Alright kids, weigh in. What is the best RPG yet made?

[PH3NOmenon]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

It just does nothing wrong. Great tactical DnD combat, excellent story, amazing soundtrack, crisp 2D visuals and high-resolution artwork, fantastic cast of characters including an extremely memorable villain, an amazing array of mods from an active and imaginative mod-community, and enough replayability to have someone still discovering new things years after the game has been released.

Other RPG I've played might do one or two things better, but no other that I've played it quite so cohesive a product overall. Planescape: Torment for example has the better story, but in terms of gameplay and presentation lags behind while a game like Temple of Elemental Evil I might feel has better tactical DnD gameplay, but falls behind in terms of story and narrative.

Baldur's Gate 2 meanwhile is just the complete deal. I love it!

Precisely this.

I'm willing to bet that people who claim morrowind/skyrim/whatever is the best RPG of all time haven't played BG because "it's too old."


Besides, you say RPG and people instantly think D&D. Therefore the best RPG in the world has to be a D&D one! It's logic! *nods*

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well deciding what the greatest Rpg made is impossible to do (obviously ) but I think these are the main answers you'll get:

Planescape: Torment
Deus Ex
KOTOR (and arguably KOTOR 2, though a lot of people think KOTOR 2 was a bit disappointing)
Dragon Age: Origins
Baldurs Gate 1 & 2
Skyrim + any of Bethesda's sandbox Rpgs
Fallout 1 & 2
The Mass Effect series

I've probably missed out one or two games by the way (some of them are probably games I love too, so don't take offense) but those are the top contenders.

EDIT: I didn't add Jrpgs because...well not to be offensive but are Jrpgs really even proper Rpgs? I haven't played Final Fantasy, Persona or Chronotrigger though so I might be wrong. I've heard though that you don't even role play a character in those games and you apparently don't even get to choose how you level up and etc.

Yes they are that is why they are called JRPGs just because they are done in a polar opposite style to DnD and WRPGs does not make them any less RPGs that is kind of like saying Halo or CoD is not a FPS due to how different it is to stuff like Quake and Doom. I mean you may not like them and all that jazz but they are still FPS games.

Also the internet has been through this argument many times before and what makes a table top RPG does not make a Video game RPG they are different even though the latter was originally inspired by and evolved in a sense from the former.

 

[ms_sunlight]

1) Suikoden

Oh god, how could I have forgotten Suikoden 2?

I mean, Suikoden is good, but Suikoden 2 surpasses and refines the original to the point of magnificence. The gameplay! It has some of the finest turn-based combat in any JRPG, surpassed only by Final Fantasy 5. The story! Two best friends torn apart by fate and war, a beloved sister fallen, plus genocide, racial tensions and zombies. The music! Kobold theme, Gothic Neclord theme, so many others.

I'm still going for KotOR2 as my all-time favourite, but close second and favourite JRPG is Suikoden 2.

Today.

Tomorrow I might say something different.

 

[4RM3D]

Because of the amount of content, and possibility to roll and play brand new characters at its beginning "Throne of Bhaal" is considered third part of the series, even if it's no stand-alone product.

It is? I have always seen it as a damn good expansion pack. Regardless, both games are awesome.

 

[Wintermoot]

the dot hack series the only one I played from the beginning to the end

 

[GiantRaven]

There isn't nearly enough love for Arcanum in this thread.

That's definitely what I consider the finest RPG ever made.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Because of the amount of content, and possibility to roll and play brand new characters at its beginning "Throne of Bhaal" is considered third part of the series, even if it's no stand-alone product.

It is? (...)

World is a marvelous place full of beautiful weirdness...

 

[madster11]

Honestly, now that i got MorroBlivion working so i can actually see things and don't have to swing 500x for every 1 hit, Morrowind is probably at my top.

Also, does Fallout 3 count as an RPG?
Because it was pretty damn good, too. Probably my second tied with Skyrim.

 

[borntowheep]

Xenoblade Chronicles. Sue me.

 

[Xaio30]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

It just does nothing wrong. Great tactical DnD combat, excellent story, amazing soundtrack, crisp 2D visuals and high-resolution artwork, fantastic cast of characters including an extremely memorable villain, an amazing array of mods from an active and imaginative mod-community, and enough replayability to have someone still discovering new things years after the game has been released.

Other RPG I've played might do one or two things better, but no other that I've played it quite so cohesive a product overall. Planescape: Torment for example has the better story, but in terms of gameplay and presentation lags behind while a game like Temple of Elemental Evil I might feel has better tactical DnD gameplay, but falls behind in terms of story and narrative.

Baldur's Gate 2 meanwhile is just the complete deal. I love it!

Quoted for epic truth!

OT:
Overall best WRPG: Baldurs Gate II: The Shadows of Amn.
Overall best JRPG: Chrono Trigger.

 

[DEAD34345]

Another vote for Mass Effect 2 here. I've played through that game a ridiculous amount of times and I still greatly enjoy it, far more than I ever did with any of Bioware's earlier RPGs. Other than Bioware's games, I'd say my next favourite was Skyrim, because I felt it took everything good from Morrowind and Oblivion and combined them, leaving behind the stuff that didn't work (mostly). I've never enjoyed JRPGs at all, so I can't comment on those.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Well deciding what the greatest Rpg made is impossible to do (obviously ) but I think these are the main answers you'll get:

Planescape: Torment
Deus Ex
KOTOR (and arguably KOTOR 2, though a lot of people think KOTOR 2 was a bit disappointing)
Dragon Age: Origins
Baldurs Gate 1 & 2
Skyrim + any of Bethesda's sandbox Rpgs
Fallout 1 & 2
The Mass Effect series

I've probably missed out one or two games by the way (some of them are probably games I love too, so don't take offense) but those are the top contenders.

EDIT: I didn't add Jrpgs because...well not to be offensive but are Jrpgs really even proper Rpgs? I haven't played Final Fantasy, Persona or Chronotrigger though so I might be wrong. I've heard though that you don't even role play a character in those games and you apparently don't even get to choose how you level up and etc.

Who told you those things? They are wrong. And JRPGs are RPGs. People just need to get over it.

 

[Ultress]

Easily Persona 3, great cast,great story just all around great.

Honorable mentions: FF6.Persona 4 and SMT: Nocturne

 

[Mint Rubber]

Probably Baldur's Gate 2, with Planescape:Torment and Fallout 2 very close.
NWN:Hordes of the Underdark, NWN2:Mask of the Betrayer, KotOR and Vampire Bloodlines also must be mentioned.

An interesting fact: this list made me realize that I mostly prefer RPG's with solid lore and a well established universe I can seriously dig into.

Before BG2 I had no idea what D&D was all about so I started digging around the internet (the other Bioware/Obsidian games set in the Forgotten Realms also helped a lot). Now, although I never played a table-top game, I'm fairly familiar with the setting and 2.0/3.5 rules so I can score valuable nerd points anywhere.

Same thing with Vampire the Masquerade although I had less to work with (Vampire: Redemption and Bloodlines) and because the setting seems to me less bound by rules and Canon-Sues [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CanonSue].

Before KotOR I had no ideea about the Expanded Universe and basically the grand work of fan-fiction that is Star Wars today.

Anyway, back on-topic, It's really hard for me to say that "this RPG is my definite favorite" because at this point I'm fighting nostalgia battles with myself. I tried replaying Planescape: Torment a couple of years back and it wasn't as awesome as I remembered, so I stopped. I'd rather have the original memories of pure, innocent epicness than the jaded sneer of nihilism I wear for most of today's "lite" RPG's. (And I stil play them - I must be some kind of masochist! Or maybe I just love RPG's and I always come back to them like an abused spouse that doesn't know any better.)

 

[ThePinkAcidSmurf]

For me, the Baldur's Gate series... Skyrim being a close second.

 

[Simon Pettersson]

Baldurs Gate 2 Shadows of Amn, the story, D&D rules and characters are awsome.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

Call of Duty's online feature!


OT: Erm, not being much of an RPG fella, I'll say mine is Deus Ex followed by Skyrim and then KOTOR.


Well, it's my opinions at least.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

A lot of contenders for me, I'm afraid.

Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII (I know, I know, but...)
Dragon Age: Origins
Secret Of Mana
Ultima V Warriors Of Destiny
Eye Of The Beholder

Some old, some new. Some Western, some JPRGs. I like all the above on their own merits.

 

[veloper]

The best CRPG is not even an "RPG", but a game that has all the ingredients of a great CRPG: Jagged Alliance 2.

Therefore the entire genre is fail.

Honourable mentions go to:
VTM: Bloodlines - an RPshooter,
Tactics Ogre LUCT - a "strategy RPG" and
Fallout 1&2 - pure RPGs with really shitty combat.