What do YOU think I should play?

[waterpenguin43]

Hello Playground, recently I have been encountering troubles with video games. I simply don't know enough different series to know what to play. I like RPG's a lot, but am easily scared wimpy so I don't like horror games. So........
What do YOU think I should play?

[Altaria87]

What consoles do you have available to you?

[Redpieper]

You should try System Shock 2, it's a nice blend of rpg and shooter elements. You got a friendly AI helping you out like Cortana from Halo, there's some puzzle elements and monkeys. Yes monkeys! :smallamused:

[Dogmantra]

Morrowind. Now.

[Starbuck_II]

Hello Playground, recently I have been encountering troubles with video games. I simply don't know enough different series to know what to play. I like RPG's a lot, but am easily scared wimpy so I don't like horror games. So........
What do YOU think I should play?

What system? PC or console?

Bioshock is a RPG with light horror movie elements: this could work as a gradual getting bravery over that kind of game.

Fallout 1 and 2 are good oldies. 3 is similar and better graphics.

[tribble]

Dwarf Fortress has an adventure mode, where you can build a party of up to 13 adventurers plus yourself.

[Rutskarn]

Try playing Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. It's terrifying occasionally mildly scary, and will thus be a good way to desensitize you.

Or I could burst into your room, screaming, to the same effect.

[chiasaur11]

You should try System Shock 2, it's a nice blend of rpg and shooter elements. You got a friendly AI helping you out like Cortana from Halo, there's some puzzle elements and monkeys. Yes monkeys! :smallamused:

You are a horrible person.

Although Deus Ex is similar and pretty good. A few scary moments, but not too many, and most of the game has you as the king of badass secret agents.

Fallout 1 and 2 are also fun. Violent, funny, and fairly open, not to mention cheap. Also a bit buggy, so be careful.

[deuxhero]

You should try System Shock 2, it's a nice blend of rpg and shooter elements. You got a friendly AI helping you out like Cortana from Halo, there's some puzzle elements and monkeys. Yes monkeys! :smallamused:

I agree with the recomendation of System Shock 2

Also consider:
Planescape Torment
Deus Ex
Arcanum
Fallout 1
Fallout 2
Temple of Elemental Evil
Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords (first game is purposefully left out, avoid it)
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of The Betrayer (same as KotOR1 for the original game).



There is also Cave Story and La Mulana, both are free.

[Ikialev]

Daikatana.

[chiasaur11]

Daikatana.

Like Redpieper, you are a horrible person.

In his defense, he had a good game to endorse.

[waterpenguin43]

What system? PC or console?


Mac, Wii and DS. (Feel a storm of lameness!)

[Altaria87]

Have you tried Little King's Story for the Wii? It's a very endearing RTS, and actually quite challenging at times too. And for the DS, how about Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story? Or maybe get Fire Emblem and put it in the GBA Slot, they're both RPGs, with Fire Emblem being mainly a TBS with RPG elements, and Mario and Luigi being a Platformer/RPG.

[Dogmantra]

Mac, Wii and DS. (Feel a storm of lameness!)

Hey, you have a DS. Hey, you like RPGs...

Why are you not singing the praises of The World Ends With You?

[Player_Zero]

The Phoenix Wright games series.

DS games. You play a lawyer.

[Strawberries]

Morrowind. Now.

Seconded. So. Much.

Also, dragon age.

[Eloel]

The Phoenix Wright games series.

DS games. You play a lawyer.

That series is -amazing-

[Starbuck_II]

Try playing Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. It's terrifying occasionally mildly scary, and will thus be a good way to desensitize you.

Or I could burst into your room, screaming, to the same effect.

I've never heard of that game. Is there a demo?

[Drascin]

Mac, Wii and DS. (Feel a storm of lameness!)

I do not feel that much lameness. Except for the Mac, mostly because you can't really play games on that.

So, DS, huh? How many games do you want me to say, again? :smallamused: Now seriously, DS has a wonderful catalogue. Let me just go through my own collection of "very good games":

- Etrian Odyssey II: Extremely classic dungeoncrawling, turn-based RPG. First person, customizable party. Surgeon's Warning: will kick your ass.
- FF Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time: Best Crystal Chronicles since the GC original. Real-time monster bashing with a couple simple puzzles and a really fun gameplay.
- Knights in the Nightmare: Tactical RPG + Bullet Hell shooter = OH GOD SO MANY SPELLS. Really fun, but takes a bit to get into.
- Mario&Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: May well be the best game in the Mario RPG series. And given the Mario RPGs are already some of the best things in the genre, this is no small praise.
- Phoenix Wright (all of them): Point'n'click adventure where you play as a lawyer in a series of bizarre cases. Courtoom antics and weird humor galore.
- FFTactics A2: Very solid, if easy, tactical RPG. Not much in the way of story, but plenty fun mechanics.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor: Mixes classic turn-based with tactical turn-based, has a fair amount of endings that depend on your choices during the game, and sports an awesome and very distinct cast of characters that evolve over the game. Extremely recommended if you enjoy RPGs even the slightest bit.
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: Metroidvania at its finest.
- Professor Layton: Do you like logic puzzles? Of course you do! Well, here's a boatload of them, have fun!
- Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (both of them): Greatest rythm game ever. And you play as a squad of the most manly cheerleaders in history!
- Elite Beat Agents: Ouendan, but americanized and with MIB instead of manly cheerleaders.
- Maestro! Jump in Music!: Another rythm game, this time with a little pink duckie - and a score comprised of some of the greatest classical pieces. As I said when I played it the first time, "no game that opens with Beethoven's Fifth can be that bad!"
- Kirby Super Star Ultra: Kirby Super Star, which was already awesome in the SNES, but remastered and with a fair amount of new content. You must play it. Hypnotoad commands it.
- Big Bang Mini: Shooter with a fireworks twist. Fun in short bursts.
- Nanostray 2: A more classic, horizontal shooter. Also hard as all hells.
- Rythm Heaven: Tap and slide your way to victory in this extremely silly but highly fun and addictive rythm game.
- Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords: An RPG where instead of battling, you play Bejeweled but with magic spells. Better than it looks. Warning: Will destroy your life, much like TVTropes.

...and that is only what I personally have.

[Triaxx]

The Phoenix Wright games series.

DS games. You play a lawyer.

He said he didn't like horror games. :smallwink:

Okami, and Bully are great in their Wii incarnations. Metroid Prime 3, or Trilogy are good. You don't like horror, but RE4 on the Wii is pretty shooter-ish so you might like it.

[MrPig]

Hey, you have a DS. Hey, you like RPGs...

Why are you not singing the praises of The World Ends With You?

i don't understand the praise this game is getting. yeah it looks pretty and has a good soundtrack, but the main character and the combat system made me want to punch kittens in the throat.

[Starbuck_II]

i don't understand the praise this game is getting. yeah it looks pretty and has a good soundtrack, but the main character and the combat system made me want to punch kittens in the throat.

So is that a bad thing? :smalltongue:

[MrPig]

So is that a bad thing? :smalltongue:

I happen to find kittens cute. So yes :smalltongue:

[Dogmantra]

i don't understand the praise this game is getting. yeah it looks pretty and has a good soundtrack, but the main character and the combat system made me want to punch kittens in the throat.

Two phrases. First is two words: Sho Minamimoto.
Second is four: "MMMMM I'M IN PARADISE!"

EDIT: but yeah, Tin Pin Slammer would've been a much better combat system for the main storyline :smalltongue:

[Pronounceable]

Everyone with an atom of RPG interest has to play Baldur's Gates (1&2), Planescape Torment, Fallouts (1&2, maybe 3) and Witcher. Alas, they're for PC.

And Portal. I'm not sure it's been ported to anything, but if it isn't, it should.

[MrPig]

Two phrases. First is two words: Sho Minamimoto.
Second is four: "MMMMM I'M IN PARADISE!"

EDIT: but yeah, Tin Pin Slammer would've been a much better combat system for the main storyline :smalltongue:

Well, it's not that I didn't enjoy the game at all. It's just Neku really irritated me with his teenage angst like attitude towards everything and everyone. The combat I loathed though.

[Dogmantra]

And Portal. I'm not sure it's been ported to anything, but if it isn't, it should.

You can get it as part of The Orange Box on basically everything that Waterpenguin doesn't own. PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

[Zevox]

Mac, Wii and DS. (Feel a storm of lameness!)
You have a DS and you like RPGs. Boy, do you have options. Just to list my own DS RPG collection:

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Good game, but it's been a while since I played it, so I have little to say.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: Very good game, one of the better Mario RPGs. Quite a lot of humor, and you get to play as Bowser.
Magical Starsign: Decent game. I'm not enitrely sure, but I think that, at times, it was satirizing RPG tropes - it's a pretty over-the-top fantasy in space game. Again, been a while since I played it, though.
Final Fantasy IV: Even if you played it back on its original system, the DS remake may be worth getting for the fully remade 3D graphics and voice acting. Me, I didn't play it before the remake came out, so it was worth more than that. One of the few Final Fantasy games I've played that I have a pretty high opinion of.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: If you like JRPGs, the Dragon Quest series in general is plenty worth playing, and this one is no exception.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride: See the previous comment. Plus, this is one of the better games of the series, in my opinion. You play your character from childhood through marriage and adulthood, ultimately being accompanied on your journeys by your children. Plus it has a system where you can recruit monsters for your party (and it actually pre-dates Pokèmon with this, incidentally), some of which can be pretty awesome.
Disgaea DS: If you didn't play the first Disgaea on the PS2 or would like a handheld version, this is well worth getting. It's a tactical RPG where the main character is a demon prince. There is much humor, the story is quite quirky, and the combat gets over-the-top very fast.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: The one really good Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, it was actually made by Bioware rather than Sonic Team. Callbacks to the original Sonic games and humor are common. It is short, though, and not one of Bioware's best (though since they haven't made a bad game yet, that doesn't mean much).
Chrono Trigger: If you didn't play it on the SNES, as I didn't, it's well worth getting. It's perhaps the only game the internet hypes so much that I've actually found lives up to that hype.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon: If you like Fire Emblem, it's worth getting. If not, get the GBA Fire Emblem first (not Sacred Stones, just "Fire Emblem"), and only get this one if you find you like the series (it's a tactical RPG series). Not one of the series' better games, but fans should still enjoy it.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor: This one combines tactical RPG maps with more traditional turn-based combat and Shin Megami Tensei's unique combat elements, such as granting you an extra turn if you strike the enemy with an attack they're weak against. The story is very good, and it has multiple endings which are done well enough that you may actually find yourself conflicted over which to choose.
The World Ends With You: I spent over a month playing this game after getting it last Christmas, even though I beat the main story in just a couple of weeks. It's that good. Very interesting premise and story, some great characters, and an odd but very fun combat system once you get the hang of it. Though there are a few things about the story I still don't understand, even having gotten everything the game gives you to explain it, but they don't bother me that much.

Also, since the DS allows to play GBA games (unless you have a DSi, I suppose), some recommendations for those:

Fire Emblem: If you haven't played it yet, it's an excellent way to get into the series. This is the series that created the tactical RPG genre among video games, and this is the first game from it to make it outside of Japan. Still one of the better ones to do so too.
Fire Emlem: The Sacred Stones: If you find you like Fire Emblem, this is worth getting. Probably the worst of the series outside of Japan, but still a good game overall, unless you just can't stand the genre or series for some reason.
Golden Sun & Golden Sun: The Lost Age: A two-game series which really can't be discussed as two independent games. These are pretty much the epic RPG for the GBA. Unless you just don't like JRPGs, they're more than worth playing.


Two phrases. First is two words: Sho Minamimoto.
Yup. Who'd have thought that a total math nerd could also be a completely badass villain?


EDIT: but yeah, Tin Pin Slammer would've been a much better combat system for the main storyline :smalltongue:
Ugh, blech, no thanks. The combat system was much better than that thing. If it weren't for the Another Day stage basically making it mandatory to complete the post-game content, I wouldn't have played Tin Pin at all past the very few points where the main story foists it on you.

Zevox

[Mando Knight]

...And then there's Nintendo's perennial cash-cow collectible/RPG franchise that won't stay down if you hit it with a battleship.

Yes, I'm talking about Pokémon. Platinum is already out, HeartGold and SoulSilver come out in March.

On the Wii side of things, you've got Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, which you should only play after the original FFIV or its DS remake for plot reasons; Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance is a Gamecube game that leads into the Wii game FE: Radiant Dawn; Metroid Prime Trilogy is a must (though if you don't like being an apocalypse, you'll never be able to finish this three-in-one), as is Super Metroid on the Virtual Console. Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom are pretty much required playing in the Fighting Game genre. Both DS and Wii have different New Super Mario Bros. games, which are fantastic throwbacks to the original series, especially Mario 3 and Mario World.

WiiWare also has the old Mario games, Final Fantasy I, Mega Man 1 through 3, Sonic 1 through 3 and Knuckles (with Lock-On Technology!), Starfox 64, all of the Legend of Zelda games up to Majora's Mask, Mega Man 9, and soon Mega Man 10 and Sonic 4.