Introducing wife to RPG's

[danzibr]

My wife and I have been together for 11 years. We have 2 kids, ages 4 and 2. I play some stuff with our 4-year-old, like Super Mario Wii U, Super Smash Bros., and River City Ransom. In her day, my wife's played a few games, like some Zelda's and Age of Empires, Call of Duty. But no RPG's.

We don't get much time together with just the two of us. Currently we're watching Dr. Who (after the kids are in bed). When we finish that, she agreed to play a game. I wanted to get her to play an RPG, something from my childhood.

So my question is... what old RPG would you recommend? I'm thinking NES, Sega Genesis, Playstation, maaaaaybe PS2, and anything on the PSN or Wii/Wii U store is fair game.

See, this is for an adult with experience with games, but not with RPG's. Ideally a shortish RPG with a great plot and not much grinding. I have some in mind.

1) Genesis: Phantasy Star IV. Amazing game.
2) PS: Star Ocean 2. Also amazing. Combat system isn't too RPGy.
3) SNES (virtual store): Chrono Trigger. The fact that random battles don't take you to a different screen is a plus.

I am *not* looking for top RPG's from these systems. Like, I wouldn't throw Final Fantasy VII (or any of them), XenoGears, or Chrono Cross at her.

[Winthur]

See, this is for an adult with experience with games, but not with RPG's. Ideally a shortish RPG with a great plot and not much grinding. I have some in mind.


The original Fallout is small, tight, and a classic, but not a console game.

Aside from that, there are Super Mario RPGs on SNES that held up rather well and are really simple.

Oh, also there's a choice that might be a little unorthodox but I think Ultima IV has had console ports. It's a game that has only a couple experience levels, a great plot that has never been attempted since (with a godlike sequel to boot), and aside from the need to do some supplementary reading it's worth the journey. The ultimate retro experience for story fans IMO.

[GloatingSwine]

Chrono Trigger is the obvious answer. Probably the best SNES game, still one of the best RPGs ever.


If actiony combat floats your collective boat more then Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile, or one of the many many Tales games.

[Mando Knight]

The original Fallout is small, tight, and a classic, but not a console game.

Aside from that, there are Super Mario RPGs on SNES that held up rather well and are really simple.

Oh, also there's a choice that might be a little unorthodox but I think Ultima IV has had console ports. It's a game that has only a couple experience levels, a great plot that has never been attempted since (with a godlike sequel to boot), and aside from the need to do some supplementary reading it's worth the journey. The ultimate retro experience for story fans IMO.

Fallout 1 and 2 are also kinda obtuse and difficult if you're not used to them.

It also depends on how short is "short." Less than ten hours long for the storyline? Less than twenty? (Of course, most RPGs go for far longer if you decide to do every single sidequest)

Paper Mario is on the Wii U Virtual Console, and while it's rather different from the SNES Super Mario RPG, it's also good in its own right.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Paper Mario is on the Wii U Virtual Console, and while it's rather different from the SNES Super Mario RPG, it's also good in its own right.

Can't believe I forgot about Paper Mario and the Thousand-Year Door! Even better than the original.

[Tengu_temp]

I'd suggest Chrono Trigger or Super Mario RPG, both for SNES. Really good games, and easy to get into if you never played an RPG before. Chrono Trigger is the better game in my opinion, but SMRPG is more casual-friendly.

[Winthur]

Fallout 1 and 2 are also kinda obtuse and difficult if you're not used to them.

And in my opinion, Fallouts are some of the easiest RPGs I've played; I've beaten both games while I was 10.
To get used to the interface, you only have to spend some time on the help prompt on the F1 button and try it out at your own pace. Once that happened, I found it to be servicable enough.
Granted, however, I'm used to reading the manual for any pre-00s release I play and I like learning the games I play.

Also, shortish plot (game can be honestly beaten in one day if you know where to go, so a couple more days when played blind), no grinding whatsoever and the story is pretty great.

Fallout 2 might be a bit of a bog-down, but FO1 is compact.

[danzibr]

Yeah, I think I'll go Chrono Trigger. Thanks for the responses!

I almost gave it and downgraded to a non-RPG (like Landstalker or something) but I think Chrono Trigger is just right. The main thing is she doesn't like random battles.

Probably after Chrono Trigger we'll go Phantasy Star IV.

[Triaxx]

I personally find Chrono Trigger decidedly boring, but if you've been watching Who, you can probably enjoy it.

My recommendation would actually be Final Fantasy 9. It's got some of the best story, some of the best gameplay, and most of the best characters from the series. Plus the number 3 best minigame of all time. (Chocobo Hot & Cold.) I would have recommended 6, but it's far more grindy than 9.

[Fri]

If you don't like random battles, gamearts' rpgs are the way.

Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar Eternal Blue are as classic JRPG as it could be, but there aren't any random encounter. They're in PSX.

Grandia 1 is my favourite RPG of all time. It's famous for its battle system that's relatively so good that they made a whole story-less dungeon crawling game just so you could bash enemy around with that battle system. Grandia 1 is an uplifting adventure story about friendship, adventures, goggles, ancient civilization, and all that jazz. Grandia 2 is a somewhat more serious game with amusingly snarky and sarcastic protagonist. Grandia Xtreme is the afromentioned story-less dungeoncrawling game. Grandia 3 is crap. Grandia 1 is in psx, the rest in ps2, and all don't have random battles.

Edit: Oh, and I think Grandia 2 is going to come out at steam soon, if that makes any difference at all.

[Starwulf]

Hmm, not sure why everyone is suggesting Chrono Trigger, that game requires excessive grinding as I recall. I'd go with Secret of Mana, my favorite SNES rpg of all-time. There are also no "random" battles. What you see on the map is what you fight(it's not turn-based like most old RPGs are).

Now if you weren't limiting yourself to that particular era, I'd suggest Blue Dragon. I have never gotten my wife to play an RPG before, and I haven't since either, but she absolutely loved Blue Dragon.

[GloatingSwine]

Hmm, not sure why everyone is suggesting Chrono Trigger, that game requires excessive grinding as I recall.

Not at all. A lot of the boss fights are based around figuring out the right move or combo to hurt that boss effectively, but there's basically no grinding required ever, just not skipping or running from fights.

[Starwulf]

Hmm, I distinctly remember having to grind in the Jurassic era in order to beat whatever boss was back then, and again during the Era where you can pick up Magus as a party member. And the final Lavos fight was quite rough if you were under-leveled. I won't mention the fact you can beat the final boss basically less then halfway through the game, just because that is obviously entirely optional.

Still, even if those are the only times you have to grind, I hold to my suggestion of Secret of Mana. There is no grinding required unless you want to be vastly overpowered(I can remember grinding the winter wolves forever, just because I could go from there to virtually the end of the game without ever bothering to grind again), and even if you do choose to grind it's a heck of a lot easier to do so then most other rpgs of the era.

[danzibr]

I personally find Chrono Trigger decidedly boring, but if you've been watching Who, you can probably enjoy it.

My recommendation would actually be Final Fantasy 9. It's got some of the best story, some of the best gameplay, and most of the best characters from the series. Plus the number 3 best minigame of all time. (Chocobo Hot & Cold.) I would have recommended 6, but it's far more grindy than 9.
Interesting. Our tastes must be very different; I love Chrono Trigger, like Dr. Who, and hate Final Fantasy IX. I don't want to go off topic saying why I dislike it, though.

If you don't like random battles, gamearts' rpgs are the way.

Lunar Silver Star Story and Lunar Eternal Blue are as classic JRPG as it could be, but there aren't any random encounter. They're in PSX.

Grandia 1 is my favourite RPG of all time. It's famous for its battle system that's relatively so good that they made a whole story-less dungeon crawling game just so you could bash enemy around with that battle system. Grandia 1 is an uplifting adventure story about friendship, adventures, goggles, ancient civilization, and all that jazz. Grandia 2 is a somewhat more serious game with amusingly snarky and sarcastic protagonist. Grandia Xtreme is the afromentioned story-less dungeoncrawling game. Grandia 3 is crap. Grandia 1 is in psx, the rest in ps2, and all don't have random battles.

Edit: Oh, and I think Grandia 2 is going to come out at steam soon, if that makes any difference at all.
Aaaaaaaghhhhh I love Lunar. I was tempted to get her to play Lunar:SSC (I think it's better than Lunar 2), but a few games are a bit higher on the list for me.

Now, I've never played Grandia. Hey, I have some time coming up, I'll have to check it out. I've heard of it for over a decade.

Hmm, not sure why everyone is suggesting Chrono Trigger, that game requires excessive grinding as I recall. I'd go with Secret of Mana, my favorite SNES rpg of all-time. There are also no "random" battles. What you see on the map is what you fight(it's not turn-based like most old RPGs are).

Now if you weren't limiting yourself to that particular era, I'd suggest Blue Dragon. I have never gotten my wife to play an RPG before, and I haven't since either, but she absolutely loved Blue Dragon.
Hmm, I don't recall excessive grinding. And Secret of Mana! Yes, excellent. Which makes me think of Secret of Evermore, not too RPGy RPG. Judging by gameplay videos, Blue Dragon looks enjoyable, but not for a noob. I mean, the battles look long, long animations. But I haven't actually played it, so...

Not at all. A lot of the boss fights are based around figuring out the right move or combo to hurt that boss effectively, but there's basically no grinding required ever, just not skipping or running from fights.
Yeah, that sounds about right.

Hmm, I distinctly remember having to grind in the Jurassic era in order to beat whatever boss was back then, and again during the Era where you can pick up Magus as a party member. And the final Lavos fight was quite rough if you were under-leveled. I won't mention the fact you can beat the final boss basically less then halfway through the game, just because that is obviously entirely optional.

Still, even if those are the only times you have to grind, I hold to my suggestion of Secret of Mana. There is no grinding required unless you want to be vastly overpowered(I can remember grinding the winter wolves forever, just because I could go from there to virtually the end of the game without ever bothering to grind again), and even if you do choose to grind it's a heck of a lot easier to do so then most other rpgs of the era.
I do recall the first Magus fight being mega hard.

Speaking of Chrono Trigger, the version I'd go with would be the PSX one on PSN. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, I can't (well, would rather not) get it from the Wii virtual store (why is it not on Wii U!?). I hear the load times are terrible, but also here there's a way to make them faster when running it on a PS3. Anyone have experience with this?

[Fri]

Oh, something I just remember, I distinctly remember someone here have some success playing Tales series with his spouse for quality rpg gaming together. Just in case you don't know, Tales series is a jrpg series where you travel the overworld/dungeons ala normal jrpg, but you fight random encounter as action/fighting game, and other players can control other characters in the fights. Only one player control the main character in the overworld/dungeon/talking around in cities part though. I'm pretty sure there's at least one tales game in all console starting from snes.

[GungHo]

Secret of Mana is a good gateway RPG. It's got enough actiony parts that you don't know you're playing an RPG, but it slowly sucks you in. I confess I don't know if it's made it to the SNES/PS Store. Wild Arms might be fun for her too.

[Godskook]

My wife and I have been together for 11 years. We have 2 kids, ages 4 and 2. I play some stuff with our 4-year-old, like Super Mario Wii U, Super Smash Bros., and River City Ransom. In her day, my wife's played a few games, like some Zelda's and Age of Empires, Call of Duty. But no RPG's.

We don't get much time together with just the two of us. Currently we're watching Dr. Who (after the kids are in bed). When we finish that, she agreed to play a game. I wanted to get her to play an RPG, something from my childhood.

So my question is... what old RPG would you recommend? I'm thinking NES, Sega Genesis, Playstation, maaaaaybe PS2, and anything on the PSN or Wii/Wii U store is fair game.

See, this is for an adult with experience with games, but not with RPG's. Ideally a shortish RPG with a great plot and not much grinding. I have some in mind.

1) Genesis: Phantasy Star IV. Amazing game.
2) PS: Star Ocean 2. Also amazing. Combat system isn't too RPGy.
3) SNES (virtual store): Chrono Trigger. The fact that random battles don't take you to a different screen is a plus.

I am *not* looking for top RPG's from these systems. Like, I wouldn't throw Final Fantasy VII (or any of them), XenoGears, or Chrono Cross at her.

Zelda -is- an RPG. An action RPG more akin to a 2-D version of Kingdom Hearts than Final Fantasy VII, but still. I say that partially because I'm confused; what are you trying to do, exactly? Does your wife generally have tastes such that you think she'd like RPGs, but she's "prejudiced"?(Point out Zelda being an RPG to her!) Or are you just trying to introduce her to 'your' world?

Are you looking for a western or japanese RPG experience?(Western RPGs are more sandboxy and customizable, JRPGs have more story and character development)

Your wife seems like she'd much prefer action-RPG titles, closer in nature to Path of Exile, Kingdom Hearts or Borderlands, but you're pressing heavily into turn-based or 'slow-action' RPGs....is there a reason for this?

[danzibr]

Zelda -is- an RPG. An action RPG more akin to a 2-D version of Kingdom Hearts than Final Fantasy VII, but still. I say that partially because I'm confused; what are you trying to do, exactly? Does your wife generally have tastes such that you think she'd like RPGs, but she's "prejudiced"?(Point out Zelda being an RPG to her!) Or are you just trying to introduce her to 'your' world?

Are you looking for a western or japanese RPG experience?(Western RPGs are more sandboxy and customizable, JRPGs have more story and character development)

Your wife seems like she'd much prefer action-RPG titles, closer in nature to Path of Exile, Kingdom Hearts or Borderlands, but you're pressing heavily into turn-based or 'slow-action' RPGs....is there a reason for this?
Introduce her to my world, I suppose. As for my use of RPG, I'd call Zelda an adventure game rather than role playing game. To me it's not an RPG if you don't gain exp and level up :P

I'm partially joking there, but only partially.

[Godskook]

Introduce her to my world, I suppose.

So I'm guessing you want:

1.JRPGs over WRPGs
1a.Story over agency
1b.Characters over customization

2.Turn-based over "slow-action"(think fallout) over live-action

and could you weigh in about:

3.Genre of story

Personally, FF Tactics(the PS original, not the "advanced" sequels) and Golden Sun were the last two turn-based JRPGs I really remember enjoying.


As for my use of RPG, I'd call Zelda an adventure game rather than role playing game. To me it's not an RPG if you don't gain exp and level up :P

I'm partially joking there, but only partially.

Since this thread is about understanding you, rather than terminology, its not a big deal.

[danzibr]

So I'm guessing you want:

1.JRPGs over WRPGs
1a.Story over agency
1b.Characters over customization

2.Turn-based over "slow-action"(think fallout) over live-action

and could you weigh in about:

3.Genre of story

Personally, FF Tactics(the PS original, not the "advanced" sequels) and Golden Sun were the last two turn-based JRPGs I really remember enjoying.

Since this thread is about understanding you, rather than terminology, its not a big deal.
Thanks for the response!

I said in the original I don't want to throw a FF at her. Tactics in particular. I mean, I like it, but it's not noob-friendly.

And... I am still open to suggestions, but back in #8 I pretty much said I'm going with Chrono Trigger. If that doesn't work out (I'm reading about load times for the PSX/PSN version), we'll go Phantasy Star IV.

Which reminds me, any experience with load times for the PSN version of Chrono Trigger on the PS3?

[Hiro Protagonest]

Hmm, I distinctly remember having to grind in the Jurassic era in order to beat whatever boss was back then, and again during the Era where you can pick up Magus as a party member. And the final Lavos fight was quite rough if you were under-leveled. I won't mention the fact you can beat the final boss basically less then halfway through the game, just because that is obviously entirely optional.
I don't remember having to grind on either visit to 65,000,000,000 B.C. or 12,000 B.C.. Well, I did a little to get those weapons you can trade in monster parts for in the barbarian trading tent, but that wasn't a ton and it wasn't for levels. And really, I just wanted to keep up to date on gear.

Also, are you talking about the first boss you fight in primitive era, or Black Tyrano? Because if you're talking about Black Tyrano, there's a reason he's one of only two bosses to get this song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeTWWro16fQ).


I do recall the first Magus fight being mega hard.

I don't. Frog and Marle. Balance between attacking and healing, ignoring Shadow or Fire Barriers, until he starts casting Dark Matter, then go all-out with Hasted Frog and heal up every time he casts the spell. I lost the first time, but I went in blind and had that strategy for the second time. Granted, I'm going through the entire game with Frog and Marle, so if you don't have that team you'll have to think of something else.

Golem Twins were much worse. As was Giga Gaia (the boss that was guarding the trapped Guru of Life).

[Anxe]

The Lufia games could also be fun, but if I was in your position I'd pick something else besides them. The mechanics of Lufia are good, but the storylines haven't aged well for me. Thought I'd mention it anyways.

[danzibr]

I don't. Frog and Marle. Balance between attacking and healing, ignoring Shadow or Fire Barriers, until he starts casting Dark Matter, then go all-out with Hasted Frog and heal up every time he casts the spell. I lost the first time, but I went in blind and had that strategy for the second time. Granted, I'm going through the entire game with Frog and Marle, so if you don't have that team you'll have to think of something else.

Golem Twins were much worse. As was Giga Gaia (the boss that was guarding the trapped Guru of Life).
Huh. My memory must be really bad, because... I don't even remember the two bosses you mentioned at the end there.

Then again, it's been like... probably 13 years since I played CT.

[GloatingSwine]

I don't. Frog and Marle. Balance between attacking and healing, ignoring Shadow or Fire Barriers, until he starts casting Dark Matter, then go all-out with Hasted Frog and heal up every time he casts the spell. I lost the first time, but I went in blind and had that strategy for the second time. Granted, I'm going through the entire game with Frog and Marle, so if you don't have that team you'll have to think of something else.

Golem Twins were much worse. As was Giga Gaia (the boss that was guarding the trapped Guru of Life).

Falcon Strike is the key to Giga Gaia. (Really though, as soon as I get Ayla she's in the party at all times).

[Hiro Protagonest]

Huh. My memory must be really bad, because... I don't even remember the two bosses you mentioned at the end there.

Then again, it's been like... probably 13 years since I played CT.
Giga Gaia:
http://i46.tinypic.com/2z5kb60.png
Those arms were such a pain.

Falcon Strike is the key to Giga Gaia. (Really though, as soon as I get Ayla she's in the party at all times).

Yeah... with Frog and Marle it was a really long and frustrating fight as I constantly had to take out his arms, heal, and do as much damage to his head as possible before the arms regenerated. Frog and Marle in general are an endurance team.

[GloatingSwine]

Marle tends to get a bit left behind as the game wears on. It's the age old problem of the white mage that if you didn't carry them around you'd need less healing because you kill the enemy faster and they do less damage. (Also as a ranged character she gets left behind because you can't boost Accuracy, so despite her top weapon being not far behind Frog's her actual attack power is way lower, Lucca only gets to make up by praying to RNGesus that Wondershot rolls high)

Frog has a bit of a dip in the mid-late game because his weapon power gets left behind somewhat until you get the powered up masamune at which point he catches up a lot but doesn't get the ridiculous crit rate Crono can.

The lesson really though is that at no time should Ayla be absent from your party because she is beast mode, the only character who can match Crono for damage output late game. Especially once you unlock Triple Kick which gets used in all the best single target boss murder tech combos.

[danzibr]

Huh. While I like Ayla, I *really* kept her around for the whole stealing bit. I mean, I'd usually use her anyway, but felt obligated to do so for stealing from bosses.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Marle tends to get a bit left behind as the game wears on. It's the age old problem of the white mage that if you didn't carry them around you'd need less healing because you kill the enemy faster and they do less damage. (Also as a ranged character she gets left behind because you can't boost Accuracy, so despite her top weapon being not far behind Frog's her actual attack power is way lower, Lucca only gets to make up by praying to RNGesus that Wondershot rolls high)

Marle does have the advantage of Haste. I'm sticking to Marle because of character anyway, I realize that having both healers means I'll be able to survive longer but the enemy will take less damage.

As for Ayla's Charm, meh, charmed weapons aren't the best. By the time you get Slasher 2 you can have a better katana. BTW I love the generals' english names. "They're tone-deaf evil fiends!" :smallamused:

[tyckspoon]

Chrono Trigger can be a bit grindy if you're the kind of person who insists on having your entire roster evenly leveled and skilled up, since there's only so many good places to farm skill points for the top-level techs (and running through Black Omen multiple times is probably the very definition of a grinding activity, although IIRC it goes pretty quickly.) If you have a preferred team you stick with, they'll be ready for endgame by the time you're halfway through the Open Ended Sidequests portion of the game.

(Also, Golem Twins - really rough if you haven't figured out how they operate. Really, really easy when you have. They always attack with the last thing you hit them with. So form your team out of whoever has elemental resistant gear - IIRC fire is relatively easy to come by for everybody - and make sure your attack order always goes so that your last character to act hits them with your resisted element. Alternately, use Frog and make sure they're stuck on Water. It's the weakest of their attacks.)

[Gray Mage]

I'm going to put another vote on either Paper Mario or one of the Tales of Games. Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorite games of all time, and you can both play together. Also, I think if you pick a game you haven't played yet you too can explore and find out things together, which could be more enjoyable (at least IMO it'd be).

[danzibr]

Oh yeah, I meant to make a comment about Tales earlier.

Tales of Symphonia was the last game I played with my late brother. My wife watched us play a decent bit. I think she'd be up for it, but man that's a long game, and the plot isn't very strong. Its sequel was actually a step down in quality, I think.

Don't get me wrong, I liked both games, but they're not quite what I'm looking for.

EDIT: Ha, regarding me making the offhanded comment about not considering Zelda and RPG, I was reading this article (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/xenoblade-chronicles-x-release-date-xenoblade-cant-make-lack-fallout-and-witcher-448345) and saw

It’s a distinct possibility that Xenoblade Chronicles X will be the only triple-A RPG title to grace the Wii U in the system’s lifetime. Think about it. There haven’t been any others so far, and aren’t any others on the horizon. Okay, if you count Zelda Wii U, there will be two. I would call that more of an adventure game, but your mileage may vary.