Soo.. I got a PS2 the other day...

[Mattarias, King.]

Present. Graduation. 'nuff said. (yay finishing high school! :smallbiggrin: )

Either way, uhm, can anyone reccomand ay good epic games? preferably RPGs? Games with plots, characters, action, and everything just so overwhelming you can't help but say "wow" at the end? Preferably something swords-and-sorcery-ish, but I guess I could deal with anything.

For people with gamecubes- I mean something akin to tales of symphona. I LOVED that game.

Sooo.. any suggestions? thanks. ^^;

(also, warning, panic release: eep, odd buttons.. O.o; I'm used to nintendo's insane controllers, not your uniform... its, sony! why are there two sets of shoulder buttons?! analog button?! what? which ones are A and B?! AAAH!)

EDIT: thanks to whoever moved this!:smallsmile:

[Eco-Mono]

Kingdom Hearts.

If you choose to take that piece of advice, you should also buy the sequel. It's important.

[BanjoTheClown]

Well if you liked Tales of Symphonia, Why not try Tales of The Abyss or Tales of Legendia, i heard those were pretty good games.

[deepsear]

Go get Morrowind, but not for the ps2, because that doesn't exist. Get it for the computer.

Other than that, get The Bard's Tale.

[Mattarias, King.]

hm, I might try kindgom hearts. My friends already suggested Disgaea. Atlus tends to be good. Also, I think I will try the other tales games. they sound good.

(.. XD also, MissingNo. Nice.)

edit: Ooooh bard's tale is for PS2? sweet.:smallbiggrin:

[PlatinumJester]

DON'T get a Bards Tale. It is a terrible waste of money. Get Hitman Blood Money. I know it's not fantasy but it's a great game if you like using tactics or guns.

[Oeryn]

I'll second Bard's Tale, actually. It's pretty funny, though not really a standard RPG setup. I had a good time with it.

I'm not too big into the Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts etc. type of games, so I can't recommend any of those, but I can recommend Second Sight, and Beyond Good and Evil. The God of War games are also a lot of fun, though they're definitely more hack n' slash. I also really enjoyed Gun, though if you're not a fan of westerns, I don't know how much you'll like it. The Smuggler's Run games are also pretty fun.

And the good news is that (other than the God of War games), you can probably pick up all those games, used, for under $15.

[Robberbaron]

Never played Tales of Symphonia, so not sure what that represents. There is a series that started on NES, and later moved to playstation I think when the company was bought by the people who make Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, the 8th game is available on PS2, Dragon Quest VIII.

[slipnslide]

i know it's not an RPG, but i recommend picking up guitar hero too, it's sooo much fun! :smallbiggrin:

[Vespe Ratavo]

I second Guitar Hero. If it is at all possible, you really should get it. Although if you had to pick, I would recommend the first.

As far as fantasy goes, no idea. Sowwy.

[Mr the Geoff]

Yup, Guitar Hero is the sole reason I still have a PS2 crowding my living room among the xbox 360 and wii. Get guitar hero 1, the songs are more consistently good, there's some gems on number 2, but also a lot of dross

[Isak]

Let's see. Small list:

Kingdom Hearts 1
Kingdom Hearts 2
Xenosaga 1
Xenosaga 2
Xenosaga 3
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XII

Those are it for RPG games.

I also HIGHLY suggest:
Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Ace Combat 0: The Belkan War
Champions of Norrath
Return to Arms (Sequel of "Champions of Norrath")
The Socom series is fairly popular, although I'm not a fan of it.

[Calli]

Odin Sphere just came out about a month ago: it's a gorgeous, challenging, fun 2-D action RPG. There are some issues with slowdown when there's a lot of sprites on screen, sometimes loading takes a while, and the controls take some getting used to, but it's worth it. Give it a rent at the very least.

I've been a sucker for Star Ocean since the PS1 iteration came out here years ago, so I'm also going to recommend Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, although with some hesitation. The game is slow to start (this seems a common problem with Tri-Ace titles), and the plot just gets weird in the second disc, but the battle system is fantastic (and no randomized battles, if that grates on your nerves).

A lot of folks like Radiata Stories, also by Tri-Ace, but I found the combat system more restrictive and less fun, and the game didn't grab me. The plot and setting are more traditional-RPG-flavored, though. (It's also a slow starter, like Star Ocean.)

Dragon Quest VIII is a good "traditional" RPG -- if you've played the Dragon Warrior games in the past, you probably can guess what to expect in terms of gameplay.

Disgaea is a tactical RPG with a great sense of humor -- if you can find a copy. It's been rereleased twice since it first came out, but it disappears quickly. Used copies don't go cheaply, either.

Star Ocean and Dragon Quest VIII are both part of the Greatest Hits line, and I think Radiata Stories might also be there. You could do a lot worse with twenty bucks.

(Just a note: Since you're looking at RPGs in specific, you might want to take a look at RPGamer (http://rpgamer.com) for reviews. It might give you a better idea of what's likely to be a safe bet.)

On the non-RPG front, if you're in the mood for something quirky, check out Katamari Damacy and its sequel, We <3 Katamari. There's also Lego Star Wars if you haven't played that before.

[BanjoTheClown]

You should also get Devil May Cry. Its not a Rpg but its still a good game.

[Setra]

Let's see. Small list:

Kingdom Hearts 1
Kingdom Hearts 2
Xenosaga 1
Xenosaga 2
Xenosaga 3
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XII

Those are it for RPG games.
Hardly

Shadow Hearts completely blows half of those out of the water. The second and third, are also pretty good. Considered better by most, I prefer the first. Great story and characters.

Suikoden 3, 4, and 5 are also on the PS2, and excellent games as well, though the first two CAN be played on there regardless, and are good as well.

There are others, I just can't think of them now.

Edit:
The .hack games are moderately fun.

Dragon Quest VIII, also good.

Star Ocean 3, very fun.

Disgaea is also fun, the second as well, to a lesser degree.

Also, not an RPG, but God of War.

(also, warning, panic release: eep, odd buttons.. O.o; I'm used to nintendo's insane controllers, not your uniform... its, sony! why are there two sets of shoulder buttons?! analog button?! what? which ones are A and B?! AAAH!)
Two sets of shoulder buttons have varying uses, though I can't think of any. Usually you'll just use the first set, and you rarely really use the analog button =p.

Most games tend to tell you what controls do what for those games, however X tends to be confirm (A), and Circle will be Cancel (B). Though some games reverse this, for some inane reason. (Curse you Xenosaga)

[Mattarias, King.]

Oooh, so many interesting titles. I think I'll give them a peek. :smallbiggrin:

Also, please, no shooters, people. espescially first person. ugh.. No offense, but I dig swords. The closest I get to bullets is the occasional magic missle ripoff.
But still, OK, cool. Let's hope some of these are epic..

[Setra]

Well if you want Epic, as in wars and whatnot.

Try FFXII, or the Suikoden series.

The entire Suikoden series revolves around wars, it's great. It's still a normal RPG for the most part, with some exceptions (Like Duels, and Army Battles), and in certain games you can have as many as 6 characters in a party at once (Is it bad this is one thing I really like?).

Shadow Hearts is, I think, epic in the sense that you save the world, which is always good, but despite that, the story is, despite some cliches, very good.

Wherever someone asks for RPGs, I will recommend Shadow Hearts. 'Cause it's my favorite game.

Suikoden REALLY beats the doodoo out of all the other RPGs mentioned.Except Shadow Hearts

[Shikton]

Suikoden REALLY beats the doodoo out of all the other RPGs mentioned. Except Suikoden 4. That's the black sheep of the series. I'd recommend Suikoden 5 if you are to get only one, but if you have some cash to splurge, get the entire set from 1-5. You won't regret it.

[Icewalker]

Definitely Kingdom Hearts. Really great plots.

Ratchet and Clank is more comedic, but they are excellent games, some of my favorite games.

[lumberofdabeast]

DON'T get a Bards Tale. It is a terrible waste of money. Get Hitman Blood Money. I know it's not fantasy but it's a great game if you like using tactics or guns.

Counterpoint: I thought Blood Money was a terrible game, with bad controls and worse AI.

[Dr._Weird]

Get Final Fantasy X. You'll love it, it sounds like exactly your kind of thing.

[Vespe Ratavo]

Eh, if you can find it, and you don't mind the dated graphics, Final Fantasy VII is just about the best game you can buy. It was for the PS1 though. The ONLY bad thing about it is the graphics, and those really aren't too bad for being ten years old.

[Jothki]

It's a different kind of "epic" than everything else in this thread, but I greatly recommend Shadow of the Colossus.

[Oeryn]

I'd also have to recommend Shadow of the Colossus, as well as the Ratchet and Clank games.

Another one I forgot to mention earlier were the Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath series. They're a lot more linear and hack n' slash than a typical RPG, but they're generally pretty fun, and can be played by up to four people, if that's something you're interested in. There's a story, but the main fun of the game is getting all the crazy new items, and fighting over them with your friends. My wife and I play CoN2 pretty frequently, and we have a blast. Nothing too deep, but a decent way to spend an evening.

[Dr._Weird]

Oh, yes. Forgot SotC. Fantastic game.

[Setra]

Eh, if you can find it, and you don't mind the dated graphics, Final Fantasy VII is just about the best game you can buy. It was for the PS1 though. The ONLY bad thing about it is the graphics, and those really aren't too bad for being ten years old.
The only bad thing is the graphics?

While it IS good, it's hardly the best. Graphics aside (I tend to always toss graphics aside in discussions..), it IS true it doesn't do much bad... but it really doesn't do much that great either.

On another note, SotC is a interesting a fun game. It's not my style but I will admit it is very interesting.

[Erloas]

I only play the PS2 a little bit, and almost none at all in the last couple years, but one of my favorite series is Twisted Metal. Its not an RPG but I think its worth picking up.
Twisted Metal: Black is great and they got the storylines back to where they should be instead of the stupid stuff from 3 and 4.

If I want good RPGs I just look to the PC. If you want to showcase the strengths of the PS2 you should go with the games that thrive on the consoles: fighting games, sports games, and action/adventure games.

[Setra]

If I want good RPGs I just look to the PC. If you want to showcase the strengths of the PS2 you should go with the games that thrive on the consoles: fighting games, sports games, and action/adventure games.
It depends on the RPGs you're looking for.

I tend to prefer jRPGs like Final Fantasy, and Shadow Hearts, to games like Morrowind.

[Jacob_Gallagher]

Kingdom Hearts is overrated... And it's just stupid anyway.

What's next? An American Tail meets Doom? Or how about The Olsen Twins in Half Life? Disney characters in an RPG? WTF?

[Bobbis]

I'm going to second the call for Star Ocean Til the End of Time.

Very similar gameplay to the Tales games. Good combat, good plot, plenty of side quests and optional things to do.

In fact, most of the people responsible for Tales of Phantasia (on SNES) broke off to make the company that produces the Star Ocean games.

Very solid game, I'd recommend it.

Kingdom Hearts was good, I wasn't a big fan of the second one though.

Personally, I think FF7 is overrated (but still an exellent game). If graphics aren't that big a deal to you, pick up Final Fantasy Anthologies (or whichever the one is with 5 and 6, possibly Chronicles.) I think FF6 is a much better game.

PS2 games worth looking into:
Final Fantasy 12
Disgaea
Front Mission 4
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time
Kingdom Hearts

PS1
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Final Fantasy Anthologies/Chronicles
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy 7
Front Mission 3

[Vonriel]

Most of my choices have been mentioned.

-Final Fantasy X and XII are good bets, though stay away from X-2.
-Star Ocean has already been mentioned, but I'll second it. I really should pick that back up..
-Front Mission 4 sounds like another game you'd be interested in. Think Mech Warrior meets RPG, with a tactics-style battlefield.
-Despite one person's disagreement with them, Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 were both excellent games. Don't be put off by the Disney characters - they're all on the side. The main characters are original, as is the overarching plot.
-If you're interested in platformers, the Jak and Daxter series were pretty good, despite some incredibly hard puzzles/fights..

Also, don't limit yourself to just PS2 games. Some titles off the top of my head..
-Final Fantasy Tactics. Awesome, but you gotta like tactics-style combat.
-As was said, the Final Fantasy collection disc with FF6 on it. FF6 was and is my absolute favorite of the series. Pick up the other one, too, though, because Chrono Trigger is just plain awesome. Too bad they put FF4/6 on one disc and CT/FF5 on the other. :smallyuk:

Hmm, I'll have to pick up some of the games others have mentioned here. Some of them I was looking at picking up anyway, others though, not so much.

[Setra]

What's next? An American Tail meets Doom? Or how about The Olsen Twins in Half Life? Disney characters in an RPG? WTF?
It's about the gameplay.

The game is fun, it's VERY fun, the story is meh, but then Almost every Zelda game has a Meh story.

[Daze]

You said Epic...

Doesnt get more epic than the 100+ hours I have on my Final Fantasy X save file.

Do yourself a favor and go snag it... its "greatest hits" too, so shouldnt be more than $20 or so. You wont regret it, Auron alone makes the whole thing worthwhile.

(and kingdom hearts is more action than RPG, just for the record)

Xenosaga isnt too bad i guess, but you have to get past the second one.. which was just terrible. (gameplay wise). Also Xenosaga has more cutscenes than any game series ever... keep that in mind.

[Bobbis]

Which reminds me, if you can hunt down Xenogears, that's an exellent game for PS1. I wouldn't personally recommend the Xenosaga games unless you like watching (not playing) your games, the first one literally has 3 hours of cutscene in the first 4 hours of the game.

[Jothki]

Most of my choices have been mentioned.

-Final Fantasy X and XII are good bets, though stay away from X-2.

I'd say that X-2 is worth a playthrough just for it's combat system, it's the most elegant implementation of the ATB system that I've seen. Make sure you have a checklist for all of the completion percentages while you're playing, though.

If you want to get the most value out of your gaming time, I'd recommend playing FFXII up through Raithwall's Tomb, and then putting it down and never picking it up again, and spending all the time you would have spent on FFXII playing some other game.

[Daze]

I'd say that X-2 is worth a playthrough just for it's combat system, it's the most elegant implementation of the ATB system that I've seen. Make sure you have a checklist for all of the completion percentages while you're playing, though.

If you want to get the most value out of your gaming time, I'd recommend playing FFXII up through Raithwall's Tomb, and then putting it down and never picking it up again, and spending all the time you would have spent on FFXII playing some other game.

Well said, on both counts!

FF X-2 is not as bad as everyone likes to say it is. OK.. so whiney, sometimes bubble-headed girls can grate on you... but the gameplay is indeed excellent, the outfit power system was very worthwhile and the ATB was top-notch. Plus I liked finding Tidus again at the end.. sue me

FFXII was a big disappointment. The story just never went anywhere (and ended all so damn suddenly). And frankly, I like monster encounters and the "breaking glass screen" instead of the monsters walking around with you... FF doesnt need to be another action game, there's others that have already done it and done it better. Not to mention that treasure chests were "randomized", worst design decision ever.... if I earned some sword or spear, than give it to me... period. That ticked me off something awful! Getting "Iron Scraps" instead of some uber-weapon you waited all 70+ hours of game for... I hope XIII goes back to the old ways... (with next gen graphics of course)

[WampaX]

Not yet mentioned -

Atlier Iris: Eternal Mana
Atlier Iris: The Azoth of Destiny
and I just picked up the third one today, Grand Phantasm.

They are a decidedly older school RPG implemented on a newer platform.

And I'd have to second that you can't go wrong with Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) or Disgaea (if you can find it) if you like turn based strategy games.

[Krade]

There are a few simulator-style games that I have always found fun.

The Ace Combat series (though I didn't like 5. 4 and Zero were much better)

The Armored Core series.

-For PS1-
AC
AC: Project Phantasma
AC: Master of Arena <--Likely the hardest one to find

-For PS2-
AC2
AC2: Another Age
AC3
AC: Silent Line <--My personal favorite of the series
AC: Nexus
(Insert biggest mistake of the series here. So much so that I won't even mention its name)
AC: Last Raven

I haven't played AC4 yet because I don't own a PS3 or a 360.

[Omnipotent_One]

Abyss is amazing, definitely get it.

[Krytha]

O-ka-miiiiii

[BanjoTheClown]

You should also Get Soul Calibur 3 or one of the metal gear games.

[banjo1985]

Mmm there are a wealth of good PS2 rpgs, but the benefit of the system is that you can get all the PS1 rpgs to play on there too, and a lot of them beat the hell out of their PS2 counterparts. Here are some you might want to try...

PS1
Grandia - Cutesy and looks awful now but good story and combat system
Legend of Dragoon - A Square rpg thats as good as any FF
Breath of Fire 3 & 4 - Old school but fun and epic storylines
All the Final Fantasies - Unlike teh PS2 there are no bad FF's on this platform
Suikoden 1-3 - Cost a fortune but great if you san find them cheap

PS2
Shadowhearts 1 & 2 - Great shouts, epic and dark
Final Fantasy 10 & 12 - Not as bad as many people say but not best in series
Magna Carta - Japanese oriental rpg, confusing but epic army style combat
Disgaea, La Pucelle etc - By nippon ichi, great tactical combat games but dont expect much story
Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 - Not really rpgs but awesome stories
Okami - A wolf as a main character, beautiful and different
Grandia 2 - Not up to the first one, but entertaining
Stella Deus - Another good tactical rpg
Dragon Quest - A bit pants to be honest but old school
Phantasy Star Universe - Not bad, mostly combat based though

That's about it for me, I won't bore you any further!

[neriana]

Suikoden 3, 4, and 5 are also on the PS2, and excellent games as well, though the first two CAN be played on there regardless, and are good as well.


Suikoden 3 and 5 (especially 3) are good. Suikoden 4 is awful. Slow-moving, bland, and generally unpleasant all around. But speaking of Suikoden, now that you have a PS2, you can play Suikoden 1 and, more importantly, 2. Also Valkyrie Profile. Valkyrie Profile 2 is pretty good, but not nearly as good as 1.

Okami is totally awesome. I actually prefer it to any Zelda I've played, including Twilight Princess.

All the Final Fantasies are worth playing, except for 9 imo. But if you want to see pretty graphics on your PS2, I recommend FF10. 12 has better graphics and such, but it's not as good as 10. I even have more fun with FFX-2 than 12, because the gameplay is better.

Dragon Quest 8 is great. Beautiful graphics, excellent gameplay, challenging but fair.

Grandia 1 (PS1) and 3 (PS2) are good. Grandia 2 features a "hero" who is a complete Belkar. I couldn't get more than a couple hours into it because of that.

Bard's Tale for PS2 is not like Bard's Tale on the computer. It's yet another hack n'slash "RPG" with an extremely obnoxious bard as the "hero".

Shadow Hearts has pretty good gameplay, but the rude "hero" (what is it with these?), sexism and juvenile humor ticked me off too much to continue. Too bad, because the monster designs are some of the most original I've ever seen.

[Setra]

Suikoden 3 and 5 (especially 3) are good. Suikoden 4 is awful. Slow-moving, bland, and generally unpleasant all around.I LIKE Suikoden 4.

Possibly because it was the first Suikoden game I've played.


Shadow Hearts has pretty good gameplay, but the rude "hero" (what is it with these?), sexism and juvenile humor ticked me off too much to continue. Too bad, because the monster designs are some of the most original I've ever seen.
I never recall him being sexist, or juvenile. Maybe a little perverted, but he gets better with time (at the end of the game he is pure badass).

It's kinda like saying, I'm not gonna finish FFVI because I hate Kefka's laugh.

[Alex Kidd]

Hmm PS2

Okami - Awesome game. Actually liked more than TP. I'd put it on par with WW myself.

FFX and FF12 - Both very good RPGs though not as good as

Shadow Hearts 2(haven't played 1 and 3 yet) - RPG goodness. Combat's as fun as the FF's and the production values are lower, but it has better characters, a more interesting story, a better setting(though I' a sucker for steampunk alternate history, especially with magic) and overall better writing.

Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call(Nocturne in the US) - Ultra difficult RPG, with an incredible story and a graphical style that can be simultaneously beautiful and offputting.

Shadow of the Collossus - Epic and stunning. Really the leader of the "games are art" argument.

There's more but I'm tired and having troble remembering more.

[Fluff]

(If you want RPGS...)

...Buy Dragon Quest - The Journey of the Cursed King.

Best.Game.Ever.

[Matherdon]

Final fantasy ofcoz.. XII is just.. amazing. FF7 is the best of them tho (PS1)

Shadow Hearts trilogy. Kingdom Hearts 1&2.

There are 3 Baldurs gate games for PS2 aswell, but I never played them.

God of War 1&2 is a must.

Try to get ICO and Shadow of the Collossssus too :)

[Mattarias, King.]

Thanks for all the recomendations, guys. I picked up Disgaea and tales of Legendia the other day. Both are simply stunning. Espescially Legendia's music.

Also, return of the wonder chef and a random beaver bard are win. :smallbiggrin:

.. Also, ninjas do not go "nin, nin, nin!", but that scene makes me want to play Disgaea so much more now.:smallbiggrin:

Again, Thanks everyone! I appreciate all the comments. ^^

I have a lot of shopping to do after I beat these games..

[Gales]

I must say God of War and God of War 2 are the best games I've ever played. God of War has a better story, but God of War 2 wins in gameplay.

Champions of Norrath is fun to play through with a friend. I played it with my brother and it was an interesting trip.

Metal Gear Solids are good stealth action games, MGS 1 and MGS 3 are my favorites, MGS 2 had such a bad story and Raiden was a boring main character.


(sorry for not listing any RPGs, I play RPGs on computer only :S)