Roleplaying Console

[Tebonas]

So, it I theoretically couldn't stand the shortage of CRPGs on the PC anymore and would be willing to shell out money for one console for the sole purpose of playing CRPGS, which one should it be?

I avoided consoles till now like the devil shuns holy water, so I have absolutely no clue whatsoever and am man enough to admit it.

[Oban]

Geez, I would say a slim PS2.  The number of rpg's in the ps2 library is amazing.

If you care about HDTV graphics, then an XBOX360.  But who really cares about 1080p when they play an rpg?  It's all about the story, right?

[Alkiera]

I believe the correct answer is PS2.  XBox has always seemed to be primarily for sport/fps titles, tho I hear the 360 is changing that some.  PS2 will have more RPGs than you can shake a Wiimote at.

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Alkiera

[Rasix]

So, it I theoretically couldn't stand the shortage of CRPGs on the PC anymore and would be willing to shell out money for one console for the sole purpose of playing CRPGS, which one should it be?

I avoided consoles till now like the devil shuns holy water, so I have absolutely no clue whatsoever and am man enough to admit it.

Hey, those "C"s in front of the RPG are going to have little in common.  Most console rpgs play a lot different than the fare that's been released on computers over the past 10 years.

PS2 has some of the best RPGs I've ever played.  You really can not go wrong with a PS2 unless you've got a real aversion to all things Japanese.

[stray]

What Rasix said. You'd have to be somewhat open minded about Japan.

There are RPG's with that could hold your hand a bit in that area though ;).

Rogue Galaxy and Devil Summoner (or most in the Megami Tensei series, for that matter) are two Japanese RPG's with worlds and characters that shouldn't completely scare you away. And they're very good (haven't finished DS yet myself though). They're sci-fi though, so maybe that might not be your thing. Also, they have real time combat systems. Rogue Galaxy is a borderline action game.

Dragon Quest VIII is pretty much the epitome of what an old school console rpg is (but good for you, it's fairly new. You won't have to deal with old school graphics. OTOH, the art style could push you away).

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Gladius and Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance (1 and 2) are western flavored. One's a tactical/strategy rpg, the other's a button mashing romp.

[Triforcer]

PS2 has some of the best RPGs I've ever played.  You really can not go wrong with a PS2 unless you've got a real aversion to all things Japanese.

JRPGs have taught me that Japanese have huge baseball-sized eyes, and that it is permissible (nay, mandatory) to be attracted to 14 years old wearing sailor skirts that, in the most optimal posture and considerations, would barely cover their underwear.  Between that and that godawful movie Babel (and the Harvard Square store called "Tokyo Kid" where the display window has schoolgirls statuettes bending over), I'm not surprised when Japan gets a bad cultural rep.   

[Tebonas]

Thanks. I guess I will wait how good the software backwards compatibility of the European PS3 works, then. Dragon Quest 8 and Rogue Galaxy look quite promising. Although I'm also intrigued by Zelda, but I couldn't name a second Wii Rpg that interests me at the moment.

[Riggswolfe]

Thanks. I guess I will wait how good the software backwards compatibility of the European PS3 works, then. Dragon Quest 8 and Rogue Galaxy look quite promising. Although I'm also intrigued by Zelda, but I couldn't name a second Wii Rpg that interests me at the moment.

That's because there isn't a second RPG for Wii to my knowledge.

PS2 has a TON of RPGs. The XBOX had less but they are closer to the PC style you're probably used to. IE, no random battles, etc.

[Yegolev]

PS2, no question.  Anyone that takes another position is on crack.  Well, someone might make the argument for a PS3, however PS2 games in a PS3 are not magically region-free so consider carefully.

I'm not sure I want to start suggesting games, partly because you didn't ask and partly because there's a lot of ground to cover.  True, it's mostly Japanese ground, but there's a lot.  I'd also suggest some PS1 RPGs and that might make some people's heads hurt.

[Sky]

Or just stick with the peecee if you don't like jrpg (ecch!). While they're not all rpgs, I have more games than time to play them. Have you played Gothic 3 yet?

[stray]

Thanks. I guess I will wait how good the software backwards compatibility of the European PS3 works, then. Dragon Quest 8 and Rogue Galaxy look quite promising. Although I'm also intrigued by Zelda, but I couldn't name a second Wii Rpg that interests me at the moment.

It should be mentioned too that Rogue Galaxy and DQVIII are made by the same developer - Level 5 (DQ itself is old though, they had nothing to do with the others). There are similiarties in the story telling, scripting, and world structure, but Rogue is action heavy and DQ is turn based.

Both good choices, and a cool way to examine the two main types of console rpgs out there.

[HaemishM]

Yes, for the largest number of RPG titles, the PS2 is going to win that one. There is no other RPG right now on the Wii besides Zelda. The 360 with X-Box backwards compatibility could give you some titles, but you'll have more on the PS2.

[Tebonas]

I've pretty much tapped out the PC RPG games. Don't get me wrong, I have enough other games that occupy my time quite nicely. But I want to put my teeth into some nice RPGs with meaty story. And yes, I played and finished Gothic 3.

[stray]

The Wii will be getting the new Paper Mario soon. Add that on to Zelda, if you wish.

After that, not much else.

360 has nothing of consequence at the moment, but upcoming titles will be Mass Effect, Blue Dragon, and possibly (?) Eternal Sonata. Also, Bioshock. If you want to count that.

The PS3 won't have much in the way of RPG's until next year. For now, it's action, sports, and racing games from here till December.

[WindupAtheist]

If we ignore everything that involves a spunky teenager with improbably-colored hair on an ironclad linear quest to level up to 99 and save the world, how many RPGs is PS2 left with?  Honestly curious.

[stray]

Still quite a few.

[EDIT]

The exact number would be 14  

[schild]

More than 14. But yea, PS2.

There are no less than 5 SRPG/RPGs unnanounced for this year yet. But I'm not Kotaku, so that's what you're getting.

[ahoythematey]

Be nice if one of them was a new ChronoTrigger...

[schild]

Why would you want a second Chrono Trigger? Did you even play Chrono Cross?

Trust me, you don't want another Chrono Trigger.

[Phildo]

Why would you want a second Chrono Trigger? Did you even play Chrono Cross?

Trust me, you don't want another Chrono Trigger.

Chrono Cross wasn't a terrible game, it just didn't stack up to the original.  Furthermore, another Chrono TRIGGER would be sick.  I'm not talking about some spiritual Shining Force Neo sequalization.  I'm talking about taking the original system and reusing it.  There aren't enough new games based on classic systems.  I say down with innovation and up with funnivation.

[stray]

More than 14. But yea, PS2.

There are no less than 5 SRPG/RPGs unnanounced for this year yet. But I'm not Kotaku, so that's what you're getting.

That's the most I could think of at least. But either way, we can agree that you'd be screwing yourself over by limited yourself to those games. Most of them aren't even good, let alone great.

That being said, while I don't agree with WUA's level of discretion here, it'd be nice if more JRPG's were actively geared towards an older crowd (both in style and in writing). More Hokuto, less Pretty Cure. Not to say one is better than the other, but there needs to be some balance. Seems like the people handling the type of games being imported outside of Japan just think we're all teenagers or something (or even younger). Either that, or only the most popular of the most popular adult oriented stuff gets a chance to cross the sea. It gives the wrong impression of what Japanese games and media are all about.

[EDIT] Btw, I'm talking about protagonists. Every JRPG has cool "adult" characters, but main characters not under the category WUA points out are hard to come by.

[Murgos]

No, the entire culture is pretty much about underage sex fantasies.  Well, the parts that aren't about furry sex, tentacle sex, crazy sex themed game shows or etc...

They really are just that much more sexually free than we are.  Maybe I'm biased by having spent a year there when I was in my early 20's with lots of disposable income and free time but, it really is a different place.

The games we see here all depict androgynous teens because that's what they like and those are the games that get made and those are the games that are successful over there.

[stray]

Oh I'm not saying that stuff isn't there (just like it is here), but it's also a culture that has created the likes of Toshiro Mifune, Sonny Chiba, Takashi Miike, the Transformers, Ryu, Jubei, Lone Wolf and Cub, Godzilla, Hokuto no Ken, Harlock, and the like. Hell, I'd even say Ghost in the Shell, even though it has a female lead, belongs in this category.

For some reason though, it's not easy to find that side of Japan reflected in role playing games. I see it a lot in action games however.

OTOH, I'm not even talking about pedobear or androgynous stuff. Just the large amount of "spunky teenager" oriented themes in role playing games. I don't mind it -- Final Fantasy is cool as shit. Anime wise, Naruto is cool as shit. I just wish some more crazy ass Samurai-Killing Machine-Cyberpunk-Yakuza-Giant-Robot-Guy with Big Chop Sideburns stuff came into play in JRPG's.

[WindupAtheist]

There's a "sexually free" culture, and then there's a culture with an aging population and a declining birthrate because they can't get anyone to stop jerking off at dirty comic books about tentacle rape long enough to impregnate a woman.  Maybe if we nuke Japan again, they'll go back to being a rapacious dictatorship and quit creeping me out.

Anyway, yeah, I like me some RPG.  I just wish there were more of them that didn't scream "I AM FOR TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRLS!" when fired up, or that weren't soul-crushingly linear.

[Calantus]

If the people are sexually free, why are the government such utter tight-asses?

[Murgos]

If the people are sexually free, why are the government such utter tight-asses?

You don't think one may be related to the other?  I was stuck in a traffic jam on the equivalent of an interstate there and every car I could see on this 8 lane super-highway was white.  Except the taxi-cabs.

Pressure has to get vented somewhere.

[Big Gulp]

Thanks. I guess I will wait how good the software backwards compatibility of the European PS3 works, then. Dragon Quest 8 and Rogue Galaxy look quite promising. Although I'm also intrigued by Zelda, but I couldn't name a second Wii Rpg that interests me at the moment.

Don't forget that Mass Effect (huge Bioware game) is coming for the 360 very, very shortly.  If you haven't played Oblivion yet it's also out for the 360 and should be released for the PS3 pretty soon as well.  Bioshock will be hitting the 360 in August, and who the hell knows about the KOTORs, or a Jade Empire sequel but I assume something in that vein has also got to be in the works.

[stray]

Maybe Jade, but I'm doubting another KotoR from Bioware themselves (or another D&D title for that matter). Seems like they want to move in more original IP territory.

[Yegolev]

Shadowhearts is not for kids.  Neither is Shin Megami Tensei, whichever one you pick.  Final Fantasy XII is an amazing piece of software, no matter your tastes.  The number of things they got right with it are incredible, and it currently stands as my second favorite behind FFIV.  There's also Okami, which is a better sequel to Ocarina of Time than Wind Waker was.  Yes!  Want to fight about it?

[stray]

I actually disliked FFXII, Yeg. I know I'm in the minority about that, but I do like JRPGs, and I still didn't like it. In fact, I liked FFX more --- and I didn't even like FFX at the time it came out.

My dislike of FFXII has nothing to do with the world or story though.

[Calantus]

I am currently playing FFXII as it so happens because it came out in PAL about a week ago... and I think it's fantastic so far, and it hopefully influences the JRPG genre to move away from the random battles. What didn't you like about it Stray?

[stray]

I didn't like the combat, and I didn't like the fact that there's nothing but combat in it. The only mini/side game is Bounty Hunting really.... And that's just more of the same gameplay you're doing elsewhere.

I appreciate that they were going for something real time oriented -- but other rpgs have done it better. Either give me something along the lines of what they are doing, or just stick with the old turn based model.

[Tebonas]

While I have learned to accept Real time combat in roleplaying games and it isn't a dealbreaker, I find it suboptimal in party-based games. It was already a nuisance in Dungeon Master, and the nuisance grew and grew.

It can heigthen the immersion in Single character RPGs, though.

[Calantus]

What games did it better? This isn't me being a dick, I just want to know what they are so I can check em out. Personally I'm seeing FFXII as having near perfect combat style. It reminds me a little of the BG games actually, you move your guys about and the AI takes over to kill the easy shit, and when you really need them to do the right thing you pause the action and give the commands you need to. That's exactly what FFXII is too. In the previous FF games I realise that a lot of my combats were me just pressing the same goddamn commands every single time, having to wait for the combat to start up, having to wait while it finishes, having to wait through all the turns that are meaningless, etc. In FFX-2 I just held down the X button and ran around with memory curser on so I didn't have to do anythign at all for the normal fights. FFXII does away with the need to do even that in easy fights.

I think hybrid RT/TB games with AI to control the easy fights is the way of the future, basically.

[Velorath]

What games did it better? This isn't me being a dick, I just want to know what they are so I can check em out. Personally I'm seeing FFXII as having near perfect combat style. It reminds me a little of the BG games actually, you move your guys about and the AI takes over to kill the easy shit, and when you really need them to do the right thing you pause the action and give the commands you need to. That's exactly what FFXII is too. In the previous FF games I realise that a lot of my combats were me just pressing the same goddamn commands every single time, having to wait for the combat to start up, having to wait while it finishes, having to wait through all the turns that are meaningless, etc. In FFX-2 I just held down the X button and ran around with memory curser on so I didn't have to do anythign at all for the normal fights. FFXII does away with the need to do even that in easy fights.

In other words, FFXII's system attacked the symptoms rather than the disease.  It didn't make combat with trash mobs any more challenging or entertaining, it just removed most of the need for your actual imput.  To me that was the wrong way for developers to go about fixing things when they realized that 99% of the combat in their games was pointless and tedious.  They toned down the tedious, but the pointlessness is still there.