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I was so bitter and dissapointed that to this day I try not to buy Ubisoft games.
Dude both the Prince of Persia games and Beyond Good and Evil are Ubisoft games. Do yourself a favour and pick up Beyond Good and Evil which has the coolest story and the most original gimmick in an computer game ever!
Neverwinter Nights is cool but I can't get passed the fun of Baldurs Gate 1 and 2.
Tie between Baldur's Gate series (PC) and Mass Effect series (Xbox).
Adding to the thread Necro...
1. Planescape: Torment.
2. Baldur's gate Series (both games and expansions).
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
In that order.
Newer offerings...
4. Neverwinter Nights 1 (with Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark expansion).
5. Dragon Age 1
The original NWN was before KotOR 1?
My memory must be on vacation. :)
Like choosing between which of your children you love more but I can name the few that totally dominated my gaming interest for some time:
- Knights of Legend (one of the first CRPGs which allowed editable character portraits - I spent a lot of happy hours messing with this feature)
- Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge (mapped out all the areas on grid paper by hand)
- Final Fantasy VII (when Sephiroth killed Aerith, I screamed Obi-Wan style Noooooooooo! and swore a painful vengeance on the bastid)
- Diablo series (mouse-killer)
- Planescape Torment (best storyline I have seen in a CRPG)
- Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (had a total blast with the game and seeing what other fans could do with the addons)
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Put my vote down for Morrowind. Loved it when it first came out, having a blast with it on Steam now.
Lots of good games here.
Exclusively picking from PC games (since the other thread covers everything else):
Best bar none: Planescape Torment
One I've spent the most time on: Neverwinter Nights (all expansions, but not the sequel), due to playing on several online servers.
Dudes, talk about the thread necromancy. The first page has people eagerly anticipating the release of Oblivion.
But hey, while we're here, my top 5 at-the-moment on PC:
1. Planescape: Torment
2. Fallout: New Vegas
3. Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
The moral of the story so far is Chris Avellone and the Obsidian writing team are gods. But I'll deviate now...
4. Baldur's Gate 2
5. Going oldskool, Might and Magic VII
Favorite console RPGs:
1. Suikoden V
2. Suikoden III
3. Shadow Hearts: from the New World (Shadow Hearts also pretty damn good, never got to play the prequel)
4. The Bard's Tale (a hilarious console RPG parody of RPGs)
5. Not sure, maybe Final Fantasy IX (which is the only Final Fantasy game I've ever didn't get so frustrated and bored with that I actually played all the way to the end)
Sorry, don't care much for Suiko 1 and 2. I know they're the fan favorites, but I played them after III and IV, so I don't have that first-game-nostalgia and never understood the appeal. *shrug* They're still decent games and I appreciate the innovation, but they just don't do it for me--I think they have the fewest characters I enjoy or like, and most of the characters I did enjoy were side characters like Valeria.
And I'm pretty sure Suikoden never came out for PC.
And I'm pretty sure Suikoden never came out for PC.
2 at least did, according to Wikipedia.
Personally, while I love the PC versions of Dragon Age Origins and Oblivion, and have had some good times with Baldur's Gate, my vote for the best PC RPG goes to Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.
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Hm... let's see...
Final Fantasy VI - Because it has one of those villains you love to hate, lots of powerful moments, and OPERA.
Dragon Age - My wife played this game all the way through about 5 times within 2 years. That speaks enough for me.
KotOR - This is classic RPG goodness right here.
Chrono Trigger - I'm surprised I hadn't seen this more frequently. This game was fantastic. Engaging story, interesting concepts, and one of the more unique turn-based combat systems I've seen.
Xenogears - I love this game so much. The characters were delightful, the situations were both deathly serious and amazingly funny, and the story was epic.
Mass Effect 2 - Sadly, I never played ME1, so this was the first (and last) game of the series I played, and I loved it. The game has great atmosphere, interesting characters, meaningful dialogue choices, and a fantastic combat system. Easily an all-time favorite.
Legend of Zelda (Ocarina of Time) - I love this game to death, and remember it with a great deal of nostalgia. I wasn't really old enough to play the earlier games, so this was my first Zelda game EVER.
Guild Wars - I know it's weird putting an MMO on the list, but it's still a RPG, and still one of my favorites. I've been playing it for about 6 years now, and between the great flexibility in character customization, combined with an enjoyable form of storytelling and really FANTASTIC lore, it will always have a place in my heart as the first really GREAT MMO I ever played.
Chrono Trigger - I'm surprised I hadn't seen this more frequently. This game was fantastic. Engaging story, interesting concepts, and one of the more unique turn-based combat systems I've seen.
Xenogears - I love this game so much. The characters were delightful, the situations were both deathly serious and amazingly funny, and the story was epic.
Both got a few mentions in the other thread - I think a few people thought this one was intended to be for PC games, hence why these haven't been brought up as much =)
#1 has to be PLANESCAPE: TORMENT. A fantastic game, as much about the character's journey through his own soul as about the plot or the other characters (which are still all fantastic anyway). Lots of really cool ideas and great writing as well.
#2 is a tough choice but in the end I went with the BALDUR'S GATE series. By itself, BG2 is just a vast, huge game with a huge amount of options, configurations of party, ideals and decisions (all of which can have huge ramifications) and great tactical combat. Plus David Warner as one of the best gaming villains ever. Terrific stuff. The first game is a mere prequel compared to it, but still great if also odd ("YOU MUST GATHER YOUR PARTY BEFORE VENTURING FORTH," Boo, kobolds with explosive fire arrows that can annihilate your party at 1st level).
#3 has to be ANACHRONOX. Fairly obscure, this was a blending of Western RPG writing and quest structure with JRPG-style combat and blendings of steampunk and SF. A brilliant success, but almost completely ignored on release. The best bits are the humour (one minor bad guy's catchphrase is, "I SHALL KILL YOU...WITH DEATH!") and the nature of one of the main party characters, which may simply be the greatest idea in the history of RPGs ever:
#4 is STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC. The best slice of STAR WARS, ever, after EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (and maybe Matt Stover's novels). Restored a lot of faith in the awesomeness of the franchise after the terrible things done to it by George Lucas.
#5 is FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS. Obsidian finally give Bethesda's Gamebryo/Creation Engine a sprawling, free-form, customisable and malleable storyline to go along with its vast world. The traditional endgame 'choose a side' moment also has a great twist:
#6 is DEUS EX, for its near-total player freedom, its extreme adaptability to anything you might decide to do, and the fact that you can complete it without killing a single person (HUMAN REVOLUTION almost does the same thing, but loses points for the four bosses you HAVE to kill in order to proceed).
#7 is FINAL FANTASY VII. Despite a ropey translation and ludicrously overlong, unskippable combat animations (being hit by Sephiroath's Supernova spell ten times in the same combat, where each time triggers a 2.5-minute animation, is the most frustrating thing ever), the game's heart and soul shines through. Also, tons of guns, massive swords and, with the Emerald and Ruby Weapons, the most ludicrous monster fights in the history of gaming (also, thankfully, being totally optional).
#8 is the MASS EFFECT trilogy. Despite an iffy opening (where BioWare seem to be ripping off their own history a little too openly) and a decidely rubbish finale (somewhat improved by the recent DLC), this is still a solid space opera series with some really great, memorable characters. Frankly, the Gilbert and Sullivan moment in MASS EFFECT 2 makes all the weak moments worth it.
#9 is the ICEWIND DALE duology. Black Isle basically dump the more complex narratives of PLANESCAPE and the BALDUR'S GATE series in favour of dungeon-delving, combat, explosions, magic and yet more combat. Old-skool, dungeon-delving, dragon-slaying, D&D in its purest form, with awesome painted environments and music.
#10 is JADE EMPIRE. BioWare's long-forgotten and underrated odd child, this mix of kung fu and RPG worked quite well, complete with a colourful and bizarre mix of characters, a totally random John Cleese cameo and a fairly unexpected twist in the tail. Hopefully one day they'll get back to this setting, as it was pretty cool.
Haven't played: the DRAGON AGE series, VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE: BLOODLINES, any other FINAL FANTASY game.
The Mother series is very good. The first you could probably skip, but Mother 2, or Earthbound for the SNES is great and Mother 3 is pretty much a masterpiece.
Charles Barkley's Shut Up and Jam Gaiden gets an honorable mention. It's a pretty insane concept, but a really fun game. It's also free. Google it and check it out.
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Now available from http://www.gog.com for $5.99, packaged with DOS Box. Best RPG ever.Darklands - 1992 MicroProse (11 5.25" floppys)
First game (to my knowledge) to have RT combat. Consistently goes upwards to $50 USD on Ebay for cd-rom version.
Looks like we've got a necromancer with a penchant for video game threads :p
Haven't played: the DRAGON AGE series, VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE: BLOODLINES, any other FINAL FANTASY game.
It's hard to find a retail copy of Bloodlines these days, but you can get it from Steam, I believe. I have a retail copy, but I got it a good 5-6 years ago. The game was rushed into release a bit early, was the first game made using it's engine (Half-Life 2 was sold first, but Bloodlines was made first. Part of the deal to get permission to use the engine was that they had to wait until after Half-life 2 went to retail to sell Bloodlines.) and the game studio went out of business right after, so the game didn't get much support, and is a bit (well, maybe more than a bit) buggy.
That said, there is an excellent (and still actively worked on) fan-made patch available, as well as some killer mods. I recommend Final Nights, which is a compilation. These mods smooth over most of the worst bugs. The game is a licensed World of Darkness project, and does an excellent job of translating both game and setting over to the video game medium. The game itself has some damn good humor while possessing a fairly good main quest. I enjoyed it so much, I still actively play it, regardless of the bugs left over.
And I'm pretty sure Suikoden never came out for PC.2 at least did, according to Wikipedia.
From what I could find Googling it, only in Japan and China. (Now, if you're from Japan or China, then that's not a problem I guess!)
I'm not, so that explains why I've only seen the console version, but then it seems this thread isn't exclusively for PC games as I originally thought it was.
Reading comprehension, I can do it. Sometimes.
The bard's tale for the Apple IIe
Has anyone ever played Europa Universalis III ?
It's hard to find a retail copy of Bloodlines these days, but you can get it from Steam, I believe. I have a retail copy, but I got it a good 5-6 years ago.
I do have a copy on Steam and will get to it eventually :-) My 'to play' list is currently standing at about 50 games and I'm averaging about 1 game a month at best (need to blitz through a lot of the shorter FPS and action games on the list, but I keep getting into the 30-hour RPGs instead), so it may be some time before I get round to it.
Also, consider Final Fantasies 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10
Only if they're available on the PC. AFAIK, apart from the MMORPGs the only other FF game on PC apart from VII is VIII, which is also getting a re-release in the near future.
Oh my god. I was going to mention Temple of Apshai but figured no one else would remember it. I played it on the TRS-80 (Model I baybee, yeah!!), and loaded it from tape many times. Later, I ported it to load from disk. That was awesome.
Borax, dwarf, may you live forever, reading monsters and treasures from the back of the little blue manual....
I loved Temple of Apshai "Thou art Frugal, Thou art a Spendthrift!" but I also loved Gateway to Apshai for the C64.
Who remembers "Sword of Fargoal!" -- I actually won that game, once.
Also, "Telengard" by avalon hill was my first computer RPG love.
I loved "Stronghold" and "Darklands" as well.
More modern, KotOR series was awesome, and I loved BLOODLINES, Elder Scrolls series, and MOUNT & BLADE -- so many AWESOME mods and never light on the tech requirements if you need it to be.
Oh yeah... loved "Wasteland" and so glad it's finally being remade!
Dragon Age origins is probably one of the best modern RPGs too.
WASTELAND II is actually a sequel, not a remake. In fact, it will come with a copy of the original WASTELAND enclosed.
A 27-28 year gap between the original game and sequel. Possibly some kind of record?
Most of my favs already listed, but here goes:
1.) DragonAge Origins- really got into my head. In the corridoors of my mind,some aspect of me is STILL searching for Morrigan!
2.) Elder Scrolls: Oblivion- main quest and guild quests/shining isles aside, just hours and hours of exploring and fun. Anyone else paralyze bears just to watch them bounce down mountainsides? Good times!
3.) Elder Scrolls: Skyrim- ok, ok, this game was hyped to death, but I've got over 250+ hours invested so obviously its got some things going for it.
4.) Dragons Dogma ( no boos please) This game is far from perfect, but its really old school as far as monsters and encounters go and the combat is very, very addictive. And the semi- MMO aspect was really interesting. Almost all the fun of grouping with others without the frustration of griefers, afkers, etc. Idk, I had alot of fun playing this title.
5.) The original Diablo, more than a little weak in the rpg department, but the random dungeon layouts, 2 player option, and sometimes just cruel, vicious spawn mobs made this game loads of fun.
Game on true believers!
Old school: Final Fantasy 3 (VI). Somehow those 16bit characters had so much personality. I've played all the way through half a dozen times over the years and I still get sad by the ghost train, moved by the Opera, and emotional as the end credits roll by. A true masterpiece of its era.
New School: This has to go to Mass Effect 2. While 3 is superior in so many ways it loses points for the original lame-o endings.
Runner up: Oblivion. Whoever wrote the Assassin plot line was a genius.
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'Thief' series of games.
Just putting it out there!
'Thief' series of games.
Just putting it out there!
Excellent series of games. However, not RPGs.
Excellent series of games. However, not RPGs.
I'd lean to 'disagree', but see your point :)
For me, I always found playing a Rogue in most of the 'design what you want' RPG's was flat, lackluster, and boring as all get out - with your thief being reduced to being a (very rarely) lock and trap disabler, and generally waslking about unconcealed and simply beng part of the party DPS complement. In fact I'd go so far as to suggest that playing a Rogue in Baldurs Gate/NWN etc as a PRIMARY was a load of old rocks.
Finally the Thief series gave us something we could immerse ourselves in and delivered the ultimate in Roguish entertainment... sure the narratives of Garrret meant you were sort of stuck playing the character given to you, however you still had the option of playstyle after that.
It delievered a solid Rogue game at the exclusion of all other 'classes', which is fine, if all you want to play is a Rogue anyhow.
It finally gave us Shifty types OUR moment of triumph.
Now if only the Fallout or Skyrim team could become best friends with the Thief team...
It might not be a 'pure' RPG, but its as close as we are getting, and is a high point for any gamer.
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Skyrim - For the shear number of hours invested. The world is simply beautiful.
Before Skyrim, I would say the Baldur's Gate series was the best. And close behind this was the fixed version of Temple of Elemental Evil.
And finally a very honorable mention to both Dragon Age Origins and Planescape Torment.
Later,
Mazra
Now if only the Fallout or Skyrim team could become best friends with the Thief team...It might not be a 'pure' RPG, but its as close as we are getting, and is a high point for any gamer.
It is not a pure rogue/stealth style game, but Alpha Protocol by Obsidian has some really great moments of stealth-style play, and it is arguable it is most satisfying to play through with a stealth build. AP has its issues (make sure for the love of god you get the patched version) but if you're interested in an RPG with strong stealth element (as opposed to a stealth game with an RPG element, like Thief) I'd recommend it.
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In terms of old-school games that were being discussed upthread, I grew up on the Infocom text games. Zork was actually my least favorite. Moonmist and Wishbringer we my absolute favorites. I'll never forget the Christmas that I got Wishbringer (as about a 7 year-old). It actually came packaged with a fake wishing stone. It smelled oddly of hard-boiled egg. Awesome game.
In terms of old-school games that were being discussed upthread, I grew up on the Infocom text games. Zork was actually my least favorite. Moonmist and Wishbringer we my absolute favorites. I'll never forget the Christmas that I got Wishbringer (as about a 7 year-old). It actually came packaged with a fake wishing stone. It smelled oddly of hard-boiled egg. Awesome game.
Oh, I love Infocom games. Every once in awhile I look up text adventures and see what various indy programmers have come up with of late (people still make them), there's some neat stuff out there.
My first text adventure was actually a non Infocom game, I don't remember the publisher, but it was Forbidden Castle by Mercer Mayer. It was frustrating but it depicted a very cool fantasy world and it was satisfying to complete. I still remember that damn manikin...
Later I played A Mind Forever Voyaging which is a masterpiece, and I discovered video games could affect the way you see their world (it was also I think the first very political game I played). And many other games besides. And oh, yes, the "feelies." I loved all those little things you could get. I learned how to make a paper crane from the instructions that came in the box with Trinity (which was damned hard, I never beat it till I was much older and grabbed a walkthrough).
The most "RPG-like" one was Beyond Zork which I think was the first Zork game I played (don't know how I missed the first 3, but I did). You actually picked stats akin to creating a D&D character and you could adapt your play style a little bit--focus on making a heavily armored warrior or fight with spells, scrolls, and wands, etc. A lot of the puzzles actually had a few ways of resolving them, depending on the items you found, which was pretty revolutionary for an adventure game where usually you need a very specific "item A" to use on "object B" to gain access to "goal C." And there were many puzzles like that as well, but it was an interesting game regardless. I don't know what Zork purists think of it, but I had fun playing it.
Toward the end of Infocom's era, they made a game called "Journey" which was a fantasy adventure which had RPG elements to it. It was one of their late-day graphic-enhanced adventures--there was still a lot of text and you typed in commands (ETA: I misremembered that, I looked it up and there's commands you input with a joystick), but there were visuals as well that both depicted where you were and contained clues you needed to pay attention to. The world build was great and the story was really interesting if I recall, and it had a magic system involving mixing alchemical reagents which was very clever. If I recall correctly, it ended on something of a cliffhanger and was supposed to be followed up by two sequels. Unfortunately, I think the company folded (or at least ceased making those kind of games) not long after. Not ever seeing those sequels makes me sad to this day, I'd love to see what they were planning to do with that world.
Zork was a cool adventure game, but its not a RPG unless you have stats that change.
1. Neverwinter Nights 1 (Best Video Game Ever, not just CRPG)
2. Fallout 1 and 2
3. Planescape: Torment
4. Pool of Radiance (Commodore Amiga version)
5. Baldur's Gate 1
6. Knights of the Old Republic 1
7. Diablo 1
8. Dungeonmaster 1 & 2
9. Eye of the Beholder (MSDos vesion)
10. Nethack
Anybody here ever play Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Sega Saturn? That game was pretty awesome for its time. One of my favorite RPGs of all time.
Also KoTOR, Deus Ex (new and old), with Neverwinter Nights also in the clubhouse for best RPGs.
Torment, Fallout 2, Arcanum, Fallout 1, KotOR 1 & 2, Ambermoon and Amberstar, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Gothic 1 & 2, Realms Of Arcania I, SSI Golden Box (I currently run a campaign based on Pool Of Radiance), Black Crypt, Dungeon Master 1 & 2 and Chaos Strikes Back, Eye Of The Beholder, Fate Gates Of Dawn (never left the starting area, however :( ).
Neverwinter Nights and NWN: Hordes Of The Underdark were nice. Temple Of The Elemental Evil had lovely engine but was borring plotwise. Icewind Dale 1 with its completely linear plot was better much done.
I would have to check to supplement my memory but I think that I could add more good cRPGs to the list. I omitted some of the already mentioned as well.
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Final Fantasy VI - Because it has one of those villains you love to hate, lots of powerful moments, and OPERA.
Did somebody say... KEFKA?
Phooey! Emperor Gesthal's stupid orders! Edgar, you pinhead! Why do you have to live in the middle of a stinking desert?!? These recon jobs are the pits! ...AHEM! There's SAND on my boots!
Read my lips - mercy is for wimps! There's a reason "oppose" rhymes with "dispose"...If they get in your way, kill them!
Bleh! You people make me sick! You sound like lines from a self-help book!
"Wait," he says... Do I look like a waiter?
[/END KEFKA QUOTES]
Not many RPGs have Opera in them.
Also, if you can find a good Emulator, a good Rom, and you own a copy of the game, you can download it off the Internet and play it on your computer.
10. Nethack
There's not a lot of "role playing" in Nethack, but oh, the hours I have put into that. Ascended 3 times, Archeologist, Wizard, and Valkyrie. Almost ascended a Priest and a Tourist.
On the subject of RPGs for older games... I am trying to remember the title of a game I played... I think it must have come out in 1988 or 1989. It was a 3D style RPG with turn based combat, akin to Might and Magic. I believe it was made by the same people who made Bard's Tale. I think it had "Dragon" in the title but of course that narrows it down to about only a billion games. You start off as convicts in a prison colony and eventually find a way to escape. The world was I think an archipelago, with different cities/city-states on each island. There was also an underworld/underdark place that was of course far more dangerous to travel through. I don't remember much of the plot, and I think indeed it was fairly sandboxy (it was NOT an Elder Scrolls game but was a predecessor to that style of game I'm pretty sure).
ETA: FOund it! Dragon Wars.
Senior Software Developer
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The Digital Antiquarian posts lots of wonderful retrospectives of computer games, including Temple of Apshai. Highly recommended.