Let me add something to the list:
8.Bosses stats are determined by the level of your party or main character kinda like Lunar but just make the bosses a tad bit harder,that way no more overpowering bosses and no matter how strong you get they will always be a challenge.
Here’s my list
In games where gameplay is put forward, the ability to change buttons for a better configuration is NECESSARY (action RPGs are affected mostly by this).
In games where the focus is a good storyline, make sure to run the storyline through someone who actually knows shit about script-writing so you don’t have the FF8 syndrome of : “Hey, where’d that boss come from?” which was recreated on a much grander scale in WA3 with the final boss. I could say Persona 2 : EP but since it’s the SEQUEL to IS which was never released over here, they have an excuse for this.
Ability to manipulate cutscenes, either by skipping them, or by pausing them, is necessary. Some of us have lives (and I know I do).
Character development for all party-characters. This should be a MUST, but it’s sadly not the case, ESPECIALLY with the Final Fantasies (best example would be Dragon Warrior though, I just like to bitch at FF a lot).
An endboss that is challenging, however, not an SNKboss (Koudelka being the only exception to SNKbossing, as it was produced by SNK yet the boss is easy as pie if you know how to beat it. Otherwise, you just can’t beat it).
A great soundtrack that does not resemble the 6 soundtracks that came before it (IE : Get Motoi Sakuraba out of there, for the love of whatever’s holy!)
The rest is simple. Enticing gameplay, an exciting storyline with good plot twists, interesting characters, and whatever everyone agrees on makes a good RPG.
(I assume we were talking about console RPGs here)
Or it might just turn out aimless and erratic like SaGa Frontier. That’s why this point shouldn’t be taken to extremes.
Persona 2 : EP but since it’s the SEQUEL to IS which was never released over here, they have an excuse for this
Actually the first game did come over to ths side of the world,but i believe it came in very limited quantities since the only time i saw it was years ago in an EB Games.
Sigh…why do I have to explain this every single time…?
The very first game in the Persona series is Megami Ibunroku Persona, otherwise known as Revelations : Persona, or Persona : Be Your Own Mind.
It bombed. No publicity (like most of Atlus’ titles).
When it was time to release Persona 2 : Innocent Sin, they figured it would bomb and thus never went through the trouble of translating it, plus, it had “inappropriate content” as Hitler was a prohiminent character in it (not exactly Hitler…but that’s another story).
What we got is Persona 2 : Eternal Punishment, which was the 2nd part of Innocent Sin.
But i did see the game Innocent Sin in an EB Games years ago,man i should have bought it then when i had the chance.
Sigh… I knew people would misread what I meant here. 8p When I said every RPG, I meant every single RPG. No exceptions. These are usability issues, not “what I like in RPGs”, or even “what makes a good RPG”. A lot of the other stuff people are saying here might not work for every game, mainly because of the challenge level desired by the developers. The points I made don’t affect the challenge or actual gameplay in any way at all.
I think rpgs should
-No random encounters
-Saving occurs AFTER cutscenes, before a boss
-No pausing during battles
-Adjustable message speed
-No getting stuck
-Townspeople tell vital things
-Choose what main character says
-Journal
-Non linearity
I actually understood what you meant 
In the end, your list was the only one I outright agreed on (at least for the purpose of applying it to every game out there). Especially the ones on pausing, voices, and subtitles.
Cid, that’s because they’re all idiots.
On another note, it is absolutly vital that any tactics type rpg, or really any RPG where all the battles take an obscenly high amount of time, you should be allowed to make a freaking quick save during battle. I don’t know about you, but I love fighting a battle for a half hour then having to shut the game down because I have something else more imporant to do.
A quicksave, during battles would be nice idea. But I highly doubt anyone is going to put it in.
And Cid, your list of ideas would make gaming a lot more enjoyable. For I can remember a few times where I wished I could skip the dialog before a battle, becasue I’d heard it several times before.
When exactly did the quicksave begin to come into use? Was it an offshoot of playing lengthy portable games, or was it something different?
I first saw it in portable RPGs. The first ones I remember seeing it in were Dragon Warrior Monsters and Dragon Warrior I.II for GBC.
Man, I haven’t seen that since Sega Master System… but it’d be a good idea, but let’s put the “Pause” button on the controller this time, instead of on the console… (what were you thinking, Sega?)
But I do fully agree with all of those. Off the top of my head, the only other request that I’d have is that all fonts be legible, and colored accordingly with the background, so I can always see my characters HP, etc. Not that that problem comes up often, but it should still be a rule.
When you hit pause, it should not log in game time during pause sessions
Pause during combat CAN be a good thing. HOwever, look at Infinity Enge games such as Baldur’s Gate. I found pausing to make the battle system rather erratic. It expected every single turn for you to adjust your strategy, while keeping up with real time combat. If your strategy is off a little bit, you kiss yerself goodbye. I found that to be rather nerve racking.
I remember the game where you could save anytime, but it was a logout. Ogre Battle 64. You could do a regular save between battles, but mid-battle the only way to save was to quit playing, and loading erased the save. Good idea to, since the first Ogre Battle didnt have it and those fights arent exactly quick.
And a double yes on challenging end-boss! All RPGs need a challenging end boss, im trying to save the world here, make it someone that actualy feels like a threat. I was so pissed when Sephiroth dropped in one combat round.
I am going to preface my addition to this by mentioning my awareness that Cid was only talking about playability and interface with a game, not about the style or challenge of it.
Having said that, let me agree that too many bosses end up being sucktastic, and need more challenge-ness to them. But then the inversion of the problem occurs when you make a boss that just wipes the floor with you EVERY GODDAMN TIME. A game that I think had a good twist to that idea was Star Ocean 2. The Last boss was of resonable difficulty normally, but if you really wanted to get brained, you could go and find a way to make that very same boss hellaciously difficult, and cry youself to sleep at night because your characters (who you thought had become badasses) got stapled to the ceiling by thier own dismembered limbs.
So while I am deviating from that absolution that Cid began this thread with, I am still goig to say that I think that a LOT MORE RPGs should give the players some measure of option as to the difficulty at which they play, but only give the complete ending to the person who is brave enough to go all out and take on the toughest parts.
Its kind of like the whole super-boss that you don’t ever have to fight in an FF game, but choose to anyway so that you can get the useless item that announces that you spent a whole lotta time leveling up enough and learning all your jobs to max, just so you could kick the tar out of one single dragon that didn’t play fair anyway and was way too fast with his tidal wave of character doom, where the only real option you have is to get suited up with all your dragon slaying gear and use the jump command and pray that you get the most perfect timing possible.
And then you try to show off that little item that says how much effort you put into it, but nobody seems to care, because that Final Fantasy wasn’t released in the States, so you are obviously some freak for having found it before they put it out on playstation, and your numbering system is obviously wrong because they know for a fact that FF3 is the absolute best, and Sabin kicks so much more ass than any of those characters.
And your talk of a different FF3, in which Ninjas are unstopable and Sages wear silly hats while calling upon Bahaumut and Flare spells to fight a DARKCLOUD of oblivion, is obviously either madness of a sign of ignorance, because they know for a fact that there was never a team of four heros of darkness, that lend a hand to the heroes of light, because obviously light and dark NEVER get along. And Onion Knights (Kids) are only a type of weapon used by some overly endowed black mage lady, and not an actual character class that can rock the shit out of anything once their proper equipment is found (but never is), and suck completely without said gear.
I’m not bitter, I swear. I just feel a little robbed because I don’t have the real earth crystal, mine is a fake, it only makes stuff gold, and by the time I knew to look for Ramuh, the oblivion had already eaten the woods where I could have found him.
I’ve had every one of these thoughts. Right on. Ugh. Except I like listening to the amusing voices of SO2, tee hee. MOMMY!
Those SO2 voices haunt my nightmares. I cannot sleep for them. 0_o
All I can think of has already been mentioned. Pause (not save) anywhere anytime would be pretty high on the list as well.
I think Star Ocean 2 has great voice acting. I also think the last 3 end bosses were really, reallly hard. I had to level up for so many hours to beat them. They were a good challenge.
About Sepiroth getting hit in one hit, that isn’t even the real end battle. I remember there was a big statue sepiroth before him, but he wasn’t hard.
[QUOTE=Epico Gameu] Cid, that’s because they’re all idiots.QUOTE]
Hey now, I got in trouble for calling everyone names.
Edit: Whoops, I fucked up my quote 