RPG's with the best gameplay

[Firewok]

Hi! When people usually talk about the RPGs they liked, they usually put a huge focus on the characters and the story.

On the flipside, some games get hated on mostly because they didn't like the story, like Mass Effect 3.

Me, I'm largely interested in gameplay. And if I find the gameplay boring, I can't give to care about the story.

For example, I tried out Tales of the Abyss and got bored; I was probably spoiled by better implications of Hack-and-slash, fighting games, and Action RPGs. The thing that probably killed it for me was that the enemy encounters were so easy that they felt like a waste of time.
Some strange plot about a prophecy that runs the world be damned.

The game that I am playing right now instead on the 3DS is Etrian Odyssey Untold. The plot doesn't sound interesting, but I really like the challenging gameplay and deep customization.


What are some RPG's that have great gameplay?

 

[Therumancer]

Hi! When people usually talk about the RPGs they liked, they usually put a huge focus on the characters and the story.

On the flipside, some games get hated on mostly because they didn't like the story, like Mass Effect 3.

Me, I'm largely interested in gameplay. And if I find the gameplay boring, I can't give to care about the story.

For example, I tried out Tales of the Abyss and got bored; I was probably spoiled by better implications of Hack-and-slash, fighting games, and Action RPGs. The thing that probably killed it for me was that the enemy encounters were so easy that they felt like a waste of time.
Some strange plot about a prophecy that runs the world be damned.

The game that I am playing right now instead on the 3DS is Etrian Odyssey Untold. The plot doesn't sound interesting, but I really like the challenging gameplay and deep customization.


What are some RPG's that have great gameplay?

Actually people hated "Mass Effect 3" because they loved the story, it's one of those things where they managed to pretty much invert all that love through a really crappy ending where you got to make one of three equally bad choices, none of which fit the game series up until that point, this being after Bioware said it wouldn't be a "select A B or C". It's one of those cases where the hate is because people loved the series so much.

That said it's hard to say what would be a good RPG, since most seem to be increasingly simplified. I thought "Dragon Age Origins" was decent, it was similar to the old "Baldur's Gate" games. The sequel turned it into a pretty sad brawler though. When it comes to depth the last game I felt was really "great" was "Wizardry 8" and that is ancient now. If you like Old School, it's a bit sillier (well more than a bit) but "Class Of Heroes" does dungeon crawling pretty well, and like Etrian Odyssey can be pretty brutal starting out. That and it's sequel are PSP though. The "Shin Megami Tensei" series is also quite decent, and it's non-Persona titles can be quite brutal (Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, etc...)
but are again, largely more dungeon crawling and that's going back to the PS-2 era, so again, very old games.

I'm hoping "Wasteland 2" and perhaps much later "Tides Of Numenerra" will quench my thirst to some extent. I backed both in kickstarter, but Inxile has been taking it's time. "Wasteland 2" is due to get a real release date sometime this month I believe.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I rather liked Tales of the Abyss. The plot is the usual nonsense but I liked the characters and their interactions. The protagonist has a pretty impressive character arc that doesn't just boil to a mere turning point, he goes through quite a lot of change. And I liked the gameplay too. It's true that it's not very challenging usually but I like being able to control characters in combat in an RPG for a change.

The game also does a complete 180° near the end and features one of the hardest bosses I've ever faced. You can easily spend half an hour fighting her.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Gothic II. It has one of the best melee combat systems I've ever played, that is balanced so that it's easy enough to get into after an hour or so, but quite difficult to actually master. The combat itself is based around timed parries and dodges, and attacking the enemy while they're exposed. Parry an enemy, get in a quick hit and then jump back or parry again. The game can really create some wicked intense swordfights because of this. Fighting animals requires careful dodging and then attacking their backs. Can't parry claws or teeth, after all. Fighting enemies in large groups is a massive threat, as it realistically should be, but if you use magic, NPCs or skillful dodging, the odds are evened up and it's very possible indeed (you're not really a one-man army, which is a nice thing). The magic is pretty good too, for the most part, though you do get overpowered by the end when you can summon large armies of allied creatures to help you and just stomp over everything. The early game can be tough though. There's nothing like exhausting your stamina and then fighting tooth and nail to defend yourself with a lame wooden staff, or running away being chased by enemies faster then you because your spells are out. There's always a sense of lethality in the game, which is a great feeling. It's ultimately rewarding as well. The success and awesomness you feel the first time you duel and defeat an Orc in melee is nearly unmatched man.

It's a little clunky in some areas, namely the interface and lack of mouse-movement (though a mouse is really good for combat actions), but those issues are worth tolerating for the core gameplay.

 

[madwarper]

I don't think there as a "best" gameplay for an RPG, just different types of gameplay.

Some are straight turn-based; ie. Etrian Odyssey and Dragon Quest series.
Some are Action oriented; ie. Tales of ... and Rune Factory series.
Some are hybrids of turn-based/action; ie. Dragon Age: Origins and Knights of the Old Republic.
Some are strategy-based; ie. Disgaea and Fire Emblem.

Captcha: you are happy.
You're not the boss of me, captcha.

 

[Liquidprid3]

My personal favorites:

Turn based: Earthbound, Mother 3, Pokemon, Dragon Quest IX
Tile Based: Shining Force 1+2 (haven't played FE:A yet)
3rd Person: Dark Souls, Ocarina of Time
Hack 'N Slash: MH Tri + Ultimate

 

[shrekfan246]

What are some RPG's that have great gameplay?

This is a bit of a loaded question, in my opinion, because everyone is going to have their own opinions on what makes gameplay "great". For instance, I find the gameplay of the Tales of games to be very fun and enjoyable, no matter how easy the incidental trash enemy packs may be (since they're generally pretty easy in most JRPGs).

But to get more into the spirit of the thread, the Souls games. Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, whatever you want to go with. They've got a deceptive amount of depth behind the combat and everything that goes with it, some of the deepest in any ARPG if you ask me, and it's something that really gets pushed to the wayside when people talk about the games because they always become too concerned with how "hard" or "not hard" the games are.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I liked the micromanaging in Final Fantasy VIII. You could essentially grind you party to immortality before the first boss fight if you were that patient but it's still turn-based combat which turns some people off. In terms of overall fun though, my favorite RPG series would be the Kingdom Hearts series. The fighting is fast paced, casting is nicely integrated, the only thing I don't like is how battles are fixed instead of there being an unlimited number of random battles (unless you leave an area and return).

I had a lot of fun with the Mass Effect games too because of the mix of gunplay and, powers. Power combos in the second and third game especially made for the fun times.

 

[SerithVC]

Hi! When people usually talk about the RPGs they liked, they usually put a huge focus on the characters and the story.

On the flipside, some games get hated on mostly because they didn't like the story, like Mass Effect 3.

Me, I'm largely interested in gameplay. And if I find the gameplay boring, I can't give to care about the story.

For example, I tried out Tales of the Abyss and got bored; I was probably spoiled by better implications of Hack-and-slash, fighting games, and Action RPGs. The thing that probably killed it for me was that the enemy encounters were so easy that they felt like a waste of time.
Some strange plot about a prophecy that runs the world be damned.

The game that I am playing right now instead on the 3DS is Etrian Odyssey Untold. The plot doesn't sound interesting, but I really like the challenging gameplay and deep customization.


What are some RPG's that have great gameplay?

The best RPG gameplay for me comes from Pen and Paper RPGs. D&D. Pathfinder. Call of Cthulhu. Shadowrun. White Wolf's games (Vampire, Werewolf, Hunter, etc). Though for video games i'd say the games with the traditional turn based gameplay as well as games like Neverwinter Nights (1&2), Knights of the old Republic, Dragon Age Origins, Kingdom Hearts series, Tales of Symphonia, Sword of Mana, Star Ocean series, Sudeki, and Phantasy Star Online/Universe. There are more games but it's unreasonable to try and list them all here.

Again i will recommend Pen and Paper RPGs if you can get a few friends together.

 

[scorptatious]

I've always been a fan of Final Fantasy's traditional ATB system. Especially IX's and how you can only fully learn abilities by equipping certain items until you earn enough AP for them. I can see why some people wouldn't like it, but eh.

Recently, I've gotten into the SMT games, and I'm also enjoying the Once More and Press Turn systems. The games really emphasize preparation and team structure

 

[Tom_green_day]

I thought the gameplay of Mass Effect 3 was great!
Same as the gameplay of Skyrim although after a while the little things start to bug...
Monster Hunter was also quite useful too once you got used to it.

 

[The Madman]

Temple of Elemental Evil has the best interpretation of DnD combat in a videogame to date. Heck even forgetting its DnD roots, ToEE has without doubt some of the most enjoyable tactical rpg combat out there.

Pity the story is a bit rubbish and the rest of the game is kinda meh, but the gameplay is phenomenal. One of very few games I've ever completed multiple times just out of joy for its combat.

 

[DementedSheep]

Temple of Elemental Evil has the best interpretation of DnD combat in a videogame to date. Heck even forgetting its DnD roots, ToEE has without doubt some of the most enjoyable tactical rpg combat out there.

Pity the story is a bit rubbish and the rest of the game is kinda meh, but the gameplay is phenomenal. One of very few games I've ever completed multiple times just out of joy for its combat.

hmmm I actually have that cause it was free but never got around to playing it.

 

[The Madman]

Temple of Elemental Evil has the best interpretation of DnD combat in a videogame to date. Heck even forgetting its DnD roots, ToEE has without doubt some of the most enjoyable tactical rpg combat out there.

Pity the story is a bit rubbish and the rest of the game is kinda meh, but the gameplay is phenomenal. One of very few games I've ever completed multiple times just out of joy for its combat.

hmmm I actually have that cause it was free but never got around to playing it.

Go for it, at that price there's absolutely no reason not to at least give the game a try. In typical Troika style the game was a bit buggy on release but between the official patches and a mod called the Circle of Eight Modpack the experience is just fine nowadays. Be sure to download both.

 

[loc978]

I'll second pen-and-paper, primarily D20 (whatever hybrid homebrew your local DM has thrown together. Personally, I take elements from Star Wars D20, D&D3.5, and D20 modern. I recently kicked out the last of AD&D I was using)... D20 Simple if you're inexperienced.

However, if they must be video games... I'd first recommend games based on D20 systems. The Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights games were good examples of that. The Knights of the Old Republic games and Dragon Age: Origins were good simplified examples.

Aside from that, the Fallout games (1, 2, Tactics, 3 and New Vegas, anyway) were good examples of a couple of gameplay styles, though 3 and New Vegas basically required mods (or intentionally useless character builds) to be at all challenging.

As for JRPGs... I'd say there are some great ATB systems (Chrono Trigger, and the 16-bit Final Fantasies), some great tactical systems (the Fire Emblem series, Shining Force 1 and 2, the Tactics Ogre games), and some decent action-based systems out there (Tales and Star Ocean spring to mind).

...I never got around to the Temple of Elemental Evil, either... or the Gold Box games, for that matter. I was a little busy in the time between Moria and Baldur's Gate... and then after Neverwinter Nights. Didn't even play NWN2 until last year.

 

[The Madman]

...I never got around to the Temple of Elemental Evil, either... or the Gold Box games, for that matter. I was a little busy in the time between Moria and Baldur's Gate... and then after Neverwinter Nights. Didn't even play NWN2 until last year.

ToEE has real-time with pause combat similar in style to the Infinity Engine rpgs but with more complex system in place to take things like polearm length, flanking, attacks of opportunity and such into account. If you played and enjoyed the Icewind Dale series you'll probably get a kick out of ToEE for sure as it shares a similar focus on combat.

And if you've only just checked out NWN2 and enjoyed it be sure to play the Mask of the Betrayer expansion as that's the peak of the NWN series in terms of developer singleplayer. There's also a ton of fantastic community modules available for it as well, probably my favourite being The Maimed God's Saga.

Enjoy!

 

[Black Reaper]

Actually, i was going to recommend a Tales game
The combat early on is kinda boring, but as you get more and more skills, it gets more diverse, you are able to do bigger combos and so on
Look at Dagoldenclip2's videos for an example, he is one of the best Tales players out there

Spoiler: dagoldenclip2's videos

I've played all the 3d english Tales games from Symphonia onwards, and IMO, Vesperia was when the combat started getting good, you got more artes, more cancel options, and Judith, who could jump cancel and was the shit

Graces added a new layer to the skill ceiling by adding a dodge system, and you could also fight by yourself
This was pretty helpful to the challenge run community, and i myself have beaten quite a few bosses solo

Xillia sadly got rid of the dodge system, and bosses started to get out of your combos all the time, so it was really annoying, but the non-boss combat got improved significantly with the addition of the artes ball, an item that allowed you to assign double the number of artes(16 instead of 8), among other things

There is a japanese ps3 version of Vesperia, and i hear it's the best Tales ever, but i sadlt haven't played it

Xillia 2 is also getting localized later this year, i've heard its pretty good, the dodge system is back, albeit a bit toned down, so that's awesome

 

[Firewok]

What are some RPG's that have great gameplay?

This is a bit of a loaded question, in my opinion, because everyone is going to have their own opinions on what makes gameplay "great". For instance, I find the gameplay of the Tales of games to be very fun and enjoyable, no matter how easy the incidental trash enemy packs may be (since they're generally pretty easy in most JRPGs).

But to get more into the spirit of the thread, the Souls games. Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, whatever you want to go with. They've got a deceptive amount of depth behind the combat and everything that goes with it, some of the deepest in any ARPG if you ask me, and it's something that really gets pushed to the wayside when people talk about the games because they always become too concerned with how "hard" or "not hard" the games are.

Of course people will have different opinions. I'm just looking for a discussion about RPGs that discussed the merits of their gameplay first.

Especially since you can argue that the term "Role Playing Game" has been applyed to soooooo many different types of games it may be a useless term now.

Actually, i was going to recommend a Tales game
The combat early on is kinda boring, but as you get more and more skills, it gets more diverse, you are able to do bigger combos and so on

I've played all the 3d english Tales games from Symphonia onwards, and IMO, Vesperia was when the combat started getting good, you got more artes, more cancel options, and Judith, who could jump cancel and was the shit

I'll be sure to try out some of the later titles out; Tales Abyss really felt like there was some potential



I'll just say that The World Ends With You had very creative uses of the touch screen and the dual screen of the DS. And that the enemy encounters are started by you. It's a blast to play.