Any RPG Recommendations?

SubrosianDimitri

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I've played the Pokemans and the Dragon Quests, I intend to get Luminous Arc when the money is right (and if I can find it). Handhelds in general seem to be really good to RPG fans, especially fans of Turn-Based JRPGs like myself, and the PC is getting ports, revamps, and even original RPGs in droves recently.

So, does anyone have any RPG recommendations? They can be new, old, mainstream, obscure, turn-based, real-time, western, eastern, whatever.

Some of my recommendations:
- The Dragon Quest Series (specifically IV, V, VII, VIII, and IX)
- Arc Rise Fantasia (Which is rare, expensive, and a Wii exclusive, but totally worth it)
- Anything by Zeboyd Games (Cthulhu Saves the World, Breath of Death VII, and hopefully soon Cosmic Star Heroine)
 

Avering

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Obsidian's stuff is pretty good as well.I really liked Tyranny, and Pillars of Eternity 2 just got funded with quite the amount. They do have a much different style than the eastern RPGs though.
 

Shadow of Death

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Dragon's Dogma, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Both of those are action-RPGs. The former has been compared to Monster Hunter a bit. The latter plays sort of like a solo MMO. Both offer the option of different playstyles (like magic user, warrior, rogue, etc.).

There is, of course, the TES series. Another Action-RPG option.

Also The Witcher, and Divinity: Original Sin, and the Final Fantasy series.

I used to play more standard RPG type games years ago, in the PS2 era. It was my chosen genre then. I've since branched out to shooters, action, and arcade games and prefer those genres now.
 

Moon Drops

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Undertale is my top recommendation, unique turn based gameplay with great humor, soundtrack, and story. (It's a game best experienced and not spoiled)

Final Fantasy 9 is, in my own as well as Nobuo Uematsu's (The composer for the music of the FF series up until XI) favorite Final Fantasy. 7 is famous for being one of the games that made RPG's popular in America, so that one's good as-well... Though I hold the unpopular opinion that 9 is better.

The .Hack//G.U. series is a story heavy, 3 part RPG that's a bit more action based, but quite slow to get going... in addition, the anime series is meant to be watched alongside it, so it's quite the investment if you want to look into it. It's known for it's use of Red Herring, mystery, drama, and symbolism.

The "Tales of" series is considered many to be quite good... personally, I've only been invested in Tales of Symphonia... possibly the most famous of them all.

Star Ocean: Second Story or any of it's remakes is, without a doubt, the best in a series of mediocrity... The first in the series being good, this one being fantastic, and everything after better off as expensive pizza cutters... To this day holds the record for alternate endings (Approximately 80, 100 if you get the Second Evolution remake) combat is a unique take on action based, and the voice acting can make your ears bleed if you get the PS1 classic. I think they swapped it out for the remake...

Grandia 1 or 2... Both great games, but the fanbase is quite split... sports an interesting turn based combat where you can actually flat out stop an enemy from executing an action based on timing.

The Disgaea series isn't particulalry well known for it's story, but it's very well known for it's humor and over-the-top strategy RPG style... lvl 9999, 1,000,000,000 dmg, counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counter-counters? All possible in this crazy series.

Dark Cloud is steering away from the turn-based aspect, but it's a great 2-game series none-the-less with the ability to build towns, go fishing, and more... especially if you get Dark Cloud 2 where you'll be hard pressed to run out of things to do.

And lastly, Final Fantasy Tactics... ig you want a Strategy RPG like Disgaea, but prefer story over crazy, this is a great choice... though the AI is rather relentless, so be prepared to re-load those saves... MAKE SURE YOU USE MULTIPLE SAVES.
 

Shadow of Death

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I'll second Disgaea. It slipped my mind, but it's actually one of my favourite long-running series. Started in the early PS2 era, and they're still making games for it.

Disgaea 1 and 2 were PS2 games, eventually ported (and updated) to PSP, and have since gotten PC ports.
Disgaea 3 and 4 are PS3 games, that have gotten updated and complete PSV ports.
Disgaea D2 is on the PS3 as well, and is the first direct sequel to a Disgaea title (Disgaea 1).
Disgaea 5 is on the PS4, and is also apparently a Nintendo Switch title (likely with 'complete' DLC inclusion, and probably with some bonus content).

There is a lot of post-game content, and the series is known for its humor and deep game mechanics. Each character can level to 9999, and can be reincarnated repeatedly (with max stored levels of 186,000 I think?), and items can be leveled too (in the first game, the maximum level is 30 for normal Rarara, 60 for rare, and 100 for legendary, later titles allowed you to boost the level beyond the normal limits).

There are also spin-off titles. Phantom Brave (PS2, Wii, PSP, and PC versions available), and Makai Kingdom (PS2, and a JP-only PSP version). Both of those change up the tactical play style. Instead of grids, it's 360 degree movement radius based, and while it changes things up by altering the movement system, it's otherwise fairly similar.

You don't have to do post-game content with these. You can beat the main story with a minimum amount of grinding, once you're familiar with the mechanics. You can also jump with any title (though I'd recommend doing so with Disgaea D2, seeing as that is a direct sequel and all). Generally, characters from previous titles (and other games) will make appearances in follow ups, as playable characters, but they're usually post-game characters, not having main-story roles.
 

SubrosianDimitri

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Disgaea 1 and 2 were PS2 games, eventually ported (and updated) to PSP, and have since gotten PC ports.
Disgaea 1 also got a DS port, though it was full of slowdown, dropped the voice acting for story scenes, and in general the sound and graphical quality took a big hit due to hardware limitations. It did have something called "Prinny Commentary" on subsequent playthroughs, wherein there would be running commentary on the top screen during story sequences done by some random prinny. It's quite funny, but I'm not sure if it's an even exchange:
 

BypenThynDragon

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#1 pokemon mystery dungeon explors of sky - defidently the best game in the series and one of the few games whos story actualy made me cry, its start is a little slow but it really gets good later

Another one is Golden Sun - just really fun with a unique magic macanic saddly didnt get to finnish the game because my emulator got corupted

3 Super Mario RPG- again corupted emulator but was really fun of what i played so i would recomend
 

Gecko Tony

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If you haven't already played it, see if you can grab the DS port of Chrono Trigger, I've put more hours into that game than is strictly reasonable. Definitely one of my favorite RPGs.

My favorite on Steam right now is Chroma Squad, which is a tactical RPG in which you play a Power Rangers stunt team making their own TV show (but is it just a show??). Look into that when it's on sale.
 

Shadow of Death

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Disgaea 1 also got a DS port, though it was full of slowdown, dropped the voice acting for story scenes, and in general the sound and graphical quality took a big hit due to hardware limitations. It did have something called "Prinny Commentary" on subsequent playthroughs, wherein there would be running commentary on the top screen during story sequences done by some random prinny. It's quite funny, but I'm not sure if it's an even exchange:
Lol, totally forgot to mention that port. It's the only Disgaea game I don't own (I even have Infinite, though I never got around to playing that). This is doubly amusing, seeing as I moderated the Disgaea DS board on a moderately large site.

It also had the 'tactical map' during battles using the top screen, as well as Pleinair as a playable character (she was pretty good too. I think her SPD aptitude was 150%?).

But yeah, the drop in video and audio quality made the version inferior from a gameplay standpoint, no question.
 

♥ Vanilla Cream Killy ♥

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If you're looking for something with an Earthbound feel to it, then I recommend Hylics by Mason Lindroth. The story is non-existent, the dialogue for nearly every NPC is randomly generated and is pure nonsense, and it can be completed in only a few hours, but otherwise it has a really unique art style and aesthetic, the gameplay mechanics are solid and because of the way death works it can still be challenging while never really being frustrating. It's only a few bucks and is worth it for the experience alone. For other games with surreal art styles and themes that are free I'd recommend Space Funeral, Middens and Gingiva.
 
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Redness

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The entire Fallout franchise could be good RPGs depending on what the player likes.
Fallout 1 - Fallout: Tactics: If you want turn based post-apocalyptic roleplay where your decisions actually matter, get one of the three. My personal favorite because of the lore is Fallout 1.

Fallout 3: Fallout 3 throws turn based gameplay out the window and brings with it a unique story and 3D engine. Fallout 3 is critically acclaimed to the one of the- if not the best fallout game released due to the success of release and
Reviving the borderline dead franchise.

Fallout: New Vegas - This title is unique because it wasn't made by Bethesda or Black Isle Studios. Obsidian created Fallout New Vegas similar to how Bethesda created Fallout 3, with the 3D engines. Fallout New Vegas, I think, is more dialogue based than three. There are a few instances in New Vegas where there are dialogue options you can choose that can diffuse situations before they got violent, Fallout 3 did not have TOO many of these. In my humble opinion, Fallout New Vegas is a SLIGHT upgrade to Fallout 3.

Fallout 4: In Fallout 4 they removed the level cap, which means you can eventually become perfect. Bethesda also improved the gun mechanics that people were complaining about in Fallout 3, and made them easier to aim. Weapon modding was expanded upon from Fallout: NV, which means that you can now have that gun you always wanted. There are pretty interesting places in Fallout 4 due to the lore and mystery due to the Fallout universe. I had fun with Fallout 4 and I think plenty of other people did aswell, but HOWEVER... The dialogue system was vastly changed from Fallout 3 and NV which I was not a fan of. (Look up a video comparing the two and you will see what I mean)

Rip 45 minutes never forget
 

Tox

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Persona 4 was excellent. Good length story (with multiple endings), addictive & symbiotically interleaved gameplay and plenty of choices to juggle. Though, I'm fairly sure it's only available on PS2 and PSVita here in Australia. It might be on PS4 via PSN in the States though.

I just finished my first playthrough of Undertale. I can see why it got so popular. I like a game where choices matter. Although, I think it's reputation made for unhealthy expectations, know what I mean? Having said that I'm going to play it again :)

EDIT: Played it again and finished the True Pacifist ending.
...wow :') Expectations beaten. gg
 
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PixelGrip94

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No one's mentioned it so I'm gonna go ahead and say the Kingdom Hearts series. At least KH1 and KH2, and if you feel like making the time for it, KHBBS and KHCOM (be it the original GBA or the 3D remake). Being a JRPG, the story is about as convoluted as you would expect, especially being from Square Enix (and especially if you dive into the other games in the series that I didn't name), but the combat is sound and damn fun to play for any who like hack and slash, action RPGs and there's some good depth to the games if you feel like diving further into the mechanics, but at the same time, it's incredibly simple if you don't feel like spending time finding out which enemies drop the items you need to make the best weapons and accessories in the game.
 
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Someoneman

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The Last Remnant. Try to get it during a Steam sale.

The graphics are decent, the music is amazing, the story is interesting, the biggest flaw is probably that there are many obscure mechanics that are not explained properly.

The battle system is a cross between a regular JRPG and a strategy game, where groups of multiple units function like a single party member and travel automatically towards their target to execute commands.

There are a lot of sidequests, which you may or may not like. As a completionist, I feel forced to do every single quest, which slows down the story considerably.
 

Nacirema

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Recommendations are on the JRPG end.

I second on Persona 4 (PS2, Vita) as it is a fantastic game with a story focusing on a supernatural murder mystery in a small town with a memorable cast of relatable characters. Gameplay-wise, the game features Pokemon-esque mechanics by fighting with creatures (Personas in this case) you acquire in battle and it has a fusion system in which you sacrifice personas to create new, more powerful ones. Furthermore, it has a day-to-day life simulator in which, as a newly transferred high school student, you develop relationships with various townspeople which ties into the fusion system. Be forewarned that the game is a massive time commitment if you want to see it to the end as a normal playthrough can easily reach 80+ hours.

The Bravely Default (3DS) series is a modern day love letter to classic Final Fantasy with its robust job system (think FF Tactics and FF5), offering extensive character customization. To avoid spoiling much on the story, it does some interesting things with its 4th wall awareness but does suffer from heavy redundancies and contradictory writing at times. There is some balancing issues in the first game which may necessitate grinding at times too. Fortunately, Bravely Second addresses a lot of the issues that the first game had.

Lastly, Ys 7 (PSP) is an action RPG that offers fast-paced, fun gameplay that even makes its grinding very enjoyable. The story can be pretty stock but it is a respectable length (30-40 hours IIRC).

Honorable mentions include Xenoblade Chronicles, Shin Megami Tensei games in general (I prefer Persona and Digital Devil Saga myself), and Radiant Historia.
 
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Michael Bottos

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I've had a tonne of fun in Skyrim. Playable as stock, but there's some mods that drastically improve the play experience, like SkyUI, Simply Knock, Clocks, and some cosmetic mods that add more variety to the weapons and armour.
 
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