RPGs

Hey everyone. I'm really into RPGs at the moment, particular ones from the Final Fantasy series and I was just thinking about what makes a good RPG. Which sort do you think is better? The one how you have more control over your hero/es such as Final Fantasy Tactics or perhaps Diablo where you choose your class and Crystal Chronicles how you choose your appearance? Or is the one how you play out a set personality with a set weapon type and/or magic type? I personally perfer the first one because I usually get a bit tired of being the warrior guy with the sword and I like the replayability of ones like that. For instance, finishing the game with one class or race and then starting over as another. Yeah RPGs are cool :thumb: thought I'd say that. I love them instead of like them because of how they can take me away from reality when one day there is a chick kissing me or another day I am the one on whom the entire world depends...

I use to like the genre...but in the last few years it feels less original and more derivative of past great titles...can't say I'm a huge fan of the FF series...I can only take so many random battles and Annoying Anime Teens Save the World storylines.

The Fallout games were quite good though and real highlights in the genre in terms of PC/Console RPG's.

lately the only ones to grab my attention were Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights. Excellent games in their own right...but nowadays the only one I play is City of Heroes.

At first I thought that you were talking about real RPG's (D&D & co.). I was just gonna say that it was a crappy idea to base an RPG on a hack 'n' slash computer game such as Diablo, but then I've read the second post.

From the computer genre, it's definitely Fallout 1-2 (which happen to be the 2 best computer games ever :D ). Tactics sort of lost the atmoshere. We'll se what they'll make of Fallout 3. At least i'm sure that it'll have a good soundtrack since Devin Townsend is making it. LOL.

I've never considered a computer game to be qualified as a RPG, since there's no ROLE PLAYING involved.

As for the real ones, it's probably the custom modified version of AD&D2, for Fantasy (or D&D6 Swedish Edition ;) ); and as for cyber-punk, i've only played by the "Mutant" system. Also custom modified.

I've never tried out Vampire the Masqurade, or any other out of the same series... I'm alos interested in trying Gemini. I've heard that its a dark non-classical fantasy world, which could turn out to be interesting :-). Sounds a bit Planescape-like to me. :thumb:

I'm starting to get into the more strategic games like Front Mission 4........... hard as fuck but I love it. But right now I'm using all of my brainpower on school so I'm games that don't require brain power, like atv offroad fury 2 but for the 5 week break I have between semesters I'm hitting the rpg's hard.
The only Final Fantasy game I've ever really liked is 6, Xenogears and Grandia are more my speed so was Lunar. Everything else I just can't get into right now. Cool thing though, my roommate has a video of somebody beating the final bosses of Final Fantasy 5 as level one characters. It was pretty impressive.

i really enjoyed neverwinter nights, baldur's gate, the fallout series, dungeon seige, and the first diablo(i hated the second one). when it comes to "pen-and-paper" rpg's i prefer most of the games put out by White wolf, like vampire, mage, demon and changeling. also really like the cyberpunk genre, things like cyberpunk 2020 and shadowrun, but have seldom gotten to play them. :mad: then there's your classic D&D which i grew up with. havent played it much in recent years tho. i love both the "forgotten realms" setting and planescape(the name aXa comes from one of my characters. she's a tiefling with a tail and these cute lil horns).

Yea, shadow run is also cool. Dispite the elves beeing set in cyberpunk.... I've never played it, but just listened/read about it. The thing I liked most about it was the damage system. No more hitpoints, just "wound types".

So you will never have a dialogue with the GM like this:
"ok, you've pierced his eye with an arrow... that would be like.... uhhh.... 25 hitpoints! although he has a perception penalty and is in shock, he's still got 2 more points to live." :mad:

It gives a more realistic attitude to the character. not so many people start ranom frenzies when they get bored, just cause they're level 25. Also I never liked the idea of advancements in RPG's, based on experience. A warrior who used a sword to hack and slash his way to a level 2 character can not use the points for getting better with a bow :mad: I thin that the LEVEL advancement system just makes Diablo-like "power gamers". The xp should be distributed by the dm to the skills the character has used :-)

That's why i think that the DM is more important than the rules themselves....

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Originally Posted by Goat on Fire

Yea, shadow run is also cool. Dispite the elves beeing set in cyberpunk....

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what? thats part of the reason i love shadowrun so much! im a big fan of elves and the fey folk in general(im irish). plus there was that whole balance between technology and magic in the game. its like the ancient world(magic and spirit) versus the cold modern world(science and technology). but then that might be because im a "recovering Luddite". :eeek:

Well, being a D&D lover from way back, I must ask if anyone here has played Morrowind. To me, that is the closest that computer games have come to TRUE RPG's. You do what you want, when you want. You learn what you want to learn, you worship who you want to worship, you do whatever you want. It is the only thing keeping me sane since all my D&D friends moved away!

Oh, but I do LOVE the final fantasy series. I'm anxiously awaiting the next one to come out on Playstation 2 as I defeated FFX and FFX2 about 2 weeks after I got each one....*sigh* so much pleasure should last forever!
:)

I've played the following:

AD&D (just about every campaign setting, but mostly original campaigns - my own was based on ancient Sumeria)
Shadowrun
Gamma World
Twilight 2000
Dark Conspiracy
Paranoia
Star Frontiers
Living Steel
GURPS
MERP
...and a lot more I've probably forgotten

If you want to see a brutally realistic wound system, try Twilight 2000. A bullet to the head = dead. No resurrection, no raise dead. Roll up a new character. Same with bleeding to death from stab wounds, being caught in a burning vehicle etc.

With Computers RPGs took off in an completely new direction. "Build your own Army and employ them"(Tactical RPGs, ie Front Mission 4(great game:-)), "Wander around and just do what ever"(ie GrandThiefAuto), "Interactive Movie Time"(ie Final Fantisy)... but my favorite CRPGs are the "Kill stuff to get bigger equipment so you can kill bigger stuff, rinse lather repeat"(rougelike RPGs, ie Angband). And they have done very well.

But computer RPGs have lost alot that made real world RPGs so great. Mostly the interaction with real people.

I love Shadowrun. I love the genre. I love the society desperatly trying to come to terms with technology and magic. And I like the advancement and karma system. Oddly, even though I have to spend several hours introducing people to the genre, I think its easier for people to relate to shadowrun than D&D.

i like the turn based rpgs my favorite one was the legend of dragoon on ps1 because it had a prety bitchin story and its combat system was cool because you actualy had to practice your attacks for them to come out right. ive also been a big final fantasy ever since i played FFIII

I've always preferred "pen and paper" RPGs to computer versions. Playing with real players and a gamemaster, instead of with AI companions and a pre-mapped world to explore, is a whole new realm of gaming. I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it before.

yeah i love pen and paper RPGs i think the video games get kind of boring

I prefer classic format RPG's (FF style)...

I do feel that sinse 2003 rpg's have been in full bloom. the square-enix merge seemed to create a powerhouse when it comes to releasing things for both previous companies stateside. games such as Disgeae, Star Ocean 3, Xenosaga, & FFX have surely proven that the RPG genre is not to be overlooked through this console generation. I have a long list of games (almost all RPG's) I wish to purchase, soon as funds are at avail for that purpose.

I like playing video game RPGs. I've always been into the Final Fantasy series. My favorite RPG would probably be Chrono Cross though, because there's so many different characters and endings. I dont' really like the turn based battle systems. My favorite battle system would be the one from Kingdom Hearts.