The Best

[Wolf Kanno]

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability. Only one answer for each question please and reasons for your choice is much appreciated.

Best 2D RPG
Best 3D RPG
Best CRPG
Best Turn Based RPG
Best ATB RPG
Best Action RPG
Best MMORPG
Best Tactical RPG
Best RPG Score
Best RPG Ending
Best RPG Opening
Best Hero
Best Heroine
Best Villain
Best Cast of Characters
Best Comic Relief character
Best World/setting
Best Transportation (be specific)

[Fox]

Oh, this isn't a thread about the Mayor... :cry:

[Karifean]

Best 2D RPG - Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, I need to talk more about this game sometime.
Best 3D RPG - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA, big surprise.
Best Isometric RPG - Ys: Oath in Felghana, an underrated gem.
Best Turn Based RPG - Trails of Cold Steel 2 albeit not for its combat, exactly.
Best ATB RPG - Chrono Trigger I mean it's ATB 2.0 what more do you want.
Best Action RPG - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA still.
Best MMORPG
Best Tactical RPG
Best RPG Score - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA again.
Best RPG Ending - Final Fantasy X, a few candidates there, but FFX's ending truly completes the story best.
Best RPG Opening - Final Fantasy X as well, actually.
Best Hero - Tidus truly embodies being a hero.
Best Heroine - Dana, beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Best Villain - Kefka, because he's the most pure 'villain', most great antagonistic forces I can think of can't be called villains per se, think Sin from FFX or Magus from Chrono Trigger.
Best Cast of Characters - Trails of Cold Steel, protags and antags alike.
Best Comic Relief character - Adelbert Steiner, best guy.
Best World/setting - Zemuria from Trails, as much as I love Spira it has nothing on the sheer scale of Zemuria.
Best Transportation (be specific) - Highwind (Final Fantasy VII), no other airship feels quite like it I have to admit.

[WarZidane]

Well, I'll do my best on the reasons, but no guarantee it'll be a very good one beyond "because I loved it" :D

Best 2D RPG
Tales of Eternia
I had to think on this one a little because I'm not sure where the line is drawn between "this is a 2D RPG" and "this is a 3D RPG" when a game has a bit of both. In the end I went with a game that has no 3D elements at all, and Tales of Eternia wins in that category. My favorite of the 2D Tales games, and honestly when it comes to the 2D era, I prefer Tales over other RPG series. Smooth combat, a fun adventure through not one but two worlds and Sakuraba music before Sakuraba music got old, what's not to like? :p

Best 3D RPG
Trails of Cold Steel 4
The world, the characters, the story, the music, the gameplay, I dig it all. :p

Best Isometric RPG
Ao no Kiseki
Same as above, basically.

Best Turn Based RPG
Trails of Cold Steel 4
For the same reasons that it's my favorite 3D RPG :shobon:

Best ATB RPG
Final Fantasy VII Remake Xenogears
Love the characters, the story, the combo system, the music. Was my favorite RPG in general for a pretty long time, really. Also, I like robots.

Best Action RPG
Tales of Graces f
Tales of Berseria comes close, but I still prefer Graces f. Love the characters and the party banter, love the battle system, and it even has a new story arc on top of the regular game. Yeah, the plot is nothing to write home about, but the rest makes up for it.

Best MMORPG
Final Fantasy XIV
I vastly prefer its story over other MMORPGs, and I also like the relaxed spectacle that is the combat and boss fights. The music's great too, of course.

Best Tactical RPG
Super Robot Wars: Original Generations
Not to be confused with "Original Generation", the GBA game. This is a PS2 remake of Original Generation 1 and 2, with new content on top of that. Needless to say, it's massive, and I like massive. Also, I like robots.
Anyway, Super Robot Wars is one of the few tactical RPG series I enjoy, and I particularly like the OG entries. This just happens to be the best OG entry. :p

Best RPG Score
Ar Tonelico 2
I've mentioned it occasionally, but Ar Tonelico changed how I view music in games, and 2 is the peak of this. The regular music is great on its own, but what elevates it for me is the (pretty large amount of) vocal tracks that use a fictional language they went through the trouble of actually creating just for this series.

Best RPG Ending
Trails of Cold Steel 4
Because it's also sort of a culmination and climax of 14 years and 9 games of Trails. It's not the end of the series or the overarching story, but more like..the end of an act within that overarching story.

Best RPG Opening
Trails of Cold Steel 4
To explain the why for this one, however, would be spoiling things. ;)

Best Hero
Luke from Tales of the Abyss
Because his is still the best character arc I've seen in an RPG. You don't like this guy at the beginning, you're not supposed to. He's spoiled because he was raised in a tiny bubble. Over the course of the game's events and revelations, not only do you see why he's that way, but you also see him undergo incredible growth and turn into a genuine hero.

Best Heroine
Estelle from Trails in the Sky
Because she's awesome and has a lot of subtle growth over the course of the games she's in.

Best Villain
Spoiler from Spoiler
:tongue:
1) I love it when a villain has a motive that makes you go "I understand now". I'm not talking "boohoo i've had such a crappy life i'm gonna be evil now", but an actual good reason, possibly even a noble one. This villain has a definite *good* goal, but the way they go about it makes them the villain. Or does it?
2) I also love it when the villain is smart and the game clearly shows it. Now I'm not saying a villain has to be some master manipulator, but at least don't completely ignore the group of heroes that's gearing up to kick your ass. If you're going easy on them, be that by sending your minions one at a time or even by letting them live *after* you beat them, you better have a damn good reason for it. That said, this villain probably could be called a master manipulator. :p
(Okay, I'll say it's a villain from Trails, but I ain't saying which Trails, nor the name of the villain)

Best Cast of Characters
Trails of Cold Steel 4
Well, I did say earlier that it's a culmination of the games so far, naturally that also goes for the cast.

Best Comic Relief character
Zeke from Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Sure, Zeke has serious scenes, but overall I'd say he has enough comic relief moments to call him a comic relief character. He's hilariously ridiculous and everyone around him knows it. Beyond that, though, he's also just a great guy.

Best World/setting
Zemuria from Trails
The worldbuilding is part of the reason it's my favorite series in the first place, after all, and it has had 9 games and counting to do so, ever expanding that world. It's really no contest.

Best Transportation (be specific)
Skells from Xenoblade Chronicles X
By the time you get your skell, the game has been teasing you with them for a while, so it feels really nice to finally have one. Suddenly you don't have to slowly swim across water, you can hover over it. You can reach far more cliffs and other elevated areas because you can jump way higher. Fast forward and your skell can fly, allowing you to reach even more places. All in one neat package that you can even use in combat! Also, I like robots.

[Lord Golbez]

2D - Suikoden 2
3D - FF7
Isometric -Don't know
Turn-based - FF7 if ATB counts (which I think it arguably does but others may disagree). Suikoden 2 if it doesn't.
ATB - FF7
Action RPG - Secret of Mana
MMO - Don't know.
Tactical - FFT
RPG score - FF6 or FF7
Best ending - Suikoden 2 good ending
Opening - FF7
Hero - Laguna
Heroine - Aeris
Villain - Sephiroth
Cast - FF8, maybe, but carried mostly by Squall and Laguna, so not sure.
Comic relief- Steward Ribson from Brave Fancer Musashi
World - FF9
Transportation - Lunar Whale

[Mercen-X]

RPGs are fun :thumbsup: