discovering new rpgs to play

[SuperSabin]

Recently, I've been digging more and more into this department and i've been learning about all these cool rpgs that are either coming soon or rpgs that i've missed out on. For example, I looked up gameplay of skies of arcadia and it looked awesome and I wanted to play it. I'm also thinking of getting Resonace of Fate, Valkeria Chronicles, and whatever else I approve of. I'm currently about to rent the recent Trinity game, Souls of Zill, which is very similar to white knight chronicles in the way of style and has an action rpg aspect to it.

So what kind of rpgs have you TFFers stumbled upon that are both coming out and things you've missed out on in the past that you want to play?

[Victoria]

I want to try out the Ys games, but I don't really know where to start with those. I also want to play the Persona games that I have yet to start. I have P3 FES on the PS2 but haven't started it yet.

[ZantetsukeN]

Definitely get Valkyria Chronicles. That is one I stumbled upon a little while ago, and I love it. I think Sega make good RPGs, but Valkyria Chronicles is the best one.

Usually I look at the developer and pick up games made by them. I have gotten into a lot of great RPGs over the years like that. Squeenix is one I always look at, and from them I have gotten into Children Of Mana, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, The World Ends With You etc.

Also, as I said Sega make good RPGs, like Valkyria Chronicles and Phantasy Star. The original Phatasy Star games were ones that I missed out on, but got into them when I got the Mega Drive Collection for PS3.

Another of my favourites is Agarest: Generations of War for PS3. Again stumbled upon this one, because I always go with the theory that if it has Anime-style characters on the front, 9 times out of 10 I will like it.

As for what I want to play, the Ys games look pretty good, and I want to try them out. Also, I missed out on Chrono Trigger, so I want to get that too.

[Lazer]

A less poplar series I'd recomend highly is Suikoden. I've only played the first 2 but they rank one and two on my all time list. Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn is another one I'd recommend.... I'm currently in the middle of Persona 3 FES and it seems pretty awsome. And definitly play Chrono Trigger if you haven't. Id place it even with FF6 for the best snes rpg... Mario rpg is up there as well for me lol.
But seriously if you guys haven't played suikoden 1 & 2 for the ps1 your missing out on the best jrpg's have to offer imho.

[loaf]

Mainly just the Tales series I've wanted to play. Currently still procrastinating on Phantasia.

That and maybe the Dragon Warrior or Quest or whatever series.

[Xithor]

I just recently picked up my old copy of the dot.Hack series and played through it and had a good time. I remember that each new game was a good $40 when they were coming out and I just didn't have the money so I might continue on the story of dot.Hack now since I could prob get the next few for hopefully less than $20 each.

[loaf]

Today my friend got me wanting to look into playing the Star Ocean series.

[Taco-Calamitous]

I'd highly recommend the first two Star Ocean games: played them both on the PSP a little over a year ago. The third one, however, I wouldn't as enthusiastically endorse. Although maybe it was just my experience with the game. Also, yeah; DQ games are awesome. My favorite so far as been DQ8.

I've seen friends play the first Valkyria Chronicles game, and it looks pretty sweet. I'd like to play it at some point. I'd also like to give the Phantasy Star games a try; I have Sonic's Sega Genesis Collection for the PS3, which has like the first several on it, so at some point...

I just started playing Dragon Age, however. So far, it seems a tad difficult to me. Nothing I don't think I can overcome, but early on, a few spots have had me reload a few times. Maybe I should've put it on easy, heh... Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Josh_R]

@Telegraph: Dragon Age is kind of difficult at first. It takes a little bit to get through. Once you start getting more people, and upgrade your techniques it is basically a run through.

I stumbled the Arc The Lad rpg series. All of the games in the series are not what one would call great, but Twilight of Spirits is an excellent game. One of the things I didn't really enjoy that much about it was the battle's. It is set up kinda like Enchanted Arms. It is very strange, and difficult to get used, but once you do the game is cake. The story between all of the games are good.

I stumbled upon the Golden Sun games completely by accident. I played the second one Lost Age before the first. It really through me off. Then I played the first, and it was all legit. I haven't gotten a chance to play the new one yet, but I have heard very good things about it.

As for games that are coming out, and games that have recently came out. I wanna play Two Worlds II, I was a huge fan of the first, so hopefully the second won't let down. I recently saw a game on gamefly called The Last Crusade, I went through some of the stuff on it, and it looks like it will be a good game. Oh, and of course I cannot forget Skyrim. Elder Scrolls V love that shit, I can't wait for it to f*cking come out.

[Trunks]

For example, I looked up gameplay of skies of arcadia and it looked awesome and I wanted to play it.

Dude, if you haven't already; get it! It's one of the best RPG's I've ever played.

I discovered Oblivion and Fallout pretty late on. I assumed they were pants. Don't ask why, I just get it into my head sometimes. They were something special. Actually had me debating with myself which was better than the other. Judging purely on gameplay I'd probably go with Oblivion.

I recently bought a game called Evolution Worlds for the GCN. The game wasn't all that special if I'm honest but still worth a look. The towns don't serve much of a purpose and the rest is purely dungeon based, turn based battling. I prefer a more open experiance to my RPG's. It does have a very interesting story but the gameplay is tough and progressing can be hard at times.

I'm pretty new to WoW. New enough to not know the differences brought on by Cataclysm, even. I'm finding it pretty immense at the moment. Be cool to actually know who I'm questing with but who's being picky?

I also have to second the .Hack// series. I found it pretty recently, maybe up to 6 months ago. I was pretty caught up in that for a while. I always enjoy a game that has characters you look up to from the start. What's with Balmung looking awesome when you have to be some weird 12 year old? Again, who's being picky? Still a pretty great game series.

I just started playing Dragon Age, however. So far, it seems a tad difficult to me. Nothing I don't think I can overcome, but early on, a few spots have had me reload a few times. Maybe I should've put it on easy, heh... Anyhoo...

&

Dragon Age is kind of difficult at first. It takes a little bit to get through. Once you start getting more people, and upgrade your techniques it is basically a run through.

I understand what you mean. The main thing for me (and I mean this genuinely) was making the moral choices in situations. I always want to be evil but can't. Maybe it's the tea-drinking british lord in me or something. It's a game that involves you making your own challenges via non-script boss fights and such (Think FF games). The main quest is a little stupid at times. I remember more than once thinking 'that doesn't make sense!' Still one of the clear triumphs of recent gaming. Thanks to Bethesda, Bioware and the genius that is 2K's publishing team RPG's are lasting.

If anybody can recommend any new RPG's I'd be pretty greatful. Not in here, just message me or something. I'm always up for new ones.

[DragonHeart]

If you're up for a challenge and like action-oriented RPGs, there's always Demon's Souls. It's stupid hard in the beginning but once you get past the first boss it's not nearly as hard as the reviews made it out to be, imo. Some bosses are harder than others, as with any game.

As far as more niche, lesser known RPGs go, Radiata Stories never really got a lot of publicity (or sales). I liked it, though there were certain aspects of the story I really disliked. Overall though, it's worth a go if you can find it.

I liked Star Ocean 3 and what little I played of 4.

Tales of the Abyss is one of my favorite RPGs. Highly recommended. I also enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII quite a bit, though it was definitely on the less forgiving side. I know my opinion is unpopular but Suikoden IV was pretty good. It's the only one I've played, I wanted to play III for forever but could never find a copy...

ETA: Oh yeah, Valkyrie Profile. Never understood why the series isn't more popular. The battle system in 2 was weird but aside from that it's a pretty solid game, imo. What little I played, anyways. I still have it, I just never got around to playing more than a few hours of it.

~DragonHeart~

[Trunks]

If you're up for a challenge and like action-oriented RPGs, there's always Demon's Souls. It's stupid hard in the beginning but once you get past the first boss it's not nearly as hard as the reviews made it out to be, imo. Some bosses are harder than others, as with any game.

As far as more niche, lesser known RPGs go, Radiata Stories never really got a lot of publicity (or sales). I liked it, though there were certain aspects of the story I really disliked. Overall though, it's worth a go if you can find it.

I've literally never heard of these. Those will be on an ever expanding list of gaming 'needs'.

I liked Star Ocean 3 and what little I played of 4.

Tales of the Abyss is one of my favorite RPGs.

I haven't played Abyss. I'm not even sure if it came out on my soil. As for 'Tales of' games I've played through Symphonia, the World and Vesperia. Those are the only ones I have even found. Tales of the World wasn't up to scratch in my oppinion but the others were awesome.

I've only ever played Star Ocean: To the End of Time. I didn't even finish it. I found it really interesting right up to the point when I went back into space. At that point, due to my attention span, I lost interest. I still have fond memories of it, though. Maybe I'll try to get my hands on the 360 release.

ETA: Oh yeah, Valkyrie Profile. Never understood why the series isn't more popular.

I went through a stage where I bought every Square or SquareEnix game I came across. Valkyrie profile 2 was amongst them. It's an interesting game and different to most RPG's I've played. I found the side-scrolling a little hard to bear at times but eventually got used to it. I love the einherjar idea in the story. Then again I love to have things to find and leave my mark upon. Releasing them, or not, was something of an inner struggle. I did man up and do it on most occasions.

I also had Dragon Quest VIII in there as well, though I'm sad to say I haven't touched it yet. I mainly bought it because of the artist... Because I'm a DBZ fan- SURPRISE!!! I'll definitetly give it a go now. I completely forgot I'd even bought it if I'm honest. In fact there are a few in there I had forgotten about like Drakengard 1 & 2. Maybe I should return to my PS2 a little more.

I know my opinion is unpopular but Suikoden IV was pretty good. It's the only one I've played, I wanted to play III for forever but could never find a copy...

I think that's the one I have, though I can't remember. If it is then I enjoyed it a lot. The only thing I had against it was the sailing; it took too long. I did like recruiting characters, though. It gave the game more substance to be able to actually pick your team from a cast that rivals the Lord of the Rings films. Maybe a tad confusing every now and then. Still, I agree with you, it was a great game.

I bought Illusion of Time recently for my SNES, too. That seems okay. It's being sidelined at the moment because I've really gotten back into Mass Effect. I never get bored of RPG's like this and Golden Sun. Collecting things to fuel the quest is a simple, enjoyable formula. Plus I like the real-world elements.

Baten Kaitos was interesting. I'm not really a fan of card-based RPG's but the story was great up until the less-than soul fullfilling climax. It did keep me going right to the end though. Collecting things and taking on side-quests is awesome too. The valuable items sub-quest is one that springs to mind as being very fun.

Going along the lines of card based there are a few now that I can think of being okay:

Lost Kingdoms 1 & 2
Phantasy Star III

Those were okay though not complete knock-outs by any means. Still gave me hours of fun which is more than some games. Lost kingdoms capture-method (similar to Jade Cocoon) was cool as well. Really enjoyed getting the most powerful cards by force. The multi-player in each was okay but not great. Phantasy Star III's main downfall was how good the earlier 2 in the series were. It didn't offer anything in the way of customization really and kinda dissapointed me in that respect. Still fun at times.

[SuperSabin]

UPDATE: i tried out the mentioned games: skies of arcadia and resonace of fate and I loved them both. I've also been playing fan translated games, anyone here play japanese emulated games translated into english? just wonderin