Favorite of all time was Final Fantasy 2 for the super Nintendo. One of the first I ever played, and it created an addiction in me. Other favorites would be both Chrono games, FF 3(american) and 10, and Star Ocean 2.

i still hold final fantasy II for the snes to be the best rpg i have ever played....i still wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it.

I would have to go with Final Fntasy Tactics. It first captivated me back in ' 98 and I' ve been hooked ever since. I still play it to this day and it never seems to get old. Great soundtrack, great customization, great plot, great world....the list goes on and on.

I' m getting into Baten Kaitos a lot right now too, and she' s a beauty as well. But haven' t really played enough of it to comment.

I would have to go with Final Fntasy Tactics. It first captivated me back in ' 98 and I' ve been hooked ever since. I still play it to this day and it never seems to get old. Great soundtrack, great customization, great plot, great world....the list goes on and on.

Holy sh**............MY CLONE!!!!!

Amen, brother, amen. Perhaps you already saw my post. FFT is my favorite game of all time, not just my favorite RPG. I had no idea it would hook me the way it did way back when, but after countless new games started, well over 500 hours of game time, EVERY item and piece of equipment found in the game, and all of that, I' m glad I gave it a chance.

Tactics was a great game, and I will admit, that I' ve been looking for a clone of it to come out forever. FFT advance didn' t do it for me. I loved the original so much, I just want a game with spicier graphics, new spells and attacks, new jobs, BUT CHANGE NOTHING OF THE GAMEPLAY. I bought Disgea hoping to love it, and while it was fun, I could never get into it, and after 3 months, it' s collecting dust and I only ever played it fo about 10 hours.

Tactics was a great game, and I will admit, that I' ve been looking for a clone of it to come out forever. FFT advance didn' t do it for me. I loved the original so much, I just want a game with spicier graphics, new spells and attacks, new jobs, BUT CHANGE NOTHING OF THE GAMEPLAY. I bought Disgea hoping to love it, and while it was fun, I could never get into it, and after 3 months, it' s collecting dust and I only ever played it fo about 10 hours.

FFTA didn' t do it for me, either; it was just a " kidded-out" version of the original that wasn' t nearly as deep, nor did have nearly as good a story. It' s still a good GBA game, though.

I liked Disgaea plenty, but after 45 hours, I haven' t finished it, either. I got hooked on the Item World, going in and leveling them up, securing Residents, etc. I think I' m only on Chapter 8 and I' ve played for 45 hours with a party all around Lv. 50. The last boss I fought was Lv. 16. LOL

I' ve not played that many... The only ones which stick out are:

Final Fantasy X
Shining Force III and
Grandia 2

Grandia 2 I got for the Dreamcast and even though FFX looks better I didn' t think it was anywhere near as good. I just bonded better with the characters in Granda II and cared about them much more. When the endgame started I was truly horrified with the results (The world being attacked). The last boss may not have been too hard but the one before it was truly immense. I loved the ‘after the ending’ seeing what the characters were up to thing too. Greatness… where’s Grandia III?

fathoms, I' m after Disgaea but can' t seem to find it anywhere in the UK. Online it' s a bit more expensive than I think it should be. But it looks like my kind of game. I' ll have to track it down.

whatabout paul: Well, I didn' t like either of the Grandia' s that much. I didn' t think there was anywhere near the level of depth or polish in Grandia II' s battle system as was in FF X.

As for Disgaea, I should tell you that it' s PURE turn-based strategy. You place your characters, assign movement and actions, then the computer goes. It' s not like FFT where speed is a factor. Almost its entire focus is on the gameplay, and offers literally thousands of hours of gameplay. The reason is that there is no real cap on levels...you can reach Lv. 9,999 if you wanted to. AND, it' s not just the characters that level up; every last piece of equipment and even items can go up in level as well. Add in the complex process of Transmigration (I suggest you read a FAQ), and you' ve got one of the most intriciate and complicated games in VG history. IF that' s your thing, then spend the money...it will be worth every penny.

Fathoms: I think that Disgea is the game I needed to come across 8 years ago. 8 years ago I was in my first year of university, living in rez, and barely going to class. I had unlimited time to play games. I probably would have loved it then, but now with job and wife, it' s not the type of game you can really get into playing only half an hour at a time. It' s to the point where If a really huge RPG comes out that I' m really waiting for, I almost dread it, cause it' s going to be so hard to fit in the time for it.

Yeah, most RPG' s take a good deal of time, but strategy RPG' s like Disgaea just take the cake. I can' t even believe they made TWO sequels to Disgaea (La Pucelle Tactics and Phantom Brave), each more deep and complicated than the last. EGM called PB " the deepest game ever made," and that' s the type of thing you need a lot of TIME for. I can' t imagine playing all those games...it would take literally thousands upon thousands of hours. LOL

In all honesty, Final Fantasy X ripped off Grandia 2' s battle system pretty bad. The only thing different was the sphere grid. I have to say though, I do like Final Fantasy X more than Grandia 2...just enjoyed the story a little more. Grandia 2 had a really good story, but it seemed to fizzle towards the end of the game, which is not a good thing. I was very disappointed with the last cinema...very disappointed. This is coming from a hardcore Grandia fanatic. I' m eagerly awaiting the release of the next in the series.

In all honesty, Final Fantasy X ripped off Grandia 2' s battle system pretty bad.

FF X was in development a full year before Grandia II was even conceived, and they reached a testable stage long before they would' ve ever had the opportunity to " rip off" anything in Grandia II. And FF X' s battle system was closer related to FF IX and some other RPG' s I' ve played. Lastly, considering the success Square has had with their past titles, what motivation would they have to steal ideas from a much lower-selling title series?

Shenmue.

fathoms , each to their own eh? I can' t put my finge ron why but I just got a better experiance from Grandia II than from FFX. Though I still loved FFX

Disgaea is the kind of game I could either play for hours on end or for an hour here and there at a time. I' ve been drawn to it ever since I saw a review of it for the US. Though it was a fair while before it got a UK release. The whole style of the game looks ace and while I' m possibly not going to spend a lifetime leveling everyone up to their max I' ll get through to the different endings (hopefully). I' ve heard the sense of humor the game owns is greatness.

Fathoms

So your saying Squaresoft started work on Final Fantasy X in 1998? Hmm.

TBH I don' t really see there being much in common between the two battle systems. Final Fantasy X' s battle system reminded me more of Breath of Fire IVs due to the ability to switch characters in and out of your fighting line up during battles.

Gossi: Grandia II for the DC was released in December of 2000. FF X was in development at that time, and as you said, it doesn' t have nearly as many similarities to Grandia II as it does to some other RPG' s. The system is still very unique in and of itself.

whatabout paul: Disgaea is just one of those games that appeals to you or it doesn' t. If it does, it' s extremely tough to put it down.

I just purchased Morrowind (xbox) at Gamestop for $5 (pre-owned) Unfortunately, I' m not allowed to play it until Christmas morning (I have to wrap it and put it under the tree). I' m looking forward to many, many hours of playing.

MORROWIND: THE ELDER SCROLLS III - Okay, I' m totally hooked! This game is awesome. This must be the best RPG out there. I' ve also played and finished Fable, but it just doesn' t compare to Morrowind in my opinion.

I must say that Morrowind tops my RPG list as well...

What character did you decide to be and what path (join a guild, etc.) did you take to get through the game?

First time I played Morrowind, I pplayed as an Orc, joined the fighter' s guild and set out on my own to discover the entire region (rather than follow the story line)...

I decided on Khajiit (love kitty cats), Warrior status at that; however, joined the Fighters Guild, Theives Guild and just recently House Hlaalu. I' m currently at level 18 and have quite the reputation. I go whereever, finish jobs whenever and take claim to everything! Love this game