What are the RPG's I must play?

Thanks for the list, yeah the castlevania's are awesome. I've finished the SNES and GBA ones, very enjoyable.

Thanks to everyone for the list, keep it coming!
I guess that's one thing about a list like this involving RPG's. People tend to have pretty positive personal experiences with them (I guess because of the more intricate plots and character development), so people always want to tell you which RPG's they think are awesome.

On that note, why hasn't anyone agreed with me on Arcanum! That game is one in a million, fantastic.
 
Not only no Anachronox, but no Skies of Arcadia yet either. IMO the single most endearing non FF RPG ever.
 
Phantasy Star I and II. Not necessarily pure-RPG but great games.

I remember loving Might & Magic 6 for a summer break game, though I never did finish it. :(
 
Yeah, this sort of list doesn't really say much aside from, RPGs are good. And they are!

But it's not really shortening things down. Rather than naming things people haven't mentioned before, it's probably better to just highlight the ones that are better than the rest. Maybe give some reasons why you think this is more deserving of playtime than the others. Even if this guy is taking a year off from college, that's still not enough time to play this stuff >.< I've played the majority of these games but honestly, lots of these games are good, but really don't belong on any sort of greatest hits list. Take a long HARD look at them and try ranking them.

And to that end, I will highlight:

Suikoden 1:
Epic size, cast of 108 recruitables, you're based in a tower that grows as you add each recruit and gets new expansions. Mini-game for large-scale warring. Concurrent fighting and combo-fighting mechanics rather than one-by-one step-out-and-hit combat.

Final Fantasy 7:
Again, epic size. One of the largest at the time. This one doesn't really need much introduction due to all the fame. C'mon, they went and made a movie around this one. Spawned a massive amount of hentai porn. This game experience is pretty much expected of most gamers due to its wild popularity.
 
For the PC:

Ultima 7 (both Black Gate and Serpent Isle), which I personally feel is the pinnacle of the video game RPG.
Betrayal at Krondor
Divine Divinity
If you like dungeon crawlers, Wizardry 7 + 8

SNES:
7th Saga
Lufia 1 & 2
Earthbound

PS:

Suikoden 1 & 2
 
I've seen Xenogears for the original PSX mentioned, but no mention of the Xenosaga series for PS2? You guys are missing out ... I've played most of the RPGs that were mentioned so far and Xenosaga Episodes 1, 2, and 3 (played back to back as one huge game) definitely ranks at the top of the list.

You won't fully appreciate them until you beat Episode 3.
 
Yeah, it's true that so many different opinions won't help weed out the crowd of RPGs we have here, but there are some games that you just have to at least try if you want to get into RPGs.

If I had to be specific, and I don't want to...

Play FF:Tactics
Play Chrono Cross
Play Castlevania: SOTN

hrm... all ps1 games...
 
SNES
Secret of Mana
Secret of Evermore
Lufia 2

PS1
FFVII
FF7
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy VII
(lol)
 
Netrat33 said:
Old classic most probably don't even remember:

Dark Sun
Click to expand...

Good game, would be hard to go back to it now though... Daggerfall is along those same lines...
 
tacosareveryyummy said:
I cant believe nobodys mentioned these yet!
NeverWinter Nights 1 with SOU, HOTU expansions, and other mods
NeverWinter Nights 2 with soon to come expansions
KOTOR 1
KOTOR 2
Click to expand...

Great choices. You can buy the "Diamond Edition" of Neverwinter Nights for 20 bucks at most places (comes on DVD), which includes the big two expansions (Shadows of Undertide, Hordes of the Underdark), as well as three of their premium modules. For 20 bucks, you'll find many, many hours of mind-numbing entertainment, even if the game is somewhat dated.

NWN2 has been quite entertaining so far. It seemed to take a lot of the positives from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, and implement them.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel are also good. KOTOR1 had a better storyline, KOTOR2 had better gameplay, but both are excellent.

[Force Persuade] You two! Give me all of your credits and go jump off the ledge!
 
Well, I'll go a little older here:

NES: Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan). First in the series and the RPG that started it all for me. I here that Dragon Warrior/Quest 4 is the best in the series.

PC: Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny. Yes, there is a Lands of Lore 1 and 3 but the middle one, to me, is by far the best. I would have to say it's similar to Gothic in the way it plays. Probably one of my all time favorite RPG games.
 
Grandia 2 was one of my favorites. Epic story line.

Angband and ADOM trump them all though =)
 
Diablo 1
Diablo 2

both for the PC. Both of these games kept me entertained for Months
 
I demand that someone compile all these mentioned games into a wiki list somewhere. Please. :)

Anyways, back on-topic, I'm on a similar quest as the OP atm (a bit harder though, as I work 60hrs a week), but yeah... PSX, I daresay almost every Square game on that system, plus some other kick-ass RPGs game. SNES? I was a bit young for it, but I've heard nothing but good things about the FFs, Chrono Trigger, Castlevania, etc for that system. PC? KOTOR I/II, Morrowind, Oblivion...if you have no life, Daggerfall. ;)

So many more, but I get all nostalgic talkin...well, posting about them.

And to all the Xenogears people out there...yes, the 2nd disc was a masssive letdown. :( In the history of games (and shit, movies too), there can't be anything that can compare to the light and dark difference between discs. Disc 1 alone was a 30-40 hour kick-ass complex-story-your-head-a-splode game, and then Disc 2 comes...argh. No other project has suffered a budget cut killing it that way, I guarantee it. :(
 
Glad to see someone mentioned 7th saga. I thought of that game as soon as I saw the thread title. Another good one for PS is Legend of Dragoon. The cinematic sequences are killer.
 
Wizardry 4: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
Wizardry 8
Dungeon Lords

I like his games.

FF7 was good, but starting with FF8, they became unintelligible to me.

A nearby bookstore has Gothic II for $7, and i'm thinking i'll pick'r up.
 
Mark_Warner said:
Wizardry 4: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
Wizardry 8
Dungeon Lords

I like his games.

FF7 was good, but starting with FF8, they became unintelligible to me.

A nearby bookstore has Gothic II for $7, and i'm thinking i'll pick'r up.
Click to expand...

Not to be too nitpicky, but Bane of the Cosmic Forge is part 6. Part 4 was the Return of Werdna. Either way, I see you want to make him suffer with some of the hardest CRPG's known to man.

As for Gothic II, for $7? Go for it. Really good game.
 
Nytegard said:
Not to be too nitpicky, but Bane of the Cosmic Forge is part 6. Part 4 was the Return of Werdna. Either way, I see you want to make him suffer with some of the hardest CRPG's known to man.

As for Gothic II, for $7? Go for it. Really good game.
Click to expand...


I knew I was wrong about which number it was. I get them confused, there are so many.

Bane of the cosmic forge was my favorite back in the day. EGA graphics and digitized sound, so you didn't need a sound card. It was a big deal, back then, because sound cards were pretty rare and expensive. That game played the sound effects and music through the PC speaker.

I have always liked DW Bradley's class system. It's very flexible and doesn't punish and debilitate you as much as other systems.
 
Potentially adding some games and making recommendations:

Current list:

SNES:

Lunar 1/2
I played these games a long time ago but I seem to remember them kicking ass.

Secret of Mana
One of my favorite games ever. I still go back and play this one. I would definitely say a must play.

Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana style, but not quite as good. Worth a play if you have the time, but there's better stuff out there.

FF2/4
Awesome game. First FF for the SNES and really sets the stage for the rest of them.

FF: Mystic Quest
Also known as the RPG "made for the stupid Americans". If you're intent on playing all the FF's, okay. If not, I wouldn't bother with it.

Super Mario RPG
This game is awesome. Square's parting gift before leaving Nintendo. Go for it.

Secret of the Stars
I played this game when I was really young and never beat it. I remember getting stuck at a part and literally figuring it out YEARS later. Unfortunately at that point I never really planned on playing it again. I wouldn't really recommend it in the face of better RPGs.

Earthbound
I know RPG traditionalists swear by this one, but I was never able to get into it. I started it about 3 times and never got very far.

Harvest Moon
Every Harvest Moon game I've played (I think three of them now) has been a really good potential for a great game, but contains certain flaws that really take away from the gameplay. Each new Harvest Moon seems to fix the old flaws but devises a new batch of them. Fun for awhile but I wouldn't recommend it again.

Terranigma
Kinda the sequel to The Illusion of Gaia (which I'm about to recommend). It was never ported to the US but finding a English translated ROM won't be too hard. I never beat it but I really enjoyed playing what I did of it.

My recommendations:

The Illusion of Gaia
More of an action RPG. Very fun none-the-less.

FF3us/6jp
Has no one recommended this game or did I just miss it? This is my favorite game of all time. Most definitely a must.

Breath of Fire 1
This game is great but kinda outdated. Good play if you have a lot of patience, if not, there's a lot of other games.

Breath of Fire 2
Possessed all the good qualities of it's predecessor but picked up something quirky that bugged me and I was never able to put my finger on. Still a good game, though.


N64:

Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Safe to say this might have been the only awesome RPG on the N64. Considering it had to go up to things like Quest 64, that isn't saying much.

My recommendations:

Zelda: Majora's Mask
Meh. Coulda been better. Really easy and kinda dorky, actually. Wouldn't really recommend it.


GC:

Tales of Symphonia
This game kicks ass and I loved it. Well recommended.

My recommendations:

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Dear
This game was done beautifully. Everything is so dorky and lovable. I highly recommend it.


PSX:

FF7
The precursor for modern RPGs. Hell yes.

FF8
The development of this game is when Square officially died for me. RIP Square (I'm one of the haters of this game. Others like it, but they prefer to beat games at level 11 and like it when you cast spells it lowers your stats). I will complain more about this further on.

FFT
If you intend on playing on other RPGs, I wouldn't recommend this one. It will eat your life. I'm not kidding (meaning this is a MUST PLAY).

Suikoden 1/2
I LOVED Suikoden 1 and unfortunately never got to play 2. Definitely go for 1.

Star Ocean: The Second Story
This game rocks. Definite must.

Breath of Fire 3 & 4
I loved 3 and recently went through it again. It takes a lot of patience to play (why is it in EVERY BoF game you can't make them talk any faster?!) but it's well worth it. 4 was a good game but didn't make me come back.

Chrono Cross
You new-age RPG hippies. This game was a disgrace to CT. It was good until the end, where it felt to me that the designers just said, "You know... I'm tired of making this. Let's end it right now." And I hope this doesn't ruin anything but there is no last boss music. I'm dead serious. CT and CC having some of the most famous soundtracks ever, and there's no last boss music in CC. Just some wind blowing. God I'm still pissed.

Vagrant Story
This one's kinda quirky. If it doesn't grab you right away as something interesting, I wouldn't bother with it.

Xenogears
Greatest storyline of all time. Well everyone complains that the second disk ruins the game, I would say that the fact t h a t t h e y t a l k s o s l o w l y and no matter how fast you mash the X button they won't talk any faster ruined more of the game for me than anything. BUT the storyline outweighs it all. Gears kick ass, deathblows rule. I also heard at some point that the reason that the second disk is so awful is because Square decided to make FF8 and they had to finish it quickly. Another reason for me to hate FF8. In all honesty, I would grit my teeth, go through the game all the way to the end, forget about it for a year or two, then pick it up and play it again. It's mindblowing on the second time through.

Dragon Warrior VII
Never played it, can't say anything.

Castlevania: SotN
Never played this one either, but I've heard nothing but good stuff about it.

Wild Arms 1
HELL YES. Hardest. Puzzles. Ever. This game is totally worth it in every aspect and no other puzzles will seem the slightest bit difficult after beating it. Except for Alundra.

Wild Arms 2
Somehow managed to avoid playing this one. Never figured out why.

7th Saga
Never played it, don't know.

My recommendations:

Azure Dreams
A weird one that no one hears of much. I loved it. It's kind of a town simulation/dungeon crawling that will have you crawling back for more.

SaGa Frontier
The majority of people who played this game thought it sucked but a small minority found it weird, but discovered that they were still playing. I fell into this minority. As an overall recommendation though, I'd say stay the hell away.

Legend of Mana
HUGE letdown compared to Secret of Mana. Kinda of like SaGa Frontier most RPGs players weren't impressed with this, but a small amount found some interest. I really liked the Junkyard, though. And the music kicks ass.

Brave Fencer Musashi
A not very heard of game made by Square (pre-FF8). There's a couple quirks that make it a little complicated and disorienting at the beginning, but it's worth a play through if you get the hang of it.

Alundra
Kinda like Zelda with a more traditional RPG style. Hard puzzles and good gameplay. I'd go for it.

Beyond the Beyond
This one's a joke. It's commonly quoted as the worst RPG for the PSX. Worth playing to realize what a bad RPG (that's still quite in-depth) should be like.


PS2:

FFX
Follow the red dot, watch the cut scene, follow the red dot, watch the cut scene, follow the red dot, watch the cut scene. Kinda cool when you play through, but looking back I wasn't very impressed.

FFX-2
Bought it and couldn't get very far into it. Too bored.

FFXII
Have yet to play it and with the way FF's have gone since FF8, I'm not too optimistic.

Star Ocean 3
I bought this game solely out of my love for Star Ocean: The Second Story. A HUGE letdown. Good luck trying to figure out what your idiot party members are doing during battle and running around for 30 minutes to get to a treasure box that has a aquaberry in it. Oh, wait. You already have 20 aquaberries. You can't carry anymore.

Suikoden 3/5
I haven't heard of 5 so I don't know if this is a US/Japanese release issue so I'm gonna say I've never heard of/played 5, and talk about 3. Although entertaining, it didn't really compare to the first one (I didn't play the second, remember). You play three different main characters (you play them ALL sooner or later) that keep fighting each other and I kept getting the feeling I was fighting the same people over and over again and no one was dying. It was kinda weird.

Breath of Fire 5
Haven't played it. Heard mixed reviews.

Valkyrie Profile 2
Haven't played this one or the first.

Okami
Haven't played it.

Kingdom Hearts 1/2
Everyone can swear at me all they want, but I wasn't too impressed with Kingdom Hearts. I've started it up twice and got near the end (level 50ish I think?) and couldn't get myself to finish. Have yet to play KH2.

Disgaea 1/2
The first one rocked my socks. You don't even understand the concept of leveling up until you've played this game. It's funny as hell, fun as hell, and I really want to play the 2nd one.

La Pucelle
Haven't played it but it's the same makers as Disgaea. Sounds good to me.

Dark Cloud 1/2
The first one was horrible enough to make me not care about the second.

Dragon Warrior VIII
My friend lent this to me and I played it a little while before a came to a point in my life where I wasn't able to play video games much. I still intend to pick it back up.

Shadow of the Colosus and Ico
I've never even heard of this one. Huh?

Wild ARMs 3
Sweet game. The puzzles were a serious letdown compared to the difficulty of the first one (each one leaves you with a feeling of "damn that was easy"). Worth a play, though.

Shadow Hearts 2
Once again, the first one bored me to the point where I was apathetic about the second one. Can't tell ya.

Xenosaga 1/2/3
Xenosaga made me want to cry and avenge the murder of Xenogears. Apparently I can't appreciate it until I beat 3 but... that's a lot of freakin' boring cutscenes to go through.

Grandia 2
I played this game when I first got my PS2 and I loved it. Unfortunately I only rented it and never got around to buying it, so I never finished it. I'd say go for it, though.


XBOX:

Fable
Didn't live up to the hype, I hear. My friends beat it in like 7 hours.

My recommendations:
-If you own an XBox, you're probably/should be playing Halo. Sad but true.


GBA:

Golden Sun
I lost interest in it.

My recommendations:

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Boring as hell compared to the original. The law system is retarded.


DC:

Skies of Arcadia
Played it awhile at my friend's house but never owned a DC to go through it on my own. Heard nothing but good about it, though.

Sega Genesis:

Phantasy Star 1/2
I was never into Sega RPGs, but my friends who were swear by these games.

My recommendations:

Shining Force 1/2
Most FFT-like games I've ever come across. Well worth it if you're into strategy RPGs.


PC:

I rarely play RPGs on the PC, so it's safe to assume I've never played any of these other than the Diablos.

Gothic 1, 2, 3
Daggerfall
Baldur's Gate stuff
Ultima Stuff
Icewind Dale Series
Neverwinter Nights
KOTOR stuff
Fallout 2
Diablo 1/2

I've seen people lose their lives to these games that have been topped only by WOW. I'd stay away.


Games for Systems that I don't know:
I don't know'em so I won't say anything about them.

Dark Sun
Titan Quest
Vampire
Anachronox
Tales of Legendia
Grandia
Wizardry Stuff
Dungeon Lords

----------------------

As an overall list of RPGs you MUST play, I would say this:

Traditional RPGs:
FF2/4, FF3/6, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Breath of Fire 1 and/or 2

PSX-era RPGs (when they started to really get popular):
FF7, FFT, Xenogears (I'm serious, best storyline EVER), Wild ARMs 1, Star Ocean: The Second Story, Breath of Fire III

More modern RPGs:
FFX (yeah I know I said it was boring, but it's good to know about it), Tales of Symphonia, Disgaea 1 (and probably 2), Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and I'm gonna have some faith and say Dragon Warrior VIII.

And as for Pokemon... just don't become like the kids I knew in elementary school who would buy both the red and blue versions (the only ones out at the time) and two Gameboys so they could trade with themselves. Oi.

Anyway, hoped that helped.
 
Shining Force I & II for Sega Genesis is definately up there on one of my favorite turn-based strategy games. I remember all the sleepless nights I spent playing it.
 
As for Dragon Quest, I'd recommend Dragon Warrior 4 (NES) - my favorite NES game. The chapter system is awesome, you follow certain characters in each chapter, and they all get together (eventually) in Chapter 5. Brilliant storytelling design, I wish they'd do another DQ like that.

For another unique RPG suggestion, The Magic of Scheherazade. Part Action-RPG, part turn-based RPG, set in an Arabian setting. Very unique. Crashes under pocketnes for DS though part way through the game, so I picked up the NES cartridge. :D

DQ8 for PS2 is of course recommended.

Last recommendation: Baldur's Gate II. You MUST play Baldur's Gate II. BG1 is good if you have the time, but BG2 is the best PC RPG ever created IMO. Miniature Giant Space Hamsters for the win!

Minsc said:
"I would rather have given a sword. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to fight and he can chow down on the meaty marrow of evil!"
Click to expand...
 
Am I a pansy for recommending Lunar:SSSC & EB, Atelier Iris 1/2, and Disgaea?

Oh, and as a correction, Lunar 1 and 2 were for the Sega CD, then the Sega Saturn, and then the PSX, not the SNES. Stay away from Dragon Song and Legends, though. Still awesome games.

And if you have the willpower to sit through some massive [but, interesting] cutscenes, I'd also recommend Xenosaga. It fits in somewhat with Xenogears (if you add/subtract 500 years), and the story kinda clicks with some people. I'd give it a rent and see for yourself. Some of my friends and I loved the games and their story, some didn't.
 
I feel like such a bastard...but!

http://www.cccp-project.net/wiki/index.php?title=RPG_List

Let's do a community thing and compile a list of RPGs and our views on 'em! Wikipedia tends to frown on unofficial "Best Of" lists, so I thought I'd use one of my wikis for it.

Open discussion & editing = win. And who knows, in a week or so, we can present a final "compiled" version or so as a new thread. ;)
 
My initial question to the OP is 'How familiar are you with RPGs in general?'. I know you played a few in the past, but if you want to your base I would highly suggest the paper form of RPGs first. Get a feel of how they are supposed to be then you know what direction you need to go to translate that feel in code. I think D&D, Shadowrun, and Hackmaster will cement the perspective.

It never ceases to amaze me the kiddies out there that claim "I want to make the next Oblivion or WoW", but if asked if they have ever PLAYED a RPG they shake their heads. Foundations are critical[hit].

Oh, and I would suggest a Madden football game with career or franchise mode. Before anyone balks - it is a RPG - look a bit beneath the shoulder pads.

Last thing, if you do pencil and paper RPG avoid the LARPRs - they are the lowest form of nerd next to cosplay people. ROFL! :D
 
modi123 said:
... next to cosplay people. ROFL! :D
Click to expand...
Grrrrrrr



Pen and paper RPG's are a good way to start, but they're also a somewhat expensive and time-consuming way. Many aspects of the RL RPG experience can be had in games like NWN, or even some of the old, OLD D&D computer games.
 
movax said:
I feel like such a bastard...but!

http://www.cccp-project.net/wiki/index.php?title=RPG_List

Let's do a community thing and compile a list of RPGs and our views on 'em! Wikipedia tends to frown on unofficial "Best Of" lists, so I thought I'd use one of my wikis for it.

Open discussion & editing = win. And who knows, in a week or so, we can present a final "compiled" version or so as a new thread. ;)
Click to expand...

Heh, I use CCCP for my anime :D

On Topic I can't really think of much to add other than maybe FF5 which was only released iin Japan. KOTOR, BG Series, nwn1 kinda sucked. Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, can't think of anything that hasn't been listed.
 
I'm not terribly familiar with original rpg's. I've played D'n'D a fair bit with friends and it's pretty cool, but i'm much more into the whole video game side of it.

The wikipedia list sounds like a good idea, there have definitely been alot of contributions to this page. Thanks alot everyone! It's going to take a long time to get through these.
 
showgun said:
Shining Force I & II for Sega Genesis is definately up there on one of my favorite turn-based strategy games. I remember all the sleepless nights I spent playing it.
Click to expand...
Shining In The Darkness was great as an RPG before those, I loved mapping out all the dungeons as a kid. Shining Force 1/2 were great as well and unique for their time.
 
I'll give another shout out to Shining Force Series on the Sega Genesis.

Dragon Force on the Sega Saturn was quality

Disgaea on the PS2 is very entertaining if you are an RPG fan (it pokes fun at rpg stereotypes) it also has a very good strategy-based combat.

Shadowrun on the Genesis is good as well.

Star Control 2 on the 3DO was amazing (i think its on the PC as well)
 
XBOX:

KOTOR
KOTOR 2

PC:

Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate 2
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights Gold

Haven't played Neverwinter Nights 2, but if it's anything like the first it's worth playing.

Anyone notice a pattern here? :D
 
I'm %#*%&*#!! stunned nobody's apparently even made a passing mention to the superb Panzer Dragoon Saga (Azel) for the Saturn yet. (Probably because only a few thousand people in North America ever had it.)

But I've got to dittohead on Skies of Arcadia. It had one flaw--an annoyingly high random encounter rate--but it had enough style, story, and personality to more than balance it out.

Dammit, this reminds me I need to get to work on Enchanted Arms so I can then move on to the backlog from hell (Xenosaga Episode(s) I and II, Shadow Hearts, Suikoden IV, Dark Cloud 2, Final Fantasy X-2, and Final Fantasy XII--my eyes are bigger than my patience).

EDIT: just thinking--does Deus Ex count as an RPG?
 
The most influential for me were:

Wizardry 7
Might & Magic 4 and 5
Ultima VII
Baldur's Gate
Diablo & Diablo 2 (psuedo rpg's)
 
AdamNesvick said:
Fable: the lost Chapter (think zelda with sex and violence :D)

Anything by bioware/black isle (BG, icewind, fallout, neverwinter nights, planescape torment)

Titan quest (cool action RPG)

Vampire: The Masquerade, bloodlines (make sure to patch)

KOTOR 1&2, 1 is better.

Elder scrolls series
Click to expand...

Agreed. I'm not a super huge fan of Action RPG's but you've hit the nail on the head.
 
LOL.With all the games the people here mentioned, it will take a lifetime to complete all. If you have a passion with some of the very old games that others mentioned over here...by all means play it first. Because those are really great games eventhough the graphics are a little dated. But you should not miss any titles from Bioware, Black Isle/Obsidian, Squaresoft, and games like Xenosaga, Shadow hearts cause they are really good.
 
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