The Other RPG's

[Silfir]

Talking about console RPGs I always have to recommend Grandia 2 (PS2 or PC, probably very hard to get), simply because it has the best turn-based fighting system I've ever seen. I still keep firing it up just to have some more of these awesome battles, even though I know that thing by heart.

[FantomFang]

Actually not so hard to get. My local Gamestop sells 'em in their online store. In fact, my sister just rebought that game, because we for some unknown reason had sold it! Also, if you loved Grandia II (I beat it myself, great game), you should try its predecessor, Grandia. The battle system plays out the same way, with weapon skills that level as you go, and instead of Mana Eggs containing all of the magical abilities, each character has their own set of magical abilities that are unlocked through the use of the Eggs. Then you level them up, instead of the eggs.

Anyways, both are great titles, the first one being more cliche-heavy than the second though.

[PeanutGod]

Ahhh.....great game..and for the Dreamcast.

Best RPG for the Dreamcast though............Skies of Arcadia. I absolutely love this game, its easily my favourite non-PC, RPG of all time. Awesome storyline, brilliant characters, great game play in general. Love flying around in the ship, battles are cool, starting your own island is pretty rocking. Gilder is brilliant........DANCE FOR ME *Sound of blasting guns*

Yeah.....Skies of Arcadia all the way!

[FantomFang]

I've heard that was really good, but since I lack a Dreamcast, its kind of hard to play =(

[Shadow_2014]

Talking about console RPGs I always have to recommend Grandia 2 (PS2 or PC, probably very hard to get), simply because it has the best turn-based fighting system I've ever seen. I still keep firing it up just to have some more of these awesome battles, even though I know that thing by heart.

That reminds me of a couple console games worth checking out for their battle systems alone. The first and more popular would be the Star Ocean series. I personally prefer the Second Story on the PS1, due to its simple item creation and interesting storyline, but those who prefer nice graphics might want to take a look a Till the End of Time on the PS2.

And then there's a lesser known game with an interesting battle system and entertaining gameplay, known as Legend of Legaia. It's on the PS1, although I think I once heard of a sequel. Although until I play it for myself, I wouldn't know whether it's all like its predecessor.

And now that I'm thinking of older console games, I'm going to have to throw Earthbound out there. Probably my favourite game ever. I own an original SNES copy, which took ages to track down and is now worth a not-too-shabby amount.

[FantomFang]

Heh, i have Till the End of Time (Beat the main story, none of the optional stuff), and my sister has just borrowed Second Story from her friend to play. Funny. Legend of Legaia sounds familiar, but I've never played it before. Earthbound is familiar, but I have NO earthly idea how it plays, since I don't know anyone who has played it.

[Shadow_2014]

You can find Earthbound for any SNES Emulator. It developed a pretty big fan-base, so there are even a few sites where you can find Earthbound and no other games, in case you don't feel like downloading 700+ games in one huge zip.

And if you have a PSX Emu, you might be able to find Legend of Legaia, but I don't know how well known it is, so I certainly wouldn't know where to find it offhand.

[Timpak]

Best rpg games are Planescape Torment, Fallout & Fallout 2 and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. I've probably spent houndreds of hours playing them, can't even recall how many times I've played through Fallout 2.

Yeah, unfortunately they don't have a spoiler-free character creation guide, or something of the sort, so Ill try and find something somewhere else. Thanks btw, for the advice. Looks like it'll be fun!

Depends kind of how you play the game, but general guidelines are always pick gifted (+1 all stats) and finesse, targeted hits will be crucial late game. A good fighting character is 6 strength, 10 agility, 10 intelligence, 8 perception, 2 charisma and the rest into endurance. As for tag skills small guns, energy weapons and barter.

Since the game is full of bugs I recommend downloading patches at www.nma-fallout.com. The unofficial patches also.

I recommend playing through Fallout before playing Fallout 2, it makes lot of the jokes and other things in Fallout 2 better. As for max stat startup in Fallout 2 you should go 4 strength, 9 endurance, 8 perception, 8 agility, 8 intelligence, 7 luck and 6(i think) charisma picking gifted and small frame. That will yield you a total of 10 strength, 10 endurance, 10 perception, 10 intelligence, 10 agility, 10 luck and 8 charisma if you find everything

Good early on perk (you get perks, kind of special abilities every 3 lvls) is awarness, you can see hp and ammo for the enemies.

I've once finished fallout 2 roguelike style (not dying a single time) using only unarmed combat. When I think about I think I'm gonna play some fallout 2 now.

[theotherhiveking]

Xenogears and xenosaga.

These have a great plot, and loooooooooong conversations.. If you can't stand a conversation with more than 4 lines without trying to skip it as fast as posible, then these aren't for you.

[Silfir]

Yeah, I've played Grandia too. My major gripe - and you can't really blame the game for that - was the atrocious translation. Thank the gods for the english speech that was retained during some cutscenes - I actually got more out of that than of the supposedly German text.

Just as an example of the mind-numbing idiocy the translators must have suffered from (probably they were just underpaid and given too few time, or not even human): If you hit an opponent during his attack animation, you score a "Counter!" hit. Well, that's easy to understand, right? And in German, the perfect translation to that would be "Konter!". Yeah. Right. Very easy case. Shouldn't be a problem for any kind of professional translator. Can you guess what I got?

"Zaehler!". As in, one who counts. A "count-er". Yeeeeeah.

It's a nice game and the build-up system felt okay (though I never quite knew what to specialize in), but at some point I guess I lost momentum.