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

Nimzar

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The Madman said:
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!
I have to completely agree here. (In case my avatar didn't give it away).

Though if you want to break-up the RPG genre at least into eastern and western style RPG, I'd give the Best Eastern RPG to Chrono Trigger.

They just don't make 'em like they used to.

Edit: Wow, I can't express how pleasing it is to see the relative lack of "SKYRIM!!!!111!" in this thread. And all the love that older RPGs are getting. Thank you, 'scapist community. You have made me happy about how people view this genre.
 

demoman_chaos

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Anthraxus said:
Stop playing shitty action RPGs, and play some real ones with turns and dice rolls.
Random chance and having to stand still and let my enemy hit me is not fun to me. I prefer being able to utilize my training with Piccolo and DOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDGE!!! I HATE unavoidable attacks, especially those that are also unblockable.
 

Alexias_Sandar

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1. Planescape: Torment. It was just...spot on. It gave a lot of option and depth and had interesting characters.
2. Baldur's Gate Series. Minsc and Boo, Imoen, Keldorn...Mazzy...Viconia... the characters were what truly made this game impressive. The first time a game truly made me cry or rage... When Imoen was taken...well.
Let's just say Irenicus made an enemy he really, really shouldn't have.
3. Witcher. It's interesting, deep, and very different.
4. Jade Empires. It was something totally different, very enjoyable.
5. Mass Effect. Interesting setting, intriguing characters.
6. Dragon Age: Origins. People react to you differently depending on who and what you are...and your past matters. As do your actions. Interesting, enjoyable, and characters that are interesting.
 

neonsword13-ops

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Mar 28, 2011
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Hmm, that's a toughie.

That's a tie between Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Persona 4

Persona 4 has interesting characters and one of the most memorable final-boss battles ever made.

Paper Mario has a unique battle system and is funny to-boot.

Too hard to decide.
 

XX55XX

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I give my vote for Dragon Age: Origins. I've played Neverwinter Nights and Mass Effect before it - and that game was a perfect blend of cinematic presentation and old school DnD combat. Plus, choices seem to actually matter and the numerous ways you can play your character offers DAO tremendous replay value. Not to mention, the writing was also very strong.
 

putowtin

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I'll chuck out a few of my fav's (but don't ask me to pick just one)

KotOR II
Mass Effect 2
Skyrim
Dragon Age: Origins
FO New Vegas
 

shimyia

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i vote for FABLE: THE LOST CHAPTERS

but also good RPGs: TES V: Skyrim, Deus Ex, Dungeons of Dredmor, Desktop Dungeons (alpha 0.21), Torchlight (& Diablo 2), Cthluhlu Saves the World (well, it's technically a JRPG), Fallout New Vegas, (i don't think Bastion and Terraria are technically RPGs are they?) etc.
 

baconbaby299

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I'm going to say Daggerfall. I've liked all of the Elder Scrolls games but Arena felt too unpolished and Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim didn't feel as grand as the first two.
 

MammothBlade

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Oct 12, 2011
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The RPG genre is so broad, it has to be divided into several subgenres.

Tactical RPG: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne/ Disgaea Hour of Darkness
Open World RPG: Skyrim
Story Adventure RPG: Knights Of The Old Republic
FPS-Based RPG: Deus Ex/ Borderlands
 

Pontus Hashis

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Are we going with a blanket defenition of RPG or real RPGs?
If blanket:
Demon's Souls becus it's fucking awesome, great gameplay and art style.
Warhammer Online for gameplay and gameworld, props to the siege battles.
(Skyrim would be in this category for me, since the skill system is arbitrary at best, and there is basicly no characters just bots, but it doesn't get the spot since I really think it suffers for my previus complaints)
If real RPGs:
Fallout 1 & 2: Fun,exciting,intressting all the great stuff! It's so immersive that it accualy made me do something that wassn't smart as a player, but logical as a chracter.
Fallout New Vegas becuse it's real immersive, has great characters and gameplay (especialy DLC) and it's not fallout3-on-head retarded.
KOTOR: It's just a damn good game.
Mass effect (NOTE: Not fucking mass effect 2): Lovely game, awesome characters, fun skills. A shame ME2 took away many skills, made me work with the kind of people me/my shepard hated and took away some other fun stuff.
Morrowind gets an honnorable mention since it was one of my first RPG games.

Hmm, I need to play more JRPGs if I find any good ones.
 

Yokai

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It's really impossible for me to choose just one, so I'll narrow it down to three:

The Witcher 2 because it looks fucking beautiful, and has a plotline that would be more at home in A Song of Ice and Fire than some $3 fantasy paperback from 1986.

Fallout: New Vegas because it is far and away the most interesting and believable attempt at the setting so far, and for Veronica, who is basically Ellen Page with a power fist.

And finally, Skyrim, for its gloriously vast open world, ridiculous quantities of detail, complete freedom to try whatever, and just a simply unbelievable amount of shit to do.

Yes, these are all newish games; yes, they're all somewhat action-oriented. Still the best role-playing games ever though, because the term is not defined by stat blocks so much as how well the setting and characters are realized. You know, so you can roleplay a person, and not a wad of fluctuating numbers.
 

Snowblindblitz

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Karhukonna said:
I've got a couple of picks. My absolute favourite of all time would be Breath of Fire III. Of course, I've had this game for so long, and I've played it so many times I can hardly consider myself unbiased. I'm actually biased to the deep, hardened core of my cold, black fanboy heart. So much in fact, that any objections will be dealt with... Using kind, reasoning words and if all else fails, a TV spot from YouTube. After that, there is nothing else. Only an existence similar to mine. A fanboy fighting to the bitter end.

...Got a bit siderailed again, it seems. *Ahem* I'd also cast a vote for Final Fantasy VI. Kinda like a BoF III Lite. Or even less.
Ah that game has so much to it. Love Gar, Rei, Teepo, Momo, Nina, Pecco, I can name the cast from memory! And You got to transform into dragons!

Anyways, my vote is all for Final Fantasy Tactics. I love that game, I love the remake of that game, and have enjoyable casual moments with the advance off-shoots. Also, Tactics Ogre. Brilliant story on Tactics Ogre.

And a final shout-out to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Alucard saying "WHAT?!" whenever you'd try to do something wrong is forever engrained in my head, as well as the shield rod.
 

CatComixzStudios

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Okami. It's an amazing blend of humor, spectacular music, well-developed characters, perfect story, I could go on all day.
 

Vegosiux

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poiumty said:
Vegosiux said:
poiumty said:
Vegosiux said:
I wonder, not to be a douche or anything, but is that because of the insignificant role combat plays? I understand the beef many people have with PS:T is the fact that combat is playing not the second, but the seventy-third fiddle in that game.
Yes, the combat was lackluster, having weird pacing, depending on resting to regain spells (which left your mage characters using weapons most of the time at lower levels) and the systems behind it being simplistic. BG2 improved on all of that adding tons of choices, options and depth.
Guess it's a matter of taste indeed. I mean that exact reason is why I consider PS:T better than BG2 ^^

But the combat wasn't "lackluster". It was intended to be that way.
...because it's shallow and poorly designed? Okay...
Yes, it was meant to be that "shallow". The game is driven by the story, and the conversations are where you win or lose. Only two battles are mandatory in the entire game, and even the difficulty of those two depends on your previous actions (especially in the case of Trias).

Of course, yes, it sucks that you don't even get to use the cool spells like Celestial Host or Mechanus Cannon, but that's what they were going for. Talking the last boss into submission or non-existence? I'm pretty sure many people would be outraged about having been deprived of a battle. I thought it fitting and awesome.

Claiming combat is "lackluster" in PS:T is the same as claiming that fantasy games suck at realism...