Name you favorite RPG...whether Domestic or Import.

Personally, I enjoy playing Morrowind and any of the Shining Force Series (Sega Genesis era).

With more RPG' s being developed everyday, I just can' t believe that all (or most) these wonderful games are slated for release in North America.

This is a wonderful time for RPG gamers...

One such game is Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2. Read the article. Then, reply to the subject...

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/dragonwarrior8/preview_6114081.aspx

We know the Dragon Quest series on these shores as Dragon Warrior, though the epic role-playing games don' t enjoy the same instant familiarity in North America as they do in Japan. This past weekend, Dragon Quest VIII finally made its debut in " The Land of the Rising Sun" on a Saturday, because there' s a Japanese law that forbids the sale of Dragon Quest games on weekdays. We obtained an import copy of the game and promptly jumped into our own adventure just to see how the passage of time and the translation to a 3D graphics engine has affected this venerable series. As you play Dragon Quest VIII, two things are immediately apparent. One, the cel-shaded characters and fully 3D environments make for an artistically cohesive, wonderful-looking game. And two, beneath all the newfound glamour, this is still the Dragon Quest of yore.

Note from mod - once again, please do NOT reprint entire articles from other sites

Videogaming is the contemporary interactive pasttime.

My all-time favorite RPG would have to be Morrowind. Sure the fighting was' nt all that great and the graphics were avg. But she size of the game (physically and amount of missions) was amazing. Mix that with fable and you got one helluva good game too me. The new elder scrolls coming out tho looks to be my dream RPG if they can stick to most of the claims they have.

Overall tho I havent played too many other RPGs. I tried a few FF but only like the cinematics and story.

After 50+ RPG' s, it' s tough to say. But I would probably rank them like this:

1. Final Fantasy Tactics
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Suikoden series
4. Heroes of Might and Magic III
5. Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross (don' t make me choose!)

I did try Morrowind, but it just bored me to tears. I really WANTED to like it, but just couldn' t.

The new Dragon Quest looks very, VERY good, but I' m still too far behind to think about it. I have to finish Star Ocean, and then I' ve got Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Fable, and if I have the time, Shin Megami Nocturne.

You' re right that it' s an awesome time for RPG fans. But there are too...damn...MANY! LOL

Kikizo Staff Writer

Hmm... I have only played a few handful of RPG' s. I gues the one that' s my favorite is some of the Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy 7. I remb. back in the day I thought those games were stupid and I would not touch them. I remb. a Jehova' s witness friend gave me a free copy of FF7 because he could not beat it or did not like it. So I took it and I was so amazed all I can say is at the end I was craving more RPG games. Hmm.. Right now I am still in Final Fantasy X it is taking me 2 years now to try to beat it it' s just sooo hard I don' t undertsand how the bosses could get so damn hard.. my goodness....

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Best RPG??

That is simple: Phantasy Star on the SMS

Best RPG ever.

Grandia...there' s always something about that first RPG you play through. That will always be my favorite.

In response to the following complaint I have decided to change my signature:

" by the way, yoshimitsu you might want to click the little checkbox that makes your signature disappear." -Jonah Shoemaker, Residential Dumbass

I' d probably have to say Skies of Arcadia. Two things that I really like to have in an RPG are strong interesting characters and a real sense of adventure. SoA has both of these in spades. A wonderful adventure with so many secrets and things to do. Brilliant! Legends is even better with the addition of the moonfish quest, wanted battles and the Piastol side story.

Runner up would be Dragon Warrior VII. It has such a wonderful old school feel to it while still being suitably fresh. I really can' t wait to get DW VIII.

Crap..... Sorry for the double post again now I am getitng the Error 500 thing

I have been experiencing this also...I have already informed Adam about the issue.

If it persists, you may want to email Adam, so he knows that it was not isolated to just me.

Videogaming is the contemporary interactive pasttime.

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Phantasy Star on the Sega Master System (my review)
Phantasy Star 2
Phantasy Star 4
Grandia (Saturn)
Grandia 2
Panzer Dragoon Saga (my review)
Chrono Cross
Y' s Book 1 and 2
Y' s 4: The Dawn of Y' s
Shining the Holy Ark
Dragon Slayer
Cosmic Fantasy
Lunar (Sega CD)

That' s about all I can think of now.

Zelda Series
Shining Force Series
Suikoden Series
Final Fantasy Series
Grandia II
Legend of Dragoon
Chrono Trigger
TOO MANY!!

Personally I think the Super Nintendo RPG' s are the best. I just love the gameplay, music, storyline, everything about them. Ahh the memories.

Too many to choose from
I think Fanthoms list is pretty good.
First thing that came to mind was FF: Tactics

Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger are also definate bests

Then you have the Final Fantasy Series
Someone mentioned the Shining Force series
Suikoden Series

Oh and Mario RPG

Zelda Series
Shining Force Series
Suikoden Series
Final Fantasy Series
Grandia II
Legend of Dragoon
Chrono Trigger
TOO MANY!!

Great list, and I hate to do this, but-

Zelda is not, and never has been, role-playing. Awesome franchise, just not role-playing.

Kikizo Staff Writer

All the games everyone mentioned are great, but I need to add Dues Ex: Invisible Wars to the list -- love that game!

My favorite RPG is Lunar: The Silver Star for the Sega CD. Paper Mario 2' s shaping up well as well :)

For me it ALL comes down to the glorious Ys series.

For me, there' s a very long list;

Baldur' s Gate
Baldur' s Gate II: SoA & ToB
Diablo II & EXP
Icewind Dale & EXP
Icewind Dale II
KOTOR
Morrowind: Elder Scrolls III
Shining Force II

I also enjoyed Skies of Arcadia... :o


the list goes on...

The most deserving:
Zelda series

Aftermath:
Final Fantasy series
WarCraft series
Diablo series
Baldur' s Gate

Games I want: Starcraft: Ghost (went to gamestop and saw it on the shelf labeled " coming soon, reserve your copy today"
Halo 2

Baldur' s Gate
Baldur' s Gate II: SoA & ToB
Icewind Dale & EXP
Icewind Dale II

That' s all the same game, only with different titles.

Kikizo Staff Writer

Yeah, well Fathoms, I loved them all :D

[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/Lord_Dante/holidaysig1.jpg[/image]

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.

Kikizo Staff Writer

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

Kikizo Staff Writer

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.

Kikizo Staff Writer

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

Kikizo Staff Writer

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 response to the following complaint I have decided to change my signature:

" by the way, yoshimitsu you might want to click the little checkbox that makes your signature disappear." -Jonah Shoemaker, Residential Dumbass

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?

Kikizo Staff Writer

Shenmue.

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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.

Kikizo Staff Writer

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)...

Videogaming is the contemporary interactive pasttime.

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