P-Lists #004 – Role-Playing Games
- By P-Wing
- October 13, 2018
- 12 Comments
#004 – Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games have always been a popular genre. It seems like everyone has a great fondness for at least one. It’s a genre that many would say has seen its heyday already but the genre persists and is being pushed in new and exciting ways even today. So let’s hear it! Which party captured your heart? Which land did you get lost in? It’s time for P-Wing’s Top Role-Playing Games List! Wooo!
Top Picks!
By submitting your list in the comment section or discussing it on the chat/forums the #1 Role-Playing Game will be taken and displayed below!
Top P-Wing Picks!
Apple’s Pick – Brownie Brown’s Mother 3 (2006)
Mother 3 is a Role-Playing game, developed by Brownie Brown and published by Nintendo, which was released in Japan in 2006.
gamma’s Pick – Square Enix’s Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (2014)
The world of Gran Pulse is sinking into the sea and what remains is now called Nova Chrysalia. With only thirteen days remaining until the end of the world, Chaos reigns in a world that never ages. New life cannot be born. People need salvation. As Lightning, it is your mission to save as many souls as possible so that they may be brought to the new world. Along the journey, you will encounter familiar faces and engage new foes in all new lands. You must ultimately choose which souls to save and which to abandon and fully understand Lightning’s true destiny. It all ends here.
Brad’s Pick – Insomniac Games’ Outernauts (2014)
Outernauts was an Adobe Flash social role-playing video game for Facebook. Developed by Insomniac Games, it is the developer’s first social video game, as well as their first game for a non-Sony platform. The game is published by Electronic Arts and was released as an open beta in July 2012.
ladyjuice’s Pick – Square Enix’s Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (2018)
A young man, about to participate in his village’s coming of age ceremony, travels to a Sacred Stone alongside his childhood friend. After a series of unexpected events, this intrepid adventurer learns he is the reincarnation of a legendary hero from a forgotten age. The young hero sets forth into an unknown world on a journey to unravel the mystery of his past… but the welcome he receives is far from warm. Upon revealing his identity to the King, the hero is branded as “The Dark spawn” and hunted by a relentless army. Fleeing from his pursuers, the hero assembles a band of endearing adventurers who believe he is actually The Luminary reborn. The hero and his newfound companions embark on a quest that will take them across continents and over vast oceans as they learn of an ominous threat facing the world.
Refia’s Pick – Hudson’s Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (1993)
Ys IV takes place two years after the events of Ys II, and before the events of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. As the game begins, Adol has returned to the town of Minea, where Ys I began. After hanging around for a while and conversing with old friends, he decides to set sail for the overseas land of Celceta.
Kuro’s Pick – Konami’s Suikoden II (1999)
Sequel to the early PlayStation RPG. As a member of the Alliance, a military force only really hinted at in the original, you play the unwitting hero of the game: an orphan who has been raised by a quiet, unassuming battle hero in a seemingly ancient war. Alongside you in the ranks is your best friend Jowy, a boy born of nobility but who has never been able to receive approval in his stubborn father’s eyes. As the game begins, you are immediately tossed into a tale of political strife, betrayal and war on a grand scale beyond your scope in the early stages. As the game wears on, the plot will twist, turn and develop in numerous ways that expose the personalities of each of the characters involved. The battle system is turn-based, with the option to equip Runes for special abilities, combine party member attacks to create chain combos or devastating spells, and the option to run the battle in Auto mode.
Christopherzilla’s Pick – CD Projekt Red Studio’s Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a story-driven, next-generation open world role-playing game set in a visually stunning fantasy universe full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. In The Witcher, you play as the professional monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, tasked with finding a child of prophecy.
Rawk’s Pick – Atlus’ Persona 5 (2017)
Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled high school students – the protagonist and a collection of compatriots he meets in the game’s story – who live dual lives as Phantom Thieves.They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self”. The game’s heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective masks and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their inner power, and use it to strive to help those in need. Ultimately, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.
Barbaloot’s Pick – SquareSoft’s Chrono Trigger (1995)
The millennium. A portal is opened. The chain of time is broken. A young man is transported into the past, altering the course of history and the outcome of the future. He has to find his way home, but first he must travel to the outer edges of time to repair the world’s chronology. On the way he encounters strange friends and foes, utilizes incredible devices and vehicles, and penetrates and neutralizes the fortresses of the past, present, and future. A paradox has been created. If he does not restore the order of time, nothing will ever be the same. He is the one who will become a hero. He is Crono.
Mock’s Pick – Game Arts’ Grandia II (2000)
Ryudo has been hired to protect a young priestess who must participate in a ceremony to halt the encroaching rebirth of Valmar, the God of Darkness. Embroiled between the forces of good and evil, Ryudo must follow his destiny and save the people he detests so much.
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1. Mother 3
2. Earthbound
3. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
4. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
5. Xenoblade Chronicles
6. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
7. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
lightning returns
xenosaga episode 3
chrono cross
ar tonelico 2
lost odyssey
the most epic rpg could only be made by the most epic game studio. Insomniac Games.
1. outernauts
RPG is my favorite genre, I love a game that I can just dive into and sink many many hours in.
1. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age – My first of the series and I can’t wait to play more. All the characters are very lovable and the story is solid. I have put in 150+ hours into it and I’m still not ready to finish the game.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – One of the best stories I have played and most of the characters are very lovable. Once I was finished with the story, I was finished with the game though. Didn’t feel the need to go back for all the extras.
3. Fire Emblem Fates – Again first for me in the series and I fell in love with it. Story is great and I loved all the characters.
4. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl : This was the first full Pokemon game I have played so it’s my favorite for that reason alone.
5. The Last Story – Story was good some of the characters were likable
1. Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys
2. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
3. Ys Book I&II
4. Earthbound
5. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
6. Persona 3
7. Dragon Quest 5
8. Fire Emblem – Blazing Sword
9. Fire Emblem – Genealogy of the Holy War
10. Final Fantasy V
EarthBound cured your depression it should be #1 just my two damn cents.
SUIKODEN II
Psychologists that study games have apparently discovered that what makes a game fun is player agency, i.e., having multiple solutions to the game’s challenges. Giving the player freedom to discover and carry out these solutions, as their whims suit them. In RPGs, this comes down to combat. Suikoden II’s combat is fundamentally standard RPG fare, but with unique flourishes that open different avenues for the player to win battles. There are six character slots and nearly a hundred playable characters to choose from. The game encourages the player to mix and match the game mechanics as it suits them.
You can take a traditional route — have a party of fighters, one of mages, or the standard mix of both. But you can also use the Rune system, a fun and original mechanic, to customize characters and parties — there are standard magic runes, which give you increasingly powerful tiers of spells (fire is your AoE damage source, lightning does high single-target damage and is thus your standard boss-killer, earth and wind both balance offense and support magic, water is pure healing, etc). But there are other types of runes; some will make your character attack twice a turn, some will put them in permanent “fury” status, some are weapon-specific: one rune, only useable by archers, turn their basic attack into one which targets all enemies at the cost of reduced damage. There are similar runes for other weapon types that have different effects.
Some players only have one rune slot, many have two, a few have three; this last category mostly represents your heavy mages, and you can use them as such, but there are some characters with 3 slots and balanced stats who you can mix and match the game’s more exotic runes with to experiment with character builds that fulfill all sorts of interesting roles.
So you can build a party around traditional RPG roles, or go a completely different direction and build one around each member’s rune setups, but moreover, you can do the same with the many “unite” attacks performed by specific pairs and trios of characters as long as they’re in the party together. The level of customization in combat is unparalleled. This is a tremendously fun game.
And all that doesn’t even mention the game’s HQ system, where you turned an abandoned ghost town into a rebel hideout and, eventually, a thriving community. Item shops, armor shops, blacksmiths, rune shops — they’ll all pop up as you recruit the characters that run them. Some characters offer compelling mini-games, like Hai Yo, who will open a restaurant in the castle. You can customize the menu yourself, from ingredients you’ve collected throughout the game, and he’ll give you a cut of the sales — as well open up an addictive Iron Chef-style minigame. Other characters will start a farm, with crops and livestock. It’s an impressive town-sim element that recalls threads of Actraiser.
And then there are the Fire Emblem-style war battles, which have impressive depth for what is ostensibly a mini-game. Your units are made up of your recruits (up to 108), each of which bring unique abilities or attack/defense boosts to the units of 3.
The plot is original and engrossing, and after the game gets a couple hours of set-up out of the way, the game opens up and gives the player all kinds of ways to have fun, to a degree that it’s the best RPG of all time.
RPG is probably my least favorite gaming genre, so my picks probably won’t match an RPG fan’s.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Was completely sucked into and blown away by the story, music, and atmosphere, it was perfect for my taste.
2. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The battle mechanics relied on timing and skill, felt like I was actually playing a game instead of an interactive book!
3. Super Mario RPG: I just liked it.
4. Tales of Symphonia. I don’t even know if this game stands out among other jrpgs because I don’t like jrpgs and never play them. But having 4 human players huddled around the Gamecube participating in each fight together was a good time for me.
5. Fire Emblem: Awakening. This probably isn’t a favorite among Fire Emblem fans, but I’m not a Fire Emblem fan! I thought it was pretty cool how they had support conversations written out for so many possible matchups between characters, it really felt like I was getting a custom experience based on the choices I made.
You have many good games here… do not be so unsure of your rpg likes. Follow your heart and like what you like. You’ve got some epics on this list ok.
Persona. 5. All. Day.
I’m taking this list’s heart.
1. Chrono Trigger: Absolutely a perfect game Seriously, nothing about this game could be considered flawed. A perfect story, a perfect soundtrack, several amazing characters. Just absolutely wonderful.
2. Earthbound: Extremely witty, extremely charming, extremely great. Wonderfully random but still makes sense. Has one of the greatest final bosses of all time.
3. Mother 3: Same ol’ Earthbound charm in this sequel, but a touch more story driven. While I enjoy the pure wackiness of Earthbound more, Mother 3 made me cry. A lot.
4. Azure Dreams: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon meets SimCity meets a dating sim. This PS1 (and Gameboy Color) masterpiece is an extremely well made Rogue-like that will have you playing for awhile.
5. Final Fantasy 6: Again, Square produces an amazing set of characters, a great story, and a wonderful soundtrack to arguably the best Final Fantasy game to date. Love the customization of your party, and just how unique each member of your huge party is.
1. Grandia II
2. Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
3. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
4. Paper Mario
5. Super Mario RPG