Narrative RPG

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Planescape: Torment is one of, if not the, best narrative-driven games I've ever played. Just... never bother fighting. Just run, or talk your way out of it. Oh, and be sure to act passive-aggressively to a prostitute early on. It'll teach one of your party members a technique that makes mages stop casting spells and try to punch you instead. Very useful if you do find yourself in a scrap.

The first two Fallout games are amazing; ridiculously open as well as having strong stories. 3 and New Vegas are alright, but 3 has a shit story with a nice open world, whereas New Vegas has a good story with a mediocre world.

Arcanum has one of the most fascinating villains ever. Well worth playing.

I'd also recommend Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne/Lucifer's Call and Strange Journey. They both have really dark and relatively none-linear stories and a fantastic combat system.

 

[Battleaxx90]

XENOBLADE CHRONICLES.

It's a fantastic JRPG for the Wii, with an excellent story, great characters, a massive world to explore and some of the most beautiful level design I've ever seen in a game. You should also check out Pandora's Tower and The Last Story, which are also for the Wii.

The Kingdom Hearts series also has a pretty great story - granted, it can be a pain in the ass to fully understand what's going on plot-wise, but half the fun is putting the pieces together and figuring it out. The gameplay is also awesome.

 

[JazzJack2]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the original Deus ex game, it's one of the best RPGS of all time.

Also +1 to the Fallout Series

 

[Rack]

You mentioned Neverwinter Nights but not the expansions. Am I right this is an oversight?

Also you mentioned Icewind Dale, if you were able to stomach its old fashioned design you should definitely get Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and mod them up.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the original Deus ex game, it's one of the best RPGS of all time.

Also +1 to the Fallout Series

Yes Deus ex were brilliant games, still looking for the original on console but do have them on PC

You mentioned Neverwinter Nights but not the expansions. Am I right this is an oversight?

Also you mentioned Icewind Dale, if you were able to stomach its old fashioned design you should definitely get Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and mod them up.

Yes have all the expansions and Baldurs gates as well, actually bought the remake of baldur's gate 1 recencently and replaying it, also Icewind dale 2. As I originally bought those as a 4 pack it always irritated me that baldur's gate had better game play and interface where as Icewind had more character options (had an all Drow party at one stage). Wished they could have taken the best bits from both and put them into one game

So far must get Fallout series, Jade Empire and Planescape

 

[Hero of Lime]

Golden Sun and Golden Sun: Lost Age on the Gameboy Advance has a decent overall story, but the small NPC interactions and little quests along the way make it so much more interesting. In Lost Age you play as the "villain" party of the first game, which makes for some interesting story telling.

Paper Mario Thousand Year Door is similar to Golden Sun as the overall story isn't too special, but the characters, and stories along the way are really great. I would definitely recommend this game too for a RPG with good narrative.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

I must admit I have a bias against JRPGs, firstly they are turn based but more than that the stories in the ones I have played and herd about have been so convoluted and silly that they don't interest me. The spoony reviews of the later ones really put me off for starters.

However if there are some which don't have these issues I would love to try some

 

[Miss G.]

I must admit I have a bias against JRPGs, firstly they are turn based but more than that the stories in the ones I have played and herd about have been so convoluted and silly that they don't interest me. The spoony reviews of the later ones really put me off for starters.

However if there are some which don't have these issues I would love to try some

I would recommend Persona 4 for PS2 or Persona 4 Golden on the Vita (that one's a remake with more story arcs, characters, updated graphics and more streamlined mechanics that actually improve on the original), in that case.