LogFAQs > #978011293

15. Dragon Age: Origins
In many respects, Dragon Age: Origins is a midway point between old-school CRPGs and modernized WRPGs. Its writing is strong, with plenty of detailed choices that will affect the plot and characters. DA:O has more dialogue variation that the majority of games being released today, and the Origins system is a fantastic way of making you feel personally immersed in the world. Those are all traits I more associate with CRPGs. Most modern WRPGs have the advantage of presentation and voice acting at the expense of nuance...except for Origins, which does it all. I'm sure there are examples I'm missing (even Inquisition does a decent job at this), but it's something I compare every WRPG I play versus Origins, and they almost always come out lacking, New Vegas notwithstanding.

Baldur's Gate 3 probably fits that bill as well. Really looking forward to playing it when it finishes patching.

Anyway, dialogue nuance wouldn't matter if the writing wasn't good. Thankfully it's fantastic albeit not especially unique. Dragon Age's world is a mix-and-stir of dark fantasy tropes. The final big bad is basically a zombie dragon, which is kind of hilarious. It does an excellent job of mixing those tropes though, resulting in a setting and characters that feel believably grounded despite their fantastical circumstances. The core party remains one of my favorites in any game I've played. Also, I'm an absolutely sucker for dark fantasy tropes, so sign me the fuck up.

Where Dragon Age could have borrowed a bit more from modern gaming standards is the combat. Like most old-school CRPGs, it goes for strategic, slow-paced Real Time With Pause, which is...fine. I usually dislike that system, but at least DA:O has my favorite variation of it. Mostly because it generally ignores D&D rules and does its own thing. Setting up rogue backstabs and mage killing fields is fun here, for once.

Overall, Dragon Age 1 is similar to the Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn in that it's not a game that reaches crazy heights at any point. There's no one moment that made my jaw drop. However, I really enjoyed playing it from start to finish and have, multiple times. My appreciation for DA:O and its world only grows every time I re-visit it.

14. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
To this day, Skies of Arcadia feels like what JRPGs should have become.

That's not to say I think it's the best one ever. It's not even the highest on my list. But to me, this genre is at its best when its games inspire a feeling of adventure. A JRPG can still have a serious story, dark elements, and nuanced characters, but if it's missing out on that ability to inspire a modicum of childlike awe within my grizzled soul...then what's the point? As a counterexample, I played Octopath 2 recently, and it felt entirely empty. Flashy visuals/music/combat mean nothing when I don't care about what's happening on-screen. That's just going through the motions.

Then there's Skies of Arcadia, which oozes ~ADVENTURE~ from top to bottom. Sky pirates! Flying ships! Floating islands! Evil empires! Hidden treasure! Bounty hunters! Ancient secrets! While small by modern-day standards, the world of Arcadia never feels that way. Its atmosphere really is something special. In fact, I'd say that Skies of Arcadia does the open-world experience better than the vast majority of actual open-world games. For my money, exactly one JRPG and one non-JRPG have surpassed its feeling of ~ADVENTURE~, and both are higher on up the list.

Aside from all that...the characters are extremely charming, and the narrative is perfectly paced to provide a constant feeling of escalation. I also like how Skies has an anime aesthetic without being bogged down by typical anime weirdness. Unfortunately, the march of time makes this game a bit tougher to play each year. Random battles with a high encounter rate weren't fun back on release, and they're even less tolerable now. Also, while Skies of Arcadia's world is still special, it's a bit less special now that there's way more options for explorative game worlds.

Where's the goddamn remaster, SEGA?

13. Demons Souls
The one that started it all.

By 2023 standards, Demon's Souls is really starting to show some age wrinkles. It's been outdone both in and outside of its home series. Literally everything it established has been iterated upon and improved. You'll still enjoy it, especially if you're new to the genre, but people familiar with soulslikes will probably come away a bit unimpressed.

In 2009? Demon's Souls was a phenomenon. There's a reason the formula it established went on to become a cornerstone of modern gaming. The backbone of all future From Software titles started here. Dark fantasy architecture, dodge/stamina combat, winding interconnected environments, giant grotesque monsters, invasions, bloodstains, messages, etc. A lot of that was technically started by King's Quest, but Demon's Souls was the one to put it on 3rd-person on new consoles with a BUNCH of design improvements.

My strongest memory from Demon's Souls comes from exploring the Tower of Latria's starting area. It's the closest DS gets to a true horror experience. I snuck around, exploring dark corridors and cramped cells, avoiding mind flayers and traps and god knows what else, when suddenly...

You have been invaded.

It wasn't one of the scripted AI encounters. For some serendipitous reason, this was the first time any player chose to invade my game world.

The game really did become survival horror then. I went from exploring to creeping. Each corner turned was a potential threat laying in wait. Eventually, slowly, I made my way into a fairly spacious room and investigated the back part of it. There was nothing inside. Relieved, I panned my camera around, preparing to leave.

And the invader was just standing in the entrance like a freaking movie monster. Silent, unmoving, staring. He probably could have backstabbed me, yet he didn't. This monster in the shape of a man wanted to see the fear in my eyes before he snuffed the life from me.

Then we fought and I kicked his pansy ass, but god damn was that a thrill ride of a level until then. Souls games kick ass.