RPG vs JRPG

[shoryuken4u]

Yes the jrpg is definitely a subset of rpgs. If you noticed my list, I didnt list any of the hack and slash rpg (diablo, baldur's gate, champions of norrath, etc) nor did I mention any of the tactical rpgs (ff tactics, ogre battle, ultima exodus, etc) and there is another kind of rpg that is sort of adventure rpg (Ys, Valkyrie profile, Elder scrolls). There is another type that I basically call pen&paper rpg (Swords and serpents, the AD&D games, etc). They are all differently played types. I love the hack and slack type cause most of them are multi player and thats what me and my buddy do when we get together. I do not like the tactical rpgs as they are so slow and boring for me. Adventure rpgs have their moments. While I consider Ys one of my favorite lines of games of all time, I really did not enjoy Valkyrie profile. Same thing with the pen&paper. I actually am one of the few people that probably really enjoyed Swords and Serpents. Hated the AD&D games though. Its just a personal preference. I will 95% of the time however prefer the jrpg to any other of the subsets. Its what I have played for so long and what I revert back to everytime. If you are a rpg fan in general I do suggest that you give all the subsets a try. It could help you decide which you want to focus on.

(Just commenting on your response in a new topic since I initially asked the question on the intro thread and seems like it didn't belong there.)

I love the RPG genre as a whole although my favorite subgenre would be JRPG. Pen & Paper RPG has never appealed to me probably because I lack the imagination and/or creativity I assume it would take to play that type of game. Currently, I'm addicted to the Megami Tensei series as I love the combination of JRPG and life simulator. Can you suggest any MMORPGs? The only ones I've played are Vindictus and WoW, both of which I became bored of rather quickly.

[soera]

The biggest mmo period is Everquest. I actually played for 11 years myself and I miss it everyday. Been thinking about resubbing up my rogue account and playing again.
There are some other decent ones out there too. Allod is pretty cool. Dungeons and Dragons online is a good game but its content is limited. After my 6th capped out character in as many months, I decided I couldnt force myself to make a 7th character just to keep playing. WoW is always popular. Guildwars is still free and supposed to be pretty nice. Star wars the old republic had pretty good reviews too. There is seriously more MMO options out there than most people can imagine. The only one I tried and did not like was League of Legends. It simply made no sense and your characters are not consistantly yours.

[disgaeniac]

@shoryukenforu:

I see that you already have/like/played many of the same PS2 RPG's that I have...
...which is cool since the PS2 is my absolute favorite system (*E.V.A.R.*) for playing & collecting RPG's on!

I thought that I'd add a few of my Favorites & "Must-Haves" for your consideration...

1).  Shadow Hearts: Covenant - *MY* personal favorite RPG ever.  It's basically a pretty standard turn-based -but- it adds the "judgement ring" which adds a bit of 'timing' aspect to it; it's very simple though (and can, w/ accessories), be made even more easier to handle/master.

I'm a disabled (lost my left hand) gamer...and even *I* had no problem with it

2 & 3).  Shadow Hearts (I) & Shadow Hearts III: From the New World - While the 1st SH game wasn't as polished as its successors, it was still very fun, *especially* if you like "Mature" (not 'Adult-Film-Mature')...but just "mature" done in a darker-than-usual & well handled way.
The 3rd one (From the New World), while being, easily, the most polarizing & divisive entry in the series (it had a *much* lighter-hearted atmosphere) -still- carries over all of the fun gameplay & mechanics to, IMO, still make it worth playing.

4 & 5).  (I'm sure that, by my user-name here, this will be coming as no surprise)
- Disgaea: Hour of Darkness & Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories - Not everyone enjoys these SRPG's, but, if you do, these are some of the best!

6).  Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land - Of all of my recommendations, this one is quickly & far and away, becoming one of the harder games to find...so...if interested - I'd say hunt this one down 1st.
- This one is a Dungeon-Crawler type of RPG, but, one of the best on the pS2.
It's setting, theme, atmosphere, music, story, and tone are all pretty much...well...*Dismal* & *Melancholy*.
It's a nice counter-point to all of the "group of Emo tweens save the world...Happily-ever-after" RPG's 

7 & 8 = Digital Devil Saga(s) 1 and 2 - Great RPG's w/ great music.

9).  Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne - Awesomeness through & through!

10 & 11).  Shin Megami Tensei(s) Persona(s) 3 and 4 = F.U.N.

Misc. (A couple others that I had a lot of fun with):
- La Pucelle: Tactics
- Phantom Brave
- Soul Nomad
- Makai Kingdom
- Eternal Poison
- Stella Deus: Gate of Eternity
- Metal Saga, and
- I'm sure that I'm forgetting a bunch 

P.S./Btw:
"6 hours from CT" / What state are you from?

[pacpix]

Can you suggest any MMORPGs?

Been waiting for this one: http://www.wizardrythegame.com/

[soera]

Damn you! Why did you happen to link that? It looks awesome. And its made by SOE who does EQ ... when does the game start? Man, Im going to lose my family ...

[shoryuken4u]

The biggest mmo period is Everquest. I actually played for 11 years myself and I miss it everyday. Been thinking about resubbing up my rogue account and playing again.
There are some other decent ones out there too. Allod is pretty cool. Dungeons and Dragons online is a good game but its content is limited. After my 6th capped out character in as many months, I decided I couldnt force myself to make a 7th character just to keep playing. WoW is always popular. Guildwars is still free and supposed to be pretty nice. Star wars the old republic had pretty good reviews too. There is seriously more MMO options out there than most people can imagine. The only one I tried and did not like was League of Legends. It simply made no sense and your characters are not consistantly yours.

I always hear good things about Guildwars and KotOR I just never had the opportunity to try them. On the opposite end, I only hear negative things about League of Legends so I'll probably pass on that. I must be ignorant when it comes to MMOs since I had no idea how big Everquest was. Everyone I know always gushes about how awesome WoW is, I found it to be just "meh". Thanks for the suggestions!

@shoryukenforu:

I see that you already have/like/played many of the same PS2 RPG's that I have...
...which is cool since the PS2 is my absolute favorite system (*E.V.A.R.*) for playing & collecting RPG's on!

I thought that I'd add a few of my Favorites & "Must-Haves" for your consideration...

P.S./Btw:
"6 hours from CT" / What state are you from?

It's great that you didn't give up gaming after losing your hand. Damn, and here I am with two hands still bitching about how hard games are. I just bought quite a few PS2 games recently. I have 2 of the 3 Shadow Hearts, currently missing the first game (haven't played any of them yet). Disgaea seems to be really popular; they're like tactical RPGs, right? SRPG isn't my fave but I'd like to try Disgaea before I decide one way or the other. Wizardry is on my Amazon wishlist, I need to add it to my vgcollect wishlist as well. I actually added Wizardry just based on the few screen shots I saw and the fact that Atlus published it ( I <3 Atlus). I'm really into the Megami Tensei series at the moment; JRPG + life simulator = awesome. I'm playing Persona 4 right now and it's been great so far. I'm missing Devil Summoner 1 & 2 but have all the other PS2 games in the Megami Tensei series. I just got La Pucelle: Tactics yesterday! I'll have to check out the the other misc games you mentioned and add them to my wishlist. My PS2 backlog is just...impossible. And yea, I'm in MD which is about 6 hrs away from CT I think.

[scott]

@sorea I think EQ is free to play now. At least that's what my uncle said when I was over and saw he was playing again.

SW: Old Republic is good and you can play through your entire leveling process solo if you want. I couldn't get into raiding though. After years of hardcore raiding in wow, it just didn't seem as polished and some of the boss fights were retarded.

[soera]

Seriously? Hrmm, I could get into a lot of trouble if I loaded EQ up again. :O

[disgaeniac]

@shouryuken4u:

Yep.  the Disgaea games are pretty much 'tactical'/'strategic' types of RPG's; so they could be a "Love/Hate" kind of thing - depending on who's playing them 

I love Atlus, too (I bought Eternal Poison knowing only that it was "gothic" & "Atlus")

My favorites are:
NISA, Atlus, Compile-Heart, Idea-Factory, Aksys, etc...

Thanks!

I had a *really* horrible 1st 6-12 months (pain, depression, hopelessness, etc)...but...I've found that (w/ only one hand)...I can still find ways to do about 90% of what I was able to do with both

Always nice to get some more NE USA representation on the site 

Also, another one that I thought of that you may like, is Radiata Stories...fun, light-hearted game that (IMHO) was very under-appreciated

[pacpix]

Damn you! Why did you happen to link that? It looks awesome. And its made by SOE who does EQ ... when does the game start? Man, Im going to lose my family ...

Sorry!

I signed up for beta, but I don't think it has started yet.  It was supposed to come out this summer, but it got delayed to later this year.
Some more info over here: http://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,1873.0.html

[soera]

Hows the beta so far?

[pacpix]

I have not been emailed to join it yet, but there are a lot of videos of the Japan version on YouTube.  It looks great so far!

[disgaeniac]

shouryuken4u:

I can't believe that I forgot to mention Ar tonelico 1 & 2 to you, *especially* after reading about your preferences & likes

I think that you'd like them both...A LOT!

There's also the 3 Xenosaga games, Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits that you might also want to check-out...

*TRIVIA*

In case you didn't already know, there's a PS1 game that's a blend of RPG/Gothic/Survival-Horror called Koudelka; that's actually the prequel to the Shadow Hearts series 

[shoryuken4u]

shouryuken4u:

I can't believe that I forgot to mention Ar tonelico 1 & 2 to you, *especially* after reading about your preferences & likes

I think that you'd like them both...A LOT!

There's also the 3 Xenosaga games, Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time, and Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits that you might also want to check-out...

*TRIVIA*

In case you didn't already know, there's a PS1 game that's a blend of RPG/Gothic/Survival-Horror called Koudelka; that's actually the prequel to the Shadow Hearts series 

I have Radiata Stories, Ar Tonelico 1 & 2, and Star Ocean 3! I got them all recently and haven't had a chance to play them yet. Arc the Lad, Koudelka and Xenosaga are all on my wishlist. Do you play any obscure puzzle games (like Catherine or Myst)? I've been looking for those type of games too.

[disgaeniac]

I have Alundra 1 & 2 and Catherine...all in my back-log.