[QUOTE="Jag85"]The Granstream Saga
Ephemeral Fantasia
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
AtelierFan
I actually have heard from other people who like Ephemeral Fantasia. There is a youtube cannel by 'teh2Dgamer' (spelled just like that) called 'underrated gems', and I seem to remember that he did a video on EF.I've also heard The Granstream Saga is good. Can't say anything about Orphen.
Ephemeral Fantasia was like the PS2's Majora's Mask. I hadn't played Majora's Mask at the time, so the game's open-ended, time-loop gameplay felt quite fresh to me. The plot was also decent during the first loop, but got a bit repetitious eventually. It also had a bit of a Shenmue feel to it, like waiting around to meet characters at the right time (there was a fast-forward button though) and finding out more about the characters. I think the biggest problem was that it paled in comparison to Majora's Mask, however.
The Granstream Saga was from Quintet (ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma, etc.), so if you enjoyed their previous games, you might want to give Granstream Saga a shot on the PS1. The action-RPG gameplay was decent, but I remember it more for the plot, especially the twist ending which involved one of the most 'twisted' choices I've had to make in a game (although much of the plot was cliched up until then). I think the game's biggest problem was the graphics, with the lack of face textures making it feel awkward.
And finally, Orphen: Scion of Sorcery is based on an anime series of the same name, with the PS2 game itself being a side-story to the series. While the gameplay didn't really stand out much, what I really liked about it at the time was the way the story could change drastically depending on what you do and where you go. The plot scenarios branched out in wildly different directions, though they eventually led to a "true ending" at the end. It was only many years later that I find out this unique plot structure was borrowed from the Visual Novel genre.
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