so i am a fan of RPGs, at least old ones. the last RPG i played was Final Fantasy 7 on Playstation. i want to say that was ten years ago, but of course it could have been 8 or five years ago, i just dont know. I grew up playing all the old final fantasy games, and still have my nintendo power with the first final fantasy walkthrough.
anyway, i would love to play a good role playing game, and in fact buy a system. i dont know where to start. what do you guys recommend as far as where to find the best recent RPG games? i tend to like fantasy and dont want to play multiplayer. i like ones with good stories too.
its crazy how much has changed. thanks alot for answering.
Hm. Best recent RPGs? Well the best system for RPGs most recently was the PS2, but that’s now last gen. It had FFX, FFX-2, FFXII, Suikoden 3-5, the Personas, Disgaea, Wild Arms 3 and a few more, etc. It was probably the last RPG-friendly console I can think of.
Of the current gen, I don’t really think any of the three consoles are all that good for what you’re looking for. The DS, however, from what I’ve seen, has many good RPGs. If you don’t mind handhelds, I would suggest going with that. I’m sure someone who owns one would be able to enumerate the many good RPGs for it.
The main issue is figuring out what recent RPGs you would like.
If you want to relive the old Final Fantasy Games:
The DS would be a good choice. It has ports of FF 1-6 and a remake of FF 4 (known as FF 2 back when it was on the SNES). Actually, the ports of FF 1-6 are on the Game Boy Advance so you might just buy that cheap if you only want FF ports.
Besides old FF games, I’m not sure if the DS is a good choice. I know many people talk highly of it, but I don’t see many good story RPGs on it. Maybe someone will prove me wrong though.
If you want a strong selection of old RPGs:
Get a PS2. Sure it isn’t a current generation system, but it isn’t that expensive and it has many good RPGs on it. The current generation systems might not have as many RPGs as the PS2 until they become last generation systems so the PS2 is the best choice for selection. If you want the best graphics though, you should get a current generation system.
What’s on the PS2?
Final Fantasy X–Since you liked the earlier FFs, I think you’ll like this one. The battle system is different–it focuses on switching party members in battle and using the right party member in the right situation, but it is still good. The story is good, but more romantic than most earlier FFs.
Final Fantasy IX–Yes it is on the PS1, but the PS2 can play PS1 games. FF9 is similar to the earlier FFs.
Disgaea–Funny strategy RPG. If you like humorous, anime stories, then, you should give this a try. It is a strategy RPG so control your character’s movement on top of the moves they do. I think it is one of the easier strategy RPGs since level-grinding is an easy way to win.
Shadow Hearts Covenant–Made by former FF developers. It has a dark and sometimes funny storyline that also manages to be epic at times. The battle system is good too. It is a turned based battle system. It has a unique “Judgment Ring” system where you have to hit a ring in order to attack. If you hit it at the right moment, you get a critical attack. It might not sound that great, but I found it kept random battles interesting.
Kingdom Hearts–A Disney/FF crossover. It is a lot better than it sounds. It is an action RPG so you control one character in real time. That means you have to physically move your character around to dodge attacks, hit x near the enemy to use a basic attack and scroll the menu quickly in order to use a spell. The story can be divided into 2 parts–the Disney worlds and the main storyline. Your main character visits many Disney worlds on his quest and you’ll experience a quick retelling of a Disney movie at each world. The Disney worlds are fairly interesting, but the meat of the story is the main story connecting all the Disney world adventures. The main story is simple, but well told and interesting.
FF 1-12. All the numbered FF games are on the PS2 (including PS1 games playable on PS2).
This is only a very rough description of some good RPG games. I’ll try to go in more detail later if you want.
You should definately look into getting a PS2, since it’s cheap (pretty cheap used), and has a immense library of games (PSX and PS2 games combined). Basically, look to the reasons Fullmetal and The 984 listed above.
DS is also a good option. These days, it’s an RPG machine, with developers and publishers pushing out all kinds of RPGs for it. Of course, some of the better ones are probably import-only, but there are plenty to enjoy here in the US. Not to mention games coming out the next couple of months (DQV, Ys 1 & 2, Fire Emblem and so on.)
The newer systems don’t really have much in terms of epic or good RPGs yet. (There are some like ToV and Valkyria Chronicles, though.)