RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.
Got a favorite list of games or genres? Maybe you'd like to see what other gamers consider the best of a genre or system? Well that's what we have the "List 'em" series for! So come, read, comment and participate in RF Generation's way of sharing our love for this hobby as well as paying homage to our personal favorites!


Posted on Aug 9th 2007 at 11:44:56 PM by (Tan)
Posted under List em, Top 5, RPG

This week's List 'em is going to turn it up a notch. RPG's are one of the most popular genres in video games that seems to only get more popular as they become more complex. I myself played very few until the last 10 years or so when 3D gaming really took off. My list will be a bit biased as my tastes in RPG's are very specific. But that's why you should list yours as well. RPG's can really tell a lot about a gamers tastes and habits. So here's my picks in no particular order:

  • Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition, The - I have yet to write a review for this game because I wouldn't even know where to start. The first time I played this when it came out I was blown away. The sheer amount of things to do is enormous. You can repair weapons, trade, hunt, make potions & spells, enforce the law, preach faith, travel, the list goes on and on. Have a house or two, join nearly a dozen guilds all with different quests, goals and story-lines. That's all on top of playing the game's main quest!! Never mind the fact that this version has both expansions which double the game's size and depth. Many people complain this game is too big, but to me it raises the bar on how big an RPG can be. I've logged more hours into this game than any other RPG, probably top 5 all-time in terms of hours spent playing.


  • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - I'll be honest, me and Nintendo have parted ways a long time ago. Few games from the "Big N" catch my eye anymore. Most of them just don't jive well with me as a gamer or suit my tastes. The Paper Mario series is one glaring exception to this rule. I could've put the N64 Paper Mario in place of the Gamecube one and I would've been satisfied with my choice. I chose this one because it's longer, has a better story with more humor and feels more polished and deeper as an RPG. Where the N64 one provided a light-hearted laid back experience, this one provides a more strategic game with more exploration and environmental puzzles to figure out. Crisp graphics and sound, creative ways to use the menus and battle system and a more varied world to explore, if you don't own this game for your Gamecube or Wii, then get it. Your missing out on one of the best Nintendo games in the last 10 years in my opinion. If your on the fence and need more evidence, do check out the game page by clicking the name listed above, it's one of RF Generation's most comprehensive and complete game pages in the database.


  • Front Mission 4 - How would you like an RPG featuring giant robot fighting machines? How about customization of each character and "Wanzer" (name used for mechs) that rivals any RPG out there? Two different story-lines that twist and merge together later in the game into one big epic? How about if all that is neatly wrapped into an 80-100 hour turn-based strategy game with plenty of re-playability from the makers of Final Fantasy Tactics? If any of that appeals to you, then perhaps FM4 is up your alley. Different Wanzers that have different tactical roles make it possible to build your team from the ground up and play how you choose. Be it close combat, long range, medium range or a combination of those. Excellent battle animations, camera angles and sounds effects. It's very challenging and very involved and you get to know and like the characters so much that you immerse yourself in the storyline, even if there's a lot of scrolling and reading. If you've played FM3 on the PS1 you'll like this one too, and if you've played this one then try FM3 as well.


  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Let me say a few things first. Bioware rocks. Everything they touch has so far turned to gold from Shattered Steel 11 years ago to the upcoming Mass Effect this fall. They are everything EA is not and they are Canadian. Now that's out of the way I'll say my piece on KOTOR as the acronym for this game is known as. I'm not a big Star Wars fan. Sure I've seen the movies once or twice and I love some of the games, but nothing prepared me for the experience this game offered. Traveling planet to planet, carefully molding your character and embarking on an incredible story with an all-star cast of voice actors. Puzzles, exploration, great graphics/sound all in a turn based combat system that if you tweak the options doesn't pause at all. I say that because default settings the game will pause to wait for you to complete any given action so your not overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of some of the battles. Change the settings and it's all in real time and very intense. Any game with a character like HK-47 is a winner in my book. He's the Star Wars equivalent of Bender from Futurama but much more maligned and violent.


  • Neverwinter Nights - I had a hard time choosing my final pick for this list. There's a good dozen or so games across many platforms that are worthy which I'll mention in my "Runner Up". This one gets my vote because not only is it based on the Forgotten Realms novels I love so much, but it truly is a fantastic game. It took everything that made Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale great series and tweaked it. Being able to identify characters, factions or places from books I've read makes it a game easy to become comfortable with and instantly familiar. Gameplay is smooth and the amount of content that expansions, modules and user made through tool-sets will keep you going for years to come. Another interesting piece of trivia is that the game engine Bioware built for this game was modified for KOTOR I & II. You want a PC game that will keep on giving? Well this is it!

Runners Up: - So many games to list here, I really should have done a top 10 or 20, but I'm sure your eyes are already bugging out with all this reading, so here goes:

Jade Empire, Fable, Rogue Galaxy, D&D Heroes, Icewind Dales I & II, Baldur's Gate I & II, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance I & II, KOTOR II, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Bard's Tale, Front Mission 3, Fallout 1 & 2, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shining Force Neo, Paper Mario, Suikoden IV and Tales of Symphonia.

Oh there's more, but that's just off the top of my head. Now it's your turn. If you don't care for RPG's then maybe your Top 5 hated ones instead just to be fair and allow participation. Wink


Comments
 
"If you don't care for RPG's then maybe your Top 5 hated ones instead just to be fair and allow participation."

Way to add that for me!

But yeah... Top 5 RPGs:
1. Super Paper Mario
2. Deus Ex
3. Shaq-Fu RPG (http://redlof.ath.cx/stuff/shaqfu12.zip)
4. Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden (http://www.tigsource.com/articles/2007/02/21/barkley-shut-up-and-jam-gaiden-chapter-1)
5. The RPG in Duke Nukem 3D. Cool weapon.
 
Top 5:

1.Chrono Trigger: Come on, aren't most people retro gamers here? Chrono Trigger can have my babies any day.

2. Golden Sun: The Lost Age: Great RPG, you should try it.

3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: I wrote a review on it, you should read it.

4. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time: Great RPG

5 Illusion of Gaia: I like it, but I hear Terranigma is better.

 
you're a funny one... the DB here lists Super Paper Mario as an Action/Adventure game.

Here's mine in no particular order:
1. Phantasy Star Online (DC)
2. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow(GB)
3. Grandia II (DC)
4. Final Fantasy VIII (PC/PS1)
5. Final Fantasy V
 
1.Lufia 1 (SNES)
2.Valkryie Profile (PS1)
3.Shin Megami Tensei:Nocturne (PS2)
4.Secret of Mana (SNES)
5.Final Fantasy 6 (SNES)

Too many good RPGs to list from all the classic systems.
 
I... hate your list. I play tons of RPGs and disagree with your list so much. But whatever, I respect it.

1. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
2. Shadow Hearts Covenant
3. Final Fantasy X
4. Chrono Trigger
5. Terranigma
 
Phantasy Star 1-4
PSO Ver 1-2
Landstalkers
FFVII
Baldur's Gate
 
Thanks for the Front Mission 4 comments Tan. I'm going to check the series out as I missed them. I looked at a video of FM4 on Youtube and it looks my cuppa tea! Thank you mate.

First of all I would like to start off by saying that I absolutely loved Baldurs Gate II Shadows of Amn for the PC. It deserves an honourable mention. I had too many bugs with it/DirectX/my graphics card which ended up making it pretty much unplayable in the end. Sad

Secondly, although I have played plenty of RPGs, I am not THAT into them as will be obvious by my list which includes some turn based strategies. I wish I was into RPGs a bit more because there are a boat load of them out there.

5. Rebelstar (ZX Spectrum)
Possibly one of the first turn based games? The fore runner of Laser Squad which I believe had been remade and is now playable online in some kind of league.
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-123-S-03100-A

4. UFO Enemy Unknown (PC)
Another turn based game I liked. I remember deploying my squad and wondering where the aliens were hiding on each map and then often getting blasted by a raygun from miles away lol.
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-016-S-02820-A

3. Battletech (Commodore 64) 5.25\" disk version.
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-018-S-01530-A
Upgrade mechs and play turn-based. I have seen a mixture of reviews for this game with quite a few reviewers not getting it or enjoying it but I have never understood why.

2. Dungeon Master (Commodore Amiga)
One of the early first person RPGs.
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-030-S-00300-A

1. World of Warcraft (PC)
I had to say the W word didn't I? Although I don't play much, I do think it is incredibly good.
http://www.rfgeneration.com/cgi-bin/getinfo.pl?ID=E-016-S-05230-A
 
@Shimra:

Tongue No worries, its a classic JRPG versus WRPG argument. Most of my picks are Western RPGs and that goes for most of my runners up as well. Just preference from having played D&D games since pen and paper and Intellivision days and reading D&D based novels for over 20 years.

@y2richie:

You should check out Rebelstar: Tactical Command if you have a GBA or DS. Not as good as the old ones but still a handy portable Rebelstar. Battletech is another one that should have been on my runner up list. I love all things Battletech and Mechwarrior. I wish they would release the show on DVD, my burnt poor quality TVrips are long in tooth.Tongue
 
It wasn't until great games like Dune and Snatcher on the Mega-CD and Phantasy Star IV on the MegaDrive I would go from hating RPGs to loving them Smiley

Aside from the already mentioned ones Phantasy Star Online and Shenmue on DC were the most powerful and memorable. Also Final Fantasy VII.
 
@Tan:

Thanks matey! Appreciate it. Didn't know about Rebelstar: Tactical Command either! Great stuff! Just reading up on it now.

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