those are basically the whole point.
 

Knurek

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,335
I wish I had more time to play RPGs.
I have too many of them, waiting, biding their time.
 
Oct 25, 2017
1,702
I wish I had more time to play RPGs.
I have too many of them, waiting, biding their time.

This is me too. I'm hoping to get through Divinity Original Sin 2, Planescape Torment, and Trails in the Sky The 3rd before the end of the year for SteamEra GOTY voting but I'm guessing I'll only get through Divinity. And then there's all the Final Fantasy games plus XII likely on the way too...
 

MoonFrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,969
Don't see its OT so I'll post here; maybe some people have things they want to say about EO in here:

Finally made progress in Etrian Odyssey V again now that things have settled down here. I was probably a tad over-leveled when I killed the boss I had gotten to, but glad it is killed. I also changed up my party's gear towards more defensive builds and I think that would probably have been enough alone. Not sure. But I'm glad I got my ability to access advanced classes.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 419

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,009
I keep saying I need to jump into Etrian Odyssey. V just releasing seems like a good opportunity, but I'm not sure if I have the time for a 40+ hour dungeon crawler at the moment. (EDIT: Let me rephrase - I definitely don't have time at the moment, lol.)

Since the Essential RPG list is getting a revote in a month(?) or so, I'm trying to figure out what I should play that could potentially end up on my list. There are some heavy hitters I should maybe try to run through to see if they crack my Top 10 or get an HM.

Was there an RPG community thread before? I must have missed it. Oh well. I'm currently grinding jobs in the Steam version of Final Fantasy III. I'm thinking of watching a speedrun of the original to see how faithful of an adaption it was.

Make sure you prep well before entering the final dungeon. It's a pretty gnarly trek from the beginning of the final dungeon to the end of the game, absolutely no save points in between.
 

sauce

Member
Oct 25, 2017
427
Was there an RPG community thread before? I must have missed it. Oh well. I'm currently grinding jobs in the Steam version of Final Fantasy III. I'm thinking of watching a speedrun of the original to see how faithful of an adaption it was.
 

Aeana

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,938
Why aren't any of you guys playing the Tengai Makyou Zero translation, though? The Tengai Makyou series is very important in the legacy of Japanese RPGs; you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.