RPG showdown.

[Hyzenthlay]

Which would you crown king?

There are some good games out there, very good. The question is; which is the best?
If you haven't played a Tales game, tell me about your experiances of Final Fantasy. I'd like to know why you think FF is the best of the Genre. If you dabbled in the realms of the Star Ocean saga and hated it; then why not tell me what you liked about Suikoden? And how it is better.

Final Fantasy
Suikoden
Fire Emblem
Star Ocean
Tales of...
Elder Scrolls
Secret/ Legend of Mana
Chrono Cross/ Trigger.
Breath of Fire
Xenogears
Skies of Arcadia
Legend of Dragoon
.HACK//
Dragon Quest
Disgaea
World of Warcraft
Pokemon
Valkyrie Profile
PoPoLoCrios
Drakengard
Evolution Worlds
Baten Kaitos
Lost Kingdoms
Kingdom Hearts
Golden Sun

AND ANY OTHERS THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. THE ABOVE RP'S ARE JUST SUGGESTIONS!!!! =]

Are the ones dancing in my head right now. Why is yours better than these? Or is it one of those?
Also, tell me the reason yours is best.

---o0o---

My favourite is a little hard to debate. I like all of the above games series. I think I've played just about all the RPGs I could name, mostly on consoles. Some Online.
I enjoy different series for different reasons but I still have my favourites. When it comes to picking these I picked them for reasons like:- Longevity, gameplay, side quests, original chracters, captivating plotlines etc.
Based on these things I narrowed it down to 3:

Skies of Arcadia
Final Fantasy IX
Golden Sun

Then I narrowed these down based on other factors, more personal ones. These were things like memories, personal prefernces in characters and how much I generally enjoyed playing the games.
When I really thought about it I came up with a very bad problem. Golden sun was ruled out because of the lack of substantial sub-plots. FFIX and SoA both have these, and they both last one HELL of a long time. Not only this but once I got thinking, I couldn't decide if I like ViVi or Gilder.
I DID come to a decision though. I thoughtr about my memories of the Game, and though FFIX is actually probably my favourite game because it brought me into the RPG world; I think SoA wins. This is based on how vast the game actually is. From collecting crewmembers to fighting wanted Pirates, finding landmarks to being summoned by the 'Angel of Death'. THe game is huge. Those arn't even part of the plot and they take up a massive chunk of your time, giving enjoyment throughout.
For christ sakes you have a Pirate Rank, YOU can be number one. Thats just cool. As there are other pirates and explorers competing with you it's pretty hard, too.
PLUS, on top of those things you can build your own base. Want a pet panda on your secret island base? You got it. Want to create near unbeatable weapons on your base? You got it! Want your base to be of oriental design? You got it!
Wow, it's huge.
As far as gameplay goes the graphics aren't too bad. Well, for when it was made they are pretty spactacular. I found myself on numerous occasions zooming in to look at parts of the games scenery. There are some stunning locations in the game from ruins to villages. If you don't find yourself zooming in to a fast paced waterfall cascading in a vibrant forest then you aren't normal. Or is that me?
In addition to the stunning visuals of the game the music meshes in perfectly. Swishing from fast paced, epic battle tunes to the songs of a peacefull village with seamless accuracy. Perfectly timed cutscenes accompany the game giving it a 'real' feel. You can get so engrossed in this game that you'll be offended if somebody bad-mouths a character. This is one of those games that you find yourself searching every nook and cranny. This is simply so that you can take in the perfectly charicterised NPC's scattered throughout each location, not least for the pirate points back at the harbor.
The storyline is brought to life via the freedom of what you are doing. The people comment on it, wherever you go. Some even mention your personal feats making your head grow to immense proportions. Through and through this game is immersive. It takles death, treatchery and theft with perfectly unexpected emotion. It dangles you, limp and helpless, infront of unbeatable bosses. Only to find that with the help of your shipmates you can win. The plot is supprisingly well done for a next-gen RP and it's beautiful, too. What more do you want?
Well, if you haven't played this game, do so. You won't regret it!

Now, in the words of Gilder; COME ON! DANCE FOR ME!

Aimee.

[Rnin]

Final Fantasy, Simplicity of play. In-depth story. Great graphics. What more could you ask for.

[Jrag]

I find myself drawn more and more to the Suikoden series over time. In fact I'd say that it's surpassed Final Fantasy as my favorite RPG series. It's hard to pinpoint why though. Part of the reason I feel this was is because I think the quality in the Final Fantasy series has just been terribly diluted and diminished after years of ports and spin-offs. It no long feels as special as it did in the past. Final Fantasy XII confirmed this for me as I thought the game failed as an epic, and as an RPG. I had a great deal of anticipation for it, but walked away feeling that Matsuno is nothing more than a hack. The game reeks of Star Wars and had shallow characters that I had no interest in. Several good plot elements were dropped or not developed the way I felt they should have been. Now having said all of that, I don't want to make it sound as if I am ragging on Final Fantasy XII. My point is just that this was the game that, for me, made me step back and take a look at where the series has been, where it's going, and where do I fit into that? I don't really find myself drawn towards the series future. As a result I've kind of expanded my horizons and fallen in love with the Suikoden series.

I find the gameplay to be varied and simplistic, but with enough depth that leaves me satisfied. I also am partial to the fact there's 108 characters in each game. I find it interesting how the storylines in each game weave each character into the plot. Sure some are seemingly pointless characters, but at the same time I feel it adds an element of reality and depth to the Suikoden universe as each character has their own motives, history, and reasons for being involved in what's going on.

The world that Suikoden takes place in also enthralls me. There's so much we've seen, but yet there's so much we HAVEN'T seen after five games and one spin-off title. Everything seems to have some level of interconnectedness that is likely (hopefully) going to come to a head in the series finale, whenever that is. I mean there's just so much going on in that world:

Pesmerga vs. Yuber
Clive and his story
Graham Cray's history
Luc and his struggles
Flik and Odessa
The history behind Neclord

The world just grabs me in a way that Final Fantasy doesn't anymore. That's the easiest way to explain it. That isn't to say Final Fantasy is bad, per sae. I still adore Final Fantasy IV, VI, VIII, VIII, and IX. I just find that the future of the series isn't where I see myself as a gamer. In response I've spent time exploring new RPG series and find myself enjoying it. I'm looking forward to diving into the Tales series after I finish up some replay's and get a taste of Disgaea. But for me, it's Suikoden. Hands down.

In terms of a specific favorite game, that's hard for me to say. I actually think that my favorite RPG of all time is probably from the Final Fantasy series (ironically), but I'm planning an extensive replay of the Final Fantasy and Suikoden series in the near future to settle that internal debate. So at this point I'll stick to series as a whole rather than individual titles because truth is, I don't know that I could pick an individual title.

[Midnight Panda]

i find that Elder Scrolls would win. although i love ff and fire emblem i think that with its complex gameplay and amazing storyline there is just no way any of them could win anyway.

[Pete]

Fallout. It was incredibly clever, had great puzzles and really was just beautifully done in every aspect. It also had a very realistic sense of the world to it as well. I mean mutations aside and all that, but just imagine how the world would be if it were nuked to shit. Plus, the more or less made DC spot on, which was both awesome and creepy. Plus the ****ed up humor was also great.

Since that's not on there. I'm going with the Chrono Series. They were incredibly innovative games, with great graphics and effects and even better stories. You could argue that Cross was a little weaker in story, and I'll agree, but Chrono Trigger was a masterpiece. I cared about the characters. I was legitimately interested in their stories and wanted to learn more about their backgrounds. I even felt bad when Robo sacrificed himself and wound up a rusted old heap. Now that's a game.

FF, in my opinion has been slipping as of late. V was a massive pain in my ass, VIII was good, but the story felt a little spotty at times (oh the GF's erased our memories, duh!), IX was alright, but I felt that it really dragged towards the end, and I couldn't bother replaying it. And the biggest problems I had were with X and XII. Tidus annoyed me, and I couldn't even bother to finish the game. It just didn't have the same flair as previous games did. Plus X-2 was the beginning of the shameless ripoffs. XII was a thinly veiled attack on the war in Iraq, which was kind of a cool concept, but the whole Gambit system sort of cheapened the strategy and fun of battles. It was nice to not have the random encounters, and to just tool on the little stupid animals roaming the plains, but when it came to a boss fight, all you had to do was prepare accordingly and literally sit back and watch yourself win.

Xenogears was the same thing. I gave up on it after the first 45 minute cinema about 15 minutes into the game. I actually want to play the game, not just watch it.

Legend of Dragoon was also a great game. I was legit shocked when that one dude died. I also got insanely frustrated with the final boss, because I fought him for over an hour and he killed me with some little cheap move. The story, locations and graphics were all excellently done though, and I'd like it a lot more had that boss not ruined it for me.

KH was a solid series, but it was really only a cool nostalgia trip more than anything. Giving the FF characters voices was cool, but it also annoyed me a little when the voice didn't match up to the voice I had in my mind. It was a little "**** you" to my imagination.

As for Golden Sun, I had fun playing it, but I don't remember a damn thing about it. Maybe there was a dude with a beard? Or some chick that looked hot on the cover art? I dunno, but I think that speaks for itself.

.hack was a dot crappy game. it was like "Oh we need to find this crap and then stop a virus thats in a game thats in real life" or some nonsense. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, and the fake MMORPG thing was cool at first, but wore out its welcome soon enough.

Case in point, Fallout is the best series, but I'll settle for Chrono.

[Meier Link]

Xenogears was the same thing. I gave up on it after the first 45 minute cinema about 15 minutes into the game. I actually want to play the game, not just watch it.

Pete, I think there is a problem with this part of your post and I think it is mainly due to the fact you are compairing Gears to Saga. Gears had a quick cut scene at the begining, then after the events of Fei's home town; most of which where under 4 minutes long.

If you are speaking of Saga I couldn't agree more. If you are speaking of Gears I am going to have to slap you.

As for now to stay on topic:

Cronotrigger owns all, for it's time it was completely renovating not only to the RPG world but also to general gaming.

I will leave it at that and see what else comes to be of this thread. I will definantly come back again and post more soon.

[bobbo087]

I would have to pick Final Fantasy for one reason it is one of the first games that I have ever played and got me hooked on games and because they all have a great storyline and characters.

[Hyzenthlay]

Pete, choosing Fallout is fine. Mine were just a few examples, that's all. The ones that I could think of at the time.

I haven't actually played Fallout but if you think it's that good then I'll give it a look.

Hyz.

[Rocky]

Final Fantasy series have quite the games, and always seem to create something unique or fun for at least part of the game, if not the whole thing. Some examples are FF4's ATB system, FF5's Job system, FF6's magic/espers, FF7's Materia, FF8's gameplay in general, (it was one of the few games that I enjoyed as I got older, unlike most of the other ones) FF10's Sphere Grid, and the FF12 License and Gambits. The gameplay is impressive, and though there may be parts that make little or no sense (ranging from capturing faeries in a bottle from FF1, "zomg real final boss!!!" in FFs 3, 8 and 9, Tidus in FF10, etc.), Square Enix still has what it takes to make a great role-playing game.

Star Ocean is another favorite series of mine. The amount of gameplay mechanics you can use and bend to your will in that game is unlike any other, being able to create your own weapons/armor/accessories, to write books, to adding properties to your equipment, and so on. Star Ocean also introduced a "private action" element of gameplay, where the main character can give his companions a free day to do whatever they would like throughout the town. This allows you to get to know your teammates better, and to even possibly form romantic relationships with them as well. Not only does the series have multiple difficulty levels and lots of replay value, but each of them have super tough extra dungeons that are available after completing the game which will have the player use everything in his arsenal to complete.

Though I haven't really gotten into any Tales games except Tales of Vesperia, I think that ToV is a solid game as well. The game just feels epic in a sense, I like the character development, the battle system is fresh and exciting, and I haven't gotten tired of it yet after putting on 50+ hours with no end in sight.

I approve Pete's message. The Fallout series is very fun and addicting, with lots of replay value to be had.

I didn't really care for any of the Mana games except for Seiken Densetsu, which is the Secret of Mana 2 game that only got released in Japan (but thankfully got translated and spread throughout the universe via ROMs and Internet).

Chrono Trigger was epic. Chrono Cross, not so much.

Breath of Fire games were made of win. The first two were very good, BoF3 was great, but after a sub-par display of BoF4 and BoF: Dragon Quarter, the series just kinda fell off and went the way of the dinosaur, which was quite the shame.

Now the //.hack series I actually enjoyed for some reason. I found the game challenging, innnovative and pretty fun overall. Yeah it was a pretty watered down version of an MMORPG but I liked all of the different characters and all of the development of how the story progresses. The faux news articles and messaging boards also made for an interesting read and coated the game with a lot of flavor and sense of integration for the player.

All of the Dragon Quest games have been one giant grind for exp/gold, but to me they can be pretty fun, but they're those types of games that you play in spurts. DQ7 for the PS1 was probably the biggest grindfest I've ever played, over 120+ hours of "rushing" through the game. Now that's rediculous.

Another series noteworthy of a mention should be the Shin Megami Tensei games. All of these games and spinoffs happen to have a lot of difficulty thrown in with a strange plot line. The SNES SMT games had players kicking ass of literally anything and everything, from little fairies to Satan himself. The Digital Devil Saga games made literally no sense to me, I think the plot consisted of taking over all the areas in some land and trying to ascend the tower and after fighting the final boss you realize you're just playing a videogame or something but there's a sequel as well or something..? and the Persona series is very goofy, Sailor Moon-like as well. (You can choose activities during the day and night, like studying for class, hanging out with friends, bagging hot female teammates, or you can go into the dungeon and kill demons.) But yeah the games can be very unforgiving at times with a lot of cheap kills, but it actually takes strategy during the boss battles since unlike a lot of games, you just can't hold down the "Fight" command to win.

[Ulteka Mako]

Wow... What a great debate. I have a couple of decisions to go on. Of course I am going to say Final Fantasy is my favorite.

Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy IX

Those are my favorites in that exsact order. This being, is because Final Fantasy was the very first serise of RPG I hade ever played. That is what got me into the RPG serises. Final Fantasy VII being the very first one that I played. I like all those three for the simple fact that they all three have great story plots, great charecters and very intresting backgrounds on the world. Don't forget on how well the worlds looked. I have never gotten tired of these game. Everytime I re-play them, I always find something new.

Now out of the other sireses we have been givin to decide from would have to be the Kingdom Hearts sires. I love both of them. The mixture of FF and Disney charecter was such a brilliant thing to do. Who would have though the type of games and charecters that come from Squar Enix and Disney would ever go together so well. Kingdom Hearts had an extremley great storyline and action based background and biographies on the charecters.

[Josh_R]

The elfder scrolls series would win but I am a huge FF fan and a .hack// fan

[Pete]

I'm also currently digging Fable II. I'm not very far in it, but I love how it's incredibly immersive and how you can pretty much do ANYTHING. It even takes things a bit farther than Fallout 3 does, but I still feel that Fallout has a much more unique storyline and it doesn't lag up like Fable does. Though I really love how deeply every decision you make can affect your character and the world around you. Plus you can actually play with your dog!

[Hyzenthlay]

I'm also currently digging Fable II. I'm not very far in it, but I love how it's incredibly immersive and how you can pretty much do ANYTHING. It even takes things a bit farther than Fallout 3 does, but I still feel that Fallout has a much more unique storyline and it doesn't lag up like Fable does. Though I really love how deeply every decision you make can affect your character and the world around you. Plus you can actually play with your dog!

Pete, if your game is lagging alot have you tried downloading it onto your drive? I found this helped make the game run ALOT more smoothly. I had to go through a few copies of the game before I did this. I just thought my 360 hated Fable.

Anyway. I did like Fable and Fable II a lot but I found them both to be much too short. The story is okay but there isn't much to it, really. I think in Fable II they should have:

Spoiler: Actually had you fight the main villain. Him just dying in a cut-scene was terribly disappointing after all that journey.

Also, his goals were a little stupid. Why didn't he just absorb Sparrows power and have all three. Collecting the other 3 heroes was a bit elaborate for him.

There were a few reasons why Fable II wouldn't make my top spot. I just didn't think there was enough there, that's what it all boils down to.

Hyz.

[EthanElephants]

im not sure if there isnt anyone here who doesnt love final fantasy, but here are mine:

1 - final fantasy series
2 - pokemon series
3 - Fallout 3 (i know its kind of border line action but i thought it was great)

[Yesha]

I say.. it's FinaL Fantasy.. :-)

Most of in the List, I haven't pLayed.. but.. since.. FinaL Fantasy series gave the most impact to me.. I say that they're the best so far for me..

I have pLayed..
Star Ocean, VaLkyrie profiLe, and .Hack G.U// series.. :-)

[Unknown Entity]

Fallout 3
By far one of the best games I have ever played. The map isn't as big as the map used in Oblivion (the previous game made by Bethesda Studios), but I felt it had so much more to offer. It was a lot more emotional, as you wondered around the wasteland, finding the debris of signs and landmarks of once what was there, and stumbling across settlements of people trying to get by. The quests were a lot more challenging, and what you did or didn't do almost always had an effect on your characters relationship with the people involved with that quest, your players statistics and what kind of reward you would receive for doing it.

Also, the Bloody Mess perk FTW.

Final Fantasy
The best series of RPGs out there because of A) Storyline, B) Length, C) Development and D) Graphics.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.
Despite me finding it hard to get into this one, I have enjoyed what I've played of it so far. I'm just not used to the battle system, and I don't have enough patience for it if I'm completely honest. It has to be (for me) one of those games you play when you definitely have nothing else to do.

Final Fantasy I
I've not gotten very far in this one, mainly because I keep losing track of what I'm supposed to be doing, or where I'm supposed to go. Levelling up in this game isn't very hard because you don't have to have an insanely high level to beat the game.

Final Fantasy VII
My favourite Final Fantasy game. It had one of the best storylines I think I've seen, and it was kept at a very good pace. It was very hard to find yourself lost while playing as every place on the World Map seemed to always be the next step. Not only that, but I loved the Materia system and playing around with combinations of different Materia to get different effects.

I found myself getting attached to the characters too, more so than I think I've ever done before. The unexpected death of Aeris was the first moment I think I've ever cried playing a video game. The way that whole scene was set up... the music starting as her materia clinked against the floor... And that's another thing I love: the music.

Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus
I have to love it. It's Vincent Valentine. Innit.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
It's a game I've been playing a lot lately, and I think it's living up to my expectations. I'm in love with the story and the new characters, and getting to know Zack, Cloud and Aeris before the original game.

I like having all the side missions too, because I hate rushing through the main story of a game. The new materia is a bonus too.

Final Fantasy VIII
Hmm. I have difficulty giving this a place when I rank the Final Fantasy games from my favourite to least favourite. I normally end up giving it a place between VII and XII (my second favourite). Again, it had a fantastic story, just what you'd expect from a Final Fantasy game. But sometimes it felt a bit sticky, and as if something was missing.

My dislikes were the Junction and Drawing systems. You could spend hours just stocking up on magic and confusing yourself with Junctions... I still don't understand it, even if I take my time going through the tutorial. In the end, I just didn't use it all together, and still got to the part of the game when you get the Ragnarok with no problems.

Final Fantasy X
I found myself getting annoyed with this one a lot. The sphere grid just annoyed me to the point I just forgot about it, and then had some very weak-ass characters, which then pissed me off even more. Eventually, on my forth play through, I worked out how to use it better, and ended up with awesomely strong characters - Jecht was simple to bring down. Instead I died a lot killing the Aeons, but I finally got there.

I loved the story and length of the game too.

Final Fantasy X-2
I have mixed opinions. Too girly, and I dislike the Dress Sphere nonsense. But it was fun, and I fell in love with Paine. Good tiems.

Final Fantasy XII
My definite second favourite Final Fantasy game. I loved the new battle system, I loved the Licence Chart, I loved Ashe and Basch, I loved the World Map, I loved the music, I loved the story and I loved the length. If anything, I want to put it as my favourite, it's so damn close to it.

Elder Scrolls: Morrowind
Didn't like. I bought it after I played Oblivion, and that was a big mistake. I liked some of the spells better than the ones in Oblivion though.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
I fell in love with it very quickly on my brothers Xbox. I wasn't even playing it, but I loved watching him playing it. I picked up a cheap copy for my PS3, and loved it even more. I've made over ten saved games, with different characters, learning/aspiring to be different types of people. There is only one I've finished the main story with though - and she is awesome, being able to survive the jump from the balcony in the Imperial Palace into the room with the circular table.

The landscape is pretty too. I just love wondering the forests with a bow and arrow, and hunting stuff. So much replay value... <3

Dragon Quest
I've not played much of it, but I like it. It's a little too slow for me to fully enjoy it - getting money and exp is a real bugger. But it's cute... I can't wait to get the other characters I has in the demo version.

Kingdom Hearts
I've only played the second one, and I loved it. It was nostalgic. All of the Disney characters and films I used to watch when I was a kid made into a game - just fantastic. And it wasn't as childish as I first thought it out to be either - it was one hell of a load of fun.

Dark Cloud
Fun, cute, with a brilliant story. It was very slow at some points, and I'll admit it annoyed me, but come on! Building your own version of villages based on requirements from other characters?! Fun and slightly challenging.

I'll come back and add some more when I get some time. x.x

[Power Girl]

My favorite RPG on that list is without a doubt Chrono Trigger. However, my favorite basic turn based RPG is probably Earthbound. I love the sense of humor and the weird and whimisical world that the game creates.

If you count Strategy RPGS, I'd say that Disgaea also belongs on any "best RPGs" list.

[Josh_R]

I just now got the last of the Fallout DLC and played it I know have all of them and I take back my previous post Fallout 3 is amazing if you have all the DLC and can access the amazing weapons and armor it offers...

[Messiah]

I didn't enjoy Fable II.
I think going to have to vote for Final Fantasy.

Why isn't Grandia on there? they were a good collection of RPG's.

[Hyzenthlay]

LOL. I'll say it again. The ones in my post were just suggestions. Not all the RP's in time. Maybe I should write that more clearly as people haven't seen that I wrote it.

Hyz.

[Dodie16]

LOL. I'll say it again. The ones in my post were just suggestions. Not all the RP's in time. Maybe I should write that more clearly as people haven't seen that I wrote it.

Hyz.

I think that you did a good job overall. It would be really hard to get every single RPGs that have ever been created. I probably wouldn't have even thought of half of the ones that you put up there.

Back to topic. Here's the ones that I would crown king.

Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars

This is the game that got me into RPGs, and also to take notice of a little company called Squaresoft. I love the Mario universe. This game brought some familiar faces, and also some pretty good original ones as well (say what you want about Mallow, but I loved the little guy). The story was really good, although it was linear. There was still plenty to explore, since there was so much hidden stuff throughout the game. I think this is the only game that I can think of that all of the minigames were a blast to play. As for the battle system, it was your basic turn-based stuff, but with a Mario twist to it. Also, the battles weren't random, but the enemies were. Like, you could approach a Goomba and wind up fighting 2 Goombas and a Koopa Troopa. I didn't know what random battles were until I got into Final Fantasy. Also, the music was very, very good. Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu and Koji Kondo all worked on the soundtrack.

I haven't played any of the other Mario RPG games, but I hear good things.

Earthbound aka Mother 2

I loved Earthbound! It had quirkiness that I had never seen before in a game, and it totally worked. It was your basic story of young heroes saving the world from some bad thing, but it was the journey there that was so amazing. Battle-wise, it was your turn-based style, but there was a bit of weirdness going on in there too. Like, you didn't see your characters in the battle screen. You just saw thier HP, PP and battle command screen. Oh, and the backgrounds were pretty trippy. Also, battle weren't random, but enemies were. So you knew when you were going to fight, but just didn't know what (or how many).

Sadly, this is the only game in the series that I have played. I wish that Mother 3 would come stateside, but I don't think that will happen.

Final Fantasy (any of 'em)

I love the Final Fantasy games! Yeah, there's some weak points in all of the games, but there's enough strength in each one that can more than make up for it (yeah, even in X-2 if you look hard enough). The gameplay has evolved with each new installment, either for better or worse, but it's still innovation.

Kingdom Hearts (all of 'em)

This is a guilty pleasure of mine. I love the stylized action that are in these games, even though essentially you are just button mashing most of the time. I love the light-hearted quality that is in these games, but I also like that there can be some pretty dramatic parts as well.

Chrono Trigger

I didn't play the game on the SNES, but I got the DS version of it. It was suggested to me that I buy it, because of how good it is, and OMG it is so freaking good. I love that even the tiniest of decisions can give you a different outcome. It gets better with each play through because you can make different decisions about what to do next. The gameplay is great, because you see what's coming at you and the screen doesn't fade to a battle screen. You fight where you are at. That's a plus for me, because I get tired of seeing transitions from world view to battle screen.

I didn't play Cross, but from what I hear I'm not missing much. I might have to at least give it a shot so I can make my own decision about it.

Hmm...looking at my list it seems that I need to get out of the Square-Enix box and try other ones...