Topic: tell me about these RPGs

[crisis]

I've been on an RPG kick lately, and there are several games which I have heard good reviews over the past years yet have yet to play for myself. Therefor, I'd like some of you to give your current thoughts on these "classics:"

Chrono Trigger
I first played this game in the late 90's via ROM, but I was busy with school so I never got passed the first 20 minutes. I recently bought it for the DS, and I'm about to start a brand new game. A lot of people say this is one of the top RPGs ever, and I'd like to know why.

Xenogears
This is another game I heard highly praised for its "complex" story. I know there are several religious & philosphical themes involved, and there was a few sequels called Xenosaga. So what's the fuss over this PS-X game?

Suikoden
I don't know anything about this series, yet I've read time & again that it's great and "unique." plz explain

Final Fantasy VI
I must admit, I was a VII fanboy when it first came out. But ever since there's been a hell of a lot of people saying it's nothing compared to it's predecessor. I have still yet to touch this game, yet V is my favorite (i know it might seem underrated, but it has a charm to it that I like).

Grandia
A game I've only seen screenshots of, yet seemed intruiging. I'd like to try it.

Secret of Mana
Another game I've heard much about, yet have never played

Star Ocean
What is the intrigue about this game


are there any other underrated/excellent RPGs that I should be aware of?

[Abnormal Freak]

For me, my sucking at strategizing and hatred for level grinding has kept me away from the genre, but Chrono Trigger has been a whole lot of fun for me and I highly recommend it. It's easy enough for me to play, has some really great graphics and music, the story's intriguing thus far, and yeah it rocks I gotta get back to it.

[Neobelmont]

I've been on an RPG kick lately, and there are several games which I have heard good reviews over the past years yet have yet to play for myself. Therefor, I'd like some of you to give your current thoughts on these "classics:"

Chrono Trigger
I first played this game in the late 90's via ROM, but I was busy with school so I never got passed the first 20 minutes. I recently bought it for the DS, and I'm about to start a brand new game. A lot of people say this is one of the top RPGs ever, and I'd like to know why.

Xenogears
This is another game I heard highly praised for its "complex" story. I know there are several religious & philosphical themes involved, and there was a few sequels called Xenosaga. So what's the fuss over this PS-X game?

Suikoden
I don't know anything about this series, yet I've read time & again that it's great and "unique." plz explain

Final Fantasy VI
I must admit, I was a VII fanboy when it first came out. But ever since there's been a hell of a lot of people saying it's nothing compared to it's predecessor. I have still yet to touch this game, yet V is my favorite (i know it might seem underrated, but it has a charm to it that I like).

Grandia
A game I've only seen screenshots of, yet seemed intruiging. I'd like to try it.

Secret of Mana
Another game I've heard much about, yet have never played

Star Ocean
What is the intrigue about this game


are there any other underrated/excellent RPGs that I should be aware of?

Where do I start with this. I'll kick it off with chrono trigger.I have not finished it yet,but from what I played I would think  that the world,the time travel aspect, and the characters is what pull players in not to mention the combat is very straight to the point.

Suikoden: Ok I have beaten part 1and2 almost beat III, IV(this was the game that got me into the series)/V is another story but it has been a while since I have played any of them, But from my experience I would say what pulled me into suikoden is the story. You are just a kid who somehow get's into something that is way bigger than him-self umm the true runes and such. And it's not like someone is trying to take over thw world or destroy it from my memory,but rather defending it from a stronger army. It's war that is all what it is from my memory no searching for crystals here. Gameplay wise you have so much characters to chose from after all the series is based of off the water margin this will make it much more easy to understand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin. In out of it's self story makes it self unique and the roster of character as well(but I cannot say much for their own individual stories with so much characters their own story can only go so far which is not much to praise about)

nothing to say about xenogears.

FFVI to me feels a whole lot better to me than V I just could not get into V the looks of the game felt bland(like the overworld and area's) to me I want to see something cool,but I feel that I will never get it with V heck VI to me had all of that. Now IV pulled me straight in with the intro and such and over and from the enemies and such has made me want to play not only that but there was one point in time that I believe that you can choose your own path to take character wise(you move your moogle to the character you want to play as) like the flames in suikoden III that shows an other part of what other characters were doing at that time. So to me VI just felt better to me.

Grandia I have yet to play, but it seems that I will need a guide for it since I plan on getting it for the saturn.

Secret of Mana I have never  played it, I just have sword of mana,also was that final fantasy adventure or something for the game boy?

Star ocean have not played this I tried to download the first one but no go. So I cannot give much info on this.

As for other rpgs I recommend the tales of series I love this series it is not turn based,but rather action based almost fighting like and the music is awesome.
Y's series good action rpg if you have a psp you can get Y's book Iand II Y's oath in felghana, and Y's seven , or get it on the wii with the tg-16 version of Y's.

There is golden sun for the gba, xenosaga, dragon warrior, and a whole lot more that I cannot mention at the moment.

[X]

Final Fantasy's VII and VI are almost opposites of each other in a sort of technological fashion. FF VII is along the lines of a Cyberpunk world where-as FF VI is Steampunk. I never got into FF VII eventhough I've given it a try several times. I think the reason why is because the blocky character designs were such a turn-off for me. Had they used highly detailed sprites then I think it would've looked much better. FF VI is essentially the last of the great 2D FF games ever to be made. It has a solid story, character evolution (considering how many characters are in the game!) and a good soundtrack to boot. I've played FF V but never finished it. Someday I'd like to just sit myself down and actually complete it.

[Tigersmask]

Final Fantasy VI is great strictly for how well it's written and how every character evolves over the course of the game. Everyone (other than the two "hidden" characters) gets these fantastic moments to shine throughout the game although some are harder to find and are hidden encounters. But it's probably close to the pinnacle of RPGs on the SNES just because it's easy to get into but difficult to master and it's just so well executed across the board. You really by the end (at least I did) feel like you have this large family of characters that you grow attached to and have a hand in creating, instead of the typical "magic users break the game so use lots of those" that is prevelant in some current games.

Xenogears is probably my favorite RPG ever and possibly my favorite game ever, yes I think it's that good. The combat can be tricky and the story can be very confusing at times but it's still a great RPG with some solid kick in the gut moments that come out of nowhere. The 2nd disc kind of falls apart as you can tell the developers had to rush to finish it and the narrative style completely changes but it doesn't take too much away from how good the game is.

Chrono Trigger is another game that is foundly remembered for a reason and is another that I'd say go out of your way to play it mostly for the great story and really cool time travel mechanics.

The other games on the list I either haven't played or have only played a few games in the series.
I'd add the following games though as they are the ones that are my favorites up through the PS2 library:

Shadow Hearts, the first game is great and probably would get bonus points from Castlevania fans for alot of the subject matter. But just a really solid rpg.

Shadowrun on either SNES or Genesis, avoid the 360 version as it's a fps and not an RPG. Both of the old games though are pretty awesome RPGs. THe SNES one is kind of point and click isometric adventure rpg, while the Genesis one is a more action adventure game with a ton of rpg elements thrown in.

I'd als recommend Super Mario RPG, and Earthbound as those are two others that are great early SNES era rpgs.

[GuyStarwind]

Chrono Trigger is my love. I'll just go over why I like it. Very good story, fun and interesting characters, serious when needs be, funny when needs be, 13 different endings, awesome music, easy to play, lots of side quests, good graphics(for the time), cool time travel crap, and the art is by the guy who does DBZ(I know his name but can't spell it and don't want to look it up). I like it the most.

For the rest I've heard of them but never bothered playing them. I know my brother really liked Suikoden but I myself have never played it. However, he was the brother who introduced me to Chrono Trigger so I imagine it's good.

It's a strategy RPG but Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is wonderful and I love it almost as much Chrono Trigger.

[VladCT]

>FFVI & Chrono Trigger
Depending on the kind of experience you want you can either play the original SNES versions or the handheld ports with extra content.

[DragonSlayr81]

Chrono Trigger
I first played this game in the late 90's via ROM, but I was busy with school so I never got passed the first 20 minutes. I recently bought it for the DS, and I'm about to start a brand new game. A lot of people say this is one of the top RPGs ever, and I'd like to know why.

For me, at the time, I was getting into anime(I mean, REALLY into anime, where as prior, I was fan of Voltron, Robotech and such, but it still seemed elusive because it didn't hit mainstream in the west). It was nice to see a game where Akira Toriyama designed the characters. Everything about the game just felt right. The score, the bright colorful world, the characters, and the melding of magic and science fiction. It felt like I was playing a cartoon. It had it's whimsical side, but wasn't afraid to tread into the dark(and there ARE some dark parts in CT). The magic, mystery and theme of saving the future from impending doom really felt epic in itself. It also felt like an intimate quest. Actually, it's almost the exact opposite of Chrono Cross. 

Xenogears
This is another game I heard highly praised for its "complex" story. I know there are several religious & philosphical themes involved, and there was a few sequels called Xenosaga. So what's the fuss over this PS-X game?

In ways, it feels like the spiritual successor of Chrono Trigger. Lucca even appears as a cameo. There's also nods to FFVI(as Soraya Saga was one of the character designers of FFVI). Xenogears also blends fantasy with science fiction(but focuses more on science fiction). It's drenched with religious symbolism and philosophical stuff, and isn't afraid to go dark(one scene actually reminds me of one of the dark scenes in CT). The characters are all likable, and have valid reasons to fight on your side. The only downside was the ultra linear 2nd disc(and linear, meaning, text screen, dungeon, text screen, dungeon...).

Suikoden
I don't know anything about this series, yet I've read time & again that it's great and "unique." plz explain

The idea of Suikoden is unique. Create and army of 108 Stars of Destiny, and utilize their skills to aid you on your adventure. I've only played the first two Suikoden games, and I loved the ability to create your own castle as a base. Battles are pretty fast pace(you get 6 characters in your party). Also, gotta love one of the most awesomest villains in any game, Luca Blight!

Final Fantasy VI
I must admit, I was a VII fanboy when it first came out. But ever since there's been a hell of a lot of people saying it's nothing compared to it's predecessor. I have still yet to touch this game, yet V is my favorite (i know it might seem underrated, but it has a charm to it that I like).

FFVII actually owes a lot to FFVI. Out of all the FF games out there, those two share the most similarities. The both, interestingly enough, also feature similar plot themes. I love FFVI because it was the first FF game I actually pass. I was also kinda ignorant of RPGs at the time. The most deepest RPG experiences were really basic as far as plots and stories were concerned. This was like Shakespeare to me. There's some interesting themes addressed in FFVI that, oddly enough, haven't been addressed again in the FF series again. When I played this game, back in the day, it blew me away. The graphics, the spell effects, the sound effects, the story, the characters, the music(my favorite FF score of all time), everything. By the end of the game, that massive long ending, I can honestly say, prior to that, every game I've played have been JUST games, but FFVI was the first game I would call an "experience".

Grandia
A game I've only seen screenshots of, yet seemed intruiging. I'd like to try it.

Grandia is a fun RPG. Everybody who loves Grandia almost says the same thing, the best aspect of it is the strategic battle system. It's turn-based, but you can also move your characters around to evade area spells and attacks. It's very fast paced. The story, itself, isn't anything special. It's pretty standard JRPG.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

To add to what DragonSlayer81 said:

Xenogears feels like a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger.
Baten Kaitos (for Gamecube) feels like s spiritual successor to Chrono Cross, which is a sequel to Chrono Trigger but too different in so omany ways that only some story links 'em.  Both are awesome games.

Speaking of Xenogears, have you tried Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii, Crisis?  Though it's not at all a 'classic', it's definitely a good classic JRPG 'crack' type of game.  It feels like a really really beautiful PS2 game.  Though not really part of the Xeno games, it was created by mostly the same team as Xenogears and Xenosaga (citation needed), and in terms of the timeline (it you really wanted to string the titles together, which most people say is not true), it'd be a distant title set in the far future of the timeline.

I can talk volumes upon volumes about Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.  If you haven't, try playing the DS version, as it does have some extra content and nothing really has been lost in terms of the quality of the SNES game (except a tiny bit in terms of resolution, which is made up for with the character dashboard shrinking).  With Final Fantasy VI, you want to play either the SNES version, or if you want extra content, play the GBA version (though it can be argued that the GBA version has lost some quality in the music/sampling department... though not too much).

And yes, VI is totally Steampunk (the technology used is cool, in a Wild Wild West sort of way), whilst VII is Cyberpunk.  In VI you still got carrier pigeons as the main method of delivering mail (and couriers), clockwork-driven mecha, and 'magic' at first is thought of as just some mumbo jumbo nonsense.  Like in our real world during WWII, the Emperor in FFVI is a fanatic of the occult and finds out the source of 'magic' and has his soldiers go and find it (like that dude from WWII with the chaplin mustache and slick hair, y'know... that guy).

[VladCT]

Really though, the actual merit point of the SNES versions is the more memorable translations by Woolsey.

Son of a submariner, you'll pay for this!

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

It's funny 'cuz the Woolsey-isms were so fun that most were kept for the later versions (and some are even referenced in other titles, like Dissidia).

Dissidia

" 'Step aside' he says.  Do we look like side-steppers? "

which is from his FFVI

" 'Wait' he says.  Do I look like a waiter? "

Ah, Woolsey.

[VladCT]

And let's not forget that it was Woolsey who turned Kefka into the nihilistic goofball we all know and love in the first place. From what I've heard, Kefka's characterization was more like an average villain's with much less goofiness in the original JP version.

[TheouAegis]

I have Grandia 2 or 3 as an ISO, but I have Grandia 1 for the Saturn. So I will say what I can about Grandia.


First off, considering I was playing it on the Saturn and had even my own "negative" conceptions about the Saturn, when the intro for Grandia started up, I nearly came. The opening credits were visually nice (remember, this was on the Saturn) and the opening them IS FUCKING AWESOME. I have an MP3 of the theme on a CD somewhere. The rest of the music is pretty good but nothing all that special. Although I will say, the love theme is goooood. It's so fucking beautiful. I like it more than most of the music from Final Fantasy (of which I think VI had the greatest soundtrack of the series).

The combat system is pretty good. It's an ATB system, although unlike Final Fantasy you can actually track when an enemy or your party is about to attack. This actually adds to the strategy. You watch the ATB bar. Feena's turn comes up. You look notice an enemy will become active before Feena can attack and in all likelihood that enemy will attack Feena, hindering her attack. Do you A) Have Feena run to another place on the field, attenpting to lure the enemy into a pointless goose chase, B) try to attack the enemy and hope Feena goes active just in time to counter the enemy's attack, or C) cast a spell at the risk of the enemy attacking her and cancelling it?

The spells are pretty neat too. Each party member can equip various weapons. Some members excel with certain weapons. Fighting with a weapon gives it experience. When weapons reach certain levels, you learn physical skills for those weapons. Some skills require multiple weapon proficiencies, such as proficiency with the Bow and proficiency with the Sword (I think this is a knife-throwing skill, if I remember right). There are also elemental spells. Casting an elemental spell will raise proficiency with that element. Just like the weapons, the higher the proficiency, the more spells you can cast and some spells require two or even three elements mastered. Some of skills/spells require proficiency in both weapons and elements together.

And then there's the scene where Sue is kicked out of the party...

Fuck Aeris! Sue getting kicked out is much sadder! For starters, she's actually USEFUL.

[Neobelmont]

I have Grandia 2 or 3 as an ISO, but I have Grandia 1 for the Saturn. So I will say what I can about Grandia.


First off, considering I was playing it on the Saturn and had even my own "negative" conceptions about the Saturn, when the intro for Grandia started up, I nearly came. The opening credits were visually nice (remember, this was on the Saturn) and the opening them IS FUCKING AWESOME. I have an MP3 of the theme on a CD somewhere. The rest of the music is pretty good but nothing all that special. Although I will say, the love theme is goooood. It's so fucking beautiful. I like it more than most of the music from Final Fantasy (of which I think VI had the greatest soundtrack of the series).

The combat system is pretty good. It's an ATB system, although unlike Final Fantasy you can actually track when an enemy or your party is about to attack. This actually adds to the strategy. You watch the ATB bar. Feena's turn comes up. You look notice an enemy will become active before Feena can attack and in all likelihood that enemy will attack Feena, hindering her attack. Do you A) Have Feena run to another place on the field, attenpting to lure the enemy into a pointless goose chase, B) try to attack the enemy and hope Feena goes active just in time to counter the enemy's attack, or C) cast a spell at the risk of the enemy attacking her and cancelling it?

The spells are pretty neat too. Each party member can equip various weapons. Some members excel with certain weapons. Fighting with a weapon gives it experience. When weapons reach certain levels, you learn physical skills for those weapons. Some skills require multiple weapon proficiencies, such as proficiency with the Bow and proficiency with the Sword (I think this is a knife-throwing skill, if I remember right). There are also elemental spells. Casting an elemental spell will raise proficiency with that element. Just like the weapons, the higher the proficiency, the more spells you can cast and some spells require two or even three elements mastered. Some of skills/spells require proficiency in both weapons and elements together.

And then there's the scene where Sue is kicked out of the party...

Fuck Aeris! Sue getting kicked out is much sadder! For starters, she's actually USEFUL.

I have to get it now goes on to see some yt videos

Also crisis if you have a saturn check out the "working design" titles but use a rom if you cannot afford them

[Las]

On that list of the best imo that i've played and beaten every which way to sunday i'll say Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana are very neck in neck in terms of awesome rpg's. Secret of Mana is one of if not thee first action rpg which means you control the player like link in zelda yet much of the rest of the game is like an rpg. HP/HP MP/MP stats level ups, items you equip. Plus you can find and use 2 other players. Depending on the path you take to get them you'll face some potentially harder or easier terrain. After a short time when you get them all( dont' know if you can avoid getting them like in cv3) and continue the quest. It is a long game. And very difficult depending on your level and your weapons  level. I don't remember everything but the ending is crazy. Play through you'll see. This game sorta adds an old school world(ancient times knights,villages etc) mixed with ships in the sky and crazy stuff like that. It also introduces something similar to pangia at one point. Yeah ti's a great game and can get very tough at times.

Chrono trigger's a straight up rpg and is totally awesome with many endings depending on what you do. I don't know how far you got so i better stop before i ruin it for you. But the game is totally awesome from start too finish.I used to have the snes game. I recommend the psx version from what i hear has really nice cutscenes.

Another couple rpgs' too mention i totally lover beating all the way through are breath of fire and lunar the silver star.

Breath of Fire i dont' remmeber fully, but i do remember this creature that could transform into what appear to be a pufferfish that kicked ass sorta like rasetz in CofD.

And lunar the silver star is a fantastic game aswell. I just remember playing the game(every 5 minutes though the girls yells  your name...."Alex" oh "Alex") and that was about the only bad thing about it. Dont' wanna ruin it but you start out with a band of friends or friend( i can't remember)and after a while he gets scarred and dont wanna continue the quest. As you go along you meet several key people who become friends and join your quest. As it goes on i think you lose some of them but pick them back up again cause they do certian things if memoery serves me correctly. At one point you'll be allied with your arc nemesis in the game and not know it. That was the awesome part of the game. It's like people aren't who they seen to be in that game. They only tell you partial truths or keep it hiddden untile a certain period of time. That's what was so kick ass about it. One cool thing to note is the fact that all these games have a floating land mass, usually a city or something. Very cool concept! Plus the bgm's kick ass!Well i've been informative enough. Have fun with you game play!