Board 8 > What is the single best RPG series?

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Man what. WA had 6 out of 7 great games >_>

Well, okay, maaaybe WA ACF could drop to good, but the rest are great to amazing.

And the one not included is only because I haven't played it.

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.hack//GU is amazing, it refines what the first series does and delivers an awarding gameplay and story experience

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Yeah, probably FF because of Dat 4-10; seph's post was as usual pretty spot on.

Though I love me some Wild Arms.

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Dragon Quest

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Tales

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If I had been asked this question 10 years ago, I'd have said Final Fantasy in a heartbeat without even taking other great RPG series into consideration. FFXI was the start of all my personal FF woes. Even though FFXII was much better, it failed to capture the magic of the golden FF days (FF7-10, Tactics included) or even the great FF days (FF4-6). As for FFXIII, it is an okay jRPG which is unacceptable for a series of FF's calibre. FFXIV IMO is easily the worst mainline FF game I've ever played. Granted, I didn't play it more than a couple of hours but the bad reviews and the sheer boredom made me quit the game prematurely. I'd like to give it a proper chance in the future because afterall it is a FF.

On topic. I have quite a few favorite RPG series so I'll try and get into detail with all of them.

01 - Final Fantasy (7 > 8 > 10 > 9 > Tactics > 6 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 1 > 12 > 13 > 2 > 11 > 14)
Even though FF is going through some serious rough patch, I just cannot ignore its glory days which is why it is STILL my favorite RPG series. Personally I think the run from FF7, Tactics (Its so good that I include it as a mainline FF game) 8, 9, 10 are not just the pinnacle of the series but the pinnacle of gaming itself. FF4-6 are also all magnificent titles (especially 6).
[First game: Final Fantasy IV]

02 - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (4 > 3 > 2:IS > 2:EP > 1)
I'm gonna include Persona as its own separate series from the mainline SMT series here. The quality since P3 is just astounding and honestly these two killer entries (P4 and P3) are enough to make it one of my favorite RPG series. P4 is honestly the best jRPG I've played since FF10 and IMO it is just as good as FF10 but in a different way.
[First game: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (Vanilla)]

03 - Suikoden (2 > 5 > 1 > 3 > 4)
I would have given Suikoden the second place if it weren't for number 4. Suikoden II is almost on par with even the PS1 era FF games and V is one of my favorite games from the PS2 generation.
[First game: Suikoden]

Other honorable mentions

04 - Kingdom Hearts (2 > 1 > COM) [First: 1]
05 - Tales (Symphonia > Vesperia > Abyss > Phantasia > Eternia > Legendia > Destiny) [First: Phantasia]
06 - Dragon Quest (8 > 9 > 5 > 3 > 7 > 6 > 4 > 1 > 2) [First: 3]

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I think I'll go with .hack//G.U. All 3 are amazing games.

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Oh, yeah, Shadow Hearts. That's right there.

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breath of fire

I can't really argue with Dragon Quest.

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Final Fantasy, but after FFX, everything started going downhill.

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Tornadoman78:
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If you can relate 'best' with 'consistently boring', Dragon Quest would fit pretty well.

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metaIslugg posted...

If you can relate 'best' with 'consistently boring', Dragon Quest would fit pretty well.

Yeah pretty much this

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Tornadoman78:
tornadoman and tornadogirl like to kick box each other in my tornaolayzers and she dosent even mind getting hit

Final Fantasy

Suikoden would be the closest to it.

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From: The Real Truth | #113

metaIslugg posted...

If you can relate 'best' with 'consistently boring', Dragon Quest would fit pretty well.

Yeah pretty much this

Sorry they don't have overly dramatic stories about teenagers.

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JJH777 posted...

From: The Real Truth | #113

metaIslugg posted...

If you can relate 'best' with 'consistently boring', Dragon Quest would fit pretty well.

Yeah pretty much this

Sorry they don't have overly dramatic stories about teenagers.

They don't have anything about anything. The gameplay is incredibly stale. Dragon Quest is similar to Pokemon in that any changes made are minimal. The games are both incredibly slow.

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Tornadoman78:
tornadoman and tornadogirl like to kick box each other in my tornaolayzers and she dosent even mind getting hit

Hey, Pokemon's changed more than DQ has, and immediately had more to stand out and be interesting, especially by setting.

Dragon Quest is a series that rarely if ever defies it's incredibly typical fantasy setting. Almost all of it is in FF1-4 setting, with about half of them lacking even an alternative interesting twist to them (time loop from FF1, taking down a human emperor and all his forces only for him to take control of hell when he's dead in FF2, etc).

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There are few games that have a story as good as Dragon Quest V, however.

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Pokemon or Tales

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Elder Scrolls

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Hmm... probably Dark Cloud. I know there's only two, but each game did what it set out to do splendidly and are pretty much unparalleled. Also, runner up would be System Shock. You can include Bioshock as well I guess for the whole Shock series.

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Suikoden, absolutely.

The first 3 and the 5th are good enough to outweigh the mediocrity that is IV and the sin that is Tierkreis. I can't comment on the latest PSP game, but I don't hear good things about it.


Final Fantasy could be a contender, but it's really too hit or miss to be a top contender. For better or worse, Final Fantasy tends to hit the extreme ends of the scale for me.


I love me some Lunar, too, but with only 2 real games in the series and with the latest remake of Silver Star leaving me feeling like I just ate a thing of cotton candy sprinkled with sand, I can't rank it higher.

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Articuno2001 posted...

There are few games that have a story as good as Dragon Quest V, however.

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Dragon Quest is a series that rarely if ever defies it's incredibly typical fantasy setting. Almost all of it is in FF1-4 setting, with about half of them lacking even an alternative interesting twist to them (time loop from FF1, taking down a human emperor and all his forces only for him to take control of hell when he's dead in FF2, etc).

I'm sorry but DQ games are pretty differentiable. I do agree with you on the fact that all DQ games follow the tradition of a medieval fantasy setting but the games itself are quite different.

Lets see
DQ1 - Single party member i.e Hero only. Dungeons can only be navigated with a certain item and spell.
DQ2 - Insanely brutal difficulty. Grindy and yes it is pretty generic, I agree here.
DQ3 - This game came out only a year after FF1 yet the class system is MUCH more impressive and the game overall is very polished and entertaining itself.
DQ4 - Suikoden III's Trinity system like approach concerning the story only it was released over a decade before Suikoden III. The main character for each chapter is the only controllable member in battle and the rest are A.I controlled much to the annoyance of many players including myself.
DQ5 - The first DQ game to have a good storyline. Marriage system midway branching out different storyline segments and characters. Monster recruiting system which allows player to use the charismatic DQ monsters found all over the world map in battle.
DQ6 - Return of the DQ challenge in difficulty. People overlook the fact that DQ7's job system is strikingly similar to DQ6. Fantastic story if you pay attention.
DQ7 - Has a reputation for being the longest jRPG and even after playing over hundreds of them I haven't found one quite as long as this. High challenge. Grindy. A little more polished job class than 6's.
DQ8 - The world of DQ brought into 3D for the first time. Insanely huge world. Outstanding VA, visuals, characters and filler segments. One of the best RPGs of the PS2 generation and the very best of DQ IMO.
DQ9 - Won't elaborate because I haven't finished it yet (more than half-way currently)

You should know that DQ isn't a series for everyone because it isn't. Most if not all DQ games require grinding, some can even be brutal (DQ7 and 2 especially). The DQ games are also quite slow because the main plot is usually peaks only during the beginning, midpoint and end-game. And ALL games in the series is riddled with fillers much to the dismay of many.

But for a DQ fan like me the pros outweigh the cons. Battling every new monster is a treat because their anime-like design is very appealing to me. The fantasy-medieval system, the class system, the exploration and even the cliche bad guys just seem very well done somehow.

Even being a huge DQ fan, I'll admit it isn't anywhere near the best RPG series of all time because there are a few below average games namely DQ1, 2 and 4. And it is not a secret that this series isn't for everyone.

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Rock n' Roll and Glam Metal... It never died

Pokemon. Always and forever. It was arguably Pokemon even before DPP came out. DPP and BW totally lock it down though.

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Oh actually can I change my answer to Ogre Battle? Not Tactics Ogre, Tactics Ogre can eat a dick. Just Ogre Battle.

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Suikoden

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