Role Playing Games You Played All The Way Through

[Gail Simone]

Lunar, Shining Force, Shining in the Darkness, Kingdom Hearts II, um...hm...uh...

[ScottyQuick]

Kingdom Hearts I, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX (love that one so much), Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2 (urgh) ... holy cow that's it.

[Spiffy]

Nothing since the Ultima days. Seriously.

No wait. I think I also played the first half of the Elder Scrolls series, and I guess the Diablo games might count as RPG games too.

After those? Not so much.

[mgs]

Um, the only ones I can think of are board games! O.o

Computer games and most RPG's are meant to be 'endless'. Right?

[Chris Hansbrough]

Persona, Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner, Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor, Final Fantasy 1-12 and Mystic Quest, Star Ocean 1-4, Shining Force 1 and 2, Lufia, ufia 2, Grandia 1-3, I could probably go on for days so I'l just say all of them. as long as they aren't PS3 exclusive.

the 10 best though are

Suikoden 2
Suikoden 5
Final Fantasy 6
Dragon Warrior 4
Persona 3
Persona 4
Mass Effect
Lufia 2
Tales of Symphonia
Star Ocean : The Second Story

best 5 overall stories are

Suikoden 5
Suikoden 3
Persona 3
Persona 4
Tales of Symphonia.

Best 5 gameplay wise
Chrono Trigger
Tales of Vesperia
Star Ocean The Last Hope
Persona 4
Secret of Mana.

If you can't tell I'm totally first and foremost an RPG guy. But It's hard to say why. I love all kinds of games but the RPG's I own and have beaten every single one released on every current system except the ps3. and at the point in time when I inevitably can finally afford a ps3 I will continue that trend. But it really is hard to get people in to some RPG's.

However I definitely would suggest Persona 3 and 4 to absolutely anyone with intrest as they are amazing games that are fun and hok you with great and unique stories (Which can't be said for a majority of RPGs) Persona 3 I would actually put as one of my favorite overall stoies in almost any medium. Just a fantastic horror story. Persona 4 is different in that it's a great murder mystery. both have a completely different feel to them. One is a horror and the other is a murder mystery. The relationships you make with characters in town in both games feel different too. In 3 some are friends but some feel like you are using them to your own advantage. In 4 you actually are friends with people because of exactly that. you make true friends.

Great RPG's are hard to find. Good ones aren't. I can count the amount of great ones by using my fingers and toes. I can count the good ones with a notecard and hashmarks. I can count meh ones with 5 of those notecards and I can't even imagine counting all the bad RPG's there are out there. I'm just glad a lot o them don't come to the states as they would kill the RPG intrest that seems to be having a surge since the beginning of the PS2 era. FF7 may have been huge but it didn't really help RPG's gain in popularity. That came in the PS2 era as internet usage became more prevalent and people were able to get info on the games before they were released.

hehe. I'm in the process of writing a column about this very topic so I just cut and pasted a bit.

[thehod]

Persona, Persona 2, Persona 3, Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner, Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor, Final Fantasy 1-12 and Mystic Quest, Star Ocean 1-4, Shining Force 1 and 2, Lufia, ufia 2, Grandia 1-3, I could probably go on for days so I'l just say all of them. as long as they aren't PS3 exclusive.

So what did you do after lunch?

[Yue]

Uh, Kingdom Hearts I, Persona 3, Persona 4, Star Ocean 4, Eternal Sonata, and as of yesterday, Tales of Vesperia.

I feel like I'm missing some, though.

[Chris Hansbrough]

So what did you do after lunch?

that's when I work!

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

Dozens of games. My favs?

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Chrono Trigger
3. Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
4. Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
5. Altier Iris: Eternal Mana
6. Illusion Of Gaia
7. Final Fantasy IV
8. Final Fantasy VI
9. Final Fantasy XII
10. Altier Iris 2

Wow. Still like the classics after all this time.

JP

[7thangel]

smt: nocturne, persona 2, persona 3, devil saga 1 and 2
all ff
all suikoden except 4 and tactics
kingdom hearts 1 and 2
vandal hearts 1 and 2
ff tactics
chronotrigger and chrono cross
valkryie profile 1 and 2
bahumet lagoon
disgaea
star ocean 2 and 3
all shadow hearts
almost all breath of fires
legaiai 1 and 2
dark cloud 1 and 2
wild arms 1,2,3,4,5
xenogears
xenosaga 1 and 2
shining force exa/neo
grandia 1 (dreamcast), 2
skies of arcadia (dreamcast)
both .hack series

[Royd]

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion which my 20 year old son recommended to me - thoroughly enjoyed it because I can't do games which require fast combo moves - I'm too old and slow ;)

Oh, and I also play "old school" D&D and Call of Cthulhu - no online or computers, just 8 of us around a table :)

[Vendetta]

Baldur's Gate 1+2 (currently replaying), Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 2 + 3, Neverwinter Nights 1+2 (plus expansions), Arcanum, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Mass Effect (repeatedly), Planescape: Torment (Ditto), Quest for Glory series, Jade Empire, the Witcher, Fable, Knights of the Old Republic 1+2, and no doubt others that I've forgotten.

Yeah, I'm all about the PC.

[Jae Namkyoung]

Oblivion, Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2, Fables the Lost Chapters.

[Khellendros]

Final Fantasy VIII is the only one. I loved it but, fuck, who has the time?

[Karen El]

The one I most enjoyed was Sakura Wars, even though it was in Japanese. Last couple of years I've preferred MMOGs. It's hard to go back to playing solo.