Board 8 > What is the single best RPG series?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My favorite is the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series.

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Persona. I'd say SMT, but it seemed unfair to include all the spinoffs.

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Pram_the_Oracle posted...

Wild Arms.

Yeah, this is one of my top choices. If FFT counts towards FF I might just be boring and say FF, though....

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EmDubyaSee posted...

From: Liquid Wind | #025

xenoblade is great but it's completely unrelated to xenogears/xenosaga

final fantasy for number of good games, for ratio I guess I'd give it to chrono being 2 for 2

LOL

you are now literally arguing that the legend of zelda is an RPG, and the best RPG series ever

literally

now trolls trolling trolls

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From: EmDubyaSee | #046
Forceful_Dragon posted...

"I'm role playing as Link guys. Its a role playing game!"

The absolute worst.

Not even Britta would make that^ argument.

That's not the argument. I don't care thT you role as Link.

The argument is literally this.


IT'S A F***ING RPG!
The argument for me being a banana is that I am.

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From: EmDubyaSee | #046
Forceful_Dragon posted...

"I'm role playing as Link guys. Its a role playing game!"

The absolute worst.

Not even Britta would make that^ argument.

That's not the argument. I don't care thT you role as Link.

The argument is literally this.


IT'S A F***ING RPG!
It's generally not a good sign when the entire argument for a conclusion is the conclusion itself.

"The conclusion can't be part of the argument" is Introduction to Philosophy level stuff.

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From: Liquid Wind | #055

EmDubyaSee posted...

From: Liquid Wind | #025

xenoblade is great but it's completely unrelated to xenogears/xenosaga

final fantasy for number of good games, for ratio I guess I'd give it to chrono being 2 for 2

LOL

you are now literally arguing that the legend of zelda is an RPG, and the best RPG series ever

literally

Well, it is the best series ever, so it only stands to reason it would be the best series every in whatever genres it encompasses.

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From: Regaro_Ukiera |
MWC is god-tier

Wild Arms is 2 for 6 on great games.

Final Fantasy is something like 5 for 13 before counting sequels/spinoffs, 6 for ~19 with them (but the 6th helps so much).

Suikoden is weird, but something like 3 for 7.

Fire Emblem had a great run from 7 to 10 (and 6 is pretty good too) but outside that it frankly struggles to be playable.

There isn't anything else I'd really consider.


I think overall number of great games is worth more than anything else. Percentages don't mean too much, anyone can make one great game. I'd rather see a series constantly try different things and make multiple great games even if there are some duds in there; I accept the duds as part of the growing pains. Hyping the "Chrono series" when it has had exactly one good game does not sit right with me at all.

So Final Fantasy it is. 5/6/7/T/10/13 are all great and in different ways even.

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I don't agree with part of your ranking, but I do agree with your conclusion. :P

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The run between Final Fantasy IV through X (counting Tactics) is just absurd in terms of quality.

Two good games (V and VIII), two great games (IV and IX), one fantastic game (X), and three top 10 of all time games (VI, T, VII).


And considering that run is also really diverse in terms of setting/atmosphere, it's really hard to not give the nod to FF-- no matter how crappy the last 10 years may have been.

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At this point I don't even know what my top 5 RPG series are. Final Fantasy used to be #1 for a while, but after playing more stuff it has fallen quite a bit. Persona and Tales of definitely take the first two spots. After that is probably Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon. SMT spinoffs like DDS and Devil Survivor are up there too. Final Fantasy probably sits at about 6th or 7th for me despite having more games I like, but that's because it has more games.

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Final Fantasy wins for longevity of quality. Save for FF2j, every main series entry up through and including FF10 ranges from "really damn good" to "freakin' great." It's been crap ever since, but nothing will ever take away from this decade-plus run. 90s Square just plain rocked.

Chrono wins for quality of its single best game. Can't touch Chrono Trigger.

I tried to think of a winner in terms of good-to-bad game ratio, but there was no clear-cut standout.

EDIT: Or is there? I almost hate to say it, since I don't consider any of its games to be spectacular or anything, but I'd give the nod to Pokemon. Every main series game is at least "pretty good," and I wouldn't call any of them "bad."

From: Mershaaay | #062

The run between Final Fantasy IV through X (counting Tactics) is just absurd in terms of quality.

Two good games (V and VIII), two great games (IV and IX), one fantastic game (X), and three top 10 of all time games (VI, T, VII).


And considering that run is also really diverse in terms of setting/atmosphere, it's really hard to not give the nod to FF-- no matter how crappy the last 10 years may have been.

You have such fantastic taste man.

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Man, no mention on Shadow Hearts? Amazing series, even if you count Koudelka (the prequel).

Also Wild Arms is pretty spot on. Tons of unique charm, not often used setting, good dungeon design, amazing music, just all around great usually. Only ones I don't care for in that series are 4 and 5, and they have their merits still. Hell, almost every time it's mentioned someone has a different favorite in the series.

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From: BerkeIium | #064

Final Fantasy wins for longevity of quality. Save for FF2j, every main series entry up through and including FF10 ranges from "really damn good" to "freakin' great." It's been crap ever since, but nothing will ever take away from this decade-plus run. 90s Square just plain rocked.

Chrono wins for quality of its single best game. Can't touch Chrono Trigger.

I tried to think of a winner in terms of good-to-bad game ratio, but there was no clear-cut standout.

Kingdom Hearts. Pokemon has spin offs, and Mario RPG's have Partners in Time both which take them down. If you don't include the Cell Phone game. Every Kingdom Hearts game ranges from good (358/2days) to Top 10 games ever (Kingdom Hearts)

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From: Regaro_Ukiera |
MWC is god-tier

DIABLO

Yeah that's right

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Longest stretch of good FF games without skipping an entry for me is 8-10.

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EmDubyaSee posted...

Kingdom Hearts. Pokemon has spin offs, and Mario RPG's have Partners in Time both which take them down. If you don't include the Cell Phone game. Every Kingdom Hearts game ranges from good (358/2days) to Top 10 games ever (Kingdom Hearts)

It seems like most posters are only counting main series games anyway. Plus, I already edited my post. Also, I said "good-to-bad," not "bad-to-good."

swordz9 posted...

Longest stretch of good FF games without skipping an entry for me is 8-10.

Might want to get that looked at.

Nah FF doesn't even get good until the 5th entry, but then 7 ruins the stretch. After 10 you have stuff like XI, XII and XIV ruining any kind of stretch that could be made too.

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Dragon Quest.

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From: BerkeIium | #070

EmDubyaSee posted...

Kingdom Hearts. Pokemon has spin offs, and Mario RPG's have Partners in Time both which take them down. If you don't include the Cell Phone game. Every Kingdom Hearts game ranges from good (358/2days) to Top 10 games ever (Kingdom Hearts)

It seems like most posters are only counting main series games anyway. Plus, I already edited my post. Also, I said "good-to-bad," not "bad-to-good."

swordz9 posted...

Longest stretch of good FF games without skipping an entry for me is 8-10.

Might want to get that looked at.

If I count mainlline Pokemon vs Kingdom Hearts for this, it becomes harder. It really comes down to what you think of the two worst games in the franchises, that of course being Ruby Sapphire and 358/2 days. Neither is a bad game, but where I would have KH as good there, I have Pokemon RS as merely mediocre. Very playable, but honestly, nothing at all to write home about.

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From: Regaro_Ukiera |
MWC is god-tier

From: swordz9 | #069

Longest stretch of good FF games without skipping an entry for me is 8-10.

Worst human opinions ever right here.

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From: Regaro_Ukiera |
MWC is god-tier

That feels insulting coming from the king of terrible opinions on this board.

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hey.
hey now.

FFXI rocked.

anyway top series is either Suikoden (whoever said Suikoden was 3/7 was wrong, all 5 mainline Suikoden games are good, and Tactics was not a terrible game either) or Shin Megami Tensei (I think that the spinoffs should fall under the same umbrella, so all DDS, Persona and Devil Survivor should be included) edit: actually now that I think about it, if I include all spinoffs then SMT absolutely has it, there's way too many good games and very few duds, if any

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swordz9 posted...

That feels insulting coming from the king of terrible opinions on this board.

If the king of terrible opinions is insulting you, shouldn't you take it as a compliment?

Of course, I think most of the board would say your FF opinion is pretty awful. Sorry, man.

Soul Blazer trilogy
Dragon Quest
Chrono

From: NeoElfboy | #060
Hyping the "Chrono series" when it has had exactly one good game does not sit right with me at all.
Good man.

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Jeff Zero posted...

From: Mershaaay | #062

The run between Final Fantasy IV through X (counting Tactics) is just absurd in terms of quality.

Two good games (V and VIII), two great games (IV and IX), one fantastic game (X), and three top 10 of all time games (VI, T, VII).


And considering that run is also really diverse in terms of setting/atmosphere, it's really hard to not give the nod to FF-- no matter how crappy the last 10 years may have been.

You have such fantastic taste man.

If I were a 5/10 girl who made internet videos I'd expect dick pics

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If you were a 5/10 girl who made internet videos, you could probably raise half a million dollars to make a video series exploring your opinions on the Final Fantasy series.

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Fire Emblem if we're counting SRPGs.

If we're not, Shin Megami Tensei.

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From: EmDubyaSee | #073

If I count mainlline Pokemon vs Kingdom Hearts for this, it becomes harder. It really comes down to what you think of the two worst games in the franchises, that of course being Ruby Sapphire and 358/2 days. Neither is a bad game, but where I would have KH as good there, I have Pokemon RS as merely mediocre. Very playable, but honestly, nothing at all to write home about.

358/2 days was clearly no masterpiece, but how could you consider that the worst KH game when we have Chain of Memories?

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From: HeroDelTiempo17 | #005

Shin Megami Tensei

He knows what's going on.

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From: The Utility Man | #083
358/2 days was clearly no masterpiece, but how could you consider that the worst KH game when we have Chain of Memories?
My only real complaint with Chain of Memories is the environments. It's not bad enough that they were bland boxes that made me want to fall asleep, the kicker is that you needed to get specific, random drop cards to advance through doors to even more bland boxes.

If I ignore that, I actually really liked the game.

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From: Rad Link 5 | #085

My only real complaint with Chain of Memories is the environments. It's not bad enough that they were bland boxes that made me want to fall asleep, the kicker is that you needed to get specific, random drop cards to advance through doors to even more bland boxes.

If I ignore that, I actually really liked the game.

Well for me, maybe it's the fact that I went right into Chain of Memories after finishing KH1 but I hated playing through CoM and only did so for storyline purposes.....only to find out that there was little point in playing through it even for that.

I actually liked 358/2 Days, though it's no where near as good as KH 1 and 2 were.

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Vlado posted...

xfd @ people saying pokemon. Seriously now?

XFD @ people saying Xenosaga. Seriously now?

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The Utility Man posted...

From: EmDubyaSee | #073

If I count mainlline Pokemon vs Kingdom Hearts for this, it becomes harder. It really comes down to what you think of the two worst games in the franchises, that of course being Ruby Sapphire and 358/2 days. Neither is a bad game, but where I would have KH as good there, I have Pokemon RS as merely mediocre. Very playable, but honestly, nothing at all to write home about.

358/2 days was clearly no masterpiece, but how could you consider that the worst KH game when we have Chain of Memories?

Because Re CoM exists, and just as I don't fault Coded because of Re Coded I do the same with CoM and Re CoM

From: EmDubyaSee | #088

Because Re CoM exists, and just as I don't fault Coded because of Re Coded I do the same with CoM and Re CoM

Re: CoM is the one I played through so I'm REAL happy I didn't play the original GBA one since it was most likely worse.

I also would never discount an original because a remake for it exists. Sometimes remakes(or revisions if you will) are necessary to actually make it worth playing, but that doesn't mean we can't count the original as it's own creation.

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Oh yeah, I was talking about the original CoM. I have Re CoM, but I've not gotten around to even opening the box yet because I feel like I'll nitpick at all the script changes for most of the game.

I don't know if the environments are a series of empty boxes in Re CoM, or if it still has that god awful "this door will only open if you have this card that has a single-digit percentage chance of dropping after an excruciatingly long random encounter" system.

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The Utility Man posted...

From: EmDubyaSee | #088

Because Re CoM exists, and just as I don't fault Coded because of Re Coded I do the same with CoM and Re CoM

Re: CoM is the one I played through so I'm REAL happy I didn't play the original GBA one since it was most likely worse.

I also would never discount an original because a remake for it exists. Sometimes remakes(or revisions if you will) are necessary to actually make it worth playing, but that doesn't mean we can't count the original as it's own creation.

I do if it was clearly meant to completely replace the original, as both KH games are (In America) as well as LA DX. But something like Super Mario 64 DS or Final Fantasy IV complete.

From: EmDubyaSee | #091

I do if it was clearly meant to completely replace the original

I would agree with this if both games were on the same system, but they are not only on different systems but not even on the same companies systems. Going from GBA to PS2 is not really replacing the original IMO, more or less expanding it to a new player base. Yea it "supposedly" makes everything better than the original but it's geared towards a different crowd of people.

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Final Fantasy. Every entry (sadly even 14) has a huge fanbase.

...but where are all my Suikoden fans at? Wtf!

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Souls.

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LUNAR

How am I seriously the first one to say this

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Probably because it's not a series with a lot of games to begin with, and two of them are Lunar Legend and Lunar: Dragon Song.

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If just looking at pure quality of each entry it's probably Baldur's Gate. If asking what series has maintained it's quality over a large amount of games then it is either Dragon Quest or Pokemon.

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Golden Sun. As you can tell, that was a joke.

For seriousness, I haven't played enough to make a serious decision, including having played less than half of the FF series.

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It's still Final Fantasy for me. Probably always will be. It'll be hard to top 5 high quality games in 5 years in any RPG series.

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