RPG Preferences

Hey everybody! I have always been a fan of classic RPGs and there are so many out there! But of them all, which ones have left the greatest impacts on you and why? For me personally, the two franchises that have left the biggest impacts were, of course Dragon Age, revolutionary in it's choice driven story line, and second, the Divinity series. I love how Divinity approaches the fantasy world with the implementation of technology. Crazy mechanical contraptions are present all over the world, from steam powered blimps to robotic canons. What are your opinions?

I love the old school final Fantasys (VI is my favorite) and I also love the Dragon Quest series (IX is the best since it offers so damn much content). I also enjoy a lot of what Atlus puts out, and some stand alone titles like Xenoblade and The Last Story. I also dig classics like Chrono Trigger.

Some WRPGs I like are the KOTOR games and the Borderlands games (latter might not count but **** it).

I'd say my favorite RPG I've played is Xenoblade. It offers a ton of content and is very long, but never feels like it's being padded with useless fluff. That's rare for a game that takes 75 hours to beat.

There's also Knights in the Nightmare which is a mix of RPG and several other genres. That's one of my favorite games ever.

Trine 2.

Best RPG Ever !

There's so many that I love. Some of my all-time favourite franchises are:

• Mass Effect
• Final Fantasy
• Dragon Quest
• Baldur's Gate
• Dragon Age
• Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross
• Tales of
• Lost Odyssey - only one game but it was excellent

Classic RPGs

@bussinrounds

Are those Books ? ..... On Top of a Table ?

Yea, there's a few d&d books in there. It's not my stuff, btw, just a pic showing the kind of RPGs I grew up on and like.

@bussinrounds

Doesn't it bother you that some of the outcomes are determined by rolls ?

I love that because it simulates playing d&d/p&p RPGs. It doesn't come down to my twitch abilities as a player, but my characters stats, abilities, ect..

You control a whole party of characters in most of these games, and the systems are usually a lot deeper than modern single character RPGs, with more a lot more options to consider. They're more of a thinking mans RPG, like a game of chess, say, as opposed to just an action game (with sprinkled in RPG elements) that comes down to how well you manipulate & time pressing the buttons/keys or whatever.

Now that's not to say I hate all action rpg gameplay/combat or whatever. But the ones that are actually decent like Dark Souls, are very few and far between, so I'd usually just rather play a true action game if I'm gonna go that route. (unless the action RPG has some other elements that are REALLY well done)

@bussinrounds

The downside is your character is getting more out the game than you are, and since your character isn't real then why bother, also its not deep.... Its complex.... If you've played chess against an expert before you'l know that the total amount of options available (Complexity) and the number of viable options (Depth) are two different things...... RPGs are no different, in Dark Souls not all options are viable and most importantly, none of them are Equal.... You'l mostly like go for the option or options that yield maximum impact for mininum resources (or effort in an Action RPG), this is called an "Optimized/Reduction Strategy" and man I hate it. I hate it so much !

In an Action game you have more "dynamic viability" (If it sounds like I'm making shit up as I go along, then Its because thats exactly what I'm doing, :p), this means, you can do this.... If your fast enough or you can do that..... If your talented enough.

Thats why I love action games.... Its all about me.... Me Me Me Me Me ! I'm a super Narcisist ! :) I'm the one with the accuracy to nail the headshot, not Marcus Fenix, I'm the one with the Speed to kick God's ass, not Bayonetta. You get more out of the game because its a built around you.... It tries to preserve as much of your talent through the controller and reflect it in the gameplay..... It demands real skill, your skill..... ! This is why I'm a big defender of motion controls in gaming..... Intuitive direct control is for the player, in 2010's Microsoft E3 Conference they unveiled the Kinect, they showed Project Milo.... Claire no longer needed an Avatar or Character to represent her in thegame, she plays as herself, she sees her own reflection in the water, the game responds directly to her.

You just don't experience that kind of Autonomy and Directness in RPGs, even in Dark Souls, theres a Double Barrier, the controller AND the RPG elements (your avatars, stats and progression) it takes alot things away from the player.... You no longer progress, your character does, you know longer learn, your character does, you know longer win or lose, your character does, you just make choices and grind experience to level up..... In Action RPGs this effect is only Halved. You only get half as much out of the game.

Come on... I know this is what you want ! right ? :p

My favorites of the classic have always been the true Shining Forces.

Depends in the type of mood I'm in. As I said, I can get into action/twitch games, but I do love the old school RPG style...where I can just relax, take a pull/sip of brandy or whatever at my leisure, not have to rush and take my time with shit.

Another cool thing is that I can have something else going on (TV, ect...) because I don't need my hands to be at the controls at all times.

And I don't always take the optimal route, as I like to experiment with different party combinations, tactics, ect.. Most all of the games allow for this as there is isn't only one way to get the job done. (I guess.. 'I'm not a powergamer' would be the proper term ?)

@bussinrounds

The reason why most people experiment is to find the Optimal Strategy. The reason why they do this is because the gameplay in RPGs is usually tedius and heavily flawed, Bethesda is extremely guilty of this.

Also if you wana relax theres much better ways to do this than gaming of any kind..... Games are work in some form or another.....

I fear you've become complacent..... Wheres your fighting spirit ? Don't'ya wana bust some rounds ? :p

Bethesda' needs to ditch that shitty gamebryo engine already. But I'll never have faith in them because all they do is lie and try and appeal to everybody and their grandmothers these days. (plus their writers and rpg mechanics/systems are laughable )

Haha..I still bust some rounds from time to time. Sadly, my favorite type shooters (tactical ones like the old R6 games, Ghost Recon 1, OFP, SWAT 3/4.. OR the Doom style ones with big maze like levels, backtracking, hordes)...are not really being made anymore for the most part. (well Bohemia makes them but my steam powered pc can't play shit like Arma 2/3 well enough and I'm not arsed to spend the money over it)

I'm having some fun with GTA 5 though. (as an overall experience) Wish there was a way to just remove the red dots (enemies) that show up on your radar when you're on foot though.I try not to look at them, but it's kind of annoying. I do like they they don't have a direction of fire indicator that pops up showing you where the shots are coming from though.

@Lulu_Lulu: Well no, people also experiment in RPGs to have fun.

Sub-optimal party and character builds are often the most fun. Sure, you *could* go for a standard fighters/rogues/mages party...but why not try a party of six beserkers, a one-man mage party, or (in the case of Fallout 2) a drug-addled boxer who is literally too stupid to form sentences?

Doing that allows you to roleplay quite a bit more, while also bringing out the depth in the games' mechanics, and presents a very enjoyable challenge in the form of "how in the hell could this character or party possibly get through that??" moments.

Anyway, it's all just the same old same old with your posts. You start from the position that all RPGs have terrible gameplay, and so you can't understand why people play them...while in reality, people play them because they don't all have terrible gameplay.

@bussinrounds

The thing I love about GTA is just Cruising the street nicely and carefully while listening to the radio..... You begin to notice those details developers didn't expect you to nice like the cars using their blinkers.... Its just such a chilled experience..... GTA is good for nothing else but that.

@Planeforger

Well I have heard people define RPGs in many different ways. Not a single one mentions gameplay..... Gamers don't care for it and neither do developers...... Despite what you might think... Role Playing has always appealed to me.... But I can't surpress my congnition enough to see what everybody else sees. Especially where Stats are involved. I can't accept that I'm making progress just because my character levelled up whilst I myself learned nothing...... I sure as hell can't deny logic long enough to accept Persuasion Mechanics in RPGs......

Theres just too many abstract mechanics getting in the way..... One day they'l make the perfect RPG and I'l be happy.... Until then my frustration will erupt every now and then I do sincerely Apologise for that.....

And what would it be like ?

@bussinrounds

It would alot like Bastion or Transistors, with absolutely no concept of statistcal progression.

You would develope your character in a more practical, mechanical way.

You remember Arkham City's Upgrades right ? Yep it would be just like that... :)

it will be statless.