RPG Recommendations?

[EverPhoenix]

Hey guys. Today I realised I really want to play a new RPG with an awesome story. I figure between you all, there will be more than enough recommendations.

I've got a few criteria I want to match, though:

-Story has to be really good. (This should be obvious). So, some serious plot. And the story has to be the focus.
-Character development (combat-wise) has to be interesting. Preferably not just a "level up and learn skills" kind of thing, something with a bit of customisation.
-I have to be able to actually play it. So, anything that can be easily emulated, or available on PSP, DS, 3DS. I'm planning on obtaining a PS2 sometime soon, so that could be another option.
-It has to be a new game for me. I'll list off the top of my head the games I've played, so please don't recommend those. Also, no Kingdom Hearts games. I've got the first one already, but won't have the disc itself until about a month. I want to have finished a game by then.

Not these:

Final Fantasy (At all. I've played pretty much every game I have the means to)
Grandia
Grandia II
Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Symphonia
Lufia
Lufia 2
Star Ocean
Star Ocean 2
Dragon Quest 9
Secret of Mana
Chrono Trigger
SoulBlazer
Illusion of Gaia
Terranigma

I am looking at getting Grandia III, so if anyone recommends that, I'll just accelerate the process.

Cheers!

EDIT: Forgot the SB trilogy in the list, somehow.

[inferiare]

AR TONELICO. Specifically the second one (I'm bias and the second is my favourite; you don't necessarily NEED to have played the first one but it gives you some jokes you'd get if you've played the first plus a playable character from the first game.)

Anyway, battles tend to look like this until you get the game breaker and the ability to sync your reyvateils for combo magic. You can customize reyvateils with the dualstall that becomes available, and there's a system in place where the three heroines will be able to synthesize items, weapons, and armour.

Oh. You also get to play reyvateil therapist and get closer to your reyvateil by Diving into her and you're pretty much playing a dating sim.

You can replay it at least 4 times for four different endings (one with each heroine as your pick for an ending, one without picking any of them and getting the normal ending.) I don't know if graphics are a huge issue, but the first two AT games are sprite-based and the endings are pretty much "get a picture with text going on the bottom and then moving sprites yay!" but the story is fantastic and I'd highly recommend it. It's a PS2 game and possibly a little hard to find, but it can be emulated.


Another I'd highly recommend is Mana-Khemia - just the first, the second was... well, it was good but not as good as its predecessor. It's seemingly an Atelier game if you've played them, but the plot gets pretty fun, you can swap out party members into your party on the fly, and it has one of the most badass final boss songs I've heard though this is up there in terms of really freaking awesome. Also a PS2 game, you can probably find it pretty cheap at a gamestop if they still have used games around. Looking for both these titles on amazon were decently cheap ($20-$35) so there's that.


I've been playing Tales of the Abyss on my 3DS, it's pretty decent as well.

If I think of anything else, I shall contribute. I WOULD say Ni no Kuni, but that's PS3-only, but very, very good.

[EverPhoenix]

Ar Tonelico looks pretty fun, but I'd need to get a PS2. Don't think my poor laptop would handle playing it. Graphics aren't an issue at all, unless they are high-res models with disgusting textures. Sprite-based is fine.

Would the first one be worth playing first? I know you said it isn't necessary, but wikipedia lists it as a sequel.

Never heard of Mana-Khemia, but that second song is pretty cool. First one was nice until the vocals came in. Videogame songs shouldn't have vocals, imo. And I had my eye on Tales of the Abyss 3DS, but I'd need to buy an American 3DS first. On my to-do list, since Pokemon is coming out.

[SoulBlazerFan]

I don't know how far you're looking to go back... my friends have been raving about this NES game called Crystalis. According to two friends of mine, both huge RPG fans, this game is actually better than LoZ- blasphemy, as far as I'm concerned, but it might be worth checking out.

Other than that, the The Guardian Legend on NES. One of my alltime favorite games. Obviously it's going to be a little short on story- mostly comes from datalogs found through the game. There's alot of exploring to be had, a ton of different weapons to choose from- plus, your a robot chick that turns into a space fighter jet. How much better can it get?

[Brutus]

Phantasy Star IV
Breath of Fire
Seiken Densetsu / Secret of Mana 3
Shining Force II
Crusader of Centy

[inferiare]

Ar Tonelico looks pretty fun, but I'd need to get a PS2. Don't think my poor laptop would handle playing it. Graphics aren't an issue at all, unless they are high-res models with disgusting textures. Sprite-based is fine.

Would the first one be worth playing first? I know you said it isn't necessary, but wikipedia lists it as a sequel.

Never heard of Mana-Khemia, but that second song is pretty cool. First one was nice until the vocals came in. Videogame songs shouldn't have vocals, imo. And I had my eye on Tales of the Abyss 3DS, but I'd need to buy an American 3DS first. On my to-do list, since Pokemon is coming out.

You don't hear the vocals much in between characters fighting in Mana-Khemia.

You can play the first Ar tonelico, it has a good, solid story and I'm sure you've seen me gush over the music enough the true boss if you finish all three phases is a bitch and a half, but it leads nicely into the second as there are recurring characters in the second and subsequently the third (PS3 only, but you strip girls to save the world!) so there is that.

However, know that all three games (and NISA games in general, I've realized/noticed) have some freezing issues - AT2 has a glaring one near the end that, if the boss pulls off an attack after her third turn the game freezes indefinitely. :/ You can get past it by cheating the clock you have in battle with Girl Power. Girl Power gives you bonuses in battle and so you can extend your time on your turn, plus abusing the fact that time freezes when you cast new magic. I think those are the only things wrong with any NISA games in general, but if you can get past that, they're really fun games. Kind of a generic story in the first game, you get a little more in depth story in the second, and the third rounds it out nicely when you find that the planet the games are on is just going to up and crumble away.

[EverPhoenix]

Might look into getting a copy of the first one then. Apparently there's only one GameStop near me that has one, so I'd better hope it's obscure enough to go under the radar until I get there

[inferiare]

Probably, it was pretty obscure when I got them on release day. Good luck though! And I hope you like it

Hope you like plenty of innuendo though, IT'S EVERYWHERE.

[Fazermint]

If you're looking for a DS RPG, maybe check out Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled. I didn't play it yet, but it looks pretty good. According to reviews, the story is the focal point, so there ya go.

[tay120n64]

Radiant Historia on NDS was very good, if you can find a copy. The Lufia II remake on NDS is worth checking out if you haven't already. Do you like the Mario RPGs? Bowser's Inside Story was fun. The world and story are a little bland, but the dialogue and gameplay are fantastic.

[Blade]

RPGs are a tough call, you really need to know what you're into.

On my behalf, Paper Mario had some awesome whitty dialogues, really refreshing nice looking graphics, and the game was a constant giggle. One of the few games in the last 4 years I played and loved!